It's been quite some time again since I've shared here. This summer has been so busy as I have returned to school and am taking 2 classes, one of which is a Medical Terminology class and is kicking my butt. I'm nearing the end though and I'm happy to say I've got 100 in one class and a 97.7 in the other. But I've worked really hard for those grades, which are needed due to such high competition to get into these medical programs at our local community college. So in between class work, writing papers, studying and taking tests, we have been trying to fit in as much time together as a family as we can and fun activities for the kids.
Next week is Kyla's first week at Vacation Bible School which she is excited for. I remember loving VBS as a kid and it's about 10 times better now than it was when I went so I think she will enjoy it. We are also getting ready for her to start at her new elementary school. I have her enrolled in half day Kinder as it is a private school that I feel will be a little bit of an adjustment for her. Greg and I sat in on a class last year and they expect a lot out of the kids, so we will start half day and if she wants or I feel full day would be good, we can move to that any time.
Emma is also going to start preschool this year. She turned 3 in June, but she is ready for some socialization other than just Mom. This is going to be really hard for her and for me as well. I imagine the first 2 weeks will be torture dropping her off. I expect lots of tears and screaming for me to not go. :/ but I completely trust the women at this preschool and know that they will have her best interests in mind and will call me if needed.
Kyla has also been back in swimming lessons at our local court club. It has taken a lot for her to get comfortable in the water again, but her teacher is very good at working with her and pushing her to do more but not so quickly that she gets scared again. I am considering skipping a semester of ballet since she is doing so well at swimming until she can swim the length of the entire pool and back. These kids activities can add up if you do too much at once. Kyla is also going to be starting Upward soccer in just a few weeks. The season for that is short, but I think she will enjoy it. We will see, I have been told since her Dad was in Olympic Development soccer and her aunt and uncle were good at soccer as well that she will be too...but I dunno :) I never played soccer or had an interest in the sport so I know nothing about it and can't help her at all, her Dad will have to do that part if she finds she enjoys it and it could become a regular activity for her. The only concern here I have been told is for throw ins - that her little arm may be too short to get a good throw in - of course she has her prosthetic but the doctors as well as I didn't think it would be a good idea as she may hurt other kids with it - it is rock hard.
Anyhow, that's all the time I have for an update, hope everyone is doing well!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
My Life
Wrote this note to my Husband tonight. A brief description of our life, I thought it was worth sharing:
All of the following has happened in the past hour: Emma peed pants while standing directly in front of the toilet - while I am hosing her off in the shower following peeing her pants Kyla is downstairs putting the cheese packet in the entire pot of boiling water & macaroni, while I am fixing the mac & cheese Emma grabs vacuum and starts vacuuming the house while naked, Emma spills her juice all over her chair while eating dinner, Macy comes upstairs after I fed her dog food and pukes right by the dinner table. Nothing else has happened in the last hour - other than all of that.
This past week has been eventful to say the least. I had a phone interview 2 weeks ago and was called back for an actual interview at the start of this week. It went really well even though I hadn't had a 'formal' interview in so many years. I was called back in a few days later for skills testing which was just typing and 10-key. Immediate following my testing the hiring manager took me upstairs, told the HR admin that I 'blew everyone else out of the water' and had me sign hiring paperwork, background check paperwork and then I was off for drug testing. I was totally kind of caught off guard by how quickly it all happened, but I went a long with it and thought I would just wait and see what the formal offer would be. The following morning I got the formal offer and with Emma still being 2 (almost 3) and having nanny or childcare expenses what they could offer me just wasn't worth it, so I turned the job down. The lady was very nice, I explained to her about our childcare situation and she said she understood that she has young children as well and has been in the same boat and told me that if I ever wanted to apply to the company in the future that they would welcome me there. Which I thought was very nice of her to say - the timing is just not right and childcare makes it so hard to make working worth it. I am still looking for a job and I've decided I really do need to wait for a PT position for now. I am also considering just not even doing the job thing and getting my pre-reqs done for the Spokane ultrasound program here locally and then once the girls are both to the age where they are in full time school (2 years from now) applying to the Spokane program. For now I know they are too young for me to do the school thing, but in a few years it could be a possibility. Hard on the family but a possibility and a year goes by so quickly that it would be over in no-time.
