Our family has a BIG announcement!

On Tuesday, June 21st, we found out we're expecting another little family member! I believe this puts my due date around February 29, 2012. We don't go to the doctor for the first time until July 21st, so we'll see what they say!

Once again, Eric & I never trust those HPT's! With Aeson, we took four to make sure they were really saying positive. This time, after the first one, I went and bought one that says the word "Positive" or "Negative." It clearly came up with a "Positive." Eric & I were very excited! We debated on telling Westen now or later, since you never know what could happen. Eric was too excited and wanted to tell other people, though, and I thought Westen should be the very first to know, so we told him! He was thrilled! He keeps saying he wants it to be a girl, and whenever he refers to the baby he calls it a "her."

Since Westen was so excited (and I hate making announcements :)), we let him tell my sister and brother-in-law next, then Eric's parents, then my mom. Eventually Eric & I told the rest of our family and friends.

I haven't really had any symptoms, so I don't think I'm fully believing everything's okay until we see it on the sonogram! I have been a lot more tired and hungry more often. It seems like my stomach is always growling! It's been almost two weeks since we found out, and I am still hesitant to announce it. I figure that something can go wrong at any point, though, so why not go ahead and share? I think part of me is expecting things to go wrong simply because they practically did constantly with Aeson's pregnancy. This time around, though, I was already assured our chances at any of that happening again are very low, and I'm taking better care of myself than ever. I know so much more about so many things. I eat better than ever, walk daily, I'm taking my vitamins every.single.day this time, and I've tried getting rid of as many chemicals around us as possible (even changing out all of my makeup, hair products, and lotion last week).

I'm anxious to start getting what we need, but I want to wait until after our appointment. If all goes well there, I plan on hiring the local doula (hopefully she's available!), starting on our small list of things we'll need (which includes a dishwasher-- I for sure wanted to get one before nursing school! and a deep freeze so I can start preparing meals early!), and working a whole, whole lot with Aeson. He's very attached to his momma for one, he's still nursing (I've heard most wean during the second trimester and I HOPE HOPE HOPE he does that!), he's still in our bedroom, and I'd like to get him potty trained completely before then. Lots of changes for my little boy!

Heritage Days

This past weekend was Macomb's Heritage Days. Eric had to work the entire weekend, so we were pretty disappointed about that, but I was also glad to have something to do while he was at work! We went up Friday night and met a friend and her kids. We tried the cars that go around in a circle first- Aeson was fine when I put him on but then started crying before it even started, so I took him off! After that, we tried the train that just goes around in a circle, and he loved that! In fact, he cried when I tried to take him out, so we let them ride again, and then he cried then too! He continued saying "no" to the cars the rest of the night, but he did ride the train a couple more times. Westen went down the giant slide, and I think that was about all the rides they went on. That was really all they had for little ones this year (usually there's a bounce house and a little roller coaster), and Westen was too afraid to go on the bigger rides. He played one of the games and had a lemon shakeup and that was our Heritage Days experience! We were planning to go back up on Saturday night, but it ended up raining all day on Saturday and they closed/canceled/moved everything that was going on.

We did make it to the parade on Saturday. I was thankful the rain waited until it was over! We got an excellent spot, right at the beginning of the parade, and the kids got a TON of candy. I mean, it was CRAZY how much they got! They both really enjoyed it. Aeson sat in his stroller well the whole time, chattering about the things he was seeing, and the noise didn't even bother Westen like it usually does.

Sunday morning, we went to the airplane fly-in, which is the last event of Heritage Days. The kids loved looking at and touching all the planes. When one flew in, Aeson waved to it and said "Hi!!!".. and then when they'd fly out, he'd yell "Bye!" Westen says he wants to ride in one next year, but Eric isn't sure he'll want to go with! (and I certainly won't!)

Last night, we had a couple of storms go through.. One of them was before we went to bed, and the cracking was very loud! It was the first time I've seen Aeson scared of a storm! Eric tried putting him to bed, but he ended up climbing into bed with us multiple times overnight. We awoke at about 2a.m. to stroooooong wind. I heard today that it was 80mph. I've never heard wind like last night. Eric and I got up and watched, waiting to run down to the basement if needed. We had huge branches down in our front yard and back yard, along with power lines (which were just brought down by a storm a week ago). Aeson actually slept through all of that. I had trouble getting back to sleep after it calmed down. While we have lots to clean up, we're very lucky it wasn't any worse!

