Abigail is now ONE and another baby on the way!

Pic from Abigail's 1st birthday shoot!

Will post more once I get them back from the photographer!

WOW, this year has just flown by!!! I can't believe our baby is already ONE! A little update since I haven't been updating my blog lately and keeping up with Abby's milestones... at 10 months Abigail took her first steps and at 11 months she started walking! Also at 10 months, Abigail finally sprouted some teeth! Her 2 bottom teeth to be exact. :) Now she has her 2 top teeth coming in too. SO cute! I'm proud to say Abigail was solely on breastmilk her first 12 months of life. Just in the past week, we've started introducing whole milk by mixing it in with the breastmilk. I'm happy I could give her the gift of breastmilk for these past 12 months, but I'm also excited to stop pumping soon so I can have a little break and feel somewhat normal again before the next baby comes! It's really been a sacrifice, but I'm happy I could give her that gift that only I could give. Anyway, these days Abigail can say hi, dada/daddy, mama/mommy, papa and even Abby! She nods her head yes and no (not appropriately but still cute!) and has the cutest grin where she shows off her top teeth and scrunches her nose! She's a little daredevil too... loves to be thrown in the air, pushed fast in her toy car and held upside down (only for a few seconds of course! lol). Her and Jasper (our dog) get along great too. He is so gentle with her, but sometimes he can get overly excited and knocks her over unknowingly or whips her in the face with his wagging tail lol.

So Jim and I have had it set in our minds that we would start trying for another baby once Abigail turned 1. But as that day approached, I started having second thoughts. Jim didn't, but he wasn't the one who had to be pregnant for 9 months! Hah. We prayed about it and I came back around, trusting it would happen in God's timing anyway if we started trying now or later. I haven't had a period since before I got pregnant with Abigail since I have been breastfeeding this whole time, so Jim thought I couldn't get pregnant yet, but my nursing side knew it was still possible. Maybe less likely, but definitely possible. Lo and behold, the first pregnancy test I took said POSITIVE! It's crazy how quickly we get pregnant! With Abigail, I finished taking birth control at the end of July 2012 and by August 2012 we were pregnant! If anyone reads this, please keep us in your prayers! Please pray for a safe pregnancy and healthy baby! Oh, and we'll definitely need the prayers once we have 2 kids under 2! Ahh! We are so excited of course, but I am also very nervous... our babies will only be 20 months apart! I know life is going to get so much crazier and we'll be even more sleep deprived, but hey that's being a parent, right? So happy to get into our new home now, so we definitely have the room for another little one! We have an appointment with our OB tomorrow... 1st ultrasound. Well, they actually did a quick scan last week, but said it was still too early on to see anything. Tomorrow hopefully we will be able to see something. :)

Dream house is now our HOME!

