Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I know I am a little late on this, but New Year's Eve was spent sleeping in the San Francisco Airport. (We did get to see some fireworks though!)And as many of you know, the next two weeks were spent in Belize having an awesome time! (Pictures going on facebook as I type- but only the first batch so far.) So I must say I am looking forward to this year more than any year I have recently. I really feel like things are finally coming together for Steve and I as individuals and as a family. We have a lot of really big things going on this year and this month already! I am just so excited for all of these changes and looking forward to all that the year has in store.
Some of the main things I am excited for this year (in no particular order)
1. We finally went on a trip outside of the country!
2. Steve is a nurse and started at the VA (technically he still has to take the NCLEX)
3. I no longer work at Ashley Furniture.
4. I get to be a stay-at-home mom!
5. I am starting a part-time job at a new store called Graples Home Decor.
6. We are trying to expand the size of our family.
7. We have the potential to start looking for a house later this year.
8. Steve will be home every night for dinner and home from work in time to have breakfast with us!
9. We get to go "home" this summer for my cousins wedding and take Simon to the property.
10. I get to stay home with Simon. I know I said that already, but I am looking forwward to spending so much time with my super sweet Simon-son!
That's all for now, gotta go run some errands.

Life

Today while I was at work I stepped outside to make a couple of phone calls that I didn't feel comfortable making at work, some things you just don't want people to overhear, like trying to get a new job. So I stepped outside to call Steve to find about the two job offers he got today, and he accepted one of them! Yay! He interviewed at Renown today and they told him they would give him a call back within the next three weeks, he got two different calls about two hours later- two job offers the same day! He accepted the better one- an internship with a two year contract. I don't remember all of the details but the gist of it is that he works in almost every unit of the hospital for about 4 or 5 weeks and at the end goes back to the first one he worked at and stays there for the remainder of the year, and then for the second year he works in whichever one he wants. He will also get to be on some committees which means better positioning to get into better jobs. I might not have all of that correct- but it's how I understood it from Steve explaining it to me in his very disjointed don't give all the information at once kind of way. So yay! A JOB! Did I mention he graduated on Saturday? Yep- done with school and has a job, he starts on January 24th!
Oh, I am so relieved, we I was really starting to get worried about if he was going to get a job, most of his other classmates from nursing school already had jobs so I was getting kind of panicky because I've had big plans for the next year that all depend on him getting a job. You see, I have been the main breadwinner the whole time he has been in school, and frankly, I am so tired of it. It is so hard to be a mom and to be a working mom at that. The hardest part is probably the guilt- but that is a whole 'nother post on its own. So yeah, getting to spend about 3 1/2 to 4 hours a day with my son has been tough. I love him so much and he is just the most incredible little boy, of course I am a little biased (what mom isn't), but my son is just so cool and fun and exhausting. After working and driving all over town everyday, by the time I get home with him I am tired, and I still have to make dinner and play with him and it gets very stressful because once I am home with Simon he wants my undivided attention so sometimes we don't even eat dinner until 8 because I am doing things like spending time with him instead of making dinner for him. So back to my original point... I have been the breadwinner for all this time (4 years) and I am tired of doing it. I am ready to stay home and be a full-time mom, to play with my son all day long, to be able to teach him things, to want to pull my hair out because he is driving me crazy all day long instead of for just 4 hours a day, to be there for my family mentally and physically and emotionally, because lately I haven't been.
So if you caught the little comment up there about me trying to get a job, you might be wondering why I am talking about wanting to stay home and getting a new job in the same post. Well, that is because, frankly, I am a little scared of being a stay-at-home mom. So one of my co-workers told me about this home decor store that is opening soon in Reno and it's only open one day a week, Thursday, and the store gets set up every week on Wednesday. They are planning on opening in January, but it's looking more like it is going to be in February. Perfect! I love decorating, I love accessories, and I still want to work a little bit, and two set days a week would be awesome. Just for the sanity mostly, not for the money. I just want to feel like I am doing something else, that I am contributing to something, and I want to have time around other adults still (I am in nursery at church so I don't even get a lot of adult interaction at church). And it also gives me a break from the stresses of being a stay-at-home mom, it gives Cindy time to spend with her grandson every week still, and gives him a chance to play with other kids. So about a month ago I interviewed for a position at this store, and it went really well, and the guy called me back this morning about it. I am going to meet with him again this Saturday. Pretty sure I have a job, he just wants to make sure we both know what it is going to be like. I am so excited! This all works perfectly. It coincides so well with when Steve will be starting his job and be bringing a REAL paycheck! My anniversary with my work is Dec 15, so after that I get 2 weeks paid vacation to take sometime in the next year. I am planning on using it in early January so Steve and I can FINALLY go on a trip to somewhere cool. We have always planned on Malta, but we realized it is winter there- in the 60s, but if I am flying to the Mediterranean I want to swim in it, and you can't really go swimming there when it is cool outside. So we are thinking its going to be something different, but I don't want to talk to much about that because whenever we do it never happens, and I am sure our families are both thinking something along the lines of "Oh, that Steve and Kari, they keep talking about traveling the world, but who are they kidding? They make all these plans, they buy plane tickets, but they're never going to go anywhere." But this time we are, and it's going to be for two weeks, and it's going to be awesome!
So yeah, today has been the best day I have had in a while, I came back in from those two phone calls (with Steve and the new job guy) and I had the biggest smile on my face, a smile I never have on my face while I am at work, and one of my coworkers knew something was up and since he is the one that first told me about the new job opportunity I told him what was going on, and it just felt so good to be able to say that all these plans that Steve and I have been making for a while now are finally becoming a reality. I just can't wait! Less than three weeks to Christmas, and then about two weeks after that is our 4th anniversary, our vacation, and our plans to start trying for another baby while on said vacation. Life is good, and I can't wait!

