Jake cracks me up...most days :)

Today, as I am trying to clean up the abomination that is our basement, Jake has kept me in the giggles.  From now identifying his pacifier as "Papi" to eating a whole tangerine -- taking time to spit the seeds out -- he's been a little hoot today.  His vocabulary seems to really be improving lately, that or the amount of time we're spending together has made me more able to understand him.  He has enjoyed eating the fake folage & berries off of my artificial wreaths, pulling VHS tape out of the casing and rearranging what I've just arranged..nice huh?  Oh and I forgot to mention that Jake is by far the one who seems to show Ty the most love, but I'm not sure that Ty is very appreciative :)  Ty will be laying somewhere trying to catch a nap and Jake will begin to yell for him, search him out, then once found, proceed to lay all over him, poke at his eyes or nose or even better offer him kisses...this kiddos cracks me up, although Ty has yet to find the humor.  So, hopefully, by the time Michael gets home from work it will look like I at least accomplished some form of clean up today!

My first Car Accident

Well, the first time had to be a doozie, huh?  I managed to total our '08 Honda Odyssey in a head on collision about two weeks ago.  I thankfully only received minor injuries -- nothing broken, but my left knee was badly injured on the steering column, I dislocated my right shoulder (which I've done before), my left thumb was swollen & lacerated, and to top it off I had seatbelt bruises to my pregnant belly & across my chest.  The other driver apparently broke a finger but is claiming that she lost consciousness and therefore cannot recall any of the details of the accident.  Here hun, I'll give you a refresher...I was turning left at an intersection where there isn't a protected turn...it was 8am on Monday morning so traffic was pretty heavy.  I proceeded into the intersection on green and while I was advancing into the intersection, the light turned yellow.  The car in front of my turned without any hesitation, I waited just a second because I couldn't see the rest of oncoming traffic...so I proceeded to clear the intersection with caution...then YOU came barreling out of no where in your silver Mercedes and before I could even think you were plowing into my front end.  Since you sped up to make the light...you hit me going about 40 mph in a 35 mph zone...but were you ticketed...no, only me, for failing to yield the right of way on a left turn.  Ho hum...what's a girl to do?  I was transported to the closest hospital with a NICU in case little Will decided that he was too traumatized by the accident...thankfully I was 32 weeks that day, so delivery wouldn't have been a death sentence ---thank you Jesus!  So after spending close to 8 hours at the hospital for monitoring & to have my shoulder relocated...we came home thankful that I wasn't in more serious condition. 
Michael has been really supportive surprisingly...not quite sure why, but a guilt trip at this point would probably just send me into hysterics which wouldn't play out well for him to deal with :)  So...we have been told "we can fix it", "oh, actually, it's totalled"  so now we wait for the insurance company to determine the value and then we can begin searching for a replacement.  Oh, and another thankful thing is Michael went TDY the following week after the accident, why am I thankful for that...because it wasn't THE morning after he left...I had a whole week to get back into the swing of things before having to manage the two joys of my life all by my hobbling, pitiful self :) 
So, lesson learned: I now do not even mess with a yellow. I think this was a good wake up call for me to improve my driving awareness.

Once again, Thanks be to God for keeping Will & I safe :)

Time flies when they're so little...

Jake...he is the best little man a gal could ask for.  He gets cuter by the day!  I just can't imagine that in about 6-8 weeks he is not going to be my little baby anymore.  But as each day passes, he is really starting to show that he doesn't want to be "the baby" anymore.  He has really done well with his walking, he is now using most of the signs that we...well, I - have taught him, and funniest of all, is he has now started shaking his head in agreement/disagreement.  He will sign "eat" "more" "all done" and "please" is just around the corner...I know it (please?)! I think that his nodding is the funniest, because he usually does the opposite of what he really intends to "say" :)  (He shakes his head "no" when he really means "yes") Anyway, last night I could tell that he was starting to get tired, so I said "Jake, ready for night-night?" he shook his head "yes" and started walking to the stairs to go up to his room.  I didn't follow right away because I was trying to finish what I was doing, so he came back to the living room and got my attention (screech) and then I got up and he walked to the stairs again.  He walked to his room and headed straight for his bed...I said "wait, we need to do pj's" and so he waited by his changing table for me to return with his pjs...who is this kid?  I changed him and then put him down, he walked to his bed, I said "get in bed Buddy", he crawled into his little toddler bed (which is just so darn cute) and he waited for me to tuck him in...I just LOVE him :) 
We really need to start the book habit at night like we did with Cassidy -- she has to have a couple of books before bed, otherwise she gets out of bed constantly until she either gets in so much trouble that she cries herself to sleep (which makes me feel like a terrible mother...but she hasn't correlated that late bedtime = grumpy Cassidy in the morning) or it just gets so late that she just can't fight the sandman off anymore. 
AND on top of Jake being such a good little guy, he has had the most terrible cold & cough this week -- its the first time he's been sick since his RSV in December.  So he has coughed himself through sleep for most of the week, but still woken up with a smile (and green slimey nose! ewww) -- sounds like it might be bedtime tonight...maybe I'll take him to his room rather than have to be led to... :)

March 1st...celebrating 3 firsts in 2010!

