Family Bowling
16
May 2010
We hit the lanes for some Family Bowling time, and while I got not a single usable picture of anyone bowling, I did manage to get one picture of each of us to prove the amount of fun we were having!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Zane’s Field Trip
16
May 2010
Zane had a field trip last week to Safeway! His class has been learning about Healthy eating and also about Communities. His teacher, Mrs. Callahan decided to incorporate them both with a walking field trip to the community grocery store. Rachel, Rocky and I decided to make the trek along with the class! Rachel was very excited for this, as you can see by this picture:
On the way to the grocery store the class kept track of all the different things they have in their community such as houses, apartments, duplexes, etc.
Once we made it to Safeway the kids got a tour off all the different departments, and got to taste things along the way. We were there over an hour and Rocky found this exhausting.
Zane’s favorite part was seeing the butcher shop because they gave him a sticker that said “Good for BBQ”.
Okay, it wasn’t really his favorite part, but I wanted an excuse to post that super cute picture. Zane’s real favorite part was at the end when the all got a cookie, raisons and water bottle and got to eat them outside.
Zane and one of his best buds Andy.
One of the neatest things about the field trip for me was talking with all of the other parents. Almost all of them came up to me at some point to tell me how much their child loved Zane and how they always talked about how Awesome he is. I must say, I agree. He is a super Awesome kid and I am so glad I get to be his Mom.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Rocky is 6 Months Old Today!!
4
May 2010
Can you believe it?! My little precious baby is getting so big, so fast! Rocky is the sweetest, happiest little baby ever! All you have to do is look at him and he will give you the biggest grin! He loves his brother, his bouncy saucer, sweet potatoes, chewing on stuff and crawling! Today he pulled himself up in his crib for the first time! He is such an independent baby! He loves holding his own bottle and does not like snuggling, no matter how hard we try! He loves crawling over obstacles, and any kind of challenge we give him, he keeps working until he succeeds! When he eats, he likes to try and feed himself!
We are so completely over the moon for him! We are so blessed to have him in our family, and cannot imagine life without him! We love you so much Rocky!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
In case you were wondering…
4
May 2010
In case you were wondering what has been taking up all of my time and keeping me from updating this blog, here are a couple pictures to give you an idea:
These Guys!
I have had a touch of Mommy guilt lately since I have been having to work a lot, so every second of my free time has been filled with Family time, snuggles, games, and lots of kisses!! There has been so much good stuff going on for us lately! Ian and I both LOVE our jobs, Zane is doing great at school and gymnastics, and Rocky is the happiest little baby you have ever met! Our life is very stress free right now, and after the crazy last year we have had we are really enjoying it!
There have been lots of little events, but I am going to give them each their own post! In short, Life is Good.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Hey Guys!
21
Feb 2010
Hey Guys!
I am happy to report that life is going so good right now! February has already been an eventful month for us!
Due to some less than desirable circumstances we moved to a different apartment. Those less than desirable circumstances included bums, smashed car windows, cops pounding on our door (twice), graffiti on our door, and a stolen BBQ pit. We ended up picking up all of our stuff and moving it to the completely opposite side of our apartment complex, and I must say, the change has been amazing. Instead of crackheads, we now see the playground out of our living room window. Instead of neighbors standing outside our door smoking, we now have a friendly neighbor who walks his cat. We are so, so happy with the move. We are able to feel so much safer, and also save money towards our goal of buying a house. I feel like our family is finally thriving after so much chaos these last few months!
Rocky is getting so big! He is super smiley and just got a new play gym that he loves to lay on and play with his toys. He is a super sweet, happy guy and we all just are totally enamored by him! We have only had one hiccup, and that has only been rough for me. Rocky has decided the very act of breast feeding is so horribly offensive that he will scream his lungs out if I even attempt the act. He was fine the first 3 months, but then I got really sick for a week and my supply almost all went away so we gave him formula to supplement. Turns out he prefers formula way over anything I have to bring to the table. It has been kind of rough for me, especially since I am working full time. Breast feeding was something special that only I could do for him. I enjoyed that special bonding time, and it makes me sad that it is over sooner than I would of liked. However, there is nothing I can do about it, and I am not letting it get me down. He is a super wonderful little guy, and he knows I love him and we are bonded for life, whether I breast feed him or not. Also, I have a new found respect for all the woman I know who either chose to not breast feed, or couldn’t. Making bottles in the middle of the night is SO much harder than breast feeding. We are adjusting well, and I can tell Ian actually likes that he is able to feed Rocky and experience some of that bonding for himself.
