The River

That's right...I'm going to talk about water, and not just any water. The water I've become more recently acquainted with is the Iowa River. When I first visited the University of Iowa, one of the weird things I longed to do was to walk across that water! Not literally, like Jesus, but on one of Iowa City's cool walking bridges.

I had a couple of free hours this afternoon, so I took the time to walk across the river. The bridge was neat, and the spiral walkway to get over the highway was even neater. I have to say the water itself was the most awesome thing I've seen lately, though! Just looking down on it made me feel more peaceful and less stressed out about my day. God is good for making such amazing stuff in the world, like rivers and spiral walkways!

Simple and Delicious Melissa

Have you seen the movie "Julie and Julia"? So...I decided to do my own simplified twist on that, only I promise I won't start a blog or post incessantly on fb about it except for maybe a few times. I've decided I like a lot of recipes from "Simple and Delicious" but I'm never very brave about trying new things. In the next month or two I'm going to make every recipe from the Sept/Oct 2009 Issue. Justin probably thinks I'm psycho, but I'm glad he loves me anyway!

Camping with Toddlers

Our little family went camping last weekend, and this was our first campout this summer. We used to camp more, but Morgan is still too young to handle much time away from the comforts of her crib. I have to admit the experience exceeded my expectations for the little getaway. Camping with our "terrible toddler" was actually a lot of fun!

Seeing and experiencing nature through her eyes is probably one of the highlights of my summer. Morgan (23 months) is in her curious and mischevious stage right now, and everything around us was fascinating to her. Swimming in the lake is always a good time for her, but Morgan loved looking for bugs and playing around the tent just as much. The flies and mosquitos around our picnic table were enough to entertain her for quite awhile!

I worried the most about the fire when planning our trip, but it turned out to be no big deal. I can imagine the campfire was enticing, but Morgan knew it was hot and watched from a safe distance. She let Daddy cook the food, and thought he was pretty cool for sticking Mommy's pots in the flames.

Another worry we had was a bed. Last summer we used a pack-and-play for a crib inside our tent. This year we tried to do without. Morgan has never slept overnight outside of a crib, so this turned out to be our biggest challenge. She tossed and turned for several hours, but finally settled down to sleep on top of Mommy at about 1 am. If our tent wasn't so small, I think we would have gone with the pack-and-play option again.

In retrospect, I regret not taking Morgan camping more times this summer. We'll have to make another few weekend getaways before the weather gets too cold.

Moving!

We've sold our house (amazingly, we were already under contract after it was on the market a whopping 3 days)! I am plunging forward with my PhD plans at the University of Iowa, and we'll move there at the end of June. In the meantime, our house has to be empty and clean by June 2nd. I can officially say for 3-1/2 to 4 weeks in June we will not have a permanent address. Yikes! Our plan is to stay with family and have a "vacation" before we move. I'm sure Morgan will love staying with both sets of grandparents, and I'm just grateful our house sold so quickly :)

Because we're moving, the diaper business will also be moving. I'll start working through all the legalities of the move next week, and June will also be an interesting month for running that business.

The end to the stress?

Well, I've finally done it. Made a decision, that is. I have decided to turn my offer to Illinois State down, stay here in Kirksville and concentrate on my teaching and being a good Mommy. My career is important, but family wins out in the end. Moving so far away seems horrible for me, my husband and daughter, and all the family we would leave behind. Maybe I'll try again to get into a program nearby in the next couple of years, but for now I won't worry about going back to school.
I sent the rejection letter to Illinois State today, and I can't decide if I'm relieved to be staying or sick that I may have made the wrong choice. Oh well, I do know that it feels good to have made a decision, and maybe now my stress levels will go down a notch!

What to do?

So, I apparently am at a crossroads in my life (or a very early midlife crisis, whichever way you want to think about it). I'm about to make a HUGE decision about my future, my career, etc. Because this decision involves a life change that will affect my whole family, I feel even more pressure to make the right choice! So far I have two options...to uproot our little family and move 5 hours away for a few years or to stay with my current situation and ignore my new career goals.
God, You are going to have to help me out on this one. Show me the right path, or block the wrong ones. Remember, I'm a little dense, so neon lights or 2x4's upside the head would be greatly appreciated.

New Year's Resolutions

As the new year begins, I find myself wondering what my resolution for 2010 will be. If you are like myself and people I know, New Years is a time to make (and break!) New Year’s resolutions. Here are the top five resolutions I found with a quick Google search:
1. Spend more time with friends and family.
2. Fit in fitness.
3. Tame the bulge.
4. Quit smoking.
5. Enjoy life more.

Every year I make a resolution that is difficult to achieve, and I have limited success keeping the resolutions I make. This year I challenge myself and all of you to make a different (and hopefully more attainable) goal for 2010: to move toward a more GREEN lifestyle. Many of you have probably already taken some steps toward being eco-friendly, but there are probably even more things you could do. Here are a few ideas to help us all make a GREEN New Year’s Resolution:
If you’re not already using cloth diapers with your little one, now is a great time to start! See my blog, http://bumcovereddiapers.blogspot.com or my web store, www.bumcovereddiapers.com to find information and products to help you get started. Also, stay tuned on Coupon Mommy of 2…now 3’s blog for the latest diaper reviews and giveaways. Also, think of the money you will save by switching completely to cloth!
Help the environment by using reusable cloth bags at the grocery stores instead of plastic bags. If you do use plastic bags, re-use them or recycle them instead of throwing them away. Did you know Hy-Vee gives you 5 cents back for every reusable bag you use for your purchases? (If this store is not in your area, check to see if your local grocery stores offer this discount.)
Eliminate paper and plastic waste where you can. Have you thought of using real napkins instead of paper? Or using a container for sandwiches instead of a Ziploc bag when you pack your lunch?
Set your heat a few degrees cooler and your air a few degrees warmer to conserve energy.
Replace your old light bulbs with high-efficiency bulbs, and turn off anything that doesn’t need to be on.