Happy Holidays!

Jason, Jay and I are very fortunate that we live so close to family.  We are able to spend some time with both sides at Christmas!  Jay gets to play with all of his cousins and Jason and I get to have some good, adult conversations.  We were very fortunate that the weather was good and made travel easier.

I think our house is a little more in order than it was when we first got back.  We have a lot of boxes to get rid of yet.  I'm still looking for homes for a few things, but once I get rid of some more clutter, that shouldn't be a problem. 

This weekend is jammed packed with visitors!  Jason's parents are coming down today for our choir's cantata tomorrow.  A friend from Texas is traveling through Iowa with her girls and would love to stop and see us.  (Not to mention a shower and some home cooking!)  Tomorrow, some friends of ours from Independence are coming out for the day.  We're going to have a busy couple of days!

Jay has discovered how fun it is to stick food up his nose.  It started with corn, then rice.  I'm trying to make sure to feed him food that is too big for his nose now.  It definitely changes things!  Jay and I also went and bought "Cars 2" and he is just as enthralled with this movie as "Cars".  The same people who made those two movies are coming out with a new one, "Planes" based on the planes from the movies.  Jason and I are planning on taking Jay to see it in the theater!

I am planning to take a trip to eastern Iowa in January, with Jay in tow.  We'll be leaving Ames the afternoon of the 13th and returning sometime the following week.  There are several people that have requested a visit, and we're going to try to see everyone, but we'll see how things go.

Jason will no longer be working weekends come January 14th.  He's been working weekends again for the last two years, so we're hoping that he'll get to stay off weekends.  That will help him accumulate some vacation time instead of using all of it. He's very excited about it!

We hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!  We'll be in Ames, celebrating at home and spending New Year's day with friends.  We hope everyone will be able to be with loved ones!

No Party

Jay and I made the trip to Des Moines Friday night to go see the Ryan family.  It took us about an hour and a half to get to the hotel.  Luckily, Jay slept halfway.  I spent some time talking with Cyndy and Eric while Jay decided to wrestle Kjetil.  Jay had so much fun!  We even got to go swimming.  I think Jay's favorite part was checking everyone's hotel room out.  He was very good about following me around the hotel to go to different places. 

We shared a room with Jordan and her boyfriend, Andrew, and his dog, Sally.  It was a long night since Jay was overly tired and overly excited about everything.  It took several YouTube views of the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" theme song to get him calm enough to lay down and go to sleep.  He woke up around 4:30am, after finally going to sleep about 2am.  He cried and cried, then started coughing this barking type cough.  After discussion with Cyndy, it's most likely croup.  The hotel room was very dry.  I finally got Jay back to sleep about 5am after taking his jammies off, Jordan turning the heat down in the room, watching some Disney Junior and finally getting him to drink some water.  Of course I had to wake him up to get him ready to go so we could check out on time. 

Jay and I did not get to stay for the family party.  Dad wasn't feeling well with his cold, so the three of us came back up to Ames.  And since Mom and Jordan didn't take the pinwheels I made out of the Pacifica, those came back to Ames with us!  Jay didn't take a nap when we got home, but he did end up going to bed at 6pm.  So far, no coughing!  (It's 7:30.)  Mom and Dad left to go back to Miles since Dad has to work tomorrow.  Jordan is nice enough to stay with us for the weekend to help watch Jay.  (Maybe we'll even get all of our presents wrapped!)

Waiting

I am recovering from my surgery.  I no longer have a splint and get my stitches taken out on Wednesday.  I am able to use my wrist as normal, as long as I don't overdo it.  I'm sure I'll have a nice scar to show everyone!

We're patiently waiting for some snow.  It did snow one night and Jay was amazed!  We even got him to try catching the flakes with his tongue.  He has a snowsuit so I'm hoping we'll get enough snow that he'll be able to use it.  For now, he likes to put his mittens on and wave at traffic while in our driveway.  (He tends to wave more at the cars than at people.) 

I spent a couple of days making some goodies and we gave them to our friends.  Jay was pretty good while I was making everything, sleeping the one day and staying fairly occupied the other.  We don't have our Christmas decorations up.  I can't get to where our decorations are, but we do have an advent calendar. (Thanks to Jason's mom for getting it for us!)  It's really cute.  It's a Christmas tree with snaps and each day is a different ornament.  I think Jay will really like it next year.  This year, he only wants to pull it off the wall.  I also don't have any of our wrapping paper out seeing as it's with our Christmas decorations.

We're planning on spending Christmas eve in Miles and Christmas day in Olin.  It's going to be an extremely short trip, but it'll be fun and filled with lots of family and love.  And probably laughter!  Currently, I'm planning on Jay and I spending about a week in Miles in January with a stop in Olin at some point.  I should go back to my job in February and want to take a "vacation" before I end up working close to 50 hours a week. 

I look forward to this holiday season as Jay is getting more and more curious about everything!  We decided not to take him to see Santa because we're not sure how he'll react.  We'll try to make sure we read the Christmas story and I'll see if I can't at least get out our Nativity.

Shots

Jay got his 18 month and flu shots today.  He was so brave!  He was a happy little boy all morning, then he had his shots.  The crying didn't last long.  I think he was done crying by the time we got his coat and hat on.  We decided to treat him to Perkins for breakfast since he was up earlier than he would normally be and he had three pokes.  At least we have six months before we get anymore pokes!

He was very good while we waited for our food, just didn't eat very much.  (He's not much of a breakfast person at times.)  He got to have strawberry-banana French toast with bacon.  He also decided he wanted some of my hash browns. 

I'm still getting over whatever it is I have.  I'm still coughing, but not as often.  I'm hoping it's gone in time for my surgery next week.  Thursday I have my pre-op appointment, so here's hoping things will go as scheduled.

Jason has started to get whatever it is I have.  He's starting to get to the "coughing all the time" stage.  He's been pretty lucky and hasn't had a fever, just coughing, sinus pressure and headaches.  I think the coughing causes the headaches though, at least that seems to be how it's been working for me.

Jay has also decided to not nap until almost 3 in the afternoon.  He's so much like Jason when it comes to sleep.  Jay just fights until he can't keep his eyes open anymore!  Since he's been napping so late, we've had a few nights where he goes to bed later than usual.  Don't worry, he's usually in bed and sleeping by 10.  Of course the holiday and Daddy being home at weird times has screwed up every one's schedule.  I'm sure we'll be back on track soon, just in time for it to get interrupted for Christmas!

