seven things you probably don't know about me

1. When I was a kid I used to get excited when I got a stomach ache because it meant I got to have some Tums. I thought they tasted like candy. 

2. I sleep with ear plugs. I started doing this back in college when I had noisy roommates and kept doing it when I transitioned to the snoring husband. 

3. I hate dogs. A lot. Did I ever mention I married a dog lover? What was I thinking...?

4. The day I got engaged to Ben and the day Shawn was born are exactly 3 years apart (February 13, 2010 and 2013).

5. One of my favorite snacks is popcorn. I could eat it every day. I had popcorn for dinner last night.

6. Growing up I always dreamed of having a beautiful winter wedding. I got married in August.

7. My left foot is bigger than my right foot by 1/2 a size.

Playing Catch-Up

Yeah, it's been like a million years since I've written anything. The truth is, we moved and since then I haven't felt like it. I still don't really want to be writing right now but I'm forcing myself to do it. Even if no one else reads this, one day I'll look back and wonder what happened during the 4 month gap of no posts. So, here's a quick run-down.

December

My last post was in mid-December so this seems like a good place to start. We moved from Nampa back to Richland, Washington the weekend before Christmas. We had a large group of people from our ward come help us clean our apartment and load our truck, for which we were so grateful. I think about and miss all the friends we made there often.

Our Christmas was fun! Shawn got so spoiled. He didn't really understand how to unwrap the presents but he got really excited once he saw what was inside. It was nice to spend the holidays with my family.

Playing in Uncle Keegan's new luggage

Snuggles with Daddy

January

Shawn started exclusively walking in mid-January (around his 11-month mark). One day he just took off and hasn't hardly crawled since.

We took advantage of a random warm(ish) day and ventured to the park

Can't get much cuter than a baby in a suit!

January was also month one of unemployment. Turns out you need a Washington teaching certificate just to be a substitute, so Ben couldn't start subbing immediately like we'd hoped. Ben applied for his Idaho license and finally received it at the end of January. He started the application process for his Washington license.   

February

Ben submitted the application for his Washington license, but they told him they are currently implementing a new system so they are 3 months behind on processing applications. Thanks, Washington.

Month two of unemployment. Ben started applying to McDonalds, Walmart, etc. We weren't really sure what else to do since substituting wasn't an option. You'd think a college grad could get hired at one of these places, right? Not a single one called. We were getting quite discouraged and deeper and deeper into debt.

On a happier note, Shawn turned one on the 13th! The year absolutely flew by. We had a small family party with cake and presents. He is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. He's built like his uncle Cody who's 6'4" (really long torso with shorter legs), so we may have a very tall son!

Not bad for my first cake.

Yum!

The week of Shawn's birthday, a history teaching job opened up in Pasco (a neighboring town to where we live). Ben hastily applied. The only way he could have his teaching certificate rushed was if a district wanted to hire him. The next week he was called in for an interview. It went great! Then the waiting began.

March

Shawn started regularly sleeping through the night this month! Hallelujah! Ironically, now that I can finally sleep to my heart's content, my insomnia has come back to haunt me. I'm not sure what causes it, but I often lay in bed for hours...or all night...unable to sleep. It's extremely frustrating. Shawn cut two molars on the top this month. So now he has 6 teeth on top and only 2 on the bottom. He has also become obsessed with Elmo and baseball bats. 

After bath time

Albertsons has the coolest carts! I might actually start grocery shopping there just for that reason.

On March 11, almost three weeks after his interview, Ben was offered the teaching position at Chiawana High School. He started two days later. He is absolutely loving it. He's finally getting to do what he loves! He is what's called a "floating teacher," which means he doesn't have his own classroom. He has to share rooms with two different teachers and his desk is in a conference room. You have to start somewhere, right? He's teaching 10th grade World History and 11th grade U.S. History. We are quite excited to receive our first paycheck since last summer! (yes you read that right!)

Now that it's finally warming up a bit, Shawn and I have started going on walks every morning. He loves his stroller and would stay outside all day if I'd let him. He babbles constantly and should start saying some words pretty soon.

I let Mickey come with us one day. Shawn is already taking selfies.

This month my little brother Keegan received his LDS mission call to the Nicaragua Managua South mission. He leaves on June 11th and will be gone for two years. He is so thrilled to learn Spanish. We'll miss you Keegan!

Well, that should catch you up. I'll try to post again before July! :)