One of those days

What a day.....
It started out with Aars waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Then Jenna majorly pooped her underwear and I had to scrub the carpet because she didn't let me know and sat down with poop leaking out of her undies. I know the best solution isn't to yell at her, but I got so frustrated today. So needless to say, I had a bawling two year old on my hands.

Once I'd regained my wits, I made a grocery list, got Jenna ready to come run errands with me, and left to go do my running. Well, the van was STUCK. As in the back door got dented from pushing so hard. I'd unknowingly parked on a hill on ice last night and the van was not budging. Well I wasn't going anywhere, so I called work and let them know I might not make it in, but I'd give them a call if I did get unstuck. Thanks to Rick and Jennie though, they traveled all the way from her mom's to their house, unloaded, and then came to my rescue and pulled us out with their Durango. Thanks Jen! And Rick! You guys are the best!

Once I was out, I decided to go to work for the second half of my shift, but had to run to the grocery store for supper first. On the way there I stopped to mail a letter. I got out of the van and promptly slipped on the ice in the parking lot and landed hard on my butt. It was so bad it took me a minute to get up, and still to this minute ( almost five hours later) hurts like the dickens. :(

It was just one of those days where I was thinking at noon that maybe I should go to bed and try to start all over. But I just kept trudging along, and made it through. Now here is to hoping tomorrow goes better....

The Ups and Downs of Vacation

Well.... where to even start. I guess I'll start by saying we are back at home after a fun crazy week with no schedule.
Christmas was fun. We didn't get to see all of our family which was a bummer, but Missy and Ted had family plans with Ted's family, and Kevin and Dianne went to her mom's in MN for Christmas. I guess we'll just have to catch them next time. :)

We left Tues night after I got off of work, so we pulled into town around 12:30 a.m. On the way up Aars ran over a garbage bag that he didn't see on the road. We thought nothing of it til our automatic sliding door on the van would no longer work, and some security light kept coming on in the van. He thinks the garbage bag took out some kind of wire or sensor under the van. It also keeps resetting our trip mileage every time the van starts which is a major pain as our gas gage doesn't work and we keep track of how much gas we have by mileage. So I guess we'll have to have it looked at.

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's. Dinner was spectacular. That says it all. :) Everyone was home for Christmas. So, somehow we squeezed 10 adults and 7 kids ( two in pack n plays) into my mom and dads three bedroom house. It made for some interesting sleeping spots. I think some of my younger sisters ended up in the laundry room on the floor.

Christmas morning, fun and chaotic describes it. Travis wasn't feeling good, but other than that everyone was fired up off of what they got. Jenna called up to the ceiling to thank Santa Claus for her presents. She was slightly confused the next few days when there were no more presents under the tree to open. We just hung out at my mom's all day. Aaron got some quality hunting time in, and we went to church on Christmas night.

Friday after Christmas I brought Travis to the walk in clinic at the hospital. He had another ear infection, but this time it was really bad and was draining. The Dr. I saw kind of drove me nuts. He asked if we had any kind of drops for his ear. I told him yes, told him what kind, and that we haven't used them in seven months. He proceeded to ignore my last comment and said "Stop using the ear drops!" Then to bug me more ( this Dr. has a reputation of being kind of condescending) he wrote on the discharge notes to stop using drops even though we told him we weren't using any. But in the end we got the antibiotic Travis needed and he is now feeling much better. I hope this isn't the start of another string of ear infections like he had last winter though. If so, we will be seriously considering tubes.

The rest of the weekend we spent at Pete and Janet's where Jenna and Travis both enjoyed themselves, and went for a short snowmobile ride with their dad. We came home Mon. about forty five minutes before I had to go to work. I work all but Thursday this week, but only work two days next week, so i will just suck it up and not complain. :) Hope everyone else is enjoying the quiet after Christmas like we are!

Home for Christmas

It was fun to have everyone home for Christmas. :) We got up on Tuesday night at about twelve thirty and spent the night at Pete and Janet's. We enjoyed a short stint at the school for the P**er**n party and then headed to my mom's for a delicious dinner of potato sausage from MN, green bean casserole, and fruit salad. mmmmm...... I absolutley ate like a pig. It was wonderful.
I have to cut this short.... Travis just knocked Grandma's snowglobe off of the table and broke it.glass, fake snow, glitter and water everywhere. Doggonit! Oh well I guess.... Sorry Gramma!
Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Ten loads of laundry.

It is now ten after twelve and I am officially pooped. I had a crazy busy day at work today. LOTS of last minute shoppers coming through. They make me tired just being their cashier!
We are headed to S**d*r B*y on Wed. morning after Aars goes to work and donates plasma ( thank goodness for that! It has been such a big money helper!). But I have worked the last five days in a row, and work tomorrow night. So my house, you can only imagine what it looks like, is just soaring. Ugh. I also just put ten loads of laundry going. It is never ending! At least I can do it all at once. I don't usually stay up this late to do laundry, but my to do list for tomorrow is a mile long. So I thought if I got my laundry done tonight when I got home from work, that I'd have gotten a jump start on my work load.
This is what I have left to do before five thirty tomorrow night:

• fold and put away clean laundry
• wash dishes (I'm going to have to invent a new dish rag, as they didn't make them into the laundry baskets from the kitchen )
• pack Jenna's and Travis's bags for six days
• pack mine and my hubby's stuff for six days
• finish wrapping gifts
• scrub bathroom and kitchen
• go to the library to get more books by Clive Cussler for Aaron ( he read two of his books in three days over the weekend! :)
• go to the grocery store
• clean bedrooms
• take out garbage and recycling bags

I'm tired just thinking of how tired I'm going to be tomorrow. I hope I can get a nap in. I was going to do the library thing in the morning, but maybe it'll be put off til afternoon.

I had an ultrasound today, the baby was looking good. I didn't find out what gender it is, although I was very tempted as I loved knowing what Travis was. But knowing that the heart was beating, it had both kidneys, the heart, two hands and feet, and a full spine and brain was good enough for me this time. The lady doing the ultrasound was able to get a good picture of the face, and baby was profiled. He/she has a cute little button nose just like Jenna and Travis. It was so neat to see. He/she was even opening and closing it's mouth like it was smiling for me. I don't remember Jenna or Travis doing that when we had our ultrasounds for them.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here Comes Santa Claus

I guess I didn't do a very good job of hiding presents from Santa...... Jenna found one of her gifts in the closet on Sunday. So I got kind of smart and re-hid it. Well, good thing I did cause this morning she went to the closet looking for her "water bottle backpack." I did some quick thinking, and told her that Santa knew she saw it so he brought it back to the North Pole, and if she is a good girl til Christmas, maybe she can get one just like it.

One good thing out of that little scene is that I know at least one of her gifts she'll be fired up off of. It is actually a backpack with a kids sleeping bag, flashlight and water bottle all in one. Totally right up her ally as we plan to be doing some camping next summer.

Aaron and I went to Target with the kids to do some more shopping today. We were looking for one thing that went on sale on Sunday. Monday they didn't have any, and we went back today and they had one more left. Needless to say we snatched it up. I did it when Aaron had the kids in the aisle next to us. Travis doesn't have a clue, but Jenna is just starting to get old enough to grasp the whole Christmas concept. It should be lots of fun with her this year.

Only one more week til we head to my mom's. I can't wait. We haven't spent Christmas Eve with my family for the past two years, so I am looking forward to it. I'm not sure if Loretta and Brad will be there, but I'm hoping, as Alanna, Tony and Teija will be there. I haven't been able to visit much with them as they've been busy with the new bakery and their own lives every time we're up there. I miss my sisters. :0) I'm not sure if we're leaving Tuesday night or Wed. morning. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what next week brings. Aaron can work on Wed, so I'm thinking maybe it might be good to just leave Wed. as neither of us will be working the rest of the week. It would be the smart thing to do, but we don't always do the smart thing........

snowman friends

Yesterday after work I decided to take Jenna outside to play. The snow was Perfect for making a snowman. So, we went out for about a half an hour and made two of them. Jenna was totally impressed..... so much in fact that she wanted the snowmen to come in the house to play with her. She got a little upset when I told her she couldn't bring them in. She just couldn't grasp the concept of them having to stay outside where it was nice and cold. :0) I love the way her mind works sometimes.

