When I grow up...

I believe I have figured it out! Yes, I may be pushing 27 years old but I'm just now starting to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up".  And yes...the light bulb may have went off after watching an episode of Teen Mom on MTV - remember the Golden Rule here people! Anyway...there is a couple who gave up their child for adoption and they meet every so often with their adoption agent. She isn't on the show very often but when she is, I find myself oddly intrigued by her line of work. Probably because I've always wanted a career that would allow me to make a difference in another person's life and she has one. I promptly went online and found out that getting a Master's Degree in Social Work is the best way to go about becoming an adoption agent (I'm entirely sure this is the correct title).

I have a degree in Psychology already so this is one logical next step for me. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the University of Iowa (where I received my Psychology degree) has a Master's of Social Work extension program in Des Moines - and the center is conveniently located about 3 blocks from my work - PERFECT! And there are night classes! With the public library located smack in the middle of the route from my job to the learning center, I would have a place to hang after work while waiting for class to start - DOUBLE PERFECT!

And then the let down....
I got to the portion of the reading that pretty much states "There is no way you can be a part of this program on a part-time basis and still carry a full time job". Crap. I clearly have to work to help support my family - that's what adults do right? Well this adult quickly e-mailed DH & gave him the sob story. To my surprise, his quick response was "if this is what you want, we'll figure it out". Um...wait. Did some nicer, less money conscience other person hack his e-mail? No? Oh. He must mean it. He then proceeded to lay out the tentative plan & told me to go for it.

So here I am. Life plan & DH support in hand, I'M GOING FOR IT! I'll be gathering all the necessary documentation & waiting for my acceptance letter. Wish me luck!

Craziness!

So far August is off to a crazy start for us!

On the baby front, the ultrasound was on July 20th & this baby is definitely not shy! The image of him wasn't on the screen for 30 seconds and we knew it was a....BOY! Yep...I won the bet :-)
His name is Colin Vincent and I can't wait to see him, hold him and kiss him! He will definitely be the best Christmas present I have ever received.

I felt Colin move for the first time at the end of July and Mark got to feel him kick the next week. He cried...it was so sweet! Ever since then he's been kicking and moving up a storm. I've been calling him my little ninja because it feels like he's trying to kick and punch his way out, haha! He kicked so hard yesterday morning the remote that was resting on my stomach popped up! It was pretty hilarious.

I have my next check up tomorrow afternoon. I had only gained 3 pounds total at my last appointment so I'm interested to see how much I have gained. I still weigh myself every day and I think I've gained 4-5 pounds since my last appointment. Right on track for my "one pound a week" goal.  The weight gain may be low but my belly has definitely popped out! I bought some maternity pants...they're too big still but I'm sure my stomach will grow into them.

On the home front...we've been doing a lot of home improvements - some minor, some major. The drywall is up in the basement and the first coat of tape/mud has been put on. Once the second coat is on it will be time to paint! I have been having fun looking at paint samples and figuring out how to decorate down there.

Ever since Mark and I bought the house, the front door has been this ugly, dirty brown color. Today I finally got Mark convinced that it needs to be painted. We went to Home Depot and picked out a nice light grey color. It looks AMAZING! It doesn't exactly "match" the shutters on the front of the house but the colors flow well and it just looks so good. I'm very proud of us :-)

I have been wanting to get some pictures to hang up in the bathroom off the kitchen & I finally bought the ones I've had my eye on. They aren't hung up yet though...Mark did so much this weekend so I feel guilty asking him to do one more thing. Sometime this week I'll get them hung up.

I feel like there's so much more that's happened but I just can't think right now! I'll post pictures of our home improvements later this week.