The other day I started thinking about this blog that I had started to keep everyone up to date and as with many things like this in my life, I haven't kept up with it........if it requires writing frequently or taking pictures and chronicling them, I am no good! Case in point: I started typing this and immediately Kierstens "mommy's busy, I should ask her for something" sensors kicked in and I had to stop and go reach something for her.
So, I am going to try to be better this year, but I make no promises!! I just got a new job (a promotion of sorts), I am now the Operations Supervisor for the Rockburn Branch Zone of Howard County Recreation and Parks. I am super excited because it is back in the actual Parks which is what I loved down in NC :-). I will work 4- 10 hour shifts (tues-fri) so I will have every Monday off which I like....the 10 hour days will be an adjustment but nothing too major!
Kylie is in the 5th grade and she plays the flute, sings in chorus and is on the dance team there......I can't say that she got any of that from me, but she really enjoys it and I am proud of her. Kiersten is in 1st grade and LOVES to draw, we are looking into putting her in an art class. I think it is pretty safe to say that neither of my kids are going to follow my basketball and track path, but that is OK...I can always start working on Dylan and Mo. Speaking of them, Dylan is going to be starting kindergarten in the fall which is insane and Mo will be 2 in March......time really does fly when you are having fun and busy!
The holidays are here and Christmas is literally two days away and I have a ton to do since I am hosting Christmas dinner for the first time ever (YIKES!!). It sounded like a really good idea but now I am not as sure. First thing is I have a tiny oven so hopefully I can get everyhing cooked in time. Second is we will have to utilize the basement for eating so it will be different than everyone is used to which change isn't necessarily bad, just different. At the end of the day, I do have wine so it can't be that bad...lol! I think it will be nice, a little hectic but nice nonetheless. I will (try to) let you know how it went. This holiday is definitely different than last year........last year, I had a ton of time and me and the girls made all kinds of crafts and I made all kinds of candy and cookies.......this year, I didn't have time to make a single thing and cookies have not happened yet (I am hoping to get those done today and tomorrow). So, wish me luck!! :-) I hope all of you have a great holiday and wish you all much love and happiness in 2014!!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Summer Kickoff
So, I know I said I was on the path to doing better. Remember some paths start out slow ;-). This is our first week of no school at the Johannes house. It is also the week before we head to the outer banks for our family beach vacation. We are very excited to say the least!! When I say family trip, I mean family trip also......we have my Mom and Dad, Susan, Chad, Holly, Dylan, Mo, Me, Chip, Kylie, Kiersten, Daisy and Mommom! We are racing around this week doing laundry and doing our "to pack" lists.
This is the last summer that Kiersten will be a "pre" schooler. She starts kindergarten in August, I can't believe it!! I know it is cliche, but I really want to know where the time has gone. Kylie will be in the 4th grade, I feel so old. We won't talk about my birthday coming up and how old I will be. The girls love each other one minute and hate each other the next, which makes for some stressful moments in the house. To help control this, I have discovered timers work great for splitting up computer time and other things both girls want to do. I also had them make 3 lists....one for things they want to learn over the summer, one for things they want to make and one for things they want to do. I will take the lists when we get back from the beach and create a schedule/calendar. I think this will work great with our personality types and keep our summer fresh and exciting! I will keep you all updated on the actual success of this as we go into the summer.
So to kick off the summer, stay cool, wear sunscreen and enjoy the times!!
This is the last summer that Kiersten will be a "pre" schooler. She starts kindergarten in August, I can't believe it!! I know it is cliche, but I really want to know where the time has gone. Kylie will be in the 4th grade, I feel so old. We won't talk about my birthday coming up and how old I will be. The girls love each other one minute and hate each other the next, which makes for some stressful moments in the house. To help control this, I have discovered timers work great for splitting up computer time and other things both girls want to do. I also had them make 3 lists....one for things they want to learn over the summer, one for things they want to make and one for things they want to do. I will take the lists when we get back from the beach and create a schedule/calendar. I think this will work great with our personality types and keep our summer fresh and exciting! I will keep you all updated on the actual success of this as we go into the summer.