I had a Dr.s appt. this morning. I am 18 weeks. Everything looks good, and the baby's heartbeat is great. I got a bit perturbed though, I thought I was seeing a Dr. Hubbard, but apparently was scheduled for a Dr. Hubert. I don't know. She was nice, but I have yet to see the same Dr. ... also, she walked in and asked if I have had any more bleeding. When I told her I haven't had any bleeding of any sorts she seemed sort of surprised. Then she asked what some other Dr. that I'd never heard of had to say about my placenta from, my first ultrasound. When I told her I'd never heard of that Dr. and didn't really know what she was talking about, she seemed sort of surprised. Then she proceeded to tell me not to panic. How do you panic over something you don't know anything about? I don't know. I am confused and kind of annoyed. It made me really miss my Dr. and hospital up North where they know who I am and keep me well informed. I left the office thoroughly confused and kind of crabby. I just don't think the three Dr's I have seen have been communicating....... which is frustrating cause I've had a few issues with this pregnancy, and would like the Dr. I am seeing to kind of know a bit about me before I come in. Oh well..... maybe I am overreacting.

6 Things about Megan

This seems to be the latest thing. I too have been tagged. Six things about me..... hmmmm.... this might take a minute. I had to chuckle at Heidi's blog about the on and off switch. That totally related to me. :) I love the not having to feel like the dishes need to be done or the main level picked up before bed. Some days I do that, and enjoy the cleanliness of it in the morning, but it never lasts long because my kids always tear it apart anyways.

But six things about me:

1. I would love to have a dog. I always had one growing up, so I would like my kids to experience the same thing. Aaron and I agree not to have one in town though. We both would like to live in the country some day. We disagree on what kind of dog. He wants a little dachshund, and I have always envisioned having a golden retriever. If we do get a dog, it will be male and it's name will be Jake like the country song that goes something like " If I die before I wake, feed Jake."

2. My wedding ring was a size 3.5 when I got married. After I got pregnant with Jenna my fingers swelled and I had to have it made a size bigger, so now it is a size 4.5

3. I LOVE being a mom and wife. Sure there are times where I wonder what life would be like to be single, but then I think of my kids and wonderful husband, and then realize no matter how tough things might be right now, I wouldn't trade them for anything because they are my world.

4. I still have trinkets I saved from High school. I just went through one of my boxes, and threw alot of things in the garbage. One of them was a crown from Burger King that had the names of the people I was there with on it. I don't think I have seen or talked to half the people who were with me that day since I graduated. I will admit I am a pack rat and probably WAY to sentimental.

5. Aaron and I went to Alaska for ten days for our honeymoon. I loved it. I didn't know if I would and it was never really somewhere that I'd dreamed of going. But I would love to go back again someday and explore it a little further. We only got to see parts of the Kenai Peninsula, and it was gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of home here except that they had the mountains.

6. Summer Sunsets. I have probably seen hundreds of sunsets, and each one is just as beautiful as the last. I take pictures of them, and think everyone is just as unique as the last one. It is one of the things I miss the most in the winter is the sunsets that we see at the camp all summer long.

I guess that's all for now, I think everyone I know who blogs has been tagged to do one. If your reading this and haven't written six things about yourself, go for it! And have fun!

A day of all sorts

Today was a day where just about everything happened. Travis's tooth finally popped, so he was much happier today.... but Jenna came down with a fever of 101.5 tonight right before I was suppopsed to go to work. Not sure what her deal is, but her head hurt and she wanted a bandaid on her forhead. Needless to say, she got a bandaid and she said her head felt better. :) I wish it was that easy for us. I was an hour late for work though cause Aaron had a study group he was required to attend for his history class and I couldn't bring Jenna to the neighbors as she had that high fever. I didn't mind. It made for a quick night at work.

We had a productive day at home today. I got my kids bundled up and out of the house before noon to bring Aaron lunch. Then we came home and hit the sheets and took a nap. It felt sooooo good! I love naps. After our nap I was thinking this place could use a little bit of christmas magic. Well, it got some! Jenna and I made red and green paper chains ( the kind we made in elementary school) and hung them on the window valances. Then when I was gone to work, Aaron got the extra Christmas lights up around the windows, and set up my light up house. Just looking at them makes me smile. It looks like a Christmas elf came and worked their magic in here. I think I want to make paper snowflakes tomorrow. We'll see.

I had the cutest customer tonight. Actually, he wasn't even my customer. I had really bad gas tonight that just wasn't moving and causing a big pit in my stomach, so I asked a fellow cashier if she happened to have any tums. She didn't, but this kind gentleman overheard and felt bad. He was actually on his way out the door when he stopped at my registar and said here, hold these I'll be right back. He came back with a little travel pack of tums, bought them and said here you go! Hope these help. How nice was that! :)

Supper, I even got supper made! Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. It was pretty good. :) Go me. :) Oh yeah! I even got to talk to my mother today. :) I miss her and it's always fun to hear from her.

Just like me

You just never know when you might meet someone who's life is very similar to your own. I was at work tonight when a customer came through my line. Somehow we ended up talking and I found out that she is expecting too. Much to my surprise when I asked her when she was due, she said May 17. I'm due May 15. This too is her third baby, and she has a girl and a boy. I asked her how old her other two were and was told 3, and 1 1/2. What are the odds? My Jenna will be three and Travis is almost one and a half. I got a kick out of that tonight. I mean how often do you meet someone due two days after you? We aren't going to the same hospital though. She is going to the MGH and me to BMH. So, I won't be meeting up with her in the labor and delivery dept. But I still thought that was pretty neat.
Loretta only has 13 weeks left. Crazy! Seems like her pregnancy is going by WAY faster than mine. :) But I guess that is how it always is.
I seem to be on the same baby schedule as Hans and Brita. Our last two babies are the same age and I saw her at work tonight and she told me that they are expecting again in July. Her Eddie and Jenna are the same age, I think weeks apart, if even, and Travis and her Charlie are also a week or so apart. :) Funny how that goes. You seem to have babies at the same time as a few people you know so all of your kids are the same age. But Hans and Brita have a few more than we do. ;) We have a bit of catching up to do. But congrats to them! Not sure if I said that tonight or not.
We went swimming this morning. Pete and Janet were down for the weekend again and stayed at a hotel. So we skipped church this morning ( I know.... terrible) and brought the kids swimming. They had a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub.
Travis just popped a bottom tooth. FINALLY. He's been acting like he was teething for the past two weeks, and I thought to look again this morning and a third bottom tooth was poking through. We were out of Tylenol, so I ran some home on my supper break. Poor guy. It hurts to get teeth.
I guess that's all, I was just going to write a little paragraph and look where that got me. :)

It's official

I guess it's official. We have renters living in our house. Crazy. They're from southern Texas so I'm sure it was a bit of a culture shock for them to wake up this morning in the house and it was only ten degrees outside compared to the higher warmer temps of Texas. The dad is working as a surgical tech at the local hospital by the house, and they seemed pretty fired up to be in the U.P.
Aaron is headed North this weekend to sand a house for Kevin. I have to work all weekend so it kind of put us in a bit of a pickle, but I think we kind of have it figured out. I had a dream about it last night, so I must've really been stressed about it. But we really could use the extra funding right now, so we made it work. He will get a ride home on Sunday before I have to go to work.
I ordered some Christmas cards last night, they should be ready today as I can pick them up at Target, and ordered the other ones off of Shutterfly and those will be directly shipped to my apartment. We have had a few cards trickling through in the mail. I love receiving Christmas cards. It's actually the one time of the year I look forward to picking up the mail because more often than not there are cards in there. It's not all junk and bills.
But I suppose, if we are going to have a babysitter over here, I should get my house cleaned up a bit. I am finding that a mother's job never ends. I can clean something up, and every time I turn around the kids just undid what I did! Oh well. I'm getting better, but I am by far NOT a perfect housekeeper. Maybe eventually when we have no kids around, but that won't be for many years so don't count on it anytime soon. :) It wouldn't be so bad if I could just get it all done in one shot, but that's near impossible when these two are awake. I guess I will just have to putter at it and get as much done before I leave for work this afternoon.

the renters are coming!

Our renters are coming! I guess they called and said they were in Duluth tonight and have plans to meet Pete at four tomorrow to get into the house. Crazy!It seems so wierd that someone is moving into MY house. I won't be able to just drop by the house to walk through it and remember the happy times we had in there. I'll just drive by and maybe see a family living there. I'm glad to have renters, don't get me wrong, it just seems wierd to have someone moving in that we have never met. It was different when Loretta and Brad were going to move in. I would still be able to go in when they were planning on moving in.
Maybe I will send them a Christmas card so they know who they are renting from. I guess they have six kids and one on the way. I'm glad the house will have a family to keep it company. Call me wierd, but I get sentimental about a house. I felt the same way when my mom and dad rented out their house, even though I wasn't even living at home anymore.
It sure will be nice to not have to worry about the house payment though. One less thing to think about.
Just a note, I have one gift I bought off of ebay for Jenna for christmas, other than that I still haven't started my shopping.