Thanksgiving

I no longer work at Solum.  I will be hired back sometime in February, so in the meantime, I'm back to being a full-time mom.  And with staying at home again, Jay and I have been sick.  We both had the stomach flu last week.  Now we both have a cold and I've been running a low grade fever on and off for the last couple of days.  Jason was lucky enough to not get the stomach flu, but I think he's getting our cold.

We had a fairly good holiday.  We spent this last weekend at Jason's parents and we celebrated Thanksgiving with them.  The food was delicious and the company was fantastic.  Jay had a blast playing with Ethan and Audrey, which he always does.

Since Jay and I were sick, we stayed home for Thanksgiving instead of going to West Des Moines.  We had turkey tenderloins, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.  Jay loved the stuffing and cranberry sauce!  His face was red with the sauce and he needed a bath after supper.  Other than that, it was a pretty low key day.

Today we're just taking it easy and staying home.  No Black Friday shopping for us! 

Surgery

I had a surgical consult again yesterday.  My surgery is scheduled for December 6th at 9:30 am.  The surgery to remove the cyst on my wrist will only take about 45 minutes, but the whole process will be four to five hours.  I'll be in a splint for a week and will have the stitches taken out two weeks later. 

Jason has decided to take the day and the two days after off.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to go back to work the following Monday.  I won't be able to do all of my job, but I'll be able to do quite a bit. 

I will only be able to pick up five pounds with my right hand, at least while it's in the splint.  That means I'll have to pick up Jay with one arm.  It'll be a long week!

Costume

Just me and the little man for the majority of the day today.  We slept in some and had snuggles on the couch.  We did some grocery shopping and headed down to Des Moines.  We stopped at Miss Tabitha's new house to say hello and show off our Halloween costume.  We stayed for a little bit, but felt like we were more in the way than anything.  Jay did get to play outside for a little bit.

After leaving the house, Jay and I had lunch at McDonald's.  (Not the healthiest choice, but fairly quick and I know the menu really well and had decided what to get before we went in.)  Jay ate all of his kid's meal even with all the distraction of the other kids running around the Play Place. 

From McDonald's we drove for a surprise visit to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's.  Jay showed up in his costume to Trick or Treat.  We spent the afternoon with them and Jay did everything in his power to stay awake and not take a nap.  Of course he fell asleep on the way home.

We had a pretty good week.  I had a consult for my ganglion cyst on Tuesday.  What it came down to was I should have surgery since it causes me pain.  I would be in a splint for about a week, then a follow-up and starting normal use.  It's up to us when to have the surgery and the doctor said it's possible it could go away on it's own. 

Since it doesn't bother me too much at work, mostly at home, we decided to give it a few weeks to see if it would go away.  Most likely, I'll have the surgery sometime after Thanksgiving.  It causes me quite a bit of pain when I hold/carry Jay around or twist my wrist too much.  It's not unbearable pain, but it's possible it could just get worse and cause more pain. 

For now, we just keep getting up and enjoying everyday.  We're hoping the weather will make up it's mind and settle into one season.  There is still a runny nose (Jay's) and a lot of clothing being worn since it's hot, then cold, then warm, then cold, then hot again.  We're ready for Halloween though and Thanksgiving isn't too far off!

Slow

So, I'm done with my antibiotics, but it seems everyone here has a nasty cough.  Or at least, is coughing gross stuff up.  I think Jay's problem is his canines are finally popping through and staying that way.  I'm still having some sinus problems, mostly headaches and congestion.  I blame the weather.

On Tuesday, I get my wrist looked at for the ganglion cyst.  I'm hoping the doc will say that draining it will be all that they need to do.  If they want to do surgery, I think it may have to wait until after my temp position is over.  The extraction team has found a way for people to get around all the repetitive motion for the whole shift.

Jay is doing really well at daycare.  He still isn't talking, but he's getting a little better at following directions.  Yesterday, he dumped all of his clementine segments on his tray, then put them back into the bowl.  He's such a stinker!  We've also been watching the movie "Cars" about twice a day, if not more.  I'm glad he's got a movie he just loves!  He now has Lightning McQueen slippers to wear when it gets cold.  Too bad he doesn't really leave them on his feet.

Things have slowed down at work, but I'm not sure when they'll start letting people go.  I love working there and my co-workers are great.  It's a lot of fun going to work, even if it is at 7am. 

I'm hoping to spend some time on "vacation" with Jay once I'm let go for the season.  Taking a trip to eastern Iowa to visit family sounds like fun to me!

Sickness

Happy October! 

We are in the middle of sick season in our house.  Jay had his first ear infection a few weeks ago.  While he no longer has the infection, he's still been having some problems. 

Jay had a hearing test today due to him not talking and not seeming to respond to questions.  Jason took him and the hearing doctor said they couldn't test Jay because his ears have fluid in them.  They sent them to Jay's doctor, who we were going to try to see anyway, and said the fluid could be from Jay being on the antibiotics.  The reasoning is the antibiotics killed some of the good bacteria and his body is having a hard time recovering.  We've started giving him a probiotic and it was also suggested we feed him yogurt more often. 

I am battling an upper respiratory infection that has moved into my bronchioles.  My doctor put me on an antibiotic and hopefully my cough will go away soon and I'll be on the mend.  All in all, I think a good night's sleep will do wonders!

Jason is starting to get something as well.  We're not sure if it's the same stuff or something completely different.  (It's so hard to tell since he works with the public.) 

All in all, it's best for people to stay away if you get sick easily.  I'm hoping with me being on an antibiotic that it won't get spread to the boys, but it may be too late for that!

Mommy Brain

I didn't realize that Mommy brain continued this long after pregnancy.  Mine has gotten a lot worse this past week, but I know I'm not getting enough sleep let alone enough time with Jay.  I worked over 50 hours last week and part of that was on Saturday.  Actually, I worked a nine hour day on Saturday.  We were begged to come in this afternoon and make double time if we came in.  I opted to spend the day with my family.

Since I'm working so much, I've found that I'm having a hard time concentrating on pretty much anything.    I don't seem to remember much either and all I really want to do is sleep.  I still get some exercising in and manage to get some housework done.  I'm not really sure how I do it, but I do.

Jay is pretty much over his ear infection.  He was done with his antibiotics on Wednesday, but we're still getting it worked out of his system.  He is doing well with daycare.  He's almost done crying by the time Jason walks out the door.  I dropped Jay off on Friday and he cried for a little bit after I left.  He's getting to the point where when I pick Jay up, he doesn't come running to see me.  I'm very glad he likes being there!

Jason has also been working a lot of hours as well.  He's gotten overtime at CyRide and has been working at his second when he can.  We don't see much of each other for now. I'm sure we will by Christmas time.

