March Volunteer Opportunity

I completed my March volunteer opportunity today.  Principal gives their employees eight hours of Volunteer Time Off (VTO) a year, so I was able to do this one during the afternoon today.  I have to admit, it was a little difficult to get myself to do it this month.  I'm tired and I wanted to use starting back at work and being tired as an excuse to get out of it this month.  Sadly, I even considered just donating blood or counting my clicks on a website I try and visit every day where you can click on the button and it helps to donate food for the Animal Rescue League, free mammograms, etc.  A few Sundays ago though, our pastor made a comment about being a servant and how it's not always easy or fun, but it's what we are called to do.  I knew right then and there that I needed to give a 100% to this goal.

So, my friend Julie came through for me.  :)  Julie is a Kindergarten/First Grade teacher in Norwalk.  I emailed her to see if she could use a volunteer for a few hours and she said yes!!  You wouldn't think that I would be nervous considering she is one of my best friends, but that almost made me more nervous.  I didn't want to screw up or look dumb!  I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed helping her out and really hope I get to again.  This was one of those experiences where I have been thinking about it all night long.  I don't really know why.  Maybe because it was great to see her in the middle of the week.  Maybe it was because I felt productive in helping her.  Maybe it was because I have always had an interest in teaching and really appreciated getting a glimpse of what teaching little kids would be like.  Maybe it's simply amazing to me that one person can control a bunch of busy little kids.  I admire what she does and how she handles herself and her kids.  Or maybe because it's just fascinating to me to watch kids learn and see how each child is such a little individual, even at such a young age.  Whatever the reason, I am just really happy that I had this experience this month. 

While I was there, I did a few different things.  I spent most of my time in the reading room and the kids would read to me.  Once one was done reading their book, I would tell them who was next on the list, and they would go tell the next kid to come.  I also helped do a few little projects for her.  The time went fast!  I would have liked to stay until after school, but I decided to leave before all the buses and parents lined up to pick up their kids so I could get out of there ok.... and I missed Brady....

I have to admit that I am learning something about myself through these volunteer experiences.  First of all, I really like helping people.  It feels good.  Second of all, I think it's ironic that this New Year's resolution was not supposed to be about me this year, and yet I feel like I am the one getting the most benefit out of this.  And finally, I am realizing that I assume a lot of things.  Because of this, I have never taken in interest in learning or questioning things, because I "assume" I know.  I am clearly wrong.  It's really interesting to be in situations and realize that there is so much more to it than my assumptions. 

Three Month Pictures

Brady's three month pictures are in and they turned out so great!!  I know I'm biased, but how could they not when that cute little face is in them??  Our friend Janelle did a fantastic job.  I'm trying to convince her that her picture package should include decorating and hanging pictures, but I don't think I have her convinced of that yet......  :)

Quiet Weekend

For the first weekend in a long time, we had NOTHING planned.  It has been wonderful.  We haven't done much, but just being home as a family has been great after a long week of work!!!  Brady is getting to be so much more fun (which I didn't think was even possible).  He chatters back all the time.  I think he laughed the other day too!  It was a little hard to tell, but I'm counting it as a laugh.  It came with one of those crinkle your nose kind of smiles, so it counts!!  He is also rolling over all the time.  He doesn't enjoy tummy time too much, but that's where he ends up all the time now.  I'm trying to figure out how to get a video of Brady talking off of my camera, so hopefully that video will come soon.  But until then, enjoy this picture.  :)

Monday's To-Do List

2:45am: let Drake out.  CHECK
4:15am: change and feed Brady.  CHECK
4:45am: lay Brady back down.  CHECK
5am: alarm goes off.  Hit snooze three times.  CHECK
6:30am: still have my headache so I completely shut my alarm off.  Considering not going into work or going in late.  CHECK
7:30am: decide to just do it and get ready for work.  CHECK
8am: Brady wakes up.  I get him ready for the day.  CHECK
8:45am: just had a wonderful and smiley little conversation with Brady.  I feel like crying because I have to leave him.  CHECK
9am: drop Brady off at daycare.  Turn around and go back to Waukee to pick up Drake.  Take Drake to the vet to get his sutures off and a bath.  CHECK
10am: arrive to work.  CHECK :(
11:45: Drake's bath is done.  CHECK
1pm: leave work to go pick up Drake.  Love seeing him without his cone.  CHECK
2pm: skip going back to work and get a much needed work out in.  Feeling guilty about leaving Brady at daycare.  CHECK
5:15pm: convinced Chris I needed a pedicure.  CHECK
8:30pm: have a million things to do now that Brady is sleeping, but instead I enjoyed a chat with my sister Melissa and am on the computer.  CHECK

Oh, is it St. Patty's Day???

