A New Journey Begins

Well... a year ago, when we first moved to San Diego ( and I wasn't pregnant with Taylor, or planning on being pregnant for that matter) I applied for a "virtual teacher" position where I would be assisting families that were participating in home school through an online school and I would be the credentialed teacher that would oversee their work and attendance as well as be available by phone and email as questions arise. After a year of not hearing anything they finally called, interviewed me and offered me a position. The timing couldn't have been any crazier with Taylor only being 7 weeks old and us still adjusting to our new life as a very busy family of 5! However, as Rex and I talked about it we decided to give it a shot. The nice part about this job is that I get to do 90% of my work from home. I also get to keep maintaining my credential and contributing into CalSTRS (a retirement program). In addition, we have a little extra money where I can get a babysitter once a week in the afternoons where I actually get away for a few hours. It is so glorious. I am not going to lie, it has been weird telling people I have a job, and all of the thoughts and ideas that surround a working mom, however I do feel like this opportunity has made me more aware of spending intentional time with my kids rather than just letting them "be" throughout the day. The first few weeks really did kick my butt as I had to be away from the house for training for a few days (luckily I could take Taylor with me) and I had to meet all of my families face to face in a short time window. However now that those things are done, I am just maintaining a regular schedule and it is much more manageable! We're hoping it all works out!

Taylor is 6 weeks Old!

I can't believe Taylor is already 6 weeks old, however at the same time, I can't believe she is only 6 weeks old! We have made it this far! Rex and I kept telling ourselves that this next year was going to be a real challenge (and we have already survived 6 weeks and have 46 more to go!). She is doing so well, sleeping, eating and smiling like all little newborns "should". I say "should" because we have experienced with Jacob that not all newborns do :) We are so excited because so far her spitting up has been minimal and we are crossing our fingers that she won't have acid reflux like both Emily and Jacob did. It is so nice not always wearing a burp cloth on my shoulder and not being fearful of her spitting up on someone as they hold her. I can't wait for her appt next week to see how much this chubby little girl has grown!

Our Labor Day Traditions

Thanks to our friends Jeff and Jodi who have had an annual tradition of a San Clemente beach trip for Labor Day, we too have followed suit and taken part in their tradition. With 3 kiddos under our belt (we first started going when Emily was only 4 months old) and Taylor only being 5 weeks old, we weren't sure what our weekend was going to look like. Thanks to my AMAZING hubby who took charge of Emily and Jakey, I was just left to hold Taylor under the umbrella and make sure everyone had plenty of snacks and drinks. I definetly got the better end of the deal. Many people have asked how we managed to get all of our stuff down to the beach AND all of us too. Well, once again, my AMAZING husband did it all. He took all of the chairs, blankets, beach bags, snacks everything down, set it all up for us as we waited in the car. As we waited, I lathered the kiddos up with sunscreen so we would be ready to play as soon as we got down there. And upon heading home, we did it the same way, I cleaned the kids up at the car while Rex was the work horse getting everything back to the car. Emily is at the perfect age for the beach. She loved going in the water and played it very safe so we really didn't have to worry about her too much. She played in the water and sand for HOURS!! Jacob on the other hand was a real challenge. He just isn't big enough. Even if the waves came up to his shin it would knock him over, so poor Rex had to shadow him all day long. Taylor did amazing sleeping most of the day enjoying the sounds of the ocean. It seems that whenever Rex and I are worried about how the kids will do, they always surprise us. After 10 hours at the beach over 2 days, I came home feeling so excited for the many beach days that are going to come and all of the fun that our family is able to have now, and is going to continue to have being only 20 minutes from the beach. Driving home from our long weekend, I was so grateful to the Moreno's for always extending an invitation to their family tradition, to the Johnson's who allowed us to stay at their house making sleeping for our family a success and for my amazing husband who always goes above the call of duty to maintain a happy wife and a GREAT time for the kids!

Taylor's Visitors

One of my favorite things about having a new baby is getting to celebrate her arrival with lots of friends and family that get to visit. Over the past two weeks I have had the Palm family here from Colorado, the Tkach family from Pasadena, and my Point Loma girlfriends come for a lunch playdate. I feel so very blessed by the friends that God has given to me. I am who I am because of my friends (and of course my family). Each one of my friends knows me in such a special and unique way that I just love each one of them!