Easter 2012 - Easter Morning

After reading stories about Easter for weeks, Cooper was ready on Easter morning to see what the Easter Bunny left him at our house.

 It was a mad dash to the baskets, with no time to stop for a picture.

 His favorite thing the bunny left behind were the jelly beans all over the room.

 Mmmmmm...yum.  Nothing like pure sugar first thing in the morning!

 I asked Cooper if I could have one of his jelly beans, and this was the look I got, with an emphatic

NO!!

 All dressed up and ready for church.

Easter 2012 - Egg Hunt

Cooper and I started off this Easter season making Easter cookies during General Conference.

Easter would not be complete for a little kid without a visit to the Easter Bunny.

 Ready for the egg hunt! 

 Oh my goodness, so many eggs!!  Where to begin?

 Filled the bucket.  Coop had a fun time at this town-sponsored event, but the egg hunt was over way too quickly for him.

Out with the old; In with the new--Me, that is.

For months and months many of you have heard me talk about quitting work to stay at home.  Okay, maybe years, even.  Well, it's official.  Today was my last official day at the office until my children are grown.  Such a weird feeling, and a mixture of emotions--excitement about staying home with my little Cooper, about having more time for Nathan, Cooper, myself, church, friends.  But also sad about leaving something that has been such a huge part of me for so long, that I put so much effort into every day for YEARS, and to which I always gave it my all.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a little today as I made that final descent in the elevator, down the hall, out the doors, and drove away.  Funny though, I felt a little guilty that I was sad about leaving.  Like I should only be happy about staying home and being a full-time home maker.

My career is something I started working on clear back in high school.  I remember trying to figure out what I wanted to study in college, what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Can't believe I ever thought I'd be a good nurse.  Ha!  Nope, the office is the place for me.  Thank goodness it only took one semester for me to figure that out. I practically grew up in an office, and couldn't have had a better mentor (thanks, Dad!).  I was spoiled to see the inner-workings of a company first-hand at such a young age.  And then when I became involved in accounting, something just clicked.  I always say, the schooling for accounting was awful, and I never would have picked that major based on what I did in school.  Thank goodness I'd had experience with a little of it before then, and knew where it could lead me.

It's been an interesting week, though, since my leaving wasn't entirely on my own terms.  A few weeks ago I was looking over some reports at work, and had that gut feeling that things weren't going so well for some parts of the company.  It wasn't founded on anything but that, but three weeks ago today I had a conversation with Nathan at lunch that I felt I needed to tell my boss about my intent to quit work in the next few months.  I still hadn't decided exactly when I wanted to quit, but felt it was time to make my intentions known.  My reasoning was that if layoffs were coming for my department, I wanted to be sure my boss knew I was planning on leaving in the next few months, because that may sway her decision on who to let go, should such a need arise. That was it.  I just didn't want someone to lose their job that really needed it, and also didn't want my boss to be laying someone off, only to have to replace me a few months later without having the personnel available to do so.

So I called her.  I told her my plans, but that quitting work to stay at home was something I'd been thinking about for nearly 18 months, and didn't have a set time frame.  She didn't want me to leave, and extended me the ability to work from home three days a week.  That was AWESOME.  I could have kept doing that for awhile, since it eliminated 2-3 hrs a day of commute time; time that I could then spend with my family or doing other things.  Those two weeks were so much better.

But then last Friday, my boss sent me an IM--"Can I call you?"  Oh no, I thought.  This can't be good.  She never calls me.  We just IM or email.  Calls are for "big" stuff.  Sure enough, first thing she says is, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna have to take you up on your offer.  Today can be your last day, or you can work another week so that Friday, 3/30 is your last day."  WHAT?!  Holy cow...what?!  ...  I was so stunned, I don't think I got much work done that day.  It wasn't that I didn't mean what I'd said, it was just that I didn't expect it to happen so SOON.

So all this week I've been preparing myself mentally for leaving my career behind me, and moving on.  Funny, I heard something on the radio, some poem a famous author wrote about leaving her career to stay home, and one line said something about "shelving ambition."  I thought to myself--"Not true!"  Leaving my office career is in no way shelving my ambition.

