Miss Jetta

Today I asked Jetta lots of questions about body parts. She can successfully identify and name:
Toes
Toe nails
Foot
Legs
Knee
Tummy
Back
Arms
Hands
Fingers
Finger nails
Elbow
Shoulder
Head
Eyes
Eyebrows
Eyelashes
Nose
Mouth
Lips
Tongue
Cheeks
Chin
Ears
Hair
Belly button

That's pretty impressive for a 2 year old. :)

Talking toddlers

Cute things my kids have said lately

Bentley- "Mom, when you drink juice, does the baby drink it too?" 
Me- thinking to keep it simple "Yes" 
Bentley- "Does the baby open it's mouth?" 
Me- again, thinking to keep it simple "Yes" 
Bentley- "How does the baby keep it from getting all over his clothes?"
Me- surprised- "the baby isn't wearing any clothes yet buddy. Babies don't wear clothes until they are born"
Bentley- "But isn't the baby cold?"
Me- smiling and wondering how complicated this must sound to him "No, babies are nice and warm in their mommy's tummies."
Bentley- "oh... well he can have some of my clothes someday."


As I was laying Jetta down for a nap, I agreed that she could bring her Minnie Mouse figurine to bed. I tuck her in to sleep and say 'Goodnight Jetta'. As I walk towards the door, she lays Minnie on her pillow and whispers "Goodnight Minnie." It was pretty adorable. 

We stopped at the In-laws house before church really quick so that I could print something off for a lesson. Bentley and my mom-in-law are discussing racing and who is going to beat whom to church. As we are driving out of the driveway Bentley says "We're going to WIN! We're going to eat our own dust! But not with our teeth, with the car." Obviously he was referring to the phrase 'Eat my dust' when racing, but we got a great laugh out of that one.

Jetta's 2nd Birthday

So here's a rare blog post from Joel. Chelsey likes to make blog posts and see how long it takes me to notice them, so now we'll see how she likes it. Also, I had to change the password to log in and make this post, so sorry honey!

Yesterday we had Jetta's 2nd birthday party. Afterwards Bentley went to Grandma Janice's for a sleepover with his cousin Evan (who is visiting from Texas), so for an hour or so we only had one kid to watch at home. Jetta was so distracted/happy with her new birthday presents that we just sat there and watched her. I cannot believe how big she is getting, and how indescribably cute she is. I love Bentley, I really do. I wouldn't trade him or my time with him for the world. I love wrestling with him, playing with his cars and tractors, watching spider-man with him, and fixing things with him. I love his enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, and general joy in life. I love my son. But boy is my daughter adorable. I do not know if I will be able to say no to her when she's older. She is just so cute that I could hug her all day long and still want to hug her longer. Her hair is getting longer, she's getting taller, and she's talking more. Her voice is adorable! She says the cutest things sometimes; even when she's mad and throwing a fit she's cute. I am very happy to have a boy and a girl, because so far I've gotten the best of both worlds. I get to roughhouse with my son and see how cute my daughter is. This third child will be interesting. If it's a boy, then we'll be a "boy family", and if it's a girl, then a "girl family". I'm very curious to know which we'll be, and how the opposite gender will handle it (the girls will probably use either one as an excuse for more shopping and clothes buying).

I love my children, and I hope that I can continue to give them all of the time and attention that they deserve.

I love my wife as well. She is handling this pregnancy really well, especially for how miserable it's been making her. She's been sick a lot, and she hasn't had a lot of energy. Still she is a great mom to two young children, even though I know most days she wishes she could just stick them in front of the TV for the whole day. Chelsey is so beautiful. I love watching how happy certain things make her. Things like hanging up new pictures in our house, buying a new scent for our wick-less candles, or doing a craft of some sort. I am so happy that I get to spend forever with my best friend. She is so good to me, and for me. She probably deserves better than me, but I do what I can. She gives the best advice of anyone that I know. Literally every big decision that I've made that ended up well came from her (working at ClickBank, getting 2 internships with different departments there, calling someone up at Blue Cross and getting a job out of it, and probably lots of others I can't remember). She is definitely wise beyond her years!

I hear people talking about wanting to move further away from their parents and in-laws, and I never quite understand them. We have a great relationship with my parents and with Chelsey's. I am comfortable going over to her parent's house and just being there, and I know that Chelsey is fine going to my parent's house to hang out. I love having a good relationship with both sets of parents. I think it makes life a lot more enjoyable (the free babysitting probably helps that). I am also very excited that my children get to grow up with two active and loving sets of grandparents who live close by.

