So, I was recently nominated as the most slacker blogger (thanks Katie :), and I have to say that it's probably kind of true. It's not that there isn't anything to report, it's just mostly sad news, so I try to stay away from talking about it! But a quick recap anyway...Ryan is still looking for a job. I gotta say, the Lord is very interested in testing us right now. We never EVER saw this coming. Eight long years of school (and he's not even a doctor or lawyer or anything!) and this is what it comes to. His parent's basement is nice, and honestly we can't complain about free rent, but we have a new problem arising. We have no room for another baby, and it's coming fast. The living room is cluttered like you wouldn't believe. All of Bella's clothes and shoes and everything are shoved into our room, and she sleeps in the office in a corner. This is all fine and dandy, but I have no room for another one! Yes, a tiny little baby can fit anywhere, but where do you put all the clothes, diapers, and all the other junk that comes along with a baby?? Needless to say, this is what I think about at 7:00 am when I can't sleep anymore. My car is also having some serious problems . Now, normally, this wouldn't be a big deal because we have two cars. We're not so spoiled that we think we need that. The problem lies in the fact that we cannot go anywhere as a family in our second car. Stupid Mini! So if my car up and croaks one day, we'll really be stuck. There are a whole slew of other things going on that I won't get in to, but needless to say, we're stressed. But Ryan is still looking and trying hard. He's studying like crazy to pass this second test in December. He's pretty ready for it, he's just worried that all the extra time is going to mess him up. Because of the economy, companies are really not that interested in anyone without at least two tests, so hopefully a passing grade in December will make for a better job outlook for him.
On a happier note, my little baby is turning 2!! And she's not a baby anymore! I can't believe how much she's grown up in the last couple months. I'm happy, because I'm gonna need a big helper in a couple weeks here, but it's sad, too! And stressful. She wants to be a big girl about everything. She wants to sit on a regular chair, which as those of you with small children know, that makes a big mess. And those of you who know me well know that I don't deal with messes very well. So I'm working on calming down! She wants to climb up and down the stairs on her feet. This is all good and well in the house, cause if she falls, it might hurt, but at least it's carpet. But she wants to do it on the stairs outside down to our door. I don't worry about her going up, she's pretty good at it. But coming down is scary. I'm always paranoid she's gonna fall down and crack her head open on the concrete. And I think she wants to start using the potty. AAAHHHH!! I was just gonna wait until after the baby, because it's definitely not something I need to deal with right now. But yesterday, she was yelling at me about changing her diaper. When I went to get a new diaper, she threw a fit and ran into the bathroom pointing at the toilet. So I took off her old diaper and sat her up on the toilet. It was pretty funny because I don't think she realized how big it really was and she was a little freaked out. But she reached for toilet paper, wiped, and threw it in the toilet. (she didn't actually go to the bathroom, just kind of pretended). Then we got off and she happily let me put a new diaper on. Then today, when I went to get her from the daycare at the gym, they told me that she took her diaper off and went into the bathroom. They had tried to page me but I didn't hear it. So she was just walking around with no diaper on! She's definitely interested! But she's gonna have to wait a couple months. I just don't have the energy for potty training right now! But she's growing up and we still have such a blast with her. Ryan and I are grateful every day for the tender mercy that she is. With a lot of things to be stressed and complain about, she certainly brightens our lives. She makes me laugh a hundred times every day, and I'm so excited to have another one. So, we can't afford to feed them, and if it weren't for my sisters and sister-in-law, we would have a hard time clothing them, but man they are so worth it! We celebrated her birthday with my family last week when we all got together for dinner, then we celebrated with Ryan's family last night. I don't have a lot of pictures from last night because Ryan's dad was doing the picture taking while I took some video on our camera. It was so fun to see her so excited about opening presents! It only took her one or two to get the hang of it!
So, congrats to anyone who has stuck out this blog post thus far! I guess I should blog more often so it doesn't get so long! But I probably won't again until after the baby. I will post lots of pictures of him when he comes. I have officially scheduled a VBAC, for those of you who have been wondering about my decision. What they do is break my water, then give me just little doses of patossin (sp?) to try to get labor started. They can't do full doses because it increases your chance of a uterin rupture, which is a bad thing! So, if labor progresses okay, we will hopefully have a successful VBAC. If it doesn't, it will be another c-section and that will be the method of choice from now on. What will it be, what will it be? Anyone wanna make this interesting and make bets?? Anyway, I hope this is a sufficient post for my lack thereof! Hopefully over the next couple months I'll have happier news to share!