Having started working in an office for my Dad when I was 12 instilled in me an ambition for work, and a work ethic that (not boasting here) I think a lot of my generation and younger have lost.  Actually, there are some really great people at the company I worked for, all young like me, and all just as dedicated and hard-working.  So that's not entirely true.  Anyway, the point is, that I've always had a strong drive to succeed at work, to always make things better, not just accept things the way they are just because someone says so, or because that's the way it's always been done, or whatever.  I've been known as the squeaky wheel, but one that gets things done.  That is just me.  Just because I'm going to stay at home with a 2-year old doesn't mean that side of me is going to disappear. I'm not "shelving my ambition;" I'm choosing to channel it elsewhere.

I loved what my mom said today to cheer me up on that final commute home.  She said, "Just think, now you get to focus on making the lives of your family and other people better, not just numbers on a spreadsheet."  That did cheer me up a little.

Work has always been a part of my adult life.  The only time I haven't worked was the 8 weeks after I gave birth to Cooper.  Any time I changed jobs/moved, I was never out of work for more than a month or so.  I worked all through the years I was in college, and then started out small with my first "real" job after finishing my Associate's degree.  It was for Partners HealthCare in Boston.  Gosh, I loved that job.  Great people, great company, great location, lots of opportunity, and I learned so much.  It's been a long road since then, experiencing things everyone does who works in corporate America.  Went through working for bad managers, having difficult co-workers, lots of crazy/hard situations with co-workers and employees, going through having to lay off my employees, having to fire people, acquiring other companies, having the company I worked for be bought out, watching friends be laid off, dealing with corporate BS.  But there were all the good things too: great managers and mentors, co-workers that made each day a little brighter, being a part of something bigger than myself, and learning so many things about accounting, business, people, and myself.

So many people from work called me this week to say goodbye.  It was so nice to hear such nice things from these people I've worked with for nearly five years.  Some of them are like family to me.  I've spent more time talking to some of them every day than I have to anyone in my family.  It's hard to leave people like that behind; people that I had such close working relationships with, but that would never translate into a friendship out of the office or anything.  There are a few here in Charlotte that I'll remain friends with though. So glad for that.

I like to believe I did make a difference at work.  I tried really hard to do my job 100%, 100% of the time.  I loved what I did.  Probably would be a really boring job to most people, looking at spreadsheets of numbers and data every day.  But I loved finding out why things weren't right, figuring out how to fix them, and then seeing things fixed.  And it wasn't just numbers--these were profits on projects, which translated into people's livelihoods.  The projects were a wide range of design/planning/engineering projects, many of which were high-profile, and made a difference in the world.  We can't survive without infrastructure.  My job was interesting, and fulfilling, and I liked contributing in my small way.

My boss's boss called me yesterday to bid me farewell.  She said she'd received so many emails asking why in the world the company would be letting me go.  When my name came up on the list, the CFO, the Director of Operations, all the way down to my Project Managers were emailing my managers asking if they'd lost their minds.  That was such a nice compliment.  Such a good way to end the week.  She said if I ever need a job in the future, that I could call her and they'd find a place for me, but that she understood my reasons for wanting to leave.  It made me smile to hear her say that.

After all that, today as I wrapped up those final loose ends, checked my emails for the last time, turned in my laptop and badge, and walked out the door, I couldn't help but get a lump in my throat, and a few tears in my eyes.  I'm gonna miss that place, those people, and this thing that I've given so much time and energy to for so much of my life.  But it's time to put this career on hold for now.  To be excited about being a mom.  And boy, am I!!!

