Well, summer is quickly nearing its end. In fact, school starts tomorrow. This semester I am taking three upper division Social Work classes and for my choice of an elective I am taking a Family Finance course. I am really looking forward to all of my classes but not looking forward to my weekends being consumed by homework again. But I know it will be worth it in the end.
The good news is, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Malone will be able to graduate in just a year and a half. I know, 18 months is still kind of a long time, but when you compare it to how long we have been in school since we've been married (5 & 1/2 years) it seems like it's only a drop in the bucket. And that's not including the 2 years Malone completed BEFORE we got married!
I, unfortunately, still have 2 years left so I have one more semester past what Malone does. I don't know what we'll do if Malone graduates and finds a job before I finish. In that case he may have to head out to wherever his job is as soon as he gets the job while I finish up school. That situation wouldn't exactly be the most pleasant but it may be necessary. Anyway, we are beginnig to put feelers out for possible job opportunities looking for a PhD Biochemist. If anyone has any tips, please send them our way!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Maybe Boring, Maybe Not
Well, this might be a somewhat boring post. I'm just warning you now. It's not filled with the usual adventure and excitement of my regular posts (haha). So, if you were looking for a cliff hanger, feel free to skip on to the next blog. I feel some rambling coming on.
Recently, our life has been fairly quiet compared to its usual insanity. We are still busy, but a little less so. I have fewer hours at work and Malone has been able to spend a little more time at home. It's been so nice. We were even able to go to a theme park and leave Baby K with my sister-in-law. She had a blast and Malone and I were so appreciative of some significant alone time. We did realize after riding a few of the roller coasters, however, that we are both a little less adventurous than we used to be. There was one or two roller coasters that got my heart pounding a little too hard for my taste. And I'm not talking about heart pounding in the sense of "I can't wait to get on that ride again and ride it fifty more times". No no, I'm talking about the "I think I'm going to throw up if I don't die first" type of heart pounding. I guess I'm getting old. But in my defense, there was one ride that I swear every single cart had at least one piece that was held on by nothing more than red duct tape. And that's no exaggeration.
In other news, Malone received word back from a paper he has submitted to a scientific journal for publication. The editor asked for revisions and then resubmission, so that's a pretty good sign. Granted, it's not as good as if it had been accepted right away, but we'll take this over a rejection any day.
As for me, I am starting to gear up for the new school year. I can't believe it's only a month away! I'm glad it's coming quickly. I am beyond antsy to be done with school. Too bad we still have four more semesters to go. Blah. I just have to keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end. Malone will have a PhD, I will have a Bachelor's degree and hopefully all this education will lead to job security. Our fingers are crossed anyway.
As for other thoughts on my mind... Well, I guess I'll just say that infertility sucks. I know, I know. That was a huge leap from the previous topic, but like I said. I'm rambling. Anyway, yeah. Now that Baby K is getting close to being a year and a half old Malone and I have been talking about trying to grow our family again. We would like Baby K to have a sibling no more than three or three and a half years younger than her. But all of this of course brings back all the old infertility mumbo jumbo. (And trust me, that's probably the most tame way I can coin that sentiment)
A lot of people have assumed that just because I was able to conceive and carry Baby K, that means I'm not infertile anymore, like having a baby means I am miraculously cured. They seem to not understand that there's a difference between being "infertile" and being "sterile." When I hear that it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. If only those people knew just how wrong they were. My PCOS is somewhat under control now with the meds that I have been on since Baby K finished nursing. My losing 25 pounds has helped, but it hasn't cured anything and I have had to fight tooth and nail for every ounce of that weight loss. And now it's hard not to give in to despair. Do we try again for a biological child? That thought fills me with dread. Do we try again to adopt? Again, dread. It's hard not to despair sometimes. Thinking back on our journey to parenthood reawakens so many emotions that I had nearly forgotten. I know five years isn't nearly as long as some people experience, but sometimes I imagine myself repeating everything we went through and I am exhausted just thinking about it.
