What are we doing?

I thought this blog needed a little update on our life. It has been now 3 months since we moved from Regina to start a new adventure in Edmonton. Our plan was to moved in with my parents in Sherwood Park till we found a place to live. We did and we are still living there! 

We went out with a realtor right away and looked at a few homes. We also searched day and night on MLS. We were not terribly impressed with our selection for what we could afford and decided to hit up a bunch of show homes to see if anyone had any spec homes (duplex's) being built (homes already started but all the finishing already chosen in other words, we cant change a thing). We found one we liked that was ready at the end of July. PERFECT! But after we signed all the papers I freaked out and decided there was too many things I didn't like about the main floor and we ended up switching to another spec home they had (same builder, same area) that had a tad better layout for a family with little kids, like a mud room (you park in the back so having slidding door that run right into a kitchen table threw me off of this layout). But it was a huge pro/con kind of deccision. The one we didnt buy had a better lot, was cheaper, had a tad nicer finishings like white quartz countertops. BUT the one we did buy came with a deck, landscaping and a garage. Here are the links to the layouts and showhome pictures of the two.

One we bought

One we almost bought

The major downfall of the one we did buy was it wasn't ready till September/October. I am was being highly optimistic and thought for sure it would be ready mid-September, but every time we drive past the house, I cry and think... okay maybe early October?!? Baby is due September 8, which means we will for sure be having the baby while at my parents. Which is fine, I just feel for the other 3 people living there (my mom, dad and my sister). Babies cry a lot, new mom's cry a lot. It should be fun ;)


I am mostly just excited to have a basement. I have waited 6 years of being married to have a place with a basement! This is no where near my dream home, but since we barely approved from a mortgage, this will be fine for now. Scott is excited, it is pretty modern finishings which is what he loves. I personally wanted and tried to find a place with white cupboards but it was impossible. Seriously impossible. No one had them! But yet they are very popular right now, all over all the decor magazines... weird. Like I said, one day i can have my dream home.

On to our next topic, work... my awesome brother called me before we moved and told me to send him my resume because the accounting firm he worked at needed an executive assistant! Luckily for me they were having a hard time finding a replacement for the girl going on maternity leave in May and my brother mentioned me. I started a week after we moved and I love the change. I have always worked for engineering companies before. They have a new lady starting tomorrow that will be my replacement. They did hire someone else to replace me about a month ago, but that went south (they fired her after a few weeks).

Scott is loving his job. He is working for the Ministry of Health in Senior's Health. I am going to toot his horn a little here and say that on the first day, when all the interns were having their starting meetings he found out that they hired 26 out of 400 applicants! We had to laugh though, because most of the other 26 men and women were from high end schools all over Canada. And then there was Scott... from the University of Regina!

Boston. What to say here, well he is growing up! He is loving life, loving all the attention. He basically has attention 24/7 with 5 adults living in one household. We are happy that his speech is getting better, but still worried because he is still very behind. But having my mom and sister work with him all day has really helped (my sister is a speech therapist assistant). My mom and sister watch Boston while Scott and I are at work. My sister is in summer school, but helps my mom out when she can. Boston LOVES going for walks with Alyssa. She pushes him in the stroller while she runs. Boston has also enjoyed a few trips to Calgary to play with his cousins. He especially gets along so well with his little cousin Ethan who is 2 years older than him.

We tell Boston that he is going to be a big brother and he now loves to hug my belly and read books on being a big brother. Lets just hope this excitement continues when the baby arrives.


Check back soon, I have a bunch more posts left in order to get caught up!

Moved

We officially left Regina on April 28. My daycare lady was also moving and her last day was the week before. My awesome friend Lyndi watched Boston for me Monday and Tuesday and my mom flew out to Regina on Tuesday to watch Boston for the rest of the week and best of all pack! My dad drove all by himself on Thursday and also came and packed! I don't know what we would have done without my parents. They packed most of our stuff and were a huge blessing to us! Scott and I both worked up until the day before we moved and had little time to pack.

We made some great friends from church and work that came despite the rain and help us load the truck. I am so glad I decided to hire a cleaning lady to clean the bathroom and kitchen that morning. It was the best $80 spent! A few good friends came and helped clean the rest of the house and we were on the road later that afternoon for the long drive to Edmonton.

Sunday we loaded a 10 x 13 storage unit to the max and our stuff is currently still stored there! I need to take a picture of this, it is pretty funny how floor to ceiling the unit is packed.

Scott and I were surprised how sad we were to leave Regina. I made a couple good friends at church and tons of great friends at work I knew I was going to miss and I do still miss them. Scott was really loving his job and everyone he was working with and all his friends from school.

