Certified Parents???

We finished our childbirth classes last night. (A big thanks to my friend Nicole. She was an awesome teacher, kept class fun and interesting, and taught us a lot!) At the end of the class we recieved a certificate/diploma stating that we had completed the course. Does that make us certified parents now?

I was thinking during the last class that parenting seems to be a "learn as you go" experience. Obviously with the first kid you don't really know what you're doing. The second kid is slightly better because you at least have an idea of what it's like to raise a kid. But it's only slightly better because this kid will be different from the first and what worked with the first kid might not work with the second. So, you still have not mastered parenting. The third kid is even better, but again, different from the first two so you're still learning as you go. And so on and so forth with however many children grace your presence.

My conclusion? There's no such thing as a perfect parent. You can't possibly know what to do in every situation with every child because each situation and child is different. But, you can learn from mistakes, improve, and hopefully raise your kids the best way you know how. I'm sure there will be plenty of times when I will feel that I have failed as a parent. Hopefully I will remember that parenting is not a pass/fail thing. It's more of a "give it your best shot, learn as you go, and love with all you are" thing.

I'm really glad we took the class. I feel more prepared now. Hopefully Mitch will remember everything we learned about labor and delivery because I know I'll forget it all once I start feeling pain. Ha,ha. 5 weeks and 2 days to go (not that I'm counting or anything ... )

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was more like a Valentine's weekend this year ... It started off on Friday. After work Mitch came home with some beautiful pink tulips and a gift certificate to get a maternity massage. Now, I'm not gonna lie ... we said no gifts this year, but I was oh so happy when he gave me that. What a perfect gift for my super achy back! (I can't wait to go. I'm scheduled for next week.) Later that night Mitch surprised me and took me to a murder mystery dinner which was super funny and well done. The food was great too. We had a fun time. I really like murder mystery dinners.

On Saturday we did our normal things: grocery shopping, random errands, church basketball, etc. That night we went to a Valentine's party at our neighbor's house and played some fun games. We played a round of the Newlywed Game. I learned something new about Mitch: his pet peeve is when things get "left out" around the house. What??? Seriously, when is our house ever messy and when do things get "left out?" Honestly, we're both pretty much neat freaks so I don't really know what he's talking about and he couldn't give me any concrete examples. I was a little bugged, I'm sure mostly due to pregnancy hormones. Anyways, that was funny to learn new things about each other and everyone at the party. It was pretty hilarious to hear all the couples get a little upset with each other. Ha,ha.

On Sunday we went to my grandma' Ruth's for a Valentine's dinner. She had the table decorated really cute with scratch and sniff Valentine's and little boxes of chocolates. Of course the dinner was amazing as usual. Oh yeah, I also gave some brownies to my Sunday School class for Valentine's Day. They liked them and seemed happy about it.

Last week my work threw me a baby shower. It was so nice. The women at my work (there are only 6 of us) went out to lunch at Jason's Deli. They even brought cupcakes and had the table all decorated with a pink table cloth and baby decor. It was really cute. Everyone gave me nice gifts. Mostly clothes and a baby activity bouncer that we had registered for. They were all so generous and thoughtful and I'm really glad I get to work with such great people. We all enjoy one another's company and it was fun to spend time with them.

We bought a video camera this weekend. We got a smashing deal. Not only was it on sale, but we also got $25 off with an expired coupon (it expired the end of 2008). We didn't even know it was expired. The very nice cashier still let us use it because we were given the expired coupon the night before (it was on the murder mystery dinner program) and I think she felt bad that someone gave us an expired coupon. Lucky for us she was super cool and it all worked out. It's a pretty standard video camera, nothing too fancy, but it is perfect for what we will use it for and we really like it.

We had a great weekend. Thanks for the great Valentine's Day, Valentine!!! XoXXOOxxxxoo

Date Night

I love date night. Especially "the usual" date night, which for us means eating out (usually at Jason's Deli or Noodles and Company- fancy, I know) and a Redbox. But this week we splurged:

Noodles and Company + Redbox +

these delicious bad boys = the perfect date night.

Yes, you are seeing correctly. Those are the one and only Coldstone ice cream sandwich cookies. And they are every bit as good as they look. These ones consist of cake batter ice cream sandwiched between two very sweet chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles all over the sides. We each had one on Friday night and BOY were they rich!!! They're my new favorite treat.

Needless to say this week's date night was great. Sure, date night could be something more extravagant, expensive, and exciting, but I like the relaxing, laid back date nights best. And quite honestly, I don't really care what we're doing, as long as I get to hang out with Mitch. He is my favorite, after all.