Still alive and kicking :)

I am not much for writing lately, I have been in a funk, and I try to keep my blog as a happy place, one where I can go back later and remember the good in my life. The good is still there, it is just burried under a huge pile of stress and depression that I am having a hard time digging out from under.
I am still looking for a job, not a fun thing at all... I finished my associates degree this week, so I am hoping that will help me out in the very near future. Adam took his last final for the first semester of law school earlier this week... Yay for him, I am so proud! This year has been the hardest in either of our lives, and yet he is still making the effort and succeeding in law school. My number 1 priority is to make next semester less stressfull for him!
The kids are doing well. Zander loves his daycare, and he also loves church. I hadn't been in quite a while but we recently started attending again. I accidently put him in a sunday school class for a few weeks when he should still be in the nursery until January. He was pretty ticked off when we discovered my error and he had to start going to the nursery, but he has an idea of what to look forward to in just a few short weeks now, and he can't wait to officially be a sunbeam!
Aidan had a perfect report card, is on the honor roll, and loves his school and teachers. Last weekend the Arizona Science center had a free admission weekend so we all wend down to check it out.... Aidan was in little geek heaven! He soaked up every minute of it!

The other kids will be here nex week, we are all so excited to spend some time with them, and thanks to some members of our church, we are able to have a few gifts for everyone despite my lack of income. I am so so thankfull for that (our bishop also got Adam and I a brand new queen size bed after a year of nothing but an air mattress..... merry christmas to us!

More posts and pics promised when our family is reunited on Tuesday!
Love you~

Mid November wrap up

well this has been a super busy time in our lives! We have gotten ourselves into a nice routine, I work from 9-6, so Adam has dinner ready when I get home, we spend an hour or so playing with the boys before bedtime, and then start it all over. I guess this is how the normal familiy does it, but I am struggeling with the lack of time I am getting to spend with my family, but I am thankful to have a job.

We had a great Halloween, Aidan was a very scary Grim Reaper,

and Zander was a super scary shark.

We went to a halloween carnival where the boys did a trunk or treat thing, got lost in a corn maze, and played some carnival games. After that we went trick or treating for a few hours. Aidan wasnt feeling that great and was passed out by about 9 in the car... poor guy!

We have finally had a chance to get out of the house a bit for family walks, and a trip to the park yesterday, it was great... Zander is such a big boy, what a bittersweet feeling that is!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so Adam took me out to my favorite place for dinner, the Outback, and he even made me a great home made cake for after dinner! I have a good man!

My mom and dad are coming down for thanksgiving, I am so excited to see them, I even get 2 days off work to spend with them! Sorry for the short and random update, life is just busy!

Love you all!

Downtown fun for the Staley's

On Saturday we took the nice weather and headed out on our bikes for a tour of Downtown Phoenix. I love experiencing things on a bike... we can get there faster, there are no kids whining to be held... Adam is fantastic at riding his bike with Zander being pulled in the baby trailer... we sure love having that thing! First we stopped and played in and on a fountain that was not in use... the boys did anyway... see the discussing who could jump farther? Gotta love those boys!

We rode to the Chase field, where the Diamondbacks play and to the US Airways Stadium where the Phoenix Suns play. It seemed that there was a suns game getting ready to start, there were tons of people lining up in Suns jersey's and paraphernalia. I love, love, love the excitement of a basketball game.

This deep love I have for the Phoenix Suns comes from my old boss and good friend Doyle and Cher Hancock. As a teenager they would also give us their season tickets, usually me and my best friend Shawna, and we would hit the town, having the time of our lives at the basketball games! So many of my good memories come from those games. I feel a deep need to take my kids to see a suns game, finances are not working out at the moment, but I have a feeling that something will come along and we can go this year!

We took a leisurely bike ride, stopping at some pretty spots, like this fountain that they played in and on for quite a while. We all posed on the concrete baseballs at the Chase field, enjoyed each others company... just had fun!

After that we spend Sunday with a trip to the pool, then worked on some puzzles and snuggeling. In school news Aidan is doing great as always, Adam did fantastic on his mid-terms and is very happy about that... and Zander... Zander has decided that daycare is OK after all and has been excelling for most of last week and again this week! I am so proud of my 3 boys!

I am still working, just hoping to make it through the 90 day period where The University decides with temps they will keep on... Fingers crossed!!

Turning it around!