Megaman

Simon was Megaman for Halloween, he looked really cool, got lots of candy, and I did an awesome job on his costume! Cindy helped sew the underwear looking part after I cut and pinned it from a pair of shorts, Steve made the blaster, and I did the rest. All parts included (clothes, blaster, helmet, everything) we spend about $20 on it. A large portion of that was the helmet we got for a steal from ToysRus for $8 with elbow and knee pads, and it's Wolverine so he can use it when he gets a bike someday!
I have tried three times now to post pictures and it won't work, blogger keeps telling me it is a "bad request" :( I think it is a good request, everyone wants to see a cute Megaman right? So after adding them one at a time it worked! Enjoy! and a couple more nights I will put up a few faves from his boat/ocean themed 2nd birthday, but in the meantime you can see them all on facebook.

Funny Steve

Steve has been working really hard lately. Last night he only got 2 hours of sleep because he was finishing a paper. In his delirious state this is what he sent to his teacher as he e-mailed her his paper- and by teacher I mean professor, who is a doctor, and who goes by Stephanie not Steph if they were on a first-name basis, which they aren't...

Steph,
I hope this paper is the most amazing paper you've ever read, ever. Be inspired, and impressed. Thanks!
Steve



Can you believe that!! I couldn't believe it when he showed me, and I don't think he could believe he would send that to his professor either.

Like Peter Design

I really want to win this amazing owl necklace. So I am posting about it so I can get an extra entry and win a giveaway, I really want it... and this girl has a blog, a cool new place in Virginia, and a cute etsy shop, so check her out!

it's almost winter

Today is a cold, overcast day, and on days like today, I just want to stay in my jammies, drink hot cocoa, and read a good book. Instead, I slept in, made me and Simon breakfast, dropped Steve off at the doctor to get LASIK done on his eyes, came home took a really long shower, got dressed, went back 2 hours later to pick up Steve, watched most of his procedure because two hours later he was still waiting, stopped at McDonalds, came home, put Simon down for a nap, ate, put Steve to bed, sat downstairs on the computer while I listened to Simon playing with his toys instead of napping, waited for him to start crying for me before I got him out of his bed (is that awful), made sure Steve was still breathing enough, got Simon out of bed, came downstairs, had him eat some of my leftover nuggets and pumpkin pie thing (awful I know!), turned on the tv, got back on the computer, checked to make sure Steve was still breathing enough, got back on computer, let Simon watch the baseball game, check on Steve again, and here I am still on the computer. I should really start thinking about dinner... It is almost 6.

