Halloween

Halloween was a roaring success!! We stopped by to see his little friend Tigger, a.k.a. Jamie.

A little confused on the process still

Ok, you've explained it, let's get to it!

Mmmmm....M&M's!!

Great Grandma is trying on my costume!!

Grr....I'm a big scary Dinosaur (really an alligator but I liked being a dinosaur more!)

This is me scaring great Grandma!

It's a Boy...and some more updates

Well, it's been a few weeks since the last update and since then, we have found out that we are having another boy! Connor is gonna be a big brother! This is nice since we still have some of his stuff saved, although since we had decided that we weren't having anymore kids (ha! that plan was not quite a success!) we had given away a lot of ::almost all of :: his clothes! The good news, a lot of them went to Angie, who just recently had a baby boy named Rylan, so when we go to MN for Christmas, we will be getting back everything that Rylan has outgrown!

Right now, I am 21 weeks along, so we are at the halfway point! Yay! No weird cravings, however, I could probably eat my own weight in salsa! At least it's veggies right? That's what I keep telling myself anyway! Connor is so funny, he will tell you that the baby is in mommy's belly, usually as he is lifting up my shirt to try to show you! Cute while at home, not so much in public! I don't think that he has still grasped the concept of being a big brother yet. I can't wait until he can feel the baby moving, it should be pretty comical! Josh has tried to feel but it's still pretty faint from the outside (not so faint from the inside! I feel like a punching bag!). If he presses down some he has felt him kicking once but he does the same thing that Connor used to do, as soon as Josh puts his hand on the spot that he was kicking, he either moves or just stops. I think that it's because my hands are always cold and Josh's hands are always warm so he knows it's not me! It's funny yet frustrating at the same time!

Work has been busy lately, however, with the economy the way it is, it's been sparadic, it can be super busy one day and then the next....well, the next I have time to blog or do my baby registry :) I am not having another shower for this one but I did a registry so that I can keep track of the things that we need/want for the baby since we gave away a lot of Connor's stuff (like the walker, bouncer, etc and he completely trashed his high chair!). We also recently did a wish list for Connor at Toys R Us....taking Connor & Josh in that store, I don't know who was more excited! Josh can't wait until Connor is old enough to do the huge intense sets of Legos, he's been eyeing them up since I was pregnant with Connor! Josh's work has also been getting pretty busy, fall cleanups and leaf removals have started. Winter is around the corner (I can't believe that!) so they are also gearing up for snow removal, tis almost the season...

We had a little bit of a worry moment last week with Connor. He had his first xrays. Tuesday I got a call from daycare saying that when he sat down to use the potty before naptime, he said "ow, my knee" and then he wouldn't put any pressure or weight on his left leg. They let him go down for naptime to see if it was ok when he woke up but it wasn't. So I went and got him, took him to the Walk In Emergency Center and they did xrays to rule out a fracture of any sorts, and that came back clear. So after checking him out, they said that it was most likely a strained leg muscle. They told us to not let him walk on it for a few days and if it wasn't better by Thurs to bring him into AI DuPont Hospital for Children and they would run some more test (mostly to make sure he didn't injure a growth plate or something like that). Wednesday, we followed up with his pediatrician and he said basically the same thing but to give it till at least Friday. We also had blood tests done just to rule out if it was caused by any sort of infection. So Josh stayed home with him Thurs and Fri and he still wouldn't walk or stand on it. He was crawling all over the place though and he would "walk" on his knees. Thurs night he started riding his trike (he would make us put him on it) so we knew that he was putting pressure on the leg and that he had a full range of motion with all his joints but he still wouldn't walk or stand. He kept telling us that he can't walk, he has ows. So Friday, we were all set to spend the day at AI DuPont but wanted to wait to get the bloodtest results back. I went into work and Josh stayed home with him in the morning and once I had an appt with the pediatrician set up, I called Josh and he said that Connor had stood on it while he put on his pull ups but that was it. I told him to try telling him that it was ok to walk now, the doctor called and said that it was all better now, just to see what would happen and to call me back. He called me back not even two minutes later and all he said was "why didn't you think of that 2 days ago?". He said he told Connor that he could walk now, Connor asked Why, Josh said the doctor called and said it was ok, he was all better now, and Connor replied Oh, ok then jumped down off the couch and started running around playing!! Oh, my son the trickster! Who knows how long he was actually able to walk on it! At least we know that he listens to doctors instructions right?!

