Monday, April 26, 2010

This just reaffirms the plan.

So as you all know, I am the mother of two small and adorable (yet adventuresome) boys. And I am going back to school full time in order to become a Nurse Midwife. I have felt that this was God's plan for me and our family and I am excited to get started.

Some people wonder why I am choosing to give up being a stay at home mom and enter school full time. Well, the truth is that I am not cut out to be a stay at home mom. I love my children, but I need more. I am not happy being home all day. I thought that part of the reason was that I did not have a vehicle available and that being stuck was the root of my unhappiness. But in the last two weeks I have had a vehicle that I could use as much as I liked. And although I enjoy getting out and having the freedom to run errands when I want, I realize that being stuck at home was not the root of my unhappiness.

What makes me happy? Lots of things, including spending time with boys and my husband. But I also love going to school. I love learning things and doing well at school. I like interacting with other people. I am such a social person that I need to be with other people and unfortunately toddler communication doesn't always cut it.

God has given me so many talents and I am excited to use them in so many diverse ways. Being a mother, a wife, a friend, for now a student, and hopefully one day a midwife! I just can't wait to see how God's plan unfolds in my life.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Thank God for high windows

Matthias is starting to outgrow his naps. Some days he takes them, some days he just rests and some days I can't even get him in his bedroom. The days naps are most successful are when we had something going on in the morning.

So yesterday we had coffee break in the morning and then went to play in the park. He almost fell asleep on the way home, so I figured we would try a nap. He laid down and was quiet, so I thought that he was sleeping.

Umm, not so much.

I walked in to check on him and his room is practically empty. Like all that was left is the bed and the crib. No blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc. For a moment I was confused. I had no idea where it could have gone. Then I realized he was standing by the window. Now our windows are high, about four feet off the floor or so, but his bed was pushed against the wall. Apparently he figured out how to unlock the window, open it, and open the screen. He then started throwing anything he could lift out the window and into the back yard. At first I thought he couldn't reach the window locks and had just slide the window open. We often don't lock our second floor windows, because there is no way you could get in one without a ladder.

But after bringing all his stuff back in, locking the window, laying him down for his nap again, I came back to check on him. And he was standing on an empty bed with just his diaper on. Not only could he unlock the window, he decided that this time he needed to throw his clothes out the window too.

So now we've moved his bed away from the wall and will be investing in some window locks for the tops of the windows. Because if he ever finds away to get himself out the window, I'm sure he won't hesitate.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I should be studying

but this is more fun. And I haven't written in forever! And I have lots of news. (Do you think I have enough reasons to avoid studying for my test?)

So let's see. We spent Easter with my family. It was nice to be able to relax and celebrate our Savior's resurrection.

Then we bought a new car! Calvin and I have been sharing a car since we got married. Up until then, neither of us had owned a car and we bought the PT Crusier from his parents when we got married, so we have not had to do the whole searching and buying a car thing. This was a new and stressful situation. We needed a second car so I could get to school, and after almost five years of having only one car, I was ready to have a car (Calvin had the car most days and so the boys and I were stuck at home or if we needed a car, we had to bring Calvin to work).

So we went out shopping. We decided we wanted a low milage vehicle because my commute is over 4o miles each way, which means I will be putting on approximately 100,000 miles before I graduate. So buying a vehicle with 50k miles would mean that we would probably end up with either large repair bills or even having to replace my car before I graduated, which if we were going to have to be making car payments, would not fit in the budget. So we were looking for a newer car with low miles. We were talking with my dad and he said that we should consider a new car, since we were going to be putting so many miles on it.

We talked about it and decided to check out our options. We looked into financing for an used car and financing for a new car. We checked out our top two car choices (Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus) and both were offering 0% financing for new cars. When we priced out new Corollas and Focus, we found that it was difficult to find a good low mileage car that would give us a smaller monthly payment. When we compared the Corolla and the Focus, we found that Toyota was giving much better deals, which allowed us to get more car for less money with the Corolla. So we bought a Capri Sea Metallic 2010 Toyota Corolla LE! I love the car. It drives so much nicer than the PT and the freedom of having a second car is awesome!

That was April 10, and this past weekend I threw a baby shower for my friend Anne and her husband Josh. I thought it went very well and I really enjoyed having Josh and Anne stay with us for the weekend. Unfortunately, my house is still a mess, but it is slowing getting more and more cleaned up. I had a test on Monday and have another test tonight for my Human Anatomy and Physiology class, so there has not been a lot of time left for cleaning (and I avoid cleaning as much as possible anyways).

Let's see. What else is new. I got my financial aid package for the summer term. It was just two federal loans. I was a little disappointed, but I know that the summer term counts for the 09-10 school year and that means that most grants and stuff have already been given away a long time ago. I am hoping that I receive more scholarships and grants for the 10-11 school year. Thankfully the loans will cover what we need them to cover, tuition, books, daycare, car loan, gas, etc.

So this update blog is getting to be very long. And I really should be studying. I have lots more to talk about (like curtains!), but I'll wait and blog again soon!