Party Planning

Addison turns 2 at the end of this month :( Despite my sadness over this event I realized yesterday that her birthday is THIS month and I better get my butt into party planning mode. She is such a goofy little girl with a big personality and I want to have a party that reflects that. However, I have absolutely no clue what to do! I have lots of ideas but I can't seem to settle on just one.

Good grief.

Who knew party planning for a 2 year old could cause me so much anxiety, haha :) Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have picked a theme considering I should send out invitations soon. While in the midst of party planning madness I'll have to push away thoughts of planning Erin's 1st birthday in November, one thing at a time. I plan to post my grand party schemes later this week (fingers crossed).

Until later...

(why plan a party you ask? because, I say, my husband's immediate family has over a dozen people in it and when you add in four sets of grandparents things can be a little overwhelming. needless to say I cannot fit all of these people into my house and with the business of summer schedules we'd rather have a big party for everyone in one place like our church...or a barn...or something even bigger, haha)

So...

Obviously my dreams of becoming a blogger have fallen short so far :) If anyone is still checking back here every once in a while I appreciate your interest. I'm going to make a real effort to take just a few moments every few days (at least) to write something here. I figure I can make time for that, right? Time will tell :)

Things around the DeRuischer household remain busy as ever. I'm not taking classes over the summer but I'm working considerably more. We're getting ready to enjoy a long weekend, having Eric home extra is always such a treat. The girls are growing and growing, so hard to believe Addison will turn 2 this month and Erin is already 7 1/2 months old!

I'm trying to make some changes over here that I'll be sure to discuss more in future posts. Some of the biggest changes though are

• not buying processed/pre-made food
• no gluten, no dairy, no SUGAR (I'm finding that last one to be the hardest)
• exercise, exercise, exercise

I will do my best to keep you updated on these lifestyle changes and adventures :)

Blessings.

Full-time Mom, Part-time Student

I started classes at GVSU again yesterday. I didn't even realize how much I missed it until I was walking across campus. Part of me wished I had never left and the other part of me wished I was home with my babies. I think that will be a continual struggle for me throughout the semester but I am so excited to be back in the classroom.

My college experience has been quite all over the place so far. I started back in the fall of 2006, fresh out of high school, living on campus, excited to be a nursing major. The next year (2007) I came back as a sophomore, married, and (for various reasons) switched to a criminal justice major. After my sophomore year I quit, mostly because I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore. Then I got a full-time job and shortly after that I was pregnant with our first daughter.

After she was born (in 2009) I got the bright idea to go back to school, online, for my degree in medical assisting. However the school I choose was horrible (i.e. inadequate), the experience was horrible, and it was not even close to worth the money we paid for it. I quit after 2 really rough semesters and registered to go back to GVSU full-time in the fall of 2010. Then we found out I was pregnant again. The baby was due around the end of the fall semester so I, sadly, withdrew from my classes in the summer.

Now here we are, present day. Little Erin was born mid-November (so it was good that I withdrew) and since I had already been approved for financial aid when I first registered for the year I was able to sign up for classes this winter semester. I was really nervous about leaving the kids but it seems to have worked out well so far. I'm only taking 2 classes, Monday and Wednesday, from 6pm-9pm. Eric is able to be home with them the whole time which eases my nerves and after last night I am SO happy I decided to go back. I am once again a nursing major and although my college journey has been a little haphazard I am very sure of this path I'm now on. I am so excited to see what's in store for me!

Hopes for 2011

(These are in no particular order)

1) Become a better servant and helpmate to my husband

2) Become a more loving and patient mother to my children

3) Become a diligent, focused, and successful student

4) Learn how to become more Christ-like in all aspects of life

5) Become a better cook (and cook healthier foods!)

6) Become a better friend

7) Get this house clean and organized (and keep it that way!!!)

8) Judge less

9) Overcome self-doubt and get rid of self-pity

10) Lose weight, get in shape, eat healthier

11) Remain close to family and friends in spite of busy schedules

Lord willing I will be able to accomplish even a small fraction of these.

What's in a Name?

Originally when we picked the names for our children it was a simple formula. Each of their first names are names that we liked best and each of their middle names are for our mothers. The other day I decided that it might be important to know what their names mean (although if they were something horrible I don't know what I would've done). I looked them up in the baby name book and thought my findings were pretty neat.

Addison - (English origin) a child of Adam
Michele - (Italian spelling, French origin) who is like God?

Erin - (Irish origin) peace
Renee - (French origin) born again

How incredible that their names so strongly reflect our faith? However, I suppose that from now on we better make sure the names of our other children are just as meaningful :)

Trouble with a Capital "T"

I think the "terrible twos" have hit our home early. Granted, the weekend was rough on Addison (17 months) but today was quite a trial. Despite sleeping in and taking a 2 hour nap, our little girl would go from being super sweet to throwing a major tantrum. One of my co-workers once told me that as a mom it was important to store up all of the sweet moments with your child to help make it through some days. Today I definitely used up quite a few of my stored moments. Good thing she is so stinkin' cute, even with a hint of mischief in her eyes :)

Another year is almost past...

Obviously my attempts to update this blog regularly have failed thus far. I'm hoping that as life begins to "slow down" around here that I'll be able to get the hang of this because it's something I would really love to do.

Christmas is just past and it was wonderful. Despite a hectic schedule we thoroughly enjoyed the time we were able to spend with our families. This Christmas was a new experience now having 2 kids, especially since Addison is now old enough to enjoy opening presents. I think that with each Christmas that passes I feel more and more blessed. Looking back on this year we bought our first house, celebrated our oldest daughter's (Addison) first birthday, celebrated 3 blissful years of marriage, and welcomed our second daughter (Erin) to the world. In addition to these blessings, already many more than what we deserve, our family gave very generously to us and our girls and we were overwhelmed by their love.

I can't wait to see what the new year will hold for our little family!