May sound silly, but I'm excited about going to a friend's house this Tuesday to catch frogs, feed the ducks, get muddy, and have so much fun with Cooper that we'll come home utterly exhausted.  I am looking forward to being able to clean my house the way I've always wanted to and not having to spend my entire Saturday doing it, to not doing laundry at 11 pm because I have no other time.  I get to finally learn how to play guitar, catch up on all those sewing/craft projects that are collecting dust in the closet, exercise regularly, make dinners that I've only dreamed of, get more involved at church and in serving others who need help, and the list goes on and on.  The biggest thing though, is not being stressed ALL.THE.TIME.  Well, that and the fact that I get to be the one teaching my child the things he needs to know.  I am interested to see what things I'll learn about my son that I don't realize I don't know about him now.

Oh, and next time Cooper gets sick, and I've been up with him all night, I don't have to worry about how in the world I'm going to work the next day, or about having to take time off, or about trying to work from home and juggle a sick toddler.  If I want to go visit my family, I don't have to worry about whether I'll have enough vacation time.  Sure, there won't be as much discretionary income in our family, but oh, it's so worth it.

No more sad feelings.  This is going to be the third-best decision I've ever made (first was marrying Nathan, second was having Cooper).  So get ready because all that ambition that work has been hogging all these years is about to be unleashed.  But seriously, this is going to be SO GREAT.  Woohoo!  Here's to my new career!

[If you made it to the end of this post, wow. :)]

Cooper - 2-1/2 Years

Cooper turned 2-1/2 years old today.  Wow. He is growing up so fast, and his personality is really budding. He LOVES to do whatever Nathan and I are doing.  If I'm doing the dishes, or folding laundry, he wants to help.  Most nights and weekends Cooper follows Nathan around like his little shadow, and he's very concerned when Daddy is not here.  If Nate even goes in the other room, it's instantly, "Where's Daddy, where's Daddy?!"  He MUST be with him doing what he's doing most of the time, or fits of the terrible-two's-kind ensue.

One day I walked into his room, and he was playing with his "laptop" (an old broken portable DVD player), my 10-key, and a little computer mouse.  He had on his tie that Nate has donated to the Cooper toy bin, and when asked what he was playing, he said, "Work.  Like Daddy."

 Cooper often begs and begs to take a bath in our master bathtub, so one night I relented.  He was ecstatic.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Cooper posed in a field of clover to celebrate the day.

 That day we also bought him his first tricycle.  He exclaimed, "I a big boy now!" as he climbed onto it for the first time.  The pedals are something entirely new, but after just a week, he's getting pretty good.

 This child would live outside if we let him, so we spend a lot of time outside.  With the beautiful spring weather we've been having, we spend at least an hour a night on weeknights, and most of the weekend outside.  One day we decided to go find some ducks to feed.  Cooper LOVED it, and just giggled and giggled when they would go bottoms up, eating food off the bottom of the pond.

 Cooper is OBSESSED with tractors, and I don't mean that lightly.  The kid talks about tractors, trucks, and big rigs ALL THE TIME.  At first it was adorable.  Now, it's getting a bit old.  But we can't help but feed his obsession now and then, especially since there are some old tractors just down the street.  Oh, excuse me, as my all-things-tractor-expert son would tell me, this is not a tractor at all, but a tracked front loader.  Tracked because "it doesn't have wheels, it has tracks."  One night for family home evening, we walked down the street and let him explore.

 He thought it was the BEST family night activity ever, and one we've repeated a few times because of the joy it brings him.  I never tire of hearing him giggle and play.

 This was funny.  I was trying to take a picture, and couldn't see his mouth (in the picture above). I said, "Coop, move over a little.  I can't see your mouth."  So this is what he did...

 It amazes me how many different kids of trucks/transportation he knows.  He can identify loaders, excavators, scrapers, dump trucks, bulldozers, skid steers, backhoes, freight trucks, fuel trucks, different kinds of fire trucks, tractors, combine harvesters, forage harvesters, all different kinds of train cars, etc., etc.  You get the point.  But he can only identify the letters "O, A, C, and sometimes P" in the alphabet.  That strikes me funny.  We gotta work on ABC's.

 Wanted to take a picture of our street.  Our house is the gray one down the road, around the slight bend, on the far left.  Because our neighborhood has many empty lots, and there's a lot of green space surrounding our development, we really get a nice country feel.  That's Nathan and our dog, Brody, in the background.  You can see how close the tractors are to our house, and why Coop begs to go see them.

