Interviews and the Babies

Jesse got an interview for a Kuna Elementary School position. It went really well too. He had great answers for all of their questions and got them laughing when they asked if he HAS kids. He answered "a 4 month old, and an almost two year old- now two year olds are scary." We were really hopeful, but he didnt get the position. He continues to look for last minute openings, but is resigned to that he is likely subbing again this year. It's just rotten, because Jesse is a gem and I know he will make a great school teacher. So if you're a teacher in Vallivue, Middleton, Caldwell, or Nampa Christian- Jesse is a great substitute!

The boys are doing well. Jesse Jay acts more and more like a two-year old every day. I must admit that I hate the word "no." Sometimes he gets in such an obstinate "no" mood and we will ask him, "Can you say anything else but the word no?" To which we quickly get "Nooooooooooooooooo!!!" He is saying other stuff and his words are getting more understandable, and he is putting words together. He can count to three, sometimes five.

Now Toby is still happy. But his sleeping habits are just erratic. He will sleep through the night and then wake up at 1am the next night. He keeps us on our toes and we never know what to expect. He is starting to sit up assisted.

Finances are tight, but we have to get back to the gym. My joints are all just aching every night, my back hasn't improved with resting it, and my insomnia propensity has returned. Plus my thyroid symptoms are getting better and I think if I started working out it would no longer be like running into a brick wall. More like at a slight incline.

Despite some of the less than ideal turnouts recently, we are all happy and everyone is healthy. I love my family. I have wonderful friends that care about us. Praise God!

The Serenity Prayer

Mostly because I need to hear it and remind myself....

God, grant us the...
Serenity to accept things we cannot change,
Courage to change the things we can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference
Patience for the things that take time
Appreciation for all that we have, and
Tolerance for those with different struggles
Freedom to live beyond the limitations of our past ways, the
Ability to feel your love for us and our love for each other and the
Strength to get up and try again even when we feel it is hopeless.

Amen.....

August 2010- Trip to Oregon

We went to Oregon last weekend (not the one that just past) to visit Jesse's parents and family, and drop off aunt Kimmy in Salem for my parents to pick her up and take her back home to Washington. It was a really good trip. We left early Friday morning (430 am) so the kiddos could sleep through at least part of the trip. We went through Burns and Bend through to Eugene and then down I-5. We had a lot of fun getting there and aunt Kimmy was so helpful entertaining the boys. She even shared her ipod with Jesse Jay.....

The boys got to love on and be loved on by relatives. Especially grandma Rose. I love this one of Toby and Grandma. :D

Jesse Jay loved playing with the buckets we went and picked blackberries with. Isn't he sooo funny? I sure think it's adorable.

Well, in a place like Myrtle Creek how can you NOT make sure your child actually gets to see and play in a creek. Jesse loved it and went nuts. When we tried to get ready to leave he cried and didn't want to get out. He had so much fun splashing and looking for "fishies."

When we picked blackberries, grandma Rose gave him his very own bucket. Any low berries he picked went into the bucket and then into his mouth. When we picked we would occasionally drop a berry or two in. They were quickly eaten (as you can see). He also enjoyed picking dandelions at Grandma's. There is one in his bucket if you look close.

Toby had a great time being a charmer and getting everyone to just ADORE him. He coo'ed at all the right moments. Only Aunt Wanda got an uncharacteristic meltdown. She seemed pretty forgiving and patient with it though.

We had a really great time seeing family, even though it was a short trip. We all wish we had more time to spend. We had pizza with the Maddux's and even got to go to church. Unfortunately Sunday morning Jesse discovered the car had a flat and the new Costco in Roseburg was the only place open and would not fix a tire.. but were more than willing to sell as a new one for 120 dollars. :(

We went up to Salem that day to visit my Uncle Larry and his family. We got to see my cousins kids and had a blast! Then we stayed the night up near Aurora with my Uncle Luke and his family. The next morning Grandpa and Grandma Arendt came by to see us, and loved on all of us before we had to head back home.

The trip was pretty easy going on the way back. We stopped in the Dalles at Cousins- one of Jesse's and my favorite restaurants. They serve country food and massive pastries. They even have a country store. We had a good time and a HUGE brunch to tide us over on our trip. Isn't that cinnamon roll amazing?

We had to pass on a trip to Multnomah Falls this time. My back has been killing me since the night before we left and had gotten worse, to the point I couldn't stand up straight. Hopefully I will be ready for it next time and the kids will want to go and hike the trail.

We had such a fun time. I can't wait until our next vacation. Hmm... when is THAT going to be?

The Loves of My Life

I'm more of a night owl. After work, I have a very hard time falling asleep and need a few hours to wind down. I just established care with a new family practice doctor, whom I adore, and I was diagnosed with postpartum thryoiditis. It's a problem that usually resolves on its own, but can lead to breastfeeding problems, moodiness, fatigue, insomnia, weight problems, you name it and it probably effects something.... but my point being is I have a hard time falling asleep and a really hard time waking up. I wish I could blame it on having an infant, but Jesse gets up with him. He truly is a wonderful husband and I am so blessed!

