A family on the Road

Tonight I am trying to get things packed up to go to Manhattan, KS this weekend. Colby and I met there while going to school at Kansas State University. Two of his brothers live there along with our niece and brothers girlfriend/baby momma. They moved into a new house at the beginning of the summer and are having a housewarming party this sunday.  We don't really care much about the party. We mostly want to see everyone, especially our niece. We haven't seen then since June and she has grown a lot and has finally started to crawl. Another thing is no one came up for Harpers birthday and we want them to have a relationship with her and Colby one with his brothers.  The hope is they will see us making an effort to keep a relationship and to just be a part of their lives. Then in return they will show that they care more about us and want to visit us up here too. Only time will tell on that one.

We wont be seeing his parents this weekend because they aren't coming out for the party. I think that is fine because in two weeks they are coming up here to visit and sometimes its nice to just hang out with the older siblings. However, his parents don't always get that. His dad thinks he can be just one of the boys now that they are older and is just trying to be their friend a lot of times. He can really turn the mood weird though, especially for me. Both of them are just weird around me for some reason and don't know what to say to me, which in turn makes me feel weird towards them and I don't know what to say to them. Its a vicious cycle that never seems to end. His step-mom just gets mad if we go to Kansas and don't see them. She doesn't understand that with his brothers living in one town and them in another we can't always make it work to see everyone. But she doesn't see it that way. She can be kind of selfish and when it come to who Colby visits, in her mind it should always be her first and for most but to Colby thats not always the case.

Anyways back to this weekend. I really hope everything turns out good and we have a lot of fun. I like visiting Manhattan. It brings back a lot of memories but it is weird at the same time because where my life was when we decided to leave and where it is now is so completely different. Honestly so are the lives of all his brothers. No one is dating the same person they were back then. One of them has a baby and another one is getting married. Looking back and going back to somewhere with some many memories, good and bad, makes you really evaluate your current life and how far you have come, at least in my case.  I know I haven't come that far in everything like the relationship with Colby's parents. I think it might be worse then before except they aren't as vocal to him about their dislike for me since at this point they can't do anything since we are already married but did they really try to stop that from happening but that is a whole other can of worms that I haven't forgotten but am trying to get past so I won't go into it.

I won't be writing this weekend so Monday I will probably have a report about how the weekend went and our many adventures from this exciting thing I call my life.

Back At It

Haven't been on here for a long time and boy have things changed. First of all my husband tried applying for a ton of police type jobs. He was a finalist for a correction officer job in Jefferson County, KS and felt really confident about it. So we decided we would move to Kansas. I packed almost the entire house!! and we were set to go besides a few minor things...we didn't have a place to live, neither of us had a job down there but hey we were taking a risk doing this and for some reason thought it would be worth it. We were down there for 2 or 3 weeks and based on our time there and the inability of Colby getting a job we decided to stay living in SD.

Another huge change for us that swayed our decision a lot is the we are having another baby.  This wasn't really a surprise to us. We were trying/wanting to have another baby pretty close to Harp. As of now, I am over half way done and working on getting everything ready for our little guy. I rearranged Harp's room and moved around her clothes. We are almost ready just have to wait for the big arrival now.

So now that we are officially staying in SD, probably forever, we are really settling in. Making our house really feel like a home and like an adult/family home. I stay at home and take care of Harp and the house. My husband works nights at a factory in Brookings. We really wanted him on days but he decided to go back to school to pursue his bachelors degree. He will only have about 2 years before he should finish it up so hopefully working and going to school works out for him. Im not a fan of nights but we will see what we can work out with his school schedule and work schedule.

The small garden we planted this year has been doing pretty well we have a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and potatoes. I am going to try my hand at some canning once we have more of one items to actually do it. We will have to see how that goes for me. I'll have to keep you posted since this is my first time trying canning.

That should probably be all for tonight. Little lady is fast asleep and I should head there soon so Im ready for the day when she gets up tomorrow. Our little 1 year old sure has a lot of energy and I just try to keep up. I'm going to try to be better at writing this. Until next time...

Socially acceptable?

Today was my one and only opportunity to see White Christmas, the musical Colby has been playing drums for. Harper has been more fussy then usual lately but had been doing great most of the first act. Towards the beginning of the second act she was crying and I couldn't get her settled down so I took her out into the hallway. I found a bench to sit on, I thought a good distance from the doors, and started to feed her. Then a lady came and asked me to take it in the bathroom. I know some people have a problem or are uncomfortable with women who breastfeed in public but I am very comfortable with it. I have become accustom to it and I always use a blanket over everything. I was not hurting or disturbing anything. I thought it was ridiculous but went into the bathroom anyways. It seemed as though she didn't want me going back into the show. So Harper and I were in the bathroom and she tipped over and bonked her head. She started to cry so I took her into a stall in the bathroom and someone came and shut the door on us! I thought this was crazy. I felt like they were locking us into the bathroom and we couldn't go finish watching the play. I was upset, Colby was even more upset that I had to miss the ending. Apparently the lady apologized to him tonight along with the house manager but no one said anything to me. She told Colby she had me go into the bathroom because patrons had been complaining. But while she was making those patrons happy she seemed to forget that I was a patron too. It really made me not want to go back to any shows there. I have never felt more unwelcome because I had a child in my life.

I am so thankful this is the last night of the play. I am getting sick of being home alone at night! So we are officially into graduation week. I am so excited and so ready to be done with the semester and school all together. I am considering applying for the job of editor of the local paper. It would be only part time but I have heard it was a lot of work. It would be nice to bring in a little money if Colby doesn't get a police job right away. That also means he could keep his current job which would be great since he gets great benefits. I guess we will just have to wait and see. But right now I need to find some motivation to get this semester finished up. Hopefully I can do it!

