Wow! So much has happened since I last posted. In my second to last post before abandoning this blog for a year I had posted a few goals for myself. I obliterated my first goal of losing my baby weight and going to the gym. BUT, I think it's ok because the reason I destroyed that goal was to fulfill my latter goal of giving Brynn a sibling. AND, I exceeded that goal by giving her TWO siblings! I gave birth to beautiful, healthy twin girls on January 29, 2010. Their names are Autumn Rayne and Brooke Mae and they are PERFECT babies! I have truly been blessed with 3 beautiful daughters with such great demeanors and personalities.
As for my goals of networking and getting a promotion, I have definitely networked quite a bit and I have a second interview for a new job next friday. I am going to be the new program coordinator in the Co-op and Career Services Office and will be the liason for the Saunders College of Business students (I am very optimistic that I will get this position!).
Tara wasn't pregnant this past summer, but she is DEFINITELY pregnant this summer! Dominic Victor Lamagna is Due July 7th, but may make an early arrival. I could not be happier or more excited for Tara and Dave and I can't wait to meet my first nephew!
Mom moved in with us for the summer to help us out with the twins, and I LOVE IT! I don't want her to EVER leave! It is working out great for all of us, and I think Brynn really loves having her "Namma" there too. Mom is threatening to move out in July, but I think we can keep her until September. Then, once September rolls around she might as well stay until Christmas. Then, who wants to move in the winter right? She should probably stick around until the following spring. And by then, I will prep all three girls with their cutest puppy dog eyes and their little pleas to beg "Namma, peas don't go [cue sobbing tears here!]". I think we've got this one in the bag ;)
Well, that's all for now. More later, once I find out that I got the new job!

We have a big fat check mark on goal number one. We are finally moved into the new house and settled. We sealed the deal on January 14th. We are SO much happier here and can't wait until summer when we can spend more time outside and really enjoy it. We are going to have a big Fourth of July birthday party for Brynn. I am really looking forward to that.
As for goal number two, I have been going to the gym regularly (although I didn't do so good last week and am home for this week). Shawn did say that my back side got smaller, but my gut hasn't changed. I guess I'll take that. Shawn and I both started Isagenix this weekend, so hopefully we will see some results with that. I will be back to the gym next week when I return to work.
The rest of my goals were all long term, so I guess that's all I have for now folks.

So my first goal for the new year is to get moved into our new house. That is a pretty big one right now, and I am really hoping that it's a short term goal. It just keeps getting pushed off, so i have my doubts now.
Goal number two is to finally lose all of my pregnancy weight and then some. Tara is going to be pregnant this summer, so it is my one chance to be skinnier than her in a bathing suit and you can bet your ass that I am not going to miss out on this extremely rare occasion. It's the opportunity of a life time for me. Now if Marissa would only eat a few cheeseburgers or something I might be on my way to looking even better this summer. That is ultimately my weight loss plan...to plump up everyone else around me creating the illusion that I am indeed "skinny" at my current weight. Ok, seriously, I plan on regularly using my free membership at the RIT gym. It's a brand new facility that is only a 5 minute walk from my office and it's free. I think I am out of excuses not to go.
Longer term, Goal #3 is to give Brynn a sibling. But, that is a ways out still and Tara needs to have her moment first. We will try again later this year. By the time we announce #2, Tara will already have her bundle of joy in her arms. It would be kind of cool for her to have a baby on her birthday. October is a good month.
Goal #4 is to get a promotion/take a new job at RIT after I hit my one year anniversary there in August. I really want to be some sort of Director or Assistant Director. Since that is a long term goal I guess I will support it with the short term goal of networking and building up my connections at RIT in the very near future. Once we get settled into the new house, we will invite the Shelley family over for dinner. Dan is always a good resource to have in my pocket, and they treated me like family while I worked with them, so I think it is about time that I bring them back into my life.
I think four goals is enough for me. I kept myself very busy last year with new jobs, new baby and new house. I think I will lay low this year and just take it all in. It's gonna be a good year.