Wow what a difference a week can make! Zander decided on Tuesday that he was ready to enjoy himself at daycare and has made a complete turnaround! In fact this morning he asked me if I could get ready FASTER so he could go! From the first day he has gone there when I drop him off he turns into a rabid spider monkey, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my midsection. He clings on to me as his teacher pry's him off, often taking my shirt with him. Morning drop off was the hardest thing in the world for me. Leaving my baby knowing he was absolutely miserable was just not ok. But this week.... all I can say is WOW!!!! On Tuesday when I dropped him off he only cried a little bit, I was pretty dang happy with that so when Adam reported to me at the end of the day that Zander had had a "Good" day I could not believe it... I had to have details! Zander not only used the bathroom, but he also ate a cupcake! This is huge guys!!! This is the first time he has had a bite away from mom or dad in a year and a half! Adam and I praised and rewarded Zander all evening, telling him how proud and happy we were, and the next morning Zander announced that he was going to have a "Happy day at daycare!" I was skeptical, but at drop off he let me put him down, then he gave me a kiss and said "Bye mom" I was on cloud 9 all day! Adam called me when he picked Zander up and said that he had eaten lunch, been happy all day, and even sat with his class for activities and made me a picture! Thursday and Friday followed suit, it has been a fantastic week!

In other news Adam is finished with his law school mid-terms and back into the swing of normal coursework. Adam and I are doing great, more in love than ever in our lives and best friends to boot. With all the stress of moving around, looking for jobs, and getting into and then starting law school we have been strained but we are back! I am thankfull for him every day, and to say he has stepped up in a way that most men would just run screaming from since I started my job would be an understatement. Adam now picks Zander up from daycare everyday, rushes home to be here for Aidan, makes sure Aidan does homework and chores, cleans the house and even makes dinner for me every night. I am one lucky girl for sure!

My job is going well. The University of Phoenix is a great place to work and while my position is entry level, after 9 months or so the doors will open up for me and I know I will move into a position that I love. The only downside is that my body has picked a terrible time to break down. I have had a lump in my breast for 3 weeks now that is quite painful and I cannot get in to see a Dr since I am working Monday - Friday so tonight I went to the ER to have it checked out and was told that I defiantly need to get a biopsy done and find out what we are dealing with. I must admit I am terrified because my grandmother had breast cancer and my mom has had cancer and multiple lumps removed. Any prayers you could send my way on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

All in all life is good. We are happy, and as a family we are B-A-C-K!!!

New job, new home, big adjustments!

At the end of September I finally found a job, and it is a good job! I have been working for 2 weeks now at the University of Phoenix and it is going pretty well! I found out that I got the job on a Thursday afternoon, and the wanted me to start on Monday! I was so excited, and yet so scared. We share a car, so logistics were a problem, we had 4 days to find an apartment that was either walking distance, or on the bus route from either my workplace or Adam's school, get Zander and Aidan pulled out of their current schools and registered into new ones, but of course we had to know where we would be living before we could do that, and they had to be able to start before 8 A.M. monday morning. We also had to move in that time. Thursday and Friday were a blur or looking at apartments. We finally decided on one that was walking distance from Adam's school, and I rushed to get the boys registered into their new schools. I actually got all of that accomplished, and we were at the U-Haul place on Friday afternoon getting a trailer to move our stuff when I got a call saying that a DUI from Washington had come up on my background check and I wouldn't be able to start work on Monday...... I am not even kidding!

So we just went on and moved into the apartment and I took that extra week to unpack boxes that had been in storage for over a year... it was like Christmas seeing all of our stuff again! We are now moved in and as settled as we can possibly be! Aidan is happy in his new school. He joined the Zoology club at his school, they meet twice a week after school and people from the Phoenix zoo bring in different animals for them to study and interact with. Zander is in a new preschool right by the apartment. He is having a pretty rough time with being put into preschool at all, and is having some big issues.... he has been going full time for 2 weeks now and refuses to eat, drink, or use the bathroom anytime he is there. This means that he is starving when he gets home, and he often wets his pants because he just won't use the bathroom. I am kind of beside myself on this issue. I cry all the way to work after dropping him off in the mornings, it is heartbreaking to leave him there, screaming for me, but I HAVE to do it, and he WILL get used to it in time! I am going to keep a good attitude if it kills me!! The one thing he does do at daycare is take long naps. This is not a good thing because Zander has not been a napper for about 2 years, so he is now awake every night until at least 11, and it is a constant battle of punishing him for getting out of bed over and over..... but how can you get mad at a face like this?

The apartment we got is great. It is so nice to have a place of our own! It is a 2 bedroom apartment, but we don't consider it small, just cozy! The boys bedroom is big, there is plenty of room for Zander's bed, the bunk beds, and all the other stuff that kids think they need :) We had such a great time setting up all of the kid's stuff! Zander has had hours of fun driving his cars on the street map rug in his room, and I love how organized their room is..... until Zander has been in there for about 10 minutes anyways... how is it that 1 little 3 year old can make this room look like a tornado just went through it so fast? Thank goodness for IKEA and their organizational furniture! We put pictures on the toy bins so that Zander can clean up all by himself now, and he even gets the toys into the correct bins!

My second favorite place to be..... the first? The pool/jacuzzi of course!