I also found out some possible bad news this weekend. I got online to check the status of my financial aid application (which includes loans), and it was denied because of unsatisfactory progress. I'm guessing it was because I withdrew the last semester I was there (years ago).. but that's really frustrating, because if my whole transcript is looked at, all I received was ONE C during undergrad and only A's and B's in grad school. I don't know how one semester could totally affect whether I'm able to go to school at all. I filed an appeal, explaining all of this and why I withdrew and how I'm doing in the class I'm currently taking. I think I'll hear a response within 5 days. I'm not sure what I'll do if it's still denied.. I suppose I'll forget nursing school & get a job. I don't think I'll have any other choice. There's no way I can pay for full-time school out of pocket. I'll just have to believe that's how things were meant to be if that should happen.. but it stinks too because that would mean the class I'm currently taking (and the money spent) was pointless! :( We'll see...

I also did have a job interview last week that I don't think I wrote about. I think the job would be fantastic.. It's part-time and some of that is from home, and the lady that would be the boss seems amazing. The pay is really good, and they even offer retirement. She said she had some really good applicants, though, and I really didn't have a good feeling about it. I should be hearing within the next couple of days if I will be getting a second interview or not. If I would get that job, that would also mean I couldn't do nursing school.. Well, I'd either have to put it off, or I'd have to quit the job in a year. But again, I thought, whatever's meant to be will be. If I don't get the job, hopefully the financial aid stuff will work out, and that'll mean nursing school is the way to go!

So much up in the air...!

Just some cute updates

One day, we were outside playing, and Westen said, "Mom, you can just relax. I'll do WHATEVER you say!" He's so sweet! I don't know where he gets this stuff either!

We haven't had cable or internet the last couple of weeks. Our internet would appear randomly, so I'd be able to get on for a few minutes every so many days but that's it. We ordered internet through a local company, but it took them 10 days to hook it up and now it's still not working! I'll be glad when it's all done! We also decided to cancel cable because of a problem we had with Comcast (I hate them!), and we really don't watch much tv anyway, especially in the summer. We ordered Netflix again but because of the no internet, it hasn't been working either! It's actually been pretty nice, though, and the reason I'm writing all of this is to say exactly that. I've played with the kids more, they've used their imaginations more, I've gotten all my studying done, we get house projects done, and I've done quite a bit of cooking/baking.

I'm doing really well in micro, which is a total surprise to me! I just realized it's something I have to study a lot for to GET, so that's what I do! I got an A on my first test, when I think most others failed. (She allowed everyone to correct their answers for half credit, giving most a C, and putting me over 100%!) I'm pretty proud of myself! So far, I've gotten 100% on all the assignments too. It makes me think this nursing stuff won't be that bad.. just a lot of busy work!

The kids & I made Eric a card this year for Father's Day. We (well, mostly Westen and I :)) thought up all the reasons we love him and wrote them all over the card. While doing so, I realized what really is important to the kids. I get stressed over getting the house clean & things like that, and that might be something they care about in the future, but it's not something that's important to them right now. Not that I'm going to completely let my house go to a mess, but it just made me realize I should spend more time doing the things that leave an impression on them than stressing about the unimportant things! Anyway, we also put their handprints on the card, so it turned out pretty cute. :)

T-ball ended for the season! Westen did really well & really improved over the season. While it was difficult with scheduling sometimes, Eric really enjoyed coaching too.

Another cute Westen quote.. He had just cleaned the playroom, and he said "It is so beautiful, I could almost cry!" :)

Micro, Nursing Advising Appt

We're only two days in, but as far as my class goes, so far, so good! We were only there a half hour yesterday and less than an hour and a half today- lab included! It seems like it won't be that difficult. Yesterday, the teacher was going over the syllabus and said we'd have a "longish" paper due at some point- 3 to 5 pages. Ha! I just got done writing a 15-20.. That's nothing! I'm really glad that I actually love school and love learning.. I think that will definitely make all of this easier! I can find just about anything interesting.

