A Cruel Joke

I want to preface this blog by saying that I love where I work. I love the people, the mission, the vision, the values...all of it fits right in with what I look for in an employer. The one thing I am taking issue with, these days, is a little clause in the dress code that states that women must wear nylons if they are going to wear skirts or capri pants. I am not taking issue with the fact that I understand the need to cover thet feet for infection control reason or the fact that a lack of nylons looks extremely unprofessional...I just believe that there should be certain exemptions, like pregnancy.

Allow me to explain for those of you who have never been pregnant. It is hard to bend over, bring my leg up to my knee or do anything that requires any kind of body contortion to get it done. This includes putting on nylons. Especially because the pregnancy nylons are compressed, making it even harder to get them on. So, there I was this morning, trying to get my nylons on, leaning back on the bed to get my leg up, breathing heavily as I attempted to force said nylons over my legs and up to my waist...keeping in mind that it was literally fighting an uphill battle because they didn't want to budge (thank you for the compression part of the nylon). When I finally got dressed I was exaughsted and ready for bed again. Keep in mind, it is only Monday...and I am only 25 weeks pregnant with plenty of time left for me to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. By June I suspect that I will not be wearing nylons, but knee highs (which are just as uncomfortable because the band cuts into your leg).

I tried pleading my "case" to our Chief Operating Officer but got no where. She basically said "suck it up...you're a manager". Keep in mind, she may have been more sympathetic to anyone else complaining but I, being her daughter, am in a very unique position.

Guess I will just have to warn Kevin that if he hears a huge thud coming from our room one morning, he better come and check on me...chances are good that I will be on the floor with nylons around my knees!

Our little soccer star

Kevin and I really wanted Matthew to get involved in some kind of a team sport this spring, but we were told that he didn't make the cut for age because he wasn't born before 12/31/03 (his birthday is 01/09/04). Thanks to my good friend Misty, who has awesome connections, we were able to get Matthew signed up for spring soccer through the Spokane Youth Sports Association. So, every Saturday for the past 3 weeks we have been going to soccer, 30 minutes for practice, 30 minutes for a game. It is really cute, and Matthew is learning some great skills!

Since it was so nice out today, Kevin brough the camera with him (while I was at the DMV getting my license renewed) and took some pictures before I got there. Just had to share them.



Doing push-ups before practice:

Baby must be growing

Lately I have been incredibly tired and worn down, so I have decided that our little one must be growing. That, combined with the fact that sleep is constantly interrupted by the need to pee, has made me one tired mommy to be. I can tell that I am more tired because I am also more irritated...at just about everything. So, if I bite your head off in the next few weeks, please just bear with me! I don't mean it, I promise! :)

The Best Babysitter Ever

Last fall I posted an ad on a local college website looking for a babysitter for Matthew once a week. We found our babysitter in Pullman this way and had great success with her, so I figured it would have to work again...and it did!

Tonight Kevin and I went on a date with my parents to see a movie. Earlier in the week, Matthew asked me when Jessica was going to come over and play with him again. He really loves it when she comes over because she enjoys his new favorite thing...Star Wars. As we walked in the door tonight I heard them playing in his room. Matthew came out to greet us as soon as he heard our voices and then Jessica came into the kitchen, lightsaber in hand and wearing one of his blankets over her head as a cape. It was the greatest thing I have ever seen. What was even better was that my dishes were done and the kitchen was cleaner than I left it. She is awesome! I just wish she wasn't graduating in a few weeks and moving away.

Matthew just loves her and was totally bummed when she had to leave tonight. He asked her if she would come back soon (she said she would) and then gave her a big hug. SUCCESS! Guess I will have to find something for Kevin and I to go do next week for a couple of hours so that he can have some more Jessica time.

