I'm really horrible at this...

It has literally been almost a year since I last posted....anything.  My last post was right before I started my new job, clearly that kept me more busy than I am proud to admit. I missed out on a LOT because I was working full time.  Don't get me wrong I love the job, but I loved my kids and my family more. Going to school full time and working full time I never saw my family. That's also not a good equation with a brand new puppy. In early February of this year I decided to come back home where I belonged until I finished my Nursing degree. Since then I have been home with my kids and taking care of my family. We went on vacation to Disney with the kids and visited family. We painted the house, built a fence, built a deck, a brand new farm table and more. 

I think now that I am home I can try and stick with this a little better than I was before. Maybe eventually I will get my journal-ing on track the way I initially planned. I guess we shall see. 

So to start things out....all over again we will start with the families newest edition.  We played the same game we did with the house when not planning to buy until the following year, yeah that didn't work. We recently added a pop-up camper to our list of things we have acquired. She is a beauty. The kids love it, we love it and even the dogs love it. We have our first trip this weekend at Pohick and the kids are ecstatic. Our next trip is already reserved for Memorial Day 2015 down in SC with my parents. On the burner is Veterans Day at Gettysburg and next summer in Kissimmee Florida. 

Lets see how well I can keep up with blogging with all the camping trips, school starting, apple picking, pumpkin picking and so much more. 

New Beginnings

Tomorrow is huge for me. Not only have the kids just started a new journey with a new school and moving up within the elementary school, but Ky begins Pre-K Monday as well. Tomorrow is new for me. I have worked full time in the past, in Veterinary, in externships, in short lived jobs in the past. Tomorrow begins something big for me. Not only will I be going full time, but I will be growing within my company. I will be taking on more responsibilities, more tasks, more knowledge. I will be working side by side with RN's and learning more than I could have ever imagined. I have accepted a position within my company as a Clinical Assistant which means I will be working longer hours and doing so much more than just phlebotomy and rooming patients. 

I am terrified. I am excited. I am all in one. Is that even possible? 

I am finally putting my degree and my passion to use and it warms me. I am looking forward to the next two weeks even though they will probably be hell. I am in Woodbridge one week which is awesome and then I have to drive to Maryland the following week.  Not so horrible really until you factor in traffic LOL. No worries I have optimistic views for the next two weeks and I am really looking forward to training, learning and putting my knowledge to good use.

 

What is wrong with people?

I am seriously appalled at the behavior of some parents! School has an opening time for a reason, that reason being the safety of YOUR kids. What right does any parent have to sit in the drop off line 5 minutes before school opens and blow their horn at the other 4 vehicles sitting there because they won't move. The school does not open for another 5 minutes and it is not the responsibility of the parents waiting on the sidewalk with their kids, to watch your kids! It's 5 minutes show a little bit of patience and wait. Not only is it rude and disrespectful to the drivers, but the parents standing with their kids as well. No one wants to here you blow your horn, and quite frankly, if anything, the horn blowing makes me want to reside in my spot for a good 2 minutes after the bell rings just to piss you off. Granted it isn't exactly the adult thing to do, and two wrongs don't make a right, but maybe those two extra minutes will give you some perspective on your own behavior. 

Not only did this parent act like a jerk in the drop off line, but they then proceeded to pass about 5 cars waiting in line at a stop sign, driving on the wrong side of the road mind you, just so they could turn left.

Let me paint this picture for you, this school is not in the middle of a city where there are no homes close by. This school happens to be nestled in the back of a beautiful community where kids, parents, dogs etc are constantly walking the sidewalks and playing. Kids riding bikes are everywhere. This parent let their true colors guide them today and at the unfortunate expense of their child. I feel for that child now, as well as the people they will encounter throughout their life. Its ignorance like this that forms and molds our children into the people they will some day become. Their parents actions reflect in them and they will in turn become the same as their parents in their attitude, actions etc.

This is where bullying, bad behavior and crime stem from. Children watch their parents like hawks. Then the parents whine and moan about how their children are little hellions and they have no clue as to why. Step back and reflect on your own actions and you will find your answers. Children learn to love and be loved by watching their parents. They learn to act and react by watching their parents. 

It is all up to you!

