not a day over twenty-nine

We've really got it made.  This guy is so good to us.  He fills so many roles--husband, father, friend, teacher, provider, protector--and does it all like a boss.  We love you, Kirk.  Happy birthday!

Happy birthday! Low quality pic but can't pass up those faces.

mr. clean owes me one

Let me preface this post by stating that this is a NO-JUDGE zone.  So all you people with clean houses and sticky-free kids move right on past this post.  Love me or leave me baby.  Mr. Clean and Friends will be grateful for this unsolicited shout out.

If you do have kids with dirty hands, those hands are guaranteed to drag along the walls leaving behind a tell-tale trail of PB&J, dirt, and who knows what else.   I have let those smudges accumulate mostly because I hate scrubbing walls, but also because I wanted to show y'all the power of the Magic Eraser.   

I couldn't look at the grossness of the walls anymore (plus, the terrible lighting in here accentuates the grossness--yikes).  So I bit the bullet and did some scrubbing.  But not just regular scrubbing 'cause that makes me grumpy.  It's way more fun with the Magic Eraser.  Here's the before...

various nasty walls. yuck 

...and the after!  Here's a side-by-side. Remember people, No. Judge. Zone.

before

after

before

after

before

after
Dayton cleaned this spot.  Not bad, eh?

    

Now that the walls are clean, a certain handsome preschooler will be wearing gloves for the remainder of our time here.  Like I was saying about the Magic Eraser, it's great.  Removes almost all marks (my walls had pen, jam, dirt, yogurt, old stubborn marker stains, and other normal gross stuff...it is normal, right?)

Here's my cleaning list.  Or should I say Dayton's list?  He totally loves scrubbing walls.  Anything to feel like a grown-up.  Wish I had a picture of his little hands in those big rubber gloves. 

• wash blinds (some I could take down and wash quickly in the tub, others I had to scrub with a sponge and towel)
• scrub marks off the wall with magic eraser
• spackle holes in wall from nails 
• shampoo carpets
• wipe off cupboards shelves and cabinet doors 
• sweep behind fridge, washer & dryer
• cobweb check
• rinse out light fixtures (how do bugs get inside light fixtures??)
• bathroom deep clean
• wash windows
• deep clean kitchen: sink, oven, & stovetop
• last thing before moving: spot clean, sweep, vacuum

The goal is to have everything done before packing the truck so that all we have to do after loading the truck is a quick spot clean.  This is a great cleaning checklist from Apartment Therapy if you're interested.  What's your least favorite spot to clean?  Maybe a better question is where do you find cheap labor?

emma's first birthday

This girl...so much goodness in one little package.  She turned one-year-old this week :'(

Her personality is beginning to show itself.  There's a lot of sweet with a little spunk--just enough to keep mom and dad on their toes.  She and Dayton light up for each other (may it always be so!).  Emma usually wakes up from her afternoon nap just before Dayton.  As soon as she hears him wake up, she crawls off towards his door where she sits and waits for me to let her in.  As soon as I turn the handle she pushes the door open and babbles with Dayton for a bit.  And he reciprocates the love; often the first words he says in the morning are "Emmaaaaa, wake up Emma!"  We often find him getting out of bed at night to wake her up and play with her through the slats of the crib.  Roommate problems.  :)

She is the queen of disarming smiles but is not easily tickled.  Poor Dayton has to take her doses of that in addition to his own.  Her "spunky side" comes out if I leave the room when she is hungry or tired, or if I have to take away something she wants but can't have (like power cords), it is just the end of her little world.  She gets so sad and lays her head on the floor to whimper, cry, or grunt...whatever seems to best illustrate her displeasure.  She rolls around a few times to make her point.  It is the silliest thing!  

There are so many things we love about Miss Emma.  One special memory I'll have of her baby years is her snuggles.  She's an on-the-go kind of girl, but when it's nap time she's all cuddles.  Plug in the pacifier, wrap her in the Gramma blankie, and this little mover melts into a butterball.  It's such a treat.  She also loves to join in on the wrestling we do with Dayton, climbing on top of anyone that gets pinned.  