This is why you listen to people and do your schooling before you have kids. Not my fault - my Husband's ;)
All of the following has happened in the past hour: Emma peed pants while standing directly in front of the toilet - while I am hosing her off in the shower following peeing her pants Kyla is downstairs putting the cheese packet in the entire pot of boiling water & macaroni, while I am fixing the mac & cheese Emma grabs vacuum and starts vacuuming the house while naked, Emma spills her juice all over her chair while eating dinner, Macy comes upstairs after I fed her dog food and pukes right by the dinner table. Nothing else has happened in the last hour - other than all of that.
This past week has been eventful to say the least. I had a phone interview 2 weeks ago and was called back for an actual interview at the start of this week. It went really well even though I hadn't had a 'formal' interview in so many years. I was called back in a few days later for skills testing which was just typing and 10-key. Immediate following my testing the hiring manager took me upstairs, told the HR admin that I 'blew everyone else out of the water' and had me sign hiring paperwork, background check paperwork and then I was off for drug testing. I was totally kind of caught off guard by how quickly it all happened, but I went a long with it and thought I would just wait and see what the formal offer would be. The following morning I got the formal offer and with Emma still being 2 (almost 3) and having nanny or childcare expenses what they could offer me just wasn't worth it, so I turned the job down. The lady was very nice, I explained to her about our childcare situation and she said she understood that she has young children as well and has been in the same boat and told me that if I ever wanted to apply to the company in the future that they would welcome me there. Which I thought was very nice of her to say - the timing is just not right and childcare makes it so hard to make working worth it. I am still looking for a job and I've decided I really do need to wait for a PT position for now. I am also considering just not even doing the job thing and getting my pre-reqs done for the Spokane ultrasound program here locally and then once the girls are both to the age where they are in full time school (2 years from now) applying to the Spokane program. For now I know they are too young for me to do the school thing, but in a few years it could be a possibility. Hard on the family but a possibility and a year goes by so quickly that it would be over in no-time.
This is why you listen to people and do your schooling before you have kids. Not my fault - my Husband's ;)
Monday, March 16, 2015
I'm Old
My birthday was last week.... and I'm an old lady now. 32. Not sure how quickly that happened. I remember being 21 like it was just like two years ago. Ugh..... time goes by so quickly. BUT I did buy 2 tickets to see Ed Sheeran in concert in Portland in June as a late celebration. I am so excited. Greg bought me the CD and apparently CD's are like really not the main way of getting music anymore, well I didn't know that until my Husband went looking for birthday presents for me. Once again shows how old I am and how out of touch with society (besides my kiddos) I have become. Kids will do that to you; occupy a lot of your time ;). But he did find it and so I'm sharing one of my favorite songs. Love........... \
Ed Sheeran Photograph
Ed Sheeran Photograph
Sunday, March 8, 2015
It's March 2015!
Another update on our family happenings. Most all of us are doing well. The weather is getting warmer and we have been hitting up the park a lot more lately, which is nice. The park has it's great things but also it's bad things. To be honest the park is the place I like going to but also don't like going to. That doesn't make sense unless you are a parent like me of a 'different' child. Every park trip is interesting, we always get the kids who surround Kyla asking her questions, won't leave her alone even though she has already tried to answer their questions, run away from her once they see her arm, etc. I know it's going to happen but it doesn't mean I'm not going to take my kids to the park to play, we just deal with it, I sometimes have a few quick tears (not around the kids) and we for the most part have a good time out of the house playing in the sun, being a normal family. Regardless, I'm just glad summer is coming. The girls are I just got back home from a grocery store trip and there was a mid aged boy who had autism pretty badly (I am guessing) and he was not having a good trip out...lots of looks, lots of stares; but not from me or Kyla. LOL...and I told Emma to stop staring. I can relate..not to that extent, but I can relate and feel for those parents. They are struggling....although they have a child that is mentally having troubles, they still have to go to the grocery store just like everyone else. Anyhow, times like this make me realize just how good we do have it as far as Kyla's difference..she is completely normal to me...and to the rest of her family.
