I knew my Kid was ADORABLE!

Sigh...proud Mama moment.

My daughter was selected to be in our local newspaper!  My Mom took this great picture of her, and at my brothers insistence, we agreed to submit her photo and a little bit of info about her to The Province Newspaper.  The picture above is the awesome result!

I knew my kid was adorable!

Age is just a number, and mine is....34

Yep, I'm 34.  A lot has happened this past year...

Let's see.  I spent my last birthday at Abbotsford hospital visiting my hubby.  He had an infection that put him in the hospital for 4 days.  I was also 7 months pregnant, going to school, and organising the new baby room.

So this Birthday my hubby planned a great day for me.  We started our day by going out for breakfast at IHOP.  I love their pancakes!!  After that, I went and had a manicure/pedicure.  Have you ever noticed how good you feel after pampering yourself?  I felt awesome.  But I wasn't done there...I also had my eybrows shaped and coloured, and my eyelashes dyed.  Ouch on the eyebrows, but man do they look good!  I had no idea my eyebrows had become so, well...overgrown.  ;-)

After that, we dropped off my little Elysia at my parent's house and headed out for dinner.  We went to The Olive Garden where we enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner.  After filling up on the endless salad and breadsticks, we had plenty of dinner to take home with us!  We then headed over to our local casino for a few hours.  It was one of those nights where I just couldn't lose.  Every time I wasn't winning, I would talk to my machine and tell it that it was my birthday, and BAM!  I'd win.  Yep, I kept winning while hubby kept losing.  Down, down, down, went his credits while mine kept climbing.  It was so funny, and so much fun!

The following day we went to my parent's house for dinner.  There we were spoiled with a wonderful steak dinner (my favourite), and I got a new game for my Wii (Mario Bros, if you're interested...).  Then it was Cake, tea, and home.  Guess it's a good thing I have the Wii FIT!

Yesterday after church Steve and I decided to go for a day trip to Whistler.  The drive is only a couple hours long, and it is such a beautiful drive!  We watched all the skiiers enjoying their time in the village, and had dinner at the Spaghetti Factory there. As I said, it's a good thing I have the Wii Fit!

So that was my weekend.  It was a wonderful, fabulous, indulgent weekend, and I loved it.  Thank you Steve and family!

Life threw me a curve ball

I had it all figured out.


When Steve and I got married, I was a nursing student working towards my Bachelors in Nursing. Not long after the wedding, we decided we were going to try and have a baby. We thought it would take at least a year or so, but it took all of two months before I got pregnant. So there I was, pregnant and in school. OK, not quite what I expected. It wasn’t easy, especially because my pregnancy didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped, but I managed.

I thought I had it all figured out.

People have babies all the time and stay in school. Yes, I’d have to take a few semesters off, but then I’d be back and ready to jump back into my studies. My mom had agreed to take care of Elysia while I was in school, and Steve would watch her when he was home. Great, right? Then something changed in me.

Perhaps I don’t have it all figured out.

Steve works a four day schedule. He works four days on, and then has four days off, and his shifts are twelve hours long. Because of this, we had decided before I got married that when I graduated I would work casually as a nurse. A few days a week would be perfect for two reasons. First of all, I love spending time with my family and want to be there for my children. Secondly, I would be home when Steve was at work. If I worked full-time as a nurse, I would likely work the nurse’s schedule of four days on, five days off, and with that schedule we would go through periods of never seeing each other. So the p/t schedule suited us perfectly.

Problem.

It’s impossible to take nursing classes part-time. I looked at every school, considered all the different nursing school options, and found that it is full-time or nothing. This has caused a huge internal dilemma for me. The program I am in is very intense (as I’m sure all Nursing programs are), with a hectic schedule and a lot of study and school work. My classmates are in school three days per week, and also do twelve hour shifts in the hospital 2-3 days every week. This is on top of all the papers and study time/homework given. Home time is study time, not family time. I know this because I’ve done it, and it was tough even without kids. I was willing to do it though, because the end was definitely worth it. However, I spoke to a woman who is in the program and she told me that she has to be like a drill-sergeant with her kids every night. When she gets home it is dinner, bath, bed, and then she can study. That’s when she is home and not doing a 12 hour evening shift in the hospital! Is it still worth it?

I have known one thing for a long time. I have always wanted to be there for my kids.

When I was growing up, my mom worked full-time and I really didn’t like it. I wanted my Mom there, and I remember making a promise to myself that I would not work full-time when I had my own kids. I completely understand why she worked full-time, but our situations are different.

Thankfully, Steve supports my decision either way. His income is sufficient for our family, and we had already agreed that my income would be extra money.  I am incredibly grateful for his support, but I know he would prefer it if I didn't return to school.  He wants me to be happy, and has told me to return to school if it will make me happy, but he also lived with me when I was a student and I think he prefers it when I am not stressing out over school. 

I know a lot of nurses. All of them have children, and some of them even went to nursing school with children. I know it can be done; I’m just not sure that path is the right one for me or my family right now. Honestly, this is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.

Dilemma.

