Random Pictures

A few weeks ago we adjusted Gabe's straps in his car seat and the straps keep leaving marks on his neck so my sister gave me these to try out. Didn't work as you can see.


Poor guy was all squished and didn't like it one bit.


First bath at Grandma's



Smiling at cousin Jaden

Promise of a PRODUCTIVE day...

I popped out of bed this morning at 8:56am... I totally felt like I could sleep 10 more hours. I had heard Bryan and Gabe talking and playing and thought I'd better get up. Gabe didn't sleep very well last night. We couldn't get him to sleep until midnight last night and he was back up at 4ish.

We moved Gabe to his room last Wednesday night. :-( That was hard, but all three of us have been sleeping better.
Last weekend was heaven.
-Sat night 8 hours
-Sun night 7 hours
-Mon night 9 hours
I think he likes his room and crib huh?! heehee

Bryan was really sick last weekend! UGH Praying Gabe and I don't get it. I sort of feel sicky and Gabe sounds stuffed up sometimes but doesn't seem sick!?
Bryan washed and sanitized his hands and wore a mask every time he was around Gabe. HA

I think it's going to be one of those very productive days...
I'll keep you posted about all the very productive things I do today. It'll be interesting to see where the day goes from here.
9:00am
-Stripped bed and started cleaning the whole upstairs
-Dusted
-Vacuumed
-Made bed
-put away Gabe's laundry
-Bryan is hanging out with Gabe so I can clean

11:30am
-Started on the kitchen
-Cleaned bottles and such
-Cleaned counters
-Cleaned out microwave
-Cleaned up dishes
-loaded the dishwasher
-Swept kitchen Floor
-Started laundry

12:00pm
-Made lunches (and blogged)

12:30pm
-Ate Lunch
-Mopped kitchen floor
-Cleaned dinning room table

1:15pm
-Put Gabe in swing
-another load of laundry
-Bryan fixed pipe underneath the sink
-Bryan clean basement

1:30pm
-Dust living room

2:00pm
-Fed Gabe
-Snuggled and played with Gabe
-Bryan dusted and vacuumed basement
-Bryan vacuumed living room

3:00pm
-Gabe on baby Einstein play mat (almost rolling over)
-Cleaned bathrooms
-Bryan washed car inside and out (Gabe, Calie and I hung outside while Bryan washed the car...it's such a beautiful day out!)

3:45pm
-Showered, got dressed, did hair & makeup
-More laundry--yipee!
-Took a little reading break. *Sigh*

4:30pm
-Hung out with my Snugglebug

5:00pm
-Fed and snuggled with Gabe
-Bryan showered, washed Calie and got dressed

6:00pm
-More laundry
-Started dinner (Honey Mustard Chicken, potatoes and cooked carrots mmmmm)
-Made dessert

7:30pm
-Gave Gabe a bath and put his pj's on

8:00pm
-Bryan started to feed Gabe
-I ate dinner then finished the feeding so Bryan could eat

8:30pm
-Bryan left to hang out with Dan
-I rocked Gabe and just enjoyed my little guy

10:15pm
-Gabe asleep in his bed
-Cleaned up dinner dishes
-Started the dishwasher

So that was my very productive day. I'm not going to fold and put away the laundry...I can do that tomorrow. I am DONE SPENT! We were going to maybe hit Ikea tonight, but we were already tired from the days events and so we decided to wait and go another day. Plus, I am just not sure if Gabe has Bryan's cold or not? I have the humidifier going just in case. I sure hope he doesn't. What am I doing tomorrow? Not sure if we'll (me and Gabe) go to church tomorrow, but if we do probably not a whole lot of anything else.

WHOOO-HOOOOO

My very own local IKEA opens today!
It makes me SO HAPPY just thinking about it.
MUST.... GO..... SHOPPING!!!

Someday...

Studio Portraits

Love that you can look at these online. I pick up the order next Tuesday. It took freakin forever, but Gabe did well.

Gabe (3 Months)




Darogers

Home Improvement

My parents are getting their house painted and it just got me thinking about ALL the home improvement stuff that needs to happen on our house. This is just notes to myself and things I want to remember, so I can look back on it...

OUTSIDE
-replace deck (it's nasty)
-new roof
-new paint job for outside
-new shed (ours leaks)
-new paneling around hot tub
-get hot tub up and running again (hoping for NO waterline)

ENTRYWAY
-new front door
-new screen door
-replace molding in entryway
-replace entry floor

KITCHEN
-replace floor
-new dishwasher

OVERALL HOUSE
-new carpet
-new windows (the seals are broken)
-AC??

MASTER BATH
-new shower
-new floor
-paint

OFFICE
-patch up hole in wall

HALL
-paint ceiling

BASEMENT
-new door (Calie came ripping through the house, ran downstairs and BAM hole in door)
-needs molding around that door
-new door to garage (has a cat door on it and we don't have any cats)

Garage
-start over (it isn't very realistic how they have things arranged...it could be better)
-something with the water heater?? We don't need a new one, but something needs to be fixed?

Don't we need money for all this. HA

Work

I've been emailing back and fourth with one of the HR gal's at MG2 and she asked me if my return date was still in September and I told her yeah, that I was thinking of having it be September 5th.
As I think about it more...I'm just jumping back in FT and go go going. I wonder if it would be better to go back PT for a week or two at first to ease my way back in and adjust to not seeing Gabe. How do you just adjust to not seeing your child all day? I know that women do it all the time and I know and have friends who have done it, but it's really starting to get to me. I have a little over a month left and the closer I get the more my stomach starts to drop and my eye's begin to well up. I have to go back to work, but I don't want too. I don't want someone else taking care of my baby. I want to take care of him DANG IT. sniff
I had lunch with T yesterday and we talked a little about this. How she dealt with it and how she to started feeling depressed a month before having to go back to work. She told me to not let it ruin that month dwelling on it. Make it the best and spend it being happy with Gabe.
This is harder than I thought it would be. :-(

Speaking of work...Bryan has an interview at Jantzen. Pray Pray Pray

New Phones

Bryan and I upgraded our cell phones for FREE! They came today and I am SO excited! I LOVE getting new phones and FREE is a very good price when you don't have any income coming in. ;o)

Can't Sleep

Do you ever have nights when your brain just won't shut off and let you go to sleep? I am having one of those nights.

The last two days it has been in the 100's, SO HOT! We don't have the luxury of having AC in our house and I'm off work right now so I'm not in a nice AC building (definitely not complaining about that though). Our house has been 83 84 and 85 and I've been living in a pool of sweat. EW Our basement stays pretty cool, but have I spent any time down there...nope?!

