Life in a nutshell

Have you ever felt that life is a roller coaster? Just when you think it is going to slow down you go through a loop? Well that's what it seems for me. Over a year ago my family moved to Utah State so that Devon could go to school and now we are trying to move back. It doesn't surprise me given the fact that every year since I have been married we have moved, so it just feels natural for it to happen again. The part I don't like is the hunt for a job. Being a mother does not give you the qualifications necessary for a desk job and with the economy how it is it is hard to even get past the first filtering that companies do to lower the amount of applicants to look at. If we had the choice of me to continue to stay home, I am more than positive that is what we would do, but sadly the cost of living is not supported by one job alone. My husband and I have to work as a team for it to happen, and I feel we can't do it together without the help of our Father in Heaven. He looks out for my family a lot and with his help things always work out. So I guess all I can do is trust in him and do all the work that I can to help with this transition. Although it may be tough sometimes I am sure that it will be worth it in the end. So I guess what I am trying to say is that I love roller coasters :).

Life is full of surprises

It seems like when you start to get comfortable in life that the Lord brings another trial to keep you on your feet. This is what has been going on in our home :). I will start with Jaylee. She is now 3 and more than ever is taking me by surprise. She is so smart and can be such a pain with how much personality she has. We argue all the time and she isn't even a teen yet, but to be on the positive side I am very proud of her. She is very smart and loves to read. We are hoping to put her in a dance class in the fall so that she can get some of that energy out plus we think she would really enjoy it. She also loves to play games and loves her family. She is such a great example to me. The other day she came up to my tummy and gave her baby sister a hug and said " I love you Berdie." So cute. She loves helping me in the Kitchen and she is an amazing cleaner. She makes my chores a lot easier, for the most part ;). As for potty training she is doing good most days. The other days I don't like to talk about ha ha just kidding even then she does fairly well. She also is an amazing artist. Ask her to color a picture and she will, and she will use all the colors you give her. She wants a Dog, but we can't have one yet so she just has to visit family that do to get her animal fix :).
Devon is doing well too. Work has been a little slow so he has been getting 1 day a week off of work, which is making our budget tighter, but honestly it has been nice to have him home. He is just as crazy with the board games he likes to buy and since we just had our birthdays he has gotten quite a few new ones. We have started to play Lego Harry Potter together, and it has been quite fun and I don't even care for video games :). Devon has also been enjoying his time off from school. Last Semester was hard, and I am pretty sure the rest of the classes he will be taking for this major will not be easy, but I know he can do it. Devon has also been working on a video for our ward for the 150th year anniversary from when it started. We already showed it to the fireside they had, but now he is getting it ready for DVD release. It has been way great for him to review his editing skills. The only other thing going on for him is that his knee has been hurting him. We went to the Dr today to find out why, and we have yet to find out. All in good time :).
As for me I have been going through the Stay at home/ pregnant life. My interaction for the most part is Jaylee and Devon when he is home, so I am getting quite rusty with communication. Sorry if I say any strange things during conversation I am doing my best :). Devon and I just got called to be Primary teachers and I can tell that this will be a challenge, but it seems so far that I will enjoy having a calling with Devon. The kids are fun and I learn so much more when I have to teach. I recently found out that my sugar levels are too high so I have Gestational Diabetes which is not a good thing, but can be controlled, so that is something I get to look forward to when I talk to a dietitian. I am actually excited cause I am hoping that it will make me feel better. Not excited if I have to prick my finger though, but you do what you have to. The baby seems to be doing ok though. She is quite active. For some reason she loves to move when I am driving lol. Last week we started a garden and I am very sad to say that, I am thinking a bunny has eaten all my plants so all that hard work I put in has been ruined. The Zucchini will probably survive, but not sure about anything else. Its the thought that counts, right? I also planted corn so hopefully that will grow too.
Well that's about it one day I will be better with pictures. One step at a time.

What a day

Last night was probably the worst night ever. I kept waking up to pains in the abdomen area and sleep was very hard to come by. It was probably the first night of many nights now that I will have that problem as I am getting further along with my pregnancy. I always heard that when you are pregnant with your second child that you will get so much bigger, and will have more pains because you have been stretched out before. I am now totally believing that. Only 18 weeks along and I already feel big. I know that I will only get bigger. So as I had a horrible night last night I have decided that today is going to be dedicated to taking care of myself. I pulled out my maternity clothes to see if they would fit more comfortably then my regular clothes and sure enough they do. I decided to paint my nails considering soon I won't be able to alone. Later I would like to take my daughter on a walk and I am planning on taking a nice long nap. If I have energy I will worry about my messy apartment and laundry that needs to be done. Its not going anywhere, right? Wish me luck :).

Goal results so far

So in February I made the decision to make some goals because I was feeling horrible about myself not getting anything accomplished, which considering that I am pregnant is completely understandable. Anyway I had stated that I would keep you posted with how I was doing and hopefully I have done well.

1. Give more attention to my daughter and read her 2 books. Well I did improve here I have been giving her more attention, but potty training has been making me a mean mom. My daughter loves to read and she does get at least one a day, but more frequently she has been read to more than that. The TV has been off more too and I feel that has been an improvement in our home. So overall I think this one is coming along well.

2. Cleaning at least one room a day. Well this one has improved a lot. My apartment looks nice more frequently, but it still has its places of struggling. After all I live with 2 very messy people. Ok maybe all of us are messy sometimes. I have been trying to balance the work out throughout the week so I don't tire myself too much.

