Baby #2 is on the way!

I took an at-home test March 24th (last wednesday) which showed a positive, made an appointment on the 29th TODAY! and within two hours they told me it's official. I have another appointment this friday as well for information I think...something new they're offering. We tried to get Annika to tell my parents but instead of saying "I'm going to be a big sister" she says "Finster." Eventually she ended up telling them "Mommy's pregnant!" Woohoo! That's my story! This baby's website due date is December 2nd 2010!

Changed my mind about dentist visits

Yesterday, Nathan took Annika and me to our dentist appointments in Napoleon. This is the closest place that accepts our insurance and so we got it over with. Annika did fine with her 30 second visit while my 10 minutes were excruciating. Nathan claims I was in there not much longer than that and I had apparently 8 cavities. Mind you this is more than I've ever had in my life and all at once?! Not only this but I'm deathly afraid of needles and went unwarned as 1, 2, 4 and eventually 6 needles were shoved into my mouth filled with anesthetic. After 6 I asked how many more there was going to be. ONE was my answer, TWO were the result. Also before all this, I asked if there was going to be any anesthetic as my usual dentist doesn't use any. (My dad and I have never needed it when going in for cavities). The dentist replied "No, it's just a local anesthetic" and he put in a cotton swab with numbing ointment and after a few seconds I saw the needle. I didn't even have time to say "No" or to tell him I don't ever get shots for dental work. I clung to the table for dear life and was shaking like a leaf when I left. Nate asked how it went and I got teary eyed. I never ever had a bad dental visit but this has changed everything. My mouth doesn't close right because there is too much "filling" in my right tooth and makes my bite uneven. One tooth is still sensitive to cold and hot which for me is unusual and I told Nate he dug out the cavities first then filled them on the second round so I hope he didn't forget one. BUT I won't be going back to that dentist. One good thing came out of the anesthesia experience though and that is that Nate had one "Get by Free" card by me to make fun of my face if he wanted. If you've ever seen Two-Face (Harvey Dent after his trauma), one side of my face didn't move so I could only smile with half my lips. We got a lot of laughs out and one time Nathan had to tell me "Colette-you're drooling" He thought that was pretty funny too and even Annika was explaining how to smile to me as I told her I couldn't. Here's a few pictures to explain:

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

 THE WORST BUT FUNNIEST

Our DVD List

DISNEY:
The Aristocats
Bambi 2
Bedknobs & Broomsticks
Brother Bear
Cars
Chicken Little
The Fox & The Hound
The Fox & The Hound 2
Holes
The Incredibles
Iron Will
Jungle Book 2
Lilo & Stitch 2
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
Narnia
Pocahontas
Princess Diaries 2
Ratatouille
Snow White
A Tigger Movie
Tinkerbell
Treasure Planet
Tuck Everlasting
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Pirates of the Caribbean 3

VEGGIE TALES:
Jonah
Little Joe
Lord of the Beans
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
Wizard of Haas

ACTION:
Coming soon...

COMEDY & ROMANCE:
Coming soon...

Reminiscing

Annika and Daddy 2007 (2-3 months old)

Annika & Daddy 2008

Annika and Mommy Early 2009

Annika & Mommy & Cousin Lauryn Late 2009

My how she's grown...

Snow Day!

Getting ready!


The other day after I got home from classes Nathan, Annika and I went to a nearby golf course and had ourselves a snow day. Annika enjoyed sledding the first time down or so it seemed but after the 2nd time she wanted no more of it. Nathan tried out the snowboard as did I and hey we only wiped out a few times

Upon arrival at the golf course, Annika was all to eager to get outside and play in the snow!

When daddy was up, Annika and I cheered him on!


And Vise Versa!

Nathan strapping up for the descent


Annika watching one of us go down. She loves the snow so much she wants to play in it all the time but when she gets out there to do it she doesn't know what to do.

This picture was just too funny not to add. I had been trying to get her to smile for a picture but each picture game out grumpier than the last. As though she was saying, "Mommy! I'm cold and tired and I just wanna go home, What ARE you doing?!" On a special note, she was grumpy as she got a surprise shot from the Dr. only an hour earlier and we thought playing in the snow would take her mind off of it.

Onward Home!

The Difficult Decision...

Within the month of December 2009 came a great and difficult decision for me. I had finally found a school and one of the closest ones in a beautiful state (one I eventually plan to live in) that actually offered my major...Archaeology. It's been my dream career since I was 10 years old.


I prayed so hard to be accepted to Penn State after being rejected and misunderstood repeatedly by the College of Wooster in central Ohio simply because my transcripts didn't arrive on time after many attempts due to faults between my previous college and Wooster. Within this time of after Wooster before Penn State I thought about settling for my second favorite career...a translator for the U.S. Navy. This would be my second attempt to join the U.S. Navy as I was rejected for knee surgery and asthma without a waiver. This time I came with a waiver and a better test score but in the end I also turned it down despite it's benefits and promise of travel for the big risk of being away from family for too long during sea duty and training.

After being accepted to Penn State University, a dream come true Big Ten school, I ultimately had to let it go. It came down to the fact that no matter the length I attended I would always be paying out-of-state tuition that I'd have to take out a high interest private loan that because of our financial credentials required a co-signer. As neither of us were employed, jobs to come were unforeseeable and while our credit was lacking I didn't want to ask my parents to put that risk on their shoulders, especially after all the help they'd already given that we'd never be able to pay back in a lifetime.


The night the decision fell on me was after Nathan asked me how we were going to do it once again. Before the answers were easy...we just will. I prayed so hard to get into that school and worked so hard to try to get things to come together. In two months time of ardent searching for a job and a well-priced apartment in a college town with a housing crisis the outcome looked bleak. That night I broke down in tears and I knew what had to be done. Ending up with over $100,000 in debt without the option of graduate school and having to rely on loan money to pay the rent was just too much...it was too rocky of a foundation and too likely to fail. That night I went to sleep after praying about the decision, praying that I wouldn't wake up the next morning feeling I'd made a mistake.


The day after the decision we were given the address to our would-be apartment on campus and soon after a call came with information about the pre-school my daughter would've soon attended. There was just a wince of regret for that and the fact that my co-workers had just given me money and a card to help me on this grand road to follow my dreams and that money was used to get to Pennsylvania. The regret and guilt feelings I expected to come never did but I immediately set to work trying to find another path to the same goal.



I didn't have to go to a big and beautiful University in the mountains of Pennsylvania to become and archaeologist. Instead I will be going to the University of Toledo (an hour commute from home) for Anthropology and I start monday. Archaeology is a sub-category for Anthropology and many employers in that field will hire archaeologists with an anthropology degree. It's not as focused on the physical work as a major in archaeology would be but there are field schools for that which means traveling and I have a love for traveling like no other hobby.



This dream WILL come true and my family is by my side and fully supportive...what more could I ask for...Thank you Lord for providing another way. I was just too stubborn to accept it before.



Despite my wallet being lost and my blackberry phone destroyed, we came away from the Pennsylvania trip having been on a much-needed and beautiful vacation with pictures and memories that will hopefully pull us back to Pennsylvania again some day. Thank you to my co-workers and my parents for their added money to get us there.



As for Pennsylvania we shall meet again...

Help ME!!!!!