I almost forgot! The best part of my Christmas vacation!
Ryan and I spent a lot of time debating, calculating, and praying.... and we decided that I am going to stay home with Braden for the rest of the year! I called my school and they graciously accepted my resignation (whew!)
I know in my previous blog I gave a lot of the reasons that I needed to go back to work, and while those reasons were all valid, in the end I just couldn't do it. I decided that Braden's health and well being were more important and I was just going to have to be willing to make some sacrifices. I'm clipping coupons like I've never clipped before! LOL.
But Seriously- things are tight, and I may experience some set backs in my career, but I believe it will be worth it. After all, in 40 years when I look back at my life, am I honestly going to say, "Geez, I wish I would have worked more and spent less time with my children."? Absolutely not. And while I'm not working this year, I can't yet say what my plans are for the future. I'm going to just let things move at their own pace and make decisions as they come.
But for now, let's celebrate!!! I'm staying home with my baby boy and I'm loving it!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Christmas in Pennsylvania
Well, the Holidays are finally over and boy were they eventful! Ryan and I were able to travel to Pennsylvania to see our families. Unfortunately we couldn't afford to fly, so we drove for two days to get there. It ended up being for the best. We ended up with so many gifts, we wouldn't have been able to take them on a plane! Braden got so many wonderful things; toys, clothing, and even diapers! Ryan and I also got some very nice things that we are very thankful for. Thank you to everyone that was so generous to us this Holiday!
We started our visit at Ryan's home town of Saxton, PA. We stayed with Ryan's mom, Janet, and step-day, Rodney. Ryan's brother, Josh was home from college and his other brother, Chris, lives in the same town with his wife, Melanie, and their two boys, Riley(7) & Kieran (5).
Braden playing with his new gymnasium from Chris, Mel, Riley, & Kieran.
We had the opportunity to go visit Ryan's great aunt Edrie, who lives in a nursing home a few miles away. Aunt Edrie has been like a grandmother to Ryan. She's 93 years old and just lost her husband this year. She is amazingly with-it for her age and was just tickled to see Braden.
On Christmas morning we all opened our presents and then had a family dinner around noon. After a few hours of playing with our new "toys", Ryan and I departed for Gettysburg where we went straight to my Aunt's house for the "Riley family Christmas party". We were able to see much of my Dad's extended family, most of which we haven't seen for an entire year.
We spent the rest of the week with my parents and my brother's and sisters. It was nice to relax and to visit with them. We had fun playing the Nintendo Wii that we got for Christmas and watching my Dad's new big screen plasma TV.
On Sunday my mom threw a brunch in honor of Braden's Blessing a Church. In our religion we don't Baptize until children are at least 8 years old. So this was a brief moment out of the church service where they Christened him by "giving him a name", Braden Lee Gresko, and gave him a blessing for his life.
The Brunch was wonderful. My mom made all sorts of yummy food and my family members were there, including my Dad's mom and step father, Grandma and Pappy Grady.
After the luncheon we set off for church where Braden was blessed by my brother Michael, who is an elder in our church. And afterwards we took a zillion pictures and visited with Church folk that we haven't seen in ages!
After church Ryan and I had to leave to go back to Saxton and finish our visit with his family. We spent a few more days with them and some of our best friends in Martinsburg and eventually had to pack up and come back to Alabama. Neither of us wanted to leave!! :-(
Visiting with Mike, Heather, & their little boy, Owen: Owen wanted to know what Braden was doing under that blanket!
We're already looking forward to visiting PA again once school is out in May!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
I guess I better Join the Club...
So my sister Elizabeth and my good friend Nikki both have blogs now, and although I've had many blogs in the past and still have several websites (aka: myspace, facebook, yada yada yada) I don't have a simple blog. So here goes.
As most of you know, My name is Ashley. I married a wonderful man named Ryan 2 years ago on December 17th.
A year and a half ago we moved from our native state of Pennsylvania to pursue our careers as music teachers and to live in the state of Alabama.
After a few months of Alabamian living we bought a house and upon our house closing we found out we were expecting our first child.
Seven weeks ago I delivered a healthy and beautiful baby boy! Braden Lee Gresko. 9lbs 3oz
20 1/2 inches long. Born at 2:34pm on October 24th.
The first week home my parents came and helped out. I honestly don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been here. I may have gone back to the hospital and said, "please take him. I don't know what the heck I'm doing!"
I was very overwhelmed the first few days. I had a very hard labor followed by 2 hours of pushing that ended up in an emergency c-section. I was bullied into giving Braden a bottle at the hospital, which ended up in him being nipple confused and we had a very hard time breastfeed for about a week after that. Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend, Emilly, who found me a lactation consultant and I was able to get back on track. Needless to say, I needed my parents both physically and emotionally!