I shouldn't complain because I am lucky to have a job, and one that is so flexible around Aaron's school schedule to boot. BUT ( here I go) I am getting tired of working every single weekend. Just one Saturday I would like to stay home and just hang out with my husband and our kids, maybe go visiting somewhere. But ever since I started working, I have worked all but two or three Saturdays. :(
I went for an oil change on our van the other day..... I wish I hadn't gone. We knew our van probably needed some work, but didn't know the extent of it. The car tech pretty much told me my van is hardley safe to drive there is so much wrong with it. He kept saying the words expensive, and lots of work. So..... now what? I wonder if it would be cheaper to get a new vehicle, but we still are paying on the one we have now. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will last a few more months as tax season is right around the corner. So much for the fun weekend shopping trip I had planned with Jennie. But the safety of my family is a top priority.
We are going up for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see everyone. :)

Mad dash to Rent

My father in law put an ad in the local paper last night on his way home from work listing our house out for rent. Well the same night a few hours later a family from Texas called him asking about the house. They decided over the phone they are going to rent it from us! yea! I guess they asked for pictures, and when he told them the house was listed for sale online and they could see pics then, they realized they already had looked at it and loved it!
I don't know a whole lot about it cause Pete handled all the details, but that they have six kids and the dad is going to be working at the hospital blocks from the house. I am so excited! That is really a HUGE load off of our shoulders not to have to worry about the house.
I guess that is all for now....... more later!

Let it Snow!

I had these plans to go out today to the bank, and Walmart, the grocery store and the library. But the snow changed that..... It snowed tons down here and it just keeps coming! I think we have like six inches on the ground and we are supposed to get up to eleven by morning. The funny thing is..... I don't mind! I am actually enjoying the snow today. It's pretty. :)
We went to the grocery store tonight.... filled up my cart and got a few meals for the week. We are going home for thanksgiving next week and I can't wait. I have been craving turkey dinner. I actually went and bought a half a turkey about a month ago, with the greatest intentions of cooking it ( I've NEVER cooked a turkey before) for a Sunday dinner and inviting a few cousins of mine over that are living in the area away from home. Well that turkey is still sitting in my freezer, and with next week being Thanksgiving.... I think it will wait another month. It's not going anywhere. :) I did buy a roast today though, and have a tentative plan to cook it on Wed..... maybe I'll give those cousins a call for a roast dinner. mmm..... this talking about food is making me hungry. I think I'm going to go and eat something. bye!

Knocking on Doors

I did it. I just went over there, rang their door bell and apologized for knocking on their door again, but if they could please tone it down a little bit as my kids are sleeping and I don't want them to wake up. He just said yeah sure, sorry bout that. So..... we'll see what happens. Hopefully they take our lifestyle into consideration as we have two little kids who go to bed early. But I am proud of myself for doing it and taking the matter into my own hands. go me. :) Now hopefully I can go to bed without hearing the boys next door.

What would you do?

My neighbors are having a grand old time next door. It's eleven at night and my kids are sleeping and so is Aaron. I know the curfew for quiet time here on campus is nine p.m. It is driving me nuts to hear them hollering so loudly in my apt. Do I work up the courage to go and tell them to maybe try and be a little bit quieter as my family and I are trying to sleep? I'm kind of chicken to go and knock on their door by myself. This is getting old though. They have been doing this every weekend and so far we have said nothing. My housing advisor said that we should go and tell them that their noise is bothering us as we have the right to quiet in our home like any other housing situation would be. I just don't know! I hate to be a pest, but I have the right to not really want to listen to them whooping and hollering and stuff next door. what would you do?

Jump Start to Christmas

I'm in the mood for Christmas. Ever since I was a little girl, Christmas has been my favorite time of the year. I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I'm just in the mood for Christmas. I have been a bit stressed about a few things lately, and am ready for some happiness. And Christmas means happiness. Everyone is nice around the holiday season. People are smiling, and buying gifts for their families. I love the tradition that is seeped around the holiday. I remember writing to Katie back in the day where our letters were known to come sometimes twice a week, about what we would do for Christmas. I love the dinner we have, potato sausage from MN, fruit salad, green bean casserole, grandpa's flatbread, and a few other things. I look forward to that dinner every year on Christmas Eve at my mom's.
I used to wake up in the middle of the night and sneak downstairs to see what Santa brought, our gifts were always wrapped, but I'd still dig around to see who got the biggest gift. When I got to old to wake up on my own in the middle of the night, I'd set my alarm for two am and sneak down the steps, get my stocking and munch and dig. I miss doing that. :) It's different being on the other side of the spectrum, but a different kind of excitement knowing what is inside the wrapped boxes awaiting excited happy children that morning.
Different families do different traditions. My old neighbors across the street from where I grew up would wake up to gifts from Santa unwrapped. They would just have tags on the gift to let you know who got what. Some families got their gifts from Santa early on Christmas Eve and opened them that same night. But it's all tradition.
So like I said, I love the season, the mood, the traditions, the excitement.... the reason we have Christmas, church on Christmas Day night..... the whole shebang. I can't wait to go look in the woods for our Christmas tree. Even that has tradition for my family. The night we would decorate it, my mom would give us kids a new ornament that year that would go on the tree. Our tree was always a hodgepodge of homemade ornaments, to ones that were store bought or my parent's from when they were kids. It always looked like the "best tree ever." When we were done, we'd have cookies and shut off the lights and sing Christmas church songs, and enjoy our tree.
I could go on and on, but I'll save it til closer to Christmas. I am waiting til after Thanksgiving to go get the tree, and to start my shopping. Is anyone actually done with their shopping yet?

Oh yeah.....

Oh yeah, and Happy Veterans Day! Thanks to all those who have served us in the past, and a big thanks to those who are fighting for our honor overseas right now.

I am headed home to see my family today. Jenna cannot wait to go to her muumu's house. She was up and ready to leave at 6:10 this morning. I didn't have to get up til seven thirty though. Aars stayed home to study for an Anatomy Test this morning instead of leaving for work at four thirty am. So she hung out with her dad for a bit this morning. We are going up for the night as I have a scrapbook party for Close To My Heart at Liz's house tonight. We are spending the night because I don't have to work tomorrow.
I'm excited to go as well. I'd like to check out my mom and sister's bakery that I have yet to see. They don't know what time we are coming through so it is going to be a surprise. They know we are coming though. I guess they got the bakery in another local grocery store in C****et, along with the one they have been at for a month in L.L. They are pretty excited. A bit overwhlemed, but excited. In a month they have basically doubled in size. So a big congrats goes out to them! They are doing a great job.

missing dad

Aars comes back home today, and my kids cannot wait. Jenna has been asking for her daddy every day since he left. I don't think they will get back til after dark, but at least he's coming home today. :) Jenna will be pumped. I don't think she will give him much space, but hopefully he missed them as well and won't really mind.
It snowed last night. I should actually say it snowed all day yesterday. We woke up to a white blanket covering the ground. I love the first snow of the season. It gets me in the mood for the holidays, and everything looks so pretty outside. I get tired of the dreary gray and browns after the fall colors are all gone. It also reminds me I don't have snowpants for Jenna. I should look on Ebay or at Goodwill for some for cheap.
I went to pull out Jenna's winter dresses today, and realized she doesn't have any! I have sweaters for all of her summer dresses, but they aren't very warm. So she has on her dress from last year, it fits ok length wise, but the sleeves are now 3/4 length instead of full length.
Two more days til I go up to see my family. I don't have to be back til Thursday technically when I work in the afternoon, so I am debating if I should stay and try and visit some friends all day Wednesday and possibly Thurs. morning. It would be fun to try and do some catching up. We'll see I guess what I end up doing. If the kids and I are gone for two days, Aaron would be able to get his homework done with no problem. Speaking of homework, he is thinking about switching majors from radiographer to a surg. tech. He is going to go and talk to someone about it this week from the surg. program. He's kind of sold on the idea, but just needs more info. I'm all for it because you are pretty much guarenteed to get into the program, where as his one he is in now only takes ten people a year. Plus if he switches I think he'd be done a semester sooner. Bonus. :) I suppose... the kids are needing some TLC. Bye!