Don't get me wrong. Every single moment and pain was so so worth it and I would do it all over again and again and again if I had to. I know how blessed I am to be a Mom. I get to mother my Baby K now and someday I know I'll get to have our baby G back too. It's just that in my heart I long for the members of my family that I feel are still missing. And the prospect of how we're going to get them here is a bit frightening and very daunting. But I know it will be ok. Like I said, it has all been so worth it and I know I'll feel the same way about whatever we have to experience in the future with our attempts to have children. It's just the process of starting all over again is kind of like someone sucker punching you in the gut. Not pleasant.
Well, I hope all of that wasn't too depressing or offensive. I sometimes hesitate to talk about things like that knowing that some of my friends are still struggling to patiently await the blessing of receiving their first child. It makes me wonder if wanting more children makes me greedy. After all, I have my husband and two children that are mine forever. I am blessed beyond measure already and I am so grateful for the blessing of my family. But then I remember something that stuck with Malone and I the entire time we were hoping to adopt. We aren't just praying for ANY child to come to our family. We are waiting for OUR children. And I don't think that wanting the children that God has planned to be a part of our family is greedy. I think that's just part of my longing to fulfill God's plan for me. So there you go. Take it or leave it, that's the "gospel according to Brittany".
Recently, our life has been fairly quiet compared to its usual insanity. We are still busy, but a little less so. I have fewer hours at work and Malone has been able to spend a little more time at home. It's been so nice. We were even able to go to a theme park and leave Baby K with my sister-in-law. She had a blast and Malone and I were so appreciative of some significant alone time. We did realize after riding a few of the roller coasters, however, that we are both a little less adventurous than we used to be. There was one or two roller coasters that got my heart pounding a little too hard for my taste. And I'm not talking about heart pounding in the sense of "I can't wait to get on that ride again and ride it fifty more times". No no, I'm talking about the "I think I'm going to throw up if I don't die first" type of heart pounding. I guess I'm getting old. But in my defense, there was one ride that I swear every single cart had at least one piece that was held on by nothing more than red duct tape. And that's no exaggeration.
In other news, Malone received word back from a paper he has submitted to a scientific journal for publication. The editor asked for revisions and then resubmission, so that's a pretty good sign. Granted, it's not as good as if it had been accepted right away, but we'll take this over a rejection any day.
As for me, I am starting to gear up for the new school year. I can't believe it's only a month away! I'm glad it's coming quickly. I am beyond antsy to be done with school. Too bad we still have four more semesters to go. Blah. I just have to keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end. Malone will have a PhD, I will have a Bachelor's degree and hopefully all this education will lead to job security. Our fingers are crossed anyway.
As for other thoughts on my mind... Well, I guess I'll just say that infertility sucks. I know, I know. That was a huge leap from the previous topic, but like I said. I'm rambling. Anyway, yeah. Now that Baby K is getting close to being a year and a half old Malone and I have been talking about trying to grow our family again. We would like Baby K to have a sibling no more than three or three and a half years younger than her. But all of this of course brings back all the old infertility mumbo jumbo. (And trust me, that's probably the most tame way I can coin that sentiment)
A lot of people have assumed that just because I was able to conceive and carry Baby K, that means I'm not infertile anymore, like having a baby means I am miraculously cured. They seem to not understand that there's a difference between being "infertile" and being "sterile." When I hear that it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. If only those people knew just how wrong they were. My PCOS is somewhat under control now with the meds that I have been on since Baby K finished nursing. My losing 25 pounds has helped, but it hasn't cured anything and I have had to fight tooth and nail for every ounce of that weight loss. And now it's hard not to give in to despair. Do we try again for a biological child? That thought fills me with dread. Do we try again to adopt? Again, dread. It's hard not to despair sometimes. Thinking back on our journey to parenthood reawakens so many emotions that I had nearly forgotten. I know five years isn't nearly as long as some people experience, but sometimes I imagine myself repeating everything we went through and I am exhausted just thinking about it.
