MIA

Hello dear readers,
I'm so sorry I've been absent for awhile - it's been a crazy few weeks! Firstly, we have decided to move. We're selling our house and moving back to St. Louis. We are so excited about it! Secondly, Jason has been working so hard on getting a new job. We found an incredible opportunity and he got an interview... and then a second interview... and has a third interview in just over a week! We have been driving all over the state lately and haven't had a weekend at home in forever. The third interview is where I get interviewed (imagine my joy about that! ;)) and where a job will be offered. I can't believe we're moving after only having lived in our house for a year, but buying this house has given us lots of learning opportunities and a good amount of equity so fingers crossed for a quick selling process!

That's all for now... I'll be sure to update when we know more :)

House pictures

Living Room


Dining Room

Master Bedroom


Master Closet

Master Bathroom





Pantry


Back Hallway - the folding doors on the right is the laundry room

Guest Bathroom featuring the penny floor :)





Upstairs storage closet

Upstairs Bathroom



Loft area






Main floor guest room


Main floor guest closet

Beautiful 2750 sq ft, 2 story home on corner lot. 11 foot tall ceilings. Features 4 LARGE bedrooms with large walk-in closets and 3 spacious baths. Original hardwood floors in living and dining rooms. Brand new carpet in the master and guest bedrooms on the main floor. Wainscoting in dining room. Upgraded kitchen with oak cabinets, new countertops and stainless steel appliances. Guest bathroom on main floor features a penny floor, modern countertop and spacious shower. Extra wide staircase to upstairs. Second story has loft living space with vaulted ceilings. 1st bedroom is HUGE with an extra large closet to match. Room also has vaulted ceilings. 2nd upstairs bedroom features architecturally interesting ceilings with walk in closet. 3rd bathroom is also upstairs. Energy efficient windows throughout. Lot size is 11,000 sq ft with large privacy fenced back yard.

My heart is a little heavy right now :(

Nursing school is going to be put on hold until the fall... again. Things just aren't working out for it right now. I was really hoping otherwise, but, it's just not happening.

We do have the opportunity to go to California for the summer for a job for Jason. It will allow him to make 2/3 of his annual salary in about 3 months so that when he does go back to nursing school, he'll be able to spend more time studying. It sounds like a great opportunity though it will be a hard 3 months. We're still deciding if we're going to go. Right now, we're not sure where we belong and it's tough. I think that's what I'm struggling with the most is finding what we need to be doing. We've been praying about it for awhile now and still don't feel prompted toward anything.

On the bright side, the kids' birthdays are next week. I'm pretty excited! Jason has to work all day on David's birthday but not on Ainzley's so we're going to celebrate them both on Monday. I'm really looking forward to having some great fun with them :)

I thought I'd do a quick family update :)

School is in full swing! Jason and I are in the same 2 online classes as well as Jason's seated Microbiology class and I've got an additional online class. We've been having lots of computer problems so it's not exactly been easy but we're getting through it. Jason's doing well at work and I'm still home with the kids. I'm considering getting a part time job (like, 8 hours a week, lol) once Ainzley's weaned so I can get out of the house for a little while... but we'll see.

We're still working hard on the house. Yesterday we took up the old ceramic tile in the back entryway, guest bathroom, laundry room and coat closet and put down laminate wood flooring. It looks fantastic but the wood was slightly warped so it didn't install exactly right. I'm going to all the company and see about getting some of the money back. We also have the tile picked out for out master bath remodel - wahoo! We're still deciding exactly what we want to do with the garden tub, though so we haven't started demo or anything. And we're having carpet installed in the bedrooms on the main floor next monday! Things are coming along. Oh! and I've picked out a playset I want for the kids so I'm just waiting to see if I can get a better price at the lawn and garden show and if not, I'll order it and we'll be set :)

The kids' birthdays are next month and I cannot believe it! David will be THREE and Ainzley will be ONE - where has the time gone?!?! My kiddos are growing up so fast! David is just so amazing. He loves watching Backyardigans, riding his bike and playing with his puppy. Ainzley is a crawling maniac and can stand up now, too. She says mama, dada, baba (bye bye) and LOTS of other random noises, lol. She folds her arms when we get ready to pray, waves bye bye and covers her mouth and her ear when we play peek-a-boo. She just cut her 8th tooth and had a rally hard time with it. Probably because she was fighting a cold at the same time.