I have a lot to blog about today.  I knew St. Patty's Day was coming up.  And yet when I get to daycare and see all the green, I remember that TODAY is St. Patty's Day.  I forgot to dress Brady up in his green onesie.  He's wearing blue today.  Oops!  And then I get to thinking about how this is yet just another celebration/holiday that has changed drastically for me over the years.  For the better of course!!  I remember the days where I used to leave work early with my Wells Fargo friends and go hang out at Sully's.  Or remember when Mickey's on 86th St had their tent and you had to pay something like $20 to get in and it was free keg beer the whole time you were in there?  Sounds fun until the next morning, doesn't it?  Trust me, it was fun.  I remember even up to a few years ago we celebrated at Mickey's in Waukee.  I was wearing my Grandpa Schelle's Pioneer vest that I always tried to wear for my "green".  Of course, I was representing the side ponytail that night.  I remember up to the point where I ran into an old neighbor.  From then on, who knows........  So, I'm happy things aren't that wild anymore, but it's fun to look back on the memories we have made up until this point!!  Here are some pictures from a previous St. Patty's Day:

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, it's my sister-in-law Alecia's anniversary.  Happy Anniversary Mike & Alecia!!  Your wedding was so beautiful and so much fun.  Has it been five years already?  I can't believe it's been that long.  I hope you guys are having a wonderful anniversary and are able to do something special for it!!

And Brady had a first last night.  He rolled over!!!  He's been getting close and was finally able to make the roll.  I missed the first time of course.  That stinker had to do it while I was at spin class, but he did it again for me later that night when I was home, so I was happy to be able to see it!!  I guess all that practice at the Jenkin's house paid off.  Too bad they weren't able to witness it, but I'm glad Chris and I were able to see it!!!  :)

Family

Brady and I had a very enjoyable evening at my cousin's house tonight.  Of course Girl Scout cookies are in, so we made a date to pick them up and were rewarded by being served an excellent supper.  It gives a person spring fever when you are eating grilled food!  We had a great time visiting with Chris and Cindy and the girls.  Brady loved looking around their house and chatting it up with the girls.  I see some future baby-sitters there.  :)  I would have to say though that Buster their dog was probably happy to see us out the door.  He was a little jealous when his mommy was holding Brady!!  He decided to show us though - he disappeared for a few minutes and came trotting back into the living room with Brady's bottle in his mouth!!  It was pretty funny!!  Thanks for letting us visit Chris and Cindy.  We will have to do that more often!!!  Especially if you are cooking :)

We survived another Monday!!!

Drake's ear is healing very nicely.  The trip to the vet did not go very nicely.  It's a little hard to get him in the car with that big collar on and when he's so worked up.  His anxiety is all taken out on my car.  Let's just say by the time we had got to the vet, he had work himself out of the collar, smeared dried blood on the sheet I had over the seat and my rearview mirror was positioned up and down - not across.  Oh yah, and I lost a shoe as he jumped over me to get out of the car.  It's borderline comical taking that dog to the vet.  So, only one more trip like that next Monday and then he can come home "Cone-of-Shame" free!! 

After that, I had some errands to run, groceries to get and I even made it to the gym even though by that time it was 9pm.  Brady just couldn't stay awake for all our errands though.  Must have had a big day at daycare!!!  :)

Fast Weekend

This weekend went by so fast.  And now that I am working again, I get to experience the Sunday night dread feeling that sets in.  I had a hard time being productive, but overall we had a nice weekend.  Chris was able to golf and fish, and I got some good time in with Brady. 

He is growing up so fast and it has been so obvious this past week.  We are trying to get him to roll over.  He is so close!!  We lay him on his back and he gets to his side, but can't seem to make the roll happen.  I have a feeling it will be coming soon though!!!  He is also able to sit up in his bumbo.  He no longer looks like a baby when he is sitting up.  And when he is laying down to be changed, he grabs for his feet.  He is also in 3-6 month clothes now since only a few 0-3 months pieces fit him anymore.  It is so exciting to see all these little "new" things happen and a little sad that he doesn't get to wear any of those cute little clothes anymore. 

We also had our friend Janelle take his three month pictures yesterday.  I am so excited for these!  I was nervous because I didn't know how he would do, but I have to admit it was a lot easier then trying to take our family picture with Drake!  Although who can blame Drake, we took the picture right next to a pond.  That's almost cruel to a dog...  :)  Anyways, Brady did great.  I think he was more interested in talking to Janelle then smiling, but from the few pics I saw on her camera, they are going to turn out great!  I'm starting to realize how much fun life is when it's not about you anymore.

I wish I could have gotten out of my funk this weekend and organized for the week ahead, but I just couldn't.  Playing with Brady is just too hard to pass up.  This week should be relatively calm though.  The only thing scheduled so far is Drake's appointment tonight!  The stitches and e-collar won't come off until next week, so it's just a checkup to make sure his ear is healing properly. 

Have a great week!

Tired Tired Tired

The title pretty much sums it up.  I am tired.  I have a whole new respect for full time working moms. 

Brady had a great week.  The girls who take care of him say he is one of the most content babies in there and that he smiles at them a lot.  That makes it so much easier to leave him there.  I am still loving his daycare center!

