Every time I blog, I can't believe how long it has been since my last blog post. Life has definitely changed a lot for the Bailey family since my last post in March of this year! It would take pages and pages to write about everything that has gone on, so I will go ahead with a major highlight reel and leave it at that :-)
1) I received a big promotion at the library and took over last week as the full-time Children's Librarian. I know, crazy. It was definitely not something that I had planned on this year, but it is a huge opportunity for me and I accepted the position with equal parts trepidation and joy. We are all still working out the kinks, for sure, and it has been a bit of a tough transition for the kids: going back to school (Ava now all day in 1st grade) and going to latchkey every day. It's not ideal, but it's going to work, and that's more than I could hope for at this point, lol. I'm only on my third class for my Master's program, so I have a lot of long years of work ahead of me, but already having the job that I was hoping to get in 4 years is such a relief, and I'm really proud that they hired me knowing how passionate I am for my work. I'm admittedly feeling overwhelmed this week with the pressure of doing it ALL, but I keep reminding myself to worry about the things that I can control today and try not to look too far into the future. It isn't worth the anxiety (and repeat).
2) Aiden is in third grade now and Ava is in first! She's finally going to school all day with the big kids:-) School is from 8:45AM until 3:15PM and with my new schedule they will go to latchkey pretty much every day, some days longer than others (for instance I picked them up today at 4:20, headed home for a quick dinner/homework, and then I came back to work until 9PM tonight). With my new schedule I now have 2 Fridays off a month though which is awesome for catching up on grad school work and having some extra time with the kids after school. So far, both kids are doing awesome in their classes and love their teachers and their friends. I feel so fortunate that we love our school as much as we do--it's a wonderful community of caring, kind teachers and parents who understand the importance of being involved.
3) I'm going to be an aunt again!! My twin sister is pregnant again and due in less than 2 months, October 23rd. It is a boy and he will be named Andrew and we are over the moon excited about him. My little niece Abigail is going to make such an awesome big sister and I am so thrilled for my sister that she gets to have a little boy and a little girl, since I think having one of each is so much fun. With my new job it will mean I won't get to see him as much as I was hoping, but we'll just have to make some quick weekend trips to Michigan this spring and summer!
4) Chuck and I are shrinking! I made a goal to lose 30 lbs this summer and while I didn't quite make my goal, I'm down 26 lbs and he is down 21 lbs now, which is amazing! He's getting close to his goal weight and even though I'm not even halfway to my goal, I've learned some really important skills this summer (calorie counting--who knew how important that was? lol. LOVE the My Fitness Pal app!) that will get me to my goal with continued hard work. I would ideally like to be at my goal weight by the New Year...which means 34 lbs in 4 months. Definitely doable!
5) We are going to Disney World again this year! We've booked our trip for 8 days, staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach resort, and we are soooo excited! We are going December 12-19th, and Chuck is going to turn 40 in Disney! We weren't initially planning on going this year but then Disney offered the free dining plan at certain resorts and it sealed the deal for us (free dining is a huge incentive at Disney and definitely worth it!) The kids are extra excited because we are pulling them out of school for Christmas Break a week early, so they will get a whopping 3 weeks off school for winter break this year. Lucky kids!
6) My mom and dad are building a new house! It is about halfway done now and is going to be amazing when it is finished. The absolute best part? It is on a lake! It's a quiet, serene little lake about 20 minutes from where they live now in Michigan and the kids and I were lucky enough to head up earlier this summer to see the spot of the future house (they hadn't broken ground yet) and ride the boat around all day tubing and swimming. It was awesome and I think next summer is going to be amazing. The kids are so excited to visit!
That pretty much sums up the last few months in a nutshell. Overall, we are doing great and as busy as ever. Figuring out this full-time working mom/going to grad school thing is a big change for me, and I'm learning day by day. Until next time (whenever that might be) :-)