I am a hunters wife

I am a hunters wife. I knew that was something I'd signed up for when I married Aaron. He's always been a hunter. It's like his next biggest love after his family. And thats fine, I am sort of getting used to it, but it's still never easy. This year though, I actually wanted him to go. He's been bumming so bad about not being able to hunt like he usually does. This is his first weekend at the hunting camp, and he was so excited to go. My dad and brothers were never really big hunters, so it was a total change I needed to get used to when we started dating. I still don't get why sitting fifty feet up in a tree, freezing your buns off, and waiting for a deer that "might" show up" could be fun. :) I even tried hunting in a blind with Aars last winter..... we didn't see anything, so it was pretty boring, and did not change my outlook on hunting. But, it makes him happy, so it makes me happy too.
One of my biggest things I hate to do is drive in the rain, and when it's dark and late. Last night, I did both. I had to work, but then had to drive Aars to meet Marcus in L'an** so they could head out to the hunting camp where Ryan, BJ, and Brian were already there. I did it so he could have a great weekend, and hopefully release some of the stress that we both have been feeling lately. I'm hoping he comes home a happy and content man. We'll see. In the meantime, we are going to have to have fun without him this weekend. Maybe I'll take the kids to play at Burger King and order off their dollar menu. We do have pop cans to cash in..... :) They also have a little bit of money from Grandma they got in a Halloween card that I promised they could spend this weekend. I think maybe we'll do that today, as I work tomorrow. Jenna is excited cause she gets to spend the day at Aunty Jennie's and Ricky Ricky's. :) Thanks Jen!

Pleasant Surprise

I had a fairly productive day today. At least by my standards..... I got my kitchen cleaned up, and made oatmeal rasin cookies for my husband to take to the hunting camp this weekend.
I even made it out of the house to do something fun with my kids. We went to the library, where I picked up books for me to read this weekend, and books for the kids. Then when we got home, I made supper. Kind of. I made mashed potatoes, heated frozen meatballs and gravy from Fall Services and opened a can of peas and carrots. So I sort of cheated, but it looked and tasted really good. :)
I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me when I got home from the library this afternoon. I'd recieved a basket of flowers! They were from my mom and sisters Loretta and Alanna. The card simply read Thinking of you. It completly made my day. I had no idea they were getting me flowers. :) So if your reading this guys, Thanks for the flowers! They produced a smile and a great day.
Travis was pretty much 100 percent today. His appetite is back and I took the dressing off of his incision this morning like the hospital instructed me to do. He has stitches and steri strips over his cut. It looks good though, seems to be healing well.
The kids are still adjusting the time change. Every night around six thirty they are so ready for bed, and Jenna has noticed that it gets dark much earlier. I really don't like the time change in the fall. I love the longer days of summer and have a hard time adjusting to sunsets at five thirty. Oh well, maybe next year they will decide that we don't really need to do the time change. Rumor was for a while this year that we weren't going to, but then did anyway. Who knows. Either way life goes on, and we just adjust our schedules accordingly. Not like every day is a schedule around here though... we just kind of decide that morning what we need to get done that day, and when and where we are going to go if we feel like bumming that day. It's kind of nice to be flexible.

Proud to be an American

On my way to the armory, where we were registered to vote, I heard this on the radio

"Go vote! There are people out there right now who are fighting for that right for you."

And that really hit home and got me to thinking. How lucky are we to live in a free country where we do have that right? We have the right to vote for John Mcain or Barack Obama. Or even Ralf Nader who I think is now just going for the record of running for president the most. :) How lucky is that?
But today I was proud to be an American, and I am proud to say I did go and vote. Did you?

The Update

The surgery actually went really well. They went in and found it was a hydrocele, and were able to remove it with no complications. We were actually in and out of the hospital and back home in a time frame of four hours. They exceeded my expectations.
Travis is doing pretty well. He's a little bit sore, swollen, and starting to show some bruising, but that was told to us to be normal. As long as we stay on top of his tylenol, he is almost like normal. :) Poor kid though, they had to poke him for an IV MANY times. I think on the back of one of his hands he has like eight needle pokes. I'm glad they made him go to sleep first, and that I wasn't there for that part. The hospital wouldn't let me be there in recovery for him when he woke up. That made me a little bit mad, but actually, when he woke up, he woke up mad and wanting his mom. Nothing the nurses did could make him happy, so they brought him back up to the floor almost right away so I got to hold him. He was pretty sad, and was still very tired and groggy all day. But overall, I look back and say that it wasn't so bad. I guess there are all those what if's that run through your mind, and it's scary because you don't know what to expect. I'll be glad when things are back to normal around here and nobody needs any major medical treatment.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. It was nice to know people were thinking of us on the day when we needed friends and family. It really meant alot. So thanks again.

We're here at the hospital, sitting in the waiting room. And it's hard. I'm trying to be brave and not cry, but it's not easy. I dressed Travis in his little lion hospital gown, and changed his diaper so he'd be clean for surgery. I had hardley finished, when the came to wisk him away and prep him for surgery. Surgery..... I've never had to think about it before. It seems like such a big scary thing for my little thirteen month old boy. All weekend I was just not thinking about it, and was telling myself, Megan, be brave. It's a routine procedure, you know he'll be fine by the end of the day if not the next day, and you won't even be able to tell anything ever happend. But no matter how much I tell myself that, I still find myself all choked up.
There is a little girl cruising around the waiting room, who is the same age as Travis. It makes me miss my little man. We have a two hour wait before we hear back from Dr. Edwards on how the surgery went. I can tell you now, it's going to be a long wait. But at least I have my wonderful husband next to me to give me a hug or hold my hand whenever I get too overwhelmed. He emailed his proffessors last night to let them know he wouldn't be in class today. I'm glad.
So, now the wait begins. I'll keep you updated.

Two more days

Two more days til Trav mans surgery. We have to be at the hospital at six thirty a.m. Jenna is going to Missy and Ted's tomorrow to spend the night. Thank you Missy for offering! She is SO excited to go to Hannah's house all by herself in Aunty Kate's car. Thank you Kate for bringing her there. She is fired up to ride in your car!
I am really trying not to be nervous. I know things are meant to be, that God has a plan and that he'll take care of us, but you know.... it's my baby.
But enough of that. I've talked lots about that lately.
Trick or treating..... we did go. We actually went to the mall and it worked out slick. Jenna was a pirate, and Travis was a clown. I did paint his nose red, but he'd rubbed it off by the time we got home. I actually didn't get any pictures. A first for me, but I can do a pretend halloween day and take some then. Jenna had it down pat, she'd take a piece for her, then for Travis, and then she'd try and take about three more for her. Then she'd say thank you! At least she was polite, and people thought she was just cute, not greedy. :) I was glad for the mall trick or treating. I had to work at four thirty, and wouldn't have been able to go with the kids but for the mall starting at three instead of four like the town. I am enjoying the candy as much as them. Maye I'll use Jenna's to potty train..... yes I am thinking of trying again..... I'm thinking I might be nuts. But they aren't in the same size diapers anymore. Jenna is in a 4 and Travis just moved up to a 5. So.... diapers just doubled in price..... worth it to try potty training again.

All Scheduled for Surgery

I just got off the phone with the surgeon's office nurse. We went ahead and scheduled the surgery for Travis for next Monday Nov. 3rd. I have to call the Friday before and find out what time we have to be at the hospital. It will for sure be an outpatient surgery, so we will be able to come back home the same day. So..... it's for sure. I was hoping we could get it done and over with this week so I don't have to think about it anymore, but oh well. Poor little guy. The nurse told me though, that the little kids like him really aren't all that affected by the procedure. They tend to bounce back pretty quickly, and his pain should be able to be maintained by infant tylenol. So that was good to hear that he won't be in too much pain. I think it is probably going to be harder on me than on Travis. At least Aaron will be able to be there with me, and thanks to Jennie, we won't have to worry about Jenna because she offered to take her for the night. Thank you Jen! Your the best!
And thats that for today. We are just looking forward to Halloween. Jenna talks about it every day, and I'm not a hundred percent sure she quite knows what is really going to happen. She is going to be a pirate, and has the ARGH! down pat. :) Travis is going to be a clown. We have a little hat that ties under his chin. He doesn't like it at first, but then forgets about it and leaves it on. It should be fun. I have to work at four thirty, but maybe we can get a few houses in before I have to go. We'll see what Aaron feels like doing.