Working Girl

I have finished my first week of work.  I would have blogged about it yesterday except that I wasn't done with work for the week. That's right, my first week and I ended up working on a Saturday.  (For four hours of overtime, so I'm not going to complain.)  The reason for weekend work is that different departments are still having some computer program bugs.  Of course it's the first stop for our samples so it backs everything up for everyone else.  We're hoping that the bugs are gone now and things will run a little smoother from now on.

In case you didn't know, I'm working for a soil testing company called Solum.  I work in the extraction department which prepares the samples to be run on the different instruments for certain minerals.  They just built the lab this summer and officially opened for customer samples this Monday.  Some people have been working since July, but have been using practice samples to learn how to do their specific jobs.  I work with four other people and we seem to get along pretty well. 

Jay started daycare (an in-home one) on Monday and he seems to be adjusting a little.  He also had an ear infection (his first one) this past weekend.  Jason took him to the doctor on Tuesday and he's been on an antibiotic since.  He seems to be doing a lot better now.  I think the biggest adjustment for Jay has been having to be up at 6:30 to get ready to go to daycare at 7:30.  He's used to sleeping until 8 most days.  Jason drops him off and I guess Jay is usually fussy for a while. He takes a nap in the morning and the daycare lady, Miss Marcia, wakes him up at noon to eat.  She says he's perfectly fine the rest of the day after his nap. 

I pick Jay up once I get done with work and we go home for supper and I get him ready for bed so he can go to sleep once Jason gets home.  Jay is still having some rough nights of sleeping.  He's cutting all four of his canine teeth as well so it's been a rough couple of weeks for him. 

 A family picture after Grandma's funeral.

Last week we had a wedding and a funeral to attend.  The funeral was for Jason's great-grandma Hanssen.  She was 95 years old and had Alzheimer's.  Jay and I stopped to visit her the last time we visited in the beginning of August.  It was nice to see/meet a lot of Jason's family.  Hopefully it will be under better circumstances next time.  We went from the funeral to our friend's rehearsal.  Jason was a groomsman so Jay and I went to the rehearsal as well.  We ended up getting a hotel room for the weekend so it was a little like a mini vacation.  Jay wasn't feeling well, but he did pretty good considering.  He did dance a little at the reception, but I think he enjoyed the room to run around more.

Waiting for the wedding.

My handsome boys!

Starting Work

We have found a daycare!  That's right, next Monday Jason will drop Jay off a an in-home daycare (along with the little girl I've been watching) and I will head off to work at Solum Laboratories.  I will be doing extractions and am excited to be able to work in a lab again.  It is a temporary position, at least for now.  I will work until mid-December as far as I know. 

It may be possible that the position could turn into permanent, but we'll see.  It's also a pretty good possibility that I will be hired back in spring.  (Soil testing is more seasonal work seeing as the ground freezes and everything.)

I will still be working on my blogs and trying to do as much as I  can to still try and save us money.  This job will hopefully help us pay off our debt snowball a little faster and possibly even let us save up for some needed things.  (I see a big boy bed in our future!)  This job will also provide me with some much needed adult time.  Not that I don't love being home with Jay, but I like to talk to people who talk back and that I can understand!

Giggles Galore

Earlier this week Jay and I went shopping at Walmart.  The picture studio there was giving out coupons for a free print that included a free sitting fee.  I decided to take them up on their offer.

Since I wasn't planning on pictures, we just had one outfit and it ended up being a short session since it was getting close to lunch time.  Jay didn't do too bad.  He wanted to spin the stools that were in the studio, so we had to distract him to get the stools out.  The pictures are available online, but I'm waiting for the password so everyone can look at them. 

On a different note, our friend Kate from Texas is visiting with her two little girls (2 1/2 and 6 months).  Jay has had a blast with her oldest.  The two of them just giggle nonstop.  I'm glad they have stopped and they may be staying until Monday.  It's so nice to have other children for Jay to play with.

I forgot to mention, Jay is walking pretty steadily now.  He is starting to walk more than crawl, but he still crawls from time to time.  He gets upset when I go to put shoes on him, but they stay on for a while.  Some day he'll leave them on!

Sitting

Today I started watching Gabbi who is a friend's of ours daughter.  She's a little over two and a half and is just a little taller than Jay.  (And weighs less than he does.)  I'll be watching her Monday, Wednesday and Friday until I start working at that Solum lab on September 17th.  Gabbi is quite the cutie and she loves Tigger!

I'm very excited to work at the Solum lab.  They are a soil testing laboratory for farm land.  I think I'll be working on extractions, but I'm not 100% sure on that.  I did tell them I would need to find a daycare before I could work.  We have found a few prospects so hopefully one of them will work out.  I can't believe that's only three weeks away!

Too Much

I know a lot of time has passed since I last posted on this blog.  Too much time!  So many things have happened this month.

Jay continues to walk around the house and in little bursts at other places.  We went to the library today and he did quite a bit of walking.  He still does a lot of crawling, especially when he wants to get somewhere fast.  He's figured out how to open our plastic lid drawer and decided to get a bunch of lids out.  Just more stuff for Mommy to put away, although we are trying to teach how to put things away now.  It's just a really slow process. 

Jay also had his first dentist appointment this week.  Our dentist has a kids day where they have fun games and other projects to do.  Jay did pretty well.  He sat in the chair and let the bib be put on him.  They showed him the toothbrush they use and he kept trying to grab at it.  The dentist counted his teeth and looked at them with a mirror.  She said they looked pretty good!  He then got his face painted.  He's such a ferocious tiger!

I also got a "vacation" from being at home.  I worked at the state fair as a dairy clerk and had a wonderful time!  The first day, Jay got to be with our friend Joyce while I worked.  He was such a good boy for her.  The rest of the week Jay spent some much needed time with Jason.  The two of them did get to come to the fair Thursday and Friday for a while and I did get to spend some time with them.  I have already agreed to work at the fair again next year and am really looking forward to it. 

Jay and I are going to the fair again tomorrow (we're both free) with some friends of ours.  I found out that there isn't a lot of fair food that is toddler friendly, but have found a few things he would enjoy once I looked at the state fair website.  I also found some things that aren't so bad for me to eat either.  I'm also picking up our bountiful baskets which I'm looking forward too.  I can't wait to see what produce we're getting this week! 



