New Occupation: Stay at home Mom

Such a bittersweet moment.  Today I gave my notice to work that I would be leaving before baby #2 arrives and moving to Springfield shortly thereafter.  I'm not gonna lie. I shut my door and cried a little after the conversation with our Chief Dietitian.  I'm so excited to be able to stay at home with my boys, but I never thought it would be this hard to leave my career.  I truly LOVE what I do and up until Micah was born, it was the most rewarding job I've ever done. My mom always worked and I've had a job since I was 12 years old! Prior occupations include selling food at the State Fair, teaching dance, swim coach, swim lessons, waitress, retail, residence hall nutrition educator, waitress again and again and again, graduate assistant, and registered dietitian. Until becoming an RD, none of the other jobs really seemed to make much of a difference to others.  The Veterans that I work with are so grateful and I love seeing their progress. I've had one guy even lose 80+ pounds over the last year!  I'm sure he would have done it without my coaching, but it just reminds me of why I made this my career path.

Before having children, I never thought I would be a stay at home mom.  My heart was changed three years ago when Nathan had a horrible child abuse case where a daycare worker caused shaken baby syndrome in a 1 year old little boy.  The outcome was devastating.  Nathan came home and said "when we have children, your staying at home".  I wasn't going to argue this, but I sometimes feel like being a stay at home mom is not enough of a "job" for our society today.  Trust me, you spend a day with my toddler and you'd wish you'd gone to "work" some days.  Why is it considered "work" if it's a childcare provider watching my child while I work and not considered work for me to stay at home and care for my own children?  I listened to a sermon by Pastor Van at New Hope Church in Effingham and he made an excellent point.  He said, "there's nobody better to raise your children than you".  How very true.  God gave me the boys that he did because I'm the best mom there could be for them.  If raising my family is not the most important job I could have, I don't know what else would be. 

So my new official title is "Chief Family Manager".  Well at least that's the title I've given myself.  Nathan's not too keen on calling me "chief" but I'm sure he'll warm up to it :)  Other jobs included under this title: financial advisor, chef, purchasing coordinator, security officer, janitor, plumber, gardener, childcare provider, taxi driver, and personal shopper.  I'm going to find joy in this new job and welcome all the opportunities that come along with it.  I'm sure I'll make it back into the workplace as a dietitian some day, but for now this is the job that suits me and my family best.  So looking forward to all that it has to offer!

Time out time

So I just have to share about our time out method of discipline.  It applies to all in our house who misbehave.  The other night Micah, Nathan, and Champ were playing ball.  All of a sudden I hear a crash and "uh-oh".  I go running to the other room and the clock is on the floor along with a few picture frames that had fallen down.  When I asked what happened, they all looked at one another.  Micah and Nathan were throwing a ball to Champ.  Nathan threw the ball with Micah right by his side, Champ bumped the ball with his nose into the table knocking everything to the floor, and Micah was the tattle tale.  They all went to time out.  It was a long 28 minutes for Nathan but you do the crime, you do the time :)



The time out chair.

Happy Valentine's day!

My Little Heartthrob!  Just love him to pieces!

 Today was a great day!  Micah and I started our day off early and left a surprise for Nathan, cards and candy for him to find when he woke up.   Micah had a fun party planned at school and he came home on a sugar high with all kinds of valentines from his friends at school.  I just love that they do so many fun activities with them and celebrate all the holidays! On our way home, we swung by Papa John's to surprise Nathan again with a heart shaped pizza and cinnamon bread.  It was a working day so there was no way I could prepare a nice Valentine's Day dinner.  Micah was so cute.  We went to pick up the pizza and he kept saying "pizza, pizza, yummo".  He was really interested in watching them make the pizzas and was excited to see that we were taking one home with us.  The whole way home he kept saying the same thing "pizza, pizza, yummy, yummy".  We came in and were surprised to find red roses, a card and candy!  That man knows the way to my heart!  It was really sweet and I love him more and more each day!
 

We had the pizza out on the table and to our surprise Micah just dug right in!  He was eating the mushrooms, cheese, and even a few bites of the crust!  Who's child is this!  Not mine!  He hasn't eaten anything except for bread, fruit, crackers, and mac and cheese for months!  He was loving it and we were getting a kick out of him too.  We just love him to pieces!  Not a truly romantic Valentine's day but the perfect end to our day, spending it as a family!

