Parents of the Year!

For some reason our child does not like ice cream or cake. I don't get it. Brian doesn't get it.

So, Brian and I, thinking that this child is missing out, decided that we would force Andrew to try some ice cream. We were at DQ with some friends of ours, and Andrew had been refusing all our offers of trying it. So Brian held him, and I took a dime sized amount and put it in Andrew's mouth.

And then there was vomit. Andrew literally gagged on the ice cream. Are you kidding me?  Gagging on ice cream?!?!

I think this incident scared the pants off our friends, who are expecting their first child. Seeing what power a kid has can be a little scary at times. As parents, we have a miniscule amount of control. Andrew has the majority.

Luckily we were outside and there was a water hose that I was able to access. I apologized to the college aged couple who also experienced the whole trauma, but pointed out that it was college that helped me get used to cleaning up puke. Who knew it would be such great preparation for being a parent!

Slip n Slide

Over Memorial Day weekend our neighbors put out a Slip n Slide for the kids, and they all had so much fun. Andrew was a little tentative at first, but once he found a ball to play with on it he was in heaven!

Fire trucks

(I wanted to test out publishing a picture from Picasa, as I have recently discovered its awesome features and am trying to get more organized with all of my files and computer stuff. Hopefully this will make my life easier!)

Andrew and his friend Joey went to an event at the local emergency services center where they had fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, and even a helicopter. The boys were in heaven, along with getting stickers, balloons, and suckers. What more is there in life?

Almost done

I have 7 days left of work. Woo hoo? The end of this school year is very bittersweet for me. I always look forward to summer vacation, but once it rolls around this year it means things will start to change drastically. We packed up a lot of our things before we put the house on the marked, but I have been putting off packing the rest until school is out. The movers are set to come June 25th, so we'll have about 3 weeks to get things done.

I'm not looking forward to this move mainly due to the fact that we now have a new "variable" in the equation: Andrew. I'm nervous about what this change is going to do to him. How will he adjust? Will he understand what is happening? I try to tell myself that he is still very young and most likely will not remember this. Plus, kids are so resilient. It's the momma's that don't hold up as well. :(

Unknowns

I will admit that I am often overwhelmed by all of the unknowns in our future. This past weekend has been especially hard. I can honestly look into the future at 2 months from now, and not have a clue as to what life will hold for us. There is so much up in the air, and so little that I can control. I am trying to trust that everything will work out, but at times I do get overwhelmed.

Brian, Andrew and I traveled to St. Louis a week ago and spent a weekend looking for a place to live. Because we don't know how long we will be in St. Louis, possibly only 3 years, we have decided to rent for now. Trying to find a rental home that met our needs was challenging, especially since I don't have a job yet. Techically, we should be able to live off of Brian's salary, but it would take some changes in many areas. We did find a house that I feel will give us plenty of room, and we are working on getting the rental agreement right now. I also had an interview while we were in St. Louis, and I am awaiting the results of that. The job would be an incredible step for me, and I would feel very honored if they offered it to me. But...more waiting until the decision is made.

We also closed on the sale of our house 2 weeks ago, and we'll just say that it is good to have it behind us. The turn in the housing marked in the past 4 years didn't do us any favors. But we have learned a great deal from the experience of being homeowners, and I think when we buy again it will hopefully be for our dream home.

Sometimes I really hate the roller coaster that we are on, moving every few years and not knowing exactly what is in our future. But I know that I am lucky to have a supportive husband and wonderful little boy, and for that I count my blessings.

Done

We closed on our house on Wednesday. It was not a pleasant experience, and we have learned a lot in the past 4 years about being homeowners.  4 years ago, we thought it was a wise investment to buy a house. Nobody knew that the market would fall, and unfortunately our house sale was affected by it. Because of our unknown future whereabouts, at this time buying another house just doesn't seem like a wise investment.  Yes, it would be great if we could take advantage of the market right now and buy a new home at a good price, but our situation won't let us. Brian's fellowship will be at least 3 years, and after that we don't know where we will live.  Part of me really doesn't like this, but it is what it is and we have to deal with it. On the other hand, I do enjoy some of the excitement of moving to a new city and what changes it might bring.

I am trying to remain positive through this whole process, and trust that things will work out for us in a way that we are happy. Until then, we are on a roller coaster that never seems to end.

Easter weekend

This was our first Easter where we actually were in Ohio to celebrate. I have found holidays to be a little difficult when separated from family, and Easter was pretty much the same. It seems as though almost everyone else is with their families, and for me it is hard to intrude on other people's family time. I've tried to look at our time in Ohio as an experience where we can start our own traditions as a family, but I still miss being able to share the time with our own families. That is definitely one thing I am looking forward to when we move to St. Louis.

That being said, this weekend was a nice, relaxing time at home with Brian off work and the weather was great. I had Friday off school, and Brian ended up having some free time as well so he and I went to the outlet mall about 45 minutes away while Andrew was at daycare. Shopping with a 2 year old is challenging, and I appreciate the ability to get things done with having to battle with Andrew. I can't tell you how many stores I have had to leave because someone wasn't cooperating. Andrew is getting to the point where he would like to walk instead of ride in his stroller, but of course by the end of a shopping trip that means someone gets to carry him when he gets tired.

We went to church on Sunday morning and then came home for an easter egg hunt. Andrew got to do one the day before at a friend's house, so he was pretty good! He definitely likes chocolate, and got some enormous suckers from his Gramma and Grampa B. His favorite gift in his basket was the "Cars" DVD. He has become obsessed with the movie lately, and we had recorded it on the DVR for him a while back. So now he can watch it on the portable DVD player, and we can have our big tv back. :)