change

Change. I love it and I hate it. Some days I embrace it. Some days I down right loathe it. Especially when I don't know what it looks like. Some days I can't wait for a change, and yet the thought of it is really scarry. Let me explain.

Since I last wrote a post, our newest addition hadn't even arrived yet and now here he is just over 4 months old and he is the best change that has ever happened to our family. Seriously, I can't even remember what our life was like with a family of four. But now that we are five my life has changed in ways that I can't even comprehend. This little man brings so much joy it makes me tear up just thinking about it. (Warning, picture overload of really cute baby about to commence).

Don't say I didn't warn you. And in case you didn't get enough I'll throw in one more just for good measure.

But ultimately he is not the reason for this post. You see, prior to moving down here I had a good job. I mean a really good job. I thrived in that position and I loved every minute of it. But when my husband accepted a new position in the south that meant that I had to give up my really good job for something that was unknown. And that my friends is very scary!

But now something has changed. I have looked for a new job but my heart is not in it. I am sure the above little man probably has something to do with that. Yet at the same time, I have big hopes and dreams for all my kids. And one of those hopes is that we will move out of this temporary housing situation and build our forever home. But we can't do that until mommy gets back to work. Thus my dilemma.

You see my really good job wasn't really all that great. It meant a lot of stress and a lot of long hours away from my family. And right now that is not something that I am looking for. So does this mean that change is in my near future yet again? Isn't moving across the country while 7 months pregnant enough change for one year? I don't know. What I do know is that I am not as passionate about what I used to do.

So while I contemplate what my future holds I am starting to make small changes in my everyday life that I am embracing right off the bat. First off, I want to be healthy again. Pregnancy was not kind to me and it left me with a few more extra pounds then I would like. So I have decided to do something about it. I will be sure to keep you posted as to how it goes.

Secondly, I decided to sit down and write this post which hopefully means that I am back to blogging again. Will I be here every day? No. But I hope to be able to write more and be more intentional in my writing, find something that I am passionate about and be able to share it with you. I am excited for that possibility of what this little place on the internet hold for me as well.

And thirdly, I will keep looking for a job. Giving up is not an option. My dreams are too big to put aside and these guys depend on me. And that is all the motivation I need to embrace whatever change comes my way.

Snow Days...

So in case you haven't heard, it snowed here the other day. School was closed for 3 days because of 6 inches of snow. It started snowing sometime Wednesday night and quit late Thursday afternoon. It was actually very pretty and this midwestern girl really enjoyed it.

It is funny though how everything comes to a stand still around here when it snows. People were out shoveling their driveways on Friday with garden shovels. A snow plow didn't come by our house until late sometime Friday night, well over 24 hours after it had stopped snowing. My hubby and I went for lunch yesterday and the snow plows left huge piles of snow right in the middle of the driving aisle in the parking lot. Why wouldn't they at least push it to the corner of the lot? Seems so strange to me and yet completely normal to everyone else.

But even with school out for 3 days I had to keep the kiddos busy or this mama was going to go bonkers. Thank goodness for Valentines Day and boxes that needed to be made! So that is what we did. And for those of you who know me, know that I am not a crafty person in the least. So when I asked Addy what type of Valentines box she wanted she scoured the Internet and pulled up a photo of a Minion box. So Wednesday morning (before it started snowing) her and I went up to the craft store, bought our supplies and I secretly prayed this would work out.

Several hours later we had this!

She was so proud of that box! And you know what? I was too! I guess there is a little Martha in me after all. And let me tell you, I am not one of those moms who does the project for their kids. No Sirree! I did help Addy wrap the yellow construction paper on the box because it was so hard to bend, and I did cut the hole for the mouth. "Safety First," Addy would tell me. But she did the rest.

And yesterday when the girls got home from school (and they finally got to have their valentines parties) Addy was so excited to tell me that she won first place! First Place! Way to go Girl! There was major high fives going on at our house. And the best part was I didn't even know there was a contest! Score one for us!

The day flew by, the girls were happy and we all enjoyed each others company without the distractions of electronics. Complete success in my book! If only I could say Thursday went the same way. But no, sadly it did not. 

