Tuesday, October 16, 2012
GHS Alumni Mommy Reunion!
Last week I had an idea to get some girls I knew in high school together for a mini reunion! There are a handful of us who are now mommies, and it's always nice to get together with other mommy friends and babies! We got together yesterday at San Tan Mall. Kids played in the play area, went to see puppies and ended our playdate at DQ! It was so nice to see them again! I will be planning another alumni playdate, this time not so last minute so hopefully more moms and kids will come.
Also, the Halloween pictures that J Lobbins Photography took last week are done! Here are a couple of my favorites. :)
Friday, October 12, 2012
I think I'm the only one who DOESN'T look forward to Friday nights and LOVES Monday mornings!
Today is Friday. Back to work tonight. I know I am blessed to even have a job, that pays well and has flexible hours, but working every weekend is really getting to me. But then I feel humbled when I meet someone like this... I met a girl at work a few months ago, the week I returned from maternity leave. She was floated to our floor and we started chatting. She told me how she used to be a stay at home home before nursing school. Her husband was successful in his career that allowed her to do that. But then the market crashed and he, like many Americans, was left without a job. So luckily she had the nursing degree to be able to go back to work and make ends meet. Now she is the primary provider of her family for the time being, working full time at our hoispital and 2-3 days a week at another. That's working 12-13 hour shifts, 5-6 days a week. Wow. She knows it won't be like that forever, but for now, it's what has to be done for her family. I was totally put in my place complaining about going back to work 3 days a week. I think God had me meet her for a reason, especially that week I returned from maternity leave. When I think I "have it bad," I am reminded of how blessed I really am. I see that girl around every once in awhile and am reminded of that exact thing.
Anyway, this week was a wonderful week. I just love my days off! I love Mondays because I have the whole week to look forward to, but Mondays are also rough since I can't sleep until Abigail naps. I usually only get an average of 2 hours during the day, maybe 1 hour in the evening, and then I can sleep at night after Abigail falls asleep. Monday was the Mom's Night Out event I talked about in my previous post. So much fun!
Tuesday I finally got my butt back to the gym. Zumba was fun as always. I saw this quote that said "You know all those things you've 'always wanted to do'? YOU SHOULD GO DO THEM." So simple but it inspired me to seek out those things I've aways wanted to do but [insert excuse here]. The only thing holding me back from accompishing my goals/dreams is myself. One of those being to teach Zumba. There are few things I actually think I'm good at or would accept compliments on, and Zumba Fitness is one of them. I was a dancer growing up and my love for dance never outgrew me. I am happy when I dance, my worries go away and I feel like I can just let loose. I've seen friends become successful at doing this, so why not me? I've been licensed to teach for about 2 years now and I haven't actually taught any classes. What a waste! It's time to make it happen!
Thursday Abigail and Jasper had their Halloween pictures taken by J Lobbins Photography. She has become our family photographer and we love her! Here is a sneak peak of Abigail from the shoot:
Anyway, this week was a wonderful week. I just love my days off! I love Mondays because I have the whole week to look forward to, but Mondays are also rough since I can't sleep until Abigail naps. I usually only get an average of 2 hours during the day, maybe 1 hour in the evening, and then I can sleep at night after Abigail falls asleep. Monday was the Mom's Night Out event I talked about in my previous post. So much fun!
Tuesday I finally got my butt back to the gym. Zumba was fun as always. I saw this quote that said "You know all those things you've 'always wanted to do'? YOU SHOULD GO DO THEM." So simple but it inspired me to seek out those things I've aways wanted to do but [insert excuse here]. The only thing holding me back from accompishing my goals/dreams is myself. One of those being to teach Zumba. There are few things I actually think I'm good at or would accept compliments on, and Zumba Fitness is one of them. I was a dancer growing up and my love for dance never outgrew me. I am happy when I dance, my worries go away and I feel like I can just let loose. I've seen friends become successful at doing this, so why not me? I've been licensed to teach for about 2 years now and I haven't actually taught any classes. What a waste! It's time to make it happen!
