What I Thought I Would Miss

Between me and you, I didn't want to move.  I fought it for years.  I wasn't exactly in love  with my house but I loved that I have a picture of my firstborns first day of school in that driveway and that I carried my newborn second son through it's doors.  I loved being so close to work.  I loved not having neighbors.  And I loved the country.   When we told a few of our friends that we were buying a house they said, "Are you crazy?" And I started to think that we were.  I won't bore you with our back and forth conversations on why we should or shouldn't move.  And how I was eventually persuaded that yes, this was a good decision.  But even when I gave in....I had my doubts.  I mean, just look at the view from my old kitchen window.

 I loved seeing cows.  I didn't even mind the faint scent that they brought through my windows in the summertime.  They are beautiful, gentle creatures.

 I loved the smell of freshly baled hay. And the sounds of tractors and the frogs from the little ponds croaking at night and the goats that lived down the hill.  And the star filled sky at night, without the distraction of city lights. 

I thought I would feel sad when I drove by my old house on my way to work everyday.  Which, by the way, is only a ten minute drive. I thought I would long to be living there again.   But I don't.  And I'm not exactly sure why.  Maybe it's because I still get to enjoy the beauty of the country.  I still get to smell the smells and hear the sounds and see the change the seasons make on all that open space.  I work out there four days a week and walk everyday I am there for two miles on the roads around my house.

 I think I have realized that it's not really where you are.  It's who you are with that makes a home a home.  And you can be happy anywhere really.  In a tiny apartment in the city or in a giant farmhouse in the country.  Besides that...my view from my kitchen window isn't to shabby now.  This was taken in the fall of course.  These days those trees are looking a little bare.

 And the view from the inside is warm and cozy. And it's a good place to be.

Random

*I started school January 9th. I am taking Biology on Monday and Wednesday nights from 4:30 – 5:45. I really, really like my instructor, but the class is super hard. I am sooooooo not a science person. I liked chemistry in high school, but that was years ago! I have forgotten everything. And I’m sitting in a classroom where I would say 75% of the students have just graduated high school. So they are blurting out answers left and right and I’m just sitting there with my open book and open notebook hoping the teacher doesn’t make eye contact with me.  I did get some cheat sheets to help refresh my memory on a few things. Such as classification and the kingdoms. Oh, and we are discussing a lot of chemistry in this class too, so I got a periodic table to refresh my memory.

My instructor is a big fan of pneumonic devices (I think that’s what they’re called). Such as King Phillip Cried Out For Goodness Sakes.....or in other words....Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

And C. Hopkins CaFe:  Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Iodine, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Calcium, Iron.  (the elements we will be discussing the most, apparently).

I’m also taking a Business Interpersonal Relations Class, but that one is online. So far, so good.

*Hannah is doing well. She sleeps all night. We put her to bed between 9:00 – 9:30 and she sleeps straight through until 6:00 a.m. She hasn’t made a mess in her playpen overnight in probably two weeks! She still has accidents inside during the day every now and then, but if we watch her carefully we can avoid most of them. We had to get a baby gate for our bedroom because one of her favorite spots was the rug in there. But now all is well! And the cats have all figured out that they can jump the gate to get in there (it took Howie the longest to figure it out and he would just sit outside the gate and cry. But now he’s a pro.) We only keep it up during the day. We also got her a new harness (which I call her jacket). It doesn’t have to go over her head, so taking it on and off of her is a breeze! She doesn’t mind it at all.

*I can’t believe my nephew is 16. (see above). He drove us around when we were in Nebraska. That’s nuts!!

*I recently cleaned up my desk area. I won’t post pictures, but before I cleaned it, here’s a few random things I found on it:  3 empty DVD cases, 2 empty blu ray cases, Max's vet bill from when he got his teeth cleaned, a half finished scarf that I'm knitting, a note from the yacht we were in in Alaska that was included with the smoked salmon they sent, 3 empty binders, a vanilla scented air freshener for my car, tweezers, lipstick. 

I don't know how these things end up on my desk, but they do.
???
It looks MUCH better now. I can actually do my homework on it!

*And….I’ve saved the best for last. In less than two weeks, us four musketeers will be reunited:

I am incredibly excited! They are flying to Arizona and I am driving to meet them there. We will have 3 full days of sunshine, shopping, swimming, eating, and girl time! All while staying in VERY nice accommodations.

Besides spending time with them, the thing I’m most excited about is IKEA. :D The last time I went to IKEA was in San Diego, and I couldn’t really get anything because we flew. But this time…..well, this time I have my car! And it can hold a lot. I should start a list. I’ve already downloaded the 2012 catalog to my iPhone. Good times!

