Time flies

And just like that it's a new year. Every year brings new adventure, 2015 was one of the best yet. My husband and I welcomed our adorable son into the world. It has been the most amazing journey watching him grow and he will be one next month! Crazy how time flies. Along with his birthday this year will be full of fun and excitement. We have weddings and family vacations planned and it will be a year full of memories. I am blessed with being able to be a stay at home mom at the time. I get to spend hours o Ln end watching my son learn everything as he takes in the world. Our current obsession is walking, he is so ready and I am not. I am in denial that he is close to being a toddler. However I am so excited to go through everything we have planned this year and see life through his eyes. Everything is so big and new and exciting, a lot of that is lost as we grow up and expect too much. If we really take a breather and look around we have oh so much to be thankful for. My son is so lucky to be loved by so many family members. He has all of his grandparents and FIVE great grandparents. Pretty unusual. We also have this wonderful village of friends who love and support us in so many ways. I love knowing that he will have so many people to boost him up as he takes on so many challenges in life. Possibly the best of all, he has a cousin only 6 months younger than him. They are going to be getting into trouble together in no time. How great is that, a best friend built right in.

current events

Staying in tune with things that are going on in your city, state, country and the world is important. Let me start out this rant by stating that I am not the person to ask this question to. I like knowing what is going on, but I know the headlines and a brief summary and could not give a lot of details on current events. However, talking with friends I realized how little I knew and some of them knew even less. Some of my friends, and my husband read the news every day and are very up to date. I want to be that way. I hate when I hear a conversation about a current event or issue that I know little or nothing about. I have goals to read more of the news and discuss these things with my friends and family. I think it is important to show support for your beliefs but how do you do that if you do not know what is going on. I also think friendly debates are not only appropriate, but necessary. Someone just might point out something you would not have thought of on your own. I think many people limit themselves to social issues or politics but in reality, we all should know a little about both of these things and not just what team is going to the championship for whatever sport is currently in season. My biggest challenge is asking questions, I have challenged myself to not feel dumb if I do not know what someone is talking about and to ask them to explain the issue or event to me. I'm not helping anyone by just standing idly and nodding.

"Parenthood"

I have written many times about my FAVORITE television family. I love the Braverman family. I think NBC has done a wonderful job writing in a character that everyone can relate to. I have things I like and dislike about every person but I feel like I have watched them grow and change. I am very distraught because this week marks the end to one of my very favorite shows. It is bittersweet to say farewell to them. (But I am glad it is not going to be drawn out like another one of my favorite shows- Grey's Anatomy.) Anyways, I had Peter binge watch from the beginning of the very first episode from the first season and get all caught up. We have cried together and yelled at the characters when we disagree with them. Rew-atching it all with him has made me love the show even more. It has created a lot of conversations and I think we have learned more about each other as we use their scenarios and talk about what we would do. We defend the characters we love, and play devils advocate against each other to look at all the sides of the situation. We admire the bond of the family and truly will miss the weekly drama. I say farewell to Parenthood the show as I prepare for parenthood in reality. Just for fun. Read this: 19 Signs You're The Adam Braverman Of Your Family

grown up friends

As most of my friends have grown up jobs and busy schedules we don't see each other as often as we did before all the responsibilities kicked in. I am pretty bad about making time and trying to get together, but then when we do I realize how much our friendships are cherished and why friends are so important. My friends are always supportive and there to pick me up when I am down. They are there for every big event and they are the family we choose to have. As I have grown up I realize that some friends get lost along the way, and I think the hard part is realizing that it is okay. People change and take different paths and you can wish them well and live on. I had a conversation this last weekend with a couple girlfriends about the opposite, and about being more open to new friends. I think that while I love my friends, I am very much in a bubble. It is not that I do not want to meet new people, but that I love the people in my life and want to make more time for them. I am so thankful for all the laughs an memories we have made and continue to make. I find myself smiling at the smallest texts and just enjoying the little things. We also have talked recently about actually doing things. We do not need to go out to eat every time to catch up, but a walk through the park, a hike, or an actual adventure of kayaking or doing something new together. That is how we create memories. From sitting around with a glass of wine (or water for me) and gossiping to whatever adventures will come, I am truly grateful for my friends, whether I see them every week, or every once in awhile. They are all a part of me. They have helped me as I have/am grown up and I hope that I have done the same for them.