Another Trip

Jay and I spent some time in eastern Iowa again this week.  We went to a birthday party at a pool, made calzones, spent time with some cousins and spent a lot of time on the road.  I think Jay had a good time.  He laughed a lot when he was playing with Ethan and Audrey and had a blast every time he was in the pool.  He was very happy to see Daddy when we got back.  The little stinker even decided to walk across our living room unassisted to go see what Daddy was doing in the kitchen.  (I don't think Jay realized I was still in the room.)

Wednesday I will start working at the State Fair as a dairy clerk.  I will work Wednesday checking in cattle and Thursday, Friday and Saturday working with the dairy shows.  They will be some long days, but I'm looking forward to it.  I will have a little time to see the fair, but not a lot.  I will be staying in Des Moines with some friends so I don't have to leave quite so early to get to the fairgrounds.  (I feel like I've been living out of a suitcase for the last week, so I thought I'd add another one.)

I'd also like to thank our families for letting us stay with them and all of the food they sent us home with.  It's always good to see our families and we miss you everyday!

Girls Day

My wonderful cousin, Cyndy, informed me of a Bountiful Baskets site in Des Moines. So we tried it this weekend and I am loving it! We got quite a lot of produce:

• 6 bananas
• 1 pound strawberries
• 1 pineapple
• 3 pounds carrots
• 2 green peppers
• 1 bunch collard greens
• 2 bunches broccoli
• 2 zucchini

We saved about $6.00 doing the basket, and we were lucky with the fact I was going to Des Moines anyway. Obviously not very cost effective at this point, but hopefully more people will start using it so we will be able to receive more produce. 

I was in Des Moines this weekend because my friend, Tabitha, and I decided to do a girl's night in.  (We couldn't afford to really go anywhere, or a babysitter for the kids Jay, Zoe and Austin.)  Since I was picking up our Bountiful Basket Saturday morning, Jay and I just went over to Tabitha's house after picking it up.  Jay and I spent the day having a good time.  We went to the mall with the kids to play at their play place.  Tabitha made us a yummy chicken and rice casserole for supper (Jay loved it so much that he started eating out of Austin's bowl).  After I put Jay down for bed, Zoe painted my finger and toe nails.  She also painted Tabitha's toe nails.  Right now, Zoe wants to be a cosmetologist, so we were more than happy to help her with that.

Once Zoe and Austin were in bed, Tabitha and I watched some Netflix while staying up late.  I don't think I actually went to sleep until after 4am, which is when Jay decided to wake up.  Jay woke up for the day around 8:40, so Sunday was a pretty long day for me.  I let Zoe try to braid my hair, which didn't work real well because of my layered hair.  Tabitha's dad made us breakfast, which was delicious. 

Jay and I left Des Moines around noon so we could go home and get ready to go to a friend's house to game.  Jay ended up getting pretty cranky, but that was to be expected.  Once we got home, he went to bed shortly after.  I didn't have the energy to do much else.  Hopefully I'll get plenty of rest tonight and hit the ground running tomorrow morning!

A Screw

Yesterday, we thought Jay may have swallowed a small metal screw. Thankfully, he didn't. He did end up going to the doctor and having his first x-rays. He did very well for his x-rays, but a nure and I still needed to hold him down. The doctor showed us his x-ray and said if he had swallowed something, it wasn't metal. Hurray! As you can see, he's two fisting animal crackers so the ordeal didn't bother his appetite any.

Jay and I went to the library today to pick up our bag of books prize. There were eight books in all and a nice canvas bag. Of course Jay was pretty crabby this morning, so the library trip was only about 45 minutes. I'm hoping for a good nap this afternoon. We have a lot of new books to look at and read!

I woke up with a headache this morning. I think it's going to be a long day. My breakfast consisted of a large glass of diet Mountain Lightning (Walmart's Mountain Dew) and some ibuprofen along side of my bowl of cereal with milk. With Jay being so crabby, it may be a ride with Daddy on the bus kind of day.

Comings and Goings

Today we said good-bye to our youth director at our church, Ellen. She has been at First United Methodist for 10 years. She was extremely nice to Jay and I and always made sure the nursery was staffed if we were going to need it. Jay and I also found out that whe lives only a few blocks away. Ellen is going to go overseas to teach, or at least that's what I was told. I'm not exactly sure what she's planning on doing, but we wish her the best and we'll keep her in our prayers!

Mom, Jamie and her kids came to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Des Moines. Jay and I went down to spend some time with everyone. Jay had a blast playing with all of his cousins, even if he didn't take any nap. They did wear him our really well though since he slept the whole way home and slept until 6pm. (We left around 4pm.)

Group pictures didn't go as well as we had hoped. For some reason, Allegra wanted nothing to do with anyone other than Jamie. Mason kept wanting to put bunny ears on people and Jay just wanted to climb the couch when we were behind it. Other than that snag, it was a good visit! Hopefully we'll be able to visit again soon! *I also forgot to mention that I won a drawing through Raising Readers of Story County. The prize is a backpack full of books! We'll be picking it up on Wednesday.*

It's been a whirlwind of activity these last weeks. Jay and I visited my parents the last weekend in June into July. We were home on the 2nd, just in time for some more heat. Tuesday was fairly busy with me trying to get some things back in order and all of us going to a friend's house. On Wednesday, Jason had the day off so he and Jay got to play together a lot. I even got to take a nap. Of course, Jason and Jay did too!

Thursday Jay and I stayed inside. It was just too hot to do anything. Then Friday Jay and I visited a friend who runs an in-home daycare. Jay had so much fun playing there and was very tired when we came home. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Jason did find out that Jay loves peanut butter and jelly, but he should go lighter on both next time.

Saturday was met with more heat and humidity and lots of errand running. Jay never really did take a good nap until late afternoon, around 4:30. When I woke him at 6, he was not a happy camper. In fact, he was pretty crabby the rest of the night. It didn't help that Jason worked extra that day. Today Jay and I went to church, then all of us went to a friends house. Another day of Jay not really having any nap. When he woke up from what little nap he did get, he was super crabby and still extremely tired. It took a while to get him to go to sleep, but he did. Now I'm working on all of my blogs and just trying to think of what needs to be done for tomorrow.

Jay was very good for me on our drive to Miles on Thursday. He slept for a little while, but was fairly quite for the rest of the way. He played with his toys and looked at his books. He was rewarded with getting to swim in Grandma and Grandpa's pool!

He was very excited to play with his cousins and all of the people we got to visit with. He has been so worn out! He's been having a hard time taking naps because there is too much going on. Jay even got to have smoked chicken made by Grandpa.

I had to take a picture so Jason would be jealous! The chicken was really good, but then again, everything we had was.

What a Week!