Zane has a very full life right now. Since August he has been begging me to enroll him in his schools after school program that all of his friends go to. I was really reluctant, because I didn’t want to miss out on that time with him. Well, I finally gave in and he absolutely loves it! It makes me feel like he is so big now!! He loves hanging out with his friends and gymnastics. He is getting so good and working so hard to learn new stunts every day! He is excelling at school and is so bright and fun! We are so proud of the little man he is becoming. He has such a big heart. He has been really into playing basketball and learning tricks on his Yo Yo lately, and he is getting so much better at both. It is neat to watch Zane set his mind to something and practice until he gets it right.
Ian and I feel really lucky to have Rachel living with us. She is such an amazing Nanny for our kids and takes such great care of them while we are at work! It is so nice to know that they are being taken care of and to know that she loves them so much. She is working on saving money for esthetician school, which would be full-time so she would not be able to work. It makes me really happy to have my sister here, and to know that we are both able to help each other out right now. She is great!
Ian is a super busy guy. He is excelling at work, and is way too modest to tell you that he was named Employee of the Quarter for the entire Marketing Department! He also is working on some really exciting side projects with various members of his family, and even just had a video art piece he collaborated on with his brother make it into a Film Festival! He is also a really terrific father, always making time to hang with Rocky and to teach Zane all kinds of amazing things. He is also a really amazing husband, I am a lucky lady! He even bought me flowers for Valentines day, hid them in Rachel’s car (which he drove to work that day), with the intention of putting them on my desk after I left for lunch. Only silly me decides I need to take that car home with me on my break so I can take the kids and Ray out for breakfast. I totally ruined the surprise!! Ian was so bummed, and I felt so bad! But I loved them and he is super sweet anyways!
I am really happy right now. I feel like all of the craziness of the past few months has paid off and we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now. I love my job. I love my schedule, the people I work with, my company, my position. I love the peace of mind I have, and the things we are able to do now that we are both working. My stress level is at an all time low. I love the change I have seen in my family. The pure happiness everyone exudes. We still have somethings we are working on, I am still trying to get everyone to agree to go back to church. I think we are close. We are a very spiritual family, but for some reason we fail at attending church regularly. We will pray as a family, talk about God, but as soon as I mention going to church, everyone freaks out. I feel like it is the one thing we are missing. I know I could go by myself, but I have done that and it gets old fast. I want us to be there as a family. I think that is what I am going to ask for as my birthday present! Yes, my birthday is coming up, the big 2-7. Every year for the past 4 years I have set my mind on a theme for the next year. My 27th year is going to be all about pushing myself to do things that scare me, things I have always wanted to do but havn’t. I am really excited for some of the things I have planned!
Rocky and Zane need my attention now, but I just wanted to get this down. I don’t want to forget what an exciting time this has been for us!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
I know what you are thinking..
27
Jan 2010
You are thinking that I have gone off and gotten a big girl job and forgotten all about you! Well this is simply not the case. The truth is these days the only time I can be on the computer is when I am feeding Rocky, which doesn’t make typing any coherent thought at all feasible. My days now go exactly the same way everyday:
Get up at 4
Take a shower, throw some clothes on
Get to work by 4:45
Work like a mad woman until 9
Go home for “lunch” and feed/play with Rocky
Back to work by 10
Work like a mad woman until 2-try to tell myself I am going to go home soon
Get home between 3:30 and 4
Hug and Play and Kiss my boys
Dinner time
Homework/Housework/Prepare for the next day
Stories and more hugs and kisses
Try to go to bed by 7:30
plead with Rocky to please go to sleep and stop laughing and smiling at me
Give up, play with Rocky until he falls asleep
Fall asleep
Wake up in 3 hours, feed Rocks
Fall asleep
Wake up in 3 hours, feed Rocks
Fall asleep
Wake up one more time to feed Rocky
Realize I have to be up in an hour
Get up at 4
Rinse and Repeat.