In conclusion, I love my wife and family. I love my job (I would have talked about that more, but Chelsey tells me it's boring). I'm excited for what the future holds, and I'm excited to go through it with the people who are currently in my life.

5 Years

5 years ago today, Joel and I got married in the Boise, Idaho LDS Temple. It's incredible that 5 years have come and gone. It went so fast! I'm grateful that I married this man for eternity and not just 'until death do us part'. He is my best friend and my biggest ally. He is my better half and a wonderful dad. We've grown a lot in our time together. Who wouldn't after 5 years of spending time together. I have not once wanted to divorce this man and I don't see myself ever wanting to.

I'm really glad he decided to be bold that one day in Band and tell me he liked me... even though I was dating someone. :) He is ornery, smart, a goofball, funny, and handsome. It's fun to have known and been friends with him for 7 years before we finally got engaged. We dated for a total of 6 months before we were engaged.

Joel- I'm glad I accidentally told you that I loved you. That will always be a special memory.

Here's to another year of happiness and time together on earth! I hope we get many!
Love- me

Baby #3

Well, I am almost 12 weeks into being pregnant with our 3rd baby and we are excited and oh so very nervous. After we saw the positive test, we both smiled really big and hugged and then I think almost immediately thought 'oh man, what did we do!' It was a little scary to go from 1 to 2 kids, but still seemed do-able. Now with the personalities of 2 individuals and a 3rd personality on the way, I am thinking how do people do it?! But- we are excited. A little baby is always fun.

Not fun- morning sickness. I have had this with each of my pregnancies and with each one the on-set was a little later and a little stronger. With Bentley, I sat around feeling nauseous but pushed through. With Jetta, I ended up getting pills to help curb the nausea and make my day do-able. With this little gummy bear (I call all my babies gummy bears when it's this early because that's what they always look like in the first ultrasound. Bodies with little nub arms and legs) anyways.. with this little one, I am so incredibly sick it isn't funny anymore. I am taking anti-nausea pills 3 times a day, B6, Unisom, and Zantac... It doesn't touch how sick I am. I remember with my first two saying "I don't throw up, but I sure want to." You won't hear me say that this time. I throw up plenty. Sometimes more than once a day. I can eat almost exactly 1/4 cup of food before I am SO full that it is going to just fall back out if I even think of bending over. I've already lost 6lbs. My poor children must feel neglected. Poor Joel is a single parent at night. 

Today I managed to drink about 4oz of apple juice, 1.5 slices of toast, 1/4 portion of ramen noodles, an entire glass of water, chewed on several orange slices, and started a 2nd glass of water before my stomach and abdomen were screaming to stop. I think this is the most I've managed to keep down in the past 3 days. Sigh... hungry tummy. It growls for food and then growls again if I give it any.

Here's to hoping for better days soon.

New words and growing up!

Lately the kids have been saying some funny things and I thought I'd take a moment to try and write a few down and remember them. My little Jetta is growing up so fast! She is a big talker and LOVES to sing! She is constantly trying to sing songs or hum a tune. It would probably help if she could say more words and less gibberish. I am finally making sense of some of her gibberish. For instance

Buh-HE: Bentley
Boo-ba: Toothbrush
Mil: Milk
Co-'or: wants to draw or color
Peeease: Please
Tank Hough: Thank you
'b' ball: any ball, basketball or not
bee bee: baby
ah-side: outside
Applesauce: she loves apple sauce!
kay: cake
Jew: juice
Sto-wee: usually means she wants you to read to her
Sockie: socks (she has a weird fascination with socks)

I love hearing her repeat our words. She's mastered mommy and daddy. Grandma is mama, and grandpa is papa. She loves her papa. Every time we visit my folks' house and my dad isn't there, she looks around asking about papa. Her hair is getting so long too! I can all her hair in 1 pony tail now. It's so different from having a boy!

Bentley has been acting very silly lately. He loves to make people laugh. It is ADORABLE when he makes Jetta laugh a big, hearty, belly laugh. Usually he's smashing her on the floor or pushing her into the couch, but she thinks it's hilarious and of course he keeps doing it because she laughs so hard. I wish I could catch it on video.

He has taken to using made up words a lot. Some times it's funny, usually it's met with little enthusiasm. We are trying to break him from inserting "poo poo" into his splay of words. It's proven a little difficult. I don't think he says it thinking about poop or pottying, it just flows off his tongue nicely.