Four is not my favorite age

My friend Misty and I have discussed this quite a bit over the past few weeks, but I just want it known that 4 is not my favorite age. Whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos" obviously never had a 4 year old. Lately, Matthew has become extremely mouthy, demanding and forgetful of his manners on a fairly regular basis. Here is a typical conversation these days:

Me - "Matthew"
M - "What"? (sharp, irritated tone)
Me - "Could you come here please"
M - "No"
Me - "But I need to talk to you"
M - "But I don't need to talk to you"

My other personal favorite is the way the just break down, over nothing at all. For example, this morning I heard Matthew crying in his room so I went in there to see what was wrong. When I walked in, he looked at me and started crying even more because he wanted his daddy, not his mommy. So, then I had to waddle out to the couch to find Kevin (who was snoring, as usual, which is why he was on the couch) and wake him up to go and console our child.

I think if you survive the 4's once, you will be okay for future children...but I am certainly not looking forward to them again. Ah...only 9 more months until he turns 5! It gets better, right?

Things that I have learned

2008 didn't start out to be the best year ever...but looking back on the first 90 days or so of the year I have learned a lot about myself, and more specifically, about the strength of my marriage. As many of you know, Kevin and I will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary this year (hard to believe, isn't it?) and I must say that during those 7 years we have endured a lot together as a couple. Everything from school to family issues...I am happy to say that we have emerged a much stronger couple.

So, here are some things that I have learned:

* It's okay to not always be right. I have learned that even though I am strongly opinionated, Kevin does have a valid point every now and again :)

* Our personalities are completely different. Those of you who know us know that I am, by far, the more pushy one of the two. Our personality differences were recently explained to us through a personalysis. It was so interesting to hear about my personality traits and Kevin's personality traits...because it is so dead on when you think back to certain situations and how we handled them. For example, one of my personality traits is that I can take something for so long and then another event will occur that will be a "deal breaker" and I will be completely done with the person/people involved and not willing to have any kind of relationship with them. It will also be very difficult for me to want to try and have any relationship again. Kevin, on the other hand, will always wonder where in the world this came from and why it "broke" at that particular moment without much warning. (this is so true, by the way, that it is scary!)

* It is okay to seek help. This has been, by far, the biggest revelation. For those of you who think that seeking help from a third party to help work through some issues is a sign of weakness in your relationships, I would challenge you to think again. Not only has this experience helped us learn to communicate better as a couple, but we have emerged much stronger and more committed to each other.

* Sometimes you have to cut people out to get back to the basics. When it comes down to it, all that matters is the relationship between Kevin, Matthew, this new baby and I. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, as long as we are on track with each other and doing the best thing for our family

* Those who claim to love you can try to tear you apart. I have shared with some of you the hurtful act of one individual that almost tore our marriage apart in January. Once we stepped back and realized how vindictive and manipulative this person is, we realized that we cannot allow this person to be a part of our lives in any capacity. I would challenge each of you to cut out the "toxic" people in your life...you will be thankful that you did.

* I have learned how to "pick my battles" which is something that my father has been trying to get me to do since we got married. I was amused today when I realized that it was me asking Kevin whether or not a particular battle was worth it...not the other way around.

And finally, always have a game plan. It doesn't have to be a real strategic plan, but make sure that you take time to sit down and talk about what would be best for each person involved. I have found that we often come to a happy compromise when we sit back and really listen to each other. And, I am happy to report that I have never been so content and secure with Kevin as I am right now!

We Hit a Wall

Matthew is post surgery 8 days today and we have hit "the wall" that Dr. Olds warned us about. Poor thing keeps waking up in the middle of the night, hurting from the scabs that are starting to heal now, needing more pain medication...needless to say, he's got two very sleep deprived parents right now.

We have our follow up on April 10 with Dr. Olds and we don't anticipate any problems. I called the nurse on Friday since Matthew was almost out of his pain medication (they had us give it to him every 4 hours for the first 4 days) and she was very nice and called us in some more to help get through the wall! Today has been a pretty slow day at our house. He is going back to daycare on Monday, so we'll see how a full day of activity goes.

Again, a special thank you to our friends, Paul and Naomi, for letting Matthew come to their house on Monday and Wednesday and to my dad for watching Matthew for us on Friday. You are all wonderful!