Don't get me wrong. Every single moment and pain was so so worth it and I would do it all over again and again and again if I had to. I know how blessed I am to be a Mom. I get to mother my Baby K now and someday I know I'll get to have our baby G back too. It's just that in my heart I long for the members of my family that I feel are still missing. And the prospect of how we're going to get them here is a bit frightening and very daunting. But I know it will be ok. Like I said, it has all been so worth it and I know I'll feel the same way about whatever we have to experience in the future with our attempts to have children. It's just the process of starting all over again is kind of like someone sucker punching you in the gut. Not pleasant.
Well, I hope all of that wasn't too depressing or offensive. I sometimes hesitate to talk about things like that knowing that some of my friends are still struggling to patiently await the blessing of receiving their first child. It makes me wonder if wanting more children makes me greedy. After all, I have my husband and two children that are mine forever. I am blessed beyond measure already and I am so grateful for the blessing of my family. But then I remember something that stuck with Malone and I the entire time we were hoping to adopt. We aren't just praying for ANY child to come to our family. We are waiting for OUR children. And I don't think that wanting the children that God has planned to be a part of our family is greedy. I think that's just part of my longing to fulfill God's plan for me. So there you go. Take it or leave it, that's the "gospel according to Brittany".
Thursday, June 30, 2011
So much news, so little time
Well, it has been quite a long while since the last time I blogged. Things have been so busy, it's ridiculous! But I don't think my life would feel normal without the busy-ness.
For starters, Malone found out a paper of his was declined to a journal that he submitted it to. Boo. They said it wasn't the right fit for the journal, but that it was good so he should submit it to a different journal. So, now it is submitted to the new journal and we are waiting to hear back about this second go-around. Wish us luck! He really needs this publication so that he can graduate on time. On a more positive note, he has had some real success recently at work. He has discovered something that could be kind of a big deal, so he's (momentarily at least) on cloud nine.
In other news, I got accepted to the Social Work program I applied to at the school I am attending! Yay! It has been such a relief to know what my plan is for school for the next couple of years. They had to reject about 30 applicants, so I feel very blessed to have been accepted.
K baby has been growing like a weed! She is getting taller and she is developing right on track. She only has a handful of teeth left to come in, and I recently trimmed her hair for the first time. Granted, it was just her bangs because they were getting in her eyes, but I thought it was a milestone! I was super nervous, but I didn't cry and it came out looking really cute so it's all good.
This summer our family is also growing a garden. We have some great friends who have graciously allowed us to use a portion of their garden space. We are growing lots of corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cantaloup, watermelon, cucumbers, and zucchini (which already has some baby zucchinis coming on!). So far everything seems to be coming up very well and we are super excited to have some home grown produce. Apartment living has its downsides, one of them being not having a yard with our own garden space. But thankfully, that's not a problem for us this year!
Speaking of apartments, we actually moved from our cute little house. Our friends helped us arrange to move into the apartment they were moving out of for their new job. The apartment has a third bedroom and a little bit cheaper rent. The utilities are also a little less expensive and (YAY) it has a dishwasher!!! We were so sad to leave our house behind though. We formed so many good memories there and we loved not having neighbors in our faces all the time. We will miss it. But although change is hard sometimes, it is also good, and we are absolutely loving our new place!
Ok, to end this long narrative, this past week we had quite an adventure. On Friday we were scheduled to go camping for a family reunion. We decided it would be fun to take an extra day and go up for a little camping trip on Thursday, just the three of us. That way we would already have things all set up for Friday and we would get some quality family time in. Well, we were having a really great time until at 3:00 a.m. we had an unexpected visitor to our camp site. We were sound asleep when a Sherriff's deputy came and knocked on our tent. To make a long story short, we had to be emergency evacuated from the campsite because the creek we were camping next to had flooded and washed out the road bridge. We had to leave almost everything behind (including our car), were shuttled across the water, and a deputy gave us a ride home. They wouldn't let us go get all our stuff back until Monday. It was sort of scary and a lot annoying being without our car. Most of all, however, we were thankful that we were all safe. K baby even slept through (almost) the entire ordeal. Now we are back to normal life and can smile at the whole thing.