And by the way, we really did try hot wheels and monster trucks. She loves those, too, but I think we've found a new addiction. Welcome, me, to the world of dress-ups! And just in time for her baby brother. Oh the pictures we will have.
We also had our first "oh shoot, where did we leave piggy experience". Because of the Arts Festival, we had to park really far away and then shuttle in. When we got back to our car that night, we realized that piggy was no longer with us. Bella had been so into her sucker, she had set him down somewhere and we all forgot about him. I was physically ill driving all the way back to Main Street because I'm just not ready to lose him yet (and I don't think Bella is yet either!). But thank heavens, I ran back into the bookstore we had been in and there he was, just lying on the floor. I think his feelings were really hurt because he was forgotten!
So we've moved back to his parent's house. We were hoping it would be temporary, but who knows now. Ryan had to pass some actuarial exams to get a job. He passed his first one last week and we were so proud of him and feeling so optimistic about life! We got both our families together and went to dinner. But our victory was short lived. We thought he would be able to get a job with just one test passed, but we just found out this morning that, with the econony the way it is, that's highly unlikely. Apparantly firms now are looking for more of an investment and want a little more experience under the belt. And he can't take the second one until December, so we don't know what to do now. Anybody have some suggestions??? So, it's been kind of a bad day today, but I'm sure that one day, it will be fine. I'm hopeful that one day we'll be able to afford feeding and clothing the little mouths we keep creating. 
So, that's about all. Not much exciting is happening for us. We just keep plugging along, hoping for a miracle one day!! I will end with pictures of my adorable Bella. She is what keeps us happy and moving forward! Hopefully the new one will bring as much joy, too. Hope people out there are still reading!!
Bella is growing like a weed and gets funnier every day. Her new thing is to haul around an armful of stuffed animals. It's hilarious to watch because she'll drop one, and when she leans down to pick it up, she drops another, and the cycle continues. She found these two stuffed dogs that we've had around and she loves them because they're really soft and cuddly, but she can't let herself give up piggy, who is no longer soft and cuddly! I think she's really having an internal struggle! 
She has also learned about the finer dining in life... McDonalds! We got shakes and fries one night ( a pregnant lady's request) and Bella suddenly figured out how to suck out of a straw. We had no idea she could, but I guess chocolate shake inspired her!
She's also learning to feed herself. What an adventure! I love the whole independence thing without the ability. It makes for lots of messes and very little food in her stomach, but it makes her happy, so whatever!
Aunt Sarah made Bella a dress up dancing skirt for Christmas. We knew it would be a little early, but apparantly she is not interested in dress ups. Not yet anyway. I tried to put the skirt on her a couple weeks ago, and she just kept whining and trying to pull it off! I guess we'll try again in a couple months!
Anyway, that's about it. We just keep plugging along. But I have to say that it's a good thing that Ryan will be home more often soon, because Bella and I are having a hard time filling the hours without him, and there's a certain amount of sanity that has been lost!
We also had Daphne, Sarah and Andy's daughter, at our house for 5 days. I was a little stressed about having her with all the homework I'm doing all the time, but it actually worked out really well. She entertained Bella while I sat at the computer and got all my stuff done. This is her dancing. She wants you to take pictures of her dancing, and most of them just come out blurry because she's moving so much. But we had a really fun time with her. Bella did pretty good with sharing her toys, but she wasn't happy about sharing her mommy! Every time I did anything with Daphne, she would come worm her way in. Oh well. One day she'll be forced to share, and life will never be the same again! But the experience taught me one thing. I am sending my children away when it's time to be potty trained, and they cannot come back until they are tall enough to get on and off the toilet in a non-disgusting manner and reach the sink to wash their hands!! I don't do well with potty training children. I think that in the next year or so I will be learning a lot of patience and have to put aside some of my cleanliness issues!!
Well, life is still busy. Ryan continues to plug away at school. He says this semester is going a little better than last, but he's still gone a lot. The only thing getting us through this is knowing that the end is so close, we can taste it!! We're thrilled that he's graduating into an economic recession with millions of layoffs and unemployment at new highs. Hopefully he'll be able to find something!! Life may not be changing as much as I thought it would be! But we're healthy and happy. Just have to throw in a picture of Bella because that's why I blog... to show off my adorable kid!! This is Bella's impression of The 'Hoff.