Laptop Addiction

You know what is sad? I'm addicted to the laptop that I use for work. And since Tuesday is my last day of work, I have to turn it in.... I don't know what to do. I know that I'm going to go through laptop withdrawl and may need to use lots of swedish fish and Dr. Pepper to medicate my symptoms. I am already trying to figure out a way to find/buy a laptop to use. I hope I can find one soon before I have a complete mental breakdown! Seriously, it isn't that bad, but it is close. :)

SAHM: Coming soon!

Well, after talking about it for over three years, I have finally taken the plunge! I have put in my two-weeks notice at work and won't be returning to my three-day-a-week office grind after Thanksgiving. As I look back on these last three years, it has been an interesting ride. There are times where I wanted to stay home so much that I could *taste it*! And there were other times where I couldn't even see myself considering it (ex: when Madelyn was at the peak of being "two":P ). But when I took 3 weeks off recently, I intentionly did it to "try on" being a stay-at-home mom (or SAHM, as I have learned). The three weeks had its challenges, but overall it was wonderful! I loved being with my children and seeing them through the WHOLE week. I know that to some it seems like there can't be that much difference in how I relate to them two weekdays vs. five weekdays, but I have discovered that, at least in my family, *it does*! They have both grown closer to me, and I don't think it is in an abnormal sort way. I didn't like that when I was home with them 2 days out of the week, I was mostly doing chores to keep up. When I'm home with them full-time, I get to spread out the chores and have more fun with them. For me, it just comes down to - I desire to stay home with them and I can, so why wouldn't I?

Now, for the truth about how I feel about this. Don't get me wrong! I'm excited! But there is the part of me that kept me from doing this for a long time. I'm scared that I'm not going to do a good job, that I'm not going to like it, that I'm gonna miss the professional interaction. I still have these fears, but after the three weeks off, I just figured out that the trade-off for working part-time wasn't worth it anymore for my family. I enjoy the extended interaction with my children, the ability to plan extraordinary things or to be able to just stick around home if we want. Work will always be there, and I may go back to being engineer one day, but for right now, my kids and my home get my full attention.

Happy 1st Birthday, Greyson!

Greyson's birthday was great! We all woke him up with his birthday balloon (becoming a tradition at our house). He was very excited about his balloon too! Dad unfortunately had to go to work but Madelyn and I were able to spend the day with him.

After eating breakfast, we got dressed in our Halloween costumes for the day. Madelyn was a princess, Greyson was a monkey, and I borrowed a pair of Madelyn's bunny ear and drew whiskers on my cheeks to be a rabbit. Storytime at the library was fun with all the kids and some of the adults in their costumes checking each other out as the librarian read a few cute Halloweenish stories. the fun started again after Dad got home. That is when we opened Greyson's presents and then went out trick-or-treating to the immediate houses around ours. Greyson's loved most of his presents, even the Tickle-Me-Elmo, at least until it started flailing it arms and legs and then he got scared. We put that little tab back in that keeps it in demo mode. He likes it better that way!

Trick-or-treating was fun too. Madelyn kept saying "trick-a-trick-a-treat" and we would laugh everytime. Then she would look at us like, "What?" She was the prettiest princess tho. She loved the idea of the neighbors giving her candy and was sad to hear that they only did it one this one night of the year.

We celebrated Greyson's brthday with a party a couple nights after his actual birthday. We invited a few people over and made dinner and cupcakes. As you can see below, I think Greyson was a little freaked out by the fire on the big 1 candle that we put down in front of him. I had been practicing blowing with him all day, so he actually did help blow it out though!

Greyson had a blast eating/playing with his cupcakes! I think he may have eaten to much dinner tho, because he didn't eat much and ended up playing more with his cupcakes. He liked smearing it around until he got some of the frosting in his eye!! So into the tub he went to get all washed up. We really did have a lot of fun watching this little boy loving life!! Thank you, God, for such a loving, wonderful, gentle-spirited little boy!!

New Pictures!

There are new pictures out on Webshots for you to enjoy! I have completely caught up, which means there are pictures of September and October AND trips to the State Fair, the MN Zoo, the collapsed 35W Bridge, and then, of course, Greyson's First Birthday (and Halloween). Enjoy! A post on Greyson's birthday is under construction!

What family photos?!?

Hey everyone! It has been awhile. I hope that everyone hasn't abandoned me yet. Right now, I'm sitting at my breakfast bar ALONE! It ha been awhile since I've has alone time in my own house. It is 8:05am and I can hear Madelyn stirring in her room but she hasn't come out yet. Greyson is sleeping, as is Ben. I'm sure that things will start buzzing with kids soon, but for this moment it is nice to have some quiet. Quiet is something we don't get much of these days. Ben goes between calling Madelyn a freight train and an elephant. The girl just doesn't have a volume knob - it is all or nothing with that girl! Greyson gets the short end of that deal because while he wants to take his morning nap, Madelyn has trouble remembering to keep it down. However, he and Madelyn take their afternoon naps at the same time so that is good. I am so glad that she is such a happy and active girl though. At school (daycare), she was just moved up to the Preschool class. This mixes her with the other 3 and 4 year olds. She *loves* it!! It is amazing how excited she gets about going and how happy she is when she comes home. I love that she loves it. Being a part of this class, the teachers ask that we bring in a small list of specific things. They are all reasonable and somewhat cute. One of these things is a a framed family picture. They send this 4x6 sized wooden frame home to decorate and provide a family picture for. Awesome idea!...but.... I can't find a recent family picture.... I know we took one at Christmas time, but come on, that was almost a year ago! And I can find *loads* of pictures of one of us parents with one or both kids but none with both Ben and I in it. Oh well, I guess that will be something that I will have to get this weekend. Maybe we will set the camera up on the tripod tonight so that we can take a quick picture before church tomorrow morning.

Ben and the kids after his table saw arrived.

About this new class thing, though, I'm wondering if I'm setting us up for a fall. You see, I love this class that she is in right now. It is *so* organized and you can tell that the teachers have put a lot of thought into their approach with the kids. The issue is that in two weeks I'm going to pull her out of this class. Why you ask? On November 1st I will be starting the kids in a new daycare that is actually located in the building that I work in. My work group moved to a new building that my company just built and they built a daycare in too. That will be very convenient but.... I have nagging concerns about moving Madelyn. She seems so happy in this new classroom and then to, first of all, pull her out of it and, second, move her to a class that hasn't really had time to get settled and figure out what they are doing. It seems like we could be trading having Madelyn in the better learning/fun atmosphere for convenience. But I think I've made a decision. I am going to stick with my plans and keep Madelyn in the new center until at least Christmas time (about two months). That will make Madelyn, Ben, and I give this new room a chance. Then, we'll re-evaluate and maybe move Madelyn back if we feel like the trade-off isn't worth it. I'm pretty sure that we can get her back in the first class at that time.....

By the way, I'm not worried about Greyson because I know his new teacher. She was Madelyn's 1-yr-old teacher and I love her! She moved over to the new center and I'm so glad that she did!

Aunt Liz came to visit last weekend - Yea!

If you did the math or looked at the calendar, you probably noticed that I left out about a three week gap between taking the kids out of old classes and starting them in the new classes. I'll be taking vacation and it will be me and the kids at home. I'm so excited! I've got a few projects lined up and can't wait to spend the extended time with them!

Madelyn's birthday pics

You can go out to the Rhodes' online pictures to see Madelyn's birthday party now. I am also working on August pictures. I can't believe how many pics I took in August.... never too many though. It just makes it a longer process to post them. Enjoy!