Once again, Tara led the way to a new round of posts, so I will follow suit. We are tying the knot on another round of major life changes. I got hired by the College of Business as an Academic Advisor, and am very happy with my new job. I think I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. I love the college setting and hope to move my way up (quickly) to a Director position.
We are also in the process of buying a new house. It is our log cabin that was always said that we would own someday and it sits perfectly on 4 country acres. Hopefully we will close on that right around Christmas and get moved in fast. We are VERY excited about that.
Brynn is 5 months old now and is getting very big. She is developing a personality that is all her own. She isn't going to be anything like I was when I was a kid. I was quiet and shy, and I think Brynn is going to be very outgoing. She is already developing quite the little attitude, but I love her to little itty bitty pieces. My greatest joy right now is hearing her laugh. It's those deep bellied little baby laughs that get me every time. They are rare, so I savor them when they occur. We finally captured that beautiful sound on audio recorder and video recorder.
On a completely different note, Tara and Dave found out that they lost their baby. That was heart wrenching, and was made even worse by the fact that they live so far away. But, as I told Tara, that little baby just wasn't ready to come into this world yet, so he went back to wait a little while until the perfect time approached. That time is coming soon though, because Tara and Dave are applying for teaching jobs at a Charter School here in Rochester. I know they will both get hired, because they have to. This opportunity is just too perfect not to work out. As I always say...things will work out in the end, if it doesn't then it's not the end.

Well, Tara posted, so I guess I should follow suit. There is a lot to tell anyways. My little girl finally made her way into the world. It was a long and exhausting labor, but worth every minute. Shawn and Mom were great coaches, and I was glad to have them both there with me. I never would have had the optimism to make it through alone. I only wish that Gram could have been around long enough to meet her. It's so frustrating that she missed her by only a couple of weeks. I know she got to see her anyways, but I would have loved to have seen the light in her eyes when she got to meet her first great grandchild.
Our world is starting to turn upside down again. I had an interview at RIT in the Computer Science department for an Academic Advisor position. I think it went well. It is only a temporary, one year position for right now with the potential of becomming a permanent position next year. I also have another interview this tuesday at the Saunders College of Business at RIT for an Academic Advisor position. I am very hopeful about that position. I would be working with all of the same people that I worked with before, and I would be on familiar territory. It would be a nice change from the bank. A little slower pace with a lot more flexibility in schedule.
Shawn has an interview for a gaming job in Massachusettes coming up. That was bitter sweet news for me. It is a great opportunity for him to do something he loves, and for me to jump start my career as well (better job economy in MA), but it would break my heart to leave the family behind now that we have Brynn. I guess we will just have to wait and see how that turns out.
I have to cut this off abruptly because the duty of motherhood calls (aka Brynn is screaming for her mommy). I will keep you posted on how everything works out. Everything does work out in the end...if it doesn't, then it's not the end. I am keeping that quote in mind as Steve battles through his health issues as well.

Still holding on to see what the future has in store for me as far as a career goes. I know it is out there, I just have to find it...or it has to find me. I found a couple of good leads for admissions/advisor positions on various different campuses in Rochester. Hopefully one of those will work out.
I have starting the nesting phase of pregnancy, so needless to say I have been getting a lot of cleaning done on the weekends. Brynn's room is finally all set. The bags are all packed for the hospital, and the car seat is installed in my car. Now all we need is the baby. I have been having some really weird baby dreams lately. Last night I dreamt that Brynn was born, but she was like one year old and I missed all of her little baby months. She could talk and I told her that her name was going to be Brynn Mackenzie, and she hated it. She wanted to be called "Breezy", which, in reality, is the nickname of Laurie's boss's daughter, Breanna. She was also too big for bottles, so we had to start right off feeding her baby cereal. It was a very weird dream, but not uncommon for me these days. It's all of the anticipation building up.
Anyways...that's all I have for now. Pretty boring life until Brynn gets here.

Well, I am back to a point of uncertainty on the job front. My job is not quite turning out to what I thought it would be. There is alot of work above and beyond what I was told, and the pay sucks in comparison to the amount of responsibility I have. One of the biggest things looking ahead is the combination of the commute time with the fact that the hours are not flexible at all. Once Brynn gets here, I need to be able to have some wiggle room in my schedule. It is hard enough for me alone with all of my own doctor's appointments right now. If I have an appointment I have to request half a day off to factor in the commute time. A half hour appointment becomes a three hour ordeal.
I may have an opportunity to go back to work at RIT on a part time basis, which would be good for awhile. It would give me some time to adjust to life with a new baby. Then, I could add another part time job to fill in hours later on until I find a full time job that works with my new life schedule. Shawn is also starting to apply for jobs out of state, so that might take us in a different direction too. We'll see what happens. There is alot up in the air right now, but one thing is certain...Shawn and I are still very happy with eachother, and highly anticipating the birth of our first child. Despite both of us being unsatisfied with our jobs, we still have a lot going for us and are very happy with our lives.