I love to bake. I always have and as of recently I've loved it even more!!! I think the pregnancy cravings have certainly started. For the past few days all I have wanted was a russian tea ball and a cup of coffee. So what did Olivia and I make this morning, Russian Tea Balls!! They turned out so tastey, my husband is silly... They are his least favorite cookie!
This morning has been my typical Monday morning, even though it's Tuesday. I tend to get a LOT of cleaning and organizing down on Monday's. It has been a long day of all of that. Olivia and I had a great morning though of playing. I was so proud of her last night, we took her to get her hair cut which is normally a HUGE ordeal. She was sooo fantastic!! No tears, listened to the stylist and best part the MoP top is GONE!! My baby girl has an adorable bob and her bangs are about 3/4 of the way grown out! It's so hard to not just cut them. But now with her new cut it makes it much easier.
Another huge plus of this week is that the furnace ordeal is finished. Mr. Deeb came yesterday to finish the ductwork. We ended up having two large return vents to the house and it has made the world of a difference!!! When our house was set at 68 before it would be freezing. With the new furnace and duct work done it's toasty warm! No more space heaters, life is good!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Some things I have learned in the past two years...
I recently saw a friends "note" on facebook about life after college and not having all of the answers. I really loved it and it made me think about how much my life has changed since college. Back in Fall of 2008 I had my choice of 4 jobs, all at great companies with fantastic pay, benefits, and educational assistance to go back and get my MBA. The economy took a HUGE nosedive and it left me soft-listed at each employer. Next to be contacted when they opened the position, or hiring outside again. Flash forward to 2010, still in contact with said employers. They still are not accepting applications or interviewing, some of the departments having been shut down completely or outsourced.
For the last year I have been teaching pre-school. I left a position making good money to be an Assistant Director at a childcare center. One of the things I have learned since college: Always Always Always... Get EVERYTHING in Writing. The position which I accepted never came to be and the result was making 30% less than I was hired on for, should have had asked for it in writing... Amost 50% less than the job I left it for. Which leads me to my next item I have learned post college: NO Job is EVER Beneath You. I was grateful for my time at the childcare center in many ways. The main being I am a much better mother because of it. Having learned early childhood development from the ground up has been a great asset and blessing in raising kids. After college I had this "idea" of what life was going to look like. I wasn't going to accept anything under $43k/year, with educational assistance, great benefits etc.. Many of my peers being in the same boat. But this economy is not the same as it was in 2007 or even 2008. Life has changed so much since then. Any job is a great job. Whether you are working in a childcare center or at the local grocery store. A job is a job. Because of my time at Kindercare I have lost the almost stuck up edge about having my degree. Because you know what? In this economy people working at McDonald's have their 4 year degree. If you have a great job, with great benefits, please don't look down at the people that may change your child's diaper or serve your food.
Which leads me to my next section on what I have learned; STUFF.. And the obsession our Society has with it. Joel and I were very lucky after school, we had a FANTASTIC real estate agent, and friend, who helped us to find our house. We also had some great advice; Buy What You Need.. Not necessarily What you Want. Sometimes these are the same. I look back at our home-buying experience and we could have easily bought a larger house, that was more finished which would have been so much easier and so much nicer. The house we bought is a work in progress and you will often times hear me venting and complaining about the fact that the furnace broke or this that or the other thing. But what it comes down to is we got a great house, which is completely in our means and it is less than we were paying renting. This decision made it immensly easier when times got tough. I lost my job and we're now down to one income. Had we made a different decision about our house I wouldn't have been able to stay home with my kids. For that I am very grateful.
The Novelties, cable TV for instance. Joel and I used to be addicted to TV. It was always on in the background at our townhouse and the baby would always be in the background watching it as well. When we moved to our house we decided against cable. Partially because of the astronomical price in our area for it and partially because we wanted to be different at our new place. It was extremely hard for the first few months but now you don't see us watching TV. We also don't let our daughter watch live TV, some people thing I am crazy for this. But hear me out, advertising geared towards young children is 60% sometimes more about negative food choices. Different restaurants, Danimals yogurt, this that or the other thing. When you take that out and show the SAME shows it puts control back with the parents on what to expose your child to, like sugary cereals.
Looking back at me two years ago I feel like I am a different person. I am grateful for the struggles and hardships we have encountered because it has caused us to adjust our lifestyle to being more realistic. We don't eat out nearly as much, we don't buy a lot of nice clothes or toys, accessories, but we are happy. Very happy and that's what matters in the end.
Love,
From the Kangas Family.