First off let me start off by saying that Bryan still hasn't found a job. Severance has run out and it's starting to get frustrating. I find myself looking back at my Storm post. I wrote "I have this peace and it can only come from God." I feel that peace slowly slipping away. God is still in control. He gives and He takes away. He is who He is no matter where I am. I just need to continue to lay this at His feet. I love this quote:

"If there ever were a test of our faith - if there ever were a test of the motives of our worship - it is when a storm rolls into our lives. Sometimes God calms our storms. Sometimes He chooses to ride them with us." quote by Casting Crowns

Bryan had a meeting with Randy to basically tell him that he was done with the JR High ministry. We had been praying about it and talking it through and when he came home after the meeting he told me that he wasn't done and that he now had an office at the church that he was going to go T-Th to work on lessons, look for jobs, things needing to get done etc. I think he has managed to get a lot done so far besides design work because he needs a MAC for that or rather he'd prefer a MAC.
Anyway, he went to his air conditioned office yesterday and left me and Gabe to roast in our house. ;o) We actually went over to my parents house and hung out with Julie and cousin Jaden. Julie bought a $10 pool and we were going to put the boys in. Gabe didn't end up going in because he was napping in Jaden's crib. Jaden had a blast though.




Today Gabe and I stayed home and we ate, played, slept, did laundry, cleaned and went to have dinner with Kate, Eloise and Lily.

FUN TIMES!

It says it's supposed to be 89 today so a tad cooler.
Most go to bed now!

Baby Steps

This is one of Gabe's favorite things to do!
Friday, July 6, 2007

3 months

Gabe had his 3 month appointment today and it went really well. Gabe now weighs a whopping 11lbs. 10oz. He is in the 15th percentile for his weight. He got his 2 month vaccinations also and that was very traumatic for both Gabe and mommy. She inserted the first one and Gabe didn't even have a chance to react before the 2nd and third one went in, in which he screamed and then held his breath. I blew on his face to try and get him to take a breath and he cried and cried. It was such a heart-breaking cry. :o( I can live without doing that again, even though I will have to.
I was talking to Marcia yesterday about the milestones. They say when they are preemies to base it on their adjusted age. Gabe is 3 months today but is just over a month adjusted. Here is the difference between the milestones:

1 month

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)

• Lifts head when lying on tummy (Gabe can do this, but I don't think he's mastered it yet. More tummy time needed I think?)
• Responds to sound (check)
• Stares at faces (check)

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)

• Follows objects briefly with eyes (I think he can doing this ok)
• Vocalizes: oohs and aahs (Just now starting to do this more...SO cute)
• Can see black-and-white patterns

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)

• Smiles, laughs (definitley smiles a lot, but hasn't started laughing yet)
• Holds head at 45-degree angle (not yet)

3 month
(Gabe isn't doing really any of these yet)

• Recognizes your face and scent
• Holds head steady
• Visually tracks moving objects
• Squeals, gurgles, coos
• Blows bubbles
• Recognizes your voice
• Does mini-pushup
• Rolls over, from tummy to back
• Turns toward loud sounds
• Can bring hands together, bats at toys

I was reading someone's blog a while back and they said regarding their little girl and milestones...

"I'm not sure what to expect from her, she's setting a pace, and nobody is going to make her get there a moment sooner or later.
So milestones, they come all at different times, I'm not poor at parenting if my child doesn't fit the status quo that a weekly email sends me. And when I think about it, I don't want a child that fits the status quo, I want her to embrace her unique self, whatever that is, from talking to her imaginary friends to choosing clothes for a party even if they are all stripes. Or maybe needing her soft blanket to blowing bubbles as she talks into a cup."

This is SO true. I want Gabe to embrace his unique self, whatever that is!

Only Gabe can take down daddy with his mighty strength

Welcome to the world, Mia!

Mia Promise was born at 8:25am (today 6/26/07), 7lbs 7oz,
and she is 21.5in long.
Congrats Travis, Marcia and Keira!

Weekend Craziness

Friday, Bryan and I got up and started cleaning the house for our weekend guests (Betty and Gary, Bryan's parents from Idaho). Every summer we try to make a point to take a weekend to visit them. Whether that be over on their farm or here at our house. Last year it was their turn to come here, but the summer flew by and the annual visit didn't work out. So, they decided to come here this year since we had Gabe. Bryan also mowed the lawn and washed both vehicles inside and out. They arrived here around 1ish and came straight to our house before checking into their hotel, but the funny thing was that we didn't hear them until Bryan saw them driving away. They had rang the doorbell which doesn't work because we shut it off. It would randomly ring in the middle of the night or when someone down the street had a doorbell with the same signal and they apparently had guests ringing their doorbell. Bryan called them and they went to go see if they could check in and they came back after that.
1st meeting with grandpa and grandma Wangsgard and grandma was all smiles. We sat around talking and then decided we all were hungry so we went to dinner. I had high hopes for The Cheesecake Factory or Claim Jumpers, but we ended up at Roadhouse Grill. After a very yummy dinner we came back to our house and talked some more.

Saturday morning they came over around 8 and Gary and Bryan went to Safeway to pick up all the fixin's for breakfast. Bryan made sausage egg mcmuffins and french toast. I cleaned up the kitchen and we left for Target in Clackamas. Betty needed a few things and I had forgotten to get more thank you cards on Tuesday when we went so I picked up those. We left there and went to Babies R Us and I took back some duplicates that I had gotten at my shower and Betty wanted to get some things for Gabe. We got a changing pad cover because I only had one, some more q-tips and a sun hat (that's still a little too big, but he looks dang cute in it :o)) I want to get a bouncer seat I think, but I wasn't sure which one to get so they gave us some cash for that or maybe something else we maybe need??? After we left there I suggested that we go to Multnomah Falls or the Farmer's Market in downtown Gresham. We decided on the Farmer's Market. When we parked there was a lady who had locked her key's in her car so Bryan, Gary and Betty helped her with that and I needed to get hot water to warm Gabe's bottle up so he could eat. Speaking of Gabe's feeding time...sometimes it takes him an hour to eat 3 ounces. I'm a slow eater so he must get that from me. hehe After I was done feeding Gabe I went to find the others. They had gotten the lady's car unlocked and were ready to go. I was a little bummed because I wanted to walk around and look at all the booths. I had never been before...I think we'll have to go back in the next couple weeks or so. We got a quick bite to eat and Betty and Gary went back to their hotel for a nap before going over to my parents for a BBQ. It was a lot of fun. I always enjoy hanging out with the Wangsgards and wished we lived closer so that we could see each other more than once a year.

At least once a year my grandparents take a turn for the worst and then somehow get better. which I'm glad...I'm not ready for God to take them home yet. I don't want to look back after they pass though and regret not seeing them as often as I should/could. My dad had gotten 2 tickets to the Mariner Game on Sunday behind home plate. My mom isn't that into sports so it's my dads tradition to take one or all of his daughters with him. We love it! Father Daughter time. Julie was going with him this time and my mom went to stay at Grandma's with Jaden. Grandma and grandpa hadn't seen Jaden yet or Gabe for that matter. I thought about it all Saturday night and decided to go up with them. I miss my family and it had been WAY too long since the last time I'd seen them. We had to leave by 8 so that Julie and dad could make it to the game. Gabe and I said our sad goodbye's to Betty and Gary and we left for our random day trip to WA. Gabe slept the whole way up there and was a very good boy. It was fun visiting with grandma and grandpa. My cousin Jessica came over with her little girl Kirsten and then later on Julie, dad and uncle David got back from the game, Aunt Lolly, Jessica's husband and their three year old son Caleb came over and we all had take out from Olive Garden.
It was so much fun and Jaden even got to play great grandma's piano without washing his hands. We used to get in SO much trouble if we played and hadn't washed our hands first.
We got home late and the boy's were pooped. Gabe slept the whole way home and Jaden did a good job too.

