High five to today!

Today gets an A+, whoop whoop, no head ache! My prayers to god via blog yesterday did the trick! 

I love today because my babies were less insane, I worked more on my room-- putting things together for my boards, I got done working at 4:30 instead of 6:30, and Joel and I stocked our fridge. Gosh, that all feels wonderful!

Cheers! 

Another thing, I am so glad I'm not dealing with snow right now. Looks like you all got some back home. Should have moved to Colorado with me! ;) 

 Here are some wise words because I love wise words. 

Chow, friends!  

 

It's only Monday.

Is it Friday yet? 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I came home on my break today and told Joel that I wished it was Thursday so tomorrow could be Friday. Monday, Monday... 5 more days till another fun day. 

I have been getting migraines again. E v e r y d a y y y y. 

This is me every day for the last two weeks. Almost. 

Why? Probably because I have the most needy group of babies at work, who scream constantly. They rarely have tears, they just yell. Unfortunately I have mothers that whip their boob out every time their child cries at home. A few of my moms have admitted this to us. Their children are pretty much attached to the boob at all times. Some, even sleep with mom. This gets me no where. I also had a new baby start last week, who is 6 months old and still adjusting, who cries all day long. Have you ever listened to crying/screaming every day for 8 hours straight? It's death. This is where my migraines come in. So, times have been tough. Last week was awful. I have never once in my life, not been able to soothe crying babies and I had some pissed off babies allll weeeeek looongg. Please god, let the rest of this week run smoothly.

Joel and I had an awesome weekend. Saturday we drove to the beautiful Estes Park, which is like 35 minutes from us. Aside from not dressing appropriately whatsoever, it was beautiful. We got to Rocky Mountain National Park and were informed that it was free entry all weekend due to Veterans Day. We saw a ton of elk, took way too many pictures and videos and stayed in the nice warm truck. Outside was freeezzingggg. We will eventually buy a season pass which is only $40 and once it gets warmer, we will most likely be living there on the weekends. I could not be more excited. I am craving camping. I want all my friends to come visit so badly. 

Saturday night, we went out in Fort Collins. Through Joel's open mics that he's been going to, he's been meeting a lot of other musicians. One played at the bar we were at on Saturday and he was awesome. He knew a ton of cover songs and was able to play every song that was requested. Super upbeat, fun energy. Because Joel has been going to open mics there, he introduced me to a few girls that work there that are all super friendly. Being there and seeing all the groups of girlfriends ripping it up on the dance floor and being super funny, made me terribly miss my girlfriends back home. 

Like I said, today has been a day, and I so badly wish it was the end of the week already. Joel and I are both realizing that we need to get jobs. A job for him and a second job for me. Which is fine, it being cold and almost winter, we won't be doing as much outdoor exploring on the weekends, as we would be if it were summer. But where to apply? This weekend, it's go time. Time to find a second income.

As for now, my book is calling. I have to go.

I am loving the idea of "30 Days of Thanksgiving" --Whoever started this on Facebook is a genius. Each day of this month, you are supposed to put something you are thankful for on your status. What a wonderful way to remind you just how lovely your life is. On the third day, today, I was planning to put "I am thankful for days I get to sleep in." But, as you may have noticed, it is 7:31 am. Given that this is the time I am up, starting my day, 3 days a week, I should have known I wouldn't sleep much longer. Sleeping in for me, on weekends, means no later than 8:00 am. It has been this way for awhile. So, I'm going to rephrase what I am thankful for. I am thankful for mornings that I get to wake up, without an alarm, and do whatever I please for however long I please to do those things. And on these past few weekends, that is been: drinking an insane amount of coffee, reading my book, catching up on the blogs I love, exploring Pinterest, and sometimes, blogging myself. What wonderful mornings! It's mornings like this that I want to be a stay at home mom... or no, lets rephrase that, also; a stay at home wife. Hmm, that doesn't even sound the way I want it to yet. Stay at home girlfriend? There, that's better. 