For the last year I have been teaching pre-school. I left a position making good money to be an Assistant Director at a childcare center. One of the things I have learned since college: Always Always Always... Get EVERYTHING in Writing. The position which I accepted never came to be and the result was making 30% less than I was hired on for, should have had asked for it in writing... Amost 50% less than the job I left it for. Which leads me to my next item I have learned post college: NO Job is EVER Beneath You. I was grateful for my time at the childcare center in many ways. The main being I am a much better mother because of it. Having learned early childhood development from the ground up has been a great asset and blessing in raising kids. After college I had this "idea" of what life was going to look like. I wasn't going to accept anything under $43k/year, with educational assistance, great benefits etc.. Many of my peers being in the same boat. But this economy is not the same as it was in 2007 or even 2008. Life has changed so much since then. Any job is a great job. Whether you are working in a childcare center or at the local grocery store. A job is a job. Because of my time at Kindercare I have lost the almost stuck up edge about having my degree. Because you know what? In this economy people working at McDonald's have their 4 year degree. If you have a great job, with great benefits, please don't look down at the people that may change your child's diaper or serve your food.
Which leads me to my next section on what I have learned; STUFF.. And the obsession our Society has with it. Joel and I were very lucky after school, we had a FANTASTIC real estate agent, and friend, who helped us to find our house. We also had some great advice; Buy What You Need.. Not necessarily What you Want. Sometimes these are the same. I look back at our home-buying experience and we could have easily bought a larger house, that was more finished which would have been so much easier and so much nicer. The house we bought is a work in progress and you will often times hear me venting and complaining about the fact that the furnace broke or this that or the other thing. But what it comes down to is we got a great house, which is completely in our means and it is less than we were paying renting. This decision made it immensly easier when times got tough. I lost my job and we're now down to one income. Had we made a different decision about our house I wouldn't have been able to stay home with my kids. For that I am very grateful.
The Novelties, cable TV for instance. Joel and I used to be addicted to TV. It was always on in the background at our townhouse and the baby would always be in the background watching it as well. When we moved to our house we decided against cable. Partially because of the astronomical price in our area for it and partially because we wanted to be different at our new place. It was extremely hard for the first few months but now you don't see us watching TV. We also don't let our daughter watch live TV, some people thing I am crazy for this. But hear me out, advertising geared towards young children is 60% sometimes more about negative food choices. Different restaurants, Danimals yogurt, this that or the other thing. When you take that out and show the SAME shows it puts control back with the parents on what to expose your child to, like sugary cereals.
Looking back at me two years ago I feel like I am a different person. I am grateful for the struggles and hardships we have encountered because it has caused us to adjust our lifestyle to being more realistic. We don't eat out nearly as much, we don't buy a lot of nice clothes or toys, accessories, but we are happy. Very happy and that's what matters in the end.
Love,
From the Kangas Family.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Watching a Grizzly Bear catch a Salmon, amazing!!!
Oh what a 24 hours it has been at the Kangas household. Yesterday was election day!! I was planning on running to the grocery store with the kids. They were thrilled because we got the "car" cart! They were so cute driving as a navigated the isles looking for ingredients for a few new recipes we're trying out this week. It was so warm out yesterday we decided to throw out the rest of our plans for the morning and hea to the Zoo. The last few times I have taken Olivia and Ben it has been too cold to tackle the outside trails. The weather was just perfect.
The Zoo is under extreme construction in anticipation for some new exhibits! There is the penguin exhibit a new Target educational center and much much more. I've said before how great a value the MN Zoo is and I will say it again. It truly opens the kids eyes up to things they typically may not be exposed to. We walked in and immeadiately headed to the Woodland Adventures Playgroud. This new to 2010 playground was commissioned by General Mills and the children LOVE it! The great thing about yesterday was it was just us and another little boy playing there!! We had it all to ourselves! :)
The other little boy who was playing with us was also Ben and our Ben and the new Ben hit it off instantly. They were running around the playground, jumping, skipping, swinging, having a fantastic time. We headed over to Russia's Grizzly Coast next and saw one of the most amazing sights!! The smallest of the grizzly bears was swimming in the pool in front and was chasing LIVE SALMON! The kids and I actually got to see him catch a salmon and eat it!! It was so cool to watch!
The kids did not want to leave the zoo but we had to get home for lunch, I had made homemade chicken nuggets the night before. Ben pretty much fell asleep eating.. My Olivia, not so much, finally fell asleep two hours later.
I was planning to make a ham for dinner last night but I noticed on Facebook the Panda Express that had just opened in Apple Valley had FREE meals all day. As a true lover of this restaurant I decided to scratch the Ham and brave it in the line of a bajillion people. The line only took about 30 minutes and we met some great people when we were in line. Olivia was mad at mom because she was not supposed to stand in the street, but on the sidewalk because it was safer and we were standing in line on the street. Couldn't help but smile at this :). The food was incredibly worth the wait, the people were so kind and helpful and the service was TOP NOTCH! The Kangas family will definitely be returning to the Panda Express in Apple Valley.
