One Year Later

On June 12th it will be one year since I left MA and came to SC.

 I left my job that I loved at BSU, my family, and my friends. Basically everything I had ever known was in MA but Bill and I gave it up to come down here so he could have his dream job as a cop and we could start a life for ourselves by buying a house and saving some money which we would have never been able to do in MA no matter how hard we tried.

When we first got down here, I was fine, I was happy in our apartment, and although times were hard since we were paying rent for the first time and I wasn't working, we got by because we had savings and I just played with Allie in the apartment or at the pool to save money. But as the months went on and people couldn't come visit us as often, I started to doubt things A LOT. I felt like we had made a huge mistake. Everything seemed to be going wrong. The mess with the babysitter kidnapping my baby, Allie was sick all the time, and our finances seemed to be a mess. I honestly felt that the best thing to do was pack up what I could, take Allie, and go back to MA to stay with my parents. And being the wonderful man he is, Bill told me if that was what I wanted, he would leave his job and come back with us, because we are more important to him than anything. But I couldn't do it, my pride was too high, and I couldn't do that to the man I love.

And thank God I didn't.

After I got the job at Aeropostale and got settled and Bill finished the Police Academy, times were still hard. I had a lot of resentment towards Bill for taking me from my family and bringing me down here. I was angry all the time and just wanted to go home. It sucked, but then something happened. I started going back to therapy to talk to someone and she made it clear. I made the choice to be here, I have the option of choosing my own happiness. If I didn't like Allies daycare, find a new one. If I was upset she was getting sick so much, consult a new doctor. If I wasn't happy in the apartment, find a new place to live. And she was right. I guess I just needed to hear it straight out, no sugar coating, and suck it up. And that's what I did. We found a different doctor and got the asthma/allergies diagnosis for Allie. And since her treatments began, yes, she's been sick a few times, but she's 2 and that's what happens. We worked on our finances and have somehow paid off a credit card, paid off a car, and gotten back on track.  We still have our school loans that we will have for years and years, and a pretty large credit card bill, but I guess if debt is the American way, then we are living the American dream! And with time, we will pay that down, and who knows, maybe this time next year I will be writing that we are doing even better.

I guess the biggest thing obviously, has been that we were able to buy a house. And a beautiful one at that. We didn't have a big wedding 4 years ago like most people, we took all that money and put it in the bank and added to it. And because of that we were able to get a beautiful home to expand and raise our family in. And that is something I know we wouldn't have been able to do in MA with the housing market. Allie is thriving and Bill and I are very happy at our jobs. We may not see each other much, but we work damn hard to provide for Allie and pay our bills, and each month we do, which I am so grateful for. I am growing to LOVE it down here, and I feel like I am home. I do miss my family and friends terribly, but that's really all I miss now. The resentment is gone and I am so blessed God paved the way for this move and for all the amazing things and struggles that have happened this past year. I have friends now and because we are smart, we will be able to continue saving and hopefully expand our family soon. I've always believed "everything happens for a reason", and in this case, I know that to be true. :)

It's Been Awhile...

Well it's been a while since I've last posted, almost 2 months I think so a lot has gone on, we went on our vacation back home to MA and had Allies 2nd Birthday, we found out that my sister-in-law Sarah and my brother Erik are expecting a baby boy, and the biggest news, we put an offer in on a beautiful home and it was accepted! We are so excited and hopefully my next post will include photos of our new home. But before I get into that, here's the low down on what's been going on...

1. Our trip home to MA was wonderful and far too short. We only got to stay for 6 days because of work schedules and airline prices but the time we spent there was wonderful and we got to see a lot of old friends and family members because of Allies party. It of course snowed half the time we were there and I didn't believe it before but I think living here has actually made me a wimp to the cold because I was freezing most of the time we were up there! I couldn't wait to get back to the nice weather, and I used to love the snow! But we were able to see a lot of friends and on the Saturday before we left we had Allies Birthday party and so many people came to see us which meant so much to us. Allie got so many presents that we had to check another suitcase just full of gifts so we could get them all home. The best part of being home though was watching Allie play with her cousin Ava. Allie was so excited to see her from the minute we got there and they played like they saw each other all the time. Allie even woke up from a nap one day and asked for "her sister Ava". Allie didn't care too much for Baby Owen but now that were back in SC she wants to see pictures and videos of him all the time of course. I can't wait until we go home again in September to see how she gets along with Owen and so she can play with Ava again. Hopefully by that time we will be close to preparing to try for baby #2 so I'm hoping Allie doesn't go over and hit Owen or anything. :)

