October (Quick and Dirty Recap)

Before I get to the actual post, I just have to say that I'm so far behind in posts that it'll take me a few days to catch up.  Bare with me!


This fall we were really able to enjoy all the perks of having a second car!  I signed Y up for several of the free programs offered at our local library and many of them she was able to do with a friend from church.  We started with a story time one day a week and another program called Music & Movement.  She wasn't a big fan of just sitting during story time but she loved Music and Movement which incorporates singing and dancing in with story time.

They also offer several seasonal activities at the library, I signed her up to attend a Halloween/Trick or Treat activity at the library that she was able to do with her friend E.  They were able to dress up in costume and go around to different locations in the library and were given many non-candy treats.

We were also able to spend a day out with friends from church.  We went to Wolcott Farm where they were able to see all the different farm animals.  Y is not at all a fan of barns so any animals that were inside them she didn't really care to see.  After walking around the farm for a bit we sat down for a quick bag lunch before heading over to Blake's Cider Mill.  I've lived in Michigan for 7 years and had never been to one so it was a real treat for me as well.  We were able to see how the cider is made from start to finish as well as buy some of their yummy apple goodies (apple donuts, apple cider, and an apple cider slushy).  They also have a little carnival type activity there for the young kids but we didn't venture to that part of the property.  It was a great day and boy did it tire us out!

We had a rather large and unwelcomed guest come visit us on our balcony this month as well.  It was my first time seeing a Praying Mantis in person and it scared me quite a bit.  So much so that our beautiful pumpkins (posted above) never made it outside.  It wandered around our balcony for a couple days and then it just rested above the sliding door wall that leads in from our bedroom.  It stayed there through the freezing cold.  It stayed there through the wind and rain of Hurricane Sandy.  So naturally I assumed it was dead, though I still refused to go out on the balcony.  One day when the in-laws came to visit I sent my father-in-law out to remove it's dead body (B also refused to go near the thing).  Turns out, the sucker wasn't dead after all!  I was so very glad that I didn't go out there!  My FIL ended up sweeping it off the balcony into the grass and from there I don't know what happened to it - nor do I care!

I'm going to lose my Mother of the Year Award again this year.  Even with my best intentions I didn't get a really good photo of both girls in their Halloween costumes.  The only half-decent photos were 2 I quickly snapped at our church Halloween party when I went to get them dressed in their costumes.  Halloween night was a mad rush and to top it off it was rainy.  Y spent the majority of the night crying that she was cold and wet and wanted to go indoors.  Q was a pretty good sport about it though, she just road along in the stroller making no sounds at all.

Super Girl

Baby Lamb



Seven!

We celebrated our 7 year anniversary this week!!!  It has flown by and I can really hardly believe it has been that long but it has been an amazing 7 years for sure.  We've enjoyed many ups and downs and we've still come out strong and even more devoted to each other than ever.  I have one very amazing husband, that's for sure!

Each year on our anniversary we take a photo of our family to add to our wedding album.  It serves to keep track of how we (and our family) have changed over the years.  Here is this year's photo:

Forward Facing

We've finally taken the plunge and turned Q forward facing.  She's almost 15 months old but these days they recommend leaving them rear facing until age 2.  But even though I was hoping to leave her rear facing until 18 months, I'm content with doing it now and she is more than happy too! 

But she looks like such a big girl now :(

Carving Pumpkins

Until this year I had never carved a pumpkin!  I had previously bought a pumpkin with the intent of carving it but it never happened.  I had watched B and Y carve Y's first pumpkin last year.  But since I had never done it myself, I never really knew all that was involved in carving one.

And that is likely why I thought it would be a great idea for each of us to have our very own pumpkin this year!  Yep, that's right 4 pumpkins!!  Keep in mind that we have 2 very young girls who cannot yet carve their own pumpkins and so the brunt of the work would fall on me.  B warned me not to do it, but I didn't listen - that's nothing new though.  And so I bought 4 pumpkins, each one representing the person who that pumpkin belonged to.

It was an interesting experience, but I think next year we will be painting our pumpkins.  At least until the girls are old enough to help in the process.  Y was pretty good in getting "some" of the seeds out of B's pumpkin but it wasn't even a dent in all that needed to come out.

Anyway, here are some of the photos from our pumpkin carving night:

Before

Y, hard at work



After



Q

Y

U

B

New Job, Part II

B has been working at his current job fora month now and it's time for an update.