We have progressed a little past the constant "why" and a little more into the actual wanting to understand "why." "Mommy, why doesn't the kitty potty in the big potty?" "Why do we need money to buy things?" "Why is that his name?" "Why does it rain?" He also really likes to know what is going to happen in the day. For example, we went to a carnival at our church last friday and I told Bentley earlier in the day that it wouldn't be until after daddy got home. Joel gets home and Bentley wanted to know what was going to happen in what order before we were able to go to the carnival. He needed to know what to check off his list.

 He currently has a fascination with "cranes." Cranes are anything that has a rope or wire of some sort and picks things up. So... a tow truck has a crane on the back. The machines with toys in them where you move the lever, drop it and try to grab a toy are also cranes. Construction equipment that even remotely resemble cranes, are cranes. It's kind of fun to watch him play pretend right now too. He has such a fun imagination. The other day I heard him in the other room with a couple kids I baby sit. They were all on the top bunk of the bunk bed and Bentley would hold a baby doll over the edge and say 'Oh no, the baby is in trouble. We have to save him!' And then someone would grab the doll and they would do it all over again. I just purchased a new area rug for our living room this last week and Bentley informed me today, while pointing at it, that there were sharks down there. (The rug being a water-y color)

I love my kids. They are so fun.

It's January

Today I am feeling down. I think it's a combination of the gloomy weather that winter brings and not feeling well. The congestion and pain in my sinuses and feeling a bit dizzy. My sinuses just don't like me. I just want to lay in bed all day and do nothing. But alas, children require a little work. I'm grateful to be going to school so that it helps me get out of the house and have a little socialization. I can't wait for the sunshine! Overcast days for months and months is just so gloomy. After the Christmas excitement is over, the January to March stretch just seems so LONG. I prefer cold weather to hot...but I prefer cold and sunny :)

Looking towards happier days!

I am a Mormon.

The point of this 'journal entry' (because that's what this blog is to me) is to remind myself why I became a Mormon.

As a child, I had this urge to go to church. My family didn't go, and I had a desire to go. On the few occasions that I went, and with lots of pondering in between (and I mean lots. years), I slowly came up with what I thought about church and God and religion.

1. I didn't think it was right for someone to go to Hell purely because they were not baptized. There are so many people who have never heard of Jesus Christ let alone know that he asked they be baptized in order to enter Heaven. In my 6th grade brain (because this is the time I remember thinking about it the most) "That isn't fair"

2. My mother taught me to listen to my feelings. Not the "I am angry" or "that makes me sad" feelings. The ones that in my gut would tell me something was right or wrong. A specific memory, I was at Fred Meyers with my best friend and her family and we thought it would be SO COOL to dress up as the same thing for Halloween. "Lets buy them now!" "What a brilliant idea!" "I'm sure my parents will be okay with this and pay you back as soon as you drop me off!"... only, I wasn't sure. And as we walked out to the car with our oh so cool Halloween costumes, I stopped dead in the middle of the parking lot because my feelings told me something wasn't right. From the doors of Fred Meyers to the door of the car I fought with these feelings. I wanted to do something fun but it didn't feel good. I politely asked if we could return to the store and take it back. And I'm glad I did. My mother taught me to listen to those feelings and act on them. And I did.

The first time I went to a Mormon church was when I was 17 years old. I started dating a boy who was LDS and at this point in my life, I was looking for a church. I wasn't actively looking. But thinking back, I was looking and didn't know it. We sit in the pews and the feelings I have are those of excitement of a new environment, shyness, and an over-whelming feeling of calm. The calm was what stood out to me. During that first visit, words were put to something I had already formulated in my mind and strongly believed. That 'feeling' I followed was the impression of the Holy Ghost. Finally, someone gave words to something so important to me. I know other Religions believe in the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit but this was the first time it was talked about.

I was excited to ask my boyfriend more about his religion. If his religion could describe one thing I believed, maybe his religion could describe others too. And sure enough, it did. There were times during my discussions with the Missionaries that they would teach me something and I didn't need to think about whether I believed it. The spirit was SO strong and bore such a powerful witness to me, that I accepted that concept and we moved on to the next. It would feel like they were teaching me things I already knew. (Even though I had only been to church a handful of times with friends, and had only read Genesis and Exodus in the Bible). Other times, they would teach me something and I would have lots of questions. Never did I feel like a concept was a "make it or break it " idea. This is not to say that I have never struggled with a concept in my church. There have been times that I had to really ponder and question, to be sure I believed. In the end, all I can say is, no matter how much I struggle or how far I fall, I can NEVER deny the spirit I have felt and the things it has witnessed to me. I may fall away or become complacent with life (I hope never to be these), but never can I deny that spirit. Once you know Christ is true and that he is your savior and that he died for YOU, you can never "un-know" this. It will always be in your mind.