Holidays

With all the changes of the last couple years I met my biggest challenge this year. The holidays as a married couple. My family is here, and Peter's family is in Missouri. When we first started dating, I missed a Thanksgiving to go home with him to meet his family. They really are great and I lucked out in the in-law department. The following year Peter was here for Thanksgiving, but as we were not married, we spent Christmas with our respective families. This year was different. We wanted to be together, but that meant "choosing a side". Since we live here and my family is here, I gave Peter the choice, Thanksgiving? or Christmas? He chose to spend Christmas in Missouri with his family. December got here and as we started packing our things, it got tough. I have ALWAYS been with my family on Christmas. We have a lot of family traditions and see both sides of our extended family between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I was getting emotional, not to mention, I was almost 6 months pregnant and extra hormonal. We had a great time with Peter's family. They always make me feel right at home and I loved being a part of a new tradition, but I missed my Christmas. This holiday season was a challenge, and I know there will be bigger challenges and more challenges like it. Marriage is a lot of compromise and family can make things complicated.

However Peter made me feel so much better, he knew that I was hang a hard time not being with my family and he talked with me about how our family will make our own traditions. We both have something we are used to but we are going to be able to do that now for our children. It might take us awhile to figure out what that is, but we get to create our own Christmas memories and that the important part is us being together.

Love & Marriage

scared. happy. anxious. overwhelmed. excited. loved. These are a few of the feelings I felt leading up to my wedding day. A commitment to one person and trusting them to be there for you is a lot. Boy oh boy, has it been wonderful. Sure, everyone has their ups and downs but having someone to share everything with is wonderful. I love having adventures and secrets and always having a partner every step of the way. Someone who is there to reason with me, but also argue with me. Someone to help me weigh the pros and cons when I am making a decision but who ultimately supports me whatever I choose. No, we do not always agree and we are far from "perfect" but we are us and this is our story that we are beginning.

We found out very soon after our wedding day that we are going to be parents. Again, the scared, happy, anxious, overwhelmed, excited and loved feelings. All at once. Another human is joining us. Not only are we going to be completely responsible for his well being, but we he is going to look to us as he learns, well, everything. Right now, I could not be more excited. I love children, and I always have. The joy of having my own child is too much to describe. I am quite scared of the intense labor process but whenever I start to worry about that I think about this little one inside me, kicking away and what he will be like when he joins us. It will all be worth it. The sleepless nights and all the cries are what is making us a family and we will all grow together.

When I grow up...

So, last May I finished my credential program. It was a challenge that I thought would never end, and was so excited to finish and grateful for my friends and family who helped me through it. I was substituting and planning my wedding, so job searching took a place on a back burner. I decided I would spend my time substituting. I love it. I have had some challenging jobs because all classes are different but it has been challenging and rewarding. I have had short term jobs as well as long term positions. I had a great time working and meeting new staff members as well as teaching in different environments. I love it. The more I substitute, the more I wonder what I want to do. Originally the "plan" was to apply for a full time position and have my own classroom. Now, I have a whole new look and I love the flexibility and newness of substituting. I still am not 100% sold on what I want to do when I grow up, but I am so excited to see what life brings.

Recap.

Wow. Looking back onto this blog I remember how much I love letting out my thoughts. It has been a long time. I last posted when I was applying for my credential program. Since April 2013, I have finished my credential program, gotten engaged, married and pregnant! We are expecting a baby boy this April, 2015. Wow, a lot can happen in 2 years.