After Panda we headed to the voting polls, the election judges even gave Olivia a "Ballot" and as mommy and daddy were filling out their ballots she got to sit and fill hers in too! When asked who she was voting for her response, "Dora... Mickey... Minnie.. " :)
The Zoo is under extreme construction in anticipation for some new exhibits! There is the penguin exhibit a new Target educational center and much much more. I've said before how great a value the MN Zoo is and I will say it again. It truly opens the kids eyes up to things they typically may not be exposed to. We walked in and immeadiately headed to the Woodland Adventures Playgroud. This new to 2010 playground was commissioned by General Mills and the children LOVE it! The great thing about yesterday was it was just us and another little boy playing there!! We had it all to ourselves! :)
The other little boy who was playing with us was also Ben and our Ben and the new Ben hit it off instantly. They were running around the playground, jumping, skipping, swinging, having a fantastic time. We headed over to Russia's Grizzly Coast next and saw one of the most amazing sights!! The smallest of the grizzly bears was swimming in the pool in front and was chasing LIVE SALMON! The kids and I actually got to see him catch a salmon and eat it!! It was so cool to watch!
The kids did not want to leave the zoo but we had to get home for lunch, I had made homemade chicken nuggets the night before. Ben pretty much fell asleep eating.. My Olivia, not so much, finally fell asleep two hours later.
I was planning to make a ham for dinner last night but I noticed on Facebook the Panda Express that had just opened in Apple Valley had FREE meals all day. As a true lover of this restaurant I decided to scratch the Ham and brave it in the line of a bajillion people. The line only took about 30 minutes and we met some great people when we were in line. Olivia was mad at mom because she was not supposed to stand in the street, but on the sidewalk because it was safer and we were standing in line on the street. Couldn't help but smile at this :). The food was incredibly worth the wait, the people were so kind and helpful and the service was TOP NOTCH! The Kangas family will definitely be returning to the Panda Express in Apple Valley.
After Panda we headed to the voting polls, the election judges even gave Olivia a "Ballot" and as mommy and daddy were filling out their ballots she got to sit and fill hers in too! When asked who she was voting for her response, "Dora... Mickey... Minnie.. " :)
Monday, November 1, 2010
The funny thing about faith..
Yesterday I found myself at a crossroads. At an all time low. For the past months I have been struggling with my faith. Forgetting what it was that kept me going to the Orthodox Church, it's the fellowship, the family that your church in a sense becomes. The ability to be completely pulled up and carried when you are going through a struggle by those around you. The people who have reached out to me in the past 24 hours are a life-line. They have expressed there same frustrations, the fact that they have been right there with me, something I truly desperately needed. They have offered words of encouragement, suggestions on the upcoming years and I am so grateful to having such an amazing network of support. Not only to my Orthodox friends but also the ones who were there to say we love you and no matter what we will support you through this and ultimately with whatever decision you decide to make.
Before jumping ship ( ;)) to another religion I have a lot of work to do. Currently 18 weeks pregnant with our second child I have felt myself torn religiously and in doing this it has put me at a pause with baptizing baby #2 in a specific faith. I have the next months to really decide what path it is going to be. I need to rediscover the Orthodox Faith. It is rooted in tradition, this strong root can sometimes leave it seeming monotonous..Sometimes you think, did we have to sing that hymn three times.... in three different languages? But there is meaning in all of it. I have lost my touch with that meaning.
I have grown up in this faith and gone to hours of Sunday School, attended St. Mary's camp for 12 years. I feel like I shouldn't be at this place right now but I imagine faith is like anything. You need to keep constantly educating and keeping yourself current with it, otherwise you will lose it.
God Bless, and good morning.
The Kangas Family
Before jumping ship ( ;)) to another religion I have a lot of work to do. Currently 18 weeks pregnant with our second child I have felt myself torn religiously and in doing this it has put me at a pause with baptizing baby #2 in a specific faith. I have the next months to really decide what path it is going to be. I need to rediscover the Orthodox Faith. It is rooted in tradition, this strong root can sometimes leave it seeming monotonous..Sometimes you think, did we have to sing that hymn three times.... in three different languages? But there is meaning in all of it. I have lost my touch with that meaning.
I have grown up in this faith and gone to hours of Sunday School, attended St. Mary's camp for 12 years. I feel like I shouldn't be at this place right now but I imagine faith is like anything. You need to keep constantly educating and keeping yourself current with it, otherwise you will lose it.
God Bless, and good morning.
The Kangas Family
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