The truth is I really enjoy my job and I am happy to have found one. We are finally getting into a routine and my boys are happy and loved.We are busy but happy.
Zane has started his gymnastics season! We have been having Meets on the weekends, he is doing so good! I am going to make a separate post about those! Also, Ian is gone for 2 weeks at the Sundance Film Festival, where his brother is showing his short film, Charlie and the Rabbit. Really exciting! However, we miss Ian and are ready for him to be home already!
In short, Life is Good.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
2010 New Years Resolutions!
3
Jan 2010
We have some family New Years Resolutions this year we are excited about! We wrote a family mission statement, and we decided to focus on Health, Kindness, Fun and Security. We are choosing to be an even healthier family this year, make healthier choices and be more active. We are choosing to be Kind and are looking for ways to show kindness not only to each other, but also to other outside of our family bubbly by focusing on Charity this year. We are focusing on having FUN and have chosen some really fun activities for 2010, including a family trip to Disneyland for Zane’s birthday, as well as some other fun stuff throughout the year. We are focusing on saving money and resources so our family can feel safe and secure. We are really excited for all that 2010 has to offer! We also set some individual resolutions!
I am striving for Strength this year! I want to complete Half Marathon training and hopefully find one to run in! I want to strive to do really well at my job and build up my clientele to hopefully become an Account Manager in the next year! I want to have fun with my family and continue to balance Work and Home in the most seamless way possible!
Ian wants to get in really good shape! (He is not one to make a lot of resolutions..)
Zane wants to learn to do a backflip, and a back handspring. He wants to work on being a better artist. He also wants to work on being really kind and healthy and having strong bones. (That is what he told me..)
Rocky would like to learn to crawl this year, and maybe even walk! He also wants to get some teeth.
We have had such a crazy year of change in 2009! In February we decided to have another baby, and in February I got pregnant! In October I quit the daycare and we moved. Then in November Rocky was born, and in December I got my new job! I think we are all really hoping for some stability this year, and the chance to really focus on enjoying our time together as a family. 2009 was a lot of stress on us as a family, and I must say we handled it really well! Now we would like a little break, and a little FUN! Here’s to the Best Year Yet!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Bring it on 2010!
1
Jan 2010
Happy New Year!!
I seriously love New Years! I love the idea of a fresh start, I love New Year Resolutions! I know some people think they are lame, and that people never keep them, but I have always thought anything that motivates people to want to try and be just a little bit better is Awesome! I, of course, have a few thing I want to work on this year, but more about that later!
Things are really, really good here! They are also CRAZY busy! We have adjusted well to our new schedules, I started my 5 a.m. shift now that I am done with training and I really love working that early! I LOVE my job!!! I am so happy working there! I am excited to put a lot of energy and effort into it this year and see where it takes me! I am loving that when I am done at work I can come home and just relax and be a Mom and not have to be so stressed out! It is a nice feeling!
We had a wonderful Christmas down in Lockwood! This season was crazy though, I barely did my Christmas shopping on the very last weekend, did not get my Christmas cards mailed, and forgot to get presents for a bunch of people. Usually I am much more on top of the Christmas season, but starting my new job in December really threw me off my game! Don’t be surprised if you get a Christmas Card from me this week!
Rocky is growing so much everyday!! I will post some new pictures today. He is so alert and has such a cute personality! He is either giving us big sloppy grins or he is giving us these hilarious scowls! He has rolled over a couple more times! He really, really loves the bath! If he is fussy we can turn on water and he immediately gets excited! We make him a little hot tub in the sink and he would sit in it forever! It is adorable!
Zane has been practicing really hard at Gymnastics. The season starts this month and he has his first meet in 2 weeks! He has his little routines and it is so exciting to see how much he has grown! He can do some pretty awesome stuff now! I will have to record him and post it!
More updates to come,but for now I am off to enjoy this New Years Day!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Just when you think things couldn’t possibly change anymore..
12
Dec 2009
I got a job.