He was also quite the handful over the weekend, we are guessing because his whole routine was thrown off by being home all day and not really having a way to burn off too much engery while not walking. He didn't nap all weekend. At one point we tried closing his bedroom door and seeing if he would fall asleep, instead, I hear him playing with the dresser drawers and a few minutes later, I hear him crying. I went running upstairs thinking he tried to climb the dresser and got hurt, open the door, and there is Connor, trying to get his shirt off, with his arm stuck thru the head hole! That was ALL he was wearing! No socks, pants, or pull up!!! Apparently he got stuck trying to take his shirt off. He wanted to jump on the bed naked. Oh, and the sound of him playing with the dresser drawers....that was him emptying the entire contents of his dresser into one big pile (along with all the clothes from his dirty clothes basket) in the middle of the floor. Yep, he was a joy this weekend!

Well, this has been a pretty long post so I guess I better get some work done! Hope everyone has a safe & Happy Halloween!

Here's so great news!!

So, it's of course been a while since I have updated the blog but what can I say, it's been a busy and exciting time the last few months! Josh & I are happy to announce (if you haven't already heard since I can't keep my mouth shut for long) that we are expecting our second child early this spring! I am currently 14 weeks pregnant and the due date is set for March 10, 2009! I know, we said that we weren't having anymore because of the issues I had from having Connor but, well, apparently they weren't kidding when they say birth control is 99.9% effective ~ we fall into that .1% that apparently it isn't effective for! It was just meant to be so we are going with it!

Connor so far is good with the news but I don't think that the full effect has set in with him yet, wait till baby is here, then we will see! So far he says he will share his toys and his mommy & daddy but like I said, it's all talk now, we'll see in March what happens! I am so excited for when I can have him feel the baby moving, his reaction is going to be priceless!! If you ask him where his baby brother or sister is, he will tell you in mommy's belly, it's cute!

Other than that, still working and still studying. I am still trying to get my MCSE certification but who knows if that will actually happen, it seems like the more I study, the less I understand of all this mumbo jumbo...

Josh's "new" job (I say new, as of the beginning of this year) is going well and from the sounds of it, the company is really taking off. I'm still at MacIntosh Engineering.

Josh's 30th birthday is coming up so I am trying to decide what to do for that. I don't think he would be all that happy if I planned a surprise party but I want to do something big, after all, it is his 30th! I am actually doing a walk that day for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer also, as it will also be the 2nd anniversary of my mother in law being cancer free. At least it's a leisurely walk because by then I am sure that I will be much fatter!!

Well, I think that's all for now, it seems like we always have stuff going on but then when I go to actually blog about it, there's not a whole lot! I am going to have to start getting better at this but finding the time is where I have the problems!

Hopefully more to come soon! I will definitely be posting as soon as we find out the sex of the baby, which is in a few weeks!!! Stay tuned for that...

So it goes on

So, here we are, another day and yet it's been a while since I posted. I am not sure what direction this posting is going to go yet, as I am unsure of my mood at the moment. I am, for the most part, in a good mood; however, simple things seem to really put me into a funk lately so I could start this in a great mood and then "bam" I don't know what has hit me!