May Baby

We did decide to go ahead and have surgery for Travis. I just haven't been able to make myself schedule a day yet. It's not going away on it's own, so we know for sure that that is the best way to make him a hundred percent better.

Also, I had an ultrasound on Friday. I was really feeling overwhelemed over everything that has been going on lately, and was very close to canceling it, as it was just to see how far along I am. I knew, but the Dr. wanted to make sure. I was thinking I'm due May17, but they gave me a due date of May 15. I think that is Missy's birthday..... so we'll see. :) But I am glad that I didn't cancel the ultrasound. It was so awesome to see that little being that is growing inside of me. I was all prepared for it to look nothing like a baby yet, but it did, it was actually facing right at us, and was waving it's little arms and legs at me. I also heard the heartbeat for the first time. It really made my day.

Here are a few pictures from our color tour a couple weekends ago. A little late, but better late than never right?

operation Travis

Well, we went for our consult today. He recommend surgery. He thinks what Travis has is a non-communicating hydrocele, which is a hernia sack filled with fluid. They don't usually go away on their own, so he said a simple operation would take care of it. Also, there isn't much pain associated with it. The doctor actually said infant Tylenol would take care of any discomfort he'd have and it shouldn't last more than a few days.
But it is so much to think about. He would have to be put out completely under anesthetic so he'd be totally asleep. The operation itself takes about a half hour to forty five minutes and the incision is only about an inch long, and has minimal risks of infection or complications. He would probably be able to come home after recovery that same day, but that will depend on the anesthesiologist. So..... it sounds like it is pretty basic, but he's just so little. I know he's not in any pain, but it has a chance of causing more problems as he gets older so the best option right now is surgery. I didn't have to make a decision today and the Dr didn't have the ultrasound report from the hosp. he was going to take a look at it later today, and if he saw anything urgent on it he will give me a call here at home. Otherwise it's our call. I know we are really leaning toward the surgery, but it all happened so fast! One day your baby is a perfectly happy normal healthy baby, and then in a matter of hours, he gets this hernia/hydrocele thing, and needs surgery! How does this happen?

late night ER visits

I wonder why whenever one of my kids gets sick, I immediatly wonder what I did wrong. Never mind that maybe it is just nature, and not a test on what kind of mother I am. Same thing popped into my head last night when I got home from work. Aaron was just pulling the kids out of the tub as I was walking into the door. He told me to look at Travis's scrotum that it was swollen. I did look and indeed it was swollen and hard. It didn't seem to be bothering him, but nonetheless it wasn't normal.
I've never had a boy, so all of their anatomy is new too me, I'm still learning whats normal. But his dad thank goodness had the thought that it was a hernia. So, thank goodness for the internet, I did some research on hernias. Travis had all of the symtoms. From what side they are usually on, to what they look and feel like. I also found out that if there is a history of hernia's in the family boy's are more likely to develop one. They do run in Aaron's family. Another notch in my worry belt. So I called Janet, and she said she'd bring him to the ER, as he might need surgery if it was strangulated. (I found out there are several diff. types of hernias) So, at nine thirty at night, I took my 13 mo. old son to the hospital.
It's so hard being in a new place. It means you have to find new EVERYTHING. From grocery stores to a hospital and dr. We went right here in town as it is only a few blocks away from our place. We were in the waiting room, and there were people coughing all over the place, and Travis isn't acting sick at all. The though kept crossing my mind that he's going to catch influenza or a bad cold just from the waiting room! to top that off, some guy with his sick little boy ( he had a nasty whooping cough of sorts) kept wanting to bring his son over to play with Travis. Would it have been rude of me to say, excuse me, but could you please not come near us? I'd rather my son not catch what your son has.
Finally after an hour of the waiting room, we were able to register to be seen in the E.R. That took all of two mintues, and we were brought to an express care room. Needless to say, it was NOT express care. It took an hour to see the nurse, then a half an hour to see the P.A., who then proceeded to say yes, it's a hernia, let me go get the real dr. Who then came in and said it might not be a hernia, but a hydrocele. They decided to do an ultrasound. By this time I gave up on gettin home by midnight, as is was ten to.
So, we waited and waited and waited and waited for the darn utlrasound tech to come in. And when he did finally show up ( an hour later at one a.m.) all he could do was grumble about how he was still doing ultrasounds! I was not impressed. He just couldn't stop complaining about how he was there til all hours of the morning the night before. Then to top it off, halfway through the ultrasound, the machine died, and Travis decided to pee all over himself. Grrrrr!!!!!
We somehow made it through the ultrasound portion of the evening, and even was able to catch a few zz's on the cot they call a bed. At two a.m I woke up and realized we were still there. It was 2:30 by the time we got the ultrasound results, and they still weren't one hundred percent sure what it was. They told me " we think" it's a hydrocele. So, we now have a surgical consult on Thursday. We'll see I guess. I'll keep you posted.

A High then a Low

On a postive note, I am going to LOVE my job at Target. I started today, was only at my register for an hour and i loved it! I even got a compliment from someone who said I was a great new team member! I can't wait until my shift on Friday morning. :)
But on a much crappier note, Loretta and Brad aren't renting our house anymore..... I guess they found somewhere else. We had someone who was possibley interested in our house, but haven't heard anything more, so we are assuming they don't want to buy our house. I guess I should have never gotten my hopes up about anything. Thats the way our life has been lately. Lots of let downs. It seems as if finally things might be looking up, they just come crashing right back down to the ground again. It sucks. Sorry for the lack of a better word, but I feel like bawling right now. I'm just so disappointed. Really. It was going to be such a HUGE help to not have to worry about our mortgage payments for the whole winter. But I guess we still will. I'm going to be working two jobs, while being a full time mom and wife. It won't be easy, but you do what you have to do when times call for it. I feel like a poor college student today. We get paid tomorrow, but scrounged change today for milk and bread. Both of which are half gone already. AAAGGHH!!!!! I'm so frustrated!!!! We have extra kids tonight, Jenna is fighting, and Aimee is shy and mad. Just bad timing, usually it's fine. I'm just having a s***ty night. On that note, anyone know of someone in need of a house to rent for the winter? We are looking for renters again.

Number 3!

We had a blast up north this weekend. We took the Bohemia color tour chair rides and went to the Harbor to go up B. Mt. and view the colors at the top of that. We went with all of my In'laws. Brian and Katie were up for the weekend so it was great to see them, if only for two days. the colors were absolutley amazing! On the way back home Aaron drove us through covered drive. I took lots of pictures from this weekend so I'll post some later on. I wish our fall weather lasted a bit longer. While I'm wishing, I wish that the weather was always as nice as yesterday was! We spent the majority of the day outside. We went for a walk with Jennie, and then stopped at a park where Travis spent the whole time crying. Then we went to a park later in the evening with Jill and Tessa and Stacey and Ian and Andrew. It was a great day.
I also have some other news to share. Aars and I are expecting baby number three! I am still kind of adjusting to the idea of three, but we are still very excited. I feel great. Not at all sick, just really tired. I am due sometime in the middle of May. Not sure when yet. I have an appt. on Friday so I'll know then. Other than that, we are just still doing the day to day same ol thing down here. Aaron's first semester has reached the halfway point, so we are excited about that. He has kind of gotten a good schedule down, and if he has some big studying to do he goes to the library for a few hours. I need to go put my kids down for a nap. At least Travis anyways. On a quick note, he's been sleeping through the night and going to sleep great! Finally! :)

Florida? Who needs it!

Who needs Florida when you have beaches down here with little shells on it? We were out for a drive tonight after we frequented one of the local parks, and noticed an ore boat loading up. To a local they might just say oh look, another boat and keep driving. But us still being new, still think it's kind of exciting. So we parked the van and got out to walk down the beach for a closer view. It was actually kinda neat. They must've just pulled in because they were just beginning to load all of the ore onto the boats. It must have been really loud on the boat as the ore was flying down the shoot because it was loud on the beach. We sat on a log for about ten minutes watching the boat load up, and then began heading back to the van. Jenna discovered little shells on the beach and began picking them up. I helped and was reminded of picking shells on the beach in Florida. And it got me to thinking. We have everything Florida does around here in the summer. Beautiful beaches, an ocean ( freshwater) and shells! So who needs Florida! :) We have it all right here. Aren't we lucky?