Changes all around

School has been going great, for most of us anyway.... Zander not so much. It has been a month now and he has gotten no better unfortunately. He screams and cries every time I leave him, but that I can deal with... the little guy has been with either his dad, me or his beloved Sissy or Dylan 24/7 for the last year and a half, of course me dumping him with complete strangers is going to take some adjustment. The real problem is that he will stay there for 8 hours and refuse to eat, drink, or use the bathroom the entire time. He also spends the entire time he is there hiding under a table, and if a teacher or another kid dares to try to talk to him he will flip out all over again. I have tried everything I can think of... I have sent him in with his favorite sippy cup and snack, he just ignores it all day. I have tried to get him to take his baby, or a favorite toy, but he will pry open my hands and force me to take these things back before we get to the door. I am out of ideas, I have talked to him for countless hours, told him what a big boy he was. He says he wants to be a baby. I asked him if he would rather go to a babysitter and that is the only time he has perked up.... but then he told me that only Dylan or Sissy could babysit him. He has even tried ploys such as bringing me his sandals, which he knows are not allowed at school, and telling me that his tennis shoes were lost. His latest was that he told me that his daddy said he was not allowed to go to school anymore, and if I took him I would be in big trouble. I am not sure what to do to ease the transition for the little guy.... how can this sweet guy being so sad not break my heart??

Now on to the big changes. I got a job! I will start on Monday at the University of Phoenix! The logistics of this have been a challenge since we have only 1 car, and Adam is in school, and I will be working until 6, and I can't find a daycare that is open past 6, which means that Adam will have to pick him up every day. So the only logical solution to this problem was to move to a location from which Adam could walk to school, and walk to Zander's daycare to pick him up every day while I took the car to work. We found an apartment right across from the law school, and a daycare for Zander right around the corner so we jumped on it. It is in downtown Phoenix, which is more than a little bit scary for me... there is not much that freaks me out more than huge roads, and those stupid signs that say you cannot use the turn lane for turning at certain times of the day because it is used as a lane for rush hour during those times.... who thinks of these things?? But our apartment is great. It is a really nice place, which we can afford because they give a great discount for students that the law school. Aidan started at his new school yesterday and is very happy. He has made friends with a few kids who live in the same complex as us already and loves his teacher. Aidan is so smart and outgoing that I know he will excel. Zander will start at his new "Daycare" on Monday. We have visited it and he seemed to like it.... he insists that he will like daycare much more than he liked school, so we will see how it goes!
Adam and I are doing better than ever. This last year has been a tough one, presenting more challenges than I even thought possible, but we got through them, and we are stronger as a couple after getting though everything together. I know that this new change will do wonders for us all as individuals, as well as for us as a family!

School for everyone!

These last few weeks have been busy ones for sure! Last Wednesday Aidan started school in Mesa, it just feels so wrong to send a kid to school when it is still 108 degrees outside! We live only a few blocks from his school so he is enjoying the opportunity to be mature and riding his bike to and from school every day. The work is easy for him, he is done with his homework in minutes, but he is doing amazing! He has all intentions of getting straight A's because my sweetie made a deal with him that if Aidan gets straight A's for the first half of 4th grade we will buy him a Nintendo WII.

Today was Adam's first official day of law school.... how awesome is it that he is following his dream!?!? I have so much respect for him and for the huge sacrifice he is making right now! Even though today was his first real day he has been doing homework for a week, and he is doing great! In just 3 years he will have his law degree and all of this will be well worth his time!

I am still working towards my associates degree, I have 5 classes left and can get them done by early November if I push hard... I know an associates degree doesn't give one much status, but it makes me feel great to be accomplishing this, and it can be a stepping stone to get into further education. I am into my core classes which are much more fun and interesting. I will have my degree in healthcare management and hope to go on to be an ultrasound tech. I love pregnant women, and I sure don't want to go there again, so I might as well work with them!

Even little Zander got to start "school" today. I have him enrolled at Tots Unlimited 2 days a week. Leaving him there today was hard I have to admit, after what happened the last time I left him with a babysitter, but it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I knew that this place was safe, there would be no drugs for him to find, and that he would benefit from being away from his mama for a while. He did freak out when I said goodbye, but that only lasted for about a half hour. His teacher told me that he was quiet the rest of the day, and did tell people "I'm just sad" when asked how he was doing, and apparently he went on a hunger strike, telling everyone that he "only eats with mama" but he was fine. He came home and downed 2 full bananas and then asked for more, and when Aidan asked how his first day of school went he replied "I don't want to talk about that right now", but when we talked about the fact that he is going back on Thursday he told me he would have fun, but he did slip in there that he WILL cry when I leave him, but then he will get happy again! He has come along way from the day he looked like this:

To the sweet, smart, amazing boy you see here... wow what a difference a year can make, and have I mentioned that I love this little guy more than life itself??

So now we are all back to school, back to a semi-normal routine, and it feels good!