Life Change.....

Yep my life is about to change in just over a week! I have accepted a position with the O'brien County Conservation as a full time secretary. I am excited, nervous, and scared! This is going to be a GREAT job for me and I am ready for this challenge but it's going to change not only my life but the rest of my family too. When I first got pregnant Brad and I had decided I would only work part time so I could be home with the kids. I am thankful for Brad's job that I have been able to be home alot the past 6 years. I worked in daycare for about 3 years and only worked an average of 28 hours a week. The past 3 years that I have been at the hospital I really cut down on hours (which was awesome once I had Maeci) and only worked about 12 hours a week. Once Camden was in school and Maeci was a little older I said I always wanted to go back to work full time. I do love my job at the hospital because of the work I do, the hours, my co-workers,and it's very flexible! There isn't any chance of me being able to have more hours, or a full time position. My job there has been assisting in surgies, computer work, ordering for hospital/clinics, invoicing, etc. There is an opening for a surgery assistant now at the hospital. It would include maybe a few more hours a week and 24 hour on call time 3-4 days a week/weekends. I thought about it but with Brad's schedule it would not work out for us. He works different shifts and it would be hard being on call when he is working. With Brad working his shift of overnights and two small kids not sure what I would do with them if I got called in for emergency surgery in the middle of the night. I am really going to miss working at the hospital and miss seeing my co-workers everyday! It has been a great learning experience and Baum Harmon Mercy hospital has been great to work for!
So this new job just happened to come open and I thought I may as well apply for it. I love doing clerical work as that has always been an interest to me. When they called me to offer me the job I was very excited but had some anxiety of how my kids would handle the change. I will be working Monday-Friday 8-4:30. It will be different for me because I am used to being home by noon and doing what I want all afternoon! Maeci will have the biggest change because she is used to being home with mommy in the afternoons. Now she will either be at daycare or home with Brad. Camden won't have that big of adjustments because he will be in school most of the day. He will have to go to the after school daycare program through our daycare but he loves it so I don't see much of a problem with that! Brad has a 2 week rotation on his schedule so one week he will be off and home with her 3 days, and the next week he will be home with her 2 days. Some days that Brad has to work she will only be there half days. The biggest will be when he is on his dayshifts she will have to be there the whole day! She loves daycare so I am sure she will get used to it! Brad said her being a mommy's girl is about to change into a daddy's girl! Whatever!!!:)
I am going to have to figure out a whole new morning rountine which will be interesting until we get used to it! Oh yeah and I will have to get out of bed a little earlier! LOL!!! Oh well I am sure I can handle that!! So once again I am very excited but scared at the same time. I think the biggest adjustment for me is having to be away from my kiddos most of the day:( I am sure it will all be fine once we get used to it, but it's a little scary making this life change!

A mouthy 5 year old

Yes from the title of this post I am sure you can tell that I now have a very mouthy 5 year old. I have never really went through the terrible two's with Camden but I would have to say these mouthy five's are the worst I have ever seen! Don't get me wrong he has been naughty and a little mouthy during the last couple years, but the last couple months have been the worst!!! He is acting out so bad I am not quite sure what to do with him! He talks back, mimicks everything you say(especially when we are discipling him) and screams at you! He never acts like this when mom and dad are not around though. Daycare has said he is one of the best kids there and usually listens to them if he has to be told not to do something. Really the only time he acts out is if mom and dad are with him at home or wherever we may be! I am sure this is just a phase and it will get a little better.(it's not going to get completely better because numerous people tell me if only gets worse..joy!)
A couple nights ago we were at our friends house for supper and he was not listening at all! I was so frustrated! Our friends said they had all been through it and some are still going through it! I guess I am not the only one that has a mouthy kid! I look back working at daycare's and being around other people's kids and I pretty sure I have seen kids that are alot worse than Camden is right now! So we are continuing our discipline to see what works and doesn't work.
Maeci is starting early with her attitude...way to early!!! I think she is picking up bits and pieces from watching Camden. Her newest thing is starting to hit! I know she see's that at daycare too. The other day I went to pick her up and a little boy went up to her, hit her, and took her toy she had. So what did she do? Hit him back! Oh the joys! Hoping this gets better and we can figure something out!
On a better note....
Camden starts Kindergarten tomorrow! I am sad because he seems so little to be going to school! He is so excited and has been asking non-stop for the past 2 weeks when he is going to school. I am hoping his attitude we are having at home does not start at school! Like I said before he never had any problem with daycare or preschool so I hope he doesn't start acting naughty in kindergarten. (I will be checking with his teacher to see how he is doing after a couple weeks).
Anyways in the next couple days I will post some first day of school pictures!