Moving Back Home

It has been almost 8 years since I left Edmonton and I am happy that I am finally moving back home. Scott has been on the job hunt for months now in Alberta and he finally decided to apply for an internship. He was hesitant because he is just finishing one up here in Regina. Kind of feels like he is done with them, but after some thought, he realized that doing the internship might be his best hope at getting into the Government of Alberta. He was told that 100% of the interns that wanted to stayed with the government after these internships are over, did.

I think after we left Calgary to move to Regina, we always said we would return to Calgary for we do love it there and Scott's family is there. But Scott decided that the provincial government is where he wanted to be and the provincial government jobs are mostly all in Edmonton. Made it a pretty easy decision on where we would end up and I can’t help but be happy with his decision since that is where my family is.

We are busy organizing our plans and cancelling our life over here. We plan on packing the U-Haul on April 28 (if anyone wants to come help). Our last day at our current jobs is April 27. My mom is flying out here on April 24 to help pack and mostly watch Boston (for my daycare ladies last day is April 20). Oh and cant forget the Relief Society dinner my committee and I are planning for April 25. It is going to be a very busy next few weeks, very stressful and a lot of crying I'm sure. I cried 2 times this morning, all before 8am! But on a good note, right in the mix of all the busy, on April 23, I have my ultrasound AND Boston turns 2 on April 19!

Our plans are to stay with my parents in Sherwood Park until we find a place to live. Scott's job doesn't start will May 14, so we have 2 week to figure out where we want to live and also find me a job! But I think I am going to really have a hard time finding a job... who wants to hire a pregnant lady for only 4 months?!?! BUT I really need a job in order to ensure I get full EI and we really need the money! The internship doesnt pay near as much as we need.

Well wish us luck!

Staying In

January caused our little family to be very lazy. I think it is the weather and the blues. We tend to stay inside on the weekends and evenings. If only we were being productive as we stay inside, but honestly we aren't!

We keep ourselves entertained with tons of dance parties...

Dress up....

Sticky Note Parties...

Swimming...



I guess Scott and Boston did get out and go for a walk one day...



iPhone/iPad games and and books...



Scott has started applying for jobs. I think we both are excited to start the next chapter of our life. If anyone knows anyone that works in the Alberta government and can get Scott a job, please let me know. His masters is in Public Administration, basically a lot of policy. We both want to move back to Alberta! I had a huge cry last night because I get discouraged and think it will never happen...

BUT to lift our spirits, in less than 24 hours, Scott and I are on a plane headed for Mexico!! Boston gets to spend a week with Grandpa and Grandma Woolley and Aunt Alyssa! I'm unsure how he is going to take it considering it will be Boston and my very first night away from each other!

Down to Only One Blog

After much thought and debate, I realized WHAT WAS I THINKING, I cant handle two blogs, I barely write on one!

Then the debate came, well which one do I keep. The Striped Box gets way more reads than Scotty and Tara plus it looks way nicer, but Scotty and Tara has been with me since the beginning. In the end, I have decided to just blog on Scotty and Tara! I have added most of my posts from The Striped Box over and in the process of making it a little more user friendly. Just need to work on a header and a few other small items. If you enjoyed The Striped Box, please follow me here.

We have a busy year ahead of us. By spring we should be in a new place, way bigger place (we only have 850 sq ft right now) and with new places, mean tons and tons of home décor projects! I don't know about you, but I cant wait.


Maybe one day I will start up blogging on two blogs again, but right now with working full time and trying to find motivation to clean our apartment and feed my husband and child every night, it won't be any time soon...


**I'm trying to come up with a creating blog name... other than Scotty and Tara to put as my header. If you think of a good one, let me know :)

Ever Feel Like Your To Do List Is This LONG?

I have a busy week this week; I’m sure like most people. I typed a very detailed to do list while at work yesterday and printed it on a legal size paper. I WAS feeling pretty good about getting everything done in time for the church Christmas party this Saturday.. until Scott on the way home from work decided to throw a little curve ball at me. He told me that on Wednesday he is headed to Saskatoon for a managers meeting and will be coming back late Thursday night. I took a deep breath and realized it wasn’t his fault, but now I’m not sure how I am going to get everything done in time!

Hopefully little Boston can do what he did last night and go to bed at 7:45 with no fuss and no sadness every night this week. Expect for the night I will have to drag the little guy out in the cold and deliver turkeys to all the ladies that volunteer to cook.

