Springing into Action?!

I've gotten behind in my posting, but its (mostly) for good reasons! I'll start with the best news first...Ted accepted a job offer! He's working for Habitat for Humanity as Development Consultant, and will be able to help with their fundraising as well which is exactly what he wants to do. The nonprofit sector may not be the most lucrative, but its more than worth it to see Ted excited to go to work and so clearly fulfilled in what he's doing. The hours are terrific and I really feel this job is a huge answer to (fervent!) prayers. Thanks to all who chimed in:)
We're also busy looking for housing, so if anyone knows of a sweet deal, call us! My new favorite activity is loading Jude into the backseat, picking up a coffee and cruising up and down streets looking for a cute place to live that won't break the bank. It doesn't have to be spectacular, just some place that I can start getting ready for this new baby to live in! I think Jude's nursery was totally set up by this point in my pregnancy last time, and poor #2 just isn't getting that kind of attention. Things on that front are looking good, by the way. I wasn't gaining weight properly in Bolivia but have caught up nicely in this last month here at home:) I passed my gestational diabetes test this time around (which I was a little surprised at, honestly) and so I've been in a better mood being able to eat what I want and dr. visits don't involve the grilling they used to.
Jude started a Mother's Day Out program this week and I'm happy to say the first day went great. In fact, his teacher even used the word "stellar" when describing his behavior (and yes I will brag on that). It's every Monday from 9-2 at a church here in town that coincidentally, Teddy went to when HE was a little tot as well. I like continuity and traditions more than your average person:) We talked all morning about "school" (or "koooool" in Jude's case) and what it involved and even said a little prayer to be brave and make friends in the car before we went in. Jude had a stellar day; Mom blinked back tears as she pulled out of the parking lot. This whole growing-up business is for the birds. I can't WAIT to watch him become the good man I know he's destined to be, but...I hope he takes his sweet time. Anyway, I'm excited he likes it because it sure was NICE to have that break. I was able to get some work done at a Starbucks...its amazing how much you can accomplish when your thought process isn't broken every 5 seconds! I'm still freelancing a little in my spare time, and have managed to sell a few more articles this year to different magazines. I've got one due to print in May and another in June, so I'll post the links on here when they're out so you can oooh and aahhh over my fledgling work!
Now the fun stuff: Ted and I took a little trip to Chicago recently, all by ourselves! Nancy and Tom were nice enough to hang with Jude, and I spent my very first night away from him. Is that sad? Should we have done that sooner? I guess we went to Cochabamba not long after I quit nursing, and it wasn't really practical to take off without him while we were there. We had an awesome time doing stuff Jude would not have stood for: long waits at restaurants, leisurely strolling through stores, and listening to jazz at our favorite spot. I drug Ted to an adorable (Man Translation: "small portions and overpriced") brunch spot called Orange where we feasted on Chai French Toast and then sat silently drinking coffee and reading the paper when we were finished, a favorite pastime long gone after kids hit the scene.


Then we used some free Delta vouchers to go to New York over Easter weekend. We really had no plan there so it was a relaxed trip. We stayed near Times Square and had fun showing Jude the tourist/technological overload that it is, played in Central Park and rode the carousel, checked out Ground Zero construction, wandered around Greenwich Village, and hit FAO Swartz. I think that was Jude's favorite part. He ran around pointing at things for a while, then desperately tried to climb up my body and reach an electric car, then had a fit when we pulled him off the display shelf, poor thing. He was pretty well-behaved though overall, and we had a lot of fun doing NYC the "kid way" instead of the $15 cocktail/high heels/stand in line all night to get into the club way. Although my boys were gracious enough to indulge me in a little 5th Avenue shopping at Chanel:)









Wow this blog is getting long! We came home Easter Sunday and had great weather for an egg hunt with family and friends. I'll close with some adorable pictures from the day. We hope you all were able to celebrate this precious day and all that it brings...new beginnings and the promise of brightness ahead.