Sad day

Today I put all of Shiloh's 0-3 month clothes away. I keep telling her to stop growing up, but she doesn't listen to me.

Employment

Back in September, Jeff called Lincoln Hospital in Davenport to see if they were going to have any Respiratory positions available in the near future. The only reason he called was so he could get 3 employment contacts that week so he could be honest on his unemployment claim. Who ever he talked to in Human Resources asked him if he had heard somewhere that they were hiring. Jeff told them no, and that he was just trying to find out. The HR person said that they currently did not have a Respiratory department, and hadn't for at least the last 15 years, but that they were looking into starting it up again. She told Jeff that he could go on their website and fill out an application and they would hang on to it until they got the RT department up and running.

So Jeff filled out an application and then didn't give it another thought until...

Last Tuesday morning Jeff got a call from Lincoln Hospital asking if he was still interested in a job and if he could come in for an interview. An interview was scheduled for Thursday morning.

Thursday morning Jeff went in for his interview. He met with the Chief Clinical Officer, the CEO, and the Director of Nursing Services. During the interview Jeff found out that they were still in the beginning stages of starting the Respiratory department and that they were looking for someone with enough experience to start the department for them. They were impressed with Jeff's amount of experience not only as a RT, but also with management and his knowledge of all the equipment. (What a relief! Usually he is told that he either doesn't have enough hospital experience, or is over qualified for the job.) They told him they would let him know in about a week if they would like to hire him.

Friday afternoon we were out running errands until after 5pm. When we got home there was a message from Lincoln Hospital offering Jeff the job.

Monday morning Jeff called them back and accepted the offer and went in to sign paperwork and all that fun stuff.

Jeff starts this next Monday morning. He is the Respiratory Department Supervisor and will be spending the next 3 months developing the department and then hiring more Respiratory Therapists. While he is developing the department, he will be working Mon-Fri, but once the department is up and running, he can choose his own schedule.

He is still going to work in Colfax per diem so we can get back on track financially. Not that we got way off track, but we were well on our way to having no debt before, and want to get back on track FAST!

Painting

Ever since we painted Shiloh's room, Mason and Cooper have been begging us to paint their room. We have been holding off, not knowing if we were going to be staying in Spokane or not. Now that we know we will be staying, we painted their room on Saturday. They wanted a spider man themed room. So here is what we did.

We found this poster, got a frame for it and went off it for the paint colors. I love stripes, so we put stripes on two of their walls.

We want to get a book shelf and two bean bag chairs, or some other kind of chairs to put on this wall.
My two best helpers.
Cooper's favorite color is green, so the other two walls are green, just for him.
I'm thinking the boys will be getting spider man or hulk bedding for their birthdays. Please excuse Cooper's awesome outfit, he had an accident, but didn't want to take his painting shirt off.
Jeff drew these pictures a while back for no particular reason. We thought they would go well in the boy's room, and we already had these frames.

Now that their room is mostly done, they better not decide they want a transformers room!

EXCITING!

It has been almost 7 1/2 months........but Jeff finally


got a job!


Jeff got a job!


Jeff got a job!


More details to come on Monday!

Baby...or no baby

Mason: (One month ago) I want you guys to have 16 more babies.

Mason: (Yesterday) I wish you guys didn't have another baby, because then you could spend way more time with me and Cooper.


I think he is just a bit confused as to what he wants.

Risk

Mason wanted to learn how to play one of "Daddy's games", so Jeff attempted to teach him and Cooper today. I don't know if Mason or Cooper understood how to play at all, but they sure loved playing with their Dad.

2 Months

Shiloh is 2 months old today! She had her well baby check up this morning.

Here are her stats:
13 pounds (95%)
24 inches (96%)
Head Circ. 15" (34%)

.She is pretty chunky, still smaller than Cooper was at this age. (He was 16lbs. 6ozs.)

Having a girl is starting to be more fun. I am starting to enjoy dressing her up on Sundays and putting cute bows and things on her head. These pictures are from yesterday's dress up session for church.

Big Brother Love

Shiloh is almost 2 months old and is able to hold her head up pretty well. Now that she can, we are letting the boys hold her a little more on their own.

College

Last Thursday was my first day of college. I felt like a little kid again, with those first day jitters.