This week has been absolutely wonderful. Given that it is the first week, it is exactly how I pictured living with Joel. He got here on Monday night, a little bit before I was done working, so he took time to run some errands around town and explore a little bit. This girl came home to flowers and champagne. And kisses of course! Joel is not the most tidy or organized person, but I thought to myself and then later told him, that it's all his guitars and stuff laying around that makes our house feel more homey. It feels just the way it should with him being here. Now, I'm hoping that doesn't mean he can say that later when I've commented on how our place is a mess and that he never cleans up. I can hear it now. I have to say, I am loving the fact that dinner has been ready most nights as I have gotten home from work and I even came home for lunch yesterday with a plate made for me. I am loving my stay at home boyfriend. Even though, the roles should be reversed ;) Joel has spent his days making contacts and visiting places that he will eventually be playing shows at. I am understanding that it doesn't happen over night, and it all takes time. You have to prove to bars and restaurants just how talented you are, to get consistent gigs. I have no doubt in my mind that every place and everyone will love him. 

Work is going very well! I am thoroughly enjoying my co-worker's company and I have had some good laughs. I actually spent some time with the Twos on Thursday for the last half an hour of the day and it brought me back to when I was the lead teacher in that room back in Wisconsin. The twos are hilarious. I think I had more fun out on the playground than they did. 

As for this weekend, we had planned on going to IKEA to get a few things for the house. Jasen, our friend who lives in Denver, informed us of the Lumberjack Pub Crawl in the city today. I immediately loved this idea and thought that our IKEA trip was going to have to be postponed. Now, I am realizing that I have no flannel and would have to buy whatever it is that I'll be wearing, and that I would much rather put money into our place. So, who knows what the day will bring! Also, the last time I was in Denver, I drank wayy too much and had a terrible end of the night and next day. It has to be the altitude difference that got to me, because I felt like I didn't drink more than I usually do. Well, no, that's a lie, I was taking pulls out of a bottle of Jack, which I don't think I've ever done in my life. I was probably just going all out because I now live in Colorado. That is definitely it. So, I'm hesitant. I do not want to feel that way again. 

I also got to vote on Tuesday! I could not be more happy that I wasn't too late. I'm anxious and a little nervous to see how this one pans out. 

I have one more thing! One of my best friends is pregnant. I hate knowing something so exciting and not being about to announce it over social media. She has finally made it public and I want to scream from the mountain tops how excited I am for her! And I intend to. We have seen so many girls have babies these past few years and I am speaking for my entire group of girlfriends, how excited we are to have a baby in our group. Times are going to be fun, on a different level come April. Annother April baby! Of course, me who loves rubbing pregnant bellies, has to find about weeks before I move away, but it's okay, only because it has to be. I, at least get to watch through Facebook and texts, how her belly is growing cuter and cuter by the week. I could not be more happy for her. Look at how adorable she is: 

 

You two are going to have one cute baby. 

 

28 Days Later.

"Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don’t even recognize that growth is happening…Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize that we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed."

I don’t know if I could find a way of explaining my first two weeks of work more perfectly than that. It’s probably a good thing that I’ve waited, and didn’t blog after the first couple days of work because it would have been straight trash talk and that’s just not nice! The first week at my new center was very hard. Driving home from work on my second day, I cried. I was so stressed and thinking to myself, “Holy moly, what have I done??” And the tears just welled. So, okay, I didn’t full on cry, but I was close. Coming from such a new, well-run center, where everyone was a team, and got along so great and going to a center that is pretty much in shambles, worried the crap out of me. That night, I thought about it and readied myself for an intense talk with my boss the next day. On my third day, I walked right into my new boss’s office and told her I didn’t think I could do it. I was so torn because I knew when I interviewed with her; she was someone that I definitely wanted to work for. But working at a center like this, was not “me” and would be very challenging. I can’t describe it any other way than calling it one big mess of a center. She stressed to me that she knew that it was a disaster and began to tell me that I am the kind of person that she eventually wants in every room and that she has to start somewhere. She didn’t want it to discourage me and she wants me to stick it out with her. The first week I was texting the girls I worked with at Hudson and was reassured by all that if I just continue to do what I was trained to do and be the best teacher that I know how to be, things will be okay and people will eventually follow suit. But I, at the same time, think that is not my job. I never had to do this at Hudson. Everyone loved their jobs, worked together to help one another and I was the happiest person at work and I loved my job. I thought to myself that life is far too short to leave work frustrated every day and there is no way that I will have a job that I don’t look forward to going to every morning. I also thought, if I keep this job, I need to get a second job at a liquor store again to get that discount on all the wine that I will be drinking. 

