Just about Kimmy

                                                 

I've worked for Sylvan for 3 years. Last week I was offered a Director of Education position at a center in Redlands. When I was first offered the position I was excited and ready to embark on this new adventure, but after starting the job and having countless phone meetings with corporate I started seeing red flags. One thing I've learned in life is to listen and listen carefully. The choice of words that people make when talking are for a reason. They are easy to miss which in the end causes nothing but conflict and heart ache. They needed someone to fix their mess. I was their "salvation", exactly what they needed to make that center great and make it run the way it should. I felt important and wanted, but what I didn't know is that they had other plans. They knew I had a timeline and that I was leaving in February. They wanted me to fix their center and then train someone to take my place all in the 3 months that I was available. I am all for making things better and leaving my mark on the world, but this just seemed a little too crazy. I don't want to be used. If the the pay was amazing and there were benefits then I wouldn't even think twice about be taken advantage of, its a win win situation. In fact I would even consider putting off school so I wouldn't have to train someone to take my place. I wouldn't need to go back to school! Unfortunately this job title offers awful hrs (11-8), no paid vacations, no raises, and most importantly no insurance. So in my way of thinking...it's just not worth it. I love Sylvan and I truly believe the system works, I just don't think they take care of their employees like they should. It's a shame. 

As of right now I'm back at the Rialto Center and I couldn't be more thankful for that. I'm still going to get the DE training so if I ever needed to take that job (for whatever reason) I would be ready. I just get the luxury of staying where I belong. It's closer to home and the people there are just so much better.

                         

After several years of working in the schools and working with children, I have never felt like I was good enough. This taught me a lesson. It taught me that I am good enough. In fact, I'm excellent at what I do. You think I would have gotten that from all the parent phone calls demanding that their child be with when they went in for help or the stack of thank you letters and gifts from the kids. It took this huge ordeal for me to take a step back and realized that I am accomplishing what I set out to do. Even though its not in my own classroom yet, I'm on my way. This has given me the confidence to Believe that I can change children lives and be a positive influence on them. 

Septembers Winding Down...

As September is coming to an end and October is beginning our family is so excited about the upcoming holiday season. It always seems that no matter how difficult life is, the holidays always have a way of taking your mind off things. We are HUGE Halloween and Christmas fans so we like to embrace all that the season has to offer. I will probably be posting blog entrys like crazy from now until January. So BEWARE! Ok so here we go!

This month is a huge month for us. Not only is it Halloween, but it's Breast Cancer Awareness month! When I was younger I used to do the Relay for Life and I will never forget how moving it was to be a part of that. I'll never forget the one we went to with my cousin. They asked us to bring paper bags with family members names on it that had Cancer. We camped out and took turns walking the track. At night they lit those bags and lined them around the track so as we walked we saw exactly what it was that we were walking for. We were walking for our aunts, cousins, mothers and ourselves. It was an experience that changed my life and I couldn't describe to you how sentimental it was. My goal for next year is to be a part of that again and start being a part of something bigger then my own little world. 

My mom had her first Chemo session last Monday. I'm very pleased and surprised to say that she is doing well! The only problem she is having is stabilizing her blood pressure and blood sugar. The medicines they have her on to help gain back white blood cells and alleviate nausea is causing all that to go haywire. Thankfully she only has to be on the pills for a few days after each Chemo session. My mom would kill me if I posted a picture of her at her first Chemo session, so I won't. I have to admit though, that picture was so cute of her sitting there trying on all kind of hats they were handing out for free. It's really nice of people to donate and make hats for them. They aren't the easiest things to buy. The nurses say she will definitely loose her hair, but like I try to tell her it's only temporary. No other news on that, we are all just thankful that she is doing well.                  

We made it to the fair this year! We were having a hard time deciding if it would be worth it to go. Honestly, the fair is nothing short of a money gouger. By the time you pay for parking and tickets your out of money to spend on the yummy food, games & "cheap" merchandise. We would rather be putting that huge chunk of money towards something more long term and meaningful. When we do go, we try to get discount tickets. Luckily every Friday is "Canned food Friday". If you bring in canned food you get in free. We couldn't argue with that! We get to help the needy and enjoy the fair all in a days work! We went last year and ended up finding some really awesome deals on bed sheets and wall paintings. So we said why not? Chloe really enjoyed the farm! I think watching her was our highlight of the day too! 