November of 2013 my wonderful boyfriend proposed to me. I was over the moon. July 2014, we said I do. We had a beautiful wedding and spent a week in Hawaii for our honeymoon. Soon after, we found out we were expecting. Anyways, with all this happening, I have a lot of thoughts and lots to share. Stay tuned. :)

The Waiting Game

It is April 2nd... On March 1st of this year I officially submitted my application to go back to school and get my teaching credential. They said I will hear back by May 17th. What? That is forever away and I am not even half way there. It is an interesting situation, I want to be a teacher and I like to think I will be a good one. I love working with kids and hearing their ideas and watching them create things and explore the world. I think they are crazy and funny and full of energy and that is what I love to be around. Even though I know this is something I want to do and something I would be good at, I AM SO SCARED. I am scared that I won't get in, I am scared that the kids won't like me, I am scared about the stress of my own classes on top of student teaching will completely overwhelm me, I am scared that I will take out that stress on the people I love, and most of all I am scared that I will not succeed. But I know I have to try and I want to try and thankfully I have amazing friends and family to support me, but everyday I wonder when I will find out, and what the answer will be. I have decided I will be okay, and that it is okay for me to be scared because whether I get in or not, I am ready for my next adventure to begin and I want to kick ass at whatever it may be.

one thing leads to another.

So this morning my car wouldn't start. It ended up being nothing major, I just needed a new battery. however i had a work meeting, so once I jumped the car and drove it to the shop, I had to walk a mile to where the meeting was being held. I timed my morning around this and even had time to stop at a boutique and buy a birthday present for a friend and was still on time. My boss was a couple minutes late, but the lady we were meeting was almost an entire our late. She called to let us know she was running late thirty minutes AFTER we were supposed to meet, so we were already aware. I cannot state it enough times that I think being late is one of the rudest hings a person can do.

However, my one mile walk gave me a lot of time to think, about ten minutes of just quiet time. It was already very hot and I realized as I was sweating that this was kind of a disappointment. I wish that I lived in a place where I could just walk everywhere and it made me think back to a recent vacation I had in Chicago. I went with the family I nanny for, but got to spend a majority of the time with a friend doing everything a tourist could want to do. Yes as I was walking on a busy road in East county sweating all I could think of was walking through the little neighborhoods of Lincoln Park, and along the shores of Lake Michigan. My only dilemma on moving is the weather, what would I do with that thing called winter?

blogging etiquette

Maybe this is why I am not a famous blogger, I am horrible at blogging. I will not make up an excuse, I graduated college finally, got a new part time job on top of my nannying gig, and have been spending any free time I have soaking up the sun either by the beach or at the pool. I also needed to really scope out what I wanted to focus my blog on, right now it is basically everything on my mind, from television shows, to commercials, to real life behind the scenes experiences with children and families. I am working my dream job and I am the happiest I have been in, well a long time. I may not be making the big bucks, but honestly that isn't the goal. I want to work with kids and I want to make a difference in the world. This next year of my life will be a big turning point of whether or not I want to go into teaching, or take on another adventure. Stay tuned.

The Braverman's

The Braverman's are the family on Parenthood. I am obsessed with the Braverman's... they have so many people in their family that I love. From the grandparents, to baby Nora, oh I would love to be a part of that family, of course only if I wasn't a part of my family of course. I have had the opportunity this semester to work with a young boy who has autism. I have so much respect for him and his family because every day he overcomes so much more than we do on typical days. He is so smart but it takes him a little more time to focus than his peers, but he doesn't give up. The Braverman's really portray so many different aspects of different family life that everyone can relate to. It also let's you peek into how other families may be BEHIND THE SCENES. You never really know how you would react in a certain situation, and I think it is important to see so many different points of view. I'm sorry grey's... Parenthood is my favorite show.

$$$

I just saw an article titled "Parents Eating Out With Babies Should Be Charged Extra." Apparently a restaurant in the UK thinks this is acceptable, and this isn't even at the top of the line places... it started at a buffet style place. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Granted even I have been annoyed by crying children, most of the time I am thinking to myself "would the parents think its weird if I went and calmed their baby down for them?" There are definitely places that are not suitable for babies but parents need to learn that on their own, and be able to have a family member or close friend that they trust with their child... or of course hire me. I understand that this is a totally debatable thing, and most people who have kids go out to get away from their kids, and younger people or non-parents usually just do not understand. I just think that it is ridiculously absurd.

it's a different kind of love

"The fact is, in a family, if mom and dad aren't happy, ain't nobody else happy either. The marriage should be prioritized higher than anything else."