We are just having a terrific time lately. The weather has been great. We're making progress on the house, in school and the kids are growing! Keep checking for more exciting updates :)

"Make me up! Before you go go..."

I hope that song is now stuck in your head as it is mine :)

Anyway, I changed the first lyric to represent my blog subject... catchy, right? ;)

Today I had to run errands with the kids while Jason was at work. We woke up, had breakfast with Daddy before he had to go to work, then I started diaper laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and we were out the door! Just to WalMart for some groceries... no big deal. I was on my way to the kitchen gadgets when I passed a mirror in home goods and realized I hadn't put on make up this morning. I continued on my way wondering how long it's been since I did my make up. A few days? A week maybe?? I was sick on Sunday so I didn't make it to church therefore no reason for make up... hmmm... even now my best guess is almost a week and a half since the Sunday before last when we did go to church and we had our game night that evening.

When I was younger, I did my make up every day. I enjoyed doing it. Watching the transformation - seeing myself beneath but changing my features. LOTS of make up for show choir and pageants. Maybe some foundation and eye shadow for church. Now, make up is one of the least important things. Obviously, it rarely crossed my radar, lol. Being married to a man who tells me I'm beautiful EVERY DAY is wonderful. Sure he likes it when I do my make up, but he has no idea what his small words do for my self confidence.

I sure do love that man :)

The best of the best

This weekend, my amazing friend came to visit me. We have been close since we both started college (where we met) and I joined the church. She was my maid of honor at my wedding and we were practically inseparable. I considered her to be my best friend for a long time.... After this weekend, I'm not so sure I can call her that any more. We have done quite a bit of growing apart and both admittedly suck at staying in touch, lol. After I left Springfield, I met my husband, got married, had kids and have this amazing new life. My friend is still in college and is very successful with her job. Not that either of those is better than the other, they're just very different. During our visit this weekend, this realization came to me and I almost cried. We're both happy with where we are individually so I wouldn't wish to change that, I just hope we can do a better job staying in touch.

I feel like I'm struggling in several relationships right now. (Thankfully, my marriage is NOT one of them :)) I feel like family doesn't understand me and they're too preoccupied to care. I feel disconnected from my son sometimes. He's going through the "terrible two" phase and try as I might I just can't seem to get through to him. There is no feeling worse than being a mother and not knowing how to help your child. Socially, I feel like the odd one out more often than not which isn't helped by my introverted-ness, lol

A bright and shining moment amongst this mess of mumbling is I realized just how close I've grown to Jason. It's cliche to say your husband is your best friend, but it's the truest it's ever been. I've always relied on Jason. I knew he'd always be there for me, always care, always take care of me... but I'd save all my "girlie talk" so to speak, for my best friend. I realize I've been having that with Jason as well, lol. I LOVE that Jason is my best friend (or maybe that I've only just now realized it). I can't believe we've been married for more than four years. Every moment has been amazing and a learning experience. What a journey I've been having with my BEST friend. I can't wait to see where we go next! :)

First Snow Day of 2012

Why hello snow! Long time no see! Today we have been taking it easy. Jason had to go to work but the kids and I are taking it easy. We're still in our PJ's, David is watching Bee Movie for the second time today, and Ainzley and I are hanging out on the living room floor. Jason and I are giving talks in church this Sunday so I need to work on that but other than that, I don't have much planned for today.

School starts next Tuesday and we're getting geared up for that. Jason is questioning whether or not he wants to go back to nursing school... We waited for so long for him to get in and were THRILLED when it happened, but he feels completely unsupported by his teachers. One in particular has made it very obvious she doesn't like him and no one in the program seems to understand how she grades (two people will have the same answers and one will get it right while the other is marked wrong... people have had answers directly from the book and she will say it's wrong...) He's just not happy. We'll see where we are in March (when his classes are supposed to start again). He's decided to apply for his BSN (which is two "steps" ahead of where he would be if he stuck it out with his current program) at another school and hopefully get into their program starting in June. A friend of ours from our last ward is in the program right now and has absolutely wonderful things to say about the teachers, program, etc. So right now, we're just reviewing our options and praying about it.

That's about all that's going on for us right now... just hanging out and deciding what to do with our lives :)