Field Trip to Wheeler Farm

Emery had a field trip to Wheeler Farm a few weeks ago with her preschool.  We were supposed to go in March, but it got cancelled because it was snowing the day we were supposed to go.  So, our make up day was in mid-April.

I gave Emery the choice to allow Paisley to come or not.  At first, she said she didn't want Paisley to come.  I was really sad and hurt by her decision, but it was her field trip, so I let her make the decision.  A few days later, Emery decided that she wanted Paisley to join us, so the three of us went to Wheeler Farm.

Emery's preschool has AM class and PM class.  Emery attends PM class, but here is a picture of all of the kids from both AM and PM. (Emery is in the middle, standing)

 The kids got to see how a ring is made out of metal ..

 And where the cows are taken when they get milked ..

 At the end of the field trip, they got to feed the ducks ...

We all had a great time and it was fun to see Emery playing and interacting with her friends.  She has made a good connection with a little girl named Allyssa in her class.  She's already told me that she' sad she won't be able to go to kindergarten with all of her friends from preschool.  I'm not looking forward to the last day of preschool - it's going to be a rough day for Emery.

Changes in the Gallegos Family

We've had a lot of changes in our family in the last several months.  I've already posted about Emery starting preschool and having baby #3 on the way.  In addition, I changed jobs in February.  I'm still at Discover (I'll be there till I die haha).  I started a position as an Area Manager in September 2011 and it was a position that I was working towards for several years.  It was a new challenge and experience for me and I loved it.  The only downside is that I was working way too many hours for way too long.

An opportunity came up for me to stay at the same pay grade, but to be able to work part time.  I thought long and hard about this and whether or not I wanted to make the change.  And actually, the position came up twice - the first time, I gave it a little thought, but never even discussed it with Ivan, it just crossed my mind for a few minutes.  For months after the first position came up, I was kicking myself in the butt for not posting the first time.  I was trying to figure out how to get Emery into preschool, and even how I would get her into kindergarten with me working 55-60 hours/week.

So, when the position came up a second time, I knew I had to go for it.  I was lucky enough to be offered the position and started February 1st.  Previously, I was working Monday-Friday, 55-60 hours/week and managing a department size of 100 people.  Now, I work 29 hours/week, three days in the office and a half day at home and I'm only responsible for myself.  I also have the flexibility to work at home more often when needed/wanted on my end.  I've been able to get Emery into preschool 2 days/week and I've already made arrangements for when she will be in kindergarten 5 half days next year.  It's huge change in my job responsibilities and while I do still miss what I was doing before, I am as happy as could be with the decision I made.

Financially, we have had to make a lot of adjustments to make it work.  We cancelled cable (it's really not that bad with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu - yes, we are still a little spoiled and have all 3!), I now bargain shop for groceries and we actually have a budget that we live off of.  I also had to start cleaning the house myself again - sad!  But, in all honesty, I think we are in a better financial position now, since I've gotten a lot more focused on our finances and where our money is going.


I am absolutely loving being at home more and having the flexibility that I have with my schedule.  I get to see the girls when they wake up and before they go to bed every single day.  I make dinner at least 5 nights a week and we eat at the table as a family. The girls and Ivan are loving having me at home more and all of the good meals we are able to enjoy.  The only challenge is that now Emery is used to me being at home, she hates the 3 days a week that I have to go to work.  I'm grateful that my company had the opportunity available for me and that between all of us, my family was able to make the necessary changes for me to be able to go part time.

And Baby Makes 5!

We are excited to announce that baby girl #3 will be joining our family in July.  I'm currently 27 weeks and feeling good.  It's been a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far, just like the other two.  Back pains and acid reflex as always, but other than that, I'm feeling good.

We had our ultra sound in March.  At the time, I thought my due date was 8/13 - and I was worried because I felt HUGE for only being 18 weeks along. There was a small part of me that was worried I was pregnant with twins.  Ivan and I joked that if there were two babies, we would either have to give one away (kidding!) or both of us would go into a mental institution.  Anyway, once the ultrasound tech announced we had another girl on the way (Ivan and I already saw that and it's what we were expecting), I asked her about my due date and had her confirm there was only one baby.  She asked who told me my due date was 8/13.  I said, "well, nobody.  I told them my due date is 8/13".  She then told us that I was off on the due date and my due date is really 7/20, based on the size of the baby.  I was relieved and shocked at the same time.  It explained why I was so big - going from 18 weeks to 21 weeks in a matter of minutes makes a big difference.  I was also relieved to have confirmation that there was only one baby.  I was shocked and stressed because that left me less time to prepare for the little one.  I'm also so much of a planner that I had planned my PTO/maternity leave, vacations, Emery's school, etc, around the 8/13 due date.

The girls are really excited for the baby as well.  Emery talks to the baby every day - which means Paisley does too - anything that Emery does, Paisley must do as well.  They talk about how they will help take care of the baby, but they remind me that it's Papa's job to change all of the poopy diapers.  Emery has recommended we name the baby Filomina - we don't have a name picked out yet, but I'm pretty sure we will pass on her recommendation.  I've started to talk to the girls about me spending 2 nights at the hospital when I have the baby.  Emery gets it, and is excited to be able to sleep on my side of the bed and have a slumber party, Paisley is just along for the ride at this point.

Just like when I was pregnant with Paisley, we have done very little to prepare for the baby that will join our family in 13 weeks.  I have a mental list of everything I need to do and have it all planned out in my head, I just need to start taking action and getting things done.  We were worried about fitting 3 car seats into the back seat of Ivan's Maxima, but that is one thing I have crossed off the list.  I have the infant car seat and put Emery into a High Back Booster and luckily, they all fit.  His car is paid off and I was not looking forward to the potential of having to buy a new car.  We got lucky on that one ...

Here are some belly pictures of the pregnancy so far.  As I look back at pictures from being pregnant with Emery and Paisley, I remember that I was very detailed - took them every 4 weeks to the date, made sure I was wearing the same shirt and same poses so you could get a good comparison.  With this little one, well, let's just say we are lucky to have some pictures.

24 weeks

17 weeks

12 weeks