3. Showering every morning and getting dressed. Well this one is still a struggle cause I get distracted so easily and I feel like I have to wait for the best time to get in. for example when Jaylee is watching her show so I know she isn't getting into trouble and it also has to be right after she uses the bathroom. I don't want any accidents while I shower. But overall I still feel better about how I am doing. Even if my showers sometimes have to wait.

4. Scripture Study. Yeah this one I am not doing as well on. Dev and my study schedule has been ruined by Devon sleeping in, and then we forget to study all together. I can honestly say we haven't given it up though cause we read today :). Take it one day at a time and the habit will start again.

5. Exercise every day. I feel I am doing ok on this one. I try to do the exercises I learned in a class every day, but sometimes I just forget, but if you consider how much cleaning and taking care of Jaylee that I do, Yeah I am on the right track :).

6. Getting over my phone phobia. Yeah I still feel I struggle with this one, but I have made a ton of calls this months on things that needed to be done. Its amazing how much better you feel when you are more on top of things. I will keep working on this one.

7. Taking naps and eating. Well considering that I have to eat to keep my tummy happy I really haven't struggled with this one, but there have been some days where I just don't have time for a nap, and the next day I wish I had. Today I took one, and loved it. Especially since Jaylee was sleeping too :).

Anyway as an overall conclusion to my goals and results I have to say that I have done well. I feel that my main goal was to feel more accomplished and important. It can be hard when you are stuck inside all day doing nothing while your husband is working his butt off. It makes me feel like a horrible wife to not be taking up that slack to make things easier for him. Devon has been such a trooper and I am so grateful for him and his encouragement whenever I have a bad day or haven't accomplished all that I wanted to that day. Overall I have to say I am the luckiest girl ever. And I am so grateful for opportunities to improve myself.

Great News with a twist

For the many people who don't know Devon and I are expecting baby #2 due Aug 30, 2011. Now that I have the great news out here is the twist. As many mothers and soon to be mothers know having a baby is not easy stuff. I am sick a lot crossing my fingers that will leave with the end of the first trimester, but there are never any real guarantees that is going to be the case. As a mother I feel that I should be the support for my husband as he goes to school and take care of those things that he can't do while at work. Add to that being a great mother and to be honest it seems overwhelming to me. I am not perfect and it shows by the looks of our house and the fact that I haven't gotten ready for the day and the day has half way passed. I am tired obviously cause I am pregnant, but I am mostly tired of feeling like I am not helping anyone but myself. I hate that feeling. I like feeling accomplished and that's not happening a lot. Getting me out of my comfort zones is a struggle too. I don't like talking to strangers on the phone cause I feel awkward and my husband agrees, jokingly I am sure, but the point I am trying to make is I need some change, but I just don't know how to accomplish it on my own. So with the help of my Heavenly Father whom I try to communicate with frequently I am going to use this blog as my goal setter/tracker. Now I first want to start with a goal in each area of my life.
1: my daughter has to work with me every day and I am tough on her. My goal is to give her more attention and read her 2 books a day.
2: Clean 1 room a day or do one big chore i.e. laundry and dishes.
3: Shower every morning and get dressed. I always feel more accomplished when I am dressed.
4: Study my scriptures rather than just read them.
5: Exercise every day. Doesn't have to be huge, but enough to get my heart rate going a bit.
6: Call someone especially if it is things needing to be done.
7: Take a well deserved nap and eat all the time :)
Now I realize that this is a huge list and honestly I could add more, but I won't. This works good for me now. I will try to do a couple of these things at a time, so I don't overwhelm myself, but my goal is to be able to accomplish all of these things by the end of the month. Wish me luck.

The Big Update

After four months of not writing on my blog I decided to finally get on and let everyone know how we are doing. As many of you know Devon and I were looking for a Job in Logan all summer with no success. Around September Devon finally got an interview for ICON as a customer service rep. He left from the interview with a job which was a total answer to our prayers. Within the next few weeks we started the move to Logan. We lost some couch pillows along the way and had to trade our big couch for a Dryer ( which I don't mind at all :)) We also couldn't fit our entertainment center in our apartment so we traded ours with a friend which I feel has worked out for the both of us. Anyway when we first moved to Logan we stayed with Devon's cousin for a couple months to get ourselves in better shape financially. We are so grateful for them welcoming us in with open arms. We are now living in a very nice basement apartment in Logan with great rent. It has been fun having to be in charge of our garbage and scraping the driveway during the winter time. I have a full size oven and stove and have never lived in such a big apartment it is so great. Devon is staring school next week and is working full time. It is hard having him gone all the time, but Jaylee and I make it work. I have been working on my cross stitch project that is going to take me forever to complete, I started reading the Harry Potter series again and for Christmas I made Devon a quilt. Jaylee is as cute and fun as ever. She has gotten into Princess and got almost all Princess things for Christmas. We ask her if she is a princess and she tells us " No I'm Jaylee." At least she is proud of being herself. Anyway I am so glad how things have worked out for us. I know that the Lord has had His hands in all that has happened with us and I know that He will continue to bless our lives.

Change Ahead

So I have a lot to write about. As many of you know Devon and I have been looking for a job all summer with no luck. We have been doing everything that we possibly could to not get discouraged and now the time has finally come where change is happening. I feel like I am on a roller coaster the past few months we have been going up the hill slowly and now we are at the point where we are about to shoot down. Ready or not here it comes. Devon got a job at Icon last Tuesday and starts this next Thursday. So within the next few weeks we will be moving. I am sad but also excited. Change is always good no matter how hard it can be. I will miss everyone at the Village and Logan Beware we are on our way. :)