And just for kicks, here's a video I took of Howie getting into the cat treat jar.  We accidentlly left the lid off and this is what we found him doing:

Today I Have a 16 Year Old

     By Amy

It's been so long since I've blogged that Blogger has changed some formats and I bet it's been like this for weeks.  December is by far the busiest month of my life.  At home and at work.  But mostly at work.  Which makes home busy.  I am so relieved that December is over...I wanted to cry with relief when I heard the fireworks that welcomed 2012. Anyway, I don't really expect to slow down anytime soon but I do hope that I will have more time to blog and take pictures.  I miss it.  Last weekend I had 25 family members over and didn't take a single picture.  I hate that.  Just to busy. 

So today my little boy turned 16.  Which is really weird in alot of ways.  First of all...I'm only 25.  Ok...26.  So it just isn't possible to have a 16 year old.  And second of all....it doesn't seem like that long ago that I was in the hospital experiencing the most horrific birth ever.  So bad that after he came out I didn't even want to see him.  But he was worth it.  Just look at that gorgeous face.

                            



The thing about him is that he would think it was funny that I posted this picture. He's a great kid and I sure love him.  And yes, I do realize I'm getting older too.  I actually think I'm starting menopause.  I'm not even joking!  My weight is shifting and doing funny things and the other day I swear I had a hot flash.  Sigh. 

A couple weeks ago I watched the little girl.  She is a doll.  Here is a pic I took when she was watching Monster's Inc. 

If you look hard you can see the Craisons in her mouth.  I would post more pictures but i have to start dinner.  Hopefully next time I can blog something with a little more substance.  Like Ang's Year in Review.  I loved that Ang!  See this is how crazy my life has been.  I haven't even had a chance to tell her that.  I guess while I'm at it....I would like a picture sent to my phone of little Hannah Banana when you get a chance.  And....way to go on your Fantasy Football placement!  And.... when are you going to Colorado cuz we have to schedule our Arizona trip.  Text Me!  (:

Year in Review

by Ang

I can hardly believe that we are in 2012! Last year went so fast. I thought I would do a little recap of our 2011. Here are some things that stood out to me (and thankfully I have this blog to jog my memory!)

*I started school in January, after not having been in any type of school for 13 years. Yikes! It went better than I expected though.

*In April, my husband and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. In just 4 more months, we will be celebrating #2! I can’t imagine my life without him….he is so important to me and he keeps me laughing every single day.

*In May we took a trip to Tularosa, New Mexico to see my cousin and his wife who were visiting. It was a short trip, but so much fun! I got to see more of the dry desert (it’s just 100 miles from the Mexico border). We got to spend some quality time with my family.

*Also in May, my husband became a certified scuba diver! We took another weekend trip to Santa Rosa so he could get his certification. He’s wanted to do it for a while, and he did! I’m proud of him.

*And very sadly (also in May), we lost our sweet kitty Nami. We still miss her terribly. She was just the sweetest, nicest animal we had. She had a good, long life (15).

*In June, we met up with my family in Seattle at the airport and then boarded a plane to Sitka, Alaska. We had an amazing one week on the boat. Loads of fishing, eating, laughing, eating, and more fishing. It was a blast!

*And two short months later in August, my family came to New Mexico to visit! We did lots of eating (why is that always a common theme?), shopping, swimming, and just hanging out with each other.

*In August we held our Fantasy Football Draft. And now our Fantasy Football season is over! (I came in 2nd place, by the way – same as last year!). This is the month we also learned that our cat Howie has diabetes. He’s doing well by the way.

*The highlight of September was discovering that Little Miss A is going to be a big sister. In fact, we now know that she is going to be a big sister to a little BROTHER!!! We are so excited. It’s been 10 years since we’ve had a baby boy in the family!

*In October we went to Nebraska to see my family. We got to see my sister’s new house, see my parents new house, and see the whole family. My husband went to a football game with my dad, brother, and nephew. It was such an enjoyable trip!

*And after we got home, we redid our bedroom. It was a long week with our house tore up and sleeping on an air bed in the living room, but the finished product was soooooo worth it!

*The definite highlight of December was getting our new puppy. She is so much fun, we are just loving her to pieces! She is growing like crazy (although she’s still tiny compared to Max). She is sleeping totally through the night now! We put her to bed between 9:30 – 10:00, and she doesn’t wake up until after 6:00, which is perfect! She’s getting along with everyone (as long as she doesn’t get too close to the cats…if she does, she gets batted on the head a few times). Surprisingly, the cat she gets along the best with is Howie, which is the same cat that hates the other dog. We think it’s a gender-thing. Or it could be that Hannah is so much smaller than Howie and he doesn’t feel threatened. Who knows!

And there you have it! I am looking forward to another year. It’s always nice to start a new, fresh year. My husband and I joined a gym that’s super close to our house (like within walking distance), so I’m ready to get started with that (this is the year I get in shape!). I start classes up again January 9th. In February we are going to Colorado for a few days, and then I am meeting my sister and friend in Arizona for a few days. And in the spring, I will be making a trip back to Nebraska to meet my new nephew! Those are the only things we have planned so far!!

I’m sure 2012 will be just as great as 2011!