I haven't written a post since January! We've been busy! We just moved into our dream home a few weeks ago and are still getting settled in. I LOVE our new neighborhood so much! Marley Park is a master-planned community by DMB, just like their other master-planned conmmunities such as Power Ranch (Gilbert), Verrado (Buckeye) and DC Ranch (Scottsdale) just to name a few in the valley. You know how neighbors for the most part (sadly) aren't that neighborly anymore? Nobody knows their neighbors anymore (although we made a conscious effort to in our last home and of course will in this home), well Marley Park was made with a community-centered atmosphere and everyone is super friendly! There are awesome parks (called Marley Park because of the 14+ themed parks throughout the neighborhood), great clubhouse and poolhouse! There are also fun events throughout the year for the residents. :) We got in at an awesome time too! Since signing the paperwork on our home, home prices for the same models have already gone up at least $13,000! The 303 freeway is almost done (which will make getting to work so much easier) and there are future plans (2+ years away) for a mall just a mile down! We love living in Surprise!!!  Wer are now within WALKING distance from our church, which is awesome. We are only 2 miles from the Surprise spring training baseball field, Surprise Regional Library and Surprise Community Park (we can totally ride our bikes there)! We are only 5 miles away from Bell Road which literally has every store we could want to go to (the only ones I really care about though are Target and Ross and they are there!). And I love that we are only a few miles away from a Trader Joe's now! I am SO excited to raise our family here. :) If you couldn't tell already lol. When I tell people I'm moving to Surprise, their first reaction is always, "Woah! That's far!" But it's really not, especially with everything getting built up around it and all of Jim's clients here in the west valley. Almost every night since moving in, Jim and I have spent some time on our front porch at the end of the night, winding down and talking about our day or riding our bikes throughout the neighborhood. I love that we have a great view too... the park is right in front of our home with the mountains in the background. :) Also, no neighbors back up behind us (minor road separating our neighborhood from the next development over). So happy to own our dream home. But by dream home, I don't mean big. It's a good size for us (2200 sq ft) maybe a bit big now, but we are expanding our family (yes, recently found out we're expecting again! But I'll write about that in another post ;) and plan on being here for at least 20 years. :) Check out our neighborhood website at www.marleypark.com. Maybe I can convince some of my east side friends to move out west! ;)

Home!

Dream home!

This past Wednesday, Jim and I signed the paperwork on our dream home!!! We have loved the neighborhood of Marley Park every since we first drove through it a year ago. We would've loved to move right then and there, but it wasn't the right time. Jim bought our current home with that $8,000 tax incentive that was offered a few years ago, and with that came with the stipulation that we have to live in our home for at least 3 years or we would have to pay back that money back. So we decided to just wait it out, with our goal of moving to Marley Park this year. I can't believe it's actually happening! All that time spent at work feels like it's finally paying off. :) A couple good friends of ours referred us to Jeanie Cutting, who is now our real estate agent. She is amazing! Jim and I's plan was to meet with a realtor in January to figure out what would be best- selling or renting out our home, and when we could start looking for our forever home. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided that we will sell our home (it's not on the market yet, we will probably list it in the next 1-2 months) and buy a new build home (less fees for us and more incentives to buy new). We've been looking at new and used homes in MP every since last year, but it felt so official when we went into the sales office with our realtor last week to look. :) We found a home that fit what we were looking for, but the problem was that there were only 2 lots available that that model could be on, both were kinda undesirable (backs up to a major road and the other in the fringes of MP), and the front of the house (elevation) was not the one we wanted. Otherwise, the sales agent said they would be opening more lots, but she didn't know if it'd be 1 month or 6 months from now and there were many people already interested in the 20 or so lots available (we know a couple currently waiting for another section to open up) and the price for the same home would increase. :/ We went home that day feeling pretty disappointed and on my way to work that night I prayed that if we're meant to be in Marley Park that God would make a way for it to happen. At the same time, Jeanie gave us access to all the MLS listings available in MP. There was a spec home of the house model we wanted, but I didn't like any of the finishes that were sampled in the picture. But then I had Jim email Jeanie just in case they were still in the beginning phases and hadn't ordered any of the finishes yet. The next day we found out that the only thing that was ordered and couldn't be changed were the cabinets (not my favorite- maple cabinets with 'nutmeg' stain. In my dream home I always envisioned white or cream colored cabinets, but we have the next 20+ years to change it if I end up not liking what was already picked lol)  but everything else was perfect... the floor plan (there were 3 different variations of the same home model and it had the 4th bedroom we wanted), right house elevation (with the stone facade in the front! yay!) and perfect location (there is a park across the street from us and no neighbors behind us). I knew it was our forever home instantly! Now just to make it happen... I definitely don't want to be house poor and we were hoping on the sale of our current home for the down payment of our MP home. Thankfully, Jeanie is an expert and found us a potentially awesome loan that would work out for us. It stinks we couldn't buy our new home contingent on if/when our home sells (MP does not offer that), but I just have to have faith it'll all work out. The alternative would've been wait for our current home to sell, then move temporarily into an apartment until we could move into our new home. Moving twice would've been a pain and the home prices in MP are increasing at a higher rate than they are in our neighborhood, so this really is the best option for us. So ANYWAY, about our new home! It is a spec home, meaning the builder has already started building it before they had a buyer. I think we got in at a perfect time, so we can still pick out most of our finishes! Our appointment with the home design studio is next Thursday! Good thing I already have finishes, fixtures and materials in mind! But since we know this is the home we'll be in long term, a know things like this can wait if we can't afford them now. About our future home... it is a single-family detached home, 1 story, 2200 sq ft, 4 bed 3 bath plus den (which we will use as the office). It has an open floor plan (kitchen, dining and family room is one big open space). It is perfect! I am soooooo excited. Good size with room to grow our family. :) Here is it's current phase of construction:

 

And this is what it will end up looking like: (same color scheme as the model home, the floor plan is just reversed)

 

SAHM vs. Working Mom RANT, Be Warned...

Okay, that title may have already been offensive for some. This post will probably offend some of those reading my blog and for that I am sorry, but I just NEED to vent! If I'm being completely honest, I am jealous of sahms. For those of you that are totally clueless (probably those without kids) a sahm is a stay-at-home-mom. I want to be one. But I can't. No, seriously. We've worked our budget. Many times. I have BEGGED and PLEADED with Jim to let me stay home with Abigail. As her mother, I just want to be with her to love and care for her ALL THE TIME. But with everything we have to pay for and save for right now, we would be under water with 1 income. And I am already one of those annoying 'extreme couponers' that other shoppers think "she doesn't need all that, why in the heck is she buying all that?" (example- tons of toothpaste or deodorant because I can get it all for FREE) or while at the store, the cashier and other customers in line think "oh great, it's one of those extreme couponers." Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it's not feasible right now. I go back and forth all the time from wishing and hoping I was a sahm to being proud that I can be a working mom and still get everything done a sahm can. I keep hearing that 'being a sahm is the hardest job in the world.' Since I'm not a sahm, I cannot attest to this, but I think working a full-time job and them coming home and still getting everything done is harder. (Ouch! Did I just say that out loud?! Yes I did... don't hate me!!!) Raising children to make good decisions, become independent and love God in this world we live in today is a hard thing to do for anybody, not just sahms. Being a PARENT is tough, not just a sahm. The husbands of those sahms deserve a lot of credit too. As a mother I have that innate longing to be with my child to love and care for her every second of every day, but then reality hits and bills also have to be paid. Anyway, as I'm sure you know if you know me, I work nights. Luckily I only work 3 days a week, but about 13 hour shifts. (And for those working moms who work the regular 9-5, 5x a week, my heart aches for you! I can't imagine being away from my family that much....) Working full-time and still having a life outside of work is tough! I am exhausted from my work day but still have all my duties at home. Sahms talk about getting no sleep? Okay, there were a few months there where I literally got NO sleep once to twice a week. I worked Friday nights, that meant I was up all day with Abigail on Friday and I tried to nap when she napped (which was only for an hour or 2 most days), but most of the time I had other duties to attend to such as finish that load of laundry or cook so Jim will have food to eat while I am at work for the next few days. So I didn't get to sleep until Saturday when I got home from a long night of work. Usually I was in bed by 10:00A.M. and then I am up again by 3-3:30P.M. because we attended church on Saturday evenings so I could still go, then go back in for another long night of work. Monday morning I come home from work and again, literally didn't sleep  unless Abigail napped and then have to wait until night time to sleep again. So literally no sleep for me one to two days a week. (Which was too crazy, I was too sleep-deprieved, so now I have a more sane schedule and will ask for help when help in needed). And on my nights off, who is the one up with Abigail? Me because I don't have work the next day. And by work I mean work outside the home, there is still plenty of work that needed to be done in and around the home.