Despite all this, I , having a hard time falling asleep, have all three of my boys (Daddy, Jesse Jay, and Toby) asleep right now. They are so precious and wonderful to me. Each one of them is such a joy and I am just smitten with each of them. I am such a lucky wife and mother!

Toby's 4 Month Well Child Check

Toby saw Dr. Freeman (our fantastic pediatrician) today. He is a STRONG boy with excellent head control! Dr. Freeman went on and on about how advanced his motor control is.... (he sure knows how to win with this mama!). :) His growth is good too. Here are his stats:
Height = 26.5 inches (72nd percentile), weight= 14lbs 12.5 oz (33 percentile), head circumference = 16.5 inches (40th percentile).

He got his shots too. Again with the sleeping all day, wakes up cranky, and has a low grade fever (100.8 F or so). Poor baby. Hopefully it passes soon.

Jesse Jay got to go to the appointment too. He wore his OWN stethoscope for the occasion. He got a lot of "aww's" and "how cute." He was kind of a punk though when Toby got his shots. I swear he snickered at him! Such a brother! :) He actually smiled and interacted a bit with Dr. Freeman... he is so shy these days so its kind of wonderful when your child actually likes his pediatrician.

I got to show off Toby to some people at work after. We got a lot of "you have such a beautiful family" comments. I never get tired of hearing it, and must admit I completely agree. I love my boys!!

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease

Our house got the plague a couple weeks ago. I had just taken a shower with Jesse Jay when I noticed he had a blister on his foot. Then I noticed another, and another… and so on. Then I saw some on his hands. The PA in me took action and looked in his mouth and sure enough. Blisters on his tongue. Classic hand foot and mouth disease. He hasn’t had any REAL fever above 99.8 F or so, so it wasn’t something that presented the way it usually does. So we started isolating him from Toby.

But wouldn’t you know that 18 hours later, Toby started being irritable and a fussy eater. Then he got a couple blisters on his foot and one on his hand. His fever never was above 100.8 F. After two days everyone was down with some form of it, including my poor sister and husband. All I ever got was a sore throat, but I was so sure I had caused it. But then, an email from our church came to tell us that the nursery had an outbreak of it.

In other news, no word or peep from any school districts on jobs. We are accepting that Jesse will be subbing this year and spending more time with the kids. Hopefully he will get a few more interests next year. But as we see it, there is nothing horrible about spending more time at home with the kids. Especially since they are so little.

We went on a vacation to Oregon this week. It was quick and went by fast. It was a good time. The only bad thing is I have horrible back pain that will not go away. I go back to work today, and I still feel mentally and physically on vacation. I will blog more about our trip later, but for now this mama has to go get ready for work.

Milestones

Jesse Jay is teething. He has never been a good teether either, but this episode has been by far the worst, and probably because he has both 2nd year molars coming in on the right side, at the same time. He is biting, drooling like mad, cranky, fussy, mildly feverish, etc. The other day I went to check on him before I had to leave for work, and he just sat on his bed sobbing, holding his arms out for mama to pick him up, and saying "owie, owie, owie" and pointing to his teeth. It was tragic and adorable all at the same time. He did well once he had some Motrin and he LOVES his baby oragel this time.

The "owie" thing personally cracks me up because the only time he has EVER heard that is the morning before I had Toby, as I was contracting quite painfully and we were getting ready to go to the hospital. And he said it EXACTLY like I did that April 17th morning..... :) So cute.

He is doing better now. Still really cuddly. He loves kissing and licking people. Ya. Unfortunately he picked THAT up when he licked Toby and I laughed hysterically. Now it's nearly impossible to break him of it.

Toby remains as giggly and happy as ever. We were so worn down with Toby's refusal to sleep that we decided to retry things that hadn't worked previously to try and get him to sleep more. So we resumed swaddling in his flannel St. Luke's blanket. And for the past two nights, it has worked! He has slept 7 and then 8 and a half hours without interruptions the past couple nights. We are feeling less crazy and a lot more sane these past couple days.

And he can not only roll from his back to belly, but his belly to his back! He has been doing that for about 2 weeks now.

Today was his first time in the church nursery. He was either sleeping, or happy and giggly the whole time (I know because I was in there working).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As for the parents: I am working lots of overtime. I still really love my job and like that everything is always new and there is something you have to learn all the time.

Jesse Sr has all of his applications in to school districts he would like to work for. In the event he does not get hired, he will be substitute teaching and spending time with the little ones. We are still waiting to hear something. We figured we probably wouldn't until this month.

We have a small vacation coming up in a couple weeks. We are visiting family in Myrtle Creek and Aurora Oregon. It'll be good to get out of town for a bit and have grandparents snuggle on the boys. Unfortunately we have to give my little sister back. It's been such a blessing to have her here and I am certain Jesse Jay is going to fall apart when she goes.