Nicknames

So, it's been fun having a new member of the family. We doing well and now on to the new stage, developing fun nicknames for the the boys.

Our oldest boy we have had many fun nicknames. To date, he has been called:
"peanut"
"Jr"
"slugger"
"squirt"

Our youngest, names have been developing and probably will continue for a bit. So far, we have:
"buddy"
"opossum" He will open one eye to look around when he doesn't think you are looking, then close it quickly to hide
"peachy" His head feels like a soft peach

And yet the personality is still developing....it will be fun to see what future nicknames will arise.

A good day

So, this weekend was a good weekend. I took my sons and visited family in SD, rain some errands, and came home and made some meals for the freezer. Just in time to spend some quality time with my husband (he was gone teaching class for the weekend).

It was a good start to a new week. My new week began with renewed energy. There was no school for the elementary kiddos and in-service for teachers. And since I am a para, it was an optional in-service. I decided, why not. It may help me understand more of what teachers go through and maybe learn something myself that may aid me in the classroom. So, after dropping off the kiddos at daycare, my husband and I proceeded to school for the meeting. It was good. I did learn lots and find myself happy that I'm not a teacher but craving more. Funny how that works.

After lunch, I did a few things in my husband's classroom, then off to pick up the boys. We came home and I did a few things around the office. Then, off to the doctor for my youngest son's 2 month check-up. He is doing awesome! 9lbs 15 oz, 21" 2 shots later, we were out of there.

When we got home....supper as a family, a game of sorry (which I was royally whipped at), and 2 kiddos to bed....then some quit time. Husband working on school stuff and now watching Criminal Minds (he tapes it).

I just have to say how blessed I feel. I have an awesome husband who shares so many hopes and dreams with me. He blessed me with 2 wonderful and amazing boys with such personalities that heads turn and people just smile. I have a wonderful job that lets me challenge myself, yet not making me feel overwhelmed (although it's a bit early to know for sure). Our home just makes me feel good about what we have accomplished in such little time. We still have dreams of what to do with it, but we love all the character it has.

Life is good. After a weekend like I just had, I feel good to be living the life I have. Things get tough at times, but all-in-all......life is really, really good!

Exciting week

Things are going quite well. My husband started school last Friday, Monday for myself, and our 5 year old on Tuesday. All is great and we are really, really, really enjoying the new school. Z loves all the newness of being a "big kid" and entering the strange land of kindergarten....filled with 3 and a wacky but fun teacher recesses, all sorts of hands on fun, who brings it all into perspective. He also loves seeing both mom and dad around school. My husband is enjoying his class of 13 kiddos and loves the freedom to teach and interact with all. I am loving the environment of school and have some kids that challenge me and make me laugh. We all know that days will be different than others, but all and all...so far....things are great.

We have all had the questions posed to us....."Did you know there are 3 Mrs. Js and 1 Mr. J that work here?" "Why are there so many Js in this school?" "Are you married to Mr. J/Mrs. J?" "Is Z your son?" etc,etc,etc. They do catch on fast. =) And the cute things they do or say is just too numerous to count. It's all so much fun.

N, the only non school going member of our family, is doing ok. I had to take him to the dr. yesterday....yes, my 2nd day with kiddos. Good news, he is now up to 9lbs 13 oz and he'll be 2 months old a week from Friday (tomorrow). Bad news, he has thrush. Not much fun, but he is doing much better now. I guess, older...non nursing babies can get this. Good news....the medicine to treat it, starts showing signs of better things right away. So, much better.

Life hasn't slowed down much. We refinished our floors the 1st weekend of Aug. 2nd weekend, family came for a church anniversary weekend. Last weekend, we went to IA for our niece's baptism. This weekend, my husband is teaching and the boys and I head to SD for some Grandma/Grandpa time. And the last weekend (labor day) we baptize N. So...we are keeping busy, but all is coming together and all is looking good around here. We are just waiting to get the carpet installed in our home and we'll be done doing major work around the place for a bit. Attached are pictures of N's room to date. A few more things to do, but nothing major. We love it and it's quite cozy. =)

All and all....a great week! We are happy to move to such a wonderful new life, yet we really miss all our friends. Could you all just move up here too??