Thursday Abigail and Jasper had their Halloween pictures taken by J Lobbins Photography. She has become our family photographer and we love her! Here is a sneak peak of Abigail from the shoot:
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Mom's Night Out!
Last night my sis in law Laura and I went to West Valley Moms Blog's 1st Mom's Night Out! It was so much fun! They held the event out on the terrace at Pita Jungle at Norterra. They had lots of amazing giveaways and I actually won one of them! I received a free pedicure with add on at a cute salon here in the west valley ($55 value! Woot!). So excited to go pamper myself! The food at Pita Jungle was delicious and for dessert they had Paradise Bakery cookies- every woman's favorite. :) Yum. We are looking forward to the next WVMB Mom's Night Out event!
Anyway, since the last time I blogged, I made my first fall wreath! I am actually pretty happy with how it turned out. :) I never thought that I would be into seasonal decor (my home growing up was never decorated according to season/holiday besides Chirstmas) but it just makes the home more festive and the season/holiday more fun and exciting! I am looking forward to when Abby gets a little order so we can work on crafts together and she can help mommy decorate. :)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
MIA no longer!
Wow, it has been months since my last blog post! I really was hoping to keep up with this blog but I have been so busy (totally understandable, I have a 4 month old!). Blogging has been last on my list, or shall I say has fallen off my list, and when I finally do get some free time, I'd rather sleep! So it's past 2am now and I finally have some free time to blog.
Abigail still goes to bed sometime between midnight and 2am and about half the time does not sleep through the night. :( With Jim and I's opposite schedules though, it's hard to get her on a normal schedule. She takes about 2 naps during the day, and despite us trying to keep her awake so she will sleep longer at night, she is out cold when she naps. I know babies need their sleep, but why couldn't she just get that sleep at night? Although she has gotten better lately, still not enough to say I got a full night's rest. My sleep is cut up, which is hard. Also hard that I switch my sleep schedule every few days to accomodate work and sleep like a normal person on my days off.
Learning how to balance work and family time has been a major struggle of mine lately. Some days I just cry and cry and beg Jim to let me stay home with Abigail because I think it is just too hard to do both and give them 100% and just not worth what I'm missing at home. Other days, I am so thankful for my career, knowing I am contributing financially to my family which in turn is going to provide a better life for Abigail. I hate working every weekend, but at the same time, working the weekend is what works for my family right now and I'm really maximizing my pay that way (working nights I get a pay differtential and weekends is an extra pay differential). But I thought after a year+ of being a nurse I would've had this dig down by now, but no, learning new things everyday and wondering if I'll ever feel comfortable and confident in what I do. A good coworker of mine and also one of my nurse supervisors this past week mentioned that I seem like I'd be a good L&D/post partum nurse, which is funny because that is exactly where my heart is and where I eventually want to work as a nurse. I feel like I'd actually look forward to going to work and actually retain the information I learn if it was in that area I was passionate about. But I also know that getting that general nursing experience on a floor like mine is good. My plan is to stay on my floor working nights and every weekend until the end of the year. Then starting January, try to schedule it so I can work just every other weekend. But with that, it would also mean that Abigail would have to start going to day care a few days every other week at the minimum. :( Still weighing the pros and cons to that situation, but family time is important to me too, and I feel like I am missing a lot by not being able to go to family gathering or spending the whole day with my little family. Maybe I will look into switching floors next year (to L&D/post partum) but another option is becoming a chemo certified nurse on my floor. I've never had a passion to be a chemo nurse, but working on my floor (medical/oncology) it has started to interest me and I never know if I'll like it unless I try it, right? But with being a chemo nurse, there are a lot of risks. That's why if a nurse is pregnant or breastfeeding, she cannot give chemo. Since we want to have another baby eventually (God willing, could possibly be as soon as the end of next year) I don't know if that would be a good career choice for me at the moment. Just lots to think about... hopefully I will update this blog again sooner rather than later! Goodnight. :)
Abigail still goes to bed sometime between midnight and 2am and about half the time does not sleep through the night. :( With Jim and I's opposite schedules though, it's hard to get her on a normal schedule. She takes about 2 naps during the day, and despite us trying to keep her awake so she will sleep longer at night, she is out cold when she naps. I know babies need their sleep, but why couldn't she just get that sleep at night? Although she has gotten better lately, still not enough to say I got a full night's rest. My sleep is cut up, which is hard. Also hard that I switch my sleep schedule every few days to accomodate work and sleep like a normal person on my days off.