Every Thursday night, for the next 12 weeks, I will go to the institute building for 2 1/2 hours in the evening. This semester, the first 1.25 hour will be a Book of Mormon class. The last hour will be a group discussion/learning time for my one online class.

The first Thursday was orientation. We just went over all the "orientation" stuff. It was a pretty boring class. I had a really hard time paying attention.

Last night was the first actual night of class. The Book of Mormon class is really good. I have realized though that I am a really simple thinker. I can read something over and over and only see the basic message. Some people's comments about our reading assignment were really deep. I just kept sitting there thinking, wow I would have never thought of that.

I wonder if I'll ever be a deeper thinker....Probably not, I like it simple.

After our Book of Mormon class was our class discussion for our online class. Each week one student gets to (has to) lead/teach the discussion. (I am not looking forward to that.) Again, I felt like such a simple, basic thinker. It was good to listen to others thoughts on our homework assignments.

So why am I a simple thinker? Am I dumb? (Don't answer that!) Have I lost brain cells due to being out of the "real world" for so long, and out of school for even longer? Yeah...that must be it...

So what are my plans with college? Each semester for the first 3 semesters, my class schedule is set for me. I will take one online class and one religion class. (The really nice thing is that I don't have to pay for the religion class.) After the first 3 semesters, I can start working on obtaining a certificate and my AA. As of right now, I want to get my accounting certificate. Then after I get my AA I can go on to get my bachelors. I am pretty sure I am going to get my bachelors in business. But, as I said in my previous post about starting college through the Pathway Program I am involved in is still in the pilot phase, so there are only 2 bachelors degrees available. I have heard that by the time I am ready to start on my bachelors, they will have more bachelors degrees available. So, if they open up more options, and there is a degree I would be more interested in, then I'll change my path.

11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids

Someone posted this on Facebook the other day. I thought it was pretty funny.

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Laugh out loud funny

Mason is really into taking pictures of himself lately. As I was going through the videos that are posted in my last post, I found this picture on the camera. Obviously, Mason was up to something while I was busy with something else.....

Ennie-mennie-minnie-mo

Ennie-mennie-minnie-mo catch a tiger by its toe....you know that game, right? We all played it when we were younger. The other day Jeff was trying to get the boys ready for the day and Cooper didn't want to pick out clothes to wear. In an effort to get Cooper to pick out something to wear, he taught Cooper this game as a fun way to pick out his clothes. Now, every day he plays this game while picking out his clothes. This has become a very long process, as Cooper has to play it while picking out his underwear, socks, shirt, and pants. Umm thanks Jeff for trying to be creative, but you have created an ennie-mennie-minnie-mo monster!

Sunbeam!

Cooper is now a Sunbeam! Where has the time gone? I have two in Primary now? I can't believe it. I remember when I blogged about Mason's first day in Primary and Cooper's first day in nursery. Cooper did really well, which is not not a surprise to me. He has been asking for about 6 months now if he can go to Primary, so when I told him he now gets to go AND that he gets to sing, he made a face kinda like this one:

Once he made that face I knew he would be great. Cooper's Grandma Meador is in Primary with him and she said that he helped out during one of songs/activities. I saw him in the hall on his way to class and he was doing great then too.

Christmas on New Years

On New Years day we celebrated Christmas with my family. Jeff had to work, so he was not able to be there, but me and the kids had a good time without him.

Mason and Cooper about to open their present.

They both got some new church shoes. I'm sure I was more excited then they were to get church shoes, because now I don't have to spend the money on some new ones.

Chunky...

is another nickname Shiloh is earning for herself. Her cheeks and thighs are filling out very nicely. I love love love chunky babies. Nothing better or cuter than a chunky baby to me. You can't see how chunky her cheeks are in these pictures, but Jeff thought her outfit was really cute on this day, so he got some pictures of her. I weighed her the day before these pictures were taken and she weighed 10 lbs 14ozs.

Resolutions

I am not one to make new years resolutions. I never have been. You would think I would be because I am a list maker and once I make a list, I commit myself to getting everything on my list done, and usually I do. I like to have a plan for everything, and I am not one to just do something on a whim. I also have a very practical side. I guess that is why I don't make new years resolutions because I know that most likely I will not stick with the resolution for an entire year, so why make one in the first place.