Just felt like putting up pics

He's getting to be busier and busier every single day!
Travis seems to just adore his aunty Lia. Sometimes he won't go to anyone but her.
This one is one of my favorites
Every time I see Emma I can't believe how much she is growing into a young lady!
And then there is my Jenna. It's hard to get her looking at the camera lately. She's more than happy to say cheese, but will always look away and say cheese.

elevator alarms

I had fingerprints taken today for my job at the nursing home. It was at a hotel about five minutes from the townhouse. When we pulled up there was a little park outside. That caught Jenna's attention right away. At the front door, Jenna thought that we were at a restaurant and was pumped to eat. When we walked into the lobby she went whoa!!!! She was also very impressed by the "kiddie pool" which wasn't really a kiddie pool, but a five foot deep pool. Funny how kids get pleasure out of the simplest things. It totally made her day just to press the button in the elevator to go to the next floor. On the way back down though, she got a little too button happy and pushed the alarm button! I think it startled her more than me. :) Nobody noticed though so that was good.
We made smoothies for a snack after supper tonight... mmmmm..... they are so good! I pulled out some blueberries from this summer, some strawberries and bananas. Oh what a yummy treat. And healthy too!
I begin my orientation for Target on Thursday. I guess they said to plan on it taking five hours. I wonder what we will be doing for five hours. At least I'll get paid for it! :) I'm anxiously awaiting my first paycheck. I haven't gotten one since August! I'm ready to begin working again though. It'll be a nice break from the kids, and it will really help.

Hikes and Window Shopping

We went window shopping at the mall and Shopko on Sat..... we didn't spend any money except to go out for supper. It was fun. There were alot of sales that would have been fun to take advantage of, but we're poor college students, so we passed. It was fun just to look and hang out as a family. Aaron and I even got our wedding rings cleaned.... now they look like they did when we were first married. Sparkley! Mine were grimey and really needed a good cleaning.
Today we went for a hike with John and Stacey up Hogsback again. It was just as fun as the first time. Today though we followed the original trail and it was considerably easier going up. Travis fell asleep on the way down again.... must be something about the movement of being carried down a mountainside. I'm sure I'd fall asleep if someone carried me down too.
I made a creamy broccoli soup for supper. It was really good, but not as thick as I thought it should be. I as usual ate til I was stuffed to the gills. :)
This weekend we decided to let Travis cry himself to sleep not only when we first laid him down for the night, but every time he woke up during the night. Fri night was kinda tough, but last night he did pretty good, and tonight was a record. He only cried for five minutes! :) yea!!!! I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that this will last.

It's the Weekend

It's the weekend and we have no plans. Acutally, if it's not nose freezing cold we might take the kids to the football game here in town. Aars and the kids would get in free so it'd be a fairly cheap fun outing. We'll see I guess. I'm sure they'd love the chance to get outside. I did pull out winter stuff today and packed up their summer clothes..... kind of depressing, but fun to see new clothes. I was getting sick of their summer stuff. They don't get quite as dirty in the winter either so laundry stains are fewer. A small plus to winter I guess.
I've come to the conclusion Travis likes his mom TOO much. I have to stand next to his crib at night where he can see me so he will fall asleep. If he can see me he's fine and falls asleep in five min. If I move, he bawls. I hope this is just a stage that he soon outgrows...... I don't really remember Jenna being so shy and attached to me. I should go put Jenna into bed.... she keeps coming out with some sort of excuse not to go to sleep.

Flannel Season

It's October. Flannel season. Aaron has been waiting til we can put the sheets on the bed. He was even bragging to a coworker that we are going to put the sheets on the bed this week. If he had his way I think the only month of the year that they would really come off would be August. So, I pulled them out of the closet yesterday and put them on the bed. October 1st and the flannel sheets were on. I admit though, they did feel oh so nice to crawl into flannel. I just don't like what they represent..... cold. I wish I could find flannel sheets for my kids beds. I have never found them though. Maybe I could dust off my ancient sewing skills and sew some for them. How hard could it be? HAHA. Seriously though, the thought did cross my mind. Who knows.... maybe.
All this rain is getting old. I swear we have jumped right from summer to the end of fall. No beginning or middle. It is so cold! I knew last week when it was seventy and eighty that I'd better enjoy it, because soon the cold weather would be setteling in. October isn't one of my favorite months because it symbolizes the start of our too long winters. On our way home tonight it was 38 degrees at eight o'clock. They are predicting the "S" word for tonight. I'm not ready for that! I'm still waiting for one last day of summer! Last night I saw some kids in the parking lot here with winter gear on! I still haven't packed away our summer clothes! Did I mention I'm not ready?

sticky buns!

I made sticky buns yesterday. I woke up in the morning thinking it would be a good thing to try. I'd never made them before, but love my moms. It was a thing I had to do when the kids were in bed. So.... I stayed up til one a.m. yesterday making sticky buns. But it was well worth it because they turned out great! It wasn't as hard as I thought, just time consuming. :) So... I thought since I can't physically share them with everyone, I'd just post a pic so we can enjoy them that way. :)

sticky buns!

A hike up hogsback

Yesterday afternoon we decided to go for a hike after church with Pete and Janet. It was a cooler day, only in the 50's. It had been overcast all day, until we decided to hike up Hogsback Mt. When we arrived at the start of the trail, the sun decided to shine. So it was really perfect weather.
We all took turns carrying the kids, as we don't have a backpack for Travis, and in some parts it was a little bit steep and rough going for Jenna. But for the most part she wanted to "do it myself". Which is the case for pretty much everything these days. But anyways, as we were hiking, all of a sudden the trail just kind of stopped. So we foraged our way up rocks and through tress to the best of our ability. Every so often, Papa would have to find a "park bench" and take a breather. :) It was a good excuse to take either a break myself or grab a few more picture shots. You know me, never without my camera. :) At least I try not to be. You never know when a gooo picture opportunity might arise. I'm getting sidetracked. Back to the hike.
It was a bit challenging in some spots, but it was really enjoyable to just be outside in the beautiful fall weather that afternoon. I've been in the mood to do something like that for a while now. We were almost at the top when the mt turned to rock and was pretty steep. Aaron with Travis and Janet foraged ahead to see if this last rock hill was the top. Pete, and Jenna and I waited to see if it was the top, and enjoyed the little view we had from our standpoint. We did end up following Aars and Janet because it was to top. All that climbing was worth it. The view at the top was spectacualr. It will probably be better in a week or so, as all the trees weren't colored yet. But there were still quite a few reds, yellows and oranges scattered among all the green. We were able to see Hallow lake and Lake Superior from the top as well. It was awesome. When it came time to go back down, we saw a something that looked like it might be a trail. We decided to try to follow that, as it was a steep hike back down the way we came. What do you know, but it was the original trail that lead us back down to the trail we'd started on! We must've taken the Advanced hike up! We all got a chuckle out of that one. :) The trail we should've taken would have been ALOT easier. :) Oh well, we still made it to our destination, and lived through it. It was a lot of fun, and I got lots of fun pics.

Bonanza.........mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

It was a pretty good day today! I did go out for breakfast with the ladies, and did have a belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, and some fried ham. I was stuffed to the limit. :) Also, Pete and Janet were down today, and we went out for supper at BONANZA. Oh.... heavenly days it was wonderful. I'm still stuffed two hours later! :) I got their all you can eat salad bar. Oh...... haha I'm still oohing over it! Sorry bout the food obession..... I'll stop now.
I found the camera cable so now I can add pictures. I'll put some up from Trav's birthday, and just some random park pics. There may be lots, so just bear with me. I've got catching up to do. Enjoy!

dreaming of breakfast

I don't know what I am going to do..... well I do know actually..... I guess I should kind of explain what my dilema is.
I got a job at Target. :) I'm excited and can't wait to start. But that's not what I am in a dilema about. My Travis has become a shy baby! I dropped him off at a friends the other day while I had a job interview for Target. When I left he was busy playing with a toy with his back turned to me. Well when I got back, that was NOT the case. He was sitting in front of the door bawling his little head off. And boy was he mad. I gues he cried for a good half hour when he noticed I was gone. He did the same thing when I went for a drug test. I was only gone for twenty minutes, and he was still pretty mad. So...... I guess It's going to be fun for whoever watches him during the layover when Aars has class and I have work. I love being a stay at home mom with my kids, it's great to be able to watch them grow up on a day to day basis, but it will be nice to get a little break. To actually interact with different people! :)
On a more cheerful note, I have been working with Jenna to say her prayers every night before she goes to sleep. She's getting the hang of it. She actually knows half of the words to "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep". I tell her one word, and the last couple of nights she's said the next two words after that. It just toally melts my heart to listen to her little heart say her prayers. She's so darn cute. Even when she's sassy. Lately though she has been pretty good. Even saying please and thank you without being prompted. It's hard to tell her no when she says please. :)
We have Fall Services down here this weekend. I'm hoping some people from the north travel south for services. It would be fun to see some familiar faces. The ladies from church are going out for breakfast for eight thirty in the morning tomorrow, and then going to go and peel many pounds of potatoes for sunday dinner after. I'm going to go..... I never go for breakfast and Aaron always does! I'm dreaming of a belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. And maybe a big glass of OJ. mmmmmm..... I'm making myself hungry....
My inlaws are headed to town tomorrow for some shopping and a visit to their grandkids. Should be fun to see them. We are always fired up to have company. Especially company that is family. :) The best kind. :) I am going to go and pick up..... we babysat for Dan and Heidi's girls while they went on a date tonight. Well.... two two year olds plus two crawling babies equals a messy house! So with that..... I bid you a goodnight!