Don't believe everything you read...

So the snow never came. They are predicting more snow for tomorrow but we will see. It is December already (oh my goodness!) and we haven't really had any snow. I am sure we will be getting some soon and I kind of home we do because it is super cold. If it is going to be this cold, below freezing cold, we should have something to show for it.

So this week has been super crazy. Colby is playing the drums for the theatre production of White Christmas. He has had practice or performances every night since Sunday. It seems like he is never home or at least at the same time I am. I figured out he is home, with me and Harper, for 8 hours a day including the time we are sleeping. He has been going into work at UPS at 3:20 am then goes to the office until I either go to class or start working. I then work while he is at home with Harper. I get home between 3-4:30 pm. He has to be back at the play at 6:30 and gets home from that around 10:30 and goes directly to bed because he to be up again in 4 hours! It is crazy. But after Sunday he will be done with the play. However, the craziness may continue. Since it is peak at UPS he is doing driver helper part of the time and when he doesn't do that he may be working nights along with the morning shift.

With all this craziness, I know December is hear and I can't believe it. Next weekend, the 11th, is graduation (super excited). Then we only have finals week and we are done with school. The next step is for one or both of us to get a full-time job. The weekend after finals weekend is Christmas already. Time is just moving so fast.

So yesterday Harper had her 4 month check-up. She is still not real big but hey that is ok. She is only in the 10th percentile but she is really healthy, happy and developing great. It seems as though her gaining weight is slow going and my losing weight is slow going. I am down 3 ish lbs this week. Which is great, just a little at a time. I am not working out as much as I should/could be but I am trying to work on that. I am really trying to watch my portion sizes and eating healthier but it takes a conscious effort on my part to do it but I really want to do it. I want to fit in my clothes. I want to look good. I want to be down before I get pregnant again. Colby is trying to help me. Some days are better then others but I know he wants me to be happy. I know he thinks I'm beautiful right now but I want to be able to look at a picture of myself and feel the same way. I am working on it though and I have a beautiful baby to show for it and I couldn't be happier about that.

Well life continues to be an adventure so stay tuned.

Turkey, Sales and Snow

Well the Thanksgiving weekend came and went and the Holiday season has officially began. We had two different Thanksgiving meals on two different days and it certainly didn't help my diet out. Harper was able to have her first bites of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. She seemed to really enjoy them. I know she likes to have real food. We also started her on vegetable baby food. Right now she is getting green beans and seems to love them.

Friday Colby and I ventured to Walmart at 3:30 to get some of the great deals. We were able to snag some of the cheap movies, a new TV stand and a Blueray player. Then we went to JcPenny and picked up a few more Christmas gifts for our niece and nephew. We only got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep that night and didn't really get a nap either.

Today/tonight we are in a winter storm warning. We will have to see what it is like when I get up tomorrow morning.  We also tried taking some family pictures with our cameras self timer. They didn't turn out like I would of liked. It is hard to get one with Harper looking at the camera and a good position for all of us.

I am really trying to get serious able losing the baby weight. I know it doesn't just come right off but it seems like the other people around me that had babies recently are back to their pre-pregnancy weight. It is frustrating that it isn't coming off and that I still can't fit into most of my clothes. I try to not get down on myself about it but sometimes it is hard when nothing fits and when I look in the mirror I don't like what I see.  I know I need workout on a more regular basis but it is hard to find time with school, work and Harper. I am really trying to eat healthy too and have right portion sizes but I just need Colby to get on board now too. Without his help it will be even harder since we eat the somethings most days.

Well the journey continues!!

Oh Weekend...

Well this weekend did not go as we had planned. We went to Emporia, Colby interviewed and then we went to his parents house for supper with a lot of Colby's family. And that is where the whole going as planned ended. After the interview Colby was informed he had to take a polygraph test the next day! This meant staying in Leavenworth then driving back to Emporia the next day. Unfortunately, we had to be responsible adult and continue having Colby pursue this job. This meant giving up our tickets. Giving up the concert. Luckily my brothers roommate didn't get tickets but wanted to go so Fuller and his girlfriend bought them from us. While Colby did his polygraph, Harper and I went shopping. We were able to get a few more Christmas gifts and then later a few cute outfits for Harper. Since it was a last minute thing to stay Saturday at Colby's parents and being gone to Emporia most of the day, we ended up spending the majority of the day by ourselves.

Even though this weekend didn't go as planned and Colby and I are disappointed that we had to miss the concert, there were some good points too. For one, Colby is feeling confident about the job and only has to wait about a week to find out if he got a second interview, which would be another trip down there! Also we were able to see both of Colby's Grandmas and his Grandpa, along with his aunt, uncle and a couple cousins. We were also able to meet Austin's girlfriend, finally. It ended up being a pretty good visit even though its not what we were wanting/expecting to happen.

Here our a few picture from the weekend. Grandma Judy and Harper and Austin, Nicole (his girlfriend), Harper and Grandma Judy.

The Craziness Begins

So last weekend we decided to go to Emporia, KS on Friday at 4:30 p.m. so that Colby could test for the police position he applied for down there. It was crazy getting ready so fast and leaving so late but we made it, through the snow and all. He was suppose to get to interview last Saturday also but because of the large group he didn't. So we had to change out plans. We are going back tomorrow for the interview when we were going to go for the weekend after Thanksgiving. The trip will be short, really short. We leave tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. and will return sometime Saturday afternoon. The reason for this. We got tickets to the Miranda Lambert concert in Brookings for our anniversary. Good tickets. Really good tickets. Front row center. We don't want to miss this so we will go down to Emporia, Colby will interview then we will drive to Leavenworth to see his parents. It will be crazy just like last weekend but that is the adventure of our lives.

Stay tuned because you never know what we will be doing next!