Change of Plans

So Charles and his career have always been a little... uncertain. That's the beauty/curse about Nursing. There are SO many different options and routes to go with it. He has had a hard time choosing the best path for himself. But for the past 3-4 years he has been able to finally narrow it down to 2 major choices: Hospital Administration or becoming a Nurse Anesthetist. Both required more schooling.

At first he decided to become a Nurse Anesthetist. But then he learned he needed 1-2 years of experience working in an ICU. So he took a paycut and transferred to an ICU. While there he started to get a little frustrated with the waiting game and started looking more into the management side...Hospital Administration.

This led him to choose THAT route instead and so he went back to school full time (while working full-time and a half) and obtained his MBA in a year and a half. Amazing, I know. :) So after he had a degree he searched and searched for over a year for a management position.

He applied for jobs all over Utah, Arizona, and was even flown out to Las Vegas for interviews. I don't know how someone could stand so much rejection. I know I would have felt like a total loser, but if he felt bad, he never let it show. It was really hard getting into management because with the economy, they were actually cutting a lot of management positions, so just getting an interview was something... but they never panned out.

So, after a year of rejection after rejection after rejection, and drowning in a pool of student loan debt, and work hours getting cut left and right, Charles decided he should go back to his plan to become a Nurse Anesthetist.

For the next 6 months or so he worked on taking his GRE, filling out applications, flying out for interviews, and waiting to hear back. He was really worried that he wouldn't get into a single school. That was really hard for me to grasp because he has an almost perfect GPA in both his undergrad and graduate work. Plus he had a Master's Degree and 2 years of experience in the ICU.

So I was pretty surprised when he got rejected from one of our top choice schools in CA. He only applied to 5 schools. He got interviews to the last 4. So he flew out to Kansas, Missouri, and was ready to fly out to North Carolina in April. The last school was here in UT. Well, After going to Kansas, he was certain he didn't like the school or the area, so he decided not to go there, and of course that was the one he got accepted to. We ruled out North Carolina because it was too far from family, and we KNOW it would have been hard to be so far away... especially with a new baby on the way.

So that left Missouri and UT. Well he got wait-listed for both. So here we were, still stuck in limbo. No answers. While we waited, Charles continued to apply for management positions here. I couldn't believe there was an actual possibility of him NOT getting into a school. It felt so unreal. He applied for 2 jobs with the University of Utah Hospital. But one wasn't actually hiring for another 10 months. He got called for an interview at the other one. And then out of the blue, he was called for another interview for a random job he never even applied for. He didn't understand how that happened, but he thought "Sure, why not? An interview's an interview."

Turned out, someone in the HR department at the U. of U saw his resume and thought he'd be a good fit for the management position. He interviewed for both. This is where the crazy thing happened...

In one week's time, he went from over a year and a half of rejection after rejection after rejection, to being offered a spot at the school in Missouri, the school in Utah, AND a the management position at the U. of U. that he just kind of stumbled into. We also heard that he was almost offered the other U. of U. job except that an internal candidate applied at the last minute and had more experience.

We went from 0 to 3 options all at once. It was amazing. Everything out on the table at the same time. Had it worked out any other way, we would have just desperately grabbed the first thing that was offered. But we were given the blessing of choice.

We had been all set to move away and start student life all over again, we even had a family willing to rent our home from us... and now we get to stay. We are SOOO excited and grateful. We knew that whatever was supposed to happen, would happen. It just shows that God knows what's best for us and that we just need to be more patient and wait for HIS timetable. HE knows what's best, and we will be more blessed. (Guess I need more of that patience with this pregnancy!)

Charles' job starts next week, and he's really excited about it. We have better benefits, good enough pay so that he only has to work ONE job instead of 3, he works normal 9-5 hours, no weekends, no holidays, and gets vacation days. No more scrubs, which I'm kind of bummed about. I don't iron if there's any way out of it, so we are buying him all "No-Iron, wrinkle free" dress clothes. Haha! We'll see how this works!

Anyway, we feel so relieved to have found his path and we're all really happy for and proud of Charles for working so hard to find it. He has always been business-oriented and so this really is a good fit for him. He's already got a business trip planned for San Francisco, and it sounds like Germany is another frequent location for travel. Pretty cool! He's a little nervous, but I know he's a fast learner and will catch on quickly.

Way to go Charles, You rock!