We made our annual Shriner's trip about a month ago to Spokane. We got some bad news being that they have changed their policies and they no longer fund for other prosthetic doctors to make prosthetics for their patients. So basically, before, Shriner's would cover the remainder of the cost of the prosthetic that insurance didn't. Which for Kyla's last prosthetic was over 1K. We paid that out of pocket since we were not yet setup with Shriners and now that we are, they change their policies. LOL, so once she needs another one we will have to make the 3-4 trips to Spokane in order to get the new prosthetic for her. It's a bummer, but whatever... Then earlier this week I just took Kyla to our local prosthetics doctor at Hanger and he made some adjustments to her prosthetic since she has grown so that it will fit her better. The next day after he made these adjustments she wore her arm for all of ballet and for like 2-3 hours following class, which was really good for her.
Only other news really is we meet later this week with Kyla's new school's headmaster. This school is very small, it's a Christian Academy and not accredited by Washington State, but it is in the same building she is in now for Preschool (which makes it nice since Emma is registered to start preschool this coming year) so less trips for me or whoever will be dropping them off/picking them up. Although this school is small, I did tour another Christian private school about 2 weeks ago that is much larger and felt more like a public school and I just didn't get a super great feeling about it. So we will see how this meeting goes with this other smaller school and go from there. With Kyla's monthly tuition and Emma's preschool tuition, I need a job, very very soon. It's been really difficult for me to find something part-time that still pays enough to make it worth it and can work with my husband's crazy work schedule and my kid's school/activities schedule. I've found and applied for several though and have had no luck. And for jobs I really feel I am over qualified for...but such is life, I am going to keep trying and if we get down to the point where I can't find something PT I'll take a FT job for now and continue to look for PT. The job I had interviewed for a few months ago would have been great, with NY Life but they did not want to pay me what I need to make it work for our family so it just didn't work out, which is a bummer because I saw the guy I would have been working for earlier this week and he just seemed like he would have been a great guy to work for, oh well. I do see myself going back to work at PNNL but it will have to be the right job, not just any job, we will see. Kind of funny because I talked with some of my old managers and co-workers a few weeks ago and I just don't think everyone thinks of things the way I do, of course my old Manager is very career driven, where as my #1 most important thing to me is my kids. Always has been and always will be. I've seen other kids at Kyla's preschool whose Mom has gone from not working at all to working FT and it has not been good on the kids... I also have been a caregiver for my niece for almost a year now while my Sister works FT and it does make me sad for those parents/children because they are missing out on so much, so many precious moments and opportunities with their children. Speaking of my niece, she's 1 in early April and I did just recently tell my Sister that I am not going to be able to watch her this summer on because I need to focus on job searching for myself and also summer activities like soccer (Kyla will start Upward Soccer soon) and swimming lessons. It's ridiculous that my kid is working on 6 years old and still doesn't know or have a clue how to swim. It's actually scary for me as a parent to not be able to trust my kids around water.... so I've found that our local Racquet Club does private 1-on-1 lessons so we plan to do that a lot this summer.
Overall monthly tuition for both kiddos will be like paying daycare all over again and then some since I will need to find someone to help pickup the kids and be with them for a while, while I work. I am trusting that it will all work out somehow....
Kyla has also been struggling with school, her teacher talked to me earlier this week and said she has just all of a sudden decided to not do her papers during class. She will sit and play with her pencil, play with her hair, etc. and comes home with blank incomplete papers, so I am taking the time in the afternoons to work with her making her finish up her work that she didn't get done during class. Regardless the teacher and I know that if she doesn't do it at school, I'll make her do them at home... little turd...she is the sweetest girl, has the sweetest heart of about any kid I know but she is also hard-headed and in her own little world a lot of the time. From getting dressed in the morning, to eating her meals, to doing her school work, it's all usually a struggle to get her to stay on-task or focused, so I'm hoping this will change, but we will see. Emma is very much the opposite, but all kids are different. Another thing that makes the job thing hard for me is Emma is still very much attached to me. She has been with me every day since the day she was born, she is 3 in June...she is used to Mom and her family and not a ton of other people....so school next year will be a big adjustment for her. I think all 2nd children are much less independent than their older siblings. Just kind of how it works out.
Need to get going.