What a fun but crazy weekend!

Hello my name is

This would be great for Women's Retreat. ;o)
I hate wearing name tags!

SO much to do and all I want to do is this...

Slacker

Yup, that's me the big 'ol slacker. Most of you are already used to my slacker-ous-ness by now!

NEVERTHELESS, I am back. Now let's see if I can remember everything that has happened in the last three weeks...

On June 7th Gabe had his 2 month appointment. We got there, signed in and waited to be called back. No longer than a minute later we were called back and put into a room. The nurse measured Gabe and he was 21.25 inches long and we undressed him and took him to get weighed. I totally thought he'd be like 7lbs 8lbs something like that, but he ended up being 9lbs 4ozs I couldn't believe it. He had gained 3lbs in 2 weeks. Gabe is as healthy as can be! We asked a ton of questions and Bryan and I decided to wait to do the regular scheduled vaccine's until his adjusted 2 months which would be around July 24th.
The best news though is that we don't have to get up every 3-4 hours during the night because he's gaining weight and growing well. YEA! We've had some good nights since then too. One night he slept 6 hours and 2 nights ago he slept 7 hours. That was awesome for us! We still haven't moved him to his crib yet. I need to start working towards that transition. He hasn't had any choking episodes since we raised the bassinet 30 degrees and I want him in his crib and sleeping at night before I go back to work. Wishful thinking on my part, maybe? I think Gabe is a light sleeper? When I've put him in his crib for a nap he tends to wake up way more easier than when I have him in the bassinet in our room. We live on a pretty busy street with a speed bump right in front our house and as much as I can't do anything about the cars/trucks/3 wheelers that go down our street I have come to find out how annoying/loud they are and they're waking up my son! UGH! Even though we have a speed bump in front of our house people don't go the 25 mile an hour that they're supposed to they FLY over it. I should explain the 3 wheelers...during the summer kids like to ride these loud vehicles up and down for hours upon hours. This didn't annoy me until I had Gabe. I guess he's just going to have to get used to the noise since his room faces the street. Along with those good nights you have to have bad ones right?! I think Gabe is colicky we have had some BAD nights where all he does is scream. I hate this. I hate that I can't do anything to help him. It breaks my heart when he cries like that too. It sounds SO painful. :o(


I never thought I'd ever say that I am tired of holding a baby, but my back and my arms are very tired and a lot of times Gabe just wants to be held. How does one get things done you ask? Well, Kate has this mesh pouch from Kangaroo Korner and I tried it out when I was hanging out with her and this thing is amazing. It keeps him close to me all nice and cozy and I can get things done. When I was over at her house I ordered one for Marcia and one for me. Marc got the mesh one like Kate, but they didn't have one in my size so I ended up getting the cotton one.
I know that I am biased because I'm his mommy, but Gabe is the cutest little baby boy ever! He not only is smiling when asleep probably from gas, he is looking at us and smiling at us with his whole face. We have yet to get it on camera, but I am loving this! I love being a mommy!

Bryan had finals Monday the 11th and he is done with school till the first week of July. 3 more terms to go! YEA!
Comcast also came out that Monday to set up our home phone through them. We had Vonage, but for some reason vonage didn't like us and so we decided to switch to comcast. It's cheaper too since we have Comcast for our cable and internet. So far it's working 100 times better which has been nice.

June 16th, suffice it to say, ended up being a busy day. It was my sister Janell's 21st b-day and we had Betty's wedding to go to at 2:00. Gabe surprisingly did well...slept through the whole wedding and did well at the reception too. He was done so we went home and I got him to sleep before we left for Red Robin to celebrate my sisters b-day. That was fun, but boy is it hard going places with Gabe and Jaden. Speaking of that Julie and I met at the mall on Friday to get Janell's b-day gift and Father's day gifts. Holy Cow that was something else. Gabe didn't want to sit in the car seat and ride in the stroller so thankfully Julie brought her snuggly and I held him and pushed my stroller with all the bags in it. We had to stop to feed Gabe and were going to try and get out of there before Jaden needed to eat, but that didn't work. Julie and I were ready to fall over dead after that trip. HA

Bryan's first Father's day was good. We went to church and then we went over to my parents and we made taco's for lunch and hung out. Bryan got a good nap in and I wanted too, but couldn't fall asleep which was a bummer since my mom was willing to watch Gabe while I napped. OH WELL. A little later in the evening we all went to Big Al's in Vancouver to bowl. Dad's got to bowl for half price. It was a blast!

Feels like summer

Nathan and Julie let us borrow Jaden's swing (well they have no room for it really). He's gotten so big he barely fits in it anymore and he never really liked the thing anyway. Gabe likes it I think? Yesterday I got him to fall asleep for about 45 in it and I was able to get some things done...like clean, fold laundry, EAT etc. It does take up a lot of room though and we have it in a sort of awkward spot in our living room.

Here he is, in it, mad at me.


Bryan and I ate leftovers for lunch. Diane's pasta is gone. It was very yummy! At around 3 I left to go to Target. I told Bryan that I would take Gabe with me, but he insisted on me going and having some alone time. SWEEEEET!
I had some knick knacks to get, but my main reason for going was to get the Playtex bottles that my sister has been using. I have been using Avent and for some reason Gabe just wasn't doing well on those. He had a tummy ache after every feeding. When we were over at Julie's apartment all last weekend I ended up trying her bottles and even took a couple home with me and they worked better for Gabe.
I also picked up a shower gift for Betty. I'm trying to to go too overboard because we don't have the money for it. We have Danny's wedding shower this Saturday, Betty's on Monday then Betty's wedding June 16th and Danny's wedding July 14th.
I got home around 4:30 and put everything away, Bryan left at 5:45 for class and T and Kambrie came at 6 with dinner. She stayed for about an hour. Held Gabe while I ate dinner, which was awesome! She made meat muffins with salad and rolls AND I can't forget about brownies for dessert! yummmmm
It was good to have some time with them.

After T left my mom, dad and Jaden came over and we went for a walk. Julie and Nathan went out to dinner just the two of them. It was such a nice night out! Bryan got home just as we walked up and we all had some yummy watermelon. I LOVE this time of year! Mom, dad and Jaden left and I talked to Moo till Gabe's next feeding at 11.

Gabe slept great again last night! We still have to get him up every 3-4 hours to feed him, but we've got him feeding every 3 hours during the day and 4 hours at hight. I think Bryan and I are getting at least 6-7 hours of sleep at night the way we switch up feedings.