Super annoying post... you don't want to read... I'm venting.

I'm probably just going to ramble on and on incoherently because that's what I feel like doing. I have 13 days left. 13. That may not sound like a lot, but to me it is feeling like an eternity. I'm going to try and not sound as whiney as I actually feel, because I know that's annoying. I have done a good job of keeping myself busy and distracted until a couple weeks ago when I had a little false alarm. Now this is all I can think about. And it's driving me crazy. Every little movement or every little pain makes me wonder...

Is this it? Is it time? What day is today? Is Charles home? Can Mom watch the boys? Is she going to have to take time off work? Will Charles be able to take time off from his new job now? Will he be able to take time off from his old job? Will he be able to stay with me in the hospital? So many different answers to all these different questions depending on the day she decides to come.

I have no energy. I've been expecting some good ole' "nesting" energy to arrive, but I think that's crap. So they say you should have this energy out of the blue to scrub your house top to bottom with a toothbrush, rearrange your furniture, and shine all your shoes. Then your baby will come. Yeah. Right. I have had about 3 different times when I have forced myself to have enough energy to finish the laundry that's been sitting on my couch for 3 days, finish the dishes because we're out of clean ones, or do the grocery shopping for the week. But scrub a bathroom? Rearrange furniture? Shine my shoes? Please. I find myself panting like a dog just going up (and down!) the stairs. And I don't think that has anything to do with when your baby will arrive.

I'm also finding myself to become a lot more sensitive and emotional these days. Which I HATE! I don't like to cry. But I hate the feeling of losing control over my emotions even more. Which makes me cry more. It's a vicious cycle that I will be more than happy to be rid of.

And everytime this little girl moves, it feels like a tiny contraction because she pushes out so hard. She has no more room to grow. Laying down is hard because she pushes up on my lungs, making it difficult to breath. And when she's not doing that, she's doing something funky to my stomach that makes me feel like I'm going to puke. Wait, I said I wasn't going to whine too much, right? Hm. Oh well.

Bottom line, I'm totally uncomfortable and ready to evict her. She's full term. Of course I also have all these fears about when she actually does come. Will she be healthy? Will be she be ready? Will she be as old as they think she is? Will there be complications? Will I wish for these days back once she's here? Will I have a hard time bonding with her? Will my boys feel ignored and cast aside?

Man, this post is annoying. I hope everyone has stopped reading by now. But if not, here are some pictures of the baby's room...


When I found out I was having a girl, I was excited to start getting the room ready. But it was Bradley's and it was blue. I thought about repainting it a girlie color, but let's just face it. I'm way too lazy for that.


But I think it's good that I never repainted. After living in boyland for so long, I think anymore pink than this would have been overkill for me. I'm not really into pink to begin with, but I figured it was necessary in order to have a girlie feel to it in a family full of boys. Kare and I found this nursery set after many many many many hours of searching. Santa brought us the same set and we both love it. And I have to say that these sticker things that you can put up on your wall are the best. I was looking into designs that I could paint on the wall, but really... again, who are we kidding? Why would I do all that work, if I could just do this? It looks way better than I could have ever done on my own. So yay for wall stickers!


One day when I had the kids with me grocery shopping, Kaleb saw this bear stuffed animal. All three of my boys have their own bear that is really like a best friend to each of them. Jaden had Corduroy, Kaleb has Skinny, and Bradley had Bear-Bear. Anyway, Kaleb said that "the little sister" would need one too and asked if we could buy it for her. It's not the cutest bear I have seen, but the fact that Kaleb was so insistent on her having it, was so sweet, that I had no choice.

Also, Kaleb has these blankets that he LOVES. He can give up sleeping with Skinny, but only if he has a blanket. They are just as special to him. I never really understood why he loved them so much until he started offering to let ME sleep with them. (So sweet.) They are really the softest, silkiest, best blankets in the world. I noticed that Kaleb likes to spread them on his pillow and rest his head on them. Now I know why. They seem to stay cold longer than the pillow. It's better than 1000 ct. egyptian cotton... I would guess. Better than hotel sheets. Bradley has a blanket, but his doesn't have the same effect. The only thing I can guess that would be the major difference is who made it. Kaleb's is from Gymboree, and Bradley's is from Carter's. So I decided I needed one of my own. I went to Gymboree and found one, but decided it was a little ridiculous to buy one for myself, so I bought one for the baby. I love it. Her bear is sitting on top of it in her crib. Yes, I borrow it from time to time. But hey, now it will smell like me a little more. :)


Anyway, I've been collecting girl clothes for the past few months. I only shop the clearance racks, and there's a good reason for that... Besides the insane prices, I need parameters. I would go crazy putting my family in the poorhouse over baby clothes.