Learning how to balance work and family time has been a major struggle of mine lately. Some days I just cry and cry and beg Jim to let me stay home with Abigail because I think it is just too hard to do both and give them 100% and just not worth what I'm missing at home. Other days, I am so thankful for my career, knowing I am contributing financially to my family which in turn is going to provide a better life for Abigail. I hate working every weekend, but at the same time, working the weekend is what works for my family right now and I'm really maximizing my pay that way (working nights I get a pay differtential and weekends is an extra pay differential). But I thought after a year+ of being a nurse I would've had this dig down by now, but no, learning new things everyday and wondering if I'll ever feel comfortable and confident in what I do. A good coworker of mine and also one of my nurse supervisors this past week mentioned that I seem like I'd be a good L&D/post partum nurse, which is funny because that is exactly where my heart is and where I eventually want to work as a nurse. I feel like I'd actually look forward to going to work and actually retain the information I learn if it was in that area I was passionate about. But I also know that getting that general nursing experience on a floor like mine is good. My plan is to stay on my floor working nights and every weekend until the end of the year. Then starting January, try to schedule it so I can work just every other weekend. But with that, it would also mean that Abigail would have to start going to day care a few days every other week at the minimum. :( Still weighing the pros and cons to that situation, but family time is important to me too, and I feel like I am missing a lot by not being able to go to family gathering or spending the whole day with my little family. Maybe I will look into switching floors next year (to L&D/post partum) but another option is becoming a chemo certified nurse on my floor. I've never had a passion to be a chemo nurse, but working on my floor (medical/oncology) it has started to interest me and I never know if I'll like it unless I try it, right? But with being a chemo nurse, there are a lot of risks. That's why if a nurse is pregnant or breastfeeding, she cannot give chemo. Since we want to have another baby eventually (God willing, could possibly be as soon as the end of next year) I don't know if that would be a good career choice for me at the moment. Just lots to think about... hopefully I will update this blog again sooner rather than later! Goodnight. :)
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Getting organized!
I love coupons. I wouldn't call myself an extreme couponer, although I wouldn't mind getting that good at clipping coupons one day! The way I was organizing my coupons just wasn't working anymore, so I made myself a coupon binder! So much better at finding the coupons I need now. :) I've been following Cents'Able Shoppin, she's a local lady that lets you know of all the deals. I was previously following a coupon blog that was national, and sometimes the deals at the stores in a different state weren't the same at my local grocery store. I am already saving mroe money having my coupons organized better! Here are some pics:
Before...
I used to only clip the coupons I needed and kept them in the original mailer (SmartSource, Red Plum, P&G, etc.) since the coupon websites would tell you from which mailer and what date it was mailed out where you can find the coupon, so here is what my coupon binder looked like before... what a mess!
in the process of cutting all my coupons...
After! I printed this cute free printable for my coupon binder from http://keepinglifecreative.com/freebie/diy-creating-a-coupon-binder/
The inside of my binder... to the left I have this week's current ads, then once I find the coupons I need for my shopping trip, I put them in the appropriate envelope. :) To the right behind the pouch that holds my scissors to clip the coupons and pens, is every store's coupon policy, so I know which coupons they accept and do not accept.
Ahh coupons organized by category. :) So much easier and faster to find the coupons I need now!
My organized little office alcove! I've been wanting to put up shelving and get my space organized and I finally did!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Wow it is becoming difficult to keep my blog updated! If Abigail is asleep, all I want to do is either sleep too or get some chores around the house done! Well I was already able to take a nap this morning when she napped and I did the laundry, so I guess I have some time to blog right now! :) I am getting sad that I only have 2 weeks left with my sweet baby girl until I have to return to work. It's been so nice to be able to be home with her and home when my husband gets home. Life is going to get a lot busier once I go back to work and I'm really nervous about when I'm going to find time to sleep.