WOW

So, here I am.....up at the 5 am feeding. My son N, was awake....not very interested in eating, but more interested in getting his diaper changed. He probably would have went back to sleep if I would have ignored his whining, but I got up anyway. It just makes my heart tug knowing he is just uncomfortable. I was rewarded with a big smile. And we cuddled. He ate a little, not much, but a little. And we cuddled.

This got me thinking about the feeling I get. That flood of love that washes over a person, sure makes one forget about everything else. It's powerful stuff. It sometimes takes me by surprise and uplifts me so much. I have to say, this tiny being sure turned me around. I never thought I could be gotten like I have been, but both my boys have done it to me. They can brighten almost any rotten day with just a smile, word, or laugh. They can wipe away any tear and make me feel better. The other day I was feeling homesick for my friends back and P...my oldest figured it out. He just knew that even though mom was hiding tears, she needed that "hug" feeling. So, this 5 year old put his hand on my shoulder and said, "it's ok mom. It will be ok. I'll make it better." Yes, Z.....you sure did. Both you and your brother do. Thank God for little boys and for the small but powerful moments. God bless the little ones.

A new start.......

So, here I am....I have been nervous about my new job. I will be a paraprofessional at the elementary school. Working with kids has been a passion of mine. I have never quite figured out in what way I should do this, but know that it's in my blood. So, when my husband found a new position in his hometown, I jumped at the chance to try a new field and to venture on a new path. And I have been really nervous about it. This job will be so different than any other job I have had in the past. And so, I'm heading to my new position on Monday. And so, tonight, one of the teachers had a gathering at her house. She does it every year to "kick off" the new school year. It was just what I needed. I needed to meet other teachers. I needed to relax. I needed to get out of the house. And most importantly, I needed to understand the side of teachers again. It was just a fun and relaxing night.

So, I say thank you. Thank you to the teacher that had the gathering that brought me to meet other teachers at the school. Thank you for welcoming me into the community, not just WF but also the school community. Thank you for helping me understand how hard, but fun my job will be. Thank you for tonight. What a blessing this move is.

Cuteness

So, tonight....I was in the living room folding clothes and watching my soap and my 5 year old comes down the stairs. "Mom, we forgot to turn my car light on." So, up the stairs I go and when we get to the room, I turn on the car light and he turns off the lamp. Then he looks up at his stars (glow in the dark ones that are scattered all over the ceiling). "Mom, my stars are happy!!"

I love it when the stars are happy too. =)

Almost there.....

So, we have been unpacking, fixing things, and doing so much around the house, I have hardly had time to think. As of today, we are down to 4 boxes left to unpack. Not too shabby, since we closed on this house July 11 and didn't move in till the 19th.

The boys are doing well and N is starting to adjust to a schedule (I say that and he'll be totally messed up tomorrow). He's been trying to smile. Every time I think he smiles at me, I hear him pass gas a few seconds later. So, I can't count the smile. Sure, he will in his dreams, but won't for us.

Z is excited about school and got a "real" letter today (as he put it) from his NEW teacher. That just made his day. That and the fact that dad set up his swing-set in the backyard. He has been busting our guts this past week with his sayings and out loud comments. At Grandma and Grandpa J's house, he "totally in fun" turned from dad and I and crossed his arms. With a huge grin on his face, he said "FINE". We can't even remember why he did it, but the look on his face caused everyone at the table to burst into laughter.

My husband is getting ready for school. Classroom is almost ready and lesson plans have to be made, but all and all...good for only 6 days away from teachers reporting. He was so excited today to have the garage all cleaned up and pretty much organized. I walked in, and even though we had a garage and a storage shed at our last house, I swear that we have much more room here in this garage than the both combined. That, or we got rid of a lot of stuff before we left.

I am fairing well. Tired, lonesome for friends, and ready to work again. The next 10 days will go by fast, but I'm counting on it. =) I look forward to trips out of WF this next week to finish a few things before I become an official member of the school staff. I'm a bit nervous becoming a Para. I'm nervous for a few reasons. I'm a bit worried about what I'm needed to do, the people I work with, kids that will be in the room, and and having my son across the hallway from me. I know all will work out, but getting things figured out isn't going to be easy.

