Fall and new beginnings...

Fall is my favorite time of year!  The orange pumpkins, hot cider, apple pies, hot ham & rolls!  I haven't posted in a while.  Maybe it's a little annoying to some but I've been doing so much lately!  Since being laid off from MGIC 2 1/2 months ago, I haven't had time for my blog.  I usually did it at work!  I'll try to quick update you all on the last few months.  I job hunted like crazy most of the month of August.  It was stressful and depressing.  There were some days, especially right after being laid off where it took me a couple hours to get out of bed.  But I did and I applied like crazy, refined and tuned my resume several dozen times, talked to recruiters, had many phone interviews and a few in person.  Right before I went to the Bahamas with my wonderful Aunt, I had two potential opportunities I was excited about.  It was between BMO downtown Milwaukee or The Gehl Co. in West Bend.  After returning from an awesome trip I met with both companies and got an offer from BMO before I even got home from the 2nd interview!  So I began my job at BMO two weeks ago.  I'm a Project Leader for the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) Technology & Analytics Group.  I have a really positive boss who the whole team loves working for and my team is full of nice, normal, hard-working people.  My salary is better, I get a pension!, and the vacation and sick time is so generous.  I feel so blessed.  For a moment I wasn't sure I was going to be able to use my education, experience, etc.  I didn't give up hope though.  I guess my persistance paid off but it really couldn't have been done without the support from my incredible husband and family.  Nick always believes in me.  My sister Heidi never lets me forget my confidence.  She manages to have a baby, work full-time, run Ellie and Jack around and do all this other craziness AND still make sure I'm ok.  She's the one that 'pumps' me up.  My parents are always in my corner too.  I had the chance to help my Dad with the siding on their house.  It was so great to be off for two months!  Anyway, to be surrounded by so much love and support really made things easier in the aspect of job hunting. 

So now that I have a job, Nick and I are excited to start thinking about purchasing a house.  We love the condo, the location, and the extra time we have because there is very little maintenance, but we so badly want a house to grow our family and so Silas can play in the yard!  We need a basement for all the baby stuff and extra crap that just seems to never go away.  We need a bigger kitchen for Nick to cook meals and me to wash the dishes :)  We hope to move by spring time of next year but who knows, if we find the right house now then maybe we could move before the holidays!  We'd like to stay near the Lake Country area, preferably Hartland or Merton, maybe even Sussex or Northlake.  We'll see! 

I'm excited to be off tomorrow for Columbus Day.  Yup, banking hours!  Love it!  So I get to spend the day with my sweet Silas.  Like old times.  The months I had off were unbelievable.  Silas and I had the best time.  Here are some pics...

WI State Fair

My favorite time of the year is the WI State Fair!  Mostly for the baked potatoes, ice cream sundaes, corn on the cob, and the people watching!  This year my Dad and I took Ellie and Jack.  Silas got to stay home with Ba-ba and relax.  It was a lot of work but so much fun!  Here are the pics!

 

 



 

Jack ate his whole potato!  Ellie didn't care about it so much.  She was saving room for ice cream!

 

Cooling off!

 

Jack ate the whole corn too!  Me and Ellie shared.

 

Ellie went on a few rides by herself!

 

All pooped out!

Unemployed

I wish I could say and 'loving it!'.  Actually it's not too bad.  If I think about my last post about Gratitude and my question about how I can spend my 37.5 hrs/week, it is a bit ironic.  I now have lots of time to figure it out.  And of course I still have Gratitude. More than ever.  After almost 12 years at MGIC, I was laid off last week.  It came to no surprise because of the market, but still a shock none the less.  I grew up in the mortgage industry, it's where I began my career.  I learned so many things.  I became a troubleshooter, a programmer, an analyst, a presenter, and a co-worker.  I put myself through MSOE with an undergrad and a graduate degree.  I got many promotions and a co-worker bonus.  I moved out for the first time and bought a condo.  I have so many memories that are part of my time at MGIC that it's been sad to say good bye.  I move forward with those memories and most of all the experiences I've learned from and the people I became friends with.  I will miss the work-out classes, the convenient cafeteria, taking breaks, and starbucks!  I will also miss the events we had on the MGIC Plaza.  Who doesn't like a free lunch!?  I might even miss doing the silly 'jazz hands' for the camera.  Even though I'm a little teary-eyed from thinking about what I'm going to miss, I don't forget what I won't miss.  Yes, that list is long too....

Instead I'll leave you with my linkedin profile:  www.linkedin.com/in/wendikeesling/ 

And my last jazz hands!