I taught vacation Bible school this week. I taught the science portion. It was really interesting, especially since the theme for the week was Overboard! Most of the experiments we did involved water in some way. The pre-school kids got to play with Jay's inflatable pool for the first two days. It proved to be too much of a temptation for the older kids, so I started to take the water out Tuesday. (The janitorial staff was very nervous about the pool all week anyway.) While I was teaching, Jay got to go to their nursery. He did really well and only cried one morning. And he didn’t really cry for very long, I just had to sneak out. He didn’t even cry when I came to pick him up, which is pretty typical. Of course he was pretty tired by the time we got home and had lunch! Jay has also been sneezing a lot today. I’m trying to figure out if he’s got a cold or if it’s allergies. I know I had a pretty bad sinus headache this morning. We gave him some kid’s allergy medicine (recommended by the doctor!) and I’m hoping he’ll be able to sleep through the night. He’s been putting himself to sleep since Wednesday night. It has been a great relief! The next step is for him to put himself to sleep at nap time.

Crazy

It's been a long week at home. Jason is working a lot at his two jobs. There are some days, like today, where we don't get to see him very much. Then again, his hours help us with Baby Step 2, so hopefully all the extra hours won't last forever! Jay has been having swimming lessons this week. He seems to be enjoying them, but wants in or out of the water. None of this sitting on the side and waiting for mommy to get in or out. We missed Thursday's session due to Jay having a fever. He is cutting four molars and they really started bothering him Wednesday. He had a fever when he woke up from his nap and continued on until Friday morning. We did take him to the doctor since it seemed his ears were bothering him. The doctor said his ears looked good and to keep up with the ibuprofen, Tylenol, teething tablets and teething chews. Unfortunately, Jay does not like taking medicine by syringe so it's been quite a bit of fighting for him to take the Tylenol or ibuprofen. He's doing a lot better today. He hasn't needed any medicine since yesterday, but I did give him some ibuprofen before bed, just in case. He does seem to have a case of heat rash around his lips. At least I hope it's heat rash. (We had a friend who used to be a nurse, tell us that's what it looked like.) I have been trying to get stuff done around the house and swimming. The swimming is a lot of fun since I have a wriggly little boy to try to hold on to. With it being so hot out, our afternoon walks have disappeared until swimming lessons are over. I've battled migraine headaches at the end of the week due to insufficient sleep. Jay slept all night last night, so I'm feeling pretty good today. We did take a long walk this morning before the heat and I'm hoping to do the same tomorrow before church. I made some calzones for our freezer and am hoping to be able to make some more in the next week or so. Not easy to do when Jay wakes up part way through! As you can see, it's pretty busy around here. No, Jay is not walking yet which I still have mixed feelings about. We'll have to see if things slow down next week.

What a Week!

Jay and I have had quite the week. We've run a lot of errands, played with cousins, tried fresh from the garden food, had ice cream cake and had four molars poke through! As if that wasn't enough, today we're planning on going to a graduation party and tomorrow we have a church service with a band! We are also getting driven back to Ames where we'll get to see Jason and Zara again!

We went to a picnic with Grandpa Slater's family.

We watched our cousins throw rocks into the creek.

We had a picnic in the cow pasture.

And have had so much fun that it wears us out!

Busy Little Boy

Jay's been to a lot of different events this last week. Today was our Raising Readers party at the library. We got two new books, some bath toys, snack mix and made a door hanger for Jay's room. Jay had a lot of fun playing with all of the toys they had available. This party was part of the math in reading expirement that we participated in. There were handouts for five different handouts that gave us some ideas in how to incorporate each idea into every day life. A lot of the ideas were things we had already started doing, but I felt it helped us to do more.

Jay and I also went to one of Jason's softball games. We walked to the fields and set up a blanket to sit on. Jay did pretty well until Jason came over to say "hi". After that, Jay decided to cry the rest of the time we were there. Jay and I left early to go home. We got home and had some supper and Jay returned to his happy self. As you can see, he was watching Jason intently while we were there.

These are from our zoo trip. I'm trying to help Jay pet one of the goats while Jay and Jason were looking at the Kookaburas. Jay was really good at the zoo and we may visit again sometime this summer.

Family Fun Day

Yesterday we went to the zoo in Des Moines for a day of family fun. It wasn't too bad weather wise. It was pretty warm, but there was a pretty steady breeze for the time we were there. Jay was very good while we were there. He didn't spend a whole lot of time in his stroller. I think his favortie was the aquarium with the coral reef fish (also known as the Nemo tank). I think he could have watched that one for hours if we had let him. Afterwards we spent some time with our friends, Matt and Tabitha, and had supper with them. Tabitha was nice enough to babysit Jay while Jason and I went to a movie. Jay had such a busy day that he decided to tell us all about it on the way home. He talked 3/4 of the way home, then he fell asleep. Jason and I had some time to ourselves and watched a good movie. We're hoping to be able to do a famiy fun day again next month. Jason was called to play as a substitute for softball this afternoon. I decided that Jay and I should go watch him play since we can't on Wednesday nights. Jay did all right for a little while, then he realized Jason couldn't hold or play with him and he wouldn't stop crying. (It doesn't help that he's getting some molars in either.) So we came back home and I fed Jay and he was much happier.

Pictures

Apparently I am at my limit for the number of pictures on DropShots. So for now, I guess I try to post more pictures on the blog and add more to Facebook for those of you who are on it. Sorry for the confusion! Here are some more pics for now!

Lucky

I am very lucky. I have the cutest little boy who loves me very much. I have a wonderful husband who provides for us and makes me laugh. I have a wonderful family who wants to spend as much time with us as possible. I have in-laws who are fantastic and are more than happy to have me visit (as long as Jay gets to come as well). I have friends that like to spend time with me. See how blessed and lucky I am! Since yesterday was mother's day, I looked through the pictures on my computer. Jay was so little when he was born! It made me a little sad that we live so far away from our families, but I know that we can always visit and we have friends fairly close by. On a different note, I put some newer pictures up on DropShots. Check them out!

Celebrate

Saturday was Jay's birthday party. It was small, but a lot of fun. We ate pizza and cupcakes. Jay enjoyed all of his immensely, especially the cupcake as the picture shows. (He was pretty tired after all the excitement of people arriving.) After the party, Mom and Dad packed Jordan, Jay and me in the truck and we headed to eastern Iowa, with a stop in Cedar Rapids. So far Jay and I have had a great time. We've gone to church, played with cousins, watched a baseball game and played outside. It's been a pretty packed with fun so far. Mom and Dad keep trying to get Jay to walk, but so far Jay just keeps crawling. Jay and I will return to the middle of Iowa towards the end of the week. There's a lot more to do before that, however!