We love what she adds to our family dynamic.  For my record keeping, here are her stats from her 1-year check up.  

height: 2' 5" (41%)

weight: 21 lbs 3 oz (71%)

head circ: 18.7" (97%)

bushkill falls, pa

Pennsylvania keeps trying to convince me to stay forever.  It's so lush and green and the weather has been so mild this spring.  And don't get me started on how hard it will be to say goodbye to all our friends.  I can't thing about that without ugly-crying.  

We spent a few days with some friends at a great house in Stroudsburg.  We hiked around Bushkill Falls, swam at the pool, roasted s'mores, stayed up late talking & playing games, and enjoyed the beautiful Pocono mountain scenery.  

Bushkill Falls hiking adventures

There's nothing like getting away from it all with good friends and unplugging from the world for a bit.  It was just what we needed. 

finding an internship...start now!

That's right, the program hasn't even started yet, but the sooner you go after that perfect internship the more likely you'll be to find it.  The summer internship can be a golden opportunity to take your pick of companies and job functions and turn it into a career!  Here are some things Kirk has done to (hopefully) find a great internship and a few suggestions he's gleaned along the way.  

1- As a couple, talk about what you want out of the internship.  Is this just a summer experience or will it lead to a job offer after school?  

     -what type of job are you looking for? Obviously a good place to start.

     -what kind of company culture are you both okay with? work-a-holic, family friendly, flexible hours, work from home, travel requirements...

     -compensation--signing bonus, average starting salary, benefits, time-off, relocation benefit, etc.

2- Where do you want to settle down?  East coast vs. west coast, close to family (far from family?), big city, suburbia, rural...Is there any location you absolutely want to rule out?  If your internship leads to a job after school, you maybe living there for quite some time.  Make sure you're okay with that. 

3- Make a list of the top 10 companies you want to work for.  Research them in depth, define what you are interested in doing at each of those companies and why they appeal to you so that you can succinctly communicate that to them as you ask about internship opportunities.  Make them see that you know what you want.  If you're not sure, really focus on what you do know; don't be wishy washy and noncommittal.  

4- Network, network, network....NOW! Don't wait until you start school, and definitely don't wait until the first year starts winding down, reach out to people now!  Use your friend-of-a-friend connections on linked-in, Facebook, family connections, etc.

5- Prepare a few responses to questions you might expect to hear.  Don't make them sound stiff, but be smooth, well-spoken, and succinct.  Recruiters are professionals at screening people who don't meet their requirements.  You've got to be prepared and know your stuff.  There are lots of great books for interview prep.  Kirk recommends "Boost Your Interview IQ" by Carole Martin.  Kirk-approved = guaranteed awesomeness.  

6- When recruiters google your name, what are they going to find?  That your work experience on LinkedIn consists of some part-time, no-skills-required-we-just-need-a-warm-body job?  Update that profile! Show them you have some solid work experience (or make the best of what you've got).  Post a decent profile picture of yourself.  Be cautious about what's on your Facebook profile as well. Put your best foot forward, or your first impression may be your last.  

7 reasons why we chose byu's mba program

Yep, we are BYU bound.  The Marriott School of Business is a respected, reputable program with some awesome perks.  Here are some of the reasons we are totally excited about BYU.

1-cost
Forbes recently ranked BYU's MBA program 17th in the nation for return on investment.  Because the university is mostly funded through tithes paid by members of the LDS Church, it is a relatively inexpensive private university.  The program cost is $45,120 for non-LDS students, and $22,560 for LDS students (much like in-state versus out-of-state tuition).  That's a smokin' deal for an MBA from a respected university.

