July 2012 – Vanessa

Most people complain about their cell phone providers. We switched to a pre-paid Virgin Mobile plan last year so that we didn’t have to worry about being locked into a stinky contract. Plus, we were getting a TERRIBLE signal from our old provider (Starts with a “V”, ends in “erizon”) after we moved to the other side of town. I mean we had to talk upstairs in Sean’s bedroom, by the window, in tree pose, facing slightly northwest just to get 2 bars. And if you felt the need to breathe during the call, it was dropped. Yeah, that bad. Well, anyways, we switched over to Virgin Mobile. It’s ending up cheaper, and we got better phones. So after 10.5 months, the ear speaker on my phone stopped working for some reason. Since it fell under the 12 month warranty period, VM said they would replace my phone. The customer service rep said it should take 3-5 business days, maybe plus 1 day because of the holiday, to receive my new phone. Well, they ended up sending it overnight! Yay! So I now have a working phone, and don’t have to talk on speakerphone all the time. Thanks, Virgin Mobile for the great customer service. That’s pretty hard to come by from big companies these days.

It’s (already) July!!!

Happy 4th of July!!! Unfortunately, we live somewhere with extreme wildfire danger, so we aren’t allowed to set off any “fun” fireworks. We plan on watching a city firework display at my in-laws house tomorrow night. It will be a good view, but the actual display is a little ways off, so you don’t get to feel that “boom” rattle your bones… I LOVE that. 🙂 Some of my best summer memories were watching fireworks near the waterfront in VA… seeing the fireworks and the reflection over the water is wonderful!!! I always miss living in Virginia Beach whenever it’s time for fireworks. Hurricane season… not so much. And the mosquitoes… totally don’t miss those! If NM was beachfront, it would be the perfect state for me… it’s hot in summer, cold in winter, mountains with snowboarding/hiking/camping, not many skeeters, there’s the Rio Grande, big lakes… Anyways, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

This year has flown by so far and most of it has been a big sleep deprived blur to me. I’m so thankful for pictures because without them, I’d probably think I was just nursing a baby for the whooooole first half of the year. Oh wait, I mostly was… but no pictures of that… that would be weird.

Kai is now 9 months old. He’s on the verge of walking!!! He has actually taken a step and a half in recent days. Not long now, then it’s serious baby chasing time. He’s still not sleeping through the night. DON’T recommend letting him cry himself to sleep to me. The other night, I forgot to turn on the baby monitor, so I didn’t hear him wake up during the night. I slept really well, until 7, when I noticed it was light outside. I went to Kai’s room and I heard him whimper crying with that hyper ventilating “sniff, sniff”. Now keep in mind, he pretty much ALWAYS wakes up at 3:30 am or 4 am every night. Poor thing had probably been crying for HOURS… and never once did it occur to him to just go back to sleep. I picked him up and nursed him, and he was knocked out so quickly because he was so exhausted… Yep, I pretty much felt like the worst Mommy EVER. His poor little voice was hoarse that day. 🙁

Sean and I are still finishing up 2nd grade in our homeschool… we AREN’T running late. We follow a round the year schedule where we school for 6 weeks, then take a week off. This way, it allows for vacations throughout the year during non-peak times, and reduces our burn out. Plus, we (meaning I) don’t have to suffer through so much stinky review after 2 months of brain coma during a summer vacation. We should finish around early or mid August, then have 2 to 3 weeks off before beginning 3rd grade.

Mia will be starting pre-K this Fall. She turned 3 in January, and has been asking to “do” school. I originally planned on waiting until she was 4 to start, but I think I should take advantage of her enthusiasm. I’m a little skeered to start schooling 2 kiddos! I’m sure it will take some tweaking of our schedule to figure it out… By that, I mean I’ll probably really have to come up with a schedule and stick to it.

So yeah, it’s July! It’s mine and Nathan’s birthday month (We share the same birthday, yes we do!) and both our mommies have b-days this month too. Ugh… I’m turning 35 this month… I’m ALMOST old. I remember thinking my mommy was old when she was 36… SORRY MOM!!! That’s pretty funny, because anyone who knows my mom, knows that she will never grow up old. 🙂 Love you, Mom!!!

Again, Happy Independence Day, America! Everyone please be safe, don’t start fires, enjoy those fireworks, and eat lots of hamburgers and hot dogs!!!