It is pretty incredible to me how quickly time begins to fly by as
you get older. I know I have mentioned in past posts about how mind blowing it
is that time begins moving on a full blown fast forward as you drift from day
to day. There have been so many times I have thought to myself of the wonderful
thoughts and ideas and experiences we have shared that would be important to
add to our little piece of history. Truly this blog is a little piece of our
history. I really hope that I can be more diligent in updating it.
What inspired me today to get on here this evening? Well... I have been procrastinating doing a full blown picture dump from the past 5 months(I started this post back in August). Here is the crazy thing... the only pictures I probably really have from the last 5 months are from our spring break trip to Florida. This is about the point in my thought process I realize how absolutely careless I have been in ensuring that our memories get frozen in time forever. I am sure that the fact that my camera is outdated... and incredibly slow at taking pictures, and I at times have better quality photos now on my phone has NOTHING to do with it... Ok, maybe it does a little. I need to make sure I dump my photos from my phone in addition to the ones from my camera. I thought I would do a quick synopsis on what our family life has felt like over the course of the last 5 months. What better way to do this than to do a top 10 highlights of our spring and summer for 2014?
#10. My new job at USBANK...
As of March 17th, 2014 I have been working at the local USBANK
branch as a Universal Banker. The wonderful thing about my job is I get to
interact with a diverse group of people from a large melting pot of
socioeconomic status and help them in their various financial situations. From
opening up checking accounts, refinancing a home, helping families buy their
first family car, and educating individuals on how to use and improve credit, I
am the one who feels I have the answers. I have loved being able to
participate in the local Rotary club and become more involved in the community.
Through Rotary I have been able to help with the Fourth of July Pancake
Breakfast, and meet incredible people who are chalk full of life experience and
wisdom. The most positive thing about working for USBANK has been the connection
I have made with the people of the North East Missouri community. It wasn't
until I began working that I learned that it is part of NEMO culture to take
time off work to go turkey hunting in the spring, mushroom picking, barreling
hay, and oh... fix your house because a mini tornado came in the middle of the
night. I feel in many ways as though this little town has only now, after two
years began unlocking its secrets to me. I am FINALLY beginning to feel like a
part of the town as opposed to a 2-year passerby. I can't believe how long it
has taken to get me to this point.
With my job, Missy and Jj began attending a local private school.
They have LOVED going to preschool. Missy will still on some weekends ask to go
to school. The past five months have shown an incredible amount of maturity and
change within both Jj and Missy. They have learned to tell elaborate stories
and role play epic adventures where Superman saves the Princess that is falling
off the cliffs of doom... Both children have taken an enormous interest in
reading and we have began replacing movie time with story time.
Now after 5 months of work, two of which I have been released from
training and doing what I was hired to do, I have to say that the biggest
difference I have found in myself is that I no longer strive to be at work, but
I strive to cherish every moment with my sweet little kids. Every moment with
them I try to stop and freeze in my memory for a future pick me up. Don't get
me wrong, we still have our moments of tantrums and melt downs- we would not be
a normal family if we didn't. But somehow, I feel that even my hardest days at
home my level of tolerance and patience is MUCH higher after being at work all
day and having stimulating adult conversation. All in all my trials of
parenting have become much more bearable and manageable.
#9. Tyler plays Mr. Mom for
FOUR weeks
This top ten highlights would not be fair without mentioning the
insight Ty gained from being Mr. Mom for 4 weeks this summer. As an effort to
save money for our move and just live within our means, Ty stayed home with
Missy and Jj for an entire month! I will never forget his first OFFICIAL day as
Mr. Mom. It was the picture perfect day that all stay-at-home moms dream of
having on a regular basis:
Ty exercised with the children first thing in the morning, and
proceeded to take the kids to the park. This was followed by feeding them a
home cooked pasta lunch, put Jj down for a nap, entertained Missy while doing
two loads of laundry from start to finish.
When Jj woke up, he took the kids to the pool, and had dinner cooking
when I arrived home from work. He was cheerful and optimistic about the
upcoming 4 weeks and said he would trade me places ANY day.
I remember feeling pretty
sheepish at how difficult I thought being at home 24/7 was with the kids. I
should have not jumped so quickly to conclusions… I should have just given him
another 24 hours. The second 24 hours of Ty’s Mr. Mom experiment, Missy and Jj
were extremely difficult and showed their daddy what life at home was REALLY
like. The whining, tantrums, inability to cooperate, and selective hearing had
Ty’s patience wearing thin. The commands that were being regurgitated by the
time I had arrived home began to sound all too similar to the type of interaction
I had been having with the kids during my full time mommy days. My instant
reaction to Ty was in shock at hearing my own phrases coming out of my patient,
non-confrontational husband. Secondly, I was shocked how I had incredibly
gained patience. The next 3 weeks and 5 days of Ty’s Mr. Mom experiment proved
to be more of trial than he was anticipating. The role transformation was beyond
validating for me. Ty was beginning to have the type of conversations with me
that I had had with him over the course of our first five years of marriage.
How quickly the transformation took place was even more amazing. For the first
time in our family culture I felt I was NOT crazy. I felt that my life as a
stay at home mom was in fact as difficult as I thought it was, and I think I
did a pretty amazing job when I was at home.
#8.Missy’s Dance Recital
One of the most special moments of this summer was being able to
attend Missy’s first ever dance recital. She was so excited to have the
opportunity to perform her routines for us. Besides being SUPER adorable and
cute and just plain fun, Missy captured our attention and just made us so
proud. We made sure to make the whole ordeal a big deal. Check out her dance
pictures! Don’t they just make your heart melt?
#7.Visiting Adam-Ondi-Ahman
Ever since we moved to Kirksville and I discovered we were a two
hour drive from the Garden of Eden, I had been begging Ty to take us to visit.