I would have to say though that the highlight of my week was meeting my cousin Ashleigh for supper on Thursday night.  We have not gotten together in quite awhile and it was long overdue!!  We spent a few hours catching up and I could have stayed longer except for the fact that I needed to run to Target and it was time for Brady to eat.  I keep thinking about how much I enjoyed it-it's a shame that there are so many Espenhover cousins who live in the area and we find it so hard to get together.  I hope to have a big cousin get together at our house this summer.  We'll see if I actually go through with it though!!  Anyways, it was a great night!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Today was one of those days....to laugh about!!!

Today was my first full day back at work.  It started with Brady waking up at 2am and crying off and on until 4:30.  So, I basically started my day at 2am!  Brady did great at daycare.  He's such a happy and content little guy.  I called his room once in the afternoon to see how things were going and they told me he only cried when he was hungry.  That's my baby!  :) 

My other son had a not so great day.  I had him dropped off at the vet by 7am.  He had surgery on his other ear for broken blood vessels.  They usually keep dogs overnight to watch them, but the vet suggested we take him home considering his high anxiety.  By the way - our vet is from Carroll.  How random is that?  That was not planned at all.  Anyways, Drake also had an extremely high liver count - over 700 and it is supposed to be in the 200 range.  So more tests will come to determine if it's just his steroids or if his liver is starting to have problems.  He came home tonight a very sad doggy.  He had two accidents in his kennel at the vet, so he left some not so good smelling leftovers on my car seats.  It must have been the night, because Brady had one of those diapers where you actually considered just cutting his clothes and hosing him off in the sink. 

Clean baby

Sad Drake

So, not only did I start my first day back at work with very little sleep, both of my sons got poop on me and cost us a lot of money today.  Welcome to parenthood Heidi and Chris!  Needless to say, I'm already in my pjs and am DEFINITELY skipping the gym tonight!!

The Craziness is Beginning

The last three days have been CRAZY in our household!!!  I went back to work on Friday.  Luckily for me, Chris was able to work from home and watch Brady.  That helped tremendously as the only thing I had to worry about was work.  I also left at noon, so really the only thing I could complain about was actually having to get up and get ready.  Boo Hoo, right?  It's been three months since I've had to get up to an alarm and actually do my hair and makeup.  I dreaded the drive into work.  I had a sick feeling in my stomach.  I wondered what kind of storm I was walking into at work.  A year ago, a few of my teammates wondered if things could possibly get any worse on our team.  As I found out on Friday, it did.  I jumped right into my Friday routine though - getting breakfast at Brueggers with a teammate, getting caught up on what's been going on, cleaning up my email, listening to coworkers talk about how they would love to win the lottery, etc.  Not a hard morning at all :). 

And then Chris sends me this picture:

And then I get instantly sad.  

My heart literally breaks and melts at the same time.  What a funny expression on his face but I missed him so much.  I missed watching him stretch and wake up from his morning nap.  I missed our little conversations we were beginning to have - especially after he was done eating or while he was laying there before a diaper change.  Those seemed to be his chatty moments.  And I missed looking down and seeing him in my arms.  And here I was stuck at my desk trying to "excel" at a meaningless job.  I couldn't get home fast enough!!!

After I got home, we had a business meeting with someone.  Then my parents arrived to watch Brady and Drake, and then Chris and I were off to KC for the weekend.  We were so excited to get away for once.  We had a great time.  I had purchased tickets to a Dave Ramsey Live event.  It was fantastic!  Although I had to drag Chris there, we both got a lot out of it.  We just had so much fun getting away and just doing what we want when we wanted.  Thanks Mom and Dad for spending the weekend at our place watching our boys!!!

I think reality is about to hit though this week.  We will be juggling me going back to work full days, dropping / picking up Brady from daycare and getting Drake to the vet first thing Monday morning.  It looks like he will be having his umpteenth surgery tomorrow - this time on the broken blood vessels in his OTHER ear.  At least we know this won't ever happen again now that both ears will be taken care of.  Poor doggy!!  I know everyone has to juggle kids, schedules, work, etc., but it's a little daunting when it's your first time!!  Wish us luck this week!!!! 

Trial Run

I had to spend time apart from my Brady today.  The owner of his daycare suggested a trial run so when it does come time to drop him off for his first day, it will hopefully go smoother.  He did great today.  I really like the girls that run his room.  They said he was a happy baby and loved to smile which made me feel good.  He is a happy baby and knowing that he smiled during the day today for them made me realize that he would be ok.  I love love love the owner.  She is very hands on, responsive and organized.  And yes, it did help to turn in all the paperwork so when I'm in a hurry on Monday, I don't have to worry about that. 

I know, you are probably wondering how I DID.  I did ok.  When I let myself think about it while he was there, I would sort of lose my breath.  I also felt like I was forgetting him as I ran errands.  And the weird part was that the "hard part" was actually going to pick him up and worrying about how he had done for those four hours.  I guess you could say though that today was successful!

Here are some pictures of my little sidekick.  They are off of my phone so they are not that clear.  Plus he is moving so much now that he makes the pictures blurry!