Mrs Kioski

We were at the Nelson’s house tonight. I asked Rhea to ask Erik’s brother Kirk if he wanted to be Emma’s uncle too (just like Erik is). He said yes and now Emma has yet another uncle! I may have lost my family, but our family is still large. Emma has plenty of people who love her and that means the world to me. It will be hard for her to ever feel unloved because her family is so big. Some say blood is thicker than water, but I have learned that is not the case. Anyone can be a part of your family.

The high today is 73 degrees. It’s time to bring back out my flipflops. Emma loves the nice warm weather. Our renewal of vows is just around the corner. We are meeting with the pastor this week. We have the place booked and now we just have to get to the invitations out. I’ll be glad once it’s all over since it is so much planning. It is rough to plan two weddings two years in a row (but worth it).

I had my first encounter with a shoplifter yesterday. I was working in a different section of the store since I picked up an open shift last night. I was walking around putting away clothes when I saw someone putting on a green sweater. She looked right at me while she was doing it and immediately walked away WITH HER BABY. She stole something in front of her kid! Who does that? I went back there to make sure that she had actually stolen something and sure enough there was an empty hanger and tags on the floor. Unfortunately she dissapeared before I could call security. My manager said not to worry about it since she stole something cheap off from the sale rack. It wasnt really worth our time. My manager told me about her first shoplifting experience back when she worked at a different store. A guy in a big coat stuck some shirts in his coat, smiled at her, and left the store. i dont understand why people do this right in front of employees, and then smile at them!

So now that I’ve got this job, after some saving, Mike and I will be able to afford to move into a bigger apartment. The one that we just looked at last week is HUGE and CHEAP. It is called a 2 bedroom, but it technically has 3. It also has a living room and a dining room (and bathroom and kitchen of course). It is seriously as big as the first floor of a small house. I am so freaking excited to move out in May. We werent allowed to take pictures since someone is in the process of moving out, but I will post some pictures once i get them. It is lead safe and everything. I am so excited since we will finally be able to have guests over since we will actually have room for them. Mike and I also love to cook, so having a larger kitchen is a definite plus. This move is going to be hard though since it is our 3rd move in the last year and we lead very busy lives.

Emma also hit the big 6 months on sunday. She had her shots today, which of course were not fun. The ped told us that she was doing great and they were very impressed by her health. I find it so interesting that although I had some problems during my pregnancy Emma turned out just fine. It feels great to have a healthy baby. Just one less thing for me to worry about.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that Emma doesn’t have two sets of Grandparents recently. Emma woke up while Rhea and I were doing homework together and was very agitated. I think that she was just sick of being home. So we decided to go for a ride. We went to Caribou, but they were just closing. We still did not want to go home so we called Rhea’s parents to see if we go visit them since they love seeing Emma so much. While we were there I decided to ask them if they would be Emma’s second set of Grandparents. They said yes! and now Emma has the two sets of Grandparents that she deserves. Thank you Mark and Lynda! I guess in a way this makes Rhea and I sisters.

Mike and I have been making some changes in our lives just so that we can live altogether more healthy lives. We have been trying to eat much more healthy. We found this great low carb pasta at Cub. It tastes exactly the same as the regular stuff, but is still healthy. When we are on a diet it doesn’t even really feel like a diet, there are so many substitutes for bad food that tastes exactly the same! I learned so much about the importance of eating healthy while I was pregnant that I want to keep it up. I want to live for a long time and one of the best ways to assure that is by eating good food. Mike and I both have been losing a lot of weight while still eating plenty of food.

Mike has gotten to spend a lot more time with Emma these days since he watches her while I am at school. It is great to see how much she likes her daddy, she is very attached to him. This time that he gets to spend alone with her is wonderful as he most likely wont be able to do that once he gets a full time job again.

I cannot wait until we move out of this tiny apartment. We outgrew this place a long time ago. It’s cheap and warm though, so I can’t complain. The change to a 2 bedroom apartment will be a welcome change nonetheless. 3 people don’t belong in a one bedroom apartment.

Oh, and I get to brag about my little one. She can drink from a regular glass if I hold it for her! She is one talented baby.

Emma went through 5 different outfits today! Some were soiled by poo and some were soiled by burp ups. Now I have to do laundry all over again. Such is the life of a mom of a four month old.

So, the fire drill went off in our apartment building tonight while Erik, Rhea, Mike and I were settling down to a game of Settlers of Catan. In a panic we all started grabbing stuff to head out the door. Naturally, I forgot the one thing needed to keep me warm, my coat. On the other hand, I grabbed the DS, Emma’s blanket and hat, and of course, Emma herself. Mike grabbed the cat. As we headed down the steps to go across the street to Erik and Rhea’s apartment we could smell something similar to burnt food. I saw a guy come out of an apartment on the floor where the smell was coming from with a very sheepish look on his face. I am guessing that he must have accidently burned something.

Meanwhile, Mariska got to meet Erik and Rhea’s cats. Apparently their male cat Sox has a crush on Mariska and was very excited to see her. Mariska didn’t like this very much so she hid in the bathroom while Sox watched her. After the fire trucks left and our apartment had not burned down we headed back over to our place to finish our game (which Erik won). Nothing was left of the fire except the faint smell of smoke.

This got me thinking about how much effort it would be to replace everything in our apartment. It has probably taken a 100 trips to Target to get all of the stuff in here. Not only that, but we would lose all of our presents from the last few years. Yes, we do have renters insurance, but it would not be fun to replace everything. I am so glad that our apartment did not burn down.

What do you think that you would bring with you if your home was on fire?

Well, it was a great Christmas. Mike and Emma are both still sleeping after a long 3 days of Christmas and presents. Mike and I got a bunch of really nice stuff for our kitchen from Greg and Edrie; and since Mike and I love to cook this is awesome. We got FF XII from Erik and Rhea, which we have already made a dent in. And I got some beautiful emerald earings from Mike (along with the Happy Feet game). I gave him a wireless Guitar Hero controller. My brother (in-law) steve got me a gift card to target and Brain Age. Emma was not left out in the gift giving, but she wasnt able to open any herself. That will be next year. She got a happy penguin named Kyle from her mom and dad and an awesome play gymn from Grandma and Grandpa. She also got some cds from her godparents.

So, to anyone who gave us presents who is reading this, here is one big thank you! all at once.

I have eaten way too much Christmas candy. It is making me feel ill. It doesnt help that we have an entire bag of Dove Dark chocolate and Milky Way chocolate covered caramels just waiting for me to eat them!