Gratitude

My baby Silas is already 11 months old!  He's the best thing that has ever happened to me.  EVER.  When I have bad days, I remember how lucky I am.  I have a healthy and happy baby.  I have the BEST husband in the whole world.  I have my supportive parents who have always given me unconditional love and given me everything they can.  I have an awesome sister who pushes me to be a better person.  I have a lot of GRATITUDE. You're probably wondering why I'm writing this.  Along with all that I'm grateful for, I am also a little ticked off about what I don't have.  I know that sounds really bad.  If I'm going to spend a chunk of time, let's just say 37.5 hours/week away from my baby Silas, the BEST husband in the world, my aging parents and awesome sister then it better be worthwhile.  Right now I'm not feeling it.  I'm currently searching for a better way to spend my 37.5 hours/week.  Anybody have any ideas?  

My baby Silas wasn't excited about his first plate of real food.  Salmon and broccoli.  I have to admit though,   we probably should start with someone more appetizing.  A few days later he had some fries :)

Ellie's 4th Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated Ellie's 4th Birthday Party.  Everyday she says or does something that makes me laugh.  She is also adventurous and sometimes crazy.  Crazy in a good, fun way.  I think she gets that from Auntie We-we :)  She has no fear.  She doesn't get mad when Silas pulls her glasses off.  She likes her nails painted.  She wears black 'yoga' pants like her mom and her we-we.  She always wants to be first.  She doesn't give me kisses anymore but she does give hugs and kisses to Silas.  I can't believe how grown up she is.  I know someday she'll be going to high school, then college, then maybe marriage and babies.  But no matter what age, I'll always look at her and see the purple glasses and bare feet.

Ellie doing my hair

Ellie loves to do my hair.  This is fine with me because I don't do much to it.  I mean, I wash it and brush but that's about it.  So Ellie likes to try and do my hair like we do her hair.  She pulls on it real tight like we do to her but she just can't seem to get it in the pony because her hands are still too small for that type of coordination.  At the moment when I took this video, I was hanging out with all three kids by myself.  I just remember feeling kinda overwhelmed because all three of them needed my attention.  Overwhelmed in a good way though.  I love these three kids and I can't wait for Heidi to have another little girl so she can do my hair too!

Moments

This morning a co-worker said "These are the best days of our lives".....WHAT?!  I won't accept that.  I don't want to look back on this time and think that it was the best days.  I want to always have the best days be ahead of me.  I want to look back on this time and think that I really remember each moment.  Since Silas was born, the moments are so much more precious and I really try to enjoy each moment.  Nick and I are so lucky for Silas, our family, friends, and to have each other.  Here are a few moments from the past few weeks:

He loves playing peak-a-boo!

Nick's first father's day!  

Trying to get away!

Father's day at Nick's Grandpa's.  He calls Silas #7 because he's the 7th great grandchild.

Friday fish-fry's

Up-north at the cabin.  Silas loved being outside!

We got some new plants for the patio.  I was excited that they were blooming.  Silas didn't care so much :)

We got a mini pool which Silas loves but not as much as he loves eating grass.

So we moved the pool party inside!

Shopping with Ba-ba

Let me out Daddy!

Passed out!

Sneaky Silas

My eye Dr. was telling me yesterday to enjoy the moments because they go by so fast.  He also told me that Mom's are the best.  Better than Dad.  Maybe in general this might be true but obviously Dad's are good too.  He told me how his wife thought their kid was getting sick and then 2 days later he was.  Silas the other week seemed sick so Nick took him in.  Well 3 days later I took him in and he had an ear infection.  I do think Mom's sometimes know more.  I mean, the baby was connected to us - physically.  Everything I drank, ate, and breathed, so did Silas.  There's a bond there.  And Mom's are supposed to worry, be dramatic, and follow their intuition.  The other week Silas began standing and now pulling himself up.  I suggested to Nick we put the mattress down more.  So we waited a few days and one day we watched Silas on the monitor, pull himself up.  After that Nick dropped it and now I don't worry.  But as one worry goes away another one occurs.  I get a little anxiety when I have to get him in and out of his crib.  I know it sounds ridiculous but it's how I feel.  The out is not so bad but putting him down while trying not to wake him is impossible for me to do.  So I put a stool in his room for me!  Nick took the picture below this morning.  It's a little dark but you can see Silas standing and my stool on the floor.  How do other short people do this? 

