It's a Boy

 Had the ultrasound and there was no denying the little human inside me is a little boy. So little Jackson Elliott Shuey will be joining us in October. Jarod wants to call him Jax for short. Reagan has now started calling him baby Jackson. When she is asked if she is having a baby brother or a baby sister she says no to both and states matter of factly that she is having a baby Jackson. We can't wait to get little boy clothes and start decorating the baby room in baby blues and greens. Jarod is excited about having a little guy to do sports with and to take camping. 

First Ultrasound

Got to have our first ultrasound. The baby is developing well. We are still on track for it to arrive 10/11/12, so that won't change. I got the results that there is little chance it will have any disabilities or abnormal developments. We will find out in about 10 weeks whether we will be having a boy or a girl. Jarod got to pick Reagan's name so this time I get to pick. If it is a girl I want McKinley Erin and if it is a Boy we will name it Jackson Elliott. Reagan seems to think it will be a girl and is insistent she has a baby sister growing in HER tummy. She will see when I am showing more what it is really like to have a baby in one's tummy. I have had some different symptoms... the morning sickness is a little worse off and the cravings are different too. With Reagan I craved Jamba Juice but this one I crave salty things and dairy... though dairy seems to give me an upset stomach. Can't wait for the nausea to officially leave me.

Pregnant Again

The other day, Jarod told me maybe we aren't meant to get pregnant. I said we had only been trying for a couple of months and that if we had tried for about a year that was the cut-off point for figuring out we had some problems. After the miscarriage in October I was hoping we could get back on track so Reagan wouldn't be too much older than the next kid. So at the beginning of this month I bought a pregnancy test and decided to take it the day after I would have missed my period. We were pleased to see the test turn positive. We are going to have another baby! Reagan's due date was 09/09/09 but we saw how that turned out - little missy came 2 weeks early. Well we get another cool due date for this little one. 10/11/12 we will be getting an addition to our family. We are really excited and can't wait to find out what it will be.

Service

Today I ran some errands. One trip was to the Walmart on the Boulevard. Lately Jarod and I have been noticing how people don't care about service - customer service or otherwise anymore. The ironic thing is that in this economy, the amazing customer service is what brings people back. Now, Walmart seems to be the exception because they can monopolize the market with their cut-throat prices most of the time. In some areas, the Walmart is the go-to place because it is close, cheap, there are not other options, or one might describe it as a place of routine.

Today was different. I was on my own and doing a quick run-through for the things Jarod had requested. I arrived at the front of the store with my 10 items, debating which line would get me through the fastest. Do I pick the speedy check out lane? Do I find the one with the shortest line? I have always picked poorly according to Jarod because by the time we reach the front of the line the person in front of us undoubtedly always uses a check. Come on, who in this day and age uses a check at places like Walmart? Anyway, I was debating my choices so I could get home the quickest and opted for the speedy, 20 items or less lane. (These are usually not the best choice when there are other available options. In our area, the speedy lane is where the slower cashiers work so they don't slow down the heavier flow lanes.)

To my surprise I was met with a guy who seemed to take his position seriously. He sped through the items of the customer in front of me, placed the items in their cart as they paid, and was swiping my own items before the customer in front of me had even exited the space in front of me. By the time I could get my cart into place to grab the bagged items, this cashier quickly put my things in my cart and was ready for my payment. I was given the receipt as soon as my card was put in my purse.

Cheesy as it may sound, I was probably halfway to the door of the Walmart before I even realized what had actually happened. Normally I am a customer who is patient enough to wait in line by checking my Facebook on my phone or looking at the 'As Seen On TV' items in the check-out lanes. I wish I would have taken note of this worker's name so I could give him some kind of recognition. These days, great customer service is such an unfamiliar concept (sad but true) and when it appears it should not only be noticed but greatly appreciated.

The Climax

When you are working towards something and you want it to go a specific way, there is no way to describe the rush you get leading up to that moment. Today my preschool began. I hadn't done my preschool since May of last year and this time I had to pull clients from nowhere to do it. Last time I set up my preschool was with Mackenzie's son and some neighborhood children. I was nervous about that as well, but it wasn't as bad as it was this time. I only have two children signed up for preschool right now. I know they want more children in the class to give their own children that social edge. One child is actually pretty shy. He doesn't talk much when his mom is here, but he does talk to the other little girl, Reagan, and myself pretty well. I know it would do him a world of good to have another little boy in the group, so I really hope that I get a few more bites, and soon.

Well, I got everything ready for preschool. The parents and children arrived, and I gave them a tour... and funny enough, when the parents left was when I relaxed. I am so comfortable when I get into teacher mode. I know my stuff and I have plenty of experience with children... It's the trying to impress the parents that really get to me. I guess I just need to have a little more faith in my ability to teach these children and their learning will speak volumes of what I am capable of. I hope and pray that this preschool will take off enough to subsidize our income. It would be wonderful to get enough of a client base to begin a small facility. It would be a dream come true.

Tired...

I have decided I am tired of a lot of things lately. Like how I get tired of cleaning Reagan's room for the day only to turn around and find that she had destroyed it again - I know, get used to it, right?

I'm tired of feeling incompetent around certain people or to myself... and THAT is something I can change. I want to remind myself that I have a lot going for myself and I am great at what I do.

I'm tired of thinking my blog is only going to be interesting if I add pictures or write a story about what is going on in our family... well now I have decided that our blog is going to contain ramblings from me... my perspective on being a wife, a mother, and a friend.

I don't need to be tired of anything anymore, and if Reagan decides her toys look better scattered on the floor than put away nicely, well we will work on that perspective together. I have a goal that by the time she is 3 she will have a sense of organization when it comes to playing with and putting away her toys. *crosses fingers* Wish me luck.

Cutting Onions

Tonight I had the most fun cutting onions. Now a few of you went back and reread that sentence, because who in their right mind would enjoy cutting a vegetable that brings stinging tears to your eyes? Well I tried a new way of cutting tonight. I put my cutting board right under the faucet of my sink and ran cold water over the onion as I cut it. There were no tears and the vegetable was washed as it was cut. Apparently, the reason onions give you tears as you cut them is that they release a vapor into the air that causes your eyes to sting. When the water ran over the onions, the vapors weren't released into the air to make me uncomfortable. Hence the reason I actually enjoyed my dinner preparation. Hooray for my discovery!