Weekend Fun!

I hope that you had a good weekend! I know that I did. It's not that we necessarily did anything in particular, we didn't go on a major Japanese adventure and we didn't even leave base but it was chalked full of family time which I think that we all desperately needed.

Friday is always a day that I get off late since the bank doesn't close until 5 and so Friday nights aren't a huge thing around here. we normally just do a homemade pizza and watch a family movie, which of course we did. Isaac was off so he was home with Logan all day and when I got home he was happy for the help because Logan was in rare threenager form which lasted the entire weekend.

Saturday was the most beautiful day we have had weather wise since we have been here. We just HAD to go outside. We walked over to subway, grabbed some sandwiches and chips and headed off to find the perfect picnic spot. We found one! We spent the afternoon climbing trees (it was Logan's first time and he was terrified), walking around base and looking at the Sakura trees that are about to bloom

After exploring we went to see the adorable movie Home. It was really cute but Logan wasn't a fan. Probably because there was no giant fight scene or Transformers Rescue Bots which is all he seems to care about these days. I made him take a picture after and he was miserable so it was a horrible picture for all of us but I didn't care because I had already had it in my head we were taking that picture hahaha

 

 

 

 Sunday we hung out around the house, playing ninja's and cops and robbers, taking naps, cooking dinner, doing the budget and re-organizing my debt snowball with the numbers from my new job (I will write more about our Dave Ramsey journey on Wednesday). Once the day went on and we realized that Logan's energy was ridiculous and he wasn't fading we went to the park and he made a new friend which is always nice. They ran around, play soccer and tired each other out which was nice after a weekend of attiude and threenager antics.

I now feel refreshed, in good spirits and ready to tackle the week. Click here to see who I'm linking up with!

Weekend full of fun and sickness

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend because I know I did. I'm ready to knock out this last week of training and get back down into the banking center. I'm ready to work and learn as much as I can before we head back to the states.

Friday was a late day at work. Training ended at 3:30 but the bank didn't close until 5 so while the other people in the class are from different centers and don't work here on Yokota and got to go home after training I went down to help out until closing. I actually learned a lot Friday which was nice and made the time pass quickly. Logan had an accident during the day while he was with my friend which was unusual and had me on edge but luckily Isaac was off early and able to pick him up. We went to Chili's Friday night with Nikita and her family and had so much fun laughing while the kids kept each other busy that *shocker* I didn't take 1 picture (I know I know what was I thinking)

Saturday Logan woke up very congested, whiny and coughing A TON so we didn't do much. I sent Isaac to the store to get cough medicine and he came home with Childrens Allegra (typical husband fail haha) and needless to say once I realized it he had already taken the meds and it was too late.

Saturday night Nikita launched her Perfectly Posh business here on Yokota by throwing a little pampering party. I had never even heard of this company until I met her and since I haven't been a great friend since I started working I was going to her party for sure. There were snacks and a really great group of ladies, most of which I had never met before. We had an awesome time, I laughed until I almost cried, we of course to a semi selfie to remember the night and I left with a few new facebook friends

 Sunday Logan was worse than Saturday and we knew it was gonna be a rough day. He woke up at 4am with a 101 fever and of course since we had no medicine I loaded him up with water and popsicles to keep him cool and then he stayed awake until after breakfast. I went to get him some proper cold medicine and then he took a 5 HOUR NAP....you read that right 5 HOURS! HE was def sleeping off the yucky He is very very needy when he is sick and so he only wanted to sleep on top of me so there was a lot of this going on

Being stuck on the couch wasn't all bad though because I discovered the funniest new show on Netflix called The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt about a girl who was kidnapped in middle school to live in a cult and then is found by the police and she moves to NYC and tries to make it after living underground for who knows how long. Hilarious!

 

oh Sunday morning when I went to get Logan's medicine I picked up a cute gender neutral sock monkey blanket for my neighbor Kylie who announced her pregnancy this weekend on Facebook. I loved the spring inspired bag that I found and I am happy to report that they liked it as much as I did! I will say that two of my neighbors and Nikita are pregnant and I am hoping that it doesn't make it over to the Cunningham's just yet  (I get 3 months paid maternity leave with my new company if I work there for a year so basically if I work for 3 months and then get pregnant there is my year and my paid mat leave...trying to get within that window before I pop out a little). I forgot to take pictures of the bag and gift but Kylie did and so I stole them from her Facebook page to post here lol

 

 
 Click here to see the awesome ladies I'm weekend recapping with

 

Friday Favorites

It's the weekend! I'm not sure why but this week flew by for me! I haven't had much time to do anything but work, spend time with my guys and unpack my house the past few weeks so I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend full of nothing and a little bit of organizing since all that's left is hanging up Logan's clothes and organizing our bedroom.

Now on to my favorites at the moment

Favorite TV Show: Married at First Sight...I watched this show last season and I was instantly addicted. I couldn't figure out if it was real and if it was would it really work? I got really invested in these people that I have never met but I was excited to go on the roller coaster with them. When the season ended and they introduced the follow up show "The First Year" I was elated that I could still follow their journey. Now that the season o MAFS: The First Year is over I can get invested in a new set of strangers willing to put themselves in this awkward position all to find love.