I never thought I would have to say this...

Please refrain from making a facebook page for your baby. It has come to my attention that mothers, most likely teen moms, are making facebook pages for their children. This is completely ridiculous. If you want to share photos of your babies, do it on your page. Thanks. If you are trying to get your baby famous, try some commercial auditions or some other stage mom thing. This is so unacceptable I want to vomit. The internet is a prime spot for creeps and weirdos that your children will have to deal with in adolescence, don't put them in these situations before they can even walk. crazies.

new to the band wagon

Mad Men is my new obsession. I am in the middle of season 3, and I am going to take my time watching it because I cannot watch season 4 until after the holidays. That is when I am giving it to my father, I know this is a selfish gift, but it is not the only thing I am going to give him... But that is not the point of this post.

I love seeing the differences in the times. Of course I want to go back in time and fix every single act of parenting, but I love it. I love seeing how we have learned so much. From the very beginning when a woman is pregnant, back then they could do whatever and didn't think it would harm the baby. I will ask someone to stop smoking even if I just see a pregnant woman in the vicinity. One thing that really interested me was when Grandpa Eugene passed away. The way the police officer told Bets and didn't give a rats ass that Sally was standing right there. The way the parents didn't talk to the children about it, even though Don knows what it was like to lose someone at that age. I cannot even imagine, at any age death is such an emotional and strong subject. Not only should you prepare children for situations like this, but when they actually happen, they will have questions and concerns. Every family goes about with their own ways, depending on beliefs but it is so important to me. I wish I could have alternate scenes for every show I watch.

broken promises

They are what Mary Poppins calls "pie crust promises" ... easily made & easily broken.

Sometimes the people you want to trust are just not trustworthy, or maybe your best friend is not always the best. Sometimes I wonder if it is better to trust a total stranger, why would they lie to me? Why would they tell my secrets? They do not even know me. But then I think, who cares if everyone knows, or what anyone thinks. I am not going to wait around for empty promises, I am building my own.

candy

Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory was a dream for every child. The chocolate river topped off the world made of candy. I am very particular with what candy I like to eat, so that is not my favorite part of the movie. My favorite thing about the book is Charlie's relationship with his Grandpa Joe. My favorite scene is when he gets up out of bed and dances around with Charlie, and I recently read a book that had the PERFECT description of how important family is.

"And I learned everything I needed about family from Charlie and his Grandpa Joe. Vecause that is, for me, was Nana. Although impossibly critical, she was my older pal, my wingman, taking me to school, dancing with me in the living room, and joining in my birthday parties as though she was one of the kids herself. Even today when she visits, we sleep in the same double bed, just like Grandpa Joe and the rest of the family. Nana taught me that even when the rest of the world deserts you, for better or worse, your family will always be there." -Kristin McGuiness

my home sweet home

Up All Night

It took me a while to figure out if I liked this show or not. I was so excited for it to start up and when I finally saw it, I was mildly disappointed, however it has really started to grow on me. I love that everyone in this show is really quirky, and Maya Rudolph is one of my favorite actresses. I love that it shows the difference in perspectives of two best friends, that are in two totally different places in their own lives, still holding onto their friendship. I also am obsessed with stay at home dads. I think it is such a noble thing for a woman to take off work to raise her children (especially in those first 5 years) and I just love when a man steps up to the plate. Because while I believe a woman can do anything, I believe that parenting is a lot harder than people give stay at home moms credit for... and Men who can do it, I salute them.