As I am sure many of you have realized (either thru this blog or my emails or just knowing me in general) that I have been a member of an online community for moms here in DE (Delawaremoms.com). This site has been almost a sanity saver to me. It has been great to "meet" other moms and to hear their advice on things and to know that I am not alone in going thru some of the trials that I have. Don't get me wrong, I love me friends dearly, but being that I am the only one that has a little one out of the friends that I talk to on a regular basis, they don't "truly" know what it's like yet. I know that there are going to be some that will say that they understand because they babysat and had siblings growing up, or have nieces/nephews, or are close to their other friends kids.....but until you walk a mile in my shoes, no you do not truly know or understand. Until you have been in the ER with your little one when they are only 3 days old, until you have held your baby while he trembles during a thunderstorm because he's scared to death and you can actually see the fear in his eyes, until you have seen your little on fall down the stairs, until you have seen the marks left from other children who bite, until you have had to calm your baby after recieving the same vacinations that very well could save his life, until you have to make those life altering decisions (yours and his), then no, you DO NOT understand.

Well, now that I got that off my chest....back to the original topic....Delawaremoms.com.....well, I love this site and have come to think of the members as extended family members. Now, lately, there have been a lot of...um...I will call them differences of opinion, that have become very hurtful and flat out rude, there have been hurt feelings and have caused some of the moms to no longer post. Needless to say, this is obviously troubling enough for me to blog about! I am not going to drag this out but I will say that there is one mom that has a quote in her signature line that I love!!

"We could learn a lot from crayons: Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have wierd names, and all are different colors, but they all exist very nicely in the same box"

I wish people would just stop and think about that quote for a few minutes each morning before sending out all the negativity that seems to be going around. There enough said about that.

Well, we just got back from a short trip to MN. We were there all of 5 nights/6 days and it was a fun but VERY busy time! We learned that Connor has no fear whatsoever of water and LOVES waterslides! We also learned that he isn't shy and has no problem chasing around little girls while he is naked! We stopped out at Angie's dad's house and Hannah was in her pool. We hadn't brought any of Connor's swimming stuff because we weren't planning on staying that long, we were actually heading back to the hotel to go swim there but Connor had other plans! After he tried to get in the pool for the 2nd or 3rd time (shoes and all) I decided that we could just hang out for a bit and stripped him down and let him play. So while we were all sitting in the screen house chatting, we would see Hannah run across the yard (in her swimsuit) and then you would see Connor chasing after her, naked as a jaybird! They had a great time together, as usual! Hannah taught Connor how to do a cannonball, which he still tries to do now that we are home (bathtub isn't quite big enough though)!

We stayed at the new hotel in Rapids, the Timberlake Lodge. A little pricey compared to what we would have like to spend but overall, not too bad. They have a killer breakfast! Waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, and the usual continential stuff like muffins and cereal. The pool area has 2 waterslides (one for the older people and one in the kiddie pool) and a nice hot tub with a little waterfall behind it. Missie, Chad, and the kids all stayed there on Friday night also. Their rooms were pretty cool too, they had the "kids suite" so they basically had adjoining rooms but the kids room had a futon, bunk beds, fun lights, and a bean bag chair. Pretty cool!

Connor loved getting so see his Missie Missie and he got to spend a lot of time with all the boys. Speaking of boys.....Kody is so tall now!!! He makes me look like a shorty so imagine how my mom looks next to him!! He also got to spend some time with the rest of my family (albeit without Josh & I) out at Betty's house on Saturday night.

Saturday was a busy busy day! We had a baby shower, 2 birthday parties, and a family party to attend, all in one day! We didn't make it to the baby shower but we did get to stop out before the shower to meet the little peanut that surpised Jenn & Eric a month early! He was so little and so adorable!! Connor did get a little bit of a jealousy issue when I was holding him but it wasn't too bad since daddy was there to give him attention. Then it was off to Tate's birthday party at Hill Lake. Well, since it hadn't been all that warm out yet and the lake water was still cold, we didn't bring any of Connor's swimming stuff with us there and I wasn't about to let him run nude at a public beach! Instead, he was content to walk out on the docks and look for fish and to throw rocks in the water. Lots and lots of rocks! Then we went out to Betty's and hung out for about an hour and Josh & I left Connor in their care to attend Dave's 30th birthday party out at Angie's dads. Fun times!!