This is my testimony. I am a child of God. I gained my love of Christ at the age of 17. I still struggle and learn what the Love of Christ has done and is doing for me. The spirit of the Holy Ghost has bore witness to me that the Book of Mormon is true. I know Christ has risen from the dead and made it so that someday, I too may regain my body and become perfect through him. I know that if I make a mistake, I can repent and be forgiven. I know that my baptism was the first step towards living with Heavenly Father again and that I must constantly remember Him and keep Him in my life. I know that my children are happier and my home is happier when I am doing the things to keep Christ in my life. I know that the scriptures are there for ME and are for me to search and ponder. They are not a milestone to be met. Reading them is not a milestone. Reading them makes me better. A happier person. A more forgiving person. A more forgiving mother and wife. I know that having the Priesthood restored to the Earth is important and I am blessed because of the men in my life who stay worthy to hold that power. Priesthood power is from God. I want my children to know that I love the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I want them to know that I am not perfect and that I need His help. And most of all, I want my kids to know the love of Christ and the comforting feeling of the Holy Ghost. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Another baby?

Immediately after Joel and I were married, I couldn't wait to have a baby! Joel wanted to wait a year and I wanted a baby PRONTO. We compromised and didn't get pregnant for 6 months :) After Bentley was born, I was in LOVE. That boy was the center of my world and was the perfect child. When he was about 8 or 9 months old I started to have that desire to have another one. Joel thought I was crazy so we waited 3 or 4 more months before my desire was so strong I wasn't waiting any longer. After Jetta was born, Joel and I looked at each other and said "how do people have MORE kids?!"

You can see why it is strange to me that I am not having a strong desire for another one. Even now, with Jetta being 18months old, I find myself strangely content with what we have. It's an odd feeling considering that I want a big family. 4 to 6 kids. (sometimes! haha) We passed a deadline that I set for myself a while ago for getting pregnant. That deadline came and passed and I felt at peace with it. I've set a new possible date for thinking about 3. Who knows, maybe 2 is all that's in the cards for us. That's a strange idea, but I love my kids. A boy and a girl. It would be fun.

Happy New Year

Here it is, January 1st of 2014. I once again have to get used to writing a different year on everything. Why is it so hard? Is it just me?

So many plans for the year. Joel and I are trying to use our passports before they expire. We are currently planning a trip to Germany in June. I am hopeful that all the pieces will fall into place so the trip can happen.

Measured how tall the kids are earlier tonight. In the last year, Bentley has grown close to 2 inches and Jetta a whopping 5! I know kids grow fast, but man, what a reminder of how fast that can be.

Jetta is talking so much. In the last couple days she has been saying (instead of signing) thank you. It's pretty cute the way she says it. I love this age when you can ask them to repeat lots of things and they'll actually do it. A few words she loves to say right now.
- appi-sa: apple sauce
- wa-er: water
- mi-ew: milk
- baa: ball
- mommIE: mommy (emphasis on the capitals)
- daddy: daddy
She doesn't love sitting still so I can fix her hair. Her hair is so long that it's constantly in her eyes so I try to do something to help. One trick that seems to help is to count the number of times I wrap the pony-tail in her hair. Its usually 2-4 times depending on the rubber band I use. BUT... cool moment... I was fixing her hair so once a couple days ago and started the usual 1... and she chimed in "TWO THREE FOUR!" Her words were clear and understandable and I was so proud! My baby counting with me at 18 months. I'm positive she has no clue what it means. But that she memorized the order of numbers and was so proud of herself as she did it... It was pretty cute!


I was taking Bentley and Jetta out for lunch a few weeks ago and pretty much any time we leave the house, Bentley is positive it is for the purpose of "seeing the Library being built." He doesn't understand why it's taking so long. Obviously the "tractors" and "cranes" are not working fast enough. Back to my story. We're going out for lunch and Bentley says to me "can we go see the Library being built?" to which I respond "Not today buddy, we aren't going that way. We're going to get lunch". He then responds in a very confused voice "But how can we eat lunch if we don't see the Library being built?".... "uhhh...we just do." We have some pretty interesting conversations sometimes. Favorite game right now is hide and seek. I can't blame him. I love it too. He's terrible at it... For one, you're not supposed to announce where you hide. 2. You're not supposed to immediately hide where ever you find mom or dad during their turn. 3. You're also not supposed to talk to the seeker while they are searching for you. We'll work on it. He's better than when we started. :) The saying Planes, Trains and Automobiles... ya... that's my kid. Except his would be Trains, Planes (the movie) and Construction Vehicles.