Golf weather

This week is definitely golf weather.  It's not even supposed to be in the 70's which is kinda weird since we're into June already.  Summer should be here.  I should be getting my little Silas ready to go swimming for the first time not trying to figure out if I need to wear a jacket.  Honestly, I like this weather unless we're trying to do water sports.  Otherwise I'm completely ok not putting on shorts or tank tops, at least until next year.  I'm finally at the point where I would like to loose some of this baby weight.  Or all of it and plus some.  I'm working out again at work which is nice.  It makes my day go faster, I spend less money on food, but I do miss my sister.  I miss working out with her.  Going to lunch with her.  Going on breaks.  Meeting downstairs for water or on 7 to exchange some gossip.  I hope I can work with her again. So beyond working out at work, after work, Nick and I have been going for walks and hikes.  Plus there's Silas who we're always chasing around.  Just getting him in and out of the bathtub is a workout.  He is beginning to really get around now.  He is a super crawler and can walk around holding furniture or our hands.  It's been really cool seeing him transition and grow.  This past weekend we went to a birthday party for our friend's 3 year old.  It's nice to have friends that have kids.  So when Silas eats grass and pukes it's not a big deal.  Nobody stares or judges.  Or like when I forget to pack a nipple for his bottle.  The other weekend I couldn't believe I forgot the most important thing.  Luckily my friend had an extra bottle!  Now that Silas is starting to resemble a small human being, I'm starting to also feel like a human being again.  Even though I might have drool on my shirt or boogers smeared on my pants, I can still golf!  Nick and I were able to get out on Sunday and it was awesome.  It was a little chilly but again, I'm ok with that.  This weekend we're planning on going up north.  I'm pretty pumped to go up there.  I'm excited to take Silas on the boat.  I'm also hoping that his grandparent's can watch him while Nick and I sneak off to the casino!

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was really nice!  It began with our typical Friday night, 'Where should we eat?'.  We ended up at Noodles & Co.  It's super easy with the kids and they have a few new things on their menu.  I finally tried the meatballs.  Not so good.  Next time I think I'm going to try one of their sandwiches.  Saturday was nuts.  Heidi's Nick dropped off Jellie at 8:30 am.  My Nick had to do some work and wasn't home until later.  So it was me, Silas, Jack & Ellie until about 1:30 pm.  We managed to paint Ellie's fingers and toes, Silas took a nap and Jack, well he pretty much followed me and Ellie.  After a while you begin to run out of things to do so I did buy a few things for them when they visit again.

So lately Silas has been a little crabby and randomly throwing up everyday since Thursday.  Nick took him in on Friday and he was fine.  I took him in yesterday and he has another ear infection, we're going to see the ENT on Monday to talk about tubes.  Nick had tubes when he was little so I guess it won't surprise me that Silas might need them too.  I hope not.  I try to be so good about keeping his ears clean and dry, putting a hat on him and not getting water in his ears during bath.  I guess sometimes there's only so much you can do.

Silas' first time falling asleep on the floor

We went to my friend Rani's for her son's birthday party.  It was great to get out and see some friends.  Nick played bean bag toss and Silas watched and hung out with me.  Sunday  we finally got to use the backpack carrier.  Silas LOVES it.  We went to the Richfield Nature Park and yesterday went to the boardwalk near our house.  It was cool and shady in the trees.  Silas loved it so much he ended up falling asleep!  It was really cute.

Nick and I attempted to golf on Sunday.  We dropped Silas off by my Mom and by the time we grabbed coffee at McDonald's, Nick said we couldn't golf because it was raining too much.  I was pretty upset since I haven't golfed for 2 seasons.  Then Nick said let's go shopping.  I was instantly better.  We went to Target and World Market.  It's funny how much more money you spend when you don't have your children with you!  Nick and I actually did some shopping for ourselves.  It was great.  With the rest of the afternoon ahead of us we decided to stay in and do some more 'baby-proofing'. Silas also helped us clean out our closet.  He was having a good time hanging out in Mommy and Daddy's room!

Silas making out with Silas :)

Silas's 6-month picture book

Take a peek at Silas's picture book!

The Zoo

Nick's work party was at the Zoo last weekend.  We were so lucky, the weather was awesome!  Silas hasn't been out in his stroller much and has never ever been to the Zoo so I was really excited to go!  We walked around and saw lots of animals.  Duh, I guess what else is there to do at the Zoo except look at animals.  Silas saw the animals but he didn't have much of a reaction.  Now I, mostly people watched.  After having Silas I look at other families and kids all the time.  Like this one family had two kids and each parent was pushing a stroller.  I don't get how they fit two strollers in their vehicle? I'm so glad we got the more expensive stroller because if we have another kid we just add a seat.  Now if we have a 3rd kid then hopefully by then Silas will be able to push the stroller because again, I don't get how you fit two strollers in a vehicle.  Plus all the other stuff kids need.  Since Silas has been out of his carrier and in a regular car seat, I'm constantly struggling with carrying everything.  I will continue to brainstorm ideas but the only thing I can come up with is getting a nice purse that is big enough to fit all my stuff and Silas's.  

He loved the ride!

I didn't love the dirty poles!

He sees the green guy but no reaction.

At Nick's brothers...He loved sitting in the grass hanging out!

This is the purse Silas and I need.