Christmas in Dixie

(My favorite Christmas song..)

Plasma cars from Santa!  

Sweet babies at Great Grandma's house.

Not a horrible picture, but I swear, it takes a miracle to get them to smile together on command.  Little rascals...

Over-freakin'-whelmed

There is so much happening at light-speed that I feel like I'm a dog hanging out of a car window. So what happened this month?

1. We decided to sell our house (Endured a roller coaster ride with a crappy Realtor, then had tons of fun battling with two very messy toddlers to keep the house show-ready, then had to find a competent new Realtor).  
2. Then we searched for houses, found a house and are in the process of moving to said home (which will culminate in a Uhaul cluster-F tomorrow).  
3. I started searching for jobs, stopped watching the two infants, went on interviews and found a (great) job.
4. Jimmy worked so much that he has been a walking, sleep deprived zombie and I have been a single parent.
5. While searching for a job and new home, I found a new daycare for our children--hereafter referred to as Child Heaven.  

So yeah, things have been a bit hectic, a statement in contention for the title of "understatement of the century."  I am proud to say that through all of this craziness, our family has been stronger than ever.  It would be natural to bicker and meltdown during this time of uncertainty and exhaustion, but not one moment of tension occurred.  For this, we are blessed.  

At every turn, things keep going our way.  I am starting to believe that this month is a product of divine design, but totally against how I imagined the month unfolding-- you know, holiday cheer and spiked  eggnog as the only highlights. 

The game changer was my reentry into the paid workforce.  (Hell yes, I said "paid workforce!" This year has been lots of work and a constant reminder of how ignorant I was when I viewed stay at home moms as dumb and ultimately a drain on their family's resources.  The egg's on my face on that one...)  The job search was intimidating, but I had great success in landing interviews and had four companies interested in hiring me.  I accepted the job with Ryan Homes, as complete departure from my previous experience.  I am thrilled about the opportunity to learn and grow professionally.  Event planning, something I've always loved, has lost its luster, and staying at home this last year has given me the clarity and confidence to step into uncharted waters.  But there's a sacrifice in every situation, the money's going to be great, but our family schedule is going to be down-right confusing. 

I'm looking forward to our children's new adventure at Child Heaven.  We're all good at something, but my something was not staying at home.  I've done my best at teaching them and giving them social interaction with kids their ages, but I love the learning environment they're going to experience in daycare.  I gave it a good run, but they're going to be better off there.

Our new home is very different from what we're used to.  The most obvious difference is our .14 acres versus 1 acre on a 75 acre farm.  Growing around our house will  be corn and soybean, which is like a living science project for our little ones.  The farm equipment, the bugs, the plants are all going to teach them something.  The house is older, so it is going to be a challenge to go from our ginormous bathroom to a bathroom fit for a field mouse.  At some point, I'll stop missing my soaking tub, but for now, I'm in tears.

caps, caPS, CAPS!

Had a great time at a Caps game with old and new friends last month.  It was our first Caps game since I was pregnant with Ashton.  In fact, at our last Caps game, I found out I was having a boy.  I could give you the long story, but for simplicity sake, Jimmy has a big mouth!  

Anyway, back to 2011.  Here are pics!

So much change.

Our family is going through many changes.  Some positive, like Ashton and Reagan being so loving, and some negative, like the threat of moving, job searching, and Jimmy working so hard that it makes me want to cry.  We're just like almost every American household struggling to survive.  I'm happy to be looking for a job, quite frankly.  I love staying at home with the kids, but I was also born to work.  I think both being a stay at home parent and a working parent has advantages and disadvantages.  Bottom line: parenting is hard; life is hard.  Through all of this, I feel so fortunate to have a loving, hardworking husband and two amazing children.  Without those two things, all of this change would be crippling.

But don't worry.  Our spirits are high and we know this time of uncertainty is short.  So no pity party.  Just enjoy the pictures of our kids.  They're smile-inducing :-D

ABOUT THE PICTURES:

Per a friend's suggestion, I took the kids out on a walk to gather leaves and do a project with them.  They L O V E D it.  It was fun because it was cold and I strapped on their backpacks, so it was an adventure.  