He was told that it could be a couple YEARS before he knows all that his job entails.  To say it's a huge job is an understatement, I am still amazed when he talks about his job and all that it covers and just how much there is to do and learn.  Even though he is a white collar employee he is working in one of the auto plants and it's truly amazing to think about what is going on inside there all the time.  Currently, approximately 1124 cars are completed in that one plant every single day - that is amazing to think about!  Oh yeah, and did I mention that the plant is MASSIVE?!?  I hope to one day get the opportunity to go inside and have a tour, but I won't hold my breath and wait for it to happen.

He is enjoying the job but there are parts that frustrate him, mostly the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing part of the time.  But he says it's getting better each week.

He had the opportunity to learn more about how he was chosen for the position, one of his coworkers (the manager's right hand man, so to speak) told him that he was lucky.  We know that luck had little, if anything, to do with it.  Heavenly Father had a huge role in B getting this job.  It turns our that the position B was hired for is mostly filled by contractors.  They are not Chrysler employees, they work for outside companies and thus they do not get all the perks and benefits of Chrysler employees.  Needless to say, when a position opens up such as the one B was applying for, they are the ones applying for that job and they are typically the ones who get it.  I mean they want the job so that they can have more job security and better benefits plus they've been doing the job for X amount of years and so they know what they're doing.  These are the 4 other guys that B was up against in the interview process, he was the only non-contractor to apply.  Logic says that one of those four guys should have gotten the job, they already know how to do the job.  But the manager chose B, knowing that it would be a two year investment to train him over choosing someone who already knew the job.  For B to get this job, was unheard of and completely unprecedented but it happened and we must give Heavenly Father all the credit.

The New Job, Part I

By now, pretty much everyone knows that B has started a new job but since this blog is written as a journal for our family I have to write this post anyway.  Yes, even though I am way behind in writing it!

I'll start from the beginning but I'll also try to keep it brief, here goes:

B had been looking for a new job for quite some time, probably close to two years before he found this one.  But we knew he would find a job and believe it or not we even knew when he would find the job, generally speaking.  You see, last year around this time (October/November 2011) B applied for a job that he really, really wanted.  So I kneeled down one night and said one of the most heartfelt prayers of my life, asking that he would get that particular job.  The next day I was struck by a very strong feeling, which I interpreted to be an answer to my prayer, and it was "next year."

I, of course, told B about this answer and his first question was, "so you mean I'm not going to get this job."  Looking back on it I laugh at this question.  But after his initial question he had more questions like, "Will it be a different company? Will it just be a promotion?  When next year? etc. etc." I didn't have answers to any of those questions and so I prayed again and was given a slightly more specific answer, "June."

I will be quite honest and say that I wasn't 100% sure that these were answers to my prayers or if these were just deadlines I was creating in my head.  But each time I prayed about it I received the exact same answer and so we decided we'd just go on as usual.  B kept applying for jobs and doing various interviews but in the end even when he was the most qualified applicant, it never worked out. 

As April came we really began to get excited thinking that whatever was coming would start to come soon.  Then May arrived and we told ourselves that in order to start a job in June we'd have to be interviewed for it by at least May and so when May came and went I really began to question those answers I had received.  But I told myself that nowhere in the answer did it specify what would happen when June arrived.  Maybe it meant he would find the job in June or apply for the job in June, we really didn't know.

And then one day in the middle of June, B came home with what should have been exciting news - he had been given a promotion at work.  I was not excited or happy about this at all!  A promotion was not what we were seeking, we were sick of his current company, of the crappy benefits, of the company politics and their ridiculous way of doing everything.  We wanted OUT of the company, not just a new job within the same company.  I was bitter and angry to say the least.

After a few days, I got over it.  I was able to see that even if this wasn't what we were ultimately looking for that it was a step in the right direction for our family.  It provided us a little extra wiggle room financially, enough to finally purchase a second car. 

Shortly after he started his new position we left for vacation.  When we returned, on B's first day back at work the phone rang while I was changing Q's diaper - I didn't answer it obviously but I could hear the phone saying Chrysler (our phones have talking Caller ID).  Whenever I know someone is calling concerning a job for B I always let it go to the answering machine so that when he gets home he can play back the message and hear it himself.  Well this time they didn't leave a message, I was really anxious about this and so I texted B and then I just decided to call the number back.

When I did this I was able to talk to the man who had called and he was extremely nice and basically told me that he wanted to bring B in for a one-on-one interview (he had already done a phone interview previously) and it was at that point that I knew this was the job that Heavenly Father had waiting for us and that this would be B's new job.

He interviewed with the hiring manager and things went extremely well, but he was told that he would be going up against four others who were internal, because of that we were a bit worried and really didn't see how he would be given the position but a week later B was contacted by his manager and told that he had sent his name on to corporate as the person he wanted to hire and that he would be contacted by them for an interview.  Two weeks passed and we heard nothing and then they finally called.  He interviewed with a panel of 3 and the following day he received another heads up from his manager that he would be offered the job!  It took a few more weeks to get everything organized but on September 11th he was able to put in his two weeks notice and on September 24th he became an employee of Chrysler!

