The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: All 7 of my siblings were in Des Moines for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to catch up, to make fun, and to give thanks. Mom made the most delicious food ever. We went to the mall, took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese; Grace, Ashley and I saw "New Moon"; Blayne, Luke, and Joe did a Thanksgiving day run; the kids fed the sheep and rode on the tractor. Something fun for everyone.
The Bad: It took us 4 flights (with three layovers) to get to Des Moines. We were all exhausted.
The Ugly: Pink eye, ear infection, throwing up on Blayne in the middle of the night - all from Darek, all while we were in Des Moines. A tough week for the little guy.

In the end, we're sure glad we made it! It ain't always easy to get together with family, but it sure is worth it.

 
 
 
 

The News

Blayne - He's officially made the transition to working as an investment advisor and he is in hog heaven. This is what Blayne has wanted to do for years and the right opportunity presented itself a few months ago, so we made the leap. Last week he flew to San Francisco to meet with a company who works with investments in capital equipment (like ships, semi-trucks, etc.). Next week he'll go to New York City to meet with a company who works with Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). He's got his own office here in town and he couldn't be happier.

Me - I took the GMAT (the test required to get into MBA programs) 2 months ago and did pretty well; although not as well as my stinky brother Joe. I'm not planning on starting school next fall, so here's a few reasons why I took the test:
1. I'm turning 30 next year and it was just one of those things on my list that I wanted to do before I'm "old."
2. I was feeling the need to do something outside of being Mom. I'm not good at crafts, sewing, decorating - things that I wish I could do - and I needed a little boost.
3. I really would love to get an MBA. The GMAT score is good for 5 years, so if we decide that it's time to go back to school, I'll be able to slip right in.

I didn't send in any applications but several really good schools, like BYU, Carnegie Mellon, Darden, Notre Dame, etc., asked me to apply to their programs which was an ego boost I needed.

Here are the reasons I'm not going (because truthfully, Blayne has been 100% supportive and left it up to me):
1. BYU is the closest school that I'd be interested in attending and it's 4 hours away. Blayne's work is in Idaho Falls, at least for now, and if I want him to be our family's provider then this is where we need to be.
2. MBA programs require at least the time committment of a full-time job. Truthfully, there are days that I daydream about being back in the excitement of a University, but I could not bring myself to leave my kids with someone else all day.

I learned a valuable lesson: there are things that we all dream about doing, but maybe those things seem too far-fetched to be possible - like getting an MBA (or any kind of education), starting our own business, writing a book, whatever it might be - but all you have to do is start taking steps in that direction. I bought a study book, studied when my kids slept, registered for the test, and took it. Simple as that. And something that had seemed so distant became a very real possibility. So take a step.

We got the Toys R Us "Big Book" toy catalog several weeks ago and that has held Darek's attention more than any other book we own. The thing is, I think he just really thinks it's fun to look at the toys (he doesn't make the connection that, hypothetically, we could go to the store and buy them).

 

Old Navy

While I do think that Old Navy has decent prices on decent kids' clothes, I can't stand going in there with both of my kids. I only have a single stroller which means Mia gets the seat and Darek walks. Old Navy has so many trinkets and toys at the front of the store (balls, keychains, piggy banks, umbrellas,etc.) that it's torture trying to get Darek to leave those alone and follow me.
We went last night and Darek talked loudly and non-stop about every item at the front of the store. Several people had started to pay attention to him, and then he arrived at the mannequins placed at the front of the store. There was a mannequin dog placed next to the mannequin people. Darek yelled, "I wanna kiss the doggy mama!" So he walked over and started kissing the dog all over it's head. Then he picked up the toy bone off the floor in front of the dog and licked it from one end to the other. Disgusting. There were probably 15 people watching, including employees, and I wasn't sure what move to make. I didn't want to buy the dumb bone, but Darek had licked it all over with witnesses! Welp, I decided that since the bone had been on the floor anyway, Darek was at least as bad off as the bone. We left the store and we'll be back when Darek's 20.

Family pictures

Janae Anderson, from our ward, did our family pictures last week and did a FANTASTIC job. Our kids could not have been more difficult and yet Janae was able to pull off some awesome pictures. Below are just a few of my favorites. Thanks Janae!

More Halloween

Darek is giving me a run for my money lately, mainly because he is on Mia like white on rice. Whatever she picks up, he takes away. Whenever she's nearby, he pushes her over. Other than when they're napping, it is constant. It's driving me crazy! He's spending a good amount of time in timeout.

Here's several things about the kids that I want to remember at this stage:

Darek; 2 years, 8 months

-He loves to tease. Like if I say "How's my boy?" He'll say, "No, I'm Daddy's Boy" with a huge grin (and he says the opposite to Blayne). Or he'll tell me he wants to give me kisses and when I lean close enough he'll blow raspberries on my face.
-One of his favorite things to do is play hide and seek with Daddy
-He enjoys playing with other kids, especially older kids (as I think most toddlers do).
-He likes trucks and tools
-His favorite show is "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"
-He is very bossy
-He definitely requires a gentle touch and kind persuasion. The more he is pushed or the more demanding I am, the more he digs in his heels. He will go to his room a hundred times rather than be pushed against his will. Little things like changing his diaper can be very delicate.
-He is my little love

Mia; 9 months

-She is amazingly easygoing and generally very happy
-She squeals and laughs when Blayne comes home from work. She crawls around after him all over the house.
-She plays on her own and entertains herself really well
-Her sweet demeanor belies the fact that she gets into Everything. She turns over garbage cans, unrolls toilet paper, emptys out drawers and cabinets.
-She's going through a stage of major stranger anxiety and screams when anyone, other than Blayne or I, hold her.
-She is truly a little doll baby.