Friday, June 3, 2011

Jobless

I am officially unemployed!  My company closed the Denver office and my last day was May 31.  I have several leads on jobs and I am looking forward to what the future brings for my career! 

It’s been a little bit of a struggle these first few days to transition back into being home.  I’m not used to not having alone time (lunch, coffee breaks, shutting my door) and the kids constantly being so needy.  I’m also not used to listening to whining/crying for 12+ hours a day.  That can drive a person batty!  Chris and I are getting used to being around each other and redefining chores and parenting roles.  We seem to be in each other’s way a lot!

At the very least I am getting 2 months off!  This means I can:

  1. Blog more
  2. Take the kids to see the: train museum (again), firefighter’s museum, natural history museum (again), children’s museum, zoo, royal gorge, tiny town, movies, and so on.
  3. Decorate my house:  Charlotte’s room, Cooper’s room, master bedroom
  4. Finish decorating some rooms:  Guest bedroom, my office, Chris’ office
  5. Renovate my house:  Master bathroom and basement
  6. Paint the outside of my house
  7. Take a vacation
  8. Stick to my exercise regimen – Couch to 5K
  9. Garden
  10. See friends and family
  11. Pull out my camera again and take more photos

I think I could get used to this no job thing.  If only I could always get paid for not having a job.  That would be awesome!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Analyzing our wedding photo

Cooper:  That you in dat piture, mommy.  You pity.  You happy.

Me:  Is that my wedding picture?  I look pretty and happy?

Cooper:  Yeah!

Me:  What am I wearing?

Cooper:  A pwesent!

Me:  A present?

Cooper:  Yeah daddy yuves you.  You in da cassa.  You wear da cown.

Me:  Daddy does love me.  Is that where I got married, the castle?  And I wore a crown?

Cooper:  Yeah!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

3 Yr Check-up

I finally found a doctor and made an appointment for Cooper and Charlotte.  They start school this fall and I wanted to make sure they are completely up to date on their immunizations since CA and CO may have different requirements.  They ended up with 2 shots each (boosters since the immunizations have changed since they got them) and we heard about it all.day.long.  I felt so bad for them because I know it hurt.

We had a great experience at this office and I feel good about my choice.  I hope that we don’t have to make a new choice when I get new insurance with a new job.  The office is a pediatric office and super kid-friendly.  They were on time, quick, great with the kids, informative and helpful.  We really like the doctor.  He is to the point, but friendly and answers all of our questions in detail.  He also has experience with children exposed to meth in utero.  That is important to us given Charlotte’s history.

We told him that Charlotte seems to struggle with sequencing and things that require her to use sequencing (getting dressed is a great example).  He said that it’s probably best to just watch her right now and see how she does as she starts school.  He thinks it could be a lack of focus or attention, which could later turn into ADD (common for children with her medical history), but that she is still within normal ranges for understanding sequencing.  He said if it is still an issue after she starts school then we can seek out resources for additional occupational therapy.

Overall though the kids got a clean bill of health.  They have great eye sight and are growing like weeds.  Cooper is still gigantic at 38 lbs and 42 in tall, while Charlotte is at 50th percentile at 30.5 lbs and 38 in tall.  Of course both of the kids will say they are ‘just right!’ when asked if they are too big or too small.  Here are their growth charts:

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Cooper’s camera

A camwuh!  A boo camwuh!  Dats my camwuh!  No dat not fo you!  Deeze fo you (pushes Wii games over to Charlotte).  No you tan’t tay pituh, dat my camwuh.

And for those of you who don’t speak Cooperese:

A camera!  A blue camera! That’s my camera! No it’s not for you!  These are for you.  No you can’t take a picture, that’s my camera.

Thank you to grandma and grandpa Derichsweiler for the perfect birthday gift…he adores his ‘camwuh’.

(I promise to get around to posting about his birthday…I really, really loved his dragon party.)

Update on our lives

Cooper:

He turned 3!  And suddenly became a testosterone filled little boy who is overly aggressive and very, very physical during play time.  Swords and guns are his favorites during the day, while he cuddles with his ‘babies’ at night, tucking them in, feeding them, and changing their diapers.  He is talking a ton and is becoming more clear every day.  His intense curiousity hasn’t diminished a bit, nor has his need for independence.  He now reads himself a story and tucks himself in.  I just sit and watch.  He refuses to potty train, although we can sometimes get him to stick with it if we promise that he can go to school or get chocolate.  I think he has his priorities straight.  Items to do:  post about his birthday party!

Charlotte:

She is sassier than sassy!  She is so spunky and so emotional.  She is starting to become more girly and actually wants Tinkerbell stuff!!  This is a big change from her tools, cars and trains (although she still LOVES those things).  She amazes me everyday with her speech and I love listening to her talk.  She spends a lot of time working on her enunciation, and now she sings!  She is fully potty trained and we are working on her patience, problem solving, and asking questions.

Can you believe they start preschool in the fall??  We got into our #2 choice for school and are super excited about the next chapter as our kids get older.  We will also be enrolling them in extracurricular activities starting this summer.  Possibilities include dance, music, martial arts, gymnastics, and sports.

House:

We are doing lots of projects on the house right now.  We painted the kitchen, living room and both offices.  Chris is finishing baseboards on the main floor, while I am finishing the playroom (I will do a before/after/inspiration post when it’s done).  We found bedding for the master bedroom and guest bedroom, so soon we will be starting painting upstairs.  We will be painting the outside of the house and replacing the shutters.  Once I have a job again we will begin the basement and master bathroom/closet projects.  So much fun to be homeowners!!

Chris:

He is finishing up his bachelors in business and should be done this fall.  He is loving being back in school and is looking forward to owning his own property management company.  He has a honey-do list a mile long and has been incredibly supportive of the emotional turmoil I’ve been going through with work.

Me:

I am feeling very burnt out.  I can’t wait for my current job to end.  It’s feeling so weird and unorganized and I’m just ready to be done.  I haven’t found a job yet and I think that’s adding some stress.  I know the right thing will come along and there are lots of jobs out there, but I hate the uncertainty.  I have several leads and a particular favorite that I really hope works out.

Thinks I’m looking forward to:  shopping at the outlets for mother’s/father’s day, Bruno Mars concert, Sarah McLachlan & CO Symphony Orchestra concert, Kings of Leon concert, fireworks, a hot summer, swimming with the kids, a possible family vacation, a visit to NC.

And I’m trying to get out of this funk and blog a little more!