BIG news!!!

I realize I haven't written in a very long time. We have been extremely busy, and there are many new developments in our life! In order to try and maintain some semblance of order, I'll start with the youngest.

Jared had his well-baby today. It was for 6 months, but he's 7 months. He weighs 20 lbs 2 oz, and was a whopping 28.25 inches long! He got two shots. Also, his tooth is fully in. He chomps on everything, and loves eating. He's made the switch to eating baby food and cereal every day like a champ. He's SO close to crawling, and can roll and scoot around.

Ana had an appointment today as well. She's 52 lbs, and we were talking to the doctor about her tummy. She's been complaining for a long time about her tummy hurting. We're thinking it might be the greasy hot lunch she's been getting at school instead of bringing her lunch, plus there's obviously some stress around here! She's doing great in school, though, and she had her first field trip last Friday to the Dixie in Huntingdon to see the play "If You Give a Pig a Pancake."

I may have the biggest news of this post, however, though Jared is pretty heavy...I officially got a job with Memphis City Schools! I have orientation on Monday and will be working in a school with K-2(ish) grades, though mostly Kindergarten. I'll be working with the kids who are behind on their reading levels. It's kind of ironic, since my own Kindergartner reads like a 3rd grader! It's going to be great, though, and it's guaranteed for 2 years, since the money for the position was stimulus grant money. I'm very excited!

Robert is still hanging in there and applying all over the place. He now has more places to work since we'll be moving to Memphis within the next short while. He's applied at over a dozen places, I'd say. I'll add into his section that we were approved for an apartment at Trinity Lakes and are very excited about getting into our own space! Living with Robert's parents has been a blessing, and they are absolutely wonderful. It will be nice to have our own space again though, not to mention all our stuff that's been sitting in storage for months now!

I'll have to keep you posted on everything else.

I hope all are well!

Flues, Teeth, and Hair

Ana had the flu. She missed school yesterday and today because of a fever that peaked at 104 degrees a couple of times! She finally broke it today, thank goodness, and she's been a great sport. She stayed in bed for almost the entirety of yesterday, and today she laid low and watched some movies. She was very bummed about missing school because yesterday was show-and-tell, and she was going to wear my necklace I made for "N" week, and today was Fun Friday! I told her we'd have our own Fun Friday, so we watched a movie and she had a milkshake. Now she's hanging out in her room, claiming to have broken her fever by drinking 2 bottles of water in the last 2 days! What a goof.

Jared had a bit of a fever and stuffy nose the other day, but he's been fine for a while now. The big news today, though is that HE'S FINALLY CUTTING HIS TOOTH!!! His bottom right tooth is coming in just a tiny bit. Also, his hair is blowing my mind, as it's growing in much thicker and a little longer. It's crazy! He's turning into such a fine-looking young man! He's currently loving on his Nana.

I, however, have now developed a bit of a fever and my body is aching pretty badly. I have a random, painful cough. I've got a heating pad on my achy back right now, and am drinking a wonderful cup of Dunkin' Dark coffee my dear husband made me.

But the BEST news of the day? Better than teeth and hair and fevers?

Robert got a letter with a test date for the Jackson Police Department! He tests October 23rd. I'm stoked. And he doesn't have to live in Jackson to work there, so we can look into getting a house here in Dresden!

My southern realization of the day is actually nice (not that my other aren't nice, just a bit more judgmental, I guess :P). So, Ana and I went to McDonald's today so she could have a Happy Meal. While in the drive-thru line, a woman came and knocked on my window. She said, "Hi, the woman and I  in the car behind you saw the tag on your car. I was expecting a man to be driving, but you must be his wife?" I said, "Yes, ma'am, I am." She said, "We just wanted to extend our gratitude to you and your husband. Please let him know that we appreciate everything he does and has done, and we appreciate him very much. God bless you guys." I told her thank you and rolled up my window. In Alaska, no one's really said anything to us upon seeing Robert's Purple Heart tag. God Bless the USA.

It's Tuesday, but it feels like Monday!

Friday, we lost our Great Pyrenees, Lea. Wednesday overnight she was tangled in her cable by her hind leg and a metal post. It was horrible. I found her Thursday morning, and he leg was bloody, and she was jumping around and making her hip go all kinds of crazy...I knew it had to at least dislocate when she was jumping around so much. Anyway, I got Robert and he cut the cable and took it off her leg. She drank a ton of water, then went and limped over to the long grass in the shade, after defecating blood :( Long story short, she didn't get better, and kept being sick. Her foot was swollen and her dew claw was horribly broken. Bob (my father in law) had cleaned and wrapped her wound from the cable. She likely sustained pretty intense internal injuries since she never stopped being sick and defecating blood. It was really sad, and she was pretty pathetic and hid out in the woods or under the porch. Friday night the guys helped her die, because she was just miserable, and there was no way we could save her. Ana and I cried, but we know she's in a better place.