A year put into perspective

I feel like it was yesterday that Jon and I decided to hunker down in Ocala and start making a life for ourselves. We began looking for a home to buy in the neighborhood that we were living in at the time.  We joked to each other that we would get settled down, after losing all hope of getting back home, and it would be at that moment that we would get the call summoning us home. He got a job with the county, I got a job at a local clinic and we began talking numbers with our Realtor to buy the rental we were currently in. I got ready to head back to Nursing school and the kids started school as well. 

Whattaya know, late September rolls around and we get the call. A job had opened up in the Arlington area for Jon and they were going to pay for us to move back. This was the call we had been waiting on for almost a year. 

We got to Virginia the beginning of December and settled into a small apartment for 2 months. Three days after the moving truck left we got a call that there was a house on base for us and would be ready the beginning of January. So, we did what we had to do, we unpacked necessities and of course Christmas decor and we enjoyed our month in the apartment.  We packed up and moved successfully for the third time in a little over a month. 

Life on base was amazing. The neighbors were incredible, the sense of security was something that I valued greatly. Nate loved school and baseball season was just around the corner. Needless to say all three kids wanted to play. It was a great Spring, beautiful to say the least. We finally made it to the White House Easter Egg Roll and visited museums that we had long missed over the years.

We managed to get ourselves into trouble at a PetExpo we went to sometime in between there. We met a Realtor who soothed our fears and offered to work with us on finding a home. With just having moved three times already this year, we assured her we would not be ready until 2014 to purchase a home. The weekend after Mothers Day we went out with her to look at neighborhoods and what they had to offer. We returned home still hanging on to 2014. Two weeks later we went out again, this time running into a home builder, which, lets face it they were completely out of our league with over 6000 sq feet of living space....yes living space. Jon had to pick my jaw up off the floor and dab the drool on my chin. We left and our Realtor suggested we look at a few other builders in the area so we canceled our last three appointments for the afternoon and went about it. We came home with four or five brochures....I'm sorry, folders with endless amounts of papers in them. It was extremely overwhelming. We kept telling our Realtor we weren't ready, apparently she saw differently. While Jon was gone for a week me and the Realtor did vast amounts of research on all of the builders. We narrowed it down to two builders. She made some phone calls and one thing led to another and we found out that our top choice builder had the exact model we were looking at available for short sale. Jon flew in on Friday, we looked at the house Saturday, signed the papers on Sunday.

Cue fourth and final move in 6 months!

The last 8 months have been the fastest most emotional roller coaster ride I have ever been on. Insane! The kids are zoned for an incredible school. The neighborhood is awesome. Jon has a stable job, I have a stable full time job, mouths are fed and theres a roof over our head. 

Does it get any better?

First day of School

A day of firsts for my house. Nathan started 3rd grade this year...3RD GRADE! Where, someone please tell me, where the last 8 years disappeared to. He picked his very own Power Rangers book bag with not so matching TMNT lunchbox and Iron Man 3 thermos. Yeah no one ever said he had the best sense of style LOL. He gets that coordination from his daddy. He made up for it with some snazzy Tony Hawk clothes though.

Bryce.....oh my....Bryce started Kindergarten this year. My heart is still in my toes. I cried, I panicked and I had a complete melt down for the better part of a week. Jon had to talk me off of the ledge on several occasions because I wouldn't stop with the "What-If's". I was a basket case. Full on Crazy. No wonder Jon went TDY this week, I probably drove him away with all my crazy oozing about. Anyways Bryce was a little more savvy about what he chose for school supplies. Batman backpack, lunchbox and thermos and to top it off some awful black and neon yellow tennis shoes.

Ky starts pre-k at a private daycare on Monday the 9th. He is flying high he is so happy. He hasn't shut up about it yet.  They gave him his own little backpack and goodies to get him started. 

My kids are growing up so fast and I am honestly scared that if I blink I will miss everything. Being a parent is hard. I thought having Ky and all his issues was hard, but the end fact being that these little boogers are going to grow up and leave me one day......it kills. They are so smart and happy and looking forward to so much and it warms me and breaks me all in the same breath. I look forward to seeing what these kids are going to grow up to be. They have such high aspirations and I hope they meet every single one of them.