Nursing School...HERE I COME!!!

Well, this is kinda old news for me, but two weeks ago I got my acceptance letter into the Nursing Program. I will start in January and I am just soooooo excited!!! When I recieved the letter I was nervous, scared, overwhelmed, stressed, but amazingly all those "bad" emotions have siezed and I am nothing less than excited!!! I can't wait. My only worry, and it's a slight worry, is my 2 girls. I'm going to have to figure out what to do with them while I'm in school. Eddie has told me he'll do whatever HE needs to do with his work schedule to make it work, and my parents have offered to watch the girls whenever I need them, so I know it'll work out, but I just hate the stress of figuring out what to do with them :P

Anyhow, I look forward to beginning in about 3 months! I had NO idea I would be so excited. The program is a four semester program (2 years) and at the conclusion of the last block/semester I will be an RN (Registered Nurse)!!!! OH HOW EXCITING. Nothing's set in stone yet, duh, but at this point I hope to work in the labor/delivery or post-partum floors at a hospital. That has been my goal since the start of puruit of nursing. I am getting sooooo close; I see the light!! Did I say that I am excited?!?!?!

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays....

OK. Once again I am way behind on updating my blog. No surprise. Life is busy and it tends to be the last thing on my mind anymore.

Anyhow, we've had Kaylee's 3rd Birthday, Alyssa's 1st Birthday, and Jacob's 9th Birthday since

my last update...I thought I'd mention those 3 "major" events in my blog

.Jacob's first day of KINDERGARTEN (gosh he's so much smaller than Ryan is)....

.

Kaylee is One day old............

And Alyssa, also one day old.............

Kaylee's 3rd Birthday fell was on August 6th. She INSISTED on having a Jeepers party. We kept it simple, and invited family and her best friend from church. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

Alyssa turned 1 on August 31st. I still have a hard time believing that my "baby" is already 1!!! She has come a long way in just the past few months. She was a very lazy baby--she would just sit or lay where ever she was placed, until she was about 10 months old. It was then she finally decided to take on the skill of crawling. I thought for sure that it would be a long while before she picked up on walking--NO, I was way wrong. She started walking only 2 months after she started to crawl. Now she's loving her freedom and into EVERYTHING.

We just celebrated Jacob's birthday yesterday. He will turn 9 on the 13th (Tuesday). He had his 1st "real" friends party. We've had parties for him in the past, but usually limited the guests to kids in his Sunday School Class. He enjoyed being able to invited all his really close buddies from school and they really had a great time. He wanted a "Bakugan" themed party, and we started in that direction (bought the invitations) but soon figured out that NO ONE had a Bakugan Pinata. Oh well. I found "Pirate" themed supplies at Target marked down to 75% off--so, yes, I went with that. It really worked out well though, and I think the boys would all agree. We started the party with a scavenger hunt where they were individaully given three different clues which lead to hidden "treasures". I learned real quick that the hiding spots were a bit too easy for the boys to locate :(

After that we went to the bottom of the hill (at the park) and had a three-legged race. I was really surprised to find out that most of the kids had NO clue what that was. Non-the-less they picked up on it quickly and had a blast. Some of the boys dragged their partners accross the field--that was the funnest part to watch :) Jacob and His buddy made it across the finish line first and loved the "honor" lol!

From there we had a Tug-a-War. Again, LOT's of fun for these boys. It didn't last long, and even one kids ended up with rope-burns on his hands, but I guess that's just part of being a boy, right?!?!?!

To finish up the party they were given a "treasure map" and had to work together, as a group, to find the 3 clues using the map as their guide. They really had a much more difficult time with this task, and I LOVED it. But in the end they did piece it all together and found all three clues which pointed them in the direction of the hidden treasure box. The Treasure Box was the pinata--and No, I did not bury it, I did however take a picture of it and I burried the picture. It was Great!!!!

They all had a blast and I think it turned out well.

Having said all that, I am greatful that I dont have another child's birthday to celebrate until next April. I have 6 months to regather myself and prepare to do it all again.

It's official--we're moving.

The lease between us and our renter is signed. Our renters move in on July 11th, which means we are out by July 10th. No pressure. Hmmmm. So we move into Eddie's sisters house which is just outside the Tolleson ward boundries (Lower Buckeye & West of 87th Ave). Being that this is just a temporary move, I'm gona talk to the bishop to see if we can remain in the ward until we make our final move out to the east valley within the next 6-12 months. I'm nervous, excited, scared, anxious---well, just about any and all emotions...that's what I am right about now. It'll be good for us though....
The story shall be continued in time!

Ryan's Officially 5!!!

Such a big guy---literally!

Well, plans changed a bit and we had his birthday at Peter Piper Pizza (much closer). It turned out well, and he had a blast. He was soooo excited that it was his birthday. Everywhere we went today he told people how it was his birthday and that he is now FIVE!! He feels so big. It's so cute to see his excitement. Anyhow--it's late. Just wanna keep this post short n simple.Daddy just loves these funny teeth....

Am I the only one?

The only one who feels guilty for NOT throwing their child a "real" birthday party. It started last year with Kaylee. We decided that since money is tight we were only going to give her a family party. We figured that we needed to keep it "fair" and told all the kids they would only get a family party for their next birthdays. It didn't bother me giving Kaylee a family birthday--she was only turning 2; I think it's normal at that age. It also didn't bother me only giving Jacob a family party...probably because he's had more than his share...he was an only child for 3.5 years and was pretty spoiled over the years. But it's different with Ryan, for some reason. He turns 5 this thursday and we are gonna have a little family party at Jeepers in Mesa. Actually, I've broken the rules a tad and invited Jalen and Ewa Quibilian, because our families are close...so they are kind of like family. But still, I feel so overcome with guilt. Ryan is beyond excited and hasn't once complained, but I think that is why I feel so rotten. He is one kid who will think one's the greatest for something so small. I just feel like I'm robbing him of this opportunity. He went to Sareny's party last month and has been looking forward to HIS party since. I know HE won't feel disappointed--but for whatever reason I do.
Hmmm. I guess I need to just get over it. Obviously I am allowing something small to be something it's not.

Potty Troubles

What is it with my daughter? She is just determined to find new ways to tick me off. She does not ever stop. The latest power-struggle is the potty. She is 100% potty trained--that is, when we are NOT at home. When we are at home, she pee's (or poops) on herself almost 100% of the time. I just don't get it; I am seriously at a loss.

I decided to potty train her 2.5 weeks ago after she "dirtied" her diaper right after I changed her and was loading her in the van. I was frusterated and told her we were DONE with diapers...and that night was the beginning. She's done really well. I can take her out, all day long, to the park, church, a friends house, McDonalds, ANYWHERE and she will stop, whatever it is that she's doing, and tell me she needs to go potty. She wear's her underwear without a problem...but at home it's a whole 'nother story. I can remind her to go potty all day long, but she just pee's in her pants. To tell you the truth, I am tired of cleaning up pee!!!

It just seems backwards to put her in undies when we go out and then when we get home to place her into a pull-up. I have yet to do that...but I am getting tempted. :(

Lyssi finnally got some teeth....

It might be time to consider giving up breastfeeding....