Favorite Picture: For now while I'm working Logan is hanging out with my friend Nikita and her sweet boys. Today I got a picture of the Logan's picking out school supplies for some underprivileged children in the Philippines. When he got home he was so proud of himself for "helping them learn and do art"

Favorite Past time: It all started with a random game of Operation and it has turned into part of our daily routine. We don't watch any TV until after Logan's down for the night and we now laugh, eat dinner and play board games. The quality of our daily interactions has greatly improved.

 

 

Favorite Song: I don't know why but I am OBSESSED with this song...I really don't think that Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney could've produced anything terrible and besides who hasn't been four five seconds from going crazy and its only Wednesday hahaha

 

Favorite New Habit: Warm Lemon Water! I recently heard about people drinking warm lemon water in the morning and then I came across this blog post on Mommy Week  and now since I don't drink coffee this has become my morning ritual. My digestive system is already seeing benefits lol

 

(Source)

Favorite random article (s): Isaac and I have been on a mission to improve our lives physically, spiritually, mentally and of course as I'm sure you know about my obsession with Dave Ramsey, financially. Part of that mission has led us to become more minimalistic and make an effort to own less stuff. We have also started to bring the minimalistic views into other aspects of our lives as well. While doing some research we came across this article on Becoming Minimalist  and this one on Making Room for Greatness

See who I'm linking up with this weekend

This stay at home mama is back to work

Isaac taking me to lunch on my first day

I have literally had a job since I was 15 years old. First the mall, then the Air Force and then a BCM at Bank of America. Each of my jobs I loved for different reasons and I had always been a very happy woman who worked. On the other hand when the decision that was best for our family when Isaac got orders to Korea was for me to become a stay at home mom I was glad that for the first time since our son was 6 weeks old I would get to spend all day every day with him again. I was so excited and honestly thought it would be much easier than it was for me. I will say it now and a million times over BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM IS WORK AND IT'S HARD.  I actually think for me it is harder than working. No matter how challenging it's been it has been rewarding in more ways than I can ever put into words. I am so blessed that we had the luxury of me being able to stay home for almost 2 years.

Honestly I would be a stay at home mom forever if I could but my husband gave me an amazing gift in 2013. I had the ability to leave the military and figure out what I wanted to do with my life and career, no pressure to find a job, no forcing me to go to grad school before I was ready just let me explore my options.  As you may or may not know Isaac has had a few injuries in the last few years, some more major than others. In 2012 He had a knee surgery that we thought he recovered well from but in hindsight he never got back to normal. He hasn't cycled since which he really loved, he can't run, walking to far hurts sometimes and now we have another MRI for what they think is a tear in his meniscus. The amount of pain that I see him in every week is so hard. Knowing that he cannot do what he needs to do to keep his career without medical intervention and constant profiles for pt tests put me in a position I didn't think I would be in but who can tell me they wouldn't do whatever they could for their spouse.

Anyway I want to give Isaac the same gift he gave me and that is to let him leave the military and career he has dedicated 10 years to so that he can heal properly, do what he needs to do for his pain management and figure out what he wants to do next. At the end of this tour in Japan we are going to close this chapter and begin a new one. We aren't sure where yet and we don't have all of the answers but we do know that much. With that being said 4-5 years was waaaay to long of a gap to have on my resume so I decided to go back to work so that he can have the same opportunity I had with no pressure.

The career opportunities here are severely limited and there are only 2 BCM positions on this base and both were taken which sucks but I LOVE banking and wanted to continue it if I could so I decided to take a position as a Banking Center Service Representative and postpone my second bachelors degree and go back to my Masters of Science in Management program. Although it is a step down from my last position I am confident that we will be alright going back to the states and the step down is easily explainable since THERE WERE ZERO AVAILABLE POSITIONS lol

I am loving my new position, the company (DOD Community Bank), my coworkers and my managers. It is the most supportive environment I have ever worked in and thankfully I have heard many times that I am catching on quickly. I have only been working a week and I've already worked with customers, helped with a first grade field trip and been pretty involved. I started training on Monday and again, what a wonderful environment. I couldn't have imagined going back to work after 2 years to a better place but I know that everything happens for a reason and that this is the place I am supposed to be for now for whatever reason.

I'm still getting used to working, actually having to be places at a certain time again (that flexible sahm schedule was a bonus) and looking at computers and listening to someone other than a 3 year old all day and I must say that this mama is TIRED! Although the position is part time 30 hours I work every day from 8:15 to 3:15 but some days its 4 and on Fridays it's until 5:30 and every third Saturday so really it ends up being about 35-39 hours which is much less part time and more full time but I honestly am glad because I love it. But setting us up for the chapter is more worth it than I could ever express and I know what I did it for. I thought I would be sad but I actually am enjoying being back in the professional world, dressing up and being in banking again.

 Isaac has been very supportive, everyone including Logan has helped me keep the house cleaned Also thanks to my dear friend Nikita for keeping my dear sweet love bug while we figure out exactly where would be the best fit for him. He's having way too much fun over there lol

Click here to see the awesome ladies I'm linking up with