I am not against bettering ones self, I just know that saying, "My new years resolution is to run every day of the year" is not realistic for me. Maybe for some, but not me.

I do find myself contemplating my life every so often and thinking about how I can better myself. Here are a few things I am working on to better my self:

Before I got pregnant with Shiloh, I started to eat healthier and I also started to jog 3 days a week. I was doing really well with both the eating and jogging. Then the morning sickness kicked in and lasted 9 weeks. By the time the sickness was gone, I wasn't motivated to start jogging again, but I did continue to eat better. Right now I have 5 pounds left to loose to be back at my pre-pregnancy weight and some unsightly flab in the stomach area to firm up. I am going to start jogging again, and now that the holidays are over, I am going to try to eat better. I do really well with my meals, but I choose less than healthy snacks between meals, so healthier snacks it is.

Then there is my parenting....sometimes I feel like such a bad parent. I loose my patience and and raise my voice at my kids. I know what you are thinking, Crystyne...yell at her kids? Shocking right? Lately I have felt like a bad parent when Cooper has said to me, "Mom, you're a good mom, but sometimes you yell at us". Talk about feeling a foot tall. After Cooper said that to both me and Jeff a few times, it really hit home. About a month ago, Jeff and I were up late with Shiloh and we were talking about Cooper's less than flattering compliment. We both decided that we were going to try to be better parents, to not "loose our cool", to be more patient, and to spend more quality time with each of our kids. How are we doing? Well, Cooper now says, "Mom you are a good mom". That's it. No "but sometimes you yell at us"attached to the end. That truly is the best compliment he could give me. You know what they always say....out of the mouth of babes.

Last, I want to continue my education. I've wanted to do this for a long time, but it's never really felt like the right time. Our church just introduced a new program called the Pathway Program. It is for people just like me, between 18-30 years of age who have between 0 and 30 college credits completed. The program is designed to ease the student back into the learning environment by taking just 5 credits, each quarter, for the first year. Then after the first year, the student can apply to BYU-Idaho online and go on to receive their AA and then if they choose, their Bachelors. While keeping the cost of school low. Each credit only costs $65. If you know anything about the cost of college, you know that each credit usually costs twice as much, or much, much, more, if you do online schooling. Plus, there are no books to buy, since it is all online, no application fee, basically no other fees besides the $65 per credit. Well, I was accepted to the program and I start school this Thursday. I will have class every Thursday night, which will include a religion class and a group discussion for the online class. I am really excited to begin my college education! I just hope I will be able to focus on my school work. I've had a really hard time getting back in the grove of things after giving birth to Shiloh.

So I guess, in a way, depending on how you look at it, I have made new years resolutions, I just haven't put specific expectations on myself like "I will run for 30 minutes every day of the year". I just want to be a healthier person, a better parent to my kids, and well on my way to having a college education at the end of 2011.

People these days

The other day while at Lowes, a lady in her 70's came up to our cart, where Shiloh was in her car seat sleeping. The lady looked at Shiloh, then got right in Shiloh's face and said to Shiloh, "Oh little baby you want to wake up, don't you? Come on wake up". Jeff looked over at me to see what was going on and lost track of where the boys, who were running around in the kitchen design area. Realizing that the boys were no where in sight and wanting to get away from the lady, I then said to the lady, "No, no she doesn't, she likes her sleep". REALLY annoyed, I started to walk away. As I did, I heard the lady say, "Look at that little baby's ears, they are so small AND they area really close to her head, they don't stick out at all!" Was that meant to be a compliment?

I don't understand people.

Why do people think that just because you have a baby they have the right to stop you from doing what you are doing, just to gawk at your baby? Get in your baby's face. Touch your baby's face and/or hands?

I don't mind if people want to look at the baby, but PLEASE don't hold me up! I have two other children, who if I don't keep a close eye on could easily just keep on walking, thinking I am right behind them. Or in our case at Lowes, think it is fun to run around the different kitchen models.

I can think of several different occasions with all three of my children when I have had to ask people to not touch my baby's face/hands, or to back up out of the baby's face. I can think of a few time when someone has given me the creeps so bad that I have had to deliberately and very noticeably turn away from the person trying to touch my baby.

Maybe I am just way over sensitive. Does anyone else think people can be really insensitive? And to touching and in your baby's face?