So, before I end this blog (sorry for jumping around so.....) I thought I would share some cute pictures. Friends sent these to us. It's from moving day and it is of Z and his friend T. They were so excited to be "adults" that day and help move things. I was told that T was sad to know that T was moving further away from him and commented on his way to help move on the 19th, that WF must look like the fields between their house and ours. A cute thought and makes me smile to know that T has such thought provoking ideas. For being 4 1/2 years old, that kid will move mountains someday.

Thanks for the great memories T!

Adventures in Flooring

Ok....I have to admit, my husband and I are a bit of the "do-it-yourself"ers. We like to try and get-er done all by ourselves. We are not afraid to ask for help or pay someone to do it if we aren't too sure on how to do it, but for the most part, we don't mind figuring it out and completing a project by ourselves. For example, we just purchased our home in WF. The house is in awesome shape for a home build in the 1920s. But there were 2 rooms we wanted to tackle right away. The boys bedrooms. We found there was wallpaper on the walls. It wasn't until we closed on the house and started removing the wallpaper, that we realized how much there was and how hard it was to remove. After removing 4 coats of wallpaper off the walls and 3 on the ceiling (yes, the ceiling), we primed, painted and removed the carpet to find some wonderful hardwood floors. Yes! What an feeling.

So, with that in mind, we decided to remove the carpet in the dining/living room. both rooms are connected. After ripping up the carpet, we realized that the rooms weren't always connected. There was some good looking hardwood floors throughout, but when you get to the 1/2 mark of the rooms, there is plywood where the hardwood floor should be. Which leads us to the conclusion that there were walls (probably built ins like there are on the other side of the living room) in that section of the room. And when the previous homeowner took the walls out, the put in carpet. Thus, we were left with the decision. "What do we do?"

After much thinking and then just moving into the house, we decided that refinishing the dining room area would be best and putting new carpet in the living room, entryway, stairs, and upstairs hallway. All would look great! Since we went and started the order process a few weeks ago, we started thinking and realized that refinishing the hardwood floors this weekend would be best (since we have 2 baptisms, family gatherings, and my husband works another weekend) before the carpet comes. Get it all done now approach. So after a few chats with friends and family, my husband and I felt confident enough to do it ourselves. Here is where the adventure begins.

My father-in-law came to help my husband with the sanding. We rented a sander w/tools to clean up the floor. What started as a few hour project, became an entire day of sanding project. And during this work, we realized that the boys and I should stay with Grandpa and Grandma J. So, I took the boys to the farm while the men kept working their magic on the floor.

They worked very hard and by around 9 pm, they were ready to put on the first of the stain. So, I came into town (to check on the progress) and ended up helping them put on the first coat of stain. We let it dry, then we went into town the next morning to check the progress. It was sticky. STICKY? It had all night to dry....what's going on? Silly us, you are supposed to keep the fans blowing to circulate air and get the dehumidifier up here so the stain can dry. No problem, fix the stain and put more on and all will be good. I applied the next coat of stain and after having all the fans and dehumidifier set up and running, we ran errands and then off to the farm for a bit.

Back later in the day, YES, the stain was still sticky. So, we let it set....checking on it 3-4 more times throughout Friday and Saturday. Finally, we decided that Sunday morning, it should be dry. (this is after many melt downs by me.....I just want to live in my house.....I'm sure my in-laws want the same thing for us too). So, after church this morning, we walked over to the house and YES, OH YES.....THE FLOOR IS DRY!!! So, I applied the polyurethane. We are not as optomistic of the varnish layer drying as quick as the lable says, but we do see the downside of the mountain on this project. Even though I would attempt this project again....I don't think my husband is as willing. And, we did learn a few things.

1. Plan ahead. Next project like this....I'm heading to South Dakota for a few days to avoid the project

2. Make sure you get all the facts about the project. Don't always agree with the container. If it says only 5-6 hours drying time....give it 48 hours.

3. Remember the amount of patience you have will make or break the projcet.

4. If all else seems too much....call in a professional to do the project. Yes, it will cost more, but with the mood swings I had and my family has had to endoure.....it might be worth it in the end.