This past weekend, my cute, little family went to Marley Park and spent a wonderful few hours there. The weather was perfect- high in the low 80s! Almost unheard of for end of May weather in Arizona! Marley Park is our dream neighborhood where we could see raising our family. It is only about a mile from our church and Marley Park has a great elementary school within the neighborhood, club house, community pool, softball fields and awesome parks. The homes have front porches (always wanted one) but the backyards are smaller because the master plan for that neighborhood was instead of spending your time in your own private yard, you will spend more time in the common areas. It is a very community-centered neighborhood, which we love. They also have movie in the park nights!! I mean, how perfect is that?! With their prices right now, we'd actually be able to afford living there, but cannot move right now because when Jim bought our home 2 years ago, he received that 1st time home owners tax credit and if we move before we've lived here for 3 years, then we'd have to pay the $8,000 back. Also, I truly do love our current neighborhood. I love our neighbors and we are literally within a couple miles of every single grocery store, a Target and a Ross (my favorite stores) and 2 major freeways. We could potentially move in 1 year, but for sure we plan on moving into our "forever home" within 4 years before Abigail starts school. We don't want to wait too long though because the housing prices are already slowly starting to increase again. So Jim and I talked about it, and within the next month or 2 I will start picking up an extra shift a work every pay period so we can save up for our down payment. It pains me to be away from my family an extra day, but working 4 days is still better than 5. Sheesh, being an adult is hard work!
I have so many things I want to do, so many things I need to do, but the hard part is finding the time now. I never realized how important time management was until Abigail was born!
Pictures from this weekend!
This past weekend, my cute, little family went to Marley Park and spent a wonderful few hours there. The weather was perfect- high in the low 80s! Almost unheard of for end of May weather in Arizona! Marley Park is our dream neighborhood where we could see raising our family. It is only about a mile from our church and Marley Park has a great elementary school within the neighborhood, club house, community pool, softball fields and awesome parks. The homes have front porches (always wanted one) but the backyards are smaller because the master plan for that neighborhood was instead of spending your time in your own private yard, you will spend more time in the common areas. It is a very community-centered neighborhood, which we love. They also have movie in the park nights!! I mean, how perfect is that?! With their prices right now, we'd actually be able to afford living there, but cannot move right now because when Jim bought our home 2 years ago, he received that 1st time home owners tax credit and if we move before we've lived here for 3 years, then we'd have to pay the $8,000 back. Also, I truly do love our current neighborhood. I love our neighbors and we are literally within a couple miles of every single grocery store, a Target and a Ross (my favorite stores) and 2 major freeways. We could potentially move in 1 year, but for sure we plan on moving into our "forever home" within 4 years before Abigail starts school. We don't want to wait too long though because the housing prices are already slowly starting to increase again. So Jim and I talked about it, and within the next month or 2 I will start picking up an extra shift a work every pay period so we can save up for our down payment. It pains me to be away from my family an extra day, but working 4 days is still better than 5. Sheesh, being an adult is hard work!
I have so many things I want to do, so many things I need to do, but the hard part is finding the time now. I never realized how important time management was until Abigail was born!
Pictures from this weekend!
Family picture at the park! Jasper was there too but couldn't get a good shot with the 4 of us :/
Jim and I at our friend Kristi's wedding reception... first outing alone since Abigail was born! We left early because we missed our baby girl so much!
LOVE these ladies! All our lives have changed so much within the past year and will continue to change! Nikki (3rd from left) is moving to Chicago today, I'm going to miss her so much! But will see her at her wedding in San Diego in just a few short weeks! :)
My sis in law Laura and I went to the Phoenix Scrapbook Cottage and worked on our crafts! We plan on hosting a Pinterest party an overnight ladies crafting night there later on in the summer! :) Believe me, we are NOT some of those super crafty women, we just WANT to be! lol so the craft projects we do will definitely be beginner level. ;)
Monday, May 21, 2012
The birth of our daughter, Abigail Grace!
