August Was Moving Month

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It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
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Missing My Stay-at-Home Mom Days

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Last year at this time, I was a stay-at-home mom. And part of my stay-at-home mom duties were getting Faith ready for school in the mornings and getting her there on time. I was also the one who was in constant contact with her teacher, her instructional aides, and her therapists. Part of the fun of taking Faith to school was getting a chance to visit with those who looked after her throughout the day.
 
After coming home from dropping Faith off, I would have breakfast and enjoy some quiet time. At least once or twice a week, I would call my friend Tina, or she would call me, and we would talk for at least an hour. Being home gave me a chance to work on my writing, to join a morning women's bible study, to take a nap if we had a rough night or cook and clean at my leisure. 

It was nice being a stay-at-home mom. But I did find that if I didn't get out of the house, I would go a little stir-crazy.
Another great stay-at-home-mom duty was to join Faith on her fun field trips!

Everything changed when my husband lost his job and we found ourselves with no source of income and no health benefits. One of us had to find a job and fast! And so it was that October of last year, I went from stay-at-home mom to working mom and all the changes that went along with it.

Some of those changes were good - Rob would be home with Faith doing all of the lifting and dealing with her not-wanting-to-go-to-school morning meltdowns. Some of the changes were more challenging like not having as much time with Faith and trying to squeeze in a pacemaker battery change during Thanksgiving so I wouldn't miss any training at my new job.

I must say though that with the role reversal - Rob has done extremely well. He keeps up with the cleaning, the laundry and does what he can to help out with the evening meal. He is also in charge of getting up with Faith in the middle of the night and getting her back to sleep which means more sleep for me. He really is a great stay-at-home dad, and he loves doing it!

Putting Faith's new stander together and getting her in her stander are great dad duties!

Yesterday Rob and I took Faith to her school's open house where she got to see her classroom and talk to her teacher - whom she has known since Faith started school there. For whatever reason, she and Faith were sort of drawn to one another. 

When we saw her third-grade teacher yesterday she said, "Oh Faith, we've been waiting for this moment since kindergarten!"

Faith at her desk in her third-grade classroom

Taking this week off to spend time with Faith and get her ready for a new school year along with being back in the school made me miss my stay-at-home mom days. I feel really blessed to have stayed home with Faith for nearly three years. And though there are days I struggle with being a working mom, I believe for reasons known and unknown, this is God's present plan for not only me, but my family as well.

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August Was Moving Month

-
Image
It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
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Cari's Cardiology Update

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Normally, Faith is the one with all of the appointments but this week it has been my turn. On Monday I had my annual echocardiogram. On Tuesday I had my pacemaker device check and appointment with the cardiologist who comes to Bismarck from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  The doctors who come are pediatric cardiologists who also specialize in adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). This saves anyone in the area who has a CHD from having to travel to Rochester each year. It is very convenient! (I do travel to Rochester to get my pacemaker changed, though!)  The Bible verse that has kept me going all these years! When I saw the doctor, we mainly discussed two things: my Fontan and my pacemaker. But first, a little background. I was born with double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Basically, this means both my aorta and pulmonary artery stem from my right ventricle. Because of this, my left ventricle does not really do anything, which is why this CHD is referred to as a sin...
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My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

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Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
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Singing Along at Barney's Birthday Bash

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This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases.  Learn more.   Had it not been for the one fateful day that I had a craving for Little Caesar's pizza, I might not ever have known that Barney was coming to town. But there I was at the counter waiting for my medium pepperoni pizza when I noticed a flyer with a picture of the big purple dinosaur. He was coming live to Bismarck with his friends, BJ, Baby Bop and Riff - I couldn't wait to tell Faith. Barney and friends appear live at the Bismarck Civic Center I don't know how old Faith was when she saw Barney for the first time. A receptionist at pediatric therapy gave us a Barney VCR tape and Faith loved it. I started letting her watch Barney on PBS and then we started collecting the DVDs .  All the while, I couldn't believe I was letting my daughter watch Barney - me and my friends made so much fun...
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