another change...

With mixed emotions I gave my 2 weeks notice at work this week. With Nick heading to CA and us needing to get the house ready to sell and baby boy coming, we decide it would probably be a good idea if I didn't keep working.
This is actually something I've been thinking about and praying about for the last year. I go back and forth. I love my coworkers, I love what I do....I definitely have a "cushy" nursing job (rarely work Saturdays and holidays, never work Sundays...)...why would I give that up? I love the fast-pace of the floor I work on. I meet some pretty interesting people :) I like the occasional adrenaline rush that comes with what I do.... :)
I could never quite bring myself to say "I'm done".
Now that "it's done"....my last day is Nov. 9....I feel good about it. I'm excited to have more time with family and Adelyn before the baby comes...I'm looking forward to not having to work while majorly pregnant (it's hard to run around when you can't reach speeds past "quick waddling").
It's going to be weird not working b/c I have had a job of some sort since I was 14 years old (not counting the loads of babysitting I started doing when I was 10).  I've never not worked.  In a prideful way, I've been worried about losing my identity as a cardiovascular nurse. I know that I'll always be an RN, and I do plan on going back to work in the not so near future, but I know that people can view stay at home moms differently, and that's going to be hard for me. (sounds so selfish and prideful, I know, because it is!)
I know that there is NO shame in being a stay at home mom! It's the hardest job in the world, even being a full time mom with a part time job!  I'm working towards being proud of saying, in the near future, when people ask what I do "I get to stay at home and raise children and take care of our home and my husband"....that is definitely something to be proud of.
I pray that the Lord will help me step into this new experience of not working with grace and pride.
I'm thankful for my family and I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to stay at home with my kids... there are so many people who don't have that luxury and I don't want to take it for granted.

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California, here we come...

Long story short. We are moving to Visalia, California.
Wednesday afternoon, Nick was told he was being offered a TCSM (Territory Customer Support Manager) job in California.  This is the same job he applied for about a month ago (see this post), but it was in Washington state.
We didn't have long to decide and basically needed to make a decision that night. We knew this position was opening up, but neither of us it too keen on California (we like our seasons and chilly weather) :) so we didn't give it much thought...until they called wanting to hire him.
After alot of talking, praying and tears (on my part)...we decided to go. This is the job Nick wants to do, he'll get a ton of experience out there with the variety of agriculture that they have and this is the "adventure" we've been wanting for a while. 
His effective date is around November 15, but we don't know for sure when he'll actually be heading out there. Thankfully, he'll be able to come back here on weekends. Adelyn and I are staying in Des Moines for now. With the baby coming in about 6 weeks, I'm not travelling anywhere :)  We'll head out there sometime after Christmas.
The area, thankfully, is pretty neat. There are a few national parks nearby and we're right near the Bay Area. There is going to be alot to do and I'm pretty excited about that :)

I still tear up whenever the subject comes up (even now while I'm typing this I'm fighting them off). The thought of leaving dear family and friends breaks my heart. I know that this is the right decision as hard as it is for us. I'm also excited to see what the Lord has in store for us. Our plan is to be back in the midwest in a few years, so that helps too :)
So that's about it for now....we'll keep you updated on how this goes :)

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Super Cute

My friend Bekah's sister got one of these for her birthday and that night Bekah showed me a few on Etsy and I. Am. Hooked. I love love love these! They're neck cowls (or warmers, or button scarves, or scarflettes....etc....) and they are super cute! I love that they don't have the excess fabric that can hang out of your coat like a regular scarf (not always cute to me)....

Of course some of my favorites are like $70....but I found some lesser expensive ones that could be wish list possibilities? hint hint *wink wink* 

Here are some of my favorites (although, just a few...)...click on them to go to the etsy page.

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Babies Documentary

I have been wanting to see this documentary "Babies" for a while. I remember seeing the preview and being so intrigued. Well Redbox has once again pulled through and I was able to watch this interesting film.

Not gonna lie, if you like action, dialogue and a plot, this isn't for you.

Basically this guy filmed 4 babies from 4 different countries (Namibia, USA, Mongolia and Japan) from birth to their first steps. It was so interesting!

I loved seeing how amazingly similary their development was, regardless of where they were growing up.

I really recommend watching this. It's a good reminder too how different the world outside of our own is.

Heads up: in the beginning there are quite a few bare chests with babies nursing.

Here are some pictures from scenes in the film (pulled off the internet of course). ;)

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the zoo

A few weeks ago we took Adelyn on her first trip to the zoo. Not gonna lie.....Blank Park Zoo is nothing to write home about. I haven't been there since I was 8 years old and I remember it being alot bigger than it really is! Anyway....Adelyn had fun, though, and that's all that matters :)

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pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Y.U.M.
We went over over to Zeb and Bekah's for dinner last night. Bekah made these cookies. They were amazing! So of course I had to make them, so that's what we did this afternoon. They are so good I had to share.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350.
Bake 15-20 min.

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (I just used canned pumpkin)
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
(in lieu of spices, I used 2 tsp of Tones' pumpkin pie spice....I actually liked it better than the separate spices)
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Using mixer, beat butter until smooth. Beat in white and brown sugars, adding a little at a time, until mixture is fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla and pumpkin. In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Slowly beat in flour mixture into pumpking batter. Stir in the chips.
Scoop on well greased or parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
Bake until cookies are brown around edges (15-20 min).
Let rest for 2 minutes before removing and place on cooling rack.

recipe from foodnetwork.com

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