Part of this rant came from reading some sahm mommy bloggers. I read one in particular that keep talking about how hard her days are (in between looking at perfectly edited pictures of her kids' shenanigans for the day) and it was driving me crazy (thus prompted me to write this ranting post)! Their blogs make it look like they have endless money to go on vacations and places to take the kids, work on awesome crafts and make amazing meals. It's like they either try to portray their lives as being so perfect or being so difficult. Now I'll admit, I am a mommy blogger and I try to focus on the positive because that's what I want to remember when I look back and read this blog in the future, but at the same time, I try to be real. I feel like I am the minority in the mommy blogger world- a working mommy blogger. I still try to highlight all the fun and exciting things I want to remember with my family, but at the same time, the other half of the week I'm at work and have to deal with the realities of that.

So working moms, I commend you. I actually think WE are the ones that don't get appreciated enough. And maybe I'm just tired of hearing that being a sahm is the hardest job in the world because I can't be one...

Part of me is sorry for this post because it is unlike me to be so blatantly rude and honest about how I feel in this moment, but I am blaming it on being up for almost 24 hours again, working last night and working at a place where I am constantly getting cursed at and yelled at, having to give pain medication to frequent flyer drug seeking patients just because 'pain is whatever the patient says it is', trying to communicate with my patients who more often than not cannot speak a lick of English, while trying not to get urine, feces, blood or any of the diseases my patients have onto myself, breasts hurting from not being able to pump more than once in a 13 hour shift (if you've breastfed your child you know that is a LONG time to go without pumping). And don't even get me started on those people that say "Oh you work nights? What do you do with all your time? Aren't all your patients asleep anyway?" HAHAHAHA. Funny. If you only knew the life of a nurse at MIHS (but is surprisingly still better than working at the all male prison I used to work at)... *SIGH* but I do it for my family... work 3 looong days, but home for 4. Full-time nurse. Full-time mom. Okay... going to shower and shed all these negative feelings down the drain, then finally SLEEP! I'm sure you can tell I need it with my grumpy attitude. :( Hopefully when I awake, I will feel refreshed and will be out of this funk I am in...

2012 in review... 2013 hopes

2012 was the best year of my life. Hands down, the highlight of my year was the addition of our daughter Abigail Grace to our family! Everyday is so exciting watching her grow, learn and experience new things. I love being a mom and I love having a daughter! Another highlight of my year was getting a permanent position at my work! Since I was originally hired, I knew it was a temporary position, and the probability of getting hired on permanently was only 50/50. I'm glad I took the risk anyway, because I ended up being hired on a floor where I learn new things every day and I know it's giving me experiece for my dream nursing job and going on medical mission trips. But besides all the amazing and wonderful things we were blessed with this year, 2012 has certainly also been my toughest year yet. It was so difficult to return to work after I had Abigail. I only had 6 weeks for maternity leave, and only 5 weeks were with Abigail (I was 1 week overdue). If/when God decides to bless us with another baby, I am definitely cherishing every moment with my sweet family and taking the full 3 months off. Unfortunately, at the time, that wasn't an option for me. Also, working nights and weekends has definitely had it's pros and cons. I loved that I could stay home with Abigail all week, but hated never seeing Jim. I'm glad this past month I've been able to take some Saturdays off and I think I'm going to try to keep my new schedule of working Friday, Sunday and Monday nights. I know I am so fortunate to have a good job, but boy does it test my patience for some people and emotions when it comes to stressful situations. My work announced this year that they are trying to obtain magnet status, meaning all RNs will have to have their BSN. The last round of new nurses they hired were all BSN-prepared. I feel so lucky to have been hired in the group before them when they still allowed associate's prepared nurses. Pretty much no hospitals now will hire new nurses with 'only' an associate's degree, so I feel like God put me in the perfect situation at the perfect time to get my job. I will be required to get my BSN by 2020 though.