I’m not complaining I actually really like my calling. We moved to Regina and had no friends, it has been a really nice calling to get to know some people in the ward. I just don’t handle stress well; I’m super exhausted and have pimples all over my face. 

I decided to go with center piece no. 2! Thank you for all your suggestions and comments on my other blog!

Pain x2

Pain #1 - I need to eat better and then my dumb body will improve its health. I am lucky to have a lot of traits from my mom’s side, but unfortunately I also have a few traits that I am not so fortunate to have. One of which caused me pain when I was 15… After a year of pain the doctors finally found out I had gall stones and I had my gallbladder removed. My mom had hers removed too and so did a few other people in her family.

Now 11 years later that one little non existent gallbladder is causing my problems again! I guess they don’t remove the ducts and the ducts can still cause stones or mucus and pain. 5 months ago I had major pain for a few days, went to the doctor at a walk in clinic and he said, you have gas. Had it again this weekend, felt like I was in labour, literally! Went to the ER, they said, you have gall stones. I said, but I don’t have a gall bladder! Spent about 15 hours in the hospital (they sent me home to sleep and then come back in the morning) and almost 24 hours after the level 10 pain was gone and I was only at about a level 3, they finally got me into an ultrasound and found nothing. I felt like such a loser at that point. I wasted so many peoples time for nothing! My only thoughts are, 1. They missed it, or 2. I passed it, or 3. It is something else (and no it isn't gas).


This was my weekend and the worst part was Scott’s parents came to visit. I felt like I ruined their trip, but really I think they came to see Boston and they got tons of quality time with him. He was one happy boy all weekend.

Boston at Burger King with his grandparents. I guess he was really putting on a show and the manager gave him a free ice cream!

I don’t eat terrible; I guess I am just more likely to have a bad reaction to foods than most people. I am happy that I know it is my “gallbladder” causing my pains. I needed something to really kick my butt into gear and get healthy. I have lost 9 pounds in 5 weeks, I joined weight watchers again with a girl from work. Still have about 15 pounds to go till all my clothes will fit me again and anything more than that will be even better.

Funny picture Scott sent me on Sunday while i was waiting for the ultrasound.

Pain # 2 - Boston had his 18 months shots last week. The highlights from the experience are:

We met another Boston at the clinic. He was 5.

The nurse asked us if Boston runs, builds blocks, etc. Then she asked us if he says “NO”. I was like, actually he doesn’t say no. Then she got a worried look on her face and was like, does he say anything? We mentioned something’s he says and she changed her expression to surprised and said, wow, barely any kids come here and hasn’t picked up, no. I didn’t tell her it is because our child is so well behaved we don’t have to ever use the word no, haha, Yah RIGHT!

The nurse told us we can feed our child ice cream! He refuses milk since we took away the bottle about 2 months ago and since he is in the 35% in weight and just over 50% in height, she said, ice cream was a good way to get calcium into him and also fat.

He cried and cried the next morning (his shots were at 6pm that night before). I texted my child care lady at lunch to see how he was doing and she said "Actually he was pretty happy/hyper all morning". Then i responded, "either the Tylenol helped or he likes you better!" 

This week was a week that i really wished we lived somewhere with family. Our daycare lady was sick Wednesday and Thursday. Talk about stressful trying to find someone to watch Boston at like 7 in the morning. We never found anyone on Wednesday, Scott and i split the day and then luckily a friend who has helped us out before, watched him Thursday. He had so much fun playing at her house and with her two kids. Here is Boston making Gingerbread cookies at her house. Nena said he just wanted to eat the dough, definitely got that from his father.

Can We Do It?

I originally wrote this post over a week ago, but never posted it. After hearing the Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday and listening to this talk, my mind set has changed slightly. I left the talk thinking, wow I really needed to hear that!

Here is the post I wrote last week:

Scott and I were talking about when and if we want to have another baby. As we got talking I started to realize how scared I am to have another baby. Also how discouraged I am with life! I keep thinking about all the things that I found really hard over the last year and a half and think could it get any worse?

What happens if when they stitch me up after delivery and the doctor says, wow this is the worse internal tears I have seen ever, instead of the first time when she said, in a long time.

I remember kneeing on the floor crying for weeks after Boston was born because I was in so much aftermath pain and I couldn’t hold my baby, let alone sit, stand or even lie down.

I remember the first two weeks my whole night and day consisted of pumping, trying to nurse, then feeding Boston with a bottle, then burping, then a short nap before the 2 hour long process started all over again.