Gabe scare

Bryan and I helped (Well Bryan did since I have Gabe) Nathan and Julie move this weekend. It reminded me of Memorial Day weekend 3 years ago when we moved into our house except it was a lot harder having 2 little boys under 7 months.
Monday we were all over at their apartment even Jacob came to help too while Janell was working. Bryan, Nathan and Jacob were taking a load over to my parents and Julie ended up taking her clothes over so that left Mom, me, Gabe, Dad and Jaden. Jaden was fast asleep in my moms arms and as there was no furniture to sit on I laid a blanket out and put Gabe down. He was making his funny noises, stretching, yawning etc. when he threw up. It was very thick and there was a lot! It had been a while since I'd fed him so it was weird that he was throwing it up. I think that he has acid reflex. They say that Preemies are prone to it? Anyway, I was looking all over for a burp rag to clean him up and my mom yelled he's choking. This has happened before so I calmly turned him on his side and started patting his back. Mom told me to get the syringe (they told me to use that if he chokes and use it to suck the spit up out of his mouth). It wasn't working and more was coming out. Out of his mouth and nose. His eye's got big and he started changing color and he wasn't breathing. Mom started crying and gave Jaden to my dad. Told me to call 911 and she was patting him on the back.
You know I went to the baby CPR class and sat there thinking I'll never have to use this on him. Never say never. In that CPR class they show you how to do the Heimlich on a baby too. Surprisingly I was calm through the whole thing. When I was talking to the 911 operator Gabe had started to cry and breathe, he told me NOT to do CPR (as I was just about to) because he couldn't cry if he wasn't breathing. The ambulance arrived and it was two ladies who were SO kind. I was glad that it was women and not men, I don't know why? Through all of that Gabe's color turned first to red then purple then blue and after he started breathing again he was a very pasty green. He didn't get his color back for a long time and he was so tired. I didn't cry until later after we had dinner that Nathan and Julie bought for all of us and I was holding him in my arms and looking at him. I'm going to cry now typing this because it was probably the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me. I can't even begin to tell you how that felt. I thought, I'm going to lose my baby right now. As he was trying to breathe he would let out this noise like he was trying to breathe and cry and it just broke my heart. I felt so helpless. I can live without that ever happening again. Just goes to show that I can't control what happens to my precious boy, God is in control!

Life

Lets see where to begin? I hope I can remember everything...Bryan has had a ton of homework so I haven't gotten much time to log on.

Last Friday we pretty much stayed around the house for the day then we picked up a few things at the store and headed to our Sunday School class dinner at the B's. It was our first time getting to go to the Friday night dinners and it went pretty well. We got there and pretty much everyone was there. Deanna was BBQing and parents were getting their kids dinner. There are a ton of little girls in our group. Gabe has the pick of the litter although they're all older than him.
We ate dinner and went downstairs to meet. I had to leave and feed Gabe during that and then when I came back down he was getting fussy so Bryan and I left. I didn't get to hear pretty much any of the meeting, but such is my life now. Maybe at the next one he'll be better and he actually wasn't that bad I just didn't want to distract everyone and also push him.

Saturday we had Travis's surprise b-day party. Mom wasn't doing anything that night so she offered to watch Gabe while we went. We went over to my parents a little early so that Bryan could help my dad bring up their entertainment center from the family room to the living room. There is a lot of moving around and chaos with getting ready for Julie and Nathan to move in. We left for the party around 6:50 and went to Papa's Pizza. Travis was pretty surprised, but as they pulled up he saw cars of people he knew so he caught on. There was a pretty good turn out and it was fun to hang out and chat with everyone.

I talked to Randy for a while about work. When I return back to work I will be on his team and working for the Safeway pod. I won't be on the 12th floor anymore, but up on the 20th floor. This is going to be SO weird. I hope that I will like it. It's going to be hard enough going back to work let alone having a whole new position. He said that they have a ton of work and that they don't know what they're going to do for the whole summer...they need me now.

He also told me why I haven't heard back from Christina the HR gal in our office. Right after the last time I talked to her on the phone she had gone to a dr appointment and they found a tumor the size of a basketball in her uterus. They didn't even give her the chance to go for a 2nd opinion they operated 2 days later and now she is having to undergo chemo therapy. WOW!

I have talked to an HR gal in our Bellevue office and they are trying to get this all figured out. I have been out since March on bed rest and then having Gabe and recovering from that. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but I could be getting back paid for my time off. That would help us out so much!

We had had a pretty rough night with Gabe on Friday and Saturday evening too. I was so tired and we decided not to go to church and just stay home. Although Bryan got a phone call saying that the annex wasn't open and that the kids couldn't find any staff so he ended up getting ready quickly and going.
It ended up being ok though...Kimmie (one of the staff) and a few of the girls went to go find someone to open up the annex and they ended up stopping in the little coffee shop thing that our church put in the library. I haven't see it yet because I forgot to look at it when we went to church on Mother's day, but I heard it looks awesome!

I am not remembering a lot of things...my days keeping running into each other and when I don't journal for a while I forget. I don't remember what we did on Monday. I know that I stayed home because I knew that I was going to be taking Gabe with me to the shower and Bryan was going to class.
My shower was AWESOME! My sisters (Julie and Janell)/seesters (Teresa and Moo), plus my mom did a great job. I am so blessed to have them in my life. Mom, Julie and Janell decorated early that afternoon and Teresa and Moo set up the food. The decor was so cute. Gabe and I got there around 5:45 with Julie and Janell. My mom left to get there by 5:30 to open up the church. I had to feed Gabe and people started arriving. Gabe was a little fussy after I fed him and as we started the shower I gave him to my mom so that I could get some food and have her hold him while I opened up the gifts.

After everyone got food and settled down we played a couple games...nothing big because I hate games. My mom put an invitation under one of the chairs and gave that person a gift card and then we went around the room and everyone said how they knew me and Bryan and guessed how much I weighed when I was born. Everyone guessed low. I was 8lbs 8 ounces.
I started opening the gifts and BOY did we get a lot. I feel way more settled now and overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone.
I wanted to go home right then and organize! I love organizing!
I walked around and mingled and people started leaving. I don't think we got home until 10? My dad and Bryan unloaded the car and took everything up to Gabe's room.

Poor Julie had to leave right after the shower. Jaden was hysterical and both my dad and Nathan couldn't calm him down.

Gabe slept SO well Monday night. My mom said that he was awake during pretty much the whole shower. It must have pooped him out because he slept a lot on Tuesday. In between feedings I got on organizing all of the shower stuff. I started on Laundry because he got a lot of clothes and we got ready to go to another 30th surprise b-day party for Bryan's friend Kevin. We met everyone out at the place called Big Al's in Vancouver. This place is AWESOME!

It has:
30 traditional bowling lanes
12 lounge style bowling lanes
4,000 sq. ft. arcade / 100 player positions
1300 person party / event capacity
7,000 sq. ft. Sports Bar & Grill
One Gigantic Jumbo-Tron
(8 ft. tall x 36 ft. wide)
17 super bright projection screens
76 High Definition Plasma Screens
5 Private Party Rooms
7 Billiard Tables
1 Championship Shuffleboard Table





We were there for an hour or so and the guy's played pool while the girls sat up in some booths and talked. Dave and Shaela were there. I haven't seen them in FOREVER! I ended up talking with her pretty much the whole time. We talked about her kids and what we've been up too. It was great to see them. After we left Big Al's we went to Kevin and Ginger's and had cake and we left around 9.

