August 17th entry (creative, I know!)

It’s been a while, so I don’t even know where to begin.

Lake has not had fevers for so long that I can’t even remember the last time he was really sick. So that’s a blessing!

On July 20^th I got the extreme honor of witnessing my niece, Sloane Augusta, be born. Seriously, watching the miracle of birth is just an amazing and beautiful experience and I’m just so blessed to have a sister who let me be there. Breanna certainly didn’t make it look easy, but did such an awesome job of doing it completely drug free that I will always be in awe of her. I’m very excited that I get to be the first person to babysit her on Monday night so that Will can take Breanna out to celebrate her birthday.

Tim finally had an interview for the city of Bellevue, which we’ve been waiting 7 years for. We’re hoping he’ll find out he got the job on Monday. This opportunity will mean we’re finally on our way to accomplishing some huge goals in our lives and I am just so excited for the future!

We decided to not put the house on the market after finding out that even if we got our asking price, we would just barely make enough to move into an apartment. At this point, we’re not just trying to get out of our house. So we’ll see what happens with Tim’s job situation, then go from there. I do hope that maybe in the next six months or so, selling our house becomes a reality so that we can move and I can maybe go part time. But first things first: Tim gets that city job!

On Thursday night we received an email from the kids’ daycare that they are closing their doors after 20 years. I was in shock and totally heartbroken. Sure, they cost a lot, but knowing the kids love it there, learn so much, are around friends and their teachers really love them, makes paying the expensive tuition worth it. Especially after the home daycare we tried for two months, Tim and I really know what’s important when finding good care for our kids.

So after it sinking in that we only have two weeks to find new care for our kids, we started looking at other daycare facilities in the area. We also discussed a couple of the teachers we may consider approaching about hiring as a nanny.

Since my last search for a nanny came up empty handed, due to the typical pay a nanny could get, I wasn’t sure this would be a viable option. But we thought that it was worth a try because not only are parents out of care for their kids, a whole bunch of great daycare teachers are out of a job.

So yesterday morning, I took the kids nice and early to daycare since I knew Miss Elisa typically covers Lake’s room early in the morning. I was right and as soon as the classroom door closed, I said, “So you wanna job!?” She replied with, “I was hoping you would ask! As soon as we learned the news last night, you’re the first family I thought of!”

I was so relieved to hear that! Tim and I ended up meeting with her after she got off work and apparently, what we were able to offer, was totally agreeable to her! We are so relieved! It will certainly be a transition, to have a nanny come to our house, versus taking the kids some where. But we’ll be paying her less than what we currently pay daycare - it will equal out to be the same due to now having to supply our kids with lunches. She never missed a day of work at the daycare, which means she’s accountable, she is already certified for all the things you’d want in a caregiver, she is totally flexible with her schedule, she LOVES our kids! (She’s the one who bought Lake a cake and cute card for his first birthday) and I won’t have to stress about getting the kids ready and out of the door each morning.

Tim has decided, in preparation of having a nanny, we’re making our guest room a play room. I’m requesting a few days off as vacation since now I don’t have to worry about saving so many days in the event I’m not able to take the kids to daycare when they are sick, so I’m going to enjoy a few days off to myself while they are in daycare J I’ll still keep some vacation and sick days handy in the event that I have to stay home with them, but considering I REALLY need a break from work, this seems like perfect timing!

Tim and I had a date day last weekend. Back in March he bought tickets to the Mariner’s game that Ken Griffey Jr. was being inducted into the hall of fame. We had a gift card from Christmas to a restaurant close to the stadium, so we had a great, cheap date together. Tim’s parents had the kids overnight so after we ate and enjoyed a bit of the game, we headed home, hiked around our neighborhood and just really enjoyed us time. It was the first time that we had ever spent the night at our own home with out the kids. It was a little weird, but nice at the same time. We really need to figure out how to have more dates!

The kids are doing well. Kaydriana is becoming a bit more defiant, so we’re trying to combat that. On the positive side, her imagination is growing and now that she loves me telling her stories, particularly Goldilocks and the Three Bears, she likes to add on to the stories at the end. Her bangs are finally starting to not look so horrid after her run ins with the scissors. I’m praying we never have to deal with that again!

Lake is always covered in bruises! It was so bad about a week ago where he had a bruise on each cheek and everyone, including Tim, thought it was dirt! He still isn’t saying much, but he is in love with books. He enjoys it when I say animal sounds and he is pretty good with snorting like a pig when he sees one. Last night we were playing while Tim took Kaydriana to Home Depot and I told Lake that it was time for nigh night. He got up and started going up the stairs. I love that he understands me J

The past couple of weeks have been tough. I’ve been pretty down lately with the non-stop stress and feeling like I’m not fulfilling my life’s passion of being with my kids more. I still get up everyday and go through the motions, but what I really want to do is either be in bed or just hang out with the kids. It’s all I can do to get through the work day. Maybe having a four day weekend to look forward to next week will energize me, but knowing we’re entering our busy time of year here at work, is already having it’s toll. I want out so bad, and I just don’t see an end to this position in the near future. I just need to keep my eye on the prize and continue working towards our goals and, at minimum, survive until then.