I know what you are thinking. “But Heather, I thought that is why you guys moved? So you could be home?!” Well, yes it was why we moved. I do not regret moving at all, but once we got here we realized a couple things. One, things were going to be tight. REALLY tight. Honestly, the budget was too tight to really work. It offered us no opportunity to really get ahead. It became apparent very quickly that one of us was going to have to find a job (in Ian’s case, a second job) to make things really work. We both looked around and applied at a bunch of places. We were both looking for something really part-time and we hoped temporary. We got absolutely no calls. NOTHING. I applied at walmart, target, all the usual suspects that usually hire additional help around the holidays. I did not even get an interview! It was really frustrating. I really felt like something was pushing me to apply for a REAL job. A more permanent job. I fought that feeling for about a week. I felt like I was in a fight with myself. I felt really strongly that I needed to go back to work, but I was not ready. I have this new baby Rocky and I cannot even think about being away from him all day. And who would pick Zane up from school? Take him to Gymnastics? No, me working would definitely not work. But I still had the feeling. The tug on my heart that this was what my family really needed. Security. Yes, staying home is wonderful and ideal for those that can afford to. Unfortunately, we are not at a place in our lives at this moment that it makes sense. And unfortunately, there are not a alot of work at home options for mothers. I felt really strongly that quitting daycare was the right move, and I still do. I have seen so many people really close to me struggle in this economy, and without going into details, I knew that me getting a job would help out a few of those people.
So, I knew this is what I had to do. I spent one night feeling really sorry for myself. I sat on the couch in the middle of the night holding Rocky and just crying. I really just let it all out. I cried for Rocky and Zane, for myself, for this crappy economy and the fact that our society is not really set up in a way that one income families are able to succeed. Let me tell you, it was one big pity party. But then I was done. I had made up my mind and that was that. The next morning I applied for a great job, one that was full-time, but also allowed me to start work early enough that I would be done by the time Zane got out of school. The job is for a great company, and it was a job that I knew I would really, really love and had the opportunity to really pay off for my family. It was perfect. I went from being bummed about having to work, to really really wanting to get this job. AND I GOT IT!! And, I havn’t even mentioned the best part- I work for the same company as Ian! We even get to play fooseball together on our breaks!
The best part about this is that I have the most amazing nanny for Zane and Rocky! My sister Rachel! She loves them almost as much as I do, knows their schedules and will even bring them to me on my lunch break so I can see them! I cannot even express how much it means to me to know that they are being safely cared for, and loved while I am away. I can take the time off to go to Zane’s classroom to volunteer, or go to field trips, and I can even be there for gymnastics practice! I started this past week and I absolutely Love It! The job is really fulfilling and the staff and work environment are absolutely amazing. I am a very lucky woman. I am very happy with how everything has worked out, and I am even happier that Rocky seems to be asleep the entire time I am at work, and then awake the rest of the evening when I am home so that I do not feel like I am missing out on all his awesomeness! I like to think that is God’s little way of making me feel better about this whole situation, and helping me to know that I made the right decision. I know not everyone will understand, but this is a really great thing for my family, and we are all really happy. It is so nice to be able to just relax and focus on my family when I get home, instead of always feeling like I was working like I did when I was doing daycare.
Things are really good right now! I am really looking forward to Christmas and New Years and just being with family and enjoying the holidays without having to be so super stressed about money anymore. I feel really, really blessed in my life right now. I am a very luck lady.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Happy Thanksgiving!
1
Dec 2009
We are back home after a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend! We survived a 6 hour car ride with a newborn! Twice!
We had an absolutely fabulous weekend, excellent company, fantastic food, great weather, no complaints! I am very thankful for our Families.
Rocky is seriously getting tired of me taking pictures of him.
Rocky giving himself the bunny ears while sticking his tongue out at me.
Rocky about to punch me in the face, maybe he is a ninja baby after all.
And just in case you thought I only take pictures of Rocky now, here is proof that Zane was in fact at the same Thanksgiving with us, even though we only ever saw him at night when he curled up with me on the fold out couch.
This is Zane’s personal idea of heaven.
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
Afternoon at the Park
24
Nov 2009
This was taken right after a game of tag where I officially realized that Zane runs faster than I do!
Posted in The Kitchen Sink
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