 Speaking of tractors, this weekend we went to the Palmetto Sportsman's Classic Expo in Columbia, SC.  Nate's Aunt Denise works for the SC Dept of Natural Resources, and is director of the whole thing, which is pretty ironic, if you know Denise.  She's about as far from the SC outdoorsman (and by that I mean redneck) that you can get, which is also why this vanity license plate suits her so well. 

 We love going to the event each year, not only to support Denise, but also because there's lots of hunting and fishing stuff that Nate loves to check out (I can usually find him a bday present), and for Cooper, there are...

TRACTORS!

 Well, that's one of the reasons Coop loves to go.  We spent several hours just letting him climb on all the tractors, ATVs, boats, etc.  He loves it.

He also got to go fishing...

 and caught three fish!

 He went digging for dinosaur bones, well, dinosaurs anyway.

 We all had a great time, all got a little sunburned, and just totally enjoyed the day.

A few more things about Cooper this month...

• Cooper sings and sings all the time.  His favorite song is the primary song (from church) "I Love to See the Temple."  He knows it word for word, and asks for it every night.  The other song he asks for at night is a home-rendition of "Goodnight Ladies" from the Music Man (I think).  My Dad used to sing it to me as a kid, and I sing it to him.  Basically you go through the family's names, singing: "Good night, Cooper. Good night, Cooper.  Good night, Cooper; it's time to go to sleep."  He calls it "the goodnight moon song."  I catch him singing that tune and many others with made-up words all the time.  He sings around the house, while he plays, and mostly in the car.  I never tire of hearing his sweet little singing voice.  Hopefully he'll eventually cooperate and let me get some of his singing on video.
• A few weeks ago I made a pasta recipe, and substituted macaroni noodles for rigatoni, thinking Cooper would eat it better.  He took one bite, spit it out, and said, "Mommy, I don't like this fake mac and cheese."  I about died laughing.
• That brings me to another point; his vocabulary astounds me!  A couple times a week uses a word I didn't realize he knew, like "fake" in the comment above.  He speaks really well for his age, but still says cute Cooper things, like "hold yous" if he wants to be held/snuggled.  He also says the word "my" in place of "I," which I'm trying to correct, but it's so stinking cute, I almost don't want to.  And then the one that is so endearing to me is that he still pronounces his name "Pooper."  It's so adorable.  But I'm afraid that he's getting to the age where kids will start to tease him, so we're working on it.  I was trying to get him to say "C-ooper" the other day, and he said, "Cuh..Pooper."  I gave him a thumbs up, and a better luck next time.  It's just so cute.
• One night Nate was out of town, Cooper was sick, and I was filling the humidifier with water before bed.  I set the tank on the toilet seat as I leaned over to turn off the bath faucet.  Right then Coop knocked the humidifier tank off the toilet seat, onto the floor, spilling nearly the entire 2 gal of water.  I was overtired, and responded with a yelled, "Get ooooouuuuuttttt!!!  Didn't I tell you to go to your room and pick up your toys?!  GO!!!!"  He burst into tears, and I was fuming but felt so bad, and then I about died when he came back to the door, sobbing, as I was sopping up the water with towels, and he said, "Mommy...[sob, sob, sob]...you rude!"  And then stood there and cried until I calmed down enough to apologize and give him a hug.  Not my best mommy moment, but one I'll never forget.
• One day we were playing outside, and Coop started complaining about a scratch on his wrist.  I couldn't see anything, and thought he had a splinter or something, until he started complaining about his other wrist.  So I asked him to point to the scratch, and he pointed to his vein on the underside of his wrist.  I told him that was a vein, and explained what veins are.  He seemed to accept my explanation, except that a few minutes later he said, "My vein, my vein!"  Nate gave him some ice to put on it, and that was the end of the complaining.  What a comedian.
• Cooper likes to dip everything in his milk, and thinks it tastes better that way.  A few things he's dipped recently that I find a little gross are cucumbers, celery, and carrots.  Hey, whatever gets him to eat vegetables...
• Coop weighs about 30 lbs.  Not sure how tall he is, but he still has an extremely large head, and big feet for his age.  He's already wearing a size 8 shoe.  But the kid is skinnier than ever.  I am starting to get a bit worried, and trying to make sure he eats a little more healthy fat.  Having a dairy allergy kinda dampens things. His 18 month shorts still fit him, many of the 2T shorts are ok, but some still slide right off. But his tops he's right in the average 2T size.