We made our annual Shriner's trip about a month ago to Spokane. We got some bad news being that they have changed their policies and they no longer fund for other prosthetic doctors to make prosthetics for their patients. So basically, before, Shriner's would cover the remainder of the cost of the prosthetic that insurance didn't. Which for Kyla's last prosthetic was over 1K. We paid that out of pocket since we were not yet setup with Shriners and now that we are, they change their policies. LOL, so once she needs another one we will have to make the 3-4 trips to Spokane in order to get the new prosthetic for her. It's a bummer, but whatever... Then earlier this week I just took Kyla to our local prosthetics doctor at Hanger and he made some adjustments to her prosthetic since she has grown so that it will fit her better. The next day after he made these adjustments she wore her arm for all of ballet and for like 2-3 hours following class, which was really good for her.
Only other news really is we meet later this week with Kyla's new school's headmaster. This school is very small, it's a Christian Academy and not accredited by Washington State, but it is in the same building she is in now for Preschool (which makes it nice since Emma is registered to start preschool this coming year) so less trips for me or whoever will be dropping them off/picking them up. Although this school is small, I did tour another Christian private school about 2 weeks ago that is much larger and felt more like a public school and I just didn't get a super great feeling about it. So we will see how this meeting goes with this other smaller school and go from there. With Kyla's monthly tuition and Emma's preschool tuition, I need a job, very very soon. It's been really difficult for me to find something part-time that still pays enough to make it worth it and can work with my husband's crazy work schedule and my kid's school/activities schedule. I've found and applied for several though and have had no luck. And for jobs I really feel I am over qualified for...but such is life, I am going to keep trying and if we get down to the point where I can't find something PT I'll take a FT job for now and continue to look for PT. The job I had interviewed for a few months ago would have been great, with NY Life but they did not want to pay me what I need to make it work for our family so it just didn't work out, which is a bummer because I saw the guy I would have been working for earlier this week and he just seemed like he would have been a great guy to work for, oh well. I do see myself going back to work at PNNL but it will have to be the right job, not just any job, we will see. Kind of funny because I talked with some of my old managers and co-workers a few weeks ago and I just don't think everyone thinks of things the way I do, of course my old Manager is very career driven, where as my #1 most important thing to me is my kids. Always has been and always will be. I've seen other kids at Kyla's preschool whose Mom has gone from not working at all to working FT and it has not been good on the kids... I also have been a caregiver for my niece for almost a year now while my Sister works FT and it does make me sad for those parents/children because they are missing out on so much, so many precious moments and opportunities with their children. Speaking of my niece, she's 1 in early April and I did just recently tell my Sister that I am not going to be able to watch her this summer on because I need to focus on job searching for myself and also summer activities like soccer (Kyla will start Upward Soccer soon) and swimming lessons. It's ridiculous that my kid is working on 6 years old and still doesn't know or have a clue how to swim. It's actually scary for me as a parent to not be able to trust my kids around water.... so I've found that our local Racquet Club does private 1-on-1 lessons so we plan to do that a lot this summer.
Overall monthly tuition for both kiddos will be like paying daycare all over again and then some since I will need to find someone to help pickup the kids and be with them for a while, while I work. I am trusting that it will all work out somehow....
Kyla has also been struggling with school, her teacher talked to me earlier this week and said she has just all of a sudden decided to not do her papers during class. She will sit and play with her pencil, play with her hair, etc. and comes home with blank incomplete papers, so I am taking the time in the afternoons to work with her making her finish up her work that she didn't get done during class. Regardless the teacher and I know that if she doesn't do it at school, I'll make her do them at home... little turd...she is the sweetest girl, has the sweetest heart of about any kid I know but she is also hard-headed and in her own little world a lot of the time. From getting dressed in the morning, to eating her meals, to doing her school work, it's all usually a struggle to get her to stay on-task or focused, so I'm hoping this will change, but we will see. Emma is very much the opposite, but all kids are different. Another thing that makes the job thing hard for me is Emma is still very much attached to me. She has been with me every day since the day she was born, she is 3 in June...she is used to Mom and her family and not a ton of other people....so school next year will be a big adjustment for her. I think all 2nd children are much less independent than their older siblings. Just kind of how it works out.
Need to get going.
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