 The goats loved her. In fact there was a few times where they tried to "attack" her!

Her favorite part was the baby pigs. They were sticking their noses out on the other side of the fence and Chloe had fun touching them.This morning when she saw my mom she said "Mimi the piggie stuck his nose out at me and it tickled! Silly piggie! That was fun!" 

When Chloe was done at the farm, we got to do a little shopping. She got bored and took a nap and to be honest there wasn't much to shop for this year. All the same people were there that was there last year. I scored on some jewelry and we got another set of sheets. We got out pretty cheap! So when it was all said and done, it was worth going. We couldn't believe how dead it was. We didn't need to take the tram because we got really close parking spots. That was a first!! The most important thing was that Chloe enjoyed herself. It's memories like these that you want to hold close to your heart. 

Well, that's the end of my story for now. I'll be back soon...There's always something to talk about!

Whats goin' on in September?

 What a roller coaster this Summer has been. It has tested my strength beyond belief, but I know that whatever happens is meant to happen. Even though its not what we want, it's what we need and I can't argue with that. The decisions we make in life create nothing but a butterfly effect. So taking extra time to choose decisions wisely has always been a priority to me.

I've got a few more updates for you all. I love to write and I miss it. However, I tend to spend too long on one subject so I'll post them in separate paragraphs with convenient pictures matching the subject so you don't have to read through everything if you don't want to.

    

When we lost the house I felt like it was opportunity for me to jump on board and finish my Multiple Subject Credential. I love elementary kids so much that I just couldn't see myself working with older kids (I originally wanted to be an English teacher). I enrolled back into University of Redlands and planned on finishing out my credential at Garcia (where I went to school). After the recent events with my mom I had to make a decision to either finish school anyways or wait until her Chemo was done. I know what Chemo does to a person and  putting that extra burden on my mom to watch Chloe while I was away at school and work all day seemed very selfish to me. So I decided to enroll for February instead.

       

Speaking of my mom, she is recovering very well from the surgery and she seems to be a little bit more positive about this whole ordeal. She has been going to Dr. appointments at least twice a week. They are preparing her for the Chemo sessions. They want to make sure her heart and everything is in good condition before pressing forward. They are also doing tests just to make sure that the cancer has spread to any other part of her body. The Dr highly doubts that's possible, but its better to be safe then sorry. They are doing the Chemo as a precautionary measure as well. The Dr. said that there would be a 60% chance of it coming back if she didn't go ahead and have it done. It's an 18 week process and she should be done and "in remission" early January. I'll keep you updated on how shes doing, but so far she seems to be handling it pretty well. Lets just all pray that the Chemo is nice to her. 

On another note, Our little Chloe is growing like a weed. Her vocabulary grows by the day and her personality gets even more apparent.  She is very strong-willed. there is no doubt that she knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it. Lets hope she keeps that through out her life to accomplish all the goals she sets for herself! Her favorite thing to do is see Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland. Every time we go, she creates a plan for us. That plan always includes a visit to see her favorite characters and a ride on The Little Mermaid. It's such a great experience to take her there. 

On a side note, I put together some of her funny sayings that I thought you might enjoy:

"Guess what?"  "what" "Chicken Butt!" (and then she rolls on the floor laughing)

“ Don’t shhh me daddy!”       

 “Have patience mommy”

 “just wait 2 minutes”

 “ look mommy it’s a Happy Birthday to you! I like the pink one. I have it?”  (cupcakes)

“ Oh birdies where are you? Daddy, baby birdies can’t hear us...louder? Otay."

 “Watch hippo? Shake a hinnie Mommy! Daddy!” (madagascar) 

       

She is a very bright little girl. She can count to 15 and she knows all of her colors. She loves to paint and color. I'm so impressed by some of the stuff she can draw on her own! She loves to watch Mickey Mouse Club House, Care Bears and pretty much anything on Disney Jr.      