We got another meal this week from the B's. Deanna brought us Chicken bisque. It was SO good. She dropped that off around 6 on Wednesday night and stayed for a few minutes and talked.
We have two more meals next week from Jay and Diane and Nate and Teresa. I am going to miss having meals! We have been so blessed by the class bringing us meals and they have been SO yummy. Some of the meals have lasted a couple days too. We have felt so loved!
It's hard some nights when Bryan is gone at school or youth group and I've had to fend for myself. The other night I put Gabe down to quickly make myself some dinner, and he got mad. I ended up holding him and eating at the counter. I remember Teresa telling me about all the times she had to eat standing up and stuff her face as fast as she could. I've even had to pee holding him sleeping happily. Have you ever tried washing your hands holding a baby. It's a little difficult.

I'm officially staying steady at 150!! I bought a couple capri's last week when I went to ON, size 10 and they fit pretty good. They are a little big, but I still can't fit in my 8's yet and a lot of my shirts still don't fit as well. This is frustrating! Bryan and I went on a walk yesterday and I tried walking with Calie and pushing the stroller to see how that worked out and Calie did well staying beside the stroller and not getting in front of it or pulling. I think I need to walk more and I can probably start doing sit-ups again. Bryan has these ones that he does that are hard, but they really do a good job. My goal is to get below 150 by next Saturday even if it is only 149.

Yesterday was Gabe's EDD! I can't believe it! I can no longer say that he's still supposed to be in my tummy.
He's been really focusing more and we've been putting toys in front of him to see if he can see them. We've also been working on Tummy Time and he's been working on lifting his head etc. He lifts his head a lot when we have him up on our chest too. He's starting to fill out. His little legs and feet don't look so skinny anymore and his cheeks are getting a little chubby.

I feel like crap

It's been the 6 weeks that they say to take it easy and I did for the most part...probably did some things that I shouldn't. My body is still out of whack though. I feel like crap all the time. My incision still hurts a little every once and a while, I feel like I'm going to throw up all the time, and I think there is something wrong with my vision.
After I had Gabe and I was pretty much dying the next day the anesthesiologist came to see how I was doing...she said that my right eye was droopy and I told her that I couldn't see very well either and she said that the spinal must have went up into my eyes. She said that she would check on me again, but I don't remember her doing that. I wonder if I should call my eye doctor or what? I can't wait till I feel good and my body is back to 100% if that is possible.

Saturday we all (well not all of us, Janell and Nathan were working) decided to go to Tebo's for lunch. We go there practically every Mother's Day and mom didn't want to go ON Mother's Day this year because they are crazy busy and we have Jaden and Gabe now. It ended up actually being just as busy...guess everyone else had the same idea as we did.
We sent dad and Bryan to Costco to pick up a few things. We were almost out of TP. Mom and I took Julie and Jaden home and took Gabe back to her house to meet dad and Bryan there. Bryan and dad hung out with Gabe and mom and I ran to Target quickly. I didn't end up getting anything...in fact I didn't even remember WHY I wanted to go there. I need SLEEP!
Bryan and I went home and I ended up sleeping HORRIBLE that night. Not because of Gabe, but because my shoulder hurt so bad. It was affecting my neck and arm too. I couldn't sleep at all...finally at 4am I took some IB Profen and took a bath to try and relax the muscle. That worked for a while, but the pain inevitably came back.

Bryan and I took Gabe to church for the first time and it was fun for our first time to be on Mother's Day. He did really well and it definitely was good to be back. After church we went over to my sister Julie's and sister Janell made us lunch and we hung out there for the afternoon. I felt sick all day, but it was fun hanging out with my family. This is really wearing me down. This is our last little get together at their apartment because they are moving into my parents in the next week or two.

I am loving this weather! Bryan and I got out yesterday and went for a walk. I was going to take Calie and Gabe myself tonight since Bryan is at YG, but he took the stroller with him in the car. oops! I love the sunshine and I am in serious need of some color too. I am pasty!

Pictures from the weekend.





This week is really busy for us. Good thing everything isn't packed into one or two days because I don't want to push Gabe and do too much.

Bryan has YG tonight.

Tomorrow
Me - Coffee with some girl's in our Sunday School class
Bryan - interview 2pm
Bryan - class 6pm

Friday
Gabe - weight appt 10am
Sunday School class dinner

Saturday
Travis's Surprise b-day party

Sunday
Church

Monday
Bryan - appt 12:30pm
Me - my shower 6:30pm
Bryan - Class 6pm

Tuesday
Kevin's surprise B-day party

Uneventful

Life is pretty uneventful in our household, but fun too, getting to know Gabe and stuff. He's been having more awake time lately and sometimes it's in the middle of the night. He doesn't like to be in the moses basket when he's awake too. He wants to be held. He is SO stinkin cute too looking all around with big eye's. Bryan and I are enjoying every moment of this!



It's nice having Bryan home to help out and just have around, but it's getting down to crunch time, Unemployment keeps denying him and he didn't get the job at Nike that he interviewed for last week. He is very bummed because he was SO sure that he nailed the interview and was going to get the job. I felt so bad for him when he got the news. They said that there is another Graphic Design job opening up so hopefully he'll get an interview for that. What does God have in store for us next?
We don't really understand why he keeps getting denied Unemployment. It has something to do with school and his Youth Pastor job. He has a hearing or something I don't know I don't really understand it and it's freaking annoying. It didn't seem this hard when I was applying for Unemployment and Bryan deserves it. SIGH

Wednesday Bryan left to go meet Randy before Youth Group and they got dinner together. I was waiting for dinner from one of the couples from our Sunday School class, but never got a call and they were a no show. Gabe was pretty fussy that night. I couldn't put him down so I never got dinner that night. I tried to make myself a sandwich, but it didn't happen. It was just one of those nights. They finally called me about 8:45, but I knew they weren't coming by then. I kind of wish that they would have called me earlier to let me know they weren't coming, but oh well. We rescheduled for next Wednesday.

Yesterday I had my 6 week check up. NO MORE ST. V's! I'm kind of sad. Weird I know, but they have been my life pretty much since March. They took me off one medication and put me on a higher dose of one of the other ones I'm taking so I'm on 2 medications still. They are really pushing for me to go on Birth Control. She said that she doesn't want me to get pregnant for at least a year for sure because of what my body went through plus having a c-section. I told her that I wasn't planning on going on BC that I hadn't been on any for 3 years prior to getting pregnant and that I was doing the TCOYF method. That didn't satisfy her. She said accidents happen and we really really encourage you to go on a BC. So I don't know what I'm going to do yet? I have to follow up with my regular OB about that. They want me also to see a Family Practice dr that they recommend that has dealt with high risk patients that have hyper tension, so she is going to call me with some names that are close to where we live. I know the dr I have been seeing hasn't dealt that much with high risk patients.
Bryan and I dropped Gabe off at my mom's before going to my appointment and she told us to go on a lunch date afterwards. It wasn't quite lunch time yet so we just headed back to my moms and actually went up to her guest room and took a date nap instead. haha

Last night Moo came over and brought us pizza. She and Keira stayed for a while and chatted.

Today we have some errands to do.