Monday was a long day as we left that day. We made good time down to the Cities and had a good 2 hours before we had to be at the airport so we stopped into the Mall of America. By the time we parked and got lunch we didn't really have much time (although I wish I would have remember to get a friends cell phone number off my myspace messagese before we got there so I could have possibly caught up with another old friend, if even for only a few minutes!) so all we did was walk around the Amusement Park and go to the Legoland. Connor was loving every minute of this mall! We even got to have our picture taken with Blue from Blue's Clues (one of his new favorite shows) so he was happy! Then he got to go on the big airplane!!! Connor LOVES airplanes! Must get that from Grandpa!

Since we have been back, it's been craziness as usual! Tomorrow we have a golf outing/dinner that we are attending to support the Connell Anastasi Memorial Fund. One of the Engineers at the company I work for puts on the event every year in memory of his son who earned his angels wings on March 20, 2001, just 4 months shy of his 3rd birthday, to a brain tumor. Then on Saturday, we are taking Josh's parents to the airport and we have a bunch of stuff to get done over the weekend around the house. Josh is going to be helping Clay finish up his walkway and then hopefully we get Connor's pool set up. Next Friday is a BBQ at Sams and then we'll probably be playing the rest of the weekend by ear.

Well, I guess that this is a long enough post for now. I will try to keep updating it more often but I am also beginning the tedious task of studying for my certs tests (next test in July) that I have been told that you should study at least 70 hours for each test ~ there's a total of 7 tests! 70 hours is gonna be hard with a full time job and a full time husband and a full time toddler but hey, I am supermom right?!

Well, Mothers Day has come and gone! What a day it was also.....not going to go into too much detail but to be honest with you, wasn't what I had envisioned what was supposed to be my day to be. There is the usual main cast of characters that made it that way but again, not going to go into detail. I will bury those memories way down deep again with the rest of them and I am sure that eventually when that "file" in my head gets too full, it will overflow into view again.

So, getting back to happy thoughts....planning a trip home again! Going back to the Northland for a week next month and I think that Josh is going to be able to join me ::keeping fingers crossed:: because I would really hate to have to travel alone with a 2 year old! Also, we are going to be gone over father's day so it would be really nice if he was there with us!

I can't wait to see Angie's belly! She finds out this week the sex of the baby!!!!!!! I am so excited for them!

I am in a kind of bitchy, blah, pmsing mood today so if this post comes off that way, I am just going to apologize now.

On a happy fun note though, I participated in an awesome fundraiser for the Delaware Special Olympics! I have joined yet another online community that in my honest opinion, has been the best one yet! Delawaremoms.com is a bunch of women (and a few dads) that together have the best advice page for a parent that I could ever dream of finding! It's not even just parental advice, you form friendships, and laugh and cry together, get real world advice, and who knows, some have even found jobs! It's a virtual support team for you as a person as well as a parent! Well, anyway, I am done advertising for them, back to the topic at hand.....20 of us from Delawaremoms.com (19 moms & 1 dad) formed a team to pull a C-130 Airplane to raise money for the Delaware Special Olympics. I would post the video but for some reason, whenever I try to view it, it's really choppy and pauses like it still has to buffer or something so you can check it out either on my myspace page (if you are on my friends list, if you're not on it, then find me & add me!) or at Delawareonline.com under the videos link, then the Delawaremoms link.

Well, now that it's a few weeks after Mothers Day and this has been sitting here waiting to be posted, here you go! I will be starting a new one for Memorial Day weekend ~ which probably won't get posted for until July 4th! Just kidding! I promise that I am going to try harder to post more often! Have a good one everyone!

Lots of Love,

Jenn

Anyone want some new updates?

