Power outage

If I had to pick 1 thing in life that stresses, frustrates, or angers me its losing power.  I absolutly hate losing power.  I hate the helplessness of it. I get so angry and stressed out from it.  I think it's because the lack of control I have over it and how I have to rely on others to fix it.

Yesterday when I got out of work at 5, there was a text message from Dan stating we lost power.  I frantically called him for the next half hour to see if he wanted me to pick up dinner and to figure out a plan for the night.  He wanted to stay home, in the dark and cold and wait it out.  I suggested buying a cheap generator for the sole purpose of heating the house.  I picked up dinner for Jake then came home so to watch the boys so Dan could leave.  

It got dark very quickly.  We had to use flashlights to see and there wasn't much else to do.

It took Dan quite a while to get home due to slow drivers and a huge snow storm.  He finally got the generator running and the furnace working around 9 pm.  I put both kids to sleep and colored by lantern light.

The power did not come back on until 12:30 am so we were able to stay warm enough.  I had to work at 5:30 this morning, but received another text at 8 am saying the power was back out.  I am now home and the power is on.  I better stay on or I am going to freak out.

All work and no play makes me very tired

This past week was so hard on us.  I just got done working 60+ hours and would be gone all day.  I would leave at 11:00 am and wouldn't get home until 10:30 pm.  I am beyond exhausted and miss my boys so much.    When the boys do see me, they both follow me everywhere and refuse to leave me alone.  

Today I started my work day at 7 am after closing the store last night at 10 pm.  I finally got out early enough that I could be with my boys.  They both gave me giant hugs when they saw me.  Since the weather here has been beautiful, Dan and I took them to the playground.  

Jake was amazing at the playground. We had it all to ourselves so he was free to roam without any other kids getting in the way.  He climbed up everything with no help and slid down the slides by himself.  He no longer needs us there to assist him.  I was so proud to see that!

Caleb loves the swing and cooed and laughed.  He hates the slides and was terrified and panicked.  Soon he will be able to play on the structures, we just need a pair of shoes for his tiny feet!

It was a good day and I was so happy to spend lots of time with the boys.  I know I will love my paycheck, but I hope I don't have any more crazy hours.  I miss being home.

Brothers!

Yes, my boys are close in age (16 months apart), yea they are exhausting and stressful at times, but no, I would not change a thing.  I always wanted my kids to be close together so they would have a playmate and best friend.  

They are finally noticing and interacting with each other.  Most of their interactions involve Jake bumping into Cal, or sitting on him, 

But sometimes they can be sweet and play or read together. 

 I cannot wait for them to get older so they can have many fun adventures together!

Walking at 10 months

10 months!

Only 2 more months until he's 1!! This year seemed to have flown by with him.   At 10 months Cal is walking!  It didn't take much time at all for him to go from standing to taking steps to walking all over the house.  He's also eating more table food and less formula.  He loves oatmeal, corn, puffs, and Cheerios.  He seems to be on the right track for being a great eater.   

Sorry these are so blurry.  It's hard to capture the right moment when he's always moving.

Yea Cal!!

Rocks in my pocket

When I was hired at Panera, I had a hard time warming up to all my coworkers.  I was pretty shy and kept to myself.  But I did hit it off with one girl right away.  Even though we are polar opposites, Amy is my favorite person to work with.  She is free spirited and relaxed, she doesn't let much phase her and tends to do things spur of the moment.  She views the world differently than I do and is very spiritual.  She keeps rocks in her pocket at work and says that they help alter your bad moods.  

I always inquire as to which rocks she has that day and get jealous of the cooler looking ones.   For my birthday she gave me a bag of fun rocks!  Now I can keep some in my pocket and see if they help.  I had her tell me the names of each one.

My favorite- a penguin made out of red agate

She didn't know this one

Quartz 

Hemitite

Moss agate

Apache tear

Uquinite

Silicone carbide

Moonstone

Thanks Amy for the rocks!  You picked me out some pretty cool ones.  I will make sure to always keep one on me.

Play date

This morning Jake and I went on a play date!  I have been asking friends and mom 2 mom boards for ideas on how to get Jake around other kids.  A friend from high school invited us over to play with her son who is the same age as Jake.  They live fairly close so off we went.  

Jake cried and laid down as soon as we got there, but as soon as he saw some trucks and tractors he immediately started playing.  He had no problem interacting with my friend (Lynsie), but stayed away from her son Sam.  They avoided each other at all costs.  By the time we left, though, they were playing side by side, but not with each other.  Hopefully, the more interaction Jake has with other kids, the more he will want to play with them.  

The dreaded 3-0

That's right, this year I turn 30! Gasp......  I feel so old.  But as far as birthdays goes, this one was pretty good.  

We all went to my parents for dinner.  This year I chose a Mexican bar.  We had all the fixings for nachos, tacos, and burritos.  It was pretty delicious!

After dinner I opened my gifts and then had cake. 

 I got a handful of quirky picture frames, gift cards to Kohls, Amazon (from Ben and Allison) and Barnes and Nobel (from a girl I work with).  I also got the Cinderella movie and a wallet and fine tip markers from Jenny.  My sister in law Beth sent me the Throne of Glass series, all in hardcover.

After a couple of hours of being with my family, Jenny treated me to a movie and popcorn at the theater.  With 2 small boys and working, I haven't been to the theater in a very long time, so it was wonderful treat.  We saw the movie Sisters and it was hilarious.  After the movie we went to target but found nothing, so we left quickly and ate dinner at Mod pizza.  

We had ice cream for dessert and by that time it was 10 pm and time for bed.

Thank you to everyone who made my 30th birthday a bit easier to handle.  I had a great day and enjoyed myself throughly.