Had to get a picture of this one!  I don't think anyone would believe me that he ate mushroom pizza!

It's a Boy!

It's a boy and we're so excited!  Micah is so much fun that I couldn't even imagine anything other than a boy.  I had thought it would be fun to have a girl, but two boys two years apart is going to be a blast.  Nathan and I went to lunch today before the appointment and we were talking about "what if it's aboy, what if it's a girl" and Nathan made an excellent point.  He said, "wouldn't a little boy be fun for Micah.  They'll be so close and such buddies."  I hadn't really thought of it that way.  I knew Micah would be great with little brother or sister, but I can't imagine the fun he'll have with a little brother to romp around with.  He's a pretty rough and tumble little boy.  I can't imagine what the two will get into.  I'm sure I'll never sit down once baby boy gets here!  Most importantly baby is healthy.  It has a 4 chamber heart, 3 vessel cord, 2 kidneys, and 1 little boy part (he wasn't shy). 
Micah doesn't quite get the concept of mommy having a baby, but we're getting there.  We talk about it often.  When we mention "baby" or he sees a picture of a baby he quietly says "shush" and puts one finger over his lips.  He'll grab his baby pictures and give them kisses when we talk about the baby in the picture.  I can't wait to see how much love he'll have for his new baby brother!

Feeling Defeated

I am totally controlled by a 20month old little boy!  How did this sweet little boy get the best of me!  Well I've got to set some clearer boundaries and not give in to everything.  Tonight he went to bed at 6:30 and with no dinner.  It wasn't because I wouldn't feed him.  I tried many times, probably 5 or more.  He just doesn't want to sit in the chair at the table to eat!  We've been pretty laxed lately and let him sit in front of the TV to snack while he watches cartoons and now that's all he wants to do.  Strawberry yogurt and my living room couch are not a good combo for a 1yr old, so this isn't going to go on for long.  On top of all this, we're getting rid of the pacifier again during the daytime.  He was good with just having it at naps and bedtime, but we gave in when he got his bottom incisors and it's been a struggle taking it away again.  Nathan was on nights, Micah was cranky, and I couldn't deal with 2 crabby boys.  We were all happier with the pacifier until now, and we're all going through withdrawls.  Day 2 complete and hopefully we'll only have 3 bad days.  Our pediatrician says, "he'll be cranky for 3 days and then be ok after that" when referring to any changes like giving up the bottle or pacifier.  I wonder if he just says that.  With baby #2 on the way, Micah has got to be good and done with his "baz" (paci) by the time he's 2.  I figure it's not going to get any easier so we'll just tough it out now.  He talks so much without it and absolutely none with it.  I want his language to develop so thats just another reason to say "buh bye Baz". 

Home Remodeling

So very greatful for my father in law.  Mr. Robert Jones is truly a saint!  I've never seen a guy work as hard as him and for absolutely nothing.  He wouldn't even stop for a meal today!  And poor Jose is on vacation and worked just as hard.  He wouldn't even accept payment for his work..  We'll have to fingure out another way to thank him I guess. These guys are the reason why our bathroom reno was comlete in less than 11 hours.  I use to pride myself on being a "do it yourself kinda girl" but it's just so hard with a toddler and carrying a baby!  Seriously I can't do all I'd like to and really shouldn't for safety.  There a few final details to finish, but the bathroom is complete and we're so very thankful for Bob and Jose.  They do great work!  New vanity, countertop, and a double sink!  Yes! No more fighting over one sink when brushing our teeth!  It looks so nice I don't think I'll want to move.  It's sad but soon we will outgrow this 1,000 sq ft home.  It's been quite the project home and as much as I complain, I did enjoy doing some of the work. I think Bob takes the prize for MVP though :)

Flutter, flutter

So I felt the baby move for the first time tonight!  It's so hard to tell early in pregnancy, but I'm sure of it!  I was washing dishes and felt that little flutter in my stomach.  It's funny how you forget these things.  I didn't feel Micah until I was nearly 20 weeks but I hear you're more in tune to all the happenings of pregnancy the second time around.  Now that the morning sickness is gone, I think I'm going to enjoy the second trimester.  It's just harder keeping up with a 20 month old.  Somedays he's more than I can lift and I don't remember my back hurting like this the first time until I was nearly full term!  Good thing that boy is walking now and he's so good to hold my hand.  It makes me sad to think of a day when he'll be too old to hold my hand.  They grow up just way too fast!