Well, where to start.....the last entry was talking about Connor's upcoming birthday (has it really been that long since I have posted??? Wow - someone needs to start getting on my case about that!). Connor's party went really well, he was spoiled rotten in every aspect! He has definitely got the hang of opening presents now! He got so many toys and lots of clothes! He was a happy camper! And we got to see friends that we haven't seen in quite some time so I was more than happy!

I am almost done with school ~ only 4 more classes to go! I cannot wait to be done, I really can't stand my teacher, he is the biggest dumb....well, I will leave the last part of the word out but I think that we all get the general idea! I will be finishing up class on the 15th of April which actually works out really well because my parents are coming out and will be here on the 14th!

I am really excited for my parents to be coming out, they haven't been out since Connor was born and that was over 2 years ago! I know that my uncle and his family are also going to be in DC for the same week so we may take a drive down since it's so close. I wouldn't mind taking them down to the Baltimore Inner Harbor too but I don't know how much walking Dad will want to do.

Connor is getting to be so big and so independent now. He has to do everything by himself, won't let you help him. We are going to be trying to find the directions to turn his crib into a toddler bed probably this weekend. He hasn't made it out of the crib by himself yet but it's not that far away! Although, he doesn't really even try to climb out, he does however try to climb in when he is going to bed.

We did an Easter egg hunt for him at Jan & Yvonne's house with those plastic colored eggs that we put change in (no way was I letting him have all that chocolate!) He loved it! "Mommy, more eggs!!" as he would grab my hand and lead me all over the house! He also got to dye eggs this year! Oh, boy, was he ever a fan of that one!! Next year should be really fun because I will have more time to do things for Easter. It sucks being in school and working full time, I feel like I missed out on so much the last 6 months with him! And it goes by so fast!

Eric & Laini are now Mr. & Mrs.!!! Never thought we would see the day! She made such a beautiful bride too! Definitely not a traditional wedding by any means but it was VERY beautiful and very touching! They never planned to get married but you know that when you find that person that you know that you will be with for the rest of your life, strange things happen! They wrote their own vows and I must say, that I was tearing up! Todd did a fabulous job of officiating! Well done! Everyone had such a blast too! I will post pics tonight on my myspace page and hopefully I will get back to this post to add some pics (I'm not going to say it's a definite just in case it's a while before I get back to this page!

In other news, I have joined yet another online community ~ Delawaremoms.com and they are one of the most accepting, sweet, helpful, funny, and caring groups of women (oh, and a few dads) I have ever "met". I haven't had the opportunity to actually meet them yet in person but that is coming up soon! We are going to pull a plane together! Yep, you read that correctly!

On May 4th, 20 moms (ok ~ 19 moms & 1 dad) are going to pull a C-130 military plane 12 feet as a fundraiser for the Delaware Special Olympics. It's a contest to see who can pull the plane the 12 feet in the shortest time. It should be really fun (and funny to watch!) so if anyone wants to sponsor me you can go to the following link http://www.firstgiving.com/delawaremoms ~ our goal is to raise $5,000 and we still have quite a ways to go! You can also come join Josh & Connor in our cheering section! I would LOVE to see everyone's smiling faces while I am helping to pull a 10,000 lb airplane!

Well, that's it for now. Gotta get some work done! Hope to keep up a little better still. Probably won't get to be daily until after school is completely done but I am gonna try for at least weekly to do some updates.

Love Jenn

So I haven't been keeping up

So, here we are again. I know that I am horrible at actually writing on here, it's just been so crazy lately! I feel like I have no time anymore.

Josh's last day at 1st Impression, Inc. was today. He starts at Second Nature on Monday so we will see how that goes. I know that it's been a stressful past 2 weeks for him, poor guy!

I am in the midst of planning Connor's 2nd birthday, which I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that he's going to be 2 already, where did the time go! We are just having the party at the house again this year. Next year we will probably go somewhere else to have it but it just works out better this way this year. It's going to be a balloon theme, lots and lots and lots of balloons! There's actually going to be other kids there this year so they can actually play, it's going to be so cute!! Of course I can't wait and I have over 35 people invited already! Oh, well, the more the merrier right?