After my second week, things are turning around. A couple girls were hired around the time that I was, who I get along very well with. The girl I have been working alongside, was also a previous KinderCare employee and came back after going back to school for a few years. She also cannot believe the changes in the center from when she was there last, to now. We both follow policies and are doing our best to get things put back together and organized, at least in our infant rooms. I’m happy that I spend the days with her. We are pretty much in our own world. Which, I understand, isn’t a great thing, but until the rest of the center is at our level, I’m cool with it. I get along great with everyone else I work with, but there’s a lazy trend at the center that I just can’t get over. I have a problem with people who don’t thoroughly finish the jobs they start. Things can only get better and that I am sure of. 

I had an absolutely wonderful Friday this week. A few of the babies were gone so we had only 5 infants. In Colorado, the teacher to infant ratio is 1:5. Our Director let us stay together to get things organized so it was a pretty chill day. On my lunch break I got the news that my mom’s oncologist had told her that after almost a decade of fighting cancer, that she was cancer free. My god, did I want to drive across the high way, drive up the Rockies and shout from the mountain tops how frickin excited I was. I seriously thought about it. But, having to be back to work in a half hour was not going to allow me to do so.  So we’ll save that for a later date, because it is definitely possible. Gosh, I haven’t said one thing about those mountains! Driving to and from work every day along the mountains is pretty surreal. Those snow caps get me every day and every day it’s like I’m seeing them for the first time. My first week, driving to work, I thought to myself, “Is this really worth it? My job is frustrating and sucks, but I get to see mountains every day. Do they weigh each other out? Can I have a shitty job but be okay with it because I’m here in Colorado?” At that point, it was 50/50. 

I also got news yesterday that I wasn’t too late to vote. I have been seriously worrying because I am no longer a Wisconsin resident, but haven’t been here long enough to be a Colorado resident. I Googled “Wisconsin Absentee Ballot” and literally printed off 5 forms, filled them all out, mailed them in and hoped with crossed fingers that at least one of them was the right form and that that form would be in before deadline. I received a voice mail yesterday from a lady saying, “Hi Kelsey, I have a few forms here from you but I’m a little confused as to your intentions.” At that point I laughed out loud, called her back and explained that I was just trying to get every possible form in, in hopes that one was the one she needed. Luckily, they don’t often turn people away, so I can go in right away tomorrow morning and vote! I could not be more excited. I will be sporting my, “I voted” sticker all day long. Chalk that to the awesome list from Friday.  

The one thing that is not on the awesome list: Joel is still not here. We were hoping he would be here by Wednesday this past week, but he’s working on paving his parent’s driveway, with pavers… single bricks… that need to be laid individually, and he was set back a bit with the rain and little bit of snow we got back in Minnesota earlier this week. So hopefully by late tomorrow night! I am so ready for him to be here. Yes, I enjoy my own company, and I’ve gone longer without seeing him but I want to be in ‘our’ new place together already! And it’s been 28 days since I’ve gotten kisses.

Just to name a few.

To my friends, in hopes that you hop on the Colorado band wagon.. ;) 

Some things that I particularly love about Loveland: 

First and foremost, mountains! You can't see them from my house, but drive 2 blocks onto main street and there they are! I get to see them as I drive home from work every day-- or in my rear view mirror as I drive to work everyday. How delightful! 

Second, the gas is cheaper! It's only $3.61-- sad. I remember when I filled my gas tank with $25.

Third, there are Sonics. Not that I love Sonic, I've only eaten there once, but Sonic commercials are hilarious and they are all I think about when I drive by them. This is one of my favorites..

 

Fourth, the micro breweries! They are everyyyywhere and I plan on visiting all of them. We are known as the Napa Valley of breweries. How fun is that? 