The Bike

Y has been asking for a bike since sometime after Christmas.  Unfortunately, we live in Michigan and wintertime isn't exactly bike friendly so we told her that she could get a bike for her birthday.  She was more than content with that but every time we passed the bike section in Wal-Mart she wanted to see "her" bike and helmet.

She has ridden it several times since she got it and it's clear we need to build those leg muscles up!  Today we took her and her bike to a park and she peddled for quite a while but she wanted B's assistance up until she saw a little girl who was probably a couple years older than she is peddling a bike all by herself.  And then she could be heard saying things like, "I can do it by myself" and "Daddy, I don't need any help" and of course, "Stop helping me!"  I did giggle to myself quite a bit as I pushed Q in the stroller.

Boy do they grow up fast!

Y's Birthday Party

Y has finally reached an age where we thought was appropriate for her to have a few friends over for a birthday party.  Truth is, that was probably last year but since I had only recently given birth to Q, there was no way that was going to happen!

The worst part about Y's birthday is that if falls at the very beginning of September which is also when Labor Day occurs each year and then school begins right after that and the life of parents gets a lot more crazy!  So in dealing with those 2 events we decided to have Y's birthday party on August 25th.

Though we have a decent sized home, I didn't feel it was large enough to hold 12 children (including Y) and a parent of each child so we decided we would have the party in our garage which worked out perfectly since it was really a pool party and we planned to just walk them all over to the pool as the main event.

I was extremely nervous about the party as I'd never thrown a party for children before and because I have this annoying tendency to over-analyze everything.  Fortunately it turned out to be a beautiful, hot day - perfect for swimming - and the kids all really enjoyed themselves.

We went with a Princess & Knight theme so I bought each girl a tiara and made them a satin sash that said Princess followed by their name.  They then got to decorate their sash with all different types of jewels and stickers.  For the boys I bought them foam swords and made them shields from cardboard which I then spray painted silver - each shield was personalized with "Sir" followed by their name and they also got to decorate those.  Both were a big hit!

Unfortunately, I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked but that's what happens when you're in the middle of hosting a party!


The before photo, you sort of get the idea.

They started decorating their sashes and shields as they arrived and waiting for the others.

Nana B. made the cake, she did an awesome job!

A Big Change

There's a big change coming to our family very soon.  As much as I'd love to go into specifics, I am bound by my dear husband to keep my mouth shut! ;)  It's not something I do very well so you'd better believe as soon as I'm given the all clear, I'll be here to write all about it!!!

Y - The Flower Girl

Well over a year ago, B's cousin asked us if Y would be the flower girl in his wedding.  Y had no clue what a flower girl was at the time but I was through the roof with excitement and once I explained to her what a flower girl was and what they do, she was thrilled as well.

We were asked in Spring of 2011 if she could do it and the wedding wasn't until late summer 2012 so we waited until February of this year to go and try on dresses.  We tried a couple, took some photos and then sent them on to the bride and groom for approval.  They were satisfied with them all and we were told we could pick whichever one we wanted.  With that, we let Y choose which she liked the best. 

Fast foward to May 2012 and we went in to order the dress!  Y didn't really understand that we wouldn't be taking home the dress she tried on that day.  I had to explain that we were just trying on two of them (a size 3 and size 4) to see which one would be the best fit for her in a few months - we went with the size 4.  The dress came in several weeks earlier than expected, we had been told mid-late July but it was in about a week or 2 after we ordered it.  As happy as I was with the quick service I was not happy to have to tell Y over and over again that she couldn't wear it yet.

The wedding day, August 11, finally arrived and I've never seen a little girl so excited.  She loved every moment in that dress and every moment of the wedding.  She had a little hiccup with throwing the flowers and getting down the aisle quick enough but once that was over she was all ready for the reception.  She pretty much stayed on the dance floor the entire night, yes, even during dinner!  It seemed as if everyone at the wedding was taken by her, when time came for everyone to start dancing she was right there in the middle of them having a blast.

Unfortunately we weren't staying in Toronto for a second night so we ended up leaving the wedding right around 10pm.  Y was exhausted, she had had a full and very fun day.  When we asked her what her favorite part of the wedding was, she replied, "dancing!"



It had been raining all day and suddenly 5 minutes before the ceremony was due to start the sky cleared!





Y posing with the Birch arch that Uncle R built for the wedding.





On the dance floor during dinner.

Still there...

The life of the party!





She was a big hit, everyone loved her and she loved every minute of it!