I remember Boston was only 3.5 months old when I started to pack up our condo to move. Scott was in the middle of a busy internship and I just needed someone to come over and help me and my sister was the only one that did. And of course my parents came up the day before we moved and helped me finish or in my mom's eyes, start!

My mom said that moving to Regina would be too hard on me with a new baby. I said I would be fine. Mothers know best. Scott’s internship is done at the end of April but what happens if he can't find a job in Alberta and we end up staying in Regina? Regina has been lonely, depressing and caused major strain on our marriage.

I remember Boston average bedtime for months and months was midnight. We tried everything, but nothing works. Boston still sleeps below average, he took after his daddy, I love sleep, and Scott can do without.

I was told that once you started nursing, the baby weight would fall right off… well the weight came on and on. And still is coming on and on. I’m an emotional eater, and I don’t want to have another baby and gain even more weight when I haven’t lost any to begin with.

I am not proud of my mental state right now. Scott says I just need to be happier and think happier, but I don’t think it is that easy. I have never had cold sores in my life and I have had them for a whole month now. They come and go every 2 days. Cold sores are brought about from stress and lack of sleep. I think that sums up me.

I know everyone has different things they need to deal with in their lives and we aren’t given anything we can’t handle. I need some motivation, I know being a mom is hard, but this is way harder than I ever thought it would be. I knew moving 9 hours away from my family would be hard, but never thought it would be this hard. I knew having a husband in a busy master’s program would be stressful, but I didn’t think it would affect us like it has. What happened to that exciting perfect life we always got presented to us in YW class every Sunday?

I need some motivation…

I debated posting this but decided that it is okay to have bad days and it is okay to get discouraged sometimes. BUT now I need to rethink life and as President Uchtdorf said, be patient with myself, make good sacrifices and mostly BE HAPPY NOW! I keep telling myself that things will be better when we move back to Alberta, or when Scott is in a real job, or when I have a house and not a tiny apartment. I know I can be happy now, I just need to really work at it! I bought a new book many months ago and haven't read it yet. It is called, The Happiness Project. My goal is to read it ASAP. It is a struggle for me to be happy and I need a little "workbook" to help me out. Wish me luck!

Car Accident

Nothing crazy happened... after work I went to fabricland. An old lady came inside and asks the front desk if they can ask the customers if anyone has a White Rav4. I was at the desk paying so I said, I do. She was like; my husband hit your car. I finished paying; we went out to the car. I asked as we were walking how bad it was and she said not bad (she was right). She said her husband hit the gas instead of the brake. Anyways, not too much damage on the cars... theirs was worse then mine. The hood was bent, bumper dented and the light broken. Scott thinks on ours the back bumper and the spare tire wheel will all need to be replaced (can’t tell by the pictures the damage). The couple were so cute. The old man was pretty shaken up, didn’t get out of the car. I saw him trying to dial the police to see if we had to get a police man (neither of us had really been in an accident before) and his hands were shaking. I told him I would call. After they told us just go down and report the accident to SGI, I wrote down both our information and we went on our way.

Bangs and a Hair Cut

I always have bangs but I decided to get way more. I just wanted them thicker. Boston hated them ;)
My hair dresser also taught me how to curl my hair with a straightener, seems way easier than a curling iron.... now I just need to try to do it myself!

Shopping Cart Fail

I have decided that shopping carts and Boston just don't get along. I see all the other kids sitting so perfectly in the carts enjoying the outing but not Boston. It is a huge struggle to get him to sit still in the cart. With that said... I have TWO fail stories to share!

Fail #1 - About a month ago, Boston and I were strolling down the aisle of Super Walmart. He likes to scream... scream a lot. I was trying to play games with him like peek a boo as much as I could to keep him entertained and quiet. At one point I was tired of keeping him quiet, that I was letting his scream for a few seconds as I looked at something on a shelf. Finally I looked down at him to tell him to stop yelling only to see that Boston had managed to shift the seat belt up around his NECK! I quickly undid the seat belt and told him about the boy who cried wolf, but I don't think he understood the moral of the story.

Fail #2 - On Saturday, Scott, Boston and I were all at Superstore. Boston was doing okay at sitting still with the two of us there. The check out line was very long. I got Scott to go into line as I went and grabbed the last couple of items. When I got back, Boston stood up in the cart (might I add that Superstore's carts don't have belts) and I grab him and held him for a few minutes till it was our turn to load the groceries. I put him back in the cart and let Scott watch him as I headed to the other end of the cart to load the food. Let me add that Scott started to read a magazine at some point. I was unloading the cart when I heard gasp behind me. I turned around to see Boston had managed to put both his legs into one of the holes where you should only have one leg and had slid down the hole of the cart. The only thing that stopped him from falling to the ground has his big head. Boston was literally hanging from his neck! Scott grabs Boston feet to prevent him from falling any more and I grabbed his head and pulled him back up. Oh the looks and shocked faces around... I can still picture them now. Before you judge too much, Boston didn't even cry, wasn't hurt, no bruises!