I feel like a failure if I don’t go back. I feel like a failure if I do go back. I haven't really told anyone about this because I'm worried about what people will think.  Yet I know that's ridiculous because I have to do what is right for me and my family, regardless of whether or not people agree with my decision.  Truthfully, whichever route I take I feel incredibly sad, and I never imagined I would be facing a decision such as this. I’m not ready to say goodbye to my dream of becoming a nurse. I’m not willing to sacrifice the next three years with my daughter. I want to see her take her first step. I want to put her to bed every night and be there in the morning when she wakes. I also want her to be proud of me. I want her to know that I chose to be with her, but I don`t want her to think she held me back from following my dream. Truthfully, she is my dream. I made this child, and her happiness is more important than mine. I just need to be comfortable with my decision and I am having a very difficult time letting go.  Both routes make me cry.

So now what?

The Haircut

I never imagined I'd have a baby girl with tons of hair.  Elysia has this (blondish?) hair that is longer in the front than in the back, and kind of wispy on the sides.  Without a hair clip, her hair completely covers her eyes and nose.  Even with a clip in her hair, wisps would sneak out of the clip and go right in her eyes.  Actually, she kind of looked like a miniature Beatles singer. 

While the Beatles were fashion forward for their time, it's definitely not a look for my 10 month old!

I had originally planned on taking her for a haircut when she was around two years old, and I think we would have made it if two things hadn't happened.  First of all, we got a puppy.  What does the puppy have to do with Elysia's first haircut?  Well...for some strange reason, Cody (the menace puppy) seems to have taken a liking to Elysia's hair clips.  Not the ones that are left on tables, although I'm sure he'd grab those too, but the ones that are on her head.  He follows her around, and yanks them out of her hair and chews on them!  For some reason this doesn't bother the baby at all, but it sure bugs me!  Secondly, my daughter hates having things on her head.  This started with hats.  Any time I put a hat on her head, she stubbornly grabs it with both hands and yanks it off.  Then it went to sunglasses.  I bought her these adorable purple glasses and she screams every time I put them on her.  Most recently, you guessed it...she reaches her hand up and yanks out her own hair clips. 

So this left me no choice.  Haircut time!

My first issue was where to take a 10 month old for a haircut.  The only place I could find that was relatively close to me was this place called 'Sparkys'.  They have the WORST commercials, but I figured they would give her a pretty good cut.  So I put a clip on my hairy kid, picked up my mom for moral support, and away we went to Sparkys.

This was Elysia just before the dreaded haircut.  Bangs are slightly long.

Time to start cutting!

So far so good.  Haircut seems to be going well, Grandma is taking lots of pictures.  First locket of hair is safely packed away for her baby book.  Then...

Oh the trauma!

Then something strange happened.  Elysia all of a sudden spit out her hair clip!  When did that get in her mouth, and how did I not know that it was there???  It was in her hair when we left for the mall.  When I took her out of the car seat I found a clip there, so I assumed she had once again yanked it out.  Little did I know it was a decoy clip so that Miss Muffit could have an afternoon snack without Mom knowing.  Anyway, the munched on clip flew out of her mouth.  Yep, my kid is cute.  And well-mannered, too!
Look!  She has eyes!

After the trauma of the haircut (not to mention the unappetizing hair clip snack), we decided we needed a well-deserved treat.  So it was off to IHOP for some yummy pancakes. 

Wow!  look at that good looking kid.  :-)










OK, good looking kid with a silly expression...

I sure do have a cute kid!  Now Cody will have to find something else to chew on...Steve's shoes perhaps?

Spring Cleaning

Ahhh....Spring.

The lovely smell of flowers in bloom, the sound of birds chirping their beautiful melodies, and seeing a house that is in dire need of Spring cleaning!

I've learned that I am somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to my home.  When I lived in Asia, I moved apartments a few times and discovered that I hate having tons of stuff.  It's funny the amount of things you can accumulate in a short period of time, extra dishes, small appliances, knickknacks...the list could go on and on.  I remember moving into my first place and having so little that it literally took one pick-up truck to take all my things to my little home.  By the time I left there a few years later, I needed a few vehicles to transport everything and had to travel back and forth a few times.  Do we really need all this stuff?  Don't get me wrong, I can't figure out how people could have lived in the days of no coffee makers or microwaves (where would we be without that first morning cup of java??), but has anyone actually used their breadmaker?  More than once, I mean? 

When Steve and I first moved into our home, we had only a few things.  We didn't even have furniture for our dining room, kitchen, or spare bedroom!  Two years and a baby later, my little home is bursting at the seams with stuff.  My living room is now home to our puppy's bed, baby toys, tons of pictures of my adorable kid, as well as the usual living room stuff.  The kitchen still has the all important coffee maker, but now also holds my hubby's desk, a high-chair, and Cody's extra large dog kennel (not to mention all of his toys or anything else Cody finds to entertain him...such as Steve's shoes).  Every room is full of stuff! 

We are planning on staying here for a few more years, so we decided that it was definitely time to do some spring cleaning so that our home feels more spacious.  It's easier for me than it is for Steve to purge our home of things we don't use, but he was starting to hate the clutter as well.  We cleaned and re-organised closets, Steve cleaned the garage, and we both tidied up the rest of the house.  One trip to Value Village with a very full car later, and my house is starting to feel a lot less cluttered.  Aside from the trauma of discarding clothes that no longer fit me (how depressing is that!!), I feel much better about my little home.  Yes, Cody's kennel is still in the kitchen, and yes you can still trip on a baby toy, but my home is starting to return to the place I loved when we first moved in.  Spring cleaning may be a lot of work, but it sure makes for a more loveable home!