School starts towards to the end of January. I'm not sure how I feel. During finals week I was NOT looking forward to another semester. Now I'm feeling like it's do-able but do I want to. Joel is preparing for another actuary test. We're a fun group.

We made it!

My first semester of school since being married was a success! One of the biggest helps was trading babysitting with Jamie O. Once a week she would watch the kids for a couple hours so I could do homework, and then later I would watch hers so that she could volunteer at her kids' school.

Joel was the other big big big help. He put the kids to bed 4 nights a week by himself. Half of the time I would be able to sit and eat dinner with family before rushing off to school, the other half, my wonderful husband did by himself.

But we all made it!! My kids aren't permanently scarred, Joel's still alive, and I got decent grades. 2 A's and 1 B. Not too shabby.


The kids are growing SO much!
Jetta is a big talker!! Most popular words are Applesauce, sockies, mommy, daddy, all done, food, ... she can say so much, it's hard to think of everything. She also loves music. She could hum the ABC's before her first birthday! She loves to repeat music she hears. She hums a lot. She's also silly and doesn't open her mouth when she "talks" sometimes. It's a gutteral mm hmm mm mm.

Bentley is growing tall! Right now he LOVES Thomas the train, trains in general, construction vehicles, seeing the library being built, watching fighting cartoons with a good and bad guy, doing projects with mommy and being silly. He's a very silly boy. Right now he likes to talk silly. He'll stick his tongue out while he talks, or add a few syllables to everything. Anything to be silly. He is also testing his boundaries of who is in charge and ABSORBING everything he learns! The other day we went to a movie in the theatre because he made it 7+ days without an accident in potty training. At the beginning of the movie, staring at the screen he sees Earth and yells THATS A PLANET! WE LIVE ON THAT PLANET! So smart.

I love how well the kids play together. It's so much fun to see them laughing together and playing nicely together!

School

Joel and I both felt really good about me going back to school this fall (finally). My mind has been thinking about it for a long time, especially since I know how important it is in our day. After we got married I was totally against going back. Not sure what I wanted to do. Not wanting to waste money. Not wanting to do the work... that last one might have been a bigger factor than it should have been. This last year I have had school on the brain and it slowly worked its way into "maybe now is good." When we decided to wait a little to have any more babies, it seemed like the time was NOW to get on the school boat. I'm not a happy pregnant person. I don't enjoy pregancy like some women do. So school + pregnancy is out of the picture. To summarize the going to school process, I got accepted to CWI, got government grants, and knew what I wanted to major in. (that's a story in itself. Thanks grandma gail, you gave me guidance, even after death)

I started school August 20th and here we are almost 4 weeks later. I love being back in school. Love learning. Don't mind homework. I don't love that you're either super busy or slow going. I'm hitting my first over-whelming busy period. It's a little stressful. Joel has been an amazing husband and father! Big shout out to my honey, you're wonderful and I'm grateful for you! He takes care of the kiddos and is SO supportive. He has done so much to help alleviate my stress and help me be successful. He's even preparing for another Actuary exam in November. His 3rd test of 5.

So to sum it up, we are busy around here. But that doesn't keep us from having fun and being goof-balls.

Bentley is going through "a stage"... you know... a behavior that keeps popping up over and over and you aren't liking this new learned behavior... that kind of stage. He's has so many thoughts. I can see it in the way he acts when we're talking and the way he speaks. He has so many things to say that he says a lot of words before he can wrap his head around one idea. He's so full of ideas. And so many questions. A favorite being "why?". I thought I had a little longer before that one showed up. I guess not. haha. He's a terd and yet so good at playing with his sister and loving her and being tender toward her... And rough housing with her and showing her how to do things and talking random non-sense to her. It's pretty cute.

Jetta is getting so big. She is learning lots of things. Words, tantrums, attitude, games, songs. She has hawk eyes on her brother. "Oh, I see, throw a fit. I can do that." :) I see her learning. She is incredibly smart. A new one was swinging on a big kid swing all by herself. I was amazed! She loves to say "wow" and " hi dada" and refuses to say hi mama. :( Daddy likes it! She is walking and loving it I am a happy momma. I love being a stay at home mom.