Maybe Boston knows how unsafe shopping carts really are? Maybe he is just one smart kid and knows the danger that his parents keep putting him in?? Or maybe I just have a child that won't sit still?!

Late Night Trip

We had Boston all ready for bed and he decided he wasn't ready. Wide awake, so we went to Super Walmart!

Where Is My Hat

Scott was leaving for school on Friday and couldn't find his hat. This happens often, even before Boston started hiding things on us. Normally I find the hat which in 20 seconds of looking but today was different. Couldn't find the hat anywhere. Scott had to go to school wearing a different hat and he wasn't too happy. A few hours later I was putting away laundry and found the hat. I think this is Boston's best hiding spot yet!

I found it in my bra drawer!

JOB

I got a job! I am excited. I start Monday, pretty fast but they needed someone asap and I really like the sounds of this company, so I didn't want to pass it up.

I am going to be working as a senior administration assistant for a company called Walker Projects. Pay is pretty good, a bit less than what I left at in Calgary before I went on maternity leave but pretty close. But the Employment agency i went through said that Calgary's salaries are higher than Regina, so really I shouldn't complain. After the 3 month probation period, I get pretty good benefits and honestly I am soooo excited to go to the dentist. Its been over a year since we had benefits (Scott didn't get anything through school and doesn't get any from his new job, since he is just getting paid as a scholarship), therefore been awhile since we have gone to the dentist. It is also time for me to get new glasses and contacts. I have had the same glasses for 4.5 years and no contacts for so many years! Way over due, the last couple years we spent all our allowed funds in my last job's benefits on glasses and contacts for Scott and there we never anything left for me.

The other nice thing about this job is it isn't too far from Scott's work. We only have one car and Scott was taking the bus downtown but since I get a parking spot and he doesn't we will be car pooling and I will be dropping him off and picking him up.

The lady that is going to be watching Boston is only like 5 doors down from us. We just have to walk him over, which is also going to be very nice. Won't have to make an extra stop on the drive to drop him off. 

Overall I am pretty excited about the change. I hope it all turns out as good as it looks right now on this post!

On a funny note, Scott's mom keeps on saying that Boston is going to a group home. Haha!

Favourite Toy

Like most kids, Boston is love with electronics. I love apple, I love love love the apps they have for children (and me). Boston goes nuts for this app he is playing with in the picture. Boston has figured out a bit about our iPhones too. Luckily hasn't perfected the sliding function for unlocking the iPhone or the iPad (and we aren't showing him). He has figured out how to start playing music and activate the voice dial on our phones. He smiles like he is the smartest kid in the world.
Another electronic he loves and always has is the TV remote. It's amazing how smart they are. He will point the remote towards the TV and push the buttons. His most favourite shows are either the french channel or the real estate channel... always seems to end up on one of those two channels oh and occasionally the shopping channel.

Warm Weather & a new Chair

We were leaving extra foods on Tuesday and Scott saw this kid chair and suggest we get it for Boston. What do you think, perfect fit? I tried to get a picture with him in the chair but by the time i got the camera he was done with sitting. Next time.

Another Item Washed

Remember this post?? Well I decided to see how a diaper could hold up in the washer this time ;)

Hard to tell, but can you see all the tiny gel crystals all over the bottom? I will blame this one fully on Boston. OH and it was a clean diaper (i think). 
I just washed the clothes again in hot water and it all melted and washed away!

First Day of Work

My man is officially a man with a job! I am so proud of him and how hard he has worked over the last 6 years (okay, he didn't work that hard until we got married... so make that 4.5 years... his words not mine).
He came home today with a headache. First day was a bit rough on him. He works this week and then has a week off for school and then back to work. He has a total of 3 weeks of school left this summer and then officially done the school part of his Masters.
Love you Scott!

Eggs

I texted this picture to my friend and said "Hope this isn't a sign on how the rest of my day is going to go!" and she responded with "At least it wasn't your child!" Haha! Love good friends!

Dishes

This is the number one fight in our house... we both hate doing dishes. I think Scott hates it more than I do but I do them more, so maybe I am just more use to it?? We have at least one more year of no dishwasher and one tiny sink. Wish us luck!