Birthday Boy

That's right. Our little boy turned one year old! He had such a busy day, too. We went to the library for the Baby Talk program where he got to play with other babies and beach balls. He was so tired from Baby Talk that he fell asleep during his lunch. I had to take him with me to my physical therapy appointment since I didn't have a baby sitter. Jay was very interested in helping the other patient with his exercises. We watched the second Curious George movie while snuggling on the couch. He also found one of the travel containers of formula and figured out how to open it. There was formula all over him. Jay got to eat a frosted cupcake for supper and had a bath right after. I had choir practices so Jay got to spend a couple of hours in the nursery playing with the two ladies that were there. Jay got to spend a little time on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Jacobs before going to bed. (He was so overly tired and wound that he didn't go to sleep until 11.) Jay's birthday party is Saturday and I'm hoping he'll take a nap before the party. I'm not going to hold my breath though. Here are some pictures of Jay's day.

Preparation

This week we are preparing for Jay to turn one. His party is Saturday and we're hoping he has a good time! As for now, we don't really have any plans for his actual birthday. There are several babies from Baby Talk that are born around this time so Wednesday we're having a picnic with cupcakes to celebrate. I also have choir practices that night so Jay gets to spend time in the nursery, which he loves. Jason works earlier that day and has softball games that night so he won't get to see much of Jay unless we stop and see Jason. Jay has started clapping and he's so cute when he does it. Today he also started standing up on his own without using anything to get up. Jason said he would stand there after standing up so he's getting closer to walking.

This is our little boy in his stroller at the VEISHA parade. It rained while we watched the parade, but the little boy ended up with a cold which has started to go away. I got a little bit of a cold as well, but I got over a lot faster.

Fashion

We had quite the fashion show from Jay the other day. Wearing your dinner is all the rage!

This is my sexy hair.

Using my noodle.

My spinach mustache.

I love to watch Jay play with his food. He gets so excited about eating and usually gets food everywhere. Sometimes he's so messy he gets a bath and then the fun really begins!

Helper

My little boy is so helpful! He likes to help me fold clothes and checks the towels in the kitchen for me. He is also sort of learning how to share. Of course if its food, he'll hold it out for you, but you have to eat it yourself.

We went to the library today and he was all over. He played with the other babies and tried to look at books (he couldn't quite get them out of the bin by himself). I love going to Baby Talk to see how the other kids play with each other and how they are developing. The babies are also friendly with all the mommies so it's so funny to watch the kids climb on the mommies.

We have choir practice tonight and I know Jay looks forward to it. He loves to play in the nursery and the women who work there love him. Of course, Jay is a little cutie so it's hard not to love him!

Easter

I know I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy. Or at least it's seems we've been busy.

We visited Grandma and Grandpa Peterson a while back. Sara, Zach and Kyia were there as well. Jay had a good time playing with kids close to his age. He didn't mind any of the attention either.

We have a couple of our FPU classes left. We decided not to have class Super Bowl Sunday and today and we had a weather cancellation as well. Jason and I have really enjoyed the class and are still excited about becoming debt free.

Last week, Jason went to help a friend work on their house. While he was gone I started to get some pain in my shoulder. After a couple of days and several appointments with different doctors, it was decided I have a pinched nerve. It has not been a fun week for me.

Jason's mom came out to help for a couple of days since I wasn't supposed to lift Jay. (It was very tough to not do that.) I am going to physical therapy this week to hopefully start getting better. I have quite a bit of left shoulder pain, numbness in three of my fingers and my left arm is weak. I've at least started sleeping a little better at night, so hopefully that will help in my recovery.

Jason and I have also been busy with the church choir. We sang at both services today while Jay got to play in the nursery. It was wonderful to be able to sing on such a beautiful Easter morning!

Busy Weekends

Jay had his final check-up in Iowa City on Friday. The doctor said it looked good and would like to see him again when he starts potty training. We're really glad that things went well with his surgery and recovery. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

Jay had a busy weekend. He got to see all of his grandparents! He also got to play with Ethan and Audrey for a little bit. Of course, that meant a lot of driving for Mommy and a lot of riding for Jay. We came home Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing.

This weekend we are traveling to Coggen to came with some friends of ours. Lots more traveling for us! I'm hoping for a few weekends of staying home and not traveling. It's quite exhausting to travel. It was before we had Jay.

Today, I have a headache, Jason doesn't feel very good and Jay is super tired. The weather isn't helping either. It's been raining since last night and is expected to keep raining all day. Hopefully my headache will go away soon.

Starting to Feel Like Spring

We've been enjoying a lot of nice weather this week. I've taken Jay for a walk everyday so far. I think he really enjoys the walks. He gets to see different trees, houses and sometimes animals. And of course there's always cars to look at. The library even had a pony for Jay to sit on to celebrate spring break.

Tomorrow Jay and I go to Iowa City for his final after-surgery check-up. I'm hoping they say everything looks OK and we don't have to go back. Worst case scenario, he has to have the surgery again. We're being very optimistic.

I'm working on cleaning our house. Quite the never ending chore with an almost toddler. I actually vacuumed some cobwebs in the kitchen yesterday, with Jay's help. I'm just taking things one room at a time.

Jason is glad that it is spring break and work isn't quite so busy. There's only about 7 weeks left in the semester before his summer schedule starts. We don't know what that will be yet, but we'll know soon enough. Hopefully he'll be able to have a little time to do a few fun family activities with us!

Fruit Baby

Jay loves fruit. He would rather eat fruit than pretty much anything. (I'm not sure about broccoli though.) Last night he ate 3/4 of a peach. He's starting to eat almost a whole banana. Yup, he's my fruit baby. Of course I did eat a lot of fruit while I was pregnant with him. One of the perks of working at food service.

Of course, he isn't too picky when it comes to food. He is going through a phase right now where he doesn't really want to eat pasta. He used to love it but he is teething so maybe that's the reason for his eating habits. He is sleeping better most nights. We have been giving him some medicine before putting him down at night since his teeth have been bothering him so much. I think it really helps him.

We have had a busy week. Jay got to play at the kid area at the mall. While we were there, we got to see Jason on his bus.

I took Jay to the city's Play Pals on Tuesday where he got to play with other kids in a gym. He did more watching of kids since they were mostly older kids than playing with them. He seemed to have a pretty good time. We went for a family that afternoon after getting the stroller tire fixed.