So to kick off the summer, stay cool, wear sunscreen and enjoy the times!!
Monday, March 5, 2012
I'm Baaaaccccckkkkk....
So apparently, getting a job has made me completely useless at blogging this past year! Never fear, I decided it was time to throw in the towel at the day job and work on my teaching at the college as much as possible. That offers the ideal situation all around. Summers off!! Which not only is it nice to have summer off, but summer camp for two kids is outrageously priced so it eliminates having to take out a 2nd mortgage just to have someone to watch the girls.
There has been a lot of stuff going on since my last post! The coolest thing is Chad and Holly are expecting baby #2 literally any day now!! On the sadder side of things, there has been a lot of sad news and deaths over this year that have hit me kind of hard and made me re-think many things (one of which had impact on leaving the job and spending the time with my girls since that time can be taken away at any moment). I won't make this a sad post, I will move on from that. We also have moved into a house with an actual backyard and a bar in the basement. We are working hard to get rooms painted and get it a little more modern looking but we LOVE it!! We have had some good get togethers here already and as you all know, I love to entertain! I want to be the house that my kids and their friends want to hang out at when they are older so I know what they are doing!! We also lost Jake which was very sad but we added Daisy (a 50 some lb English Bulldog to our family). We chose her because bulldogs are not supposed to need a ton of exercise and are supposed to be pretty calm.......the joke is on us!! ;-).....she is sweet though!! Kylie is doing great at school and absolutely loves the 3rd grade!!
My goal is to keep this up and be a better updater starting today! We'll see how good I do!!
Until next time....
There has been a lot of stuff going on since my last post! The coolest thing is Chad and Holly are expecting baby #2 literally any day now!! On the sadder side of things, there has been a lot of sad news and deaths over this year that have hit me kind of hard and made me re-think many things (one of which had impact on leaving the job and spending the time with my girls since that time can be taken away at any moment). I won't make this a sad post, I will move on from that. We also have moved into a house with an actual backyard and a bar in the basement. We are working hard to get rooms painted and get it a little more modern looking but we LOVE it!! We have had some good get togethers here already and as you all know, I love to entertain! I want to be the house that my kids and their friends want to hang out at when they are older so I know what they are doing!! We also lost Jake which was very sad but we added Daisy (a 50 some lb English Bulldog to our family). We chose her because bulldogs are not supposed to need a ton of exercise and are supposed to be pretty calm.......the joke is on us!! ;-).....she is sweet though!! Kylie is doing great at school and absolutely loves the 3rd grade!!
My goal is to keep this up and be a better updater starting today! We'll see how good I do!!
Until next time....
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The journey to the unknown....
Back in July of 2010 when the opportunity to move back to Maryland was presented to us, we seized it and moved forward. I naively assumed that I would move up here would snatch some wonderful job fairly quickly and we would be on the way to buying a house within the first year or two. Well that has not happened as most of you know. Instead, it has taken about 7 months for me to even get one interview from many, many applications submitted. It is indeed a tough time to be looking for a job. With every application I submit, there is a swarm of people submitting for the same job. I do know that I will get a job someday, and until that day I am embracing my time with Kiersten and Kylie when she gets home.
Kiersten has always loved going to "school" as she calls it and she asks quite often when she can go back. However, I think she believes that she is going back to her old school when she does go. I keep trying to explain to her that her old school is in NC and we are in MD, but of course those names mean nothing to her, she has no concept of states and how far apart they are. I have noticed, she seems a little more shy than she used to be when approached by strangers.....I don't know if this is age or being home with Mom that has done this to her, so I guess we will see.
Kylie is doing really good in school and she likes that I am home when she gets home from school ....but she also likes to spend all of our money so she can't have it both ways.....ha ha. I will admit, I do like the afterschool time where Kylie comes home, they have a little snack and then they play while I cook dinner. Chip (like Ward) gets to come home to dinner ready just about everyday, courtesy of June (psst, that's me).