One Saturday morning the stars aligned and we were able to visit this special
historical site. In order to set the mood, I brought a book about the creation
to read to the kids as we ate our picnic sandwiches upon arriving to Adam-Ondi,
Ahman. The kids were more interested in running and playing. I can’t confirm if
my hope of trying to drive home a spiritual message of the place we were
visiting was accomplished. Missy and Jj seemed too preoccupied running up and
down the grassy hills, drawing in the dirt with sticks, and playing
hide-and-seek behind the trees. Thinking back on this trip, I loved being able
to play with them and hear them giggle and shriek with laughter as Ty and I
took turns trying to catch them after finding them. Jj was so excited we were
playing hide-and-seek, that after each seeker finished counting to ten, he
would jump out of his hiding spot and scream “Here I am!” It was the perfect
day.
#6. Swimming lessons
As each summer previous, Missy and Jj took swimming lessons. This
year we decided to take some advice from a friend in our ward and took the kids
to the YMCA’s swim group. We were told the instructors were incredible and that
the kids would practically be swimming by the end of the two week class.
Indeed, after two weeks of practicing every day, Missy was so comfortable in
the water she was swimming under water! It was breath taking to see her kick
and hold her breath under water. Goggles really helped with giving her the
courage to go under and be able to see what was happening under the water. With
Missy swimming mostly on her own, I know Jj will not be too far behind her.
#5. Nauvoo and Brittish Pageant
Each year Nauvoo hosts a month of the Nauvoo Pageant. This year
they added to the program the Brittist Pageant. I had the opportunity to attend
the pageant with the young women in our ward. It was quite the performance. It
was moving and spiritually uplifting. The connection that was made with the
Brittish pageant and the Nauvoo pageant was superb. The writers intertwined
several story lines between the two pageants. The production as a whole was
fantastic.
Later in the month, Ty and I had the opportunity to volunteer at
pageant and help with the concessions stand. It was so much fun being able to
work along side Ty and just serve. The feelings of accomplishment were so
fulfilling. That weekend we were volunteering we had the opportunity to also
visit with Gigi and Pappy that came to visit us for an extended weekend. The
entire ordeal was loads of fun.
#4. Tyler completes his
Master's Degree
At the beginning of July after two long years of study and
research…and traveling… Ty received his Master’s in Biomedical Sciences. Ty was
pretty blown away by how quickly the two years had passed by and at the reality
that it was over. He mentioned how nice it was to have such a load taken off
his shoulders. It was a proud wifey moment to see his degree in hand. Maybe I
should begin addressing Ty as Ty, MA… just kidding….All that is left to make it
official is a frame… (We have yet to frame our Bachelor’s Degrees).
#3.Missy’s Royal Birthday
Party
One of the bigger highlights of this summer was a Missy’s 4th
birthday party. I had purposely delayed Missy’s birthday to August to ensure
that all the people Missy plays with or spends time with on a weekly basis were
in town to attend. I wish I could admit to having taken advantage of the extra
time and planned every detail down to the sprinkles on her cake so that every
aspect of the party was perfect. I did what I think MOST mommies do best in
these types of circumstances and procrastinated the actual planning to the week
of. I forgot to keep in mind I have a 40 hour job and that we live in a town in
the middle of nowhere. After a melt down and a half, a few validating pep talks
from friends, I managed to pull a party together. Even though I was busy making
sure the guests were having fun, the events were moving forward and doing what
the host does best… looking back, it really was a real hit. We loved being able
to see friends that had been gone for the summer and that we had not had the
chance to reconnect with due to our busy and hectic family schedules.
#2.Moving to a bigger house
By far one of the biggest happenings of this summer was being able
to move from our small three bedroom duplex to a full blown, grown up, four
bedroom, two and a half bath house with a fenced in yard, playroom, and a
galley kitchen. The move itself was stressful because I worked up until the day
we moved. After moving and settling down and putting everything away (thanks to
Ty we managed to do it in less than a week) we felt as though we could live in
Kirksville for sure for at least the next two years but probably comfortably
for the next eight if we had to. I never knew how a house could make you feel
so grown up. It has been a pretty exciting new chapter to add in our book of
life. I think it would be so difficult to ever leave this home after the
memories we have already begun making and will still have in the future.
#1. Tie for First place!
Spring Break at Disney World and 10 day Caribbean Cruise
and........ White Coat Ceremony
I couldn’t decide which of these event were our NUMBER ONE. Each
was a goal we had been working toward over the course of our marriage. We
luckily got to experience them both within a couple months of each other.
Ty’s White Coat Ceremony was moving and motivating to the point of
getting me to want to reevaluate my own life priorities. Since then I have
thought about going back to school to become a PA or earn my MBA. I have
managed to take my dear hubby for a loop and a half circle in my tiny self-discovery.
Sometimes I feel like such a teenager when I start evaluating my life and
drastically thinking about changing it for the better. Ultimately, this isn’t
the right time for me to be thinking about pursuing any type of graduate
degree. The idea of going back to school really intrigues me. So far, one month
into medical school, Ty is loving Anatomy and has taken it up as a hobby.
During his free time he plays on his Netter’s app on his Ipad and quizzes
himself on the different areas of the body he is studying and has already
learned. It is so exciting to see him so engaged and eager to learn the ins and
outs of the field of study he is pursuing.
In order to put our Spring Break vacation in words it would take a
whole other post. If you ever have an opportunity to go on a cruise I
HIGHLY suggest taking the time and doing it. Take advantage of the babysitting,
the amenities, and the shore excursions. It is a trip of a lifetime! This
vacation will definitely be a difficult one to top in the future.
How blessed we are to have had so many breathtaking memories and
experiences in the last two seasons. It has been a season of plenty.