2. Another nephew is on the way for Bill and I. Sarah and Erik found out they are expecting a son so sometime in early September we will welcome another addition to the family. Erik and Sarah are going to be moving to upstate NY in a few weeks because that's where Erik is being stationed with the Army. It is going to be hard on my mom to have two of her grandkids so far away from her but if she would get on the technological bandwagon and get Skype (hint hint mom!), she would be able to see us much more!

3. BIG NEWS! Bill and I had been looking at houses for a few months but didn't really see anything we loved, so of course right when I suggest we take a break from it and maybe renew our lease at the apartment for a year and try to save some more money, another house that we love falls into our laps that we both adore and want to raise Allie in. It's a beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home that also has an in-law apartment on the bottom floor. So, the plan is that Bills parents will move in with us in a year or so and we will be able to take Allie out of daycare (WOOT!) and have his mom watch her full time and then we can have another baby and also have some help and family near us. The house is very large by SC standards and given we've only lived in apartments it is going to take some time for us to fill all the rooms and be able to afford new furniture but after all the moving I've done, I told Bill I am not moving again unless it is because I'm dead! So we have plenty of time to furnish and decorate a home and there is no rush, we are finally digging out of debt and getting on track and I am not going back!! Haha. The first few offers we made on the house we rejected so we decided to make one last ditch effort and miraculously it was accepted. I didnt think it would be because the bank said they were not going down on the price but alas, they did. It was  after I had gotten in the mind set that if we didn't get the house it was fine and one would come along when it was meant too so when it was accepted I was shocked. We plan to close on May 15th so in only a few weeks we will hopefully be homeowners and be able to raise Allie and our pup Dexter in a beautiful home where they will have plenty of room to bother each other!

A new nephew for me! (Plus another baby on the way!)

But it's not me who's pregnant so don't get the wrong idea! My sister-in-law Sarah and my brother are also expecting a baby and are due in September. I can't wait to find out what they are having so I can start shopping. Haha. So many babies in the family now, my mom has had a grandchild in 2009, 2010, and two in 2012. And I'm sure by the time Sarah has her baby, Bill and I won't be far behind with #2! But anyway, my sister did have her baby and Owen Patrick weighed in at a hefty 10 lbs 4 ounces and 18 inches long. He was very healthy and although Court had to spend some time in the hospital after the birth she is now home and the family is together. I can't wait to go home on vacation in 11 days(!!) so I can finally meet my nephew and of course see my Ava Grace. Allie and I have been Skyping with her and Court at night and Allie talks about Ava all the time. She picks up her toy phone and just "talks" to Ava in her room for minutes at a time, it's adorable. They both seem excited to see each other but we will see if they actually care about each other when they're finally together! We are also having Allies second Birthday party while we are home so we can see all our family and friends. I can't wait and hope everyone can make it because then we will be able to see as many people as possible! The theme for her party is farm animals and I made the invitations on Etsy.com and they came out amazing. If you're a mom or enjoy crafts check this site out! It is amazing. The only other news for us is that Dexter finally got his cast off his leg after having it on for 4 weeks. The poor guy is still limping as his leg regains its strength but he is hanging tough and doing things he should not be doing (jumping off the couch which is giving me heart attacks!) We are all doing great and now that Allie has been diagnosed with having allergies and asthma she is doing better since we started treatments for both. She is taking Zyrtec each night and it's helping tremendously. Her nose has finally stopped running and she only sneezes a couple times a day like a normal person! And the nebulizer treatments have almost eliminated her cough and her wheezing. It's really a miracle that we finally found a resolution and she can go to daycare each day and I'm not worrying if she will be OK or I will get a call that she is sick.  I think now that we got rid of the congestion in her nose and throat her ear infections will get better too since the congestion was backing up into her ears since we could never get rid of it. ::Fingers crossed:: I am truly blessed to have her and I will do anything to make sure she is healthy. Thankfully, I have Bill to keep me sane and level about these things, I don't know how he's put up with me for almost 7 years but thank goodness he has!