I have gone on one interview and am still waiting to hear from that interview. The bad thing is, that I am not a good waiter AND there is so many things up in the air now. Just as an example:
1. We want to put Kylie into a Tae-Kwon-Do class (that is what she wants to do) but there are so many studios with so many different times that we don't know which one will work with our schedule if I do get a job)
2. I want to get Kiersten into some type of preschool for a half day a couple of days a week if I am not going to have a job but I don't want to enroll her and pay all the money and then get a job and lose all that money and have to take her out.
3. As far as living somewhere, we definitely want to move when our lease ends in July but have no idea where we would even begin to look because where I am will depend on where we decide to move for commuting purposes.
4. The YMCA is starting to get on my nerves because it is so crowded but I don't want to switch anywhere yet because I don't know where will work well with our schedule.
Thus, the title of this blog, the journey to the unknown. I really wish a crystal ball was possible so I could plan accordingly whatever the outcome. I am, unfortunately a type A personality, I do, I don't sit and wait. ;).
Now for all those other people out there in the same boat as me.....We should all get together and make our own business! I am sure with the hundreds of us out there, we all have some great marketable quality to bring to the table!
Here is to the unknown and hoping that it is known pretty quickly! :)
Kiersten has always loved going to "school" as she calls it and she asks quite often when she can go back. However, I think she believes that she is going back to her old school when she does go. I keep trying to explain to her that her old school is in NC and we are in MD, but of course those names mean nothing to her, she has no concept of states and how far apart they are. I have noticed, she seems a little more shy than she used to be when approached by strangers.....I don't know if this is age or being home with Mom that has done this to her, so I guess we will see.
Kylie is doing really good in school and she likes that I am home when she gets home from school ....but she also likes to spend all of our money so she can't have it both ways.....ha ha. I will admit, I do like the afterschool time where Kylie comes home, they have a little snack and then they play while I cook dinner. Chip (like Ward) gets to come home to dinner ready just about everyday, courtesy of June (psst, that's me).
I have gone on one interview and am still waiting to hear from that interview. The bad thing is, that I am not a good waiter AND there is so many things up in the air now. Just as an example:
1. We want to put Kylie into a Tae-Kwon-Do class (that is what she wants to do) but there are so many studios with so many different times that we don't know which one will work with our schedule if I do get a job)
2. I want to get Kiersten into some type of preschool for a half day a couple of days a week if I am not going to have a job but I don't want to enroll her and pay all the money and then get a job and lose all that money and have to take her out.
3. As far as living somewhere, we definitely want to move when our lease ends in July but have no idea where we would even begin to look because where I am will depend on where we decide to move for commuting purposes.
4. The YMCA is starting to get on my nerves because it is so crowded but I don't want to switch anywhere yet because I don't know where will work well with our schedule.
Thus, the title of this blog, the journey to the unknown. I really wish a crystal ball was possible so I could plan accordingly whatever the outcome. I am, unfortunately a type A personality, I do, I don't sit and wait. ;).
Now for all those other people out there in the same boat as me.....We should all get together and make our own business! I am sure with the hundreds of us out there, we all have some great marketable quality to bring to the table!
Here is to the unknown and hoping that it is known pretty quickly! :)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Hellllloooo 2011....
Well, just like that the holidays have come and gone and a new year is upon us. This christmas was really nice as it was my first one that I have spent with my whole family in many years. Santa treated the girls very well.....he didn't go so easy on the finances but it was worth it ;). Every year though, I have these wonderful intentions and these visions of the holidays that go something like the pilsbury crescent roll commercials on TV......you know the whole family is laughing and loving together, the house is immaculate, table is beautifully set, everyone is floating on cloud 9. In reality, this never happens, so you would think I would give up on this vision by now....LOL.
As I say goodbye to 2010, I look back in astonishment at how much happened in one year....some good, some bad. In just one year, Chip got offered a great job, we uprooted the whole family and moved all the way to Maryland. The job is one of the good things of course, the move...well, let's just say I see that it will be good when we get truly settled where we belong. Another good thing is I finally finsished my Master's degree!! Okay, that is actually a great thing!! Though, I will admit, there is this pessimist living within me at times now that didn't used to be there that has been known to roll her eyes at that $15,000 piece of paper that is serving no purpose as I am getting passed up for job after job. But, as Chip says, it is something that can never be taken from me and I earned it.
