Yes, We're Still Here

I looked back at how little I've posted this last year...WOW, not much there.  It's been busy with a baby around again!

In the past couple weeks Van turned 1 year old, Rae started Kindergarten, and Jo turned 4!  It has been a good transition into a more structured schedule at home.  We had so much fun this summer...although Jen and I are working opposite (her M-F, me weekends) so it was usually one of us taking the kids.  Cottages, Fairs, Bay Beach, maintenance at home and cottage, parties, play-dates...I don't think we could have fit much more in!  And, Jen and I just got 9 new karate students this week...over the next month we'll see if any are keepers.

Pictures coming soon!

Rae's Birthday Party

Rae had her first birthday party with friends from school.  It was a Fancy Nancy theme, so all the girls dressed up in fancy ensambles and celebrated with tea parties, dress-up, photo shoots, manicures, makeup, storytime, pinata and more!  The girls were waited on by Mom, Dad, Grandma Pauline, and Auntie Erin.  Auntie Zoe made the custom pinata.  Jo spent the day with Grandpa Roy, and Van was with Grandma Jean and Grandma Karen.

 

The Kids

It's been quite a while since I've put anything up here, so I thought I'd give a quick update on how the kids are doing. 

Rae is doing great in 4K.  We've been hosting a lot of play-dates with her friends from school, and that seems to be helping her socially.  Now she has all sorts of friends that she plays with at school, rides the bus with, shares snacks with, makes art for...very, very neat to see!  She is inviting 5 friends from school to her birthday party next month.  It is going to be a Fancy Nancy themed party with stations for hairdos, nail polish, dress-up, photo shoot...about as girly-girl as it gets!!

Jo, as usual, is only a half step behind Rae with all the academic stuff.  She can now write all her uppercase letters, and some lowercase.  She spends a good part of each day having me spell words out loud so she can write little notes/phrases.  Her personality has really started to shine lately too.  She loves to be silly and make people laugh.  Fun and joy just emanate from her when she is happy...but if she is over-tired and crabby watch out...she definitely has a balance.

Van is 7 months old now!  He sits up, rolls over, and scoots around the tile & hardwood floors in his walker.  He's eating solid foods...cereal, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, pears, apples, carrots, mango, beets, cantaloupe, and honeydew.  He has also started drinking a little of his milk from a regular cup.  He is getting to be so much fun to play with...he can play with his little toys and has the greatest smile and laugh.  He keeps us all pretty exhausted though as he is definitely not the greatest sleeper.

Late Cottage Plumbing

Since starting my new job, I haven't had a half-day in the past two months to run up to the cottage.  Well, I finally got up to there last night to take care of the fall plumbing for winterizing.  Good news: the cottage wasn't flooded; bad news: the waterlines are frozen and broken.  More good news though: the pump and water tank were still thawed and I could drain those, and I think I saved the toilets and shower drain before they cracked.  More bad news: the water heaters were frozen and I was unable to drain them...I've got a plan to save them though...I just need to find and coordinate a little bit of time and a little bit of help.  All this means - we may be roughing it a little more at the cabin next year.

Other note: the lake has a thin sheet of ice on it.  Yes, I tested it, and no, it does not hold my weight!

Gratitude ~ I am grateful for the challenges and fun that comes with being almost too busy.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My mom called me old today...ha!!

It turned out to be a great birthday!  After our usual morning with Rae & Joeli's school activities, we had a birthday lunch with just the five of us.  This afternoon, we sold our Jeep...that's been sitting on our needs-to-get-done-list for a couple of months.  Then Mom came out to take care of all three kids so Jen and I could go out; what an awesome treat!  We had a great date - delivering the Jeep to her new owner, depositing the money in our bank, and going out to Ginger Rootz for dinner.  We highly recommend the restaurant; Jen had the Crystal Shrimp and I had Pad Thai - both were amazing.  Coming home to three happy kids was the perfect ending!

Gratitude ~ I am grateful for all the experiences of year 29 and all the possibilities of year 30.

A New Adventure

I have decided to go in a new direction as a massage therapist.  I am closing Bodywork Potentials, LLC and going to work for another company. 

I want to thank all of you who have supported me in numerous ways with my business.  I have greatly enjoyed my time being self employed!  I have learned more than I ever imagined and I have gained the confidence in knowing that I can be successful as an entrepreneur...something I will definitely pursue again in the future.

All gift certificates for Bodywork Potentials remain valid indefinitely.  Please contact me at the phone number for Bodywork Potentials, 920-216-0612 to schedule your appointment with a gift certificate.

My new employer is Spa BenMarNico's, located inside the Copper Leaf Hotel, downtown Appleton.  If you wish to purchase a massage, please call the spa at 920-968-3399 to schedule.  For more information visit http://www.spabenmarnicos.com/.

This transition happened very quickly and smoothly...the universe definitely had a plan laid out. This past summer and into this fall we have been very busy with our family, house, karate class, cottage and new commitments to groups like the Community Family Resource Center. All of this combined has imposed time constraints that have been making it increasingly difficult for me to dedicate the time needed to effectively run Bodywork Potentials' business operations and follow-up with clients on top of the massage sessions. Last week Monday I started to think about the possibility of working as a massage therapist for someone else and brought it up to Jen. She agreed that it sounded like a good option to look into and that evening I felt a calm understanding that it was what I should be doing right now. So, Tuesday I found a site online and applied to a couple of places. Wednesday, Spa BenMarNico's called me to set up an interview for Thursday. That went well, so on Friday I did an "interview massage"...the last step to see if they wanted to hire me. And by Saturday morning I was on the schedule seeing clients. It was definitely the fastest, easiest employment change I've ever experienced! 

Gratitude ~ I am grateful for the opportunities that are presented to me and how they enrich my life.

Busy Week Updates

We've been running around all week.  Last week Thursday we promoted a student to Blue Belt - Gary did a great job and we couldn't be more proud.  On the weekend we had our karate class up to the cottage for our annual training day.  It rained and drizzled on us all day Saturday for the workout, but everyone still managed to have a  good time.  This week has been lots of errands and recovering from minor surgery.  The girls have been going to school, which means I go to preschool with Jo too, and I got to chaperon a field trip with Rae's class to Apple Creek Orchards.  Now we're getting packed up to go to the cottage again this weekend...time to slow down for a couple of days and be together as a family for a bit.  I'll get some pics off the camera and posted by early next week.

Gratitude ~ I am grateful for the busy times, and the slow times, and how they all bring us closer as a family.