Ahhh we've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to update my blog! I know I want to remember these moments forever (reason why I'm keeping this in the first place) so I finally found some time to write about our dear baby Abigail's birth. :)
2 weeks before we were due to deliver, my benefits at work kicked in, making it very inexpensive to delivery at Maricopa (compared to a couple thousand if we were to delivery at West Valley as originally planned) so last minute, we decided to switch obstetricians and deliver at Maricopa Medical Center. I am SO glad we made that decision! We received excellent care. :) We were scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning (5/8) at 8:00A.M. at 41 weeks gestation. I never wanted to be induced, I always thought I'd go into labor naturally, but I just wanted Abigail out! But in God's perfect timing, at approximately 4:40A.M. on the day were scheduled to be induced, my water broke!!! Which is actually not that common, only about 10% of womens' water break naturally (well it would be more, but doctors actificially rupture the membranes once mom is at the hospital and in labor). I was so happy that Abigail would've came that day anyway and felt so much better going to the hospital in labor. :)
We got the hospital at 7:00A.M. We were surprised to see my mom in the lobby (although I called my parents when my water broke, wasn't expecting them to be at the hospital already). It turns out my mom had a work meeting that morning, thus being the reason why she was already there! So convenient. ;) While we were waiting for the elevator, my dad came around the corner from getting a coffee in the cafeteria, hugged us and said he'd be back later (he went to work that day). We checked into L&D and got settled in. My nurse was this Filipino lady named Noreen who knew my mom! She was there with us all day throughout my labor. She was great. My mom got to our room around 9:00A.M. I felt like I was given special treatment not only because I was an employee at the hospital but because all the doctors and nurses on the L&D floor knew my mom! :) The doctor checked us when we were first admitted and I was still only 1cm dilated (same as I'd been for weeks). Noreen said they'd be giving me cytotec, which is a pill, to help ripen my cervix. I was surprised to find out the pill was not taken orally, but actually put in the place where it is to ripen my cervix hahaha. The doctor said they migh have to inflate a foley catheter inside of me to help dilate my cervix. Luckily when he checked me again, I was far enough along that it wasn't needed. Then they started me on pitocin. THAT I was scared about, because I knew my contractions would start getting more frequent and stronger. My contractions did get to the point where they were seemingly unbearable, but I thought that when the doctor checked me next, if I was at least 8cm dilated, then maybe I could do it without the epidural. But around 5:00P.M. when he checked me again, I was only 5!!! I was so disappointed. I was only half way through dilating and didn't think I could do it anymore. So I opted for the epidural. I tried going into the whole labor and delivery process with an open mind. I knew I would've felt guilty and thoroughly disappointed in myself if I made a birth plan that I planned on sticking with. Everyone reassured me that it was okay that I was getting the epidural and after I received it, I definitely was happy with my decision! I felt so much better and I could still move my feet and feel my contractions but no pain. It was wonderful. Definitely going to get an epidural earlier next time hehe. After the epidural, which was around 6:00P.M., things moved pretty quickly and by 9:45P.M. I was fully dilated and ready to push!!! Forgot to mention that by that time, my mom, dad and in-laws were all there waiting for Abby to arrive. :)
I decided to have Jim, my mom, mom-in-law and sis-in-law in the room with me during delivery. I pushed for about an hour and a half, and at 11:06P.M. our daughter Abigail Grace was born at 7lbs 12oz and 21 inches long. :) I could not stop sobbing when she finally came out. It was the most wonderful, emotional and surreal moment I have ever experienced.