Beef Stew

I know I promised I'd post pics, but i can't find the cable today. I'm going to have to clean my room really good tomorrow, and hopefully find it. If it's not there, than that means I HAVE to clean out the van......
I made an AWESOME supper tonight if I do say so myself. It was a yummy beef stew. One of my favorites. I love to dip like four pieces of bread to go with my heaping bowl of stew. I also pour ketchup over my stew. There probably is a recepie out there, but I just chop up my potatoes, carrots and celery and rutabega till it looks good,and throw in the stew meat ( I actually bought a chunk of beef the first time I made it and had to cut it up myself. My sister Alanna laughed at me when I told her that. She then informed me that they do sell stew meat cut up in the store..... ).
I then look in the cupboard and dig around for whatever seasonings look good. Cajun seasoning, lauwrys seasoning salt, lemon pepper, salt, pepper, garlic, and can't forget the boullion cubes. mmmmm...... it was so good. I can't wait to eat it for lunch again tomorrow.
Tomorrow.... yeah!!!! tomorrow is Friday. That means Aaron is done with school early and doesn't have to get up at 4:20 a.m. because he has class at seven. And he's done at noon. Then it's the weekend! woo hoo!

What a weekend!

We had a busy weekend up north! As always it went by way too fast!
The wedding was pretty, it was FREEZING cold on Sat. Go figure. It was eighty the day before and seventy the day after. But Sat. evening it was probably in the fifties with a stiff cold wind coming off of the lake. I served cheesecake at the wedding and was SO cold by the time we left.
We were able to see both families and some friends over the three day weekend. Friday night we went to my in laws and celebrated Janet's birthday. Sat, Aars worked on the garage and I slept in til ten and took a nap later in the afternoon! What a treat! :) We had the wedding at six thirty in the evening out at McLain's. We were able to squeeze in a late visit with Ryan and Sarah after. Sunday I went to church with the kids so Aaron could do his homework that was due Monday. We stayed at my parent's all weekend. Sunday afternoon we had a birthday party for Travis. His dad told everyone he needed boy toys. Well.... boy toys he got! Trucks, and balls galore! It was cute. He's so pumped to just push his trucks around. I just wish we had more room for him to push them. Our living room is kind of small.
We let him dig into his cake that Alanna made for him. It was a cute car :)
It was late by the time we hit the road to head home. We gave Loretta and Brad a tour of our house for sale. They are actually going to rent it for the winter! I'm pumped. It's a win-win situation for all of us.:)
So all in all, it was a good weekend home. I'll post pics tomorrow. I grabbed the camera/computer cable thingy to get pics onto the computer from our camera.

A little help please!

how can I get a picture in my post or on top or bottom? I figured out how to get one on the sides, but am still struggling with the middle. We're headed to my mom's this weekend and am getting the part for my camera to load pics onto the computer without having to go to Walmart and put them on CD's. Anybody have any advice? I need help! :)

Cupcakes!

Happy Birthday Dear Travis, happy birthday too you!
I made cupcakes today, and decorated them with mike and ike's. They were good. I had three!
We had a little family birthday party (if you could call it a party) with the kids this afternoon. Put a candle in a cupcake for Travis and sang happy birthday. Then we let him have his own cupcake and eat it however he wanted. It was alot of fun. It is always cute that first time they can dig in a cake.
It's late though, and I need to go to bed. We are headed up North tomorrow for the weekend. Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

Happy Birthday my little man!

As I sit here and read up on everyone else's lives going on around me, I am listening to Travis cry. He's been at it for half an hour. And as he cries, I am reminded that he will be one tomorrow. One. A whole year. Uno. Twelve months. The start of a new year. So much happens in the first year, and no matter how hard to try to remember all of it, you can't. Time doesn't slow down for you to enjoy your baby when they are still little. I can remember holding him for the first time. He was so tiny. 7 pounds 1 ounce. A bundle of joy that we knew was going to be a boy. The little miracle that we'd waited nine months for. And in that first moment that you look into that babies face, the labor pains, sciatic nerve problems, the basic being uncomfortable during the last month or two of your pregnancy are all gone. Forgotten in that moment of time.
the first time he rolled over we were so proud, sure all babies do it, but it's just so much greater when your baby does it. I often found myself saying that I can't wait til he sits up, or til he can hold his own bottle, or til he can crawl. But then I look back and think where did that year go? My baby is now pulling himself up on all the furniture, turning the radio on and off, climbing stairs and is a maniac crawler. I am constantly having to chase after him, and am worn out by the end of the day.
He popped another bottom molar today. It could explain the crabbiness and sleeplessness at night. Even though he's up all night, and up early in the morning when I really just want to crawl under my covers, I still love him with all my heart. All it takes is for him to jibber baby nonsense at me and smile and my heart melts all over again.
Jenna and I have been practicing the happy birthday song to sing to Travis when his birthday finally came. So every day she sings "Happy to you Travy man, happy to you and me!"
I still can't believe he'll be one. Where does the time go? I don't know, but I hope his next year brings him more things to explore and to learn and that he stays healthy like he is now. So, with that being said, happy birthday little man! I love you!

Sorry.... wrong number!

We just got an intersting phone call.... I got a chuckle out of it. I answered the phone and a man in a singsong voice says helllooooo....... what's happening? (me): "Not a whole lot...." ( I was really confused as to who this fruity guy is. I thought it was someone playing a joke.)
(phone guy): "Somebody called?"
(me): "Today?" ( our phone hasn't rang all day and we didn't call anyone)
(p.guy): "Just a little while ago...." ( he was still using the sing song voice)
(me): Who is this?
(p.g.): "Who is me? Who is you? Who is this?"
(me): this is Megan
(p.g.): Isn't this ***-4950?
(me):no..... 4650
(p.g.) laughs and says " Hello Megan, this is Ken. I'll talk to you later. Sorry to bother you, bye." ( he dropped the singsong voice when he realized that he'd realized he had the wrong number)
Funny it took him so long to realize he'd gotten the wrong number! :) haha. Whoever you are Ken, thanks for the laugh!

Bedtime Battles

Bedtime.... I like to tell myself that for my kids it's at eight o'clock, but it's always closer to nine or nine thirty by the time they're in bed and both sleeping. It's bee such a battle of the wills. Especially for Travis. I either have to rock him to sleep, or sing him a song, or give him a bottle and hold him, or all of the above, and sometimes that still doesn't work!
We've tried to let him cry himself to sleep, but that didn't work. He cried for an hour straight with no signs of stopping. We've tried cozying him on the couch til he falls asleep, but he wakes up almost as soon as he is laid down in his crib. I just don't know....... if he goes to sleep in my bed, he's great. But, I don't want him in my bed anymore.... I like my space and he's getting to big.
Jenna on the other hand, usually goes to bed pretty good. I can usually bribe her to go to sleep by telling her we'll either go and see someone the next day or go to the park in the morning. That usually works. Tonight I told her we'd call Tessa tomorrow and see if she wants to play. She takes everything but the kitchen sink to bed with her. This is what she takes to bed with her every night:
her blanket
sippy cup
a baby
a pluggy
another baby
her Dora pillow

If she has all of that, then I can usually get her to bed. Tonight was good. But as for Travis.... I am ready to throw in the towel. Anyone have any advice? I'll gladly take it. :)