Fifth, Loveland is one of the top places in the Nation for music & art. Awesome, for Joel especially, but for me too! :)

Sixth, my house is 2 blocks from the library-- and everything for that matter. Joel's uncle told me the other day that our house is very centralized. We are also 3 streets over from main street, full of bars and boutiques that I will most likely love the second I walk in them. 

Seventh, since we are speaking location, I am about an hour from Rocky Mountain National Park, and main street takes you right there. Although, an hour is like 15 minutes here because the amazing scenery makes time irrelevant when you are driving. 

Eighth, I forgot to mention when I brought up the crazy amounts of micro breweries, that every liquor store here, has a drive-thru. Interesting, and practical, I guess, if you know exactly what you want. 

Ninth, I clearly have Duck Dynasty on my mind, but there have been a number of people that have reminded me of that show and have made me want to watch it then and there. For example, we were in Wal-mart yesterday. 3 guys in Camo passed me. Immediately, Duck Dynasty. 10 minutes later, another in camo, a nice long, grey beard, but this one had a.... wait for it... duck call. That yes, he was using in Wal-mart. I need a marathon, daily, to get my fix on that show- I cannot get enough. 

 hilarious.

Tenth, I'll make it an even ten. The weather is amazingggg. It was in the low thirties when we woke up this morning, probably got somewhere in the fifties mid day and Sunday and Monday it is supposed to be in the high seventies. I am going to love this and will probably embrace snowfall here, simply because the sun is always shinning and because it melts fast :) I could not be more excited!

.......................

Today was wonderful. I visited my new center and left there being even more excited to start work there on Monday. My new director cleaned out my room for me and I am completely starting fresh in the older Infant room next week. I will have 3-5 babies over the week, some part time. Monday, my babies won't actually be in my room with me, because I'll be doing more cleaning, organizing and getting it ready to be livable, since it hasn't been open since March. I am happy that my boss is just as excited for me to start as I am. I drove home on Cloud 9, towards the mountains. I think I'll stay here forever.  

 

"In all earnestness, I asked myself what kind of world I had stumbled into." -Carl Gustav Jung

I had a wonderful last weekend in the Midwest. I babysat for a family that goes to KinderCare, who has become family to me over the last 4 years, and who I am going to miss like crazy. My brother and sister in law were also in town to run the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday. I don't know if you've ever been there to support and cheer on friends or family running before, but for some reason, I found it emotional. I'm sure it was all my feelings and stresses about moving, running wild. Watching mother/daughters, husbands/wives and any other couple who were in it together, cross the finish line holding hands, for some reason, brought tears to my eyes. Before the race, I had running a marathon on my bucket list. After, on the other hand, it was off that list as fast as I had put it on. My brother's time was 2 hours and 53 minutes, for his first marathon. That to me is insane. He ran better than a mom I know, who runs every marathon in our area. My sister in law was just grateful to finish, as I would be. I think people underestimate how great of an accomplishment running a marathon really is. After the marathon, we hung out at my brother's friend's house, where I soaked up all the contentment and familiarity, knowing that I would not have that for a little while, moving my life to Colorado. 

Monday, I had a training all day with some of the girls I work with and then afterwards, had a drink with almost all of my co-workers. The ones who couldn't make it were there in spirit ;) I for some reason, never full on cried while saying goodbye to them all. I knew, once the tears started flowing, they were not going to stop. So when they came, I swallowed them down, even when my boss hugged me and told me how proud of me she is, watching me grow into the person that I have in the last 4 years and how lucky my new director is to have me on her team. 

After a delicious mint chocolate martini, I was on my way home to load the moving truck. Little did I know, that Joel's dad had been there for the last few hours, helping my mom and dad and almost everything that I owned, was already loaded up and ready to go. Thank you so much to you guys for doing. I appreciate it like crazy! After thinking how much I hate packing and moving in general, I was to the point of throwing everything left in my room, in garbage bags. Afterwards, I went to spend my last few hours with girlfriends, where we watched Long Island Medium and got more tears in my eyes! That show will get you. Ohh man. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. I left after big hugs, and realizing it was midnight and I had a long day of driving ahead of me. I already miss you girls! 