Wednesday was a long day. Jay and I went to Baby Talk then to lunch at the church. That night, Jay and I had supper at the church and did our church activities- Jay at the nursery and me with the two choirs. Jason joined me for the Chancel choir and will continue to do so.

Grocery shopping was our mission on Thursday, but we stopped at CyRide before going to the store. It made Jason's day and Jay got to flirt with some of the women that work there.

Today, we went to the library. Jay played with some of the toys and there were a couple of other babies his age there. He played with them for a little bit. I checked out some books for Jay and some DVDs for all of us. Hopefully we'll do a movie night tomorrow.

Happy Days

After six long weeks, Jay is able to use straddle toys again! He has been standing up with his bouncy chair and bouncing next to it all week. I was so happy when we were able to put him in it this morning.

I Skyped with Mom this afternoon and she had me put him in the bouncy chair. He bounced for the entire time we Skyped. He's going to be so worn out tonight!

Last night, Jay fell asleep about 8:30 and slept til this morning, only waking up to eat once. He did wake up once for cuddles and once because he wanted his pacifier. I can live with that. He's been a pretty happy boy today so hopefully we can keep this pattern up.

Lots of Firsts

We've had quite a few firsts for Jay this past week.

Saturday was his first day without Mom and Dad. He stayed at Jason's parents while Jason and I went to Manchester to game with some friends. We left about 8am and got back around 11pm. I guess the only time he really cried was during/after his shower. Lucky for us, Ethan and Audrey were with him in the morning to play with. I'm sure that helped a lot. He slept for most of the night. He got up once to eat, then slept until around 8am. It was pretty nice!

Tuesday we went to the Iowa State women's basketball game. Jay did go with us and he had a pretty good time. The only time he cried was when I went to the bathroom, but that was only for a little bit. He had some ice cream from my Clone Cone and liked all the colors and lights. It definitely wore him out.

Jay and I went to Ash Wednesday service last night. I sang in the choir so Jay got to play in the nursery for most of the service. When I went to pick him up, he didn't really want to leave. A huge step forward in not wanting to be with me all the time! He got to be at the service for communion and the dismissal. It was a very nice service and I had wanted Jay to witness more of it, but there's always next year!

Jay also got to take a big boy bath last night. (That's right. He can take baths again!) He thought it was great fun. He could turn around, crawl, and try to play with our fish stickies. It'll be fun to watch him with a bubble bath.

Thursday

Jay has had a cold all week. At least he's had a stuffy nose, whether it's actually a cold or not, I'm not sure. Last night he had a lot of trouble breathing and was up every five to ten minutes until midnight. Jason and I spent about half an hour trying to get him calmed down. We finally resorted to sleeping on the couch and started watching an episode of Sesame Street. Jay didn't fall asleep until after 1 and he slept with me. Every time he moved or started having trouble I woke up. Jay didn't get up until about 9, but I didn't sleep very well.

I spent most of today fighting off a migraine. I did have a couple of errands to run today and Jay got to go with. I knew I needed caffeine, so I went to Starbucks. I don't normally drink coffee because I'm not fond of the taste, however, our dentist gave me a Starbucks gift card. (The assistant felt bad about how many shots I had to have to get some cavities filled. I think it was a total of six or seven.) The gift card had enough for me to get the small size mocha and a package of two shortbread cookies.

Jay and I went to Walmart. While I was buckling him in the cart, he decided to drop his pacifier on the floor mat of Walmart. It was disgusting, so he went without it while we were there. He did a really good job since I decided to use our shopping trip to get my walk in for the day. He's usually a lot happier when I walk when he gets to participate.

When we left Walmart, Jay got one of the shortbread cookies since he was such a good boy. He chomped on that while I drove to Aldi's. My headache isn't horrible at this point, but I know it's there. Once we got into the store and Jay was buckled in, he kept eating his cookie and making yummy noises. He had to let everyone know how good his cookie was. Halfway through the store, he dropped it on the floor. He was not happy. I cleaned him up and threw away the cookie because, ew. We then proceeded to go through toy after toy. He kept dropping them. I'm not one who usually makes sure things that get dropped on the floor get washed, but we were in a grocery store and who knows what gets tracked through there by the time we go through.

I did make him a bottle which calmed him down. He feeds himself a bottle on a regular basis so I was able to keep shopping. We got back out to the car and I buckled him in and he threw a fit. That is, until I gave him the other cookie. He was asleep by the time we stopped at CyRide to give Jason his debit card back. At this point, my head hurts so bad I feel like I could eat cardboard to get rid of it.

Fortunately, Jay kept sleeping when we got home and I was able to eat a good lunch. Good tasting, not necessarily good for me. While I have not been able to get a nap today, I was able to sit and relax and enjoy my lunch. I'm hoping the rest of the day goes better. Jay seems pretty content now, especially since I let him finish the second cookie. I may have to make my own shortbread cookies for treats when we go to the store.

Nine Months

Jay had his nine month appointment this Thursday. I can't believe he's nine months already! He was 21 pounds even and 29 1/4 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. What can we say? He's going to be a tall boy. He had one shot and cried for a little bit but got over it quickly.
We have been trying some new foods this week. Jay has had egg, blueberries, stuffing and pizza crust. I think he had the most fun with the blueberries. I'm thinking the egg is the hardest to clean up. It just seems to stick to things more. Of course blueberries do stain.
I've been slowly getting our house into a semblance of order. That seems like a never ending project. I feel like I get a good handle on some room when another looks like it's been taken over. I guess that's the way it is. Just a little bit at a time and someday it will all be clean.

Home Again, Home Again

Jay and I are home! He is doing really well. He gets a little fussy when he pees sometimes, but most of the time he is really happy.
He got to eat regular peas when we were in Olin. He thought those were the best! We also tried some regular corn, but we didn't like that as much.
Before Jason came to pick us up, he stopped at a friend's house to pick up a box of toys. Most of the toys make noise and light up so Jay is enthralled with most of them. There is even a car dashboard toy that we are making a car toy. I wished Jason had said something before we left Olin. Jay could have played with it on the way home and made him a little less fussier. Oh, well!

Hooray!

Jay got his catheter taken out today. He squirmed while they cut the stitch holding the catheter in place, but that was it. He didn't cry at all. He is such a brave little boy!

The doctor said he was healing well and that everything looked good. He still isn't allowed to take a bath, but we can use the shower to wash him. I think that will make things a lot easier.

We go back in six weeks for a follow-up. We don't know the date yet, the hospital should call us next week with a day and time. I'm hoping for a Tuesday, but we'll see.