Today, I met with the nursing advisor. He said I'm right on track - I just need to take the classes I already knew and then apply by March 1. He said my GPA shouldn't fluctuate much at this point, since I've already taken soooo many classes overall & that with it, he's pretty sure I'd get in. They take a few things into account but mainly your GPA and a test I'll have to take in the Spring that's like the ACT. I did well on that, so everything looks pretty good! He also told me that there are parents in the program now, even one of a newborn, and there's even a student that's 60 and all are doing well. That's reassuring! He did say it would be more studying than I've ever experienced, and classwise, I can expect to be there from 8-4 Monday-Friday, with a morning or afternoon off occasionally depending on the clinical schedule. I was also excited to hear that I don't necessarily have to take Chem 102 at WIU.. I just have to have a second semester of it, and it can be the one offered at Spoon! Yay! I am NOT looking forward to Chem or A&P! EVERYONE I have talked to have told me how hard they are! :S But.. taking some at Spoon will hopefully be easier. ALSO, the only grades that will affect my GPA and application are for the fall semester, since the app is due March 1. I'm assuming spring classes will be harder since they're the second semester of chem & a&p but who knows. Overall, I felt really good about it! They do only accept 30 students and they expect to have between 50 & 100 applications.. but if I don't get in, I suppose I can always try again the next year!

I think I mentioned last time how much Aeson's been talking. The other night, Wheel of Fortune was on, and he kept yelling out different letters! I was also reading the paper this morning, and the little smartie pointed to the Aldi symbol and said "Dada." He is too smart! He is also amazingly good at any kind of shape sorter or puzzle.. It doesn't even look like he LOOKS at the shape before he puts it right where it goes!

We went swimming at my dad's for the first time (this year) last night. Westen LOVES swimming. Aeson was pretty scared, but he was the first time we went last year too. We're planning on going again tomorrow, so hopefully he'll do better!

Summertime and Nursing School

I don't think I could possibly love summer any more! I love being able to be outside with the kids. There's so much more to do in the summertime, and I just love sitting in the sun each day. Our backyard is finally becoming child friendly! We now have the trampoline, a swingset, a sandbox, a kiddie pool, and all sorts of other random outside toys. A fenced in backyard with kids particularly around Aeson's age is completely priceless too.. It is SO worth it! My garden is growing well.. Both the kids were in it helping me weed today. :)

Since I last wrote, we had a couple of cookouts with friends. We love having friends over, and I'm glad we got to, because the last couple of weekends Eric has had to work the majority of them. It looks like it will be that way for a while too, because one of his coworkers is out due to an injury. While we miss having him around, we're definitely glad to have the extra money!

I got my grade for the class I took last semester, and I got an A. Yay!

I was (and still possibly am) looking for a part-time job. Things got extra hard for a little while, and I was pretty stressed. Things are back to normal for the present time, but it made me rethink a lot of things...

I love being home with my kids, and it's no secret I want a big family. They're my purpose in life, and I really do believe kids, especially under one, should be with their mommas as much as possible. How I wish our culture agreed! We struggle, though, and there are things that I wish I could give my kids that we just can't. I don't want to always be in this position, and I don't believe we will be; however, it just made me think that I need to seriously think about changing something. I've gone back and forth for years between the counseling and medical fields. A friend of mine just graduated with her RN and after talking to her and thinking about it a lot, I decided to go ahead and try to get into nursing school! I'm nervous and scared and excited. I have a year of pre-req's to do first, which includes chemistry 1 & 2 and a&p 1 & 2. I'm very, very nervous about those classes, as well as going to school full-time while raising two children! I'm registered for the summer and fall, and I meet with a nursing advisor next week, so we'll see how I feel after that. Like I said, I've always been interested and there are definitely, definitely, definitely more job openings AND more money in this field. I would have to pass all the pre-req's with a C+ or better and once you're in, you can't get below a B or you're kicked out. That's pretty scary! I have always gotten A's and B's, but they've been in very different classes than these will be.. and that was prior to 2 kids as well.

Westen finished up his preschool year. They had a year end picnic (indoors thank goodness, because it POURED while we were there), where they sang songs and everyone ate. It was a good time. The next day was his last day, so we made cards for each of his teachers and took pictures when I dropped him off. We loved his preschool so much. Westen got a thank you card in the mail from his primary teacher (on which she said she's going to look for his name on the Honor Roll as he gets older :)), and Westen said he missed her! I'm excited for him to start kindergarten in the fall but concerned too.