I spent most of Thursday doing laundry and cleaning and organizing the baby's room. The girls spent most of the day on electronics. Big fat fail in my book. However in my defense, after having a HUGE baby shower at our church our little man's nursery was looking something like this...

(ignore the pink bunnies, those actually were a gift to the girls from papa several Easters ago)

Now don't get me wrong, I am overly blessed and eternally grateful to have such an amazing church family who has taken us under their wing and decided to throw a wonderful shower for me and our little arrival. I wish I had more photos of the actually shower to show you all, it really was a good time. It seems like saying "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you," is not enough to express how I actually feel about them all for doing something like this. They had even thought of the girls and got them gifts as well. God is good and works in amazing ways and the thoughtfulness of this congregation has left me speechless.

Did I just get off topic? I think I did. Anywho, so after this amazing shower, I had a lot of work to do. So Thursday that is what I did. I will show you pictures after I finish the room, it is almost there but not quite yet. The bedding for the crib was washed and put together, toys were organized, clothes were washed and put away. As for the girls, they played on their electronics and watched movies. I tried to encourage them to go play outside in the snow but we have yet to find their snow boots (they are still packed away somewhere) so I didn't push the issue too much.

Friday rolls around and it has now stopped snowing and starting to melt. I have an appointment scheduled that afternoon with the local fire department to have the car seat installed in my car. Since the girls are off of school yet again, they got to go with me. Only the woman that was supposed to do it, couldn't get out of her driveway to meet me there. So as I am thinking the trip was a total bust, one of the fire fighters asked the girls if they wanted to see a fire truck. And boy were they excited!

(Showing them how their equipment works)

(Checking out the pole! He even slid down it for them!)

So what I thought was going to be a hassle turned out to be a really fun afternoon. I have to give a shout out to the Salisbury Fire Department for giving my girls their own private showing and being so kind and generous with us. They made my little girls day and therefore made mama's day too.

And after talking with the fireman, I think I will drop off some of our snow shovels for them to use, if and when it snows again. We don't want them out there shoveling their driveway with garden shovels.

Hackers

Hackers! Don't you hate them? They are everywhere these days, from the stores you shop at to sites online. I am sure you have all heard by now about the Target breach where millions of credit card numbers and personal info was stolen. This is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened and it will certainly not be the last however in my opinion, it is what those companies do to make things right for their customer that really matters.

It's no secret that I love Target. Hello? I am from the Midwest after all, where Super Targets are on every block. I will always be a loyal shopper for life. This incident that has affected millions of people including me, is very serious and we all need to be monitoring our credit in the months/years to come to protect ourselves. And in case you haven't heard, Target is offering a year of free credit monitoring if you were one of those who were were effected by this incident. Now it doesn't make the whole breach thing ok in my opinion however what I do appreciate is that they are not pretending that this didn't happen. In fact they are addressing the issue head on, taking responsibility and informing their customers of their options. In my book that still makes Target a stand up company and I will continue to shop there. Will also I take advantage of the free credit monitoring? You bet!

But what I can't tolerate is when this type of thing occurs and the company does nothing about it. Case in point, my Pinterest account was recently hacked. Apparently someone from Indonesia logged into my account and tried to pin spam on my account. So Pinterest decided to put my account in "safe mode" without telling me. So when I tried to pin something it wouldn't let me. Their customer service department told me that to fix the problem, all I had to do was reset my password via an e-mail link associated with my account. The only problem is that since we have moved, my e-mail associated with that account is not open anymore. I tried to change the e-mail account myself but it won't let me because my account is in "Safe Mode." So I asked Pinterest to change my e-mail address for me. And their response was since my account is not linked to my Facebook, they could not verify who I was and therefore the only solution was to start over with a new account.

START OVER! You have got to be kidding me! So now all my pins are lost! Awesome. The whole reason I didn't link Pinterest and Facebook was because I chose to purposefully keep the two separate, for my own security reasons. But after a short exchange of questions, Pinterest stopped answering my questions and closed my customer service request. No response, they just closed it. As in they are considering the case has been resolved. Only it is not resolved. All of my nursery decor ideas are gone. All of my recipes to try are gone. All of my gift ideas are gone. All of my dream home inspiration ideas are gone. I will tell you this is enough to make an 8 month pregnant woman really mad! As in really @!$#@$ mad!