Update

Jay has been doing really well since his surgery. We have figured out that if we don't pin him down while changing his inside diaper, he doesn't get as fussy and there is a lot less crying.

Tomorrow he goes to the doctor to hopefully get his catheter taken out. It was supposed to be two weeks, but the surgeon is gone next week and she thought it would be better to take it out early than risk complications in taking it out late.

I will be grateful once it is taken out. Less diapers used, less apprehension in changing and better sponge baths! Not to mention no silica inside diaper stuff to have to deal with anymore.

Jay is as happy as ever and is trying to pull himself up and stand. He does a pretty good job of it already.

Jay will have one more doctor appointment to make sure everything has healed correctly. It should be about six weeks from tomorrow.

Jay's Surgery

Jay had his hypospadias correction surgery yesterday. He was such a good little boy. He didn't get super fussy until the time for his surgery was scheduled, which was 10. They were running behind, but Jay fell asleep until one of the anesthesiologists came to get him. Jay let the doctor take him and Jason and I followed until we came up to the "proper attire required" doors. Jay didn't cry as Jason and I hugged and kissed him, then they were off.
Jason's parents and my mom came out to sit with us. The surgery took almost three hours. The surgeon came out and talked to Jason and I afterwards. She said things went really well and told us what we needed to do for at-home care for the next few days and up until he would have his catheter taken out. Shortly after the consult, I was pulled to go take care of Jay because he was having nothing to do with the nurses.
The nurses were trying to feed him when I got back there. Once I took him, he calmed down enough to eat. He ate four ounces of Pedialyte. While the nurses rolled us to a recovery room, Jay was happy and sort of bouncing (he had an epidural like pain management during the surgery that was still working at that time). He was not as happy once we got to the recovery room. He would have crying fits, then be calm for a minute or two. Jason was finally able to get Jay's medicine and we were able to give him some pain medication which helped him calm down enough to take out his IV and get him dressed.
He was a happy camper when we left the recovery room and started walking through the hospital. We drove to Ann's house to pick up the last of our stuff. (Thanks for letting us stay!) Then we headed to Jason's parents to spend the night. Jay did sleep for most of the way there.
That night, Jay would have fits of crying and times of happy. We found out he loves to play with diapers, so now he has a clean diaper he can play with while we change him. We had a hard time getting him to sleep for more than ten minutes at a time. Once we gave him his muscle relaxer, he slept for longer bits of time. We didn't need to give him pain medicine overnight and he woke up pretty happy!
Today he has been almost like his old self. He's been crawling around, bouncing with his legs, gobbling up Cheerios, talking, and smiling. It's so nice to see him recovering so quickly! We go back on Friday to get his catheter taken out. Hopefully he will be healing well and be able to take real baths after that!

(And his top teeth have still not come through. I thought I could feel them this morning, but I think I was wrong.)

This and That

Saturday was a big day for me. I went to the rodeo in Des Moines with Matt and Tabitha. That's right, I had a night out without the boys. It was a lot of fun! Jason doesn't care for rodeos....or NASCAR.....or country, so Matt was always the person I would go with to events like that. Now that Matt is dating Tabitha, it's twice the fun! I ended up getting home a little before 11. Just in time for Jay to wake up for a snack.

Sunday all of us went to church and they had a reception in between services for babies born in late 2010 and all of 2011. We met a couple of people with younger kids, one was 20 days younger than Jay. It was fun to watch them pass toys back and forth.

Later Sunday night, Jason and I went to our second Financial Peace University class. We're learning quite a bit about saving money and a little more about ourselves in the process. We have also learned that Jay doesn't really like having any one but mommy put him to sleep. He ends up crying for our baby sitter when she tries to put him down.

For those that haven't heard, Jay's surgery for his hypospadias is Thursday, the 19th at 10am. We need to be at the hospital by 8:30 and Jay isn't allowed to eat after midnight and can only have 2 ounces of clear fluid before 8. Nothing after 8. It's going to be a long, heartbreaking morning not being able to feed him. As far as I know, we're being released that day. We don't know if we will be returning home, or going to Jason's parents afterwards.

I will keep everyone posted as events unfold! Keep him in your prayers Thursday!

On The Move

That's right all! Our little boy is crawling! I think he just needed some more space and something he really wanted to get to. We're at the library in the video. He was playing with some of the toy trucks they have in the kiddie section. Once we got home, he was crawling around the living room. He still likes to do the lunge/sit/lunge for movement.

We now have the wonderful task of baby proofing our house. I'm sure it will be a fun process.

Insomnia

Yes, I realize how late it is. This is what happens when you're not used to drinking caffeine and end up drinking quite a bit at a late afternoon movie. Insomnia. Both of my boys are sleeping. They are both so tired!

Jay is still sick or teething...whatever it is making him poop so much. The frequency is starting to lessen at least. He's still happy as ever! Loves to play with his toys and bounce. We have even started learning how to pet Zara. He doesn't do that bad petting her. He doesn't get to pet her for very long, but he does a nice job.

Jason is still working on Saturdays this semester. He isn't very happy about it, especially when he was told it was only going to be for the fall semester. He has been told he will be off weekends in the fall, but we'll have to see. I'm not sure how trustworthy that statement is.

Zara has been pretty scarce. She spends most of her time in the bathroom closet, upstairs on Jason's computer chair, or in a basket of clothes on top of Jason's dresser. I thought about opening the windows the other day, but I think she would have passed out from exhaustion from running from window to window.

I have slowly been working on some sewing projects. Right now I'm working on the maintenance of my sewing machine. It needs to be oiled and the picture in the manual isn't very good at showing where it is supposed to go. I did get the needle changed and a lot of fuzzies out of the plate.

We got membership papers from our church in the mail today. Jason and I each need to fill a form out, then we will have a small membership ceremony during a service to be named at a later date. Jay will also become a member, but doesn't have to fill out paperwork.

Other than that, we are enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we are having. Jay and I even took a walk outside on Thursday! Also, I added pictures to DropShots. Check them out!

Personality

Our little boy has such a personality! He is quite a happy little guy, even when he is sick. He had the stomach flu this last week, as did the rest of us. He cried a little after he would throw up, but would be his happy, smiley self the rest of the time. In fact, here's a video showing how silly he is!

Yes, you did read that right. All of us had the stomach flu this last week. It started with Jay, then me, then Jason. Jay had it the longest, but I think Jason had a worse time of it. We are all better now and happy to be home from holiday traveling!

I am slowly trying to get our house back in order. My Christmas decorations are put away, they just need to get put into storage. Hopefully it will get done by the end of June!