I am still in school, it's going, I wish I could say that it was going better but it's tough when you have a toddler and work full time. I am passing so that's what counts to me right now. I just need to get on the ball and get at least one certification under my belt.

Connor is getting so independent lately. He also has my attitude, paired with Josh's patience level (or lack of patience is more like it) and I am finding that this is not a good combination! The other morning he wanted to bring both his chenile & puppy blankets to daycare and I said no, just the chenile and he refused to talk to or look at me the entire ride to daycare! When he did look at me, it was to give me a nasty glare and then he would turn and look out the window! He was giving me attitude!! I couldn't believe it!

In other Connor news, we have started to "prep" for potty training. We aren't starting the actual potty training yet but we are letting him sit on the potty when he wants to to get used to it and encouraging it and so forth, that way when we do start, it won't be a complete shock to him. Well, last weekend, while he was sitting on the potty, he actually peed! He has peed in the potty twice and he even pooped in the potty once! I know, for those of you reading that don't have kids, this is probably way more info than you bargined for but for those of us with kids, you know you love to share these moments! Again, growing up way to fast!!

Work has been crazy busy for me this past week, I think that I have been getting on average about 40 emails a day! At least it's busy though and I have something to do, it's better than just sitting there doing nothing!

We are getting the basement finished up hopefully with the "remodeling" that is left. All we have left is pretty much small stuff, like the trim :) We are also installing benches along the back wall with storage underneath. Then once we finish up with that, we are going to be enlarging the cutout that looks from the living room into the kitchen to a 4'x4' opening. Once that happends (hopefully early March) then we are going to install the new tv! We just got an awesome new 52" LCD flat screen that is going to give us so much more room in the living room! The tv that we currently have in the living room is going to the basement family room and then we can hook up the Wii down there instead of having it in our bedroom, that will be nice!

Well, I think that for now that's about it. It's going to be a BUSY next 2 months! Feb we still have Connor's birthday party, Valentine's day, the basement finishing up, and Laini's Bachlorette party, then March has Eric's Bachleor party, my birthday, Josh's Grandma's birthday, the living room remodel, Eric & Laini's wedding, and there was something else going on but for the life of me right now I can't remember what it is. Hopefully I will be able to update this a little more often and also get some new pics up as well!

Goodbye 2007 and Welcome to 2008

So here we are, 2008! Hopefully it will be a better year than 2007 but so far it's not looking like it! Josh, Connor and I are in Minnesota to spend what was supposed to be a fun filled 10 days with my family but I have been sick for at least 2 of those days and Connor isn't on his schedule at all which makes it really fun for naps and feeding! I was actually sick for New Year's Eve so I didn't even have a sip of alcohol but at least Josh got to have a few beers with Missie, Chad, Russ & Jeannine (I am sure he just loved that! Although in all honesty, he said he had a good time). Connor wouldn't sleep at my parents house so we wound up bringing him back to the hotel and Josh fell asleep about 11:45ish and I fell out about 12:01 - just long enough to watch the clock turn and to turn the tv off.

Christmas was good this year. We had Christmas Eve at our house with my inlaws and for the most part, the food came out great ::just don't ask about the sweet potatoes:: and everyone was happy. Connor has so many toys now that I think we are going to have to use all the mega blocks that he got to build an addition on to the house! He also got a Power Wheels Pontiac Solstice, of which he is afraid of, well, only when it moves. He is fine as long as the car isn't moving.

Our house now officially looks like Santa's workshop exploded in our family room - Santa was good to Connor this year!

He's a little hesitant about the car still but he will get used to it. Well, considering I am supposed to be using his nap time right now to study while Josh is out shooting with my dad and cousin, I guess that I am going to bring this to an end for now. Hopefully it won't be quite so long before I update it again! I hope everyone had a safe and happy new years!