Summer

Wow summer is flying by and it's going to be over before we know it! This summer has been crazy busy for us. I was just looking at the calender and we do not have a free weekend until the end of August! Oh my! So here's what's been going on with the kiddos......
Camden~
*Loves being outside during the summer riding his bike, swimming, playing with friends, etc.
*Played t-ball in June and loved it! He was so tiny compared to the other kids but he did great!
*Last week he enjoyed going to bible school, making crafts, singing songs, learning bible stories, and playing games.
*Next week he has swimming lessons. He hopefully will start learning more how to swim in the next couple years with lessons. He loves the water and can do the basic kicking your legs and moving your arms. He has been getting better with going under water as last year he didn't do it to much because I think something scared him!
*Very excited to start school in August. He asks daily when school is going to start. It's going to be a change for him but he will do great and I know he will love it! He is growing up way to fast and he is going to have one sad mommy the day I take him to his first day of school!

Maeci~
*This girl is on the go non-stop and never sits still!
*Cutting 4 molars right now so she has been on the crabby side.
*Learning so much at this age. It's amazing how kids at this age catch on to stuff so fast. If I tell her to pick up toys she runs to pick up a toy and put it in the toy box. Yes it's usually just one toy she picks up but at least she knows. When we are ready to leave the house and go somewhere and I tell her lets go bye-bye. She will go get her shoes, bring them to me, and sit down for me to put them on her. Usually she tries herself to put them on but can't figure that out yet! If I ask her to get a diaper she will go get me one or sometimes she brings me 5..lol!!
*Words she is saying- Mom/mama, dada, hi, dat (that). You ask her what a fish says and she does it with her mouth..it's so cute:)
*She can point to her eyes, mouth,and nose when we ask her where they are.
*LOVES the motorcycle. When Brad starts it in the garage she runs and starts pounding on the door and yelling "dada"
*She still is a chunky monkey and loves her food.
*Loves to throw food on the floor from her highchair when she is done eating..drives me crazy!
*She has an attitude...wow! Camden never was like this at this Maeci's age. She will let you know when she is mad. Throws herself on the floor yelling and then usually will try and hit you.
*She loves to play outside and to go swimming. Somedays I have to drag her in throwing a fit because she doesn't want to come in!

Brad and I are keeping busy with work, running the kids here and there, going to the boys bb games,etc! We are on the go constantly! Well gotta go...Maeci is officially done eating breakfast because she is throwing it on the floor...grrrr!!!

Weekend

This past weekend we headed back to Swea to celebrate Maeci's birthday. We had a great weekend with our family! Friday late morning we got to my dad's and spent the afternoon there playing outside. Camden got a chance to get his BB gun out and learn a few pointers from Papa. My dad being a hunter just loved watching Cam shoot his gun:) Maeci just played around and enjoyed watching Brad mow my dad's yard. I think it was a bad idea that Brad mowed because now he wants a mower like they had...lol! I am thinking that huge thing would mow our small yard in about 10 minutes or less...don't think it's necessary for our yard! Late afternoon we left dad's and went out to eat with Buzz, Tab, and Cass. After supper we headed back to Buzz and Tab's and relaxed while the kids played.
Saturday we woke up to pouring down rain. I was bummed because Maeci's party was at the park. By the time the party that afternoon the rain had stopped and it was pretty wet but the party still turned out great and the kids had fun playing! After cupcakes, ice cream, and opening presents we went back to Buzz and Tab's to relax. We were all pretty lazy and decided we didn't want to cook so we went out to eat uptown that night. Brad's parents ended up being there along with Stac and Mike so we sat around uptown and visited with them and then Buzz brought up the idea of a bonfire! Oh boy the kids were so excited. I put Maeci down to bed once we got home and we all sat outside and enjoyed the fire for awhile. The kids did some sparklers and roasted marshmellows. Buzz also had some left over fire works from last year that he lit off and entertained the kids for awhile!
Sunday we packed everything up and made a stop at Brad's parents and then headed home. It was nice to get home but we had a great weekend back home too!

