As most of you may have noticed I haven't been updating very regularly, and I think the main reason is that I think the title of my blog totally sucks and has no relevance to my life. I am realizing that my creativity is sorely lacking so today I plead with any and all who read this for suggestions - I absolutely love reading updates from friends and family on their blogs, so I can only hope that there is one or 2 people out there who are looking forward to reading about the comings and goings of the Hutchinson clan.

We are doing wonderful. Chuck is enrolled in school for the fall semester and is aiming to write the LSAT the first week in October, then it's on to School Applications which are due by February....

Spring Time Fun

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I last updated. Now where do I start? Well Spring has taunted us on a summer of occasions, only to send sleet, hale or snow a few days later; it's totally crazy, I can't recall a year living on the west coast where we had snow at the end of April, but only last week Chuck mentioned there was snow as he went out for a morning bike ride.

Despite winter fighting tooth and nail to stick around we've had some beautiful days. Here are a few pictures of Alexandra playing in the park:



We have also been going to swimming lessons twice a week for half an hour. I have NEVER seen a kid more enthusiastic about swimming. Zero fear, just jumps right in; the biggest problem was trying to teach her to close her month instead of just drinking the water.

We also went to visit Grandpa R and Alexandra had a blast "helping" wash the deck:



She then decided to go and play in the waterfall...it's 6:00 in the evening in Mid April...yet the cold sure doesn't slow her down; I had to pick her up kicking and screaming when I decided she had been cold for long enough.

So Much Fun!

Mommy Blues

So as predicted, i've hit the wall...I am no longer finding it fun and exciting to be home all day every day with my precious little girl. We even had a good day today, started swimming lessons and she was the star of the class. But yet, I find myself bored and frustrated this evening....I look around at all the wonderful Mom's around me who seem to just revel in their children and everything they have to do; and it makes me feel even worse as the guilt kicks in...am I a terrible mother?

Poor Baby

So this week hasn't been the most fun around our house. I guess it's just that time of year. I got the flu about 1 week ago, then this Sunday(16th) Alexandra woke up from her nap and thew up all over the place, this continued much of the night and in the morning we woke up to find both Grandma and Grandpa inflicted and Dad feeling a little queasy. We thought Alexandra was doing better in the afternoon, as she was running around and eating everything in sight, but shortly after dinner she started throwing up again and by 10:00pm we decided to take her to Children's Hospital. It was really busy but they took us in after about 10 minutes, checked all her vitals etc. and gave her some kind of pill to stop the vomiting and then we had to try and rehydrate her by giving her 5ml of "pedieleytic" (sp?) or "baby gatoraide" every 5 minutes...we did this until 2:00am when they finally discharged us. We went home and got a few hours of sleep. Alexandra was ok most of the day yesterday, but went on a drinking strike in the afternoon...we finally got
about a bottle and a 1/2 of milk by 10:00pm...but I had to wake her up this morning at 8:45 because her diaper was bone dry :-( we tried to get her to drink some juice which she promptly threw up, so I am back to giving her 5ml every 5 minutes....

my diva

I got invited out for a girls shopping trip the Saturday before last (yes I realize the update is a little late). It was a much needed break from everyday life and wonderful to spend some time with my g/f's without our husbands in tow. J ended up buying a hat and sunglasses for her trip to Cancun at the end of April which ended up on Alexandra. The result? some fantastic photos!

Photos

So I thought it was about time I posted some pictures on here. So here are some photos of Alexandra at daycare playing with her best friend "Nonie".

Changes

So as you have noticed I had to change the title of my blog since I am not working any more. I wanted to come up with something new and witty, but Chuck took matters into his own hands and I haven't come up with anything better, so it stays.

We moved last weekend and despite fears of catastrophe due to lack of preparation, things went very smoothly and we all seem to be adjusting to our new surroundings including Alexandra who has been sleeping relatively well (knock on wood).

I worked my last day yesterday, helping my boss set up his new office etc. I am still having a hard time letting go and was asked to come in 1 day a week. I would really like to, but its probably better to just back the change completely...kind of like pulling off a bandaid...it hurts but only for a moment.

The End is Near....

So I am counting down the days when I leave the professional world behind to become a full time Mom. Now that I have finally wrapped my head around the idea I am really excited. That's not to say that I don't have some insecurities, but that's normal right? I imagine it's the same for most people as you embark into unknown territory. Granted I did only just return from Maternity leave, but mentally this is a huge change, before I was always going to be coming back, no matter how long the days got I always took comfort in the fact that life would be returning to "normal".

As you can see from my previous post, life has become anything but "normal" but I believe it all must be happening for a reason, and I believe that moving will be a blessing for our family, we just need to get settled. I have a lot of work to do in the next couple of week with packing, cleaning and even painting the basement at my in-laws...this may sound crazy, but I am looking forward to it, sometimes good hard work is soothing to the soul.

Alexandra has come down with yet another cold and is trying to cut 6 teeth at the same time! 2 top molars and all 4 eye teeth...the poor thing, I feel so helpless watching her suffer; not to mention getting blurry eyed because she insists on keeping me awake at all hours of the night. Ahhh...isn't life wonderful?

When Life Throws you a Curve Ball...

So since I started this blog our lives have taken an interesting turn. We were just starting to settle down into a great routine of work, school and home, when we had a couple of interruptions. First of all my boss informed me January 2nd that our office was closing and he would be moving to a new Vancouver office downtown. I was welcome to come and I could expect a raise to help off set the cost of commuting. Well after some lengthy discussions we decided that yes it would be worth the commute since we had such a wonderful daycare.

Just as we had come to peace with this change we were informed by our daycare that as of February 15th we would no longer have care as she was returning to work.....WOW....now what?? More discussions and soul searching...more weighing of options, both emotional and financial...talk about stressful! After many sleepless nights we came to a decision...I am going to quit work and we are going to move in with the in-laws to save money. While I think it is a wonderful blessing to be able to stay home with my daughter, I am nervous about what a HUGE change this is going to bring in our lifestyle and if I am going to be able to give Alexandra the full attention she deserves while tackling the running of an entire house....I guess only time will tell

If anyone has any tips for making the change from working to staying home, I am all ears....I have enjoyed my independence for a long time and while I believe this is the right choice, I am having some difficulty giving up a job I love, and the feeling of providing financially for my family.

Starting out

So I thought I would try my hand at the blog, so here is the first post. The Student is back at it working hard, currently in his second semester at SFU. This semester he opted for 4 classes instead of 5 and is taking French in hopes of bumping up his GPA.

Anna is causing more and more trouble everyday making us want to laugh and then cry within moments with her never ending antics.

Becoming a mom has definitely changed the way I view the world. And more importantly how I get things done. Juggling work and household duties continues to be a daily challenge; and while people usually complain about not having enough hours in the day, I find my problem is simply finding the energy to get things done. Anna usually goes down for bed around 7:30 which leaves me several hours to do the dishes, sweep the floor and fold laundry....however, I find myself often opting to `veg` on the sofa rather than facing a sink full of dishes once again.