I used butter this time

It was a good day today! And yesterday too actually now that I think of it..... maybe it's because the weather is finally clearing up and we can actually go outside. :)
I decided to start going for a walk every day. I failed today, but the walk yesterday should totally make up for it. I pushed the kids to a park about a mile and a half away from our townhouse. If you know my street you'll know it's a HUGE hill. We went to Harlow park on Washington st. On the way there I almost chickened out a quarter of the way there, but talked myself out of quitting by telling myself that the walk would be really good for me and that the kids really wanted to go to the park. Never mind that there is one a hundred feet away from my house. The way there wasn't too bad, I actually worked up a small sweat. But the way back.... HOLY COW... I just about died. The hill was kinda like going up a mini mountain. At least thats what it felt like. I doubt it was cause I'm out of shape either...... ;) Ok... so I am out of shape, but it really was a big hill. I'm a little sore today, but proud I did it.
Today..... today was a good day just because things just went smoothly and the kids were great. I even got a nap in! We played at the park for an hour this morning, then came in and had lunch, and took a little nap. Then Aaron was home and took the kids to the park again while I ran to Walmart to buy some butter. (I learned my lesson with the runny cookies) Then I made a delicous supper out of the old Heinonen cookbook. I made Italian Vegetable Soup, which by the way was GREAT! And then made peanut butter finger bars which turned out the best I'd ever made them. I'd have to say they were finally as good as my mother in laws and hers are really good!
I was even a good girl and went to bible class tonight. Aars had homework so he stayed home so he could be done before midnight. he's been working before classes in the morning, which translates to five a.m. :)
So thats why it was a good day.... It's nice to have those once in a while. :)

runny cookies

On sunday I decided to try out my aunt anne's peanut butter cookie recepie from an old cookbook i swiped from my mom. The recepie called for a cup of butter. Well I didn't have any butter, or margarine, but what I did have was the "I can't believe it's not butter". And I had a big tub of it. So after consulting with my sister Alanna, we concluded that maybe it would maybe work. So I tried it. The recepie said it would make lots of cookies. It probably would've except that the butter substitute didn't work. The first batch took about a half hour to cook as it was too runny, then it got crispy by the time it turned brown. I decided to "tweak" the recepie and add an unmeasurable amount of flour. Well I decided that since I added flour to firm it up a bit, I should probably add some sugar so it still tastes good. So.... twelve minutes later, a halfway decent cookie came out of the oven. Aaron test tasted them and said they didn't really taste very peanutbuttery anymore.
Finally I decided to do a third batch. This time the dough looked REALLY iffy. Actually, the oil from my butter substitute started pooling in the middle of the dough. I still tried to cook them..... but unbeknownst to me Jenna turned off the oven, so they sat in there for ten minutes before I noticed. By then they looked like foreign little globs sitting on my cooking stone. After that I threw in the towel and quit. I dumped the rest of the dough.
I decided that all that effort I put into making those darn cookies ( I had to stop halfway through because I was short a half a cup of flour and had to run to the grocery store to get some more) was so not worth it. Maybe I just shouldn't try to bake on a Sunday anymore.

twins?... nope!

If you know my kids you know that they are not twins. They are 22 months apart, and Jenna is much taller than Travis. Well, we were at the grocery store last night when some lady stopped to coo at the kids and then asked if they were twins. Same thing with someone else at Walmart this afternoon. Both were surprised when we said no that they are actually almost two years apart. :)

Decorations got hung up this afternoon. We were going to go for a hike, but it started raining. Go figure. :) But I am glad that we got things on the walls. Crazy how a few pictures will make a place look like home. Now I don't feel like I'm living in an empty shell, and more like a home. I love decorating a room. Aaron probably gets sick of it cause I am so indecisive about where things should go. I just have to pick a spot and stick with it or I change my mind ten times.

It's been a quiet day, I talked to my sisters this morning, and my mom. Everyone is doing good. Alanna was garage saleing...... I was jealous. I love garage sales. I did alot of it at the beginning of summer. So much in fact, if you ask Jenna where any of her clothes are, she'll reply "garage sale" whether they really were or not. :) Thats ok. I found her a nice columbia winter jacket and boots for five dollars at a garage sale this spring. I was pumped. Still looking for snowpants or a snowsuit, but I've got a bit of time before we have to worry about that "s" word.

I figured out how to put pictures on my blog..... more to come once I get more on the computer. Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

apartment life....it's wonderful

I just got off the phone with a lady who signed up to sell close to my heart! Yea!!! I officially have a downline! I also have another lady who wants to sign up under me sometime this month! I just need one more before I start making commission off of their sales.
Also, Aaron got a job today, working part time around his classes here on campus. It'll be twenty hours a week and no weekends. Perfect. I'm not sure how much we'll see each other if I get an afternoon job posting, but we'll figure something out I guess. I'm still waiting to hear if I got a job at the hospital or the nursing home. I REALLy want the hospital job, sorry if I have mentioned it a hundred times to those I talk to. But I do want it. I have this gut feeling though that I probably didn't get it, so I am trying to tell myself it's ok, that I can still work at MCMCF and perhaps within the next couple months another job opportunity will arise and I can try again. That way if I really didn't get the job, I will be prepared for the let down and not take it so hard. And if I do get it I'll be elated.
My neighbors....... yeah...... they're "great". Today they pulled out their drumset and pounded on them for at least an hour. BOOM BOOM Tang tang BOOM Whappity Boom! Thump Thump tang boom! Needless to say.... it got old, fast, and it got older even faster when it woke Travis up from his nap. So Aaron went and pounded on the wall adjacent to their apartment. We got lucky enough to have two single guys live next to us. For the most part they haven't been too bad, a little bit of muffeled base from the radio for a bit at night, but nothing like that drum set today. My kids aren't allowed to play the drums in high school. Please remind me of this when they decide they want to. And it's only the second week of school. hooray. Maybe they will graduate this year and we'll get a nice family with a few cute kids like ours next door. right...
My mom is on the line... gotta go!

If wishes were money.... I'd be rich

They're asleep! finally! Jenna and Travis both sorely tried my patience today. I felt today like the worlds worst mom. They must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. It just started off bad. Jenna was so crabby and nothing was right no matter what you did, and Travis just cried whenever I wasn't holding him. I needed a break tonight, but didn't get one til now. Aaron went to Michigamee and played a baseball game against the houghton church guys. Now he's up trying to memorize the parts of a cell for his bio quiz tomorrow. He's really wishing he had a coloring book that they can get for class.... if only money grew on trees.....
Travis has been such a bad sleeper at night lately! I think he's teething, and it is not fun. I try not to be selfish when he wakes up in the middle of the night, and I really just want to ignore him and burrow deeper under my covers, but I feel bad for him. I envy anyone who's baby sleeps through the night. I dream of that.
Aaron came home from class this afternoon all smiles. I asked him what he was so smiley about and he said "I decided that I really like college". So that was good news.... if we are going to be down here for the next few years he better like school! I toss the idea around in my head once and a while that maybe I'd go back for the rest of my nursing degree..... we'll see.
I think I'm going to go to bed..... perhaps some day I'll actually get there before midnight.

School Kids

I think today I am going to have Aaron hang up some of our decorations so it feels and looks more like our home. I was feeling a little lonely and homesick after I talked to my mom this morning. But then I decided to take advantage of my kids napping at the same time today and take a nap. They slept for two hours! It felt great.
Aars came home from class today just pumped cause he decided he really likes college. Which is good, it's just funny how he all of a sudden just realized it. He's going to school to become an x-ray technition. A needed field, but a tough program to get into down here. We are just keeping our fingers crossed.
He is going to go to Michigamee tonight with the guys from church down here to play a baseball game against the guys from church up in the copper country. I'll probably go and hang out at Jennie's house for a while tonight if she'll be home. I'm so glad to have her down here. It has definetly made things alot easier to adjust! If I need a friend I know she'll be there!
Levi started school this year. My mom's baby! I asked her how he liked at and I guess he's doing great! He had to have hot lunch today because they didn't have much for cold lunch. Levi was a little bit nervous because he didn't know what they were having, and wasn't sure if he'd like it or not. Mom is enjoying her time alone. This is the first time since I started school that she's had NOBODY at home during the day. I think today she was making a Walmart run with Joanne Tailvalkoski.
I should run to the laundromat and get a load of laundry done. I miss my brand new laundry room at our house in town, but at least our laundry here is included in our rent, and is coinless. Just kind of a pain to have to trek across the parking lot to get it done.