Luckily between the clearance racks, Christmas, and my sister-in-law who has been generous enough to give me some of her daughter's old stuff, I am off to a good start. Shopping for girls is way more fun than shopping for boys. At least in the clothing department. I haven't even thought about the toy department. In fact, I don't think I've bought ANY clothes for my boys at all this year. I just don't even look anymore. Which I'm sure I'll regret forgetting to stock up on the off-season sales for Jaden. Oh well.


So that cheered me up a bit. I need to find a good distraction. Like a project or something. But what? Yesterday I decided I was going to spend all day helping Jaden finish all his crazy requirements to earn his Soaring Eagle Award. I was all set to help him research an animal, write his report, make a poster about a family trip, make him memorize all the continents, oceans, 3 poems, math facts, write and illustrate a story, etc... Unfortunately I was only thinking about myself. Poor Jaden was in tears after an hour of working with me. Guess I can't expect a kid to spend 7 hours at school, and then give me 5 hours of extra work at home with no break in between. I even forgot to give him a snack. He was just sitting at the counter crying while writing his report. Once I realized how horrible a mom I was, I told him to stop and we could finish later. But he was determined to finish that report. He just kept on writing with tears streaming down his face. What a jerk, I am! At least I remembered to give him a snack at that point. That seemed to help.

Jules, I wish you were here to teach me how to make cool jewelry. Or find me a good book to lose myself in. Kare, I wish you were here to teach me how to make any of the cool stuff you and Randi make. Or just to let me hold your adorable baby that I've never met! Alli, I wish you were here to watch seasons of TV shows with me all in one weekend. Now those would be some good distractions. :)

Anyway, I know this was a super boring post. Sorry. I needed to vent somewhere. I think I am done.

Baby Talk

#1. A few days ago...

Kaleb: Why do the babies have to be in the mommies tummies?

Me: Cuz they gotta grow somewhere!

Kaleb: Maybe Jesus should just throw them down.


#2 Yesterday...

Yesterday I visited my friend Jamey who has a 5 week old baby girl. I brought Kaleb and Bradley with me. It took them a while to realize the little bundle in my arms was a baby. Bradley noticed first and he came over and said... "What is THAT?!" I told it was a baby girl, and his eyes immediately went to my belly. So I explained to him that it wasn't his baby sister, but that this baby used to be in my friend's tummy.

Then Kaleb saw the baby and he came right over, kissed her head and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. In front of everyone. He didn't even care. It was really sweet.


#3 Today...

Kaleb: Is it going to snow today?

Me: It looks like it.

Kaleb: So the baby sister will come out today?

Me: I don't know. Probably not.

Kaleb: But I WANT her to come out today. Maybe I should just cut her out. Oh! And I get to hold her FIRST, okay?

(For the record, today is the day that Jaden predicted she will come. But I'm not really feelin' it!)

Dance Party

The kids each have a favorite song that they like to rock out to in the car when it's on the radio.

Bradley: Firework, Katy Perry (Bradley sings the "Oh, oh, oh" part)

Kaleb: Poker Face, Lady Gaga

Jaden: Imma Bee, Black Eyed Peas

Here is a video of them getting their groove on at home.

A little pajama dance party.

Mybad

I was sitting at the computer. Jaden and Charles were sitting on the couch next to me. Again, the baby whacked me hard in the stomach.

Me: Ouch!
Jaden: Did the baby just kick your @$$?

Charles and I had time to exchange one quick, shocked look, before I had to turn my head away from Jaden to try and stifle my laugh.

Charles: Jaden, where did you hear that word?
Jaden: From a movie.
Charles: Which movie?
Jaden: The Karate Kid.

Yeeeaaaahhhhh. I knew that movie was full of that phrase. But I really wanted to see it anyway. Oops. Mybad.

Charles: Do you know what that word means?
Jaden: No.
Charles: It means butt. But it's not a good word to use. So we don't say that okay?
Jaden: Okay.