There have been lots of storms and tornadoes around us, but so far, we haven't had anything too bad. I'm very thankful for that!

Westen's started tee ball, and it is absolutely adorable to watch! Well, the time I get to watch it anyway! It made me re-think having lots of kids when I had to spend all my time chasing Aeson around! We're lucky in that we've had lots of family attend each of the games. My family rarely came to any activities I had growing up, so it particularly means a lot to me!

Eric & I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on the 30th. It was a beautiful day, just like it was two years ago. We spent the entire day outside with our two adorable kids!

Aeson is talking SO much. He can say almost anything, I swear. Yesterday, he said a four word sentence ("I wanna chew gum"). Gum to him is taffy! He's always saying "I want" this or that. He's also started saying "mine!" over EVERYTHING the last several weeks. And he's started crossing his arms, which is too cute! He's really well behaved around other kids, and everyone says how sweet he is. The past week or so, he's also started going TO the potty when he has to pee! Before, I would always catch him starting to go, or I'd put him on & he'd go but now he's understanding that he has to go and going to the potty! I was so excited! This is all while going diaperless, though. We haven't worked on it when he has a diaper on.

The other night, I made fish for dinner and when I put it in front of Westen, he said, "I didn't order fish!" Ha! Apparently he thinks he can order what he wants here. :) He's really good about eating whatever we make, though, (minus cooked vegetables, which he always has to try but doesn't have to eat) and not complaining tooo much. He's always asking questions about why things are the way they are and what different things mean. He also has big plans to win Calla back when they start kindergarten. (I'm not sure if I wrote about this, but she was his preschool 'girlfriend,' who 'broke up' with him because she's 'in love' with another boy at school. Westen said that was alright with him, because he'd just find another girlfriend at his new school! Now apparently, he's still set on Calla :)).

Next week starts the big changes! I have class for three hours four days a week, so my sister will be watching the kids whenever Eric has to work. I have a friend who has offered to as well, and we will probably switch off kids one day a week. I'm nervous about leaving Aeson even for the three hours, and I started crying the other night thinking about going to school full-time when (if) I start the nursing program & leaving him for that long! He'll be over three by then, though, so it's hard to imagine what things will be like then. I think it will be good for us in the long run, but I'll definitely miss my baby & just thinking of him missing me or wanting his momma makes me sad! Anyway, I'm hoping Eric will get to be with them at least a couple of the times during the week. In the fall I got lucky schedule-wise too, because I'll only have to be gone 3 hours two days a week and two hours another two days. The rest are online. My sister's agreed to watch them until she has another baby anyway, which will probably be in the next year, but she doesn't want to after that, which is understandable. Hopefully I can find someone I feel comfortable with, but I'm just trying not to think that far ahead. Who knows what will happen between now and then! I just want to do what's best for my babies!

Sleeping all night, Thunder the cat

I was hesitant to say it before, but I think I can now finally say Aeson is sleeping through the night! (which also means he has totally night weaned!) He falls asleep on his own (with us in bed next to him) and sleeps until about 6a.m. & then he'll usually crawl up in bed with us & nurse & go back to sleep until around 8. He's done it for about a week and a half now, so I think it might stick! It started when it got really warm out and we had the windows open and the fan on.. Once it got chillier and we stopped those things, he did wake up a couple of nights but was able to get back to sleep on his own. (I wondered too those nights if his legs or teeth were hurting, because it seemed like it) It's all a process to us! I'm hoping after a few more weeks we can move his bed to his room and have him sleep in there.. We'll see!

We've been going for walks every day when the weather allows us to. Westen's found a place he loves that has several 'hiding spots.' He has only a week left of school. I'm actually anxious for him to start kindergarten, because I think he's just getting too bored at home! I don't like the amount of tv he watches. Speaking of tv, Aeson doesn't watch any at ALL. He never sits long enough to watch tv. Even when he nurses, he's playing with something. What he loves doing is having books read to him ALLLLLL day long! I've never met a kid that loved books so much! If me and Eric are both here, he'll have one of us read a book then take it to the other one and have them read it! He even has some parts memorized and will talk about them before we even get there. I swear we go through at LEAST 30 books a day. I'm guessing it's probably closer to 50 (some are the same books read over again, though).