But it is not the fact that it was hacked or even the fact that Pinterest put my account in "Safe Mode" that makes me angry. It is how poorly their customer service department handled my request. How can you just close a case and ignore the customer without any attempt to make things right? In fact their only solution basically says that the customer doesn't matter. Even if they couldn't do anything about it, an apology and a heartfelt explanation goes a long way. All I got was a canned response to say,"we are sorry to hear about this issue."

Now imagine what kind of uproar there would have been if Target had responded in the same way? And I fully understand that these are two very different situations with very different outcomes. But a customer is a customer whether it is one or millions. Pinterest can learn a thing or two about customer service from Target. Ignoring and shutting down your customer requests is not winning you any points in my book. Refusing to work with the users of your site is not the way to grow your company.

In fact I would almost rather have my credit and identity stolen then be treated this way (insert sarcasm here).

Where to begin...

Wow, has was it really March since I last blogged? Yikes, that is a little scary! How do you even start a new blog post after 10 months? 10 months! I could have had a baby in that time! And speaking of baby... (how do you like that for a great segue)...

Let me just say that a lot has been happening over the last 6 months in our little household. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!  First off, as you might have guessed, we are having another baby.  As I type this I am 31 weeks along. And we are having a BOY! Yes, that is correct a BOY!  I am so excited to meet this new little super hero I can hardly contain myself. I am not due until the end of March so I will have to wait a little longer but this little miracle that is keeping me up at night will be soooooo worth it! And the girls can hardly wait either. They will be such little mommies and are already practicing. Except when we talk about diaper changes, then they run the other way. I can't say that I blame them, I would run the other way too if I could.

So if that wasn't enough news to share, we have moved. Yep! The good ol' hubby received a new call to a new church in a new state so off we go again. We are still living in the east, just a little further south. Ok, a lot further south. As in North Carolina south. Although I can't complain too much because all of my Pennsylvania friends are enduring a bad snow storm at the moment and it is only chilly here. Ha! Take that PA!

We have been living down here for an awesome week and a half already and it has been great. The girls are adjusting to new schools and a new home and new routines. Actually who am I kidding, we are all adjusting to a new home, schools and routines. Plus this whole baby possibly coming in a few weeks has kept me busy. Our baby crib was broken in the move so we are on the hunt for another one. We made a trip to Ikea on a mission for a dresser for the nursery which I quickly regretted as soon as I stepped into the store. What a zoo! Note to self, the next time I go, make sure it is not Martin Luther King day when everyone and their mother is off of work. I have had Dr. Appointments, transferred medical records, had my Pinterest account frozen (due to suspicious activity, whatever that means and I can't get it unfrozen, which is not something a pregnant mom wants to hear after moving to a brand new place). And my husband was in a car accident and totaled his car. Don't panic, he is ok. Just a little sore and banged up. But the car was not so lucky. So sometime soon after the insurance companies do their thing, we need to purchase a new car. Sigh...

But aside from all the craziness, the people have been wonderful! We have had meals delivered to our door from the ladies of our new church and I can't even begin to express my gratitude to them for doing so. We had someone drop off a spare vehicle for us to use until we find a new vehicle to purchase. Life Saver! The girls were quickly invited to join the youth group activities at our new church which has helped them to adjust. Southern hospitality really does live up its name. And my husband has been an amazing support for all of his girls during this transition. I can't thank him enough. He is my rock and I can't wait to see what this new adventure with three kids in a brand new place will take us.

Broken Bones

Ok, time for a confession... I have never been nor ever will be a dare devil of any kind. I did gymnastics for one year when I was a kid and although I loved it, I was too scared that I would fall and hurt myself so I didn't stick with it. I don't do black diamonds or moguls. I am more of a "moderately difficult" kind of gal. I have a tendency to be the worst back seat driver. Every time I see the car in front slam on their breaks I am the one who immediately puts my hand on the dash board as if that will stop the car from crashing! I secretly despise roller coasters and will scream like a little girl until the ride is over. Yes that is me.