2011 has started out with some ups and downs all ready. The up is that we traded in the Terrain AND the PT Cruiser for two brand new cars that worked out to be a better deal then we had before which is wonderful! The down is that we found out my dad had some blockage in his heart and had to undergo heart surgery. BUT, he is recovering well and the hope is that he will feel better, be healthier and live longer because of this, so that is an up.
My hope for 2011 is that it holds the perfect job for me whatever that may be and it allows us to move into a place that suits our whole family. Those of you that really know us also know that we have a reputation of moving a lot. I will admit, we have moved around a good amount which some of that comes from having two different families in two different states and some comes from being unsettled where we start. I was very settled on "the farm" as we like to refer to it down in North Carolina and though it was and is still hard to give that up, I know that there is a place for us up here that we can all call "home" :)
So here is to 2011 and all the opportunity that awaits!! Cheers!!
As I say goodbye to 2010, I look back in astonishment at how much happened in one year....some good, some bad. In just one year, Chip got offered a great job, we uprooted the whole family and moved all the way to Maryland. The job is one of the good things of course, the move...well, let's just say I see that it will be good when we get truly settled where we belong. Another good thing is I finally finsished my Master's degree!! Okay, that is actually a great thing!! Though, I will admit, there is this pessimist living within me at times now that didn't used to be there that has been known to roll her eyes at that $15,000 piece of paper that is serving no purpose as I am getting passed up for job after job. But, as Chip says, it is something that can never be taken from me and I earned it.
2011 has started out with some ups and downs all ready. The up is that we traded in the Terrain AND the PT Cruiser for two brand new cars that worked out to be a better deal then we had before which is wonderful! The down is that we found out my dad had some blockage in his heart and had to undergo heart surgery. BUT, he is recovering well and the hope is that he will feel better, be healthier and live longer because of this, so that is an up.
My hope for 2011 is that it holds the perfect job for me whatever that may be and it allows us to move into a place that suits our whole family. Those of you that really know us also know that we have a reputation of moving a lot. I will admit, we have moved around a good amount which some of that comes from having two different families in two different states and some comes from being unsettled where we start. I was very settled on "the farm" as we like to refer to it down in North Carolina and though it was and is still hard to give that up, I know that there is a place for us up here that we can all call "home" :)
So here is to 2011 and all the opportunity that awaits!! Cheers!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Ready or Not....
Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us!! Time has flown by so fast! I remember as a kid when I would hear adults say this, I thought they were crazy because Christmas always took FOREVER to get here.....now it could really slow down a little. In some ways, it feels like we just moved here yesterday and in others, it almost feels like we never left. For this reason, I am thankful right now that I am able to be home during the week. I have been able to get my christmas shopping done stress free and I have plenty of time to get everything else done...except for keep the house clean. I know that there are people out there this holiday season that have lost thier job and are really struggling day to day to make any kind of ends meet. For this reason, I am thankful for many things:
1. I am thankful that I have such a great husband that puts me and the girls first no matter what.
2. I am thankful that I have two happy, healthy children that keep me on my toes.
3. I am thankful that I am surrounded by a family that is always there no matter what.
4. I am thankful that I researched rat care and found out that the cold downstairs was causing our kids pet to become "angels" and moved the newest upstairs before we had yet another death in the family ;)
5. I am thankful to Shannon for working out with me everyday and being a great friend.
6. I am thankful that I was given an opportunity to teach college this semester, I really enjoy it!
7. I am thankful that I will be finished with all my work required for my masters degree in 1 WEEK!!!!!
8. I am thankful that Dylan comes in and makes himself at home whenever he is here
9. I am thankful that I can get cream of crab soup anytime I want and that when I order crab, it is actual crab and not some type of canned wierd stuff.