I could go on and on about my little "Bug," "Buggy," or "Boo" as I call him.  He's so much of my world, and I wouldn't change it for anything.  Happy half birthday, Buggy!

Chelsey and Stettsen--Feb. 17th and Happily Ever After

 My second to youngest sister, Chelsey, was married on Feb. 17th.  We made a whirlwind trip to Utah to support her and Stettsen on their special day.

The wedding-ness started just a few hours after we arrived in Utah.  All my married siblings, and of course Chelsey and Stettsen, my parents, Stettsen's parents, his grandparents and our grandparents, all met at the Mt. Timpanogos LDS Temple.  We were exhaused from traveling all day, but the night was so special, and I would have been heart broken had I missed it.  Thank goodness our travel was without delay, and we were able to attend the temple with all my family (someday, Cass!!).  The only thing I want to share with my family was my feelings that night as we sat in the chapel waiting for everyone.  I hadn't seen many of my siblings yet due to our last-minute arrival, and so waiting for everyone to arrive was so exciting for me.  As first one, and then another family member arrived, I was overcome with joy, and the thought occurred to me that the feeling will be much the same someday when we have passed from this life, and we get to see our dear and loved ones again in the next life.  That started off a very special few days of being with family and celebrating the marriage of Chelsey and Stettsen.

The next night we had a bachelorette party.  What might girls do at a Mormon bachelorette party with no alcohol or ill-clad men, you might ask?  Well, after much deliberation, we decided to go...play a game of laser tag!  It was SO much fun.  We also had Chelsey go on a little scavenger hunt as the bride-to-be, having to do various tasks all night, like get a kiss (on the hand or cheek) from an older man and a younger man.  She was such a good sport, even with all the bride-to-be garb we made her wear.  Thank you to my sisters for such a memorable night, and to my mom (who wanted to come) for being a great sport with all the bachelorette party-related stuff. :)

The next day was the wedding day, and we started early.  Well, some did.  I slept in a little, being quite jet lagged.  My sister, Camyll, is AMAZING with hair, and did lots of it that morning, including the bride's.  All us girls gathered at Mom and Dad's house to get the bride ready for the day.

Even little Ellie joined in the early breakfast and hair/makeup festivities.

 Soon Cooper joined us, and wanted to be included by wearing a rose barrette.

Then it was off to the temple for a beautiful, and memorable sealing.  Chelsey and Stettsen chose to be married in the same temple that Nathan and I were married in, the Salt Lake City, Utah temple.  It being the same season (cold), the same temple, and the luncheon being at the same building where we held our reception, the day was rather nostalgic for Nathan and I, which made it extra special.  We hadn't been to a wedding at the SLC temple since our own, so it was a little like watching events from the other side.  So special.  We enjoyed the temple grounds as we waited for Chelsey and Stettsen to arrive outside for pictures.  Cooper wanted a picture in front of the temple.  He's enamored with temples, and thinks that any large/ornate building is a temple (like Monroe City Hall).  LOL  He was ecstatic to finally see a "real live" temple.

 As we waited for the happy couple and picture time, the guys (Nathan and Jason) chased around the toddlers (Cooper and Calvin).  Us moms got a break because running toddlers, dresses, heels, and grass just don't mix.

Finally the newly-married couple arrived.  We tried to snap our own shot amongst all the other cameras.  Not a great shot, but it still shows the big moment.

Picture Time!!