Well, I am terrible at planning ahead for haircuts..even with my own.  I started to implant the idea that Cassidy was WAY overdue for her first haircut at the end of last year.  Michael was reluctant to cut it, claiming "it will just grow"...obviously it will keep growing, but it might grow healthier with a little trim.  So, I set out to get Cassidy a memorable first cut experience...well, the place here in town that catered to kids, closed ---and it was Sunday, amazing how many salons are closed on Sundays...ALL of them.  But Sallys was open - fancy scissors & a cape - wa-la, we're in business.  I have had my hair cut enough times in my life that I should have paid attention at least once...right?  Well, as with most "at home" cuts, it is shorter than I was intending, but I had to get all those dead ends off..they've been there for almost 4 years now!  It did prove to be a challenging task though..her hair has no natural part and it actually started to get more curly/wavy as I cut...she has some good body in it now!  In the end, I was pleased with my work & Cassidy's patience, she got to watch "Snow White" while she was getting her cut!  And she actually liked it...once I showed her that we could still do all the same hair styles as we'd done before :) 

And little Jake man -- wow, he has really started to take some steps into "Big Boy Land" -- literally!  He started walking last weekend, just after turning 14 months!  We thought that he'd be an early walker for sure because he was crawling at 8 months...but I think he knew he wouldn't be as fast as when he crawled!  He looks like a little monkey when he is walking, holding his arms up above him for balance.  Now, he's experimenting with how to get from sitting to standing...he gets a kick out of himself falling over- LOL!

AND Jake started sleeping in his toddler bed -- I can't believe it, I've only found him out of it once, and that was after he'd woken up at 7am and decided that he could use a little more shut-eye :)  I think he could sleep anywhere...but it did help that I put it up in his room once we moved in, and he would climb up in it and bounce around and he definitely should remember Cassidy sleeping in it...he's such a clever boy!

Taxes...I understand why they say "death by taxes"

Taxes...I sometimes think that I should have been an accountant.  I am really good at remembering numbers and well...sometimes I hate working in a "people person" job -- so by being an accountant I could be someone completely different from who I am now. 
Anyway, I digress...I usually do our taxes each year - not sure how it became my "thing" but I'm not sure it would ever get done if Michael had to do them :)  So, this year was particularly difficult -- we converted our home into a rental, we had a home tax credit that was to be repaid but we got the wonderful "forgiveness" ticket by having our family serve in the US military, we had stocks that we sold for a miserable price (thankfully, we're pretty bad at the stock market, otherwise we'd be in REAL trouble!) AND we moved across the country -- with all of our receipts, bills, documents, etc packed away in boxes.  I just hope that I found everything that is pertinent to this year's return.  This is the first year I've done itemized deductions...I really wish we could go back to the 1040 EZ... it was way simpler!!  I just hope that the IRS takes pity on me and decides NOT to audit my masterpiece...at this rate we are having a small return, which will be great considering I just got a letter stating that the home we are already paying out of pocket to have someone else live in, doesn't have an adequate escrow account...well crap.  I now wish that we had just sold it, taken the cut then instead of dragging out the process each month!  Anyone want a lovely home in a nice surburb slightly north of San Antonio??

ooh lots of good things happening today :)

Well, Jake decided that he wanted to walk last night...he has been walking with assistance for a while -- he'd hang onto one finger and walk along side Mike or I...but he'd never let go! Last night, he decided that walking to Daddy was what he wanted to do!  YAY Jakey!  And today I got a text from the sitter, he walked across her kitchen -- he'll be 14 months on Friday..it's about time!
The second awesome news...the new Bumbleride Indie Twin arrived!! I have partially put it together, but haven't gotten to test drive it yet.  I know that it is such a huge investment, but I hope that it will be motivating to get out when its time to get that baby weight off!  I can't wait to prove to Mike that it IS the best thing next to sliced bread :)

Okay, so its about time

I have finally gotten around to putting this blog together.  I've been horrible at maintaining the website that we purchased while we were overseas to update everyone about Cassidy and our European adventures. 

(And frankly, I don't want to pay for it anymore!)  Cassidy is growing up sooo fast and I'm not even sure how much of Jake actually made it to the old website!  He is so screwed as the middle child and he has a birthday the day after Christmas...doubly screwed! 

So, I'm trying to get this thing going while unpacking boxes yet again, getting kids into new childcare and trying to start new friendships and a new job...I love being a military wife!  It gives you the chance to start over and over again...and again!  We are finally starting to see some progress with the house...although we have yet to sled down the hill in the back yard.  Oh well, the kids are so young the don't even know how fun it can be...maybe next year!  We are looking forward to the Spring when we can see the rest of the yard -- not really sure what we bought at this point :)  We have been blessed with phenonmenal neighbors - who have 6 children, and aren't sure if they're done yet - you go girl!  I think that when Mr Will Ethan arrives ...we are DONE!! Being a L&D nurse, you see the reactions of people during their pregnancies & deliveries...and you get a sense of those that are "done", "maybe one more", and "I could do this again tomorrow" -- I'm definitely in the "DONE" category!  And I think Cassidy will appreciate only having two little annoying brothers :)

Well, I hope that you enjoy the rants & rambles of a woman who is surely going crazy day by day...that would be me...in a nut shell...but not in a pysch vest yet :)  I look forward to sharing my family,  our adventures in parenthood & our lives as a truly blessed family.