Eric's birthday was last week. He had to work all day on his actual birthday, but we made an angel food cake (his favorite) for him and Westen had us all hide and yell "Happy Birthday" when he walked in the door from work. We had some friends over this past weekend to celebrate, and although it was rainy & we had to stay indoors, we still had fun.

Monday, we decided to go to Quincy to look at the cats at the shelters. We'd been thinking about getting a cat for a while. We'd looked at our shelter here a couple of times and didn't find one we really wanted. There was a siamese we were wanting in Quincy but when I called that day, she said someone was coming to pick her up that same day. We decided to go look anyway, and we found a girl kitty to adopt. She's grey and orange long haired with white paws and has a slight crossing of her eyes! She's super sweet! She didn't make a peep on the whole way home. She's gone in her litter and ate well since she's been here. She's super loving and not too hyper but still playful. They had her estimated at 6 months, but I'd guess around a year. She'd been found about a month and a half ago in Quincy and they waited to see if someone would claim her until just a couple weeks ago, and since no one had, they went ahead & gave her shots, microchipped her, fixed her, etc. Westen's named her Thunder. :) We haven't had a single issue with her since getting her, so I'm so glad! I'm also happy we got an adult because she doesn't try to scratch the kids at all, she's lazier (meaning she sleeps all night and doesn't scare Westen by tearing around the house!), and I know it's harder to adopt out older cats. We couldn't be happier about our choice!

(We've read four books just while typing this!)

Easter, Field Trips, and Mother's Day

I haven't had time to write lately, because I've been soooo busy with school. My last class was on Monday, so I am officially done for the semester; however, the couple weeks prior to that class, every available second was spent on the things that were due. My head and eyes hurt from looking at the computer so much! Normally, I wouldn't wait until the last minute to do everything; however, these last projects were based on whichever theory we identified with.. and we had to get through all of them before we could be certain that was 'our' theory. Anyway, I survived a 10 minute presentation (with an A!) and gladly turned in my essay final and my 20 page final paper. My house was so neglected during that time too, so I've been super glad to be able to clean again!

Let's see how much I can remember from the past several weeks...

The night before Easter, Eric's mom watched the kids so he and I could go see his brother's band. We had a great time- I always do when we go see them! We went to church with his family that Sunday and dinner was at their house this year. It was delicious and the kids loved the egg hunt afterward. We had also gone to the hunt in Adair again this year, and the boys loved that as well! I'm going to have to get some pics up on here, because once again, Aeson LOVED the Easter Bunny. I love his age right now - It's so fun! Anyway, after Easter there, we stopped by my mom's house, so the boys could get their Easter gifts, and then we all ended up going out to dinner. The boys got so much candy & other things this year.. I don't remember ever getting that much as a child!

Westen's class had a couple of field trips. Due to cold weather prior to Easter, we didn't have our field trip to his teacher's house until after Easter, but they still had a little hunt and the kids were able to play there and see the lambs. Last week, we went to a local nursing home, where the kids sang songs and gave flowers to all the women present (except Westen- he gave his to the only man there!). I was happy I got to go on each trip with them, and I hope I'm able to in the future!

Mother's Day was very nice as well. On Friday, Westen came home with a magnet he had made me (his picture in a flower pot) and a poem with his handprints on it that had been laminated. I almost cried, they were so cute! He'd also written what he was going to do for me for Mother's Day and that was to pick up all his Lego's! :) Eric had to work Mother's Day morning, but after that we spent all day outside! Eric's dad tilled the garden area for me that morning (so thankful for that!), so I was able to get almost everything planted that day. I'd already planted red and yellow onions a while back but now there is also radishes, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes. We're also going to try raspberries this year.

It has finally, finally gotten warm here! We've been outside the majority of the day for the last several days, and the kids LOVE it. We've even eaten several meals out there, which Westen thinks is fun. We bought the kids a sandbox for Easter, and they've enjoyed playing in that. We also got them a little kiddie pool yesterday, which Westen loves but Aeson is so far afraid of!

Westen has only a couple more weeks of school left, and we're definitely looking forward to summer. Aeson's less than 3 months away from his second birthday!