Provo's cost of living is 7.9% below the national average, which makes those two years in grad school a little more affordable.  We also looked into Northwestern, UCLA, & UC-Berkeley, where the cost of living is almost twice the national average.  California would have ben a fun place to live for two years, but saying goodbye to the additional debt is a relief.

2-rankings (check out more rankings for BYU's MBA program here)
1st--Princeton Review Most Family Friendly
17th--Forbes
27th--U.S. News & World Report
32nd--BusinessWeek
Impressive numbers.  They speak for themselves.

3-strong alumni network
BYU grads are very supportive of each other and willing to help out a fellow Cougar.  We've experienced the strength of the alumni network directly; each of Kirk's jobs have come as a result of alumni connections.

4-placement of grads in west
41% of BYU MBA grads accept a job in the western United States, which is where we hope to settle down.  They have great connections with tech companies like Adobe, Amazon, & Hewlett-Packard.  They have a "TechTrek" to visit companies like Google and Apple.  But going back to the last point, if you are willing to leverage the strength of the alumni network and reach out to people, you can make things happen anywhere.  24% settled in the southwestern U.S. and 20% in the Midwest.

5-100% of grads had a job offer within 3 months after graduation.  Boom baby.

6-proximity to extended family
Both of our families live in Utah and Idaho, and we are so looking forward to being close to grandparents, siblings, and cousins.  Yay for free babysitters! :)

7-#1 most family friendly program in the nation (Princeton Review)
People, let me tell you something.  When selecting an MBA program, check out the spouse's association/joint venture clubs if you are married with kids.  These programs offer support, friendship, and growth opportunities for your family as they support you in school.  I am beyond excited to participate in MBASA, BYU's MBA spouse association.  MBASA plays a large part in creating experiences that earn BYU's #1 rating as the most family friendly MBA program.  Check out some of the activities they offer in any given month...

• BBQ's, date nights for students and spouses with free babysitting, socials 
• kids soccer teams, play dates
• service opportunities galore
• sports teams for the adults, hiking groups
• education classes & craft classes for spouses

This is just a sampling of the activities offered by MBASA.  With multiple activities each week, the kids and I will have plenty of experiences to make our experience at grad school enriching and fun.

Impressive, right?  BYU offers so many great opportunities to both students and their families at a much lower cost than most similarly ranked universities.  I'm glad that Kirk will be attending a top notch program, and I'm grateful that I will have a great support network to ease our transition at home.

If you have questions about BYU, MBASA, grad school, etc., please comment!  I can definitely address questions in future posts or individually in the comment section.

planning our move - packing checklists

We have three months until our move, but I plan on doing a little bit at a time here and there so we can spend our weekends enjoying our friends and favorite places here in PA.  Who knows when we'll ever make it back to this beautiful, historic part of the country?

Here are a few checklists I'm using to stay organized...

•  This one from Martha Stewart breaks things down week-by-week starting six weeks out from your move.  It has extra space to add your own tasks.  Plus, it's totally Martha-fied and cute.  
• Real Simple magazine created a moving list that has some great reminders of things that are easy to forget.  Refill prescriptions, obtain copies of medical records (great for establishing with new doctors/dentists), and have the car tuned-up prior to moving. 

My "little bit" this week was to gather items for a "donation" bag and pack my maternity clothes.  Look for a clothing drop box, thrift store, or consignment shop to drop off any items you haven't worn or used in a year.  

I'll be working on Dayton & Emma's clothes this month, but here's a tip for tackling baby/kids clothes.  They can be used as hand-me-downs for younger siblings, so hold onto them if you have the storage space.  I love the big plastic bins because I can label them (i.e. "boy--newborn, 3-6 months, blankets") and see inside without opening them up to dig through.  The low profile ones are wonderful for storing clothes out of the way, under a bed or in a closet. 

20" x 42" Under-Bed box on Amazon

Here's my baby step towards being prepped to pack--a couple of drawers and my closet de-junked.

cleaning out some drawers

maternity, baby clothes, piles to keep and donate