10. I am thankful that I discovered the Target eatery.....where else can you have a decent lunch with your kid for a total of $5.00 :)
Do I want a job?....yes, I do, but I want a job that I really enjoy and want to do and I am confident that I will find that, but until that time I am thankful that I am able to be picky without fear of being evicted and eating ramen noodles every night. I won't lie, when I find a job, the budget will look much better but it could be a whole lot worse.
So, this holiday season, my hope is that everyone has a list of things to be thankful for! Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!!
-Heather
1. I am thankful that I have such a great husband that puts me and the girls first no matter what.
2. I am thankful that I have two happy, healthy children that keep me on my toes.
3. I am thankful that I am surrounded by a family that is always there no matter what.
4. I am thankful that I researched rat care and found out that the cold downstairs was causing our kids pet to become "angels" and moved the newest upstairs before we had yet another death in the family ;)
5. I am thankful to Shannon for working out with me everyday and being a great friend.
6. I am thankful that I was given an opportunity to teach college this semester, I really enjoy it!
7. I am thankful that I will be finished with all my work required for my masters degree in 1 WEEK!!!!!
8. I am thankful that Dylan comes in and makes himself at home whenever he is here
9. I am thankful that I can get cream of crab soup anytime I want and that when I order crab, it is actual crab and not some type of canned wierd stuff.
10. I am thankful that I discovered the Target eatery.....where else can you have a decent lunch with your kid for a total of $5.00 :)
Do I want a job?....yes, I do, but I want a job that I really enjoy and want to do and I am confident that I will find that, but until that time I am thankful that I am able to be picky without fear of being evicted and eating ramen noodles every night. I won't lie, when I find a job, the budget will look much better but it could be a whole lot worse.
So, this holiday season, my hope is that everyone has a list of things to be thankful for! Have a wonderful and safe holiday season!!
-Heather
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
I know it has been a while since I have last posted....honestly I haven't had much to post about, but anyway, I feel like I have neglected this so here we go! As you all know, we moved to Maryland back in late July. The pros of this move was I got to move close to my family and Chip has a job that he loves and is a really big step for him. The cons of this move are we left a fantastic neighborhood and lots of great friends. Now, many would say, it is just a neighborhood, big deal! But it was not just a neighborhood.....it was a place that we had many friends and many memories. We ended each week as a group relaxing, we called this fun friday, all the kids and adults got to unwind. I had a group of girls that were there whenever you needed them, whether it was to talk, watch movies, go eat or craft, they were always there. So, when this opportunity came to us, we discussed it and figured that long term this was definitely a good move. I, in no way doubt that, but lately I am struggling with a couple of things. First, I hate the house we live in and the neighborhood....it is very hard to go from one extreme to the other and I definitely have done that. I am however, very thankful that I have met a friend in this neighborhood and her and I work out everyday together. Second, I am realizing I really would like a job. Yes, I teach at the community college two days a week and I really enjoy it, but I long for more. I want the money, freedom, independence and comraderie this will bring. I have to be patient though since the economy is not going so well and everyone needs a job, but those that know me also know that patience is definitely not my strong point.
Kiersten is adjusting very well! Kylie, however, is doing good but not great. She is doing fantastic in school!! She misses her room and a yard to run around in. The yard is one thing I believe the whole family is having a hard time with. We usually spent our time after school and work outside grilling and letting the kids play, here we have had to sell our grill because they are not allowed and there is no yard.
I do know that once everything falls completely into place, this will be great for our family! I am glad to be a part of Dylan's life as well as everyone elses that lives here. I also know, the best things come to those who wait......if only I was better at waiting ;)
Kiersten is adjusting very well! Kylie, however, is doing good but not great. She is doing fantastic in school!! She misses her room and a yard to run around in. The yard is one thing I believe the whole family is having a hard time with. We usually spent our time after school and work outside grilling and letting the kids play, here we have had to sell our grill because they are not allowed and there is no yard.
I do know that once everything falls completely into place, this will be great for our family! I am glad to be a part of Dylan's life as well as everyone elses that lives here. I also know, the best things come to those who wait......if only I was better at waiting ;)
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