The second week home Ryan's parents came to visit. They were so nice to see and they spoiled us by ordering take out and picking up Sonic slushes. mmm... my favorite!
The 3rd week home my twin sisters Elizabeth & Kathryn came to visit. Kathryn brought her latest edition, Baby Hugh. It was the first time I had seen him since he was born 3 months earlier! We all spent the day talking and giggling like school girls. It was so much fun! The first day we never even changed out of our PJs! And both Elizabeth & Kathryn made the yummiest home cooked meals!
The 4th week home was the first time I was really alone with Braden. I'll be honest: I was nervous at first, but I finally got use to it and although the house was messy and I didn't make dinner & sometimes I didn't even get to take a shower, I got through it. And Braden survived my inexperienced mothering and we even had a little fun. :-)
Now things seem to finally be settling down. Other than a few nights of hourly feedings, which I can only attribute to a cold or a growth spurt; Braden is sleeping and eating well. We have so much fun during the day.
He love to play, lay on his tummy, take baths, and go for walks in his stroller. I feel blessed to have such a wonderfully healthy and happy baby. Some days I am cranky & look forward to going back to work in January and others I tear up and the thought of missing so many smiles & baby noises.
I know that going back to work is what I need to do in order to establish my career and to maintain my reputation as a reliable educator. I also know that financially it's neccesary, because we recently purchased a home and had to buy a new car when Ryan's broke down. It might be a different story if we lived closer to family and had some of their resources, however, that's not the case. I still stand behind our decision to move to Alabama. We have been provided with so many opportunities both professionally and personally. We have truly learned to rely on each other and it has helped us to be more independent from our parents, which has helped us to have a closer and stronger marriage.
I'm so thankful for the experiences we have had so far. I love my husband and my son so much and just look forward to each day as it brings me some new wonderful part of life!
"The Greskos"
As most of you know, My name is Ashley. I married a wonderful man named Ryan 2 years ago on December 17th.
A year and a half ago we moved from our native state of Pennsylvania to pursue our careers as music teachers and to live in the state of Alabama.
After a few months of Alabamian living we bought a house and upon our house closing we found out we were expecting our first child.
Seven weeks ago I delivered a healthy and beautiful baby boy! Braden Lee Gresko. 9lbs 3oz
20 1/2 inches long. Born at 2:34pm on October 24th.
The first week home my parents came and helped out. I honestly don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been here. I may have gone back to the hospital and said, "please take him. I don't know what the heck I'm doing!"
I was very overwhelmed the first few days. I had a very hard labor followed by 2 hours of pushing that ended up in an emergency c-section. I was bullied into giving Braden a bottle at the hospital, which ended up in him being nipple confused and we had a very hard time breastfeed for about a week after that. Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend, Emilly, who found me a lactation consultant and I was able to get back on track. Needless to say, I needed my parents both physically and emotionally!
The second week home Ryan's parents came to visit. They were so nice to see and they spoiled us by ordering take out and picking up Sonic slushes. mmm... my favorite!
The 3rd week home my twin sisters Elizabeth & Kathryn came to visit. Kathryn brought her latest edition, Baby Hugh. It was the first time I had seen him since he was born 3 months earlier! We all spent the day talking and giggling like school girls. It was so much fun! The first day we never even changed out of our PJs! And both Elizabeth & Kathryn made the yummiest home cooked meals!
The 4th week home was the first time I was really alone with Braden. I'll be honest: I was nervous at first, but I finally got use to it and although the house was messy and I didn't make dinner & sometimes I didn't even get to take a shower, I got through it. And Braden survived my inexperienced mothering and we even had a little fun. :-)
Now things seem to finally be settling down. Other than a few nights of hourly feedings, which I can only attribute to a cold or a growth spurt; Braden is sleeping and eating well. We have so much fun during the day.
He love to play, lay on his tummy, take baths, and go for walks in his stroller. I feel blessed to have such a wonderfully healthy and happy baby. Some days I am cranky & look forward to going back to work in January and others I tear up and the thought of missing so many smiles & baby noises.
I know that going back to work is what I need to do in order to establish my career and to maintain my reputation as a reliable educator. I also know that financially it's neccesary, because we recently purchased a home and had to buy a new car when Ryan's broke down. It might be a different story if we lived closer to family and had some of their resources, however, that's not the case. I still stand behind our decision to move to Alabama. We have been provided with so many opportunities both professionally and personally. We have truly learned to rely on each other and it has helped us to be more independent from our parents, which has helped us to have a closer and stronger marriage.
I'm so thankful for the experiences we have had so far. I love my husband and my son so much and just look forward to each day as it brings me some new wonderful part of life!
"The Greskos"
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