We are very proud of our little girl. It's such a blessing to have her in our lives. Even when she has her "terrible twos" moments I wouldn't trade it for the world

 

 I know EVERYONE is curious if we are going to have another one or not. The answer is...OF COURSE! I grew up as an only child and though it had MANY perks, the biggest thing I missed was having a brother or sister to confide in. I want her to be able to have at least one sibling so she can have that bond that I missed out on with my half sisters growing up. Unfortunately, our insurance is horrible right now. We just can't afford to have another munchkin. The bills would be outrageous and not only would we be in debt forever with school loans, we would add the Dr bills to that list too. So its being put on hold until we can either get better insurance or find a way to manage the insane Dr bills. It is absolutely in our plans for the future...That is if its even possible to have another one. I guess we will just have to see!

Well...That's it for now. Thanks for being interested in our lives :) 

Our house and The big "C"

It's been a really long time since I've written a blog. The main reason for me doing this today is because I really don't want to keep explaining our situation over and over. It really hits a soft spot and i'd rather just explain it once to everyone then several times. So the first story is about "our house" and the second is about  what I call  The big "C". I hope this helps everyone.

As everyone knows Ben and I were in the process of buying a house. This process started in August of 2011 and sadly came to an end in May 2012. I'm making a really long story short on this one because it really is old news and we've been trying our best to move on. April first our lovely state decided to make some changes on FHA loans for first time home buyers. When we first signed the contract in August they agreed to pay our down payment and give us assistance on loan approvals. We also qualified for grants that allowed first time home buyers under our salary scale to put money towards a down payment. Our loan officer waited too long to put in our application for those grants so it really hurt our chances of getting the grant money. As of April 1st 2012 all of the grants were no longer available because they exhausted all the money putting us in a really bad situation because we had to come up with that missing portion of the down payment in order to have reasonable monthly payments. We could have gotten other loans to make up for that money, but the "silent loans" were evil and quite frankly we didn't want people telling who we could and couldn't have in our house. On top of that the HOA fees and property taxes went up becoming one of the highest costing communities to live in in that area. We wanted it so badly and came so close to getting the house regardless of the financial changes. We had to do the final walk through on the house and everything. After a lot of research, pain and frustration, we made the ultimate decision to walk away because it just wasn't worth it. We didn't want to put ourselves in a financial situation that could ruin us if anything were to happen to our jobs. We also didn't want to put ourselves in a community that had the right to change their fees and taxes so drastically at their desecration. It was a scary thought and we wanted no part of that.  It was a tough decision and we couldn't understand why everything had to fall apart at the last minute, especially after everything going so well. Then a few months later things began to fall into place and we began to understand.

  Home is where the heart is and I couldn't stress enough how thankful I am to be living close to my mom during this difficult time. This brings me to my second story. My mom was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I couldn't possibly describe to you how I feel so I won't. It all happened very quickly and I tried to keep this information on a need to know basis. With something this fragile, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it. I got flooded with texts and phone calls so I want to explain whats going on so I don't have to do it over and over. I am strong, but there is always a breaking point. My mom had surgery to remove the cancer 2 weeks ago. They took out 10 lymph nodes as a precaution because the dye ( that detects cancer) didn't work in her body because this was the second time having the dye in her system. She went to the drs today to find out if they got all the cancer. I'm happy to say that they got all the cancer and it only leaked into 1 and a half of the lymph nodes of the 10 that he took out. This is excellent news. The dr wants her to do Chemo as a precaution because they want to make sure that it isn't anywhere else in her body. This is also good news, i'd rather her take all precautions necessary then to have to go through surgery again because they neglected it. There isn't much more that I can explain to you at this point. I just want everyone to be aware of the situation. I appreciate everyone's concern. It's just easier for all of us if people don't constantly call, it seems to make the situation a little easier to handle. I will keep you all updated with these blogs. As far as what I'm going to do about finishing my credential, I haven't decided yet.