Bryan - Get Calie's food
Bryan and Dad - Costco run (mom and I might go instead?)
Jenny - Target
Jenny - Craft Warehouse

Gabe's Arrival ~ 7 weeks early

I went to NW Perinatal for my weekly check up on my blood pressure and Gabe. They first took me back to have the ultrasound done. Gabe did well. He got a 6 out of 8 on his tests. He still wasn’t breathing consistently for 30 seconds so that is why he didn’t get an 8 out of 8. He does pass with a 6 though so they sent me back out to the waiting room to wait for the next test. I didn’t have to wait long before they called me back and hooked me up to the monitors to see if I was contracting and to monitor Gabe’s heart rate. He had just been moving around before we got to the office, but he had quieted down and his heart rate wasn’t as steady so they zapped him a couple times to get him awake and moving. The zapping thing doesn’t hurt the baby it just annoys them and tickles them a little. He still wouldn’t really move around and get his heart rate up a little like they wanted, so I had to go back in for another ultrasound and go through those tests again. They also got the approximate weight because they didn’t get that in the first ultrasound. They were a little concerned about Gabe. They took me to a different room to weight for the doctor (at this point I had been to like 5 rooms). The nurse took my blood pressure and it was HIGH (I don’t remember what the exact numbers were because I have had my blood pressure read about a million times since then). The doctor came in and took it again and told us that with their concern with Gabe’s tests and how high my blood pressure was that they were admitting me.
Just when you think you know how something is going to go…how it’ll be laid out…that you’ll be organized and have everything ready…God swoops in and says you’re not in control of this…I am! I was just saying to my mom, “I need to pack my bag!” I haven’t had a shower yet so I don’t have a lot of the essentials that I need. I am such a control freak it’s so hard to not to have control of every situation and have it go the way that you want it to go.
So, we were admitted on April 3rd, I put on a gown and they hooked me up to the monitors and a blood pressure cuff that went off every 15 min. They had me fill out menus and told me that I’d definitely be there for the long haul. My sister’s birthday was the next day and she old me that I wasn’t aloud to have my baby on her birthday. I screwed up her family b-day party…we were supposed to have it that night on the 3rd. They all came to see me and were up really late. They didn’t even have the party until 10:30 or something. I don’t think that she was mad at me though.
So, I ended up everyday just laying there getting poked and prodded. I was getting bored with nothing to do but watch TV and read. On the evening of the 5th my nurse told me that I was probably going to be in there for another 2 weeks because they really wanted to try and get me to 35 weeks. They had already given me steroids shots to help with Gabe’s lungs so they could take him at any time. I think that hearing that I would be just sitting in there for another 2 weeks and then hearing my puppy on the phone when I was talking to my sister, who took very good care of my puppy while we were gone. I just started crying. My hormones were all wacky and I think I was feeling pretty vulnerable. I did want what was best for me health wise, but mostly what was best for Gabe.
I went to sleep that night thinking I was now going to have to live at the hospital, but got woken up at one by the doctor. He turned on the lights and told me that after all the evaluating of my blood pressures and how Gabe was doing they wanted to get him out by noon. The doctor wanted to check if I was dilated at all and I was 1 cm so they put in something to soften my cervix (forgive me, I don’t remember what it was called. He came in at 1 in the morning…I was half asleep when he was telling me all this). After they put that in they all said OK get some good rest for tomorrow. UM yeah right…sleep now after you just told me that I will be having my baby in 11 hours. RIGHT
I did manage to fall asleep…I had to listen to my ipod though. The next morning the doctor came in and took that thing out and said that I was still only 1-2 cm dilated so he said that we could induce labor, but that would probably take another 12 hours and with your blood pressure and for the health of the baby we are going to suggest that we do a c-section. I was pretty out of it so I just nodded and said OK. The minute I said OK things got moving and they got moving FAST. They don’t mess around there that is for sure. As they were prepping me in the room, Bryan was getting scrubs on and my mom had to run around the room gathering all of our things to move to another room. I ended up losing my favorite pair of shoes that Bryan got me for my birthday…oh well gives me an excuse to go shopping! They are pretty strict at St. Vincent’s. Bryan had to wait outside the OR till they were done prepping me. They had a really hard time getting the spinal in me because I have mild scoliosis so it took a while and all I remember is shaking until they finally got me numb and laying down on the table. Bryan came in and held my hand and he stood up to watch. He couldn’t take any pictures or videotape the birth either, which I was a little bummed about. They didn’t want any interruptions while they worked. Surprisingly, Bryan did ok with watching it and he said it was so amazing to see the birth. Gabe came out crying and it was SO amazing to hear his little cry and briefly see him before they took him to the NICU.
He was born April 6th, at 1:59pm. He was 4lbs and 17 1/4 long. He was breathing on his own and didn’t have any complications.
Bryan left with him and I went to recovery. I was in recovery FOREVER. They of course couldn’t get my blood pressure down. I felt like CRAP. I was so tired and they had me on Magnesium Sulfate so that I wouldn’t have any seizures and that makes you feel like you’re going to die. I didn’t really know what was going on around me. When they wheeled my bed in to see Gabe…I got to hold him, but I don’t remember much about it or about the next 24-36 hours. Magnesium Sulfate is the devil! I think they took me off of it sometime on Saturday, but I didn’t feel myself until the next afternoon. The first time I went to see Gabe after off Magnesium and feeling a little better…I was still falling asleep and still didn’t feel 100% better, but it was worth it to see him. He is just so precious.
I got to go home Thursday the 12th after having about 12 hours of good blood pressures. I think my body is having a hard time adjusting to being pregnant and now not being pregnant. It was so good to go home, but SO hard to leave my little guy there at the NICU. We live about 45 minutes away from him so that is the hardest part, but worth every minute...

Storm

"If there ever were a test of our faith - if there ever were a test of the motives of our worship - it is when a storm rolls into our lives. Sometimes God calms our storms. Sometimes He chooses to ride them with us." quote by Casting Crowns

Praise you in this Storm

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
And stepped in and saved the day
Once again, I say Amen, and it is still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I'm with you
As your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll Praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
You are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will Praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find you

I lift my eyes into the hills
Where does my help come from
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth

So life has definitely gone caddywompus on us in the last month or so. Bryan and I have been listening to Casting Crowns a lot and we feel like the song above totally says where we're at right now. A ways back we found out that Bryan wouldn't have a job at Nike starting May 31st. They ended up moving the date up to April 2nd, so Monday will be his last day at Nike after working there for 6.5 years. I am seriously bummed about this. I don't know why, but I thought that he would be there till he retired. Shows that God may have a different plan than mine huh?! Nothings to stay that he won't get another job at Nike. He was just talking to our neighbor today about a friend of his that was let go and then called back a month later asking him to come back. So who knows? Bryan could get back into Nike OR he may not?? This has all been sort of surreal and I feel like I need to grieve this part of our lives some how, but it just hasn't come. Normally I would be FREAKING OUT and worrying, but I have this peace and it can only come from God.
In the midst of Bryan losing his job I have entered my third trimester and things have sort of shifted for me. The first and second have been sort of a breeze and my BP has been under control and my pregnancy has been pretty smooth considering what my sister went through with hers. The meds that I've been on aren't cutting it anymore and my BP has been high. I've been living at the hospital lately and seeing my dr and a specialist twice a week. Thankfully the little guy is doing great and he's exactly where he should be right now. When I spent a little over 24 hours in the hospital to get my BP under control about a week ago the had me change one prescription to 3 times a day instead of 2 and they put me on strict bed rest. SO now not only does Bryan not have a job as of Monday, after my PTO goes through I will no longer be getting pay checks from my work until after I come back from maternity leave. I have talked to HR and proposed to them that I stay on the bed rest until the little guy is born and then I will take 3 months off. So I will be off work for about 5 months which is almost half a year. eeks!
A friend in her blog said that "God answers prayers. I love when I'm reminded of this in a very tangible way." This is SO true!!! When I went to our Women's Retreat in Feb the speaker gave us paper to write one thing down on it that we would like to nail to the cross. I wrote Worry/Fear/Anxiety...since nailing it to the cross I have totally felt like God has answered my prayer to take that away. I still struggle some days, but like I said before I just have this peace that God is in control and that he's going to provide. He gives and he takes away. He is who He is no matter where I am.
Just the other day my mom gave Bryan and I an envelope with our names on it. They spelled Bryan's name wrong and it was typed on the envelope not written. We opened it and there was a card in it with the verse

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The verse was typed in the card as well. It had an official check in it for $250. I was so overwhelmed that it moved me to tears. Things like this have never happened to me before. It is just another reminder that God is going to provide.

Bryan also went to get his haircut this past Thursday and Marcello our stylist gave him two gift certificates. One for Bryan for a free haircut and one for me for a free haircut AND COLOR. She said that it was baby shower gifts for us.
I can't even express what these mean to me. It's just so overwhelming and amazing to see God work!

So you can call me Mrs. Couch Potato because for the past week and a half and for the next 2 months I am on bed rest until our little guy comes out to meet us! :o)

What a week

This past week has been busy so far! Sunday was a pretty good day! It was my mom’s birthday…HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
I woke up with a horrible pain in my left side. I could barely roll out of bed and I went to go to the bathroom and doubled over the pain was so bad. I just figured that the little guy was over on that side maybe pushing or something? But the pain wouldn’t go away and I couldn’t see him doing it that long. Bryan and I left a tad early to stop at Safeway. I got a coffee and a muffin and I wanted to pick up some flowers for my mom. We found a VERY pretty purple bouquet. I knew that she would love it because it would match her living room and dinning room. They also smelled really good! I made it through the store and back into the car. The pain seemed to subside when I was sitting down. We got to church around 9 and my parents were already there. I was glad I wanted to give mom the flowers because I knew that she was leaving after first service. Well, I got out of the car and could barely walk to the church. The only way that I felt ok was doubled over or sitting in a chair. Bryan went to his JR High room to get it heated up. It was cold that morning and his little room/garage thing doesn’t warm up very well, plus the windows are all broken so the heat just gets sucked out. The church has used that room since before I was in Jr High. It was originally a garage that they made it into a room and it needs some MAJOR fixing up! One of the Jr Highers sent in for a room makeover to one of those shows on HGTV. They never heard anything back on that though. Bryan has put in a couple requests to the accountant at the church for some things to get fixed. They are all miserable out there in that room.
Anyway, I somehow made my way to the office and it was full of people. Church was busy that morning. I was getting a little worried about the pain though and Bryan asked if we should go in, but I wasn’t sure? I gave my mom the flowers and she liked them a lot. She was helping out someone type something up on her computer and other people were filing in asking her to do other stuff. I told her about my pain and she said that she would take me in. I of course was hesitant just because I hate going into the ER and finding out that NOTHING is wrong and then you have a wonderful bill for it. Everyone that came into the office said that I should be better safe then sorry and go in and make sure that everything was ok. The little guy was moving a lot that morning. We decided that I would go in. Bryan came into the church to find out if we were going and I said yeah mom is going to take me since you have JR High. He probably could have gotten out of doing Jr High that morning to take me, but mom was available to take me so it was all good. We told Bryan to make sure that he grabbed my dad before leaving church otherwise he would have been stranded there and we left. I went into the ER and told them my issue and I guess that PG women over 18 weeks get sent up to the maternity ward just in case. So they wheeled me up there and mom was still trying to park. I told the people to tell her where they took me and then again at the front desk up in the maternity ward. They put me in a small room and I went into the bathroom to pee in a cup for them. When I came out mom was in the room and sitting in the chair. The nurse was very nice. Asked me a bunch of questions and listened to the baby’s heartbeat and then hooked me up to make sure that I wasn’t having contractions. Which, THANK GOD I wasn’t. They took my blood pressure and it was high. I ended up staying there longer because of that. I had to wait quietly in 15 minute increments and then they would take my BP again. So the pain ended up being the round ligaments stretching. She told me that they are really small when you’re not pregnant and then as your uterus gets bigger they stretch and get longer and sometimes pain comes with that. I must just be one of those women who get the pain really bad? They called my doctor and he wasn’t that concerned about my BP so they sent me home. It was a little after 11 and I probably could have gone back to church but I kind of just wanted to take it easy so I went back to my mom’s house with her. Julie and Janell were there with Jaden. Julie had to get ready so I got to hold Jaden. I love to kiss his little head. I could just eat him up.

Teresa called me around 12 I think and said that Nate would call me to tell me when to head over to their house. We hung up and she ended up calling me back and saying that there might be a change of plans that K got up early that morning and was acting like she was ready for a nap sooner. So T got her down and I headed over to watch K so that T and Nate could go over to Dianne’s for lunch and going through her dads stuff. When I got there they left and K was down for her nap. I laid down in their VERY comfy leather recliner and fell asleep myself. K woke up around 2:10 I think getting almost 2 hours of sleep. She was crying and she kept saying that her monkey was on the floor. I waited a couple of minutes just to make sure that she was in fact awake and went upstairs to get her. I picked her up got her blanket, but left her monkey on the floor so we had to go back and get him. We went downstairs and I held her for a little bit and told her that mommy and daddy had to go somewhere but that they would be back. I asked her if she wanted lunch and she said yes. In fact it was a very intense yes. I gave her the cheese and yogurt and she kept dipping her cheese into the yogurt. I noticed her doing that as I was heating up her noodles. SO cute! She ate all of her cheese and started to feed herself the yogurt, but Aunt Jenny helped her out a little bit. She ate very well…all of her cheese, yogurt and noodles and she had 3-4 big bites of applesauce too. At one point I was helping her eat her yogurt and applesauce and I had said something about the spoon and she told me that I could borrow her poon but that I couldn’t take her poon home. After lunch we got cleaned up and we put in a movie. She wanted the duck movie. So I put that one in for her. I think it was a variety of Looney Tunes episodes and she ended up telling me that she didn’t want to watch them anymore because they were scary. She had her hands over her ears. So we ended up putting in the Elmo movie…I can’t remember what it was called though? During the movie she got out all of her books and proceeded to read them all to me. She was doing SO well. I asked her if I could see one of the books that she was reading and she was basically reading the story to me. I was shocked. At one point she asked me if I liked Elephants and I told her they weren’t my favorite but that the baby elephant in the book was pretty cute. She then told me that she would get me one on Tuesday.
OH I forgot at lunch when we were sitting at the table and she was eating she was trying to tell me something and I couldn’t understand her and finally she just looked at me like I was stupid and said “HONEEEEEY” then said what it was she said again. I didn’t catch what she said again because I was laughing so hard. She was VERY frustrated that I didn’t understand her the first time. We had such a good time! I love hanging out with her! Teresa called me I think around 5 and said that they were pretty much finished going through the stuff and that Nate or her would come get Kam to go back over there because they were just hanging out and going to have dessert.

