Ok so I haven't blogged in quite a while but to my defense I have been a pretty busy lady.  I did not find out the gender of our baby until I delivered.  Everyone kept asking me what I thought it was and I honestly did not have a clue!  Anna kept saying she was having a baby brother the whole time I was pregnant which I thought was odd since she always said she wanted a baby sister.  Well. . . it was a BOY!  Harper James Bushnell made his debut July 31, 2014.  Dave and I both were shocked beyond belief!  We went home with him for one day and then he had to be admitted to NICU for Fever and Jaundice.  It was the longest 4 days of my life.  Harper is such a blessing to our family and Anna absolutely loves her baby brother.  He is now 8 months old and still not sleeping through the night but sleep is overrated right?  He is such a happy baby and adores his big sister.  His personality is more like Dave-he's pretty easygoing but hates being alone!  I know I give him too many hugs and kisses but I can't help it!

LSUHSC was state ran when our lovely governor decided it needed to be privatized.  Because of this, I had to reapply and reinterview for my job during my maternity leave which was super fun and not stressful at all (note sarcasm).  Luckily everything worked out and I am still a pediatric social worker at the now University Health.   I also got offered a not really part time position, meaning I'm still technically full time and keep my benefits but I only work 32 hours/weekly.  It has been a Godsend to keeping my sanity.  I am able to be present at Anna's school events, spend more time with the kids and also get things done.

I made the choice to have my thyroid removed due to my biopsy coming back as follicular neoplasm (which means it could be or could not be cancer).  I had my thyroidectomy at the end of August and it has been a roller coaster from hell since then.  Luckily everything came back as benign although it was much larger than they though.  Since then I've gained weight, dealt with being cold all of the time, more moody than normal and always exhausted.  I was told it could take a year for the right dosage of meds to be determined and I hope it happens sooner rather than later!  I am trying to lose the 20 lbs. I've gained since the thyroidectomy but when you really don't have much of a metabolism anymore it is definitely easier said than done!

We decided not to test Anna for Magnet and to keep her at St. Joseph's.  I toured the Magnet schools and just prefer my child being able to be a kid and not have the pressure that the Magnet schools induce.  There are 5 Kindergarten classes at each Magnet Elementary School, St. Joseph has 2!  Plus with Magnet she would have to retest at 6th grade whereas St. Joseph she can stay at until high school and at that point she can decide if she wants to remain at a private school or go to public.  Anna has done so well at St. Joseph and I just didn't want to uproot her if we didn't have to.  Plus once I found out how they really determine who gets in Magnet and who doesn't, I was not thrilled about the process.  Basically my child gets penalized because we live in a good neighborhood and make good money.  After all is said and done, I feel that Dave and I made the right choice for our child.

Our life has been crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love my little family and the life we have.  I feel extremely blessed.