Changes

Change is good but change is hard. Lately I have been really struggling with the changes that are taking place in my life soon. I am SUPER excited to marry Matt and start our lives together, but every time I think of leaving my nephews I burst into tears and there's just no stopping them. The thought of leaving my family and best friends saddens me too, but I know they have their lives and understand and are happy for me. But my nephews... my sweet nephews...I know they won't understand and there is so much I will miss out on and it breaks my heart to think about it. I can't stand to think of hurting them. Your thoughts, prayers, and support are really needed during this time and this transition.

On a much lighter note, two weekends ago we moved all of my furniture from my parent's garage into our new apartment in Sunnyvale with the help of my family and friends. Matt and I were excited to find some great deals on Craigslist for a tv stand and bed (obviously we still need a mattress and such) that were way under the budget we set. Yay! It feels like there is still so much we need but at the same time I try to remind myself of everything we still have to get us started. More updated pictures will come later once Matt and I work on setting more up together and making it more of a home.

Packed and loaded into my dad's Tahoe with barely enough room for me and a U-haul
full of furniture being towed behind us.

Living room set up (for now) with new tv stand

Bedroom with new queen size bed, which still needs mattress and
box spring to fit, and everything else to go on top

Engagement Pictures by Anna Joy Photography

Recently Matt and I took our engagement pictures in San Luis Obispo. We met at Cal Poly and spent a lot of time at the machine shop on campus where Matt worked, and thought, "What better place to take our engagement pictures?!" We also spent some time at Laguna Lake. Please click on the link to see the slideshow preview our photographer put together. We love her and can't wait to spend more time with her on our wedding day!

Photo Slideshow

Invitation Close Ups

I recently had a good friend suggest I post pictures of the actual invitation on the blog. Great idea! Here they are:

Invitation with vellum overlay and satin bow

Invitation with Response Card, Registry Cards, and Directions

First batch of Response Cards sent back in the mail

And I'm.... H-I-R-E-D!!!

It is official! I was offered, and accepted, a job with CCLC at their Stanford Madera Grove Children's Center as a Head Teacher for their Mobil Infant Classroom!

I am sure you are all replying, "Yay!!!" which will then be followed by a long list of questions. Let me do my best to answer them for you.

First, CCLC stands for Children's Creative Learning Centers and they provide top-notch child care for large corporations and such (like Oracle, Pixar, and Yahoo!). In other words, they are a large company that partners with other companies, thus giving me essentially two employers. CCLC was founded by a Cal Poly graduate, and when I was in my senior year, the founder came and spoke to my class about it. I have been holding onto that business card since 2007.

My center is contracted through Stanford University and is on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA. It provides care to the children (infants thru pre-K) of the Stanford faculty and staff. Working in Palo Alto does mean a bit of a commute from our apartment in Sunnyvale. Matt predicts about 20-30 min with traffic; however, my hours are from 9:30-6:30 so that may help.

A Mobile Infant Classroom means that the children in my care will typically be between 1-2 years old and able to sit on their own, crawl, and walk. They will be eating more solid foods and they are also able to manipulate more objects using their hands than younger infants can.

Being a Head Teacher means I am the one responsible for the classroom. I will be in charge of bulletin boards, photos of the children and their daily activities, marking their achievements, and meeting with parents. It also means doing some things like adding to the Center's newsletter, and plenty of other things I am currently clueless about.

I currently have a friend from my Cal Poly Child Development classes who works there and she helped me get the interview (Thanks Heather!!!). I am excited to be starting off in a new place with a familiar and sweet face so nearby.

As some of you know, I graduated from Cal Poly in 2008 with a B.S. in Child Development and double minor in Psychology and Communication Studies. While I can't say I haven't used that education in the last 2 years (because in customer service and sales I certainly have), I feel I can say I haven't used it nearly to its potential and I am most excited about that. I LOVE watching kids learn and grow and accomplish new things and this job will allow me to do that. But also, this job allows me to continue my education to be sure I am on track with the field and up to date on new research. I am so excited! Thanks everyone for being excited with me!

Here is a link if you would like to see more (including a few pictures): http://www.cclc.com/center/ca/stanford-madera-grove-childrens-center

Wedding Invitation Frenzy

Hours after researching, purchasing, battling over the telephone with the company, prepping, creating, typing, labeling, and printing... the invitations are complete!

Two computers, a check list, and a pen- finalizing the invitations.
Making a list and checking it twice is not just for Christmas. 

Count them out in piles of ten and then pack up for the post office. 

Sample of the outside. All put together and ready to show up at your door!

Matt & I can't wait to see everyone there! 

P.S. I also just got my very cute Bridal Shower invitation for April 30, being thrown by my cousin Holly and my sister, who's my MOH. Can't wait!!!

We Have....

KEYS!!!!

(Matt sent me this picture today after he picked up the keys to our apartment)

Home Sweet Home

This last week I drove up to Palo Alto for a job interview at a Children's Center. It will take a couple weeks  to hear if I will be offered the job or not so I'm crossing my fingers until then.

While I was up there, Matt and I decided to go over our finances and really think about where we wanted to live, what features we wanted in a home, and what we could afford so we wouldn't be house poor and could still plan fun trips and such. We started feeling a little frustrated that we would end up settling and at the last minute we decided to go check out one more place. We had tried to tour this apartment complex before but weren't able to tour a unit. To our surprise when we got there we were able to view three units and found one we thought was PERFECT for us! Because it had immediate availability we had to scramble to put all our paperwork and finances together but we were approved and Matt should be picking up the keys tomorrow! Here's the floor plan for our new home in Sunnyvale (there is a washer/dryer in unit too):

Matt will be moving his things in slowly, between trips to China, and will start living there in May. I will move up the furniture I have been storing in my garage sometime in April so Matt will have what he needs for now. The only thing we really will need is a larger bed than the Full's we both have now. 

So lots of changes. We are both really excited about this new home together. It is remodeled so it has granite countertops in the kitchen and bathroom, new cupboards, new carpet, a great patio and storage closet, and feels cozy. 

Kitchen

Washer & Dryer

Shower/Bathroom

Sink/Bathroom

Patio (with security glass for extra privacy/safety)