I had driven my parents van over to Nate and Teresa’s because I had to leave before Bryan and my dad got home. They came over later to switch vehicles and my dad took Bryan home. I ended up going back over to my parent’s house to spend time with my mom. As it turned out her, Julie and Janell went shopping and so I went up to my bed and took another nap until she got home. Well they didn’t end up getting home till around 7:30 and I was wanting to get home to get things ready for the work week so I didn’t really end up getting to spend a ton of time with her. Guess it was good that she went to the dr’s with me because we got to talk there. When I got home Bryan had just finished the baby’s closet and was cleaning everything up.

Here is a picture of the closet. I don’t have a before picture, which I wish I did because it looks 10 times better. Bryan did a good job.



Monday was an OK day! Work was busy of course but I think that I am finally catching up. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t want the days to go slow and for me to just sit there twirling my thumbs waiting for something to do is torture. Bryan picked me up and we stopped at Safeway to get prescriptions before going home. What’s new though…I feel like I live at Safeway and that I am ALWAYS picking up prescriptions. We pick up two and then tomorrow we have two more to renew! I feel like an old person that needs one of those M-F pill reminder things.
When we got home we had left over pizza for dinner and I had some work that I needed to get finished to make up the last couple hours of time off I took on the snow day. Bryan was really tired so he ended up going to bed around 9:15 and I joined him around 10.

I feel like my body is falling apart. My right eye feels bruised, like someone punched me in the eye. I don’t know what I did? And the last few days when I eat/chew my jaw is clicking VERY badly on the left side. It feels like it’s ripping the inside of my ear apart and that I should have blood gushing out of my ear. I don’t know what the heck is up with that or if I should talk to my dentist or my doctor about it. It FREAKING hurts though!!!!! I have to chew very slowly and it’s annoying.

Tuesday was Bryan’s Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUG! When we were getting ready for work Calie and I went into the closet. Bryan asked “what are you doing?” and I told him that we were having a meeting and he said “OOOOOOH KAAAAAAY!” and started brushing his teeth. I took my card to him and gave it to Calie, opened the door and told her to take the card to daddy. She wiggled her way over to him and gave him the card. It was SO stinkin cute and Bryan LOVED it!

I got off at 4 and rode the train to 172nd where my mom picked me up.
(Another bonus if there is one to riding public transportation. Our company went from us having to buy our ticket, submit our receipt and wait to get reimbursed TO the company paying for monthly tickets and passing them out to us (no more reimbursement plan) TO Annual passes. I am SO excited! I don’t have to worry if I have a ticket when I’m riding etc. I can just get on and I have my badge.) We went to pick up Julie and Jaden at the apartment and we went to Francis Xavier’s for dinner. We call it FX! Nathan was at my parents house washing his car so him and my dad met us there. Julie took Jaden to his appointment on Monday and they said that she could take him to a low key restaurant. She asked if they could go with it being my mom’s b-day dinner. SO Jaden went on his first little outing and did really well I might add. I’m still having issues with my jaw so I was the last one to be done with dinner (you think I was a slow eater before). After dinner Nathan and my dad took me home. I fed and let Calie out, changed my clothes, got the cake Bryan picked up for my mom at Beaverton Bakery out of the fridge and Calie and I went over to my parents. Calie had been in her crate WAY too long…UGH...I hate that! We had a little party for my mom and then when Bryan got out of class he came over and we had a little party for him. I think next year we’re going to split it up? I am totally wiped out from staying up WAY too late last night. I mean Bryan didn’t even get to my parents house until 10. I am already ready for this week to be over so that I can rest this weekend, take naps etc.

MY LITTLE SISTER GOT ASKED OUT ON A DATE!
My mom and I went to Target a while back and we were getting film developed where Janell was working that day and we were talking to her and all of the sudden this guy Jacob that works with her yelled “HI JANELL!” He asked her something else too but I can’t remember, but I told my mom that he liked her. You could tell on his face. Well it took him awhile but he asked her to coffee last week, but I guess never did anything about it so Janell was sort of bummed, but then he went through her line to buy something on a day that he wasn’t working and asked her to a movie and for her phone number. He wanted to take her out last night but she told him that we were having a b-day party for my mom and Bryan so she couldn’t. He called her last night when he got off work and left her a message. We all gave her flack! She was so embarrassed. Hehe I can’t wait to see how this goes.

Some updates on Bryan’s job.
Bryan asked Eric (his boss) on Monday about applying for other positions and he said to go ahead. It is better to have the option versus not. There are some other production artists jobs open at Nike…even though Bryan would love to stay where he is and work under Eric. They work really well together. He said they have some good news from the Trek side of things. They will definitely pay our salaries through June 1st which gives them some breathing room on trying to figure out if Nike cycling will be supported or not. AND yesterday they actually extended that to December 31st 2007 so that is good!

We got some even BETTER news about Bryan’s job!!!!!

He got this email on Wednesday…

Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for…

FANTASTIC NEWS!!! I just got off the phone with Charlie and he, Mark, and Trevor support our desire to go after the cycling business with a more concerted, focused effort than Nike has done in the past. They've agreed to move forward with the business model option we recommended to them, which involves owning our own design, development, and marketing resources to execute the business. This means that we have the opportunity for the first time to build a dedicated team to make Nike Cycling a success. I think this is the best way to truly leverage the talent we have and the opportunity that lays before us.

This means we have a lot to accomplish and we need to begin laying out strategies for how we will execute. I will set up a meeting for next week to get things kick started. I appreciate your patience during this decision making process and look forward to building the most talented Nike Cycling team in history!

Feel free to give me a call if you have questions.

Thanks

Bryan came home and gave me some sad news on Thursday. Nike reversed their decision. SO that means Bryan has a job until June 1st.

I have felt depressed all night...on the verge of tears...just dealing with some family issues that I have no control over and when I got home I started laundry (Thursday's are laundry night) and was looking for something to eat for dinner. When I looked into the fridge it was so nasty I ended up pulling everything out and cleaning the fridge and freezer out. It was very much in need of a good deep clean. Good therepy for me when I'm feeling down is to clean and organize. The problem is still there when I'm done but it helps me feel a little better and stuff gets cleaned. ;o)
I didn't end up starting dinner until 8. I talked to Moo on the phone for a little bit while I was making dinner and running in between loads of laundry. Bryan got home from class...we both sat down to eat (I made chicken stir-fry with white rice). We prayed, I started eating, Bryan gave me the news and I broke down. Couldn't help it...

Bryan spent Thursday working on his resume. He has to start looking for a new job.:o(