One thing's for sure though, that experience taught me a valuable lesson. I really should put 72 hour kits in our car trunk for emergencies. I can't imagine what we would have done if we had been stranded in our campsite. All we would have had to exist off of would have been Doritos, Orange slices (the candy kind. Not the healthy kind. We were camping for goodness sake!), marshmallows, and a few bottles of water. It wouldn't have lasted long and we could have been in real trouble. I am going to be putting those 72 hour kits in both our car and in our apartment right away.
Well, that's it for now! I'll update with pictures soon.
For starters, Malone found out a paper of his was declined to a journal that he submitted it to. Boo. They said it wasn't the right fit for the journal, but that it was good so he should submit it to a different journal. So, now it is submitted to the new journal and we are waiting to hear back about this second go-around. Wish us luck! He really needs this publication so that he can graduate on time. On a more positive note, he has had some real success recently at work. He has discovered something that could be kind of a big deal, so he's (momentarily at least) on cloud nine.
In other news, I got accepted to the Social Work program I applied to at the school I am attending! Yay! It has been such a relief to know what my plan is for school for the next couple of years. They had to reject about 30 applicants, so I feel very blessed to have been accepted.
K baby has been growing like a weed! She is getting taller and she is developing right on track. She only has a handful of teeth left to come in, and I recently trimmed her hair for the first time. Granted, it was just her bangs because they were getting in her eyes, but I thought it was a milestone! I was super nervous, but I didn't cry and it came out looking really cute so it's all good.
This summer our family is also growing a garden. We have some great friends who have graciously allowed us to use a portion of their garden space. We are growing lots of corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cantaloup, watermelon, cucumbers, and zucchini (which already has some baby zucchinis coming on!). So far everything seems to be coming up very well and we are super excited to have some home grown produce. Apartment living has its downsides, one of them being not having a yard with our own garden space. But thankfully, that's not a problem for us this year!
Speaking of apartments, we actually moved from our cute little house. Our friends helped us arrange to move into the apartment they were moving out of for their new job. The apartment has a third bedroom and a little bit cheaper rent. The utilities are also a little less expensive and (YAY) it has a dishwasher!!! We were so sad to leave our house behind though. We formed so many good memories there and we loved not having neighbors in our faces all the time. We will miss it. But although change is hard sometimes, it is also good, and we are absolutely loving our new place!
Ok, to end this long narrative, this past week we had quite an adventure. On Friday we were scheduled to go camping for a family reunion. We decided it would be fun to take an extra day and go up for a little camping trip on Thursday, just the three of us. That way we would already have things all set up for Friday and we would get some quality family time in. Well, we were having a really great time until at 3:00 a.m. we had an unexpected visitor to our camp site. We were sound asleep when a Sherriff's deputy came and knocked on our tent. To make a long story short, we had to be emergency evacuated from the campsite because the creek we were camping next to had flooded and washed out the road bridge. We had to leave almost everything behind (including our car), were shuttled across the water, and a deputy gave us a ride home. They wouldn't let us go get all our stuff back until Monday. It was sort of scary and a lot annoying being without our car. Most of all, however, we were thankful that we were all safe. K baby even slept through (almost) the entire ordeal. Now we are back to normal life and can smile at the whole thing.
One thing's for sure though, that experience taught me a valuable lesson. I really should put 72 hour kits in our car trunk for emergencies. I can't imagine what we would have done if we had been stranded in our campsite. All we would have had to exist off of would have been Doritos, Orange slices (the candy kind. Not the healthy kind. We were camping for goodness sake!), marshmallows, and a few bottles of water. It wouldn't have lasted long and we could have been in real trouble. I am going to be putting those 72 hour kits in both our car and in our apartment right away.
Well, that's it for now! I'll update with pictures soon.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Nothin' Much
Well, it has been an awfully long time since I posted. Things have been so busy! School started up again for us and I have been swamped with homework. This semester I am taking two social work classes, an English class, and a psychology course. It seems my professors this semester are big fans of busy work. But the material is fascinating. Good thing I love it because I'm applying for the social work program this semester! In fact, I have been finding my coursework so interesting that for my birthday I am asking my hubby for The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. I guess that officially qualifies me as a nerd. Other than school I have been staying busy with work and of course being Baby K's mommy.