Reagan loves to have her picture taken.  Ashton doesn't mind, but he doesn't do a good job of looking at the camera, so most pictures lack luster.  But here's little peanut brittle cheesin':

Toddler conversations at the hospital.  For some reason, Reagan has inherited Ashton's breathing problems and was wheezing like crazy.  So off to the hospital we go!

Fun visit from our friend Sarah.  She did a great job of wearing out the kids... and herself too.

Fashions by Ashton, Continued

Poop or chocolate?

Clothing optional in this hospital.

Fashion forward pairings, mixing seasons and occasions.

No costume makeup necessary when you're a gangsta.

FIRE!

 Yep.  You guessed it.  This post will be a ton of Halloween pictures.  C'mon.. You'd wonder if I didn't, right?  

FIRE!  Well, not even our fireman could put the hatred Reagan had for her original costume.  So she ruined my hopes of having a fireman and his dalmatian.  Ah well, sure made a cute monkey.  

Not to worry.  Halloween was still so so so great.  We asked friends to come over and trick-or-treat with us because our neighborhood is Halloween central.  Seriously, people ship in kids from around our country to pillage the Station.  All of the 10 kids had a blast marching around getting crack, I mean, candy.  It was the best Halloween I've ever had.

It's a Christmas miracle!  80% of our little monsters are looking at the camera and only 10% are smashing pumpkins!

 And both of my kids got a little action!

I'll see you at the crossroads

We're at a place that is difficult... and we're lost.

As a couple, we decided that I would stay home with the kids of course to save money on daycare, but also to help enrich our children's lives and our marriage.  It has been great.  It has been hard.

It seems like no matter how you work it, being an adult can suck sometimes.  I remember how terrible my parents were for making me clean up after myself and be home before the crack of dawn, and I'd give almost anything to be back in their house, living under their strict rules.  Those were the days...  (Also loved the days of uniforms, but I'll leave that out for now.)

Money is so tight for us that it is maddening.  I keep telling Jimmy that I wasn't made to be poor.  Not that I'm high maintenance, couldn't be further from it, but I have no clue how to save money.  I feel like an education and stellar work ethic should get you above poverty level.  Maybe just me on this one...

Jimmy's working like crazy.  Crazy.  So crazy that I told him with tears in my eyes tonight that I'm afraid he will die by December.  Every day off he's working alternative employment just so we can keep body and soul together.  I'm not exaggerating.  He's going without sleep so often that I worry every time he's on the road.  And I'm not a worry wart, so you gotta know this is serious.

So, it's 2:57 a.m. and I'm looking for jobs.  And finding nothing.  Wonderful...  This economy blows.

I have skills damn it!  Where are the jobs that have a purpose and in an industry I know something about? (Really should have gone to nursing school...)

Sure, the prevailing problem is availability, but I come with baggage this time around:

• I'm not 22 anymore, and while I am fully capable of working 80 hrs/week, I have no desire to do so.  I hated that about my last job.  
• I don't want a ridiculous commute.  Going back to my first point, spending two hours each day in a car is possible and in general, I enjoyed the alone time to think, but I don't want that anymore.  What a waste of time, time that could have been better served on my children, my husband, or for plain shavin' my legs.
• I want something predictable.  I've observed, for the most part, the more important you are, the more unpredictable your job becomes.  A year ago, I'd call Jimmy an hour before the daycare dash and tell him he'd have to break out of work to pick up the kids.  Yeah, that always went over well... (Am I trying to convey that I was important?  I'll let you be the judge of that ;-D ) 

So what's a gal to do? Hook?  You think there's a market for that in Richfield Station?  

Vegas baby

Earlier this month we went to Vegas for the first time, and it was so much different from what I imagined...

 One-eyed Pete and I were excited to see all that Vegas has to offer.  

Lucky for Jimmy, there's enough to see that one eye will do.

 

Who knew that really crappy limos can serve as taxis?

 Blatant nudity was expected, but to arrive in 20 minutes?  Now that's service!

  

 And some people played softball... 

 

  And Keshia and I did our best to enjoy the $7 pitchers...

                         

When we didn't win, we tested ways to lift team morale...  

All in all, we had a great time.  We're going back, by golly!  If you want in, you're more than welcome to join!