So yesterday Simon started doing this thing where he will look at me with his tilted down make a mean face at me, and then look up and smile huge and start laughing, it is so adorable, I am going to have to try to get a video. Another he has started to do is to tell me to go away. If he doesn't want me around or I am bugging him, he will push me away and say "Go away!" It makes me kinda sad, but at the same time it is really hilarious because he is asserting himself so well and telling me what he wants (or doesn't want).

The past couple of weeks Simon has really been starting to favor Steve, I guess I always knew this was coming, but it is still hard for me. He is almost two and he has always been my little buddy. He always wanted me when he was tired, or hungry, or hurt, but now he "want Daddy, want Daddy!" most of the time and he doesn't want me anymore. If he wants Steve and Steve is holding him and I come over, he pushes my face away with his hands and says "go away!" So sad. It breaks my heart. I need a new baby, one that has to have me to survive.
Another thing Simon does lately that I find cute (I find everything he does is cute) is he will tell me if there is a mess- he points at whatever it is and says mess, mess. In fact he is doing it right now. We got a new tv stand that has sliding doors that we can hide junk behind when company comes, and one of the shelves is Simon toys and the rest is video game systems- yes plural- ur tv stand must have room for a ps2, xbox, xbox 360, wii, computer, cable box, router, and soon a ps3 (steve gets one for graduation) bu anyways, in this we have totes that hold the controllers and games for each system and he grabbed one of them and it started to tip and he started to yell mess, mess, and managed to get it back onto the shelf without dropping it or anything in it.
I am starting to wonder why I am typing of this play by play of my day. I think it is because I am bored with Steve being in bed and Simon yelling at me to go away everytime I try to play with him. This makes me worrry about what it will be like when I am a stay-at-home mom. Am I going to truly enjoy like I think I will? Will Simon hate being with me all the time? Will I go insane without interaction with people all day? Will I be a good mom and do all the fun things I plan on doing with him every day? Am I going to get depressed because it is going to be cold and wintery outside? Am I going to feel like taking Simon on walks in the wagon he got from his Grammy and Grampy? (we are going to give it to him for either his bday or christmas- it is currently still in steves parents garage) Will I survive and be happy? Will I do as good of a job keeping Simon on a good schedule like his Vovo does? Will we do arts and craft projects together? Will he still take naps? (oh please, oh please keep taking naps, please don't stop at 2 like your cousin Bryant did) Will I be good at feeding him balanced meals and snacks? I'm good at planning them...Will I discipline him enough, too much? Will I be a good stay-at-home mom? I think I have been a really good working mom... so many things to worry about, but in the meantime, I am going to put down the computer, publish this post, play with my son, make dinner, and do my best to make sure that I won't become the crappy mom I worry about becoming and just enjoy my weekend with my son. and stop him before he throws all of my sewing supplies onto the floor, what is the point of a baby gate if your son can climb around on the steps? he just goes up the first step- out through the gap, onto my sewing machine table, and up and around to the next step, oh gotta go for sure, he found nail clippers and is trying to cut his nails!

??

I just wanted to make a quick post, but now we are going to bed. We have been super busy like always, just trying to keep caught up with work, school, and taking care of our family and our home. Steve and I have been having a lot of fun the last few nights playing the newest Halo game. I love that we can still play video games together because that is how our friendship started that eventually grew into a relationship. I have been trying to cook a lot more lately to help ease the load Steve has with work, work, internship, and school. I recently made chile rellenos which were delicious, and last night I made avocado egg rolls similar to ones at BJ's Brewery or at Cheesecake factory- they were AMAZING! and the dipping sauce, oh my goodness, could totally eat that by itself. Well the computer just informed that there are 16 minutes remaining on the battery, and the cord is upstairs, and its after 2 am and I work in the morning, so I really should go to bed. Other things keeping me busy- getting ready for Simon's 2nd b-day, only a month away! less than that! planning decorations, menu, presents, etc. and also getting ready for Halloween. He is going to be Megaman- so cute! So far we have spent $4 on his costume- we bought the clothes-pants, shirt, and shorts at Kohls I had two $10 coupons that I got out of the newspaper, and only had to spend $10 to use them, so that was about $1 over we went on that, and then spent two dollars at the dollar store buying a helmet to recover, a pair of gloves, and an LED pushlight to use for his blaster.