As for the hubby, he is working on getting his first first author publication. Hopefully (fingers crossed) this will happen within the next month or so! Other than that, he just keeps plugging along in his program at school. He has the very last part of a big test coming up in a few weeks, so he is hard at work studying for that.
Baby K is growing in like a weed. It seems like her vocabulary is growing almost every day! She has mastered the words: mama, dada, and baba. She will also occasionally say: no, and uh-oh. She gives kisses, although they are still much more like head-butts. She loves to snuggle and she will clap when she's happy about something. Her rescent fascination has been playing peek-a-boo and she likes to throw things on the floor to watch me pick them up. She is proficient in the army crawl, and tries to crawl on her knees if she isn't in a hurry. She has also learned to pull herself into a standing position and will sometimes move her feet forward like she's trying to walk. As of this past week, she has six teeth. We are so proud of her!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Update
Day 175 Waiting for our baby through the miracle of adoption
Today was wonderful. We took the day off of work and drove down to meet our birthmom, J, in person. We get along so well with her! I think one of the reasons why I love her so much is because she reminds me A LOT of my best friend, Cessi.
Anyway, we started the day out by going to her doctor's appointment with her. We met her doctor and we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat!!! This is the same doctor who delivered both of her other babies she placed, so she really feels comfortable with him. We are going to be able to go to another doctor's appointment with her in October to find out whether we're having a boy or a girl!
After the appointment, we took her to IHOP because it was still early in the morning. We had a good time just chatting and eating breakfast. Then we wandered around the mall together. After that we gave her a ride home. All together, it was a pretty great day! Next time we go down we're also going to get to meet some of her family, so we're pretty happy about that. The only thing we're concerned about right now is the birth father, T. He says he is supportive of the adoption plan, but his family is VERY negative about it. So we are praying that things will work out with him. Please join us in those prayers.
So other than that, we went to my little sister's wedding this past weekend. It was great! It was really neat to be able to watch them be married in the temple, and remember the day almost 4 years ago when we were in their place. Plus Ashley looked beatiful!
Malone will be starting his classes again soon. He's looking forward to getting back into the structure of school, but not looking forward to being so busy with research and two classes. I'm not looking forward to that part either, but I guess we have to pay our dues just like everybody else!
One last thing. We are looking for a new place to move to. This apartment has just gotten too expensive, and with a baby on the way we are looking to save as much as possible. Anybody who lives here have any good suggestions?
Today was wonderful. We took the day off of work and drove down to meet our birthmom, J, in person. We get along so well with her! I think one of the reasons why I love her so much is because she reminds me A LOT of my best friend, Cessi.
Anyway, we started the day out by going to her doctor's appointment with her. We met her doctor and we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat!!! This is the same doctor who delivered both of her other babies she placed, so she really feels comfortable with him. We are going to be able to go to another doctor's appointment with her in October to find out whether we're having a boy or a girl!
After the appointment, we took her to IHOP because it was still early in the morning. We had a good time just chatting and eating breakfast. Then we wandered around the mall together. After that we gave her a ride home. All together, it was a pretty great day! Next time we go down we're also going to get to meet some of her family, so we're pretty happy about that. The only thing we're concerned about right now is the birth father, T. He says he is supportive of the adoption plan, but his family is VERY negative about it. So we are praying that things will work out with him. Please join us in those prayers.
So other than that, we went to my little sister's wedding this past weekend. It was great! It was really neat to be able to watch them be married in the temple, and remember the day almost 4 years ago when we were in their place. Plus Ashley looked beatiful!
Malone will be starting his classes again soon. He's looking forward to getting back into the structure of school, but not looking forward to being so busy with research and two classes. I'm not looking forward to that part either, but I guess we have to pay our dues just like everybody else!
One last thing. We are looking for a new place to move to. This apartment has just gotten too expensive, and with a baby on the way we are looking to save as much as possible. Anybody who lives here have any good suggestions?
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About Me
- Malone and Brittany
- About us? Where can I begin? Our little family has been through more ups and downs than can be described here. It has been a roller coaster since day one. Join us as we continue on our crazy ride.