Kodi, the chihuahua puppy, keeps us busy. He's currently whining in his kennel on the porch. I had to rescue him from his big kennel because he was being washed out during today's crazy thunderstorm! I can't wait until we're in our own place, so he has more room, and perhaps I can train him to be an inside dog! Karen (mother in law) is too allergic to have him inside while we're staying at their house.

I have a job interview on Thursday at the Sheriff's Department for the position of Dispatcher. Robert's applied there this week as a jailer or deputy, depending on what they need. I think it would be a good job for either of us...I'm only worried about putting the baby in daycare! I guess he has to grow up sometime, I just didn't think it'd be when he was 6 months old!

As for Ana, she is developing a bit of a twang, and it cracks me up. Sometimes she sounds very Southern, and she even wrote "y'all" on something! Oh my. She's wearing her Tennessee Volunteers shirt today, and had a good day in school.

Enough for now. Hope all are well!

I know, I know...

I said I was going to be better about posting, and now here I am 27 days later! What a tool. :) I'll try catching up, youngest to oldest.

Jared had another tick. This time (a couple weeks ago now) it was on his BUTT CHEEK! What an odd situation. I don't know what the deal is, but I call him a "Tick Magnet." He's getting very big--about 19 or so pounds--and stronger every day. He rolls from tummy to back and sometimes the other way, and he wants to lift up to his knees, but hasn't gotten it yet. I need to have him spend more time on the floor.

Ana is doing well. She's still loving school. Today is Parent-Teacher Conferences, so I get to go and hear some more about how wonderful, intelligent, and pleasurable she is. I'm not tired of hearing it, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain. She had Grandparents' Night on the 14th and read a poem in front of about 300 people. She was the first Kindergarten participant. Her art teacher approached me because she "just had to let me know" how wonderful Ana is and that she's so sweet and well behaved. She said she's the kid that walks down the hall and all the teachers sigh and say "I wish I could just take her home with me." Hah! They should try it sometime and see she's not all sunshine and daisies :)

I've been applying at different schools around Tennessee. They have a great Transitional Licensing program where I could get a year-long license since I have my BA, then take some classes and the PRAXIS tests during that year in order to be fully licensed. It's a nice, cheaper route than Alaska! Plus, it will be easier to transfer a license to another state if/when we do move.

Robert has still been applying all over the place as well. It's rather frustrating that it's so hard to find work, and we're thinking about him just taking some Joe job (he's even been applying at retail monsters like Walmart and Lowes) until he can get into a Police or Sheriff's Department. Hard times are all over, it just sucks that we're stuck in the middle of them.

Other than kids and looking for work, we've been busy with my brother-in-law's wedding. Michael and Tiffany were married Saturday afternoon. It was a great time, and went smoothly, though there was a lot of stress to be had leading up to the occasion! I like having a sister-in-law! Now they're preparing to move into their new home.

Here's the Southern tidbit I got a good laugh out of since my last post:

There's a store called Save-A-Lot. It's pretty cheap, obviously, and kind of skeezy, but the BEST part are the names of their generic, store-brand products. Their cola is called "Bubba Cola," and their diaper and wipes line is called "Tickles!" Robert and I were cracking up in this store over the names. Even the chips and cereal and all that have the EXACT same bags as national brands, but different names, like "Cornies" for Fritos. What a riot!

Ticks!

I've been in Tennessee for well over a month now, and up until this morning I had yet to see a tick. We don't have ticks in Alaska, and I guess we didn't have them or I was oblivious to their existence growing up in Turkey, Oklahoma and South Dakota. I'm sure we had them there, but I never saw one that I remember. Anyway, the point is, this morning I saw one.


It was only a very small seed tick, but the reason why I was so disturbed follows: IT WAS ON JARED'S NECK! How did this blood-sucking creature make its way onto his neck, you ask? It wasn't bad parenting or letting him crawl in the grass...I'm a decent parent and he can't even crawl...oh no, my father-in-law informed me that these little suckers float down on the air from trees and such! Luckily, my police officer brother-in-law was there to rescue the baby and tweezed the little insect off of Jared while I held the poor kid's body and head still. Jared was a trooper. He didn't even know what was going on, and he just has a little spot from the tick. Needless to say from now on I'm checking the heck out of my children and myself for the little buggers!


It was especially humorous to us that Michael (the brother-in-law) helped with the tick because we were all just sitting on the porch at 8 AM after I got home from dropping Ana off at school and talking about how some people call 911 for the dumbest reasons and expect the police to help with the most mundane of issues. Touche'!


I'm not sure what's going on tonight, but tomorrow Robert, Jared and I are likely going to head to Jackson for Robert to drop off an application there. Ana has the letter "A" show-and-tell, and is bringing her doll, who's name is apparently Angelina. This is news to me, but whatever...it may just be an excuse to bring her doll. Last week was the letter "M" and she brought her little toy mouse.


