Today is my 25th {eeks} birthday! I spent the morning soaking up the baby cuddles and adorable smiles which is my favorite past time ever. This afternoon I spent some time shopping with my sister & even bought myself something. Everything else was for Garrett though! :) Now babes is napping & momma is catching up on blogging while we wait for daddy to get home! :) I have to say quick though...the 24th year of my life was pretty darn amazing! Enjoying be newlyweds, getting pregnant and giving birth to the most amazing little boy are just some of the wonderful highlights. Year 25 sure has some big boots to fill! ;)

Thanks so much to everyone that remembered & sent birthday wishes! You all are too sweet! 
And now I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day!

Catch Up & Friday Letters

Well hello there Friday. Where in the world did you come from? Returning to work made this week FLY right by and with 80 million things to do I'm just now getting around to blogging. Holy slacker right?

In the mean time though I thought I'd stop in and catch you all up! Speaking of returning to work. I worked Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My days really didn't go all that bad minus Wednesday when a patient tried to punch me out....other than that it was all good ;) Saturday was a rough day, being the 1st day away from Garrett but knowing he was home with daddy made it easier for sure! I think the day was probably more rough on Garrett and the hubs as it was the first time they where home alone together for more than 15 minutes. Poor Garrett wasn't used to the change in faces and care and spent most of the day crying. Sunday however went MUCH better! Tuesday they even went to the library for story time and shopping at Fleet Farm. 

The hospital has also been a little bit low census wise lately so I've actually been sent home everyday 4 hours early, on standby. While it's nice getting home from work early it's not going to be so nice pay check wise. We're already loosing money having the hubs off work to be with Garrett so having me drop 16 hours in a week is going to be rough! Ekks!

Wednesday night Steve & I attend the regional "Great Beginnings" Advocare meeting. We definitely learned some new stuff and hearing so many wonderful testimonials really amped our passion and drive to help others accomplish their wishes and dreams. We heard testimonials of people dropping 100+ pounds. Testimonials of people running across America to raise $235,000 for charities. Testimonials of a man with $38 dollars to his name now making $30,000+ a month. All of these happened with Advocare. Average American people being able to really make a change in their life and accomplish even their wildest dreams. I mean really who wouldn't want to drop un-needed pounds, give a ton of $$ to charity and still have a monthly paycheck of what some people make in a year? Sign.Me.Up. If you're interested at all in Advocare please email me! Our team is growing and we're looking to gain more discount customers! Who knows...maybe you could be our next weight loss, healthy living, run across America, make a lot of money success story! 

And now for a few Friday Letters. 

Dear Wisconsin: Waking up to a white world was not on my birthday wishlist! Ick, ick, ick! Dear Thanksgiving: The fact that I work on Thanksgiving is kind of a bummer! Missing the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and other tasty foods will stink for sure! Dear Christmas: You are coming up FAR quicker than I'd like. Don't get me wrong...I love Christmas but I have yet to start my shopping! And I'm trying to figure out how I'll have time to put up all five of my trees! Dear Garrett: You are growing so quickly {as I'm constantly saying} but you're also becoming SO much fun! It's wonderful to wake up in the morning and get tons of adorable smiles! It's also SO much fun to hear you "talking" more! You are developing quite the personality and it's amazing to see you grow and develop! Dear Sweet Tooth: Let's take it easy mmkay? This time of the year is terrible with all the candy and goodies around! I'm a sucker for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Angelfood candy...neither of which I need to consume! Dear Body: I don't know what it is with your constant junk food cravings lately! I've been making MUCH healthier meal choices and sticking with Advocare's meal replacement shakes when I don't have the time to make healthy choices but all I'm craving is junk! Redic! Here's to perseverance and determination! 

Friday Letters

Dear Friday, November 15th: I'm unsure how I feel about you Friday. Though so many people wish & wish for Fridays to get here this is one particular Friday that I could have done without coming. Today is my last day of maternity leave. My last day at home with my precious baby with no other cares to be had. Tomorrow I return back to work. Full time, 12 hour shifts. When I found out I was pregnant I approached my bosses about switching to 12 hour shifts {I was doing 8's} when returning back from maternity leave. This way instead of working 5-6 days a week I could work 3, though they are longer days I know. Hubs and I discussed it and while I'd be away longer each day I work it ends up saving us on childcare because he can be home with Garrett in the evenings after he is done with work. And his work offers 18 weeks of FMLA leave...all unpaid. Though it's going to be incredibly tough money wise {especially right before the holidays} we're taking advantage of it because it means that Garrett will be home in our care, longer. This is another reason why the 12 hour shifts worked out better. Hubs will take off work the days that I work so he can be home for Garrett. We figure that buys us a few more months of not having to worry about childcare. And, it will be easier for me knowing that Garrett is home, safe with his daddy! Not here's hoping we can in fact afford to do this as long as we'd like too! :/ 

Dear Winter: I'm not ready for you yet. The cold is already starting to wear on me & it's just going to get colder! It's currently 36* which is warmer than it's been in days! This weekend it's going to be in the 60's {figures since I have to work!} which will probably be some of the last nice days of the year.

Dear Garrett: My precious baby boy! You are growing and changing so quickly that I can't believe my eyes! To think that you're going to be 12 weeks old already {on Tuesday} just blows my mind!  

Dear Hubs: You are amazing! The hard work you do for this family is something I will be forever grateful for! Thank you!  

Dear Readers: I'd love to stay and share more but I hear my baby coo-ing in the other room & I'm soaking up the cuddles today! Happy weekending!