And another tiny little confession, I have never broken a bone in my body. That is until last night. You heard that right. Misses Evel Knieval broke a bone. And as much as I wish I could say that I was cool and broke a bone while flying over the Grand Canyon on my awesome motorcycle, in reality it was a lot less glamorous. What can I say, I am just not that exciting!

So my story goes a little something like this. I came home from work last night after driving through lots of rain and sleet and the roads were getting really bad (que the dramatic effect). I walk in the door to find my husband on the phone enthralled in some deep theological conversation with who knows, my girls are downstairs playing and the dog is wining at the door to go out. So I do what every loving mother would do and grab Lucy's leash to take her outside. Do I need to remind you that it has been raining/sleeting/snowing outside (this is me building suspense) and the back deck is covered in ice? I proceed to take her out and start to walk down the steps of the deck and as soon as Lucy reaches the ground she takes off! My feet fly out from underneath me and I gracefully float through the air and land on my backside. Although it was not so graceful as my foot landed wrong and I feel a piercing pain like I have never felt before. I may have also said a few words that I have never spoken before either. My shoe went flying off and of course the dog grabbed it up and started chewing on it. So here I am sitting on the steps with one shoe on and the other barefoot in excruciating pain. My husband is back inside on the phone and paying no attention to me. So I try my best to get his attention and decide to take off my other shoe and throw it at the back door.  As I see my shoe flying through the air a thought occurs to me that maybe I threw it too hard and what if the glass breaks? Well at least then I will have gotten his attention! BAM! And no the glass doesn't break. Whew! And no, it doesn't get my husbands attention either! So there I am, sitting out in the cold rain and snow, barefoot in the dark, in pain, with the dog chewing on my favorite shoes. Awesome. It was by God's grace alone that I was able to get up, hobble on my foot back to the door and yell for my husband to help. He did eventually come to my rescue and the rest is history. Except for the part about me going to the doctor today only to discover that I broke my toe.

(Note to self, schedule a pedicure asap)

So as I sit and type this my toe is bandaged and I have been instructed to keep it that way for the next 4-6 weeks. I guess there will be no marathon running for me in my near future or jumping 20 cars in a single bound. And the morale of this story? The next time it is raining, make your husband take the dog outside. It also happens to be our new family rule.

2013 New Year's Resolutions

So each year I have posted my new years resolutions in hopes that putting it out there for the entire world to see will help me get motivated to stay on track. If your curious you can check them out here and here. Some have been successful and some have not. I have aimed for losing weight, getting more organized, cook more, exercise more, drink more water, blog more, become a better mother, be a better wife, a better employee, a better boss, work harder, play harder, you name it I have thought about changing some aspect of it in my life.  

But this year has been different. It is January 24th and I have yet to post what my resolutions will be. We are at a time when most people have broken or forgotten their resolutions and I am still trying to figure mine out. It is not for a lack of trying, but this year I just couldn't put into words what I wanted to do. That was until I came across this video. I found it posted on one of my favorite blogs and it really hit home for me. Thanks Bethany! It was too good not to share.

So this is it, only one resolution. So simple and yet so profound. Be present.

Lucy

Well I am proud to say that our little family of 4 just became a family of 5. Now don't jump to conclusions, I did not have a baby in during my blog haitus. Instead we decided to get a puppy! Am I crazy? Possibly. But my girls love her, and that is all the justification I need.

She is a Golden Retriever puppy and although she is small now that won't last long. We got her a week ago and although the first week has been rough we are making progress. And by progress I mean she doesn't wail in her crate keeping us up All. Night. Long. Now it is only when we first put her in and in the morning when she hears us get up. So without further ado... meet Miss Lucy!

Yes, we will have lots of fun potty training, leash training, you know the whole kit and kaboodle. And for those of you know me, probably think we are crazy. Why? Because I have allergies. As in nose running, sneezing, eye watering allergies. Not fun! But I have to say that I am taking my vitamins, a Claratin every once in a while, and so far, I have been fine.  That's a mini miracle if you ask me.  That is proof that she was meant to be ours!