Tuesday, we of course, got a late start and left for my Colorado adventure at noon. The first couple hours with my cats, were nightmarish, like I thought they would be. Even after rest & relaxation medicine, Olive was meowing like crazy and Oscar was determined to get down by my feet and gas and brake. Which I, immediately thought the worst and envisioned a freak accident, involving my cats. After those first couple hours, they weren't so bad, but I could tell how stir crazy Oscar was. Olive, on the other hand, was terrified and stayed in the same spot, under my seat in the back seat, for 9 hours. 

We stayed at a hotel, where we were super badass and snuck the babies in, I caught up on homework (puke), got a night's sleep and were back at our drive early the next morning. All in all, it was good travels, aside from my butt constantly being sore and my nervousness about following two of the exact same Budget moving trucks. I immediately envisioned Kevin, in Home Alone when he starts following the wrong parent in the airport. Then, I wondered where the other moving truck was going. We arrived at our new home, got our keys from my new landlord and moved everything out of the truck, all on our own, without men, in two hours. High five, mom. We caught our second wind and were up until almost midnight putting away our kitchen, bathroom and most of my clothes. 

Yesterday, I had my first guests! Joel's grandparents have been in Colorado visiting his uncle, who I had never met, for the last few weeks. They planned on going back to the Midwest today but wanted to get together for lunch before they did. They came over, saw our place, and took us to lunch. It was so great to spend time with them and talk to Joel's uncle, who has lived here since 1989, all about life here. We ate at an awesome brewery, stopped and tasted more beer at another, and I couldn't help but think to myself, every few minutes, "Oh my goodness, I live here... in this amazingness." The lifestyle is so young and creative and artsy. Joel was bummed he wasn't able to spend the day with us but ohh man is he going to love it once he gets here. Also, at the brewery, my new boss texted me. Which made me smile and even more excited to start work for her on Monday. She was wondering how I was, if the move went smoothly and if I was here safe and sound. I made sure to not to tell her where I was but knowing that she went out of her way to send me a personal text made me feel great and even better about choosing her KinderCare to work at. I am not feeling one bit nervous to start my new job on Monday. Helloooo newness!
 

Senioritis all over again. Only what do we call it now?

Please blog, save me from the class that I just started today. I am refusing to read right now, most likely because I'm being told I have to. I am getting the feeling that these couple courses that I started today, are going to be a little more work than I had planned. I am only taking two online classes, one simply because I am a 'new' student and the second, to renew my CDA. Yes, I have a lovely degree that I get to renew every few years. Horrayyy! Sarcasm. I need an attitude change. 

First of all, I don't have my books yet. What a way to start the first day of class, wouldn't you say?? I tried hard to get this all taken care of two weeks ago, before I even left for Colorado, because I didn't want to have to deal with what, I am now dealing with. Not having the appropriate tools necessary to thrive academically! Ha, now I am making myself laugh. 

So here I am, putting off getting things situated and going with my classes. I could easily be reading the first chapter and looking over the first assignment. Blogging just seems more 'right now.' I haven't actually X-ed out of that window entirely, though. It's going to take a handful of various, spread out post-it notes, at home, and at work, to remind me to sign on to my courses every day and remember to read and complete assignments to have them in at the appropriate time. As well as post-it notes encouraging me and cheering myself on! I am so not in the mood for school right now. Especially, with moving my entire life next week. I am going to be a stress ball. I can see it now.

 

Alright, attitude change. I can do this!

This weekend was wonderful. My aunt hosted our family reunion and I am so glad she put it together and so glad everyone followed through and came. It was really my last time to see a lot of my relatives before I move and who knows what the holidays will bring and whether we will be home or not. I just love my family and I cannot get enough of them. I am also very happy that Joel was able to make it. He had originally planned on already being in Alaska but he left today. His plane is probably just taking off as we speak. This is another thing, it was weird this morning kissing Joel goodbye as I left for work and saying to each other that the next time we see each other, which will be in a little less than a month's time, we will be at our new place in Colorado. Crazyyyy!

What excites me right now, is the thought of my pot luck at work tomorrow. The fact that all the wonderful ladies that I work with are making a bunch of delicious food in my honor, is pretty fantastic. I am going to be so uncomfortably full tomorrow and it's going to be great.