Mr. and Mrs. Stettsen and Chelsey Olsen

 Our traditional sisters photo:

Cassady, Chelsey, Camyll and Chrystal

 The Bride and her brothers, Jayson and Bryt

 Chelsey with her nephews and nieces, except the two babies, Kate and Jaisie who were tired and cold.

Alex, Chelsey, Aspen

Tyler, Calvin, Cooper, Ellie

 As we waited for the Bride and Groom to finish taking pictures, those of us with little kids headed over to the luncheon hall at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where we made ourselves at home in the corner, letting the kids sprawl out and have some snacks and fun.

 The happy couple arrived...

 and we all were treated to a beautiful lunch.  I just love this picture of our table, with the monster trucks, sippy cups, and the like.  Can you tell we had little kids at this table?

 The groom's cake, a cash register and dry mustard.  Chelsey and Stettsen met at the grocery store when she and my mom when to buy some dry mustard.  The rest is history...

Stettsen was so cute as he told the story of when they first met.

Chelsey lovingly looked on...

 The luncheon decorations were beautiful.

 The toasts started off with a toast from the Maid of Honor, my youngest sister, Cassady.  She did a beautiful toast, very sweet, and I have NO pictures.  We were having camera issues as our camera kept running out of memory.  Bad timing!!  But I did get it on video.  To spare her, I'll not post the video for all to see. :)

Loved this picture of the Fathers of the Bride and Groom toasting to the new couple.

 This is the only picture I have of my parents from the entire day, so I gotta put it on here, since they're kinda important on this day. ;)

The reception was that night at the North Hampton House in American Fork.  It was decorated beautifully!

All the family started out the night grabbing a quick bite to eat.

Here's Nathan, Cooper, Liz and Kate enjoying some sandwiches. 

 Calvin enjoyed his dinner too.

 Liz, Anna, and Kate

And then the fun began!  We all enjoyed dancing all night.  I enjoyed seeing many old friends from my growing up years.  It was like a reunion for me!  Lots of fun, besides the great dance party.

Coop was on the dance floor most of the night. 

 Aspen and Alex

Tried to get a picture of Cassady and Cooper together.  Coop wouldn't hold still, so here's how it turned out...here's Cooper...

 ...and here's Cassady.  I think Cooper looks so much like his aunt, he could be hers!

 The Bridesmaids:  Aspen (niece), Syrie and Xanthie (probably mixed them up and misspelled their names.  They're Stettsen's sisters)

 Grandma and Grandpa Christensen

 Aspen and Ellie

 LOVE this picture of Cooper, Ellie and Calvin

 Liz and Kate

 Me and Cooper

 Coop and Calvin cuttin up a rug

 Nathan and Anna

(My older brother, Jayson, was so sick that day, and had to go home after the luncheon.  My younger brother, Bryt, somehow eluded my camera!)

Cutting the cake

Stettsen and Chelsey for their first dance

Dad and Chelsey for the Daddy-daughter dance

It was sweet that they danced while Stett and his Mom danced too.

 Ellie and Cooper dancing on the stairs 

 Even my 80-something-year-old grandmother danced with us!  She and my Aunt Susan danced to the fast line dances, and also in our flash mob dance to "Party Rock Anthem."  It was awesome!

 Nice rear shot of me as we're doing our wedding party flash mob dance.

 We had so much fun!  I don't know what was more fun though, practicing it and learning it with my sisters, or performing it at the reception.

 That was the end of my photos.  Tried not to share too many of the 150+ that we took that day.  We didn't get any shots of lining the sidewalk with guests and blowing bubbles at the couple as they ran to their car after the reception, nor of their adorably decorated car,complete with "Just Married" on the back, and the cans attached to the bumper, tinkling along as the pulled away.  It was an AMAZING day, and one none of us will ever forget.  Thank you to those who spent so much time and effort planning the day, to my parents for making sure we could be there, and to Chelsey and Stettsen for letting us celebrate their wedding day with them in such a fun and memorable way!

Note to my family: If any of you have any photos of Nathan, Cooper and I together on this day, please do share!  I'd also love any other great shots. Upload to the family share site.  Love you!