Maeci

Wow my baby girl turned 1 this past Saturday! Time goes way to fast! Her birthday started off with daddy making two of her favorites for breakfast, pancakes and sausage! After breakfast we packed up and headed to Spencer to watch my brothers play baseball. After a great day of watching baseball and seeing some family we headed back home and had cupcakes and opened the rest of her presents! Her big party is this coming Saturday back in Swea at the park! I am so excited for it!
I had her in to the doc yesterday for her one year checkup and things seem to be going good! He was suprised to see how active she is and how well she gets around!(yes she has been walking all over the place) She seems to be really fussy the last 2 weeks and we think it may be her molars coming in as they look pretty swollen but who knows. She has been having some tummy problems the past 2 weeks since she has been on whole milk along with lots of gas. We are going to continue the next 2-3 weeks on whole milk and see if it gets any better. If it doesn't we may be switching back to a lactose free whole milk( her formula was lactose free) and see how that goes. Doc thought if she was lactose intorlerant she would be spitting up and having constant diarrhea( which she doesn't have) I am thinking it's just going to take awhile to get used to the new milk and she has a sensitive tummy to begin with. I am ready for her to stop being so darn fussy though!! Thank goodness the constant fever, runny nose, stuffy nose, etc has slowed down for her though. I know she is going to get it here and there but the past 2-3 months she has not had it as often as she did when she was little!
At her checkup she weighed in at 25lbs and was 32" She is just a little chunk (she eats anything you put in front of her) but doc said she started off big and there was absolutley nothing to worry about. I looked at Camden's stats when he was 12 months and he weighed 23 1/2 lbs and I think was the same in height as Maeci. He would of weighed the same as Maec does if he wouldn't of lost 2lbs at 11 months due to a 6 day flu that made him dehydrated! It's interesting to compare the stats with them as they grow each year!
Well that's about all for Maeci...we are headed to get her one year shots today...not fun! She never has had a problem after with being fussy(although already today she is kindof a bear) after shots so hopefully that continues!

Camden is such a goofball somedays! The other day Brad was laying in the chair after getting up early from a midnight shift and he was tired(as Camden calls it "crabby") So out of the blue Camden starts singing his own version- "What day is today? It's daddy crabby day!" OMG I died laughing!! Brad couldn't help it either but laugh. :)

Here's the latest in the Stevens household.......
Chicago-
We took a long weekend (5 days) and headed to Chicago to attend my sister's college graduation. We had a great time with Brandi, Jeff, and Stac. We did alot of sight seeing and shopping! The kids did wonderful except when they were overtired they got a little crabby! It was also nice to be there to celebrate my sister's graduation. Sounds like now there is more schooling in her future! Overall it was a great vacation and we can't wait to go again! Next time Brad and I are thinking of going for a long weekend without kids and flying out. Instead of 8 hours to get there driving it would be only 1 1/2 flying.

Oz graduation-
Last weekend was Oz's graduation from high school. I left to go home on the Thursday before to start decorating and get everything ready. It was alot of work but I am glad everything turned out great! It took a couple of long months to get everything ready and organized. Now he will be attending BV in Storm Lake and will also be playing football and baseball. So excited that I will be just under an hour away from there so hopefully we will be able to go to some of his games!

Camden-
He has officially graduated from preschool and now he is ready for Kindergarten! Makes me sad that he is growing up way to fast and will be starting school in the fall. Now that school is over he is a busy little boy with baseball practice for the month of May and then games start in June. When I was in T-ball we never traveled to play anywhere we just played against each other. (once we got a little older we traveled but not this young) Camden's team actually travels to play games! He is also excited that the weather seems to be getting nicer so most of the time when we are home he is outside playing!

Maeci-
Holy cow she is almost 1. I can't believe it!! Seems like just yesterday we were driving to Sioux City to have her. Where does the time go? She is a busy little girl and into everything. She has a mind of her own! She has developed a little attitude already which is interesting somedays. If she don't get her way she gets ticked off! She is doing great though and is still my little chunky monkey!!:) Oh yeah and she is going through this stage that I HATE....separation from mommy! She is a mommy's girl and somedays I can't walk two steps from her or she will start crying! Hope this passes soon. Right now we are transistioning from formula to milk and so far so good. She has had such terrible tummy problems and still has some reflux so I am hoping once we get her fully on milk she will be able to tolerate it. Then come June will be a test when we take her off her reflux medicine. I am hoping she will outgrow this and she will be able to handle being off the med.
Well that's about it for us, hope everyone has a great week!