Friday, December 19, 2008

Trace's pics

I cannot figure out right now how to get another web album made for Trace's pictures, and we are heading up to GA in an hour, so I can't do it right now. I promise to get some more pics uploaded soon! Thanks for being patient.

Finally updating blog :-)

I was on the phone with my old college roommate, Laura, today and she reminded me gently that my baby isn't even mentioned in my blog yet and he's 2 months old!! Everyone has been sort of reminding me of that...so here it is!

The day after my last blog note I was supposed to be having a baby shower (well a dinner with friends to celebrate my new baby coming) and I woke up with real contractions. I could tell they were the real ones. I tried holding out until the dinner party, but Brian made me go to the hospital--and it's a good thing we got there when we did. To make a long story short, the Dr barely had time to get her scrubs on, and I progressed so fast I could not even get an epidural--Trace was coming! At one point, the Dr had to tell me not to push when my body was begging to push because they had to remove the bottom of the bed in order for her to catch him. It was all very fast and went by in a blur...I remember how scared I was that I was going to have to do it natural, but I did it!! Brian said he was so impressed. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't get an epidural for this one because the labor part wasn't so bad---it was the contractions that the epidural really helps for, and I had already been handling those monsters!

Anyway, Trace Alexander Rieman was 8 lbs 2 oz--born on October 18th. He's just adorable. He's now 2 months old and is a great baby--hardly ever cries, which is a blessing. I think he just gets a kick out of watching his brothers. He started smiling at me and Brian yesterday, and kept doing it today, so that's really really fun. I just love the gummy grin. Brady smothers him all the time--I have to constantly remind him to be soft, and Kalen is a proud older brother, always introducing visitors to his new little brother.

As for Brian and I, we're doing well. Brian's mom and dad are moving to Hawaii to finish school at BYU-H, and they'll be gone a couple of years, so we are moving into their home. Brian received an amazing scholarship from Orlando Culinary Academy, and he starts classes January 5th to become a chef. He thinks he's going to go the Baking and Patisserie route. I have been interviewing for a few jobs and if I get one, then Brian will stay home with the boys during the day and go to school at night. If I don't get one, then I'll stay home with the boys while Brian works as a chauffeur, driving luxury cars around Orlando during the day. If I stay home, I'll probably try to babysit one or two other kids to make a little extra money for us.

So, that's the story--we are getting ready to go to GA for Christmas--we wish you all the very merriest holiday. If you know anyone looking to buy a German Shepherd puppy, send them our way :-)

(That didn't take that long...I really need to do this more often)

Friday, October 17, 2008

What's up now?

I'm officially starting this blog thing--everyone's doing it, why not us? And it's the perfect time to start...we're starting a new life very soon. For those of you who we haven't kept posted as perfectly as we should have, Brian has been a real-estate appraiser in GA, and I've been working at Blue Cross and Blue Shield...however, with the economic downfall, Brian's job has suffered significantly, leading him to seek a new career. We've been feeling as if we wanted to move closer to his family in FL, so he went down there at the end of July to see about meeting with appraisers there. He was hoping he wouldn't find the same sort of conditions as we have here, but it turned out that FL is probably in worse real-estate condition than we are in GA. However, at that time, something sparked our interest in the Janitorial service industry--perhaps it was the freedom of owning our own company with little overhead costs, or maybe it was just because we were ready for a dramatic change, but either way, Brian stayed in FL to get the business started, while I took care of the boys here in GA and kept working at my job. We missed daddy terribly, and with little Trace on the way, I hated being away from him. So, after two months, with the cleaning business not taking off like we had hoped it would...Brian came home and we were left wondering what was in store for us, and ultimately, leading us to prayers, blessings, and family counsel.

Our house is now almost completely packed up, and soon after Trace comes, we're going to move down to FL--to temporarily stay with Sarah and Brandon (Brian's sister's family). They have been gracious enough to allow us to live with them while Brian and I will search for jobs. I have six weeks of paid maternity leave that we can live on while we look, but more importantly, we've found a career right along the path of one of Brian's true loves--something he's always said he'd love to do, but never actually thought he would! He will soon begin school at Orlando Culinary Academy, and in one to two years, become an executive chef! I know it sounds really fun, or crazy, or both, but if you know Brian, you know he's going to love it. It's perfect for him, and the school provides help with career placement after graduation as well...however, we'll be living outside of Orlando, and so I really don't think he'd have a problem finding a resort to work in.

So, that's what's happening with us--we're keeping our GA house, and renting it to one of my very best friends here in GA and her two little girls, and perhaps when the market is better we'll try selling it, but until then, it will be nice owning it longer.

As for the boys, Kalen is 3 and a half, very smart, loves to read and use his imagination, and can't wait for Trace to get here! His favorite food is chicken broccoli alfredo, and his favorite things to do are to go to fun places with the family, such as Chuck-e-Cheese's and Hollywood Connections (a fun-place for kids--has a merry-go-round, little train, Ferris wheel, etc). Lately, we haven't really been able to find Kalen, but mysteriously Spiderman has been living in our house (thus he'll have a spiderman costume for Halloween).

Brady is 19 months old and a true mess--he's been a mess from the point he started crawling at 5 months old! He's constantly scaling the tallest things in the house, trying to eat anything within reach, and lately he's been biting anyone that makes him mad--we're working on that. His favorite food by far is anything sweet...especially cookies and candies, and his favorite thing to do is to play outside in the dirt and pick up rocks. Brady will be superman this Halloween.

Trace is already causing trouble. At 32 weeks along, I starting having contractions that ended me up in labor-and-delivery at the hospital, where fortunately the staff was able to stop the contractions and send me home. Then, last night, I found myself again at the hospital with contractions, but this time, they actually admitted me to a delivery room, thinking he was coming. Sometime during the night though, everything stopped, so this morning they released me again, to come home with no baby. I know he'll come soon, but I just hate those hospital beds and don't look forward to another long night or two on one :-) If he comes on time, he'll be a little tiger for Halloween. (He's due on Halloween).