So the lessons for today are these: ticks are creepy and you should check your body and babies for them if you're in a place that has them, AND your children will likely figure out ways to manipulate their favorite toys into conforming to alphabetic show-and-tell restrictions.

What happened?

I meant to blog again before the end of last week, and now it's Tuesday!

Ana is VIP this week at school. This means she brought in a poster she created about herself, and we are responsible for bringing snacks for the class all week. Very important tasks in Kindergarten! Other than that, she was invited to participate in the Grandparents' Day Celebration on September 14th, though I'm not sure what it will entail. Bob and Karen will have to go to school though, so it should be something good. Ana is working on her homework right now, and is very thorough with completing it!

Jared finally had his well-baby appointment today, now that I've squared away our insurance. He saw a new doctor (obviously) and did just fine. He got two shots, so he may be warm and sleepy over the next couple of days. Right now, in fact, he and his Daddy are taking a nap on the couch together! Jared is very close to sitting up himself these days. He sits in his Bumbo chair like a champ, but leans forward or tips when he's unsupported. He's amazingly strong though. When he's on the floor he can roll from his tummy to his back, and has accidentally rolled from back to belly a couple of times without meaning to. He does well sleeping in his own bed at night, which is great, since Ana slept with me until she was almost two!

We got a dog last Saturday. Her name is Leah and she's a Great Pyrenees. She needs to put on some weight and I need to spend more time brushing her out, but she's very sweet and beautiful. She's shedding right now, which from what I've read happens about once or twice a year in the breed, usually, and I have a bag full of fur from what I've brushed of her already! She's not an indoor dog, though she may be allowed inside sometimes when we get our own place. She really loves Ana, and when we're walking her she makes circles around Ana and makes sure Ana is right there with us. If Ana gets behind Leah waits for her then will walk! It's very sweet. I wanted a big dog for when the kids and I are alone when Robert is either working or deployed.

Tennessee is still working on growing on me. I still think it's beautiful, and I'm glad our family is together. I think it will be much better for me when we're in our own space. I love Robert's family, it's just kind of tough living with people when I'm used to it just being us. Hopefully we'll have good news about a place soon, since there's a strong possibility of a perfect place for us...I'll leave it at that to not jinx it, and post more later if we get it! I'm half-way looking for work and applied with the State for a Children's Services case worker, though I'd really prefer to stay at home and raise my own kids. I'll work if I have to though. I'll post more about that if anything develops as well.

For now, Ana and I are going to walk Leah. I hope everyone is well, and I'll try to post more later!

Just Another Day

Robert and I have been on a house-viewing frenzy the last couple of weeks. I'm not ENTIRELY sure why we keep looking at them, since we can't actually afford one now, but we do. The worst is actually a tie for two...read on.

Loser #1 seemed like a great bargain/idea. There is a 2100+ square foot house built in 1929 (I love old houses) that needs some work and is only listed for $13,500. It's right near "downtown" but they weren't kidding when they said it needed work! The ground floor had the most ridiculous, nonsense floorplan, no working plumbing or electric, a crap-hole kitchen (just POS cabinets...nothing else) and a walled-off door. The upstairs was burned out, the roof/rafters were held up by 2x4s, there were piles of junk up there...not to mention piles and piles of POOP! I'm assuming it was raccoon poop or something. It was sick. What a nightmare. If we were professional contractors then maybe, but we aren't!

Loser #2 seemed to have potential because it was an old, old little house that needed fixing, a trailer, and a little apartment that could be rented out on a nice piece of land. When we got there, the trailer was trashed and smelled, and we couldn't even SEE inside the other two buildings! Ridiculous.

There have been plenty of potential places other than those, though...it's just a matter of getting our life straightened out so we can get into a place. Today we saw a very nice one, but who knows. We are hoping that Robert will hear from the Campus Police tomorrow or Monday, and hopefully they will be informing him that he has a job! Wouldn't that just be amazing?!

I made dinner tonight from a Food Network recipe. Guy Fieri had a chick on there who made a Savory Meat Roll. It was basically biscuit dough, sausage, pesto and cheese rolled up. Well, my version was not like hers...it was impossible to roll the way they did, not to mention cut into pieces, so we just cut the roll/log in half in the middle and baked it on two trays. I also used spinach instead of basil in the pesto, and it was delicious. It'll be made again, but I'm going to use less sausage and modify the construction. There was a yummy vegetable ragu that went on it. Don't follow the recipe religiously, because they left stuff out. And it won't work if you construct it the way they said...if you really want to make it, only use two pounds of sausage, and call me for advice!

Anyway, Ana is off to school in the morning, so it's time for me to get into bed. Jared is still awake too, and since it's almost 10:30, I'm hoping he'll stay asleep in the morning when I'm up and about getting Ana to school!