2013... wow, I am looking forward to so much this year! Abigail turns 1 in May. I'm already planning her Hello Kitty themed birthday party! ;) I might decide to take a risk and apply for my dream job and work on the L&D/post partum floor. And who knows.. maybe another pregnancy in 2013! ;) My goals for 2013: become more of the wife/mother God wants me to be, learn how to use my new camera and photoshop,  become more crafty and learn how to use my Cameo... and maybe finally learn how to sew too. :) A big goal Jim and I have had since the middle of this year was to save up to move to Marley Park, our dream neighborhood. Although we love our home and our neighbors now, Marley Park is where we want to raise our family and live long term. Picturesque neighbhood only 1 mile from our church. Marley Park's pricing are starting to get unaffordable again since the housing market is going back up, so hopefully we'll be able to move there this year.

First day of 2013... we took Abigail to the park and it was her first time on the swing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well my work weeks begins in a few hours... I'm off to take a nap! Sad the holidays are over. :(

Christmas week 2012!

Demcember 22

It was Jazlyn's 2nd birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's! Raquel has been my best friend since I was 5 years old. It is so awesome that we both have little girls now. :) Looking forward to them growing up and becoming friends too!

December 23

It was Kristen's birthday! She moved a few weeks ago to San Francicso but already came back to visit for her birthday and spend the holidays with her family! lol. I'm really going to miss her! We had dinner at AZ88 to celebrate her special day. :)

Kristen's sister Melissa and I

 

December 24

During the day, we delivered Christmas gifts to our neighbors. :) On the mason jars had the verse John 3:16. We love our neighbors and want to share Jesus and the real reason for the season with them. We believe that God put us in this neighborhood for a reason and we want to make a positive impact while living here.

Gifts we RECEIVED from our neighbors! The best tamales I've ever had and a homemade bundt cake! We also got some homemade gingerbread cookies (not pictured). We have GREAT neighbors! :)

At Christmas Eve service at our church CCV

 

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents' house...

My brother was visting from San Francicso!

Abigail and my dad :)

My mom modeling one of her Christmas gifts hehe.

 

We got the PS3 Move! Yay!

 

December 25

 Christmas morning at home. Abigail opening her first Christmas present. :)

 

We spend Christmas day with Jim's side of the family... this is my favorite picture of Abby and Kenzie on Christmas! :)

 

I worked on Christmas night. To make it a little less depressing, I planned a white elephant gift exchange and potluck with my co-workers! :)

 

December 30

 

For Christmas, my sis-in-law gifted us little boxes of Cracker Jacks with a note attached saying they were treating the family to a day at Crackerjax! So fun! (Even if I had just gotten off work that morning and slept a total of 2 hours... lol worth it!)

Family

Aww mommies and our girls!





Picture post

This past week in pictures. :)

 

We updated Abigail's room a bit. We moved her monogram frame to above her crib, added a shelf above her changing table and found this rug at Target for 50% off the original price and just so happens that the colors in the rug match her room perfectly!

 

7 month picture with the birthday bear at Berda and Papa's house! :) They do this for all the grandchildren... take a picure every month from birth to 12 months and gift all the pictures in a big frame on their 1st birthday! Can't waity to get Abigail's, see how much she's grown and hang it up in our home!

First time eating apples!

Lunch with my co-workers Nadia and Christina (and Christina's son Mili)

First time Abigail in a restaurant high chair! (and thank you to my sis-in-law for the high chair/shopping cart cover!) Seriously, having a sis to give us all her baby hand-me-downs is the best!

Aww Abigail wih Nadia! You look good with a baby, Nadia! ;)

First time eating peas! Didn't really like it or any veggies she's tried yet for that matter. :/

 

Jim had a tonsillectomy. This was in pre-op, right before they took him back for surgery. He is now recovering at home, nursing my hubby back to health... lots popsicples, soup and love!