We had so many family and friends praying for us and for a safe delivery and it definitely was. I was so thankful that Abigail remained stable throughout the whole labor and delivery, not once did her heart rate get too low and I did not experience any complications. Although I did tear during delivery, that is a small price to pay. Since I had the epidural, I did not even feel it nor the sewing up afterwards. I am just so glad we did not have to have an emergency cesarean section and that everything went smoothly with the vaginal delivery. God is so good!!! Abigail is the greatest blessing we could ever receive. We love her so much already and our love grows for her everyday! After I delivered her I thought, how am I ever going to do that again?! But almost 2 weeks later, I can hardly remember the pain and looking forward to growing our family in the future. :)
2 weeks before we were due to deliver, my benefits at work kicked in, making it very inexpensive to delivery at Maricopa (compared to a couple thousand if we were to delivery at West Valley as originally planned) so last minute, we decided to switch obstetricians and deliver at Maricopa Medical Center. I am SO glad we made that decision! We received excellent care. :) We were scheduled to be induced Tuesday morning (5/8) at 8:00A.M. at 41 weeks gestation. I never wanted to be induced, I always thought I'd go into labor naturally, but I just wanted Abigail out! But in God's perfect timing, at approximately 4:40A.M. on the day were scheduled to be induced, my water broke!!! Which is actually not that common, only about 10% of womens' water break naturally (well it would be more, but doctors actificially rupture the membranes once mom is at the hospital and in labor). I was so happy that Abigail would've came that day anyway and felt so much better going to the hospital in labor. :)
We got the hospital at 7:00A.M. We were surprised to see my mom in the lobby (although I called my parents when my water broke, wasn't expecting them to be at the hospital already). It turns out my mom had a work meeting that morning, thus being the reason why she was already there! So convenient. ;) While we were waiting for the elevator, my dad came around the corner from getting a coffee in the cafeteria, hugged us and said he'd be back later (he went to work that day). We checked into L&D and got settled in. My nurse was this Filipino lady named Noreen who knew my mom! She was there with us all day throughout my labor. She was great. My mom got to our room around 9:00A.M. I felt like I was given special treatment not only because I was an employee at the hospital but because all the doctors and nurses on the L&D floor knew my mom! :) The doctor checked us when we were first admitted and I was still only 1cm dilated (same as I'd been for weeks). Noreen said they'd be giving me cytotec, which is a pill, to help ripen my cervix. I was surprised to find out the pill was not taken orally, but actually put in the place where it is to ripen my cervix hahaha. The doctor said they migh have to inflate a foley catheter inside of me to help dilate my cervix. Luckily when he checked me again, I was far enough along that it wasn't needed. Then they started me on pitocin. THAT I was scared about, because I knew my contractions would start getting more frequent and stronger. My contractions did get to the point where they were seemingly unbearable, but I thought that when the doctor checked me next, if I was at least 8cm dilated, then maybe I could do it without the epidural. But around 5:00P.M. when he checked me again, I was only 5!!! I was so disappointed. I was only half way through dilating and didn't think I could do it anymore. So I opted for the epidural. I tried going into the whole labor and delivery process with an open mind. I knew I would've felt guilty and thoroughly disappointed in myself if I made a birth plan that I planned on sticking with. Everyone reassured me that it was okay that I was getting the epidural and after I received it, I definitely was happy with my decision! I felt so much better and I could still move my feet and feel my contractions but no pain. It was wonderful. Definitely going to get an epidural earlier next time hehe. After the epidural, which was around 6:00P.M., things moved pretty quickly and by 9:45P.M. I was fully dilated and ready to push!!! Forgot to mention that by that time, my mom, dad and in-laws were all there waiting for Abby to arrive. :)
I decided to have Jim, my mom, mom-in-law and sis-in-law in the room with me during delivery. I pushed for about an hour and a half, and at 11:06P.M. our daughter Abigail Grace was born at 7lbs 12oz and 21 inches long. :) I could not stop sobbing when she finally came out. It was the most wonderful, emotional and surreal moment I have ever experienced.
We had so many family and friends praying for us and for a safe delivery and it definitely was. I was so thankful that Abigail remained stable throughout the whole labor and delivery, not once did her heart rate get too low and I did not experience any complications. Although I did tear during delivery, that is a small price to pay. Since I had the epidural, I did not even feel it nor the sewing up afterwards. I am just so glad we did not have to have an emergency cesarean section and that everything went smoothly with the vaginal delivery. God is so good!!! Abigail is the greatest blessing we could ever receive. We love her so much already and our love grows for her everyday! After I delivered her I thought, how am I ever going to do that again?! But almost 2 weeks later, I can hardly remember the pain and looking forward to growing our family in the future. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