Beautifully busy life

Going back to school

I never make enough time to write what is happening in our lives. I wish I did. I tend to lay awake at night thinking of all the wonderful things I would like to do. Usually morning comes and my great ideas don't sound as great.

BUT... I have finally decided the time has come to finish my schooling and get my associates degree. I am going to attend the College of Western Idaho. I am excited. I am nervous. And mostly, I am ready to accept that my patriarchal blessing was given to ME to bless my life. I fought against going back to school. Not the right time. Not a desire. I don't want to be a nurse anymore.... That last one wasn't true, but I tried to convince myself of that. But alas, a seed was planted in my heart and has finally blossomed into a desire to finish what I have started.

My degree is Biology-Healthcare Emphasis. I was a little disappointed to learn that it would take me 3 full semesters to finish this. I was hoping for 2. I am crossing my fingers that it will work out. This semester I am taking Biology 202, Spanish 101, and Accounting 201.  $1000 back after school is paid for... I accept. :)

My kiddos are amazing. I love them. They are my life. Right now I am trying to focus on loving the stage of life I am in. It can be hard. Raising children isn't easy. It can sometimes be lonely. But it is also very rewarding. Nothing else in my life has been quite as rewarding as has been staying home to raise my babies. Jetta is 1 already! Bentley turns 3 in about 2 weeks! I feel like they are so big, yet I know they're still babies.

Jetta is learning to walk right now. She is SO close. She can stand up in the middle of the room and take a few steps. I know that once she conquers walking that she'll go straight into running. I can see it in her eyes, she just wants to get into so many things! She is SO smart too! Already she can hum the ABC/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star tune. I mean, full song. Just amazes me.

Bentley is learning a lot too! He is just absorbing information. The other day he asked us what 'God' means and in our attempt to explain it to him in 2 year old terms, he throws out things like "is he the father of outer space too?" "do astronauts go into outer space?"... All we could do is stare at each other stunned. Where did he learn about outer space and astronauts? Bentley is also testing my patience. He is being quite the pill lately. Last week he threw a fit at walmart, complete with throwing things from the cart, screaming, hitting, kicking his feet.... A very unproductive trip to walmart that day.

My only worry is that I am trying to do things in MY time instead of Heavenly Fathers. I will need to do better at praying for guidance.

My Costco experience

On Friday I took the kiddos to Costco. Bentley LOVES costco for 3 reasons.

1. He gets to sit up front by Jetta (when I was a kid we coveted sitting in the basket...)
2. I usually treat us to Pizza in the food court (after shopping) if the kids have been good.
3. He gets a smiley face on "his" receipt, which is apparently the best thing ever

So we go to Costco and I notice early on that my cart is building up a lot of static. And by "notice" I mean, it literally shocked me every 10-30 seconds. Now if you've ever been to Costco, you'd know that it is not a small store. And of course, the thing I was hoping wouldn't happen, did. I shocked my kids. At first Bentley was a little startled and giving me confused looks. Jetta on the other hand cried Every. Single. Time. It got to the point where it wasn't these small shocks either. It started to hurt! I would jump or my hand would instinctively fly up and I'd say ow. So, like I said, at first Bentley was startled. But this is where it gets good. Then he starts saying stuff like "Don't hurt me Mommy" "That hurts" "Don't touch me Mommy".... So to interrupt a little, I said before it was Friday and that means Sample day. So everyone and their dog is at Costco... As we walk through the store I'm getting funny looks because my child is yelling that I'm hurting him and don't touch me and "Please Mommy, don't hurt me anymore." The only thing I could do was say as often as I could that "it was the static and I didn't mean to shock him" and "I'm not trying to hurt you baby, it's the static"

I practically ran through the store to get my things. Several times I almost asked someone to trade me carts because here is Jetta crying and Bentley yelling that I'm hurting him... haha... I don't know why my cart was building so much static but it definitely made for an interesting day at Costco!!

House update...

After having our realtor over to talk about selling our house, we discussed price. Our realtor felt that to be able to get the price we wanted, we would probably have to wait 2-4 months. We decided that was fine, and hurried to get everything done so we could put it on the market. 2 weeks of busy busy.

Then, we stage our house (thanks mom for the help!) and the realtor comes to take photos. The next morning, our house is put up for sale. Day 1- 9am the house is listed online. By 7pm that night, our house had been looked at 3 times. Day 2- 5 people look at the house. We have 3 offers on the table. So uh... 2-4months turned into 2 days. We were not prepared for this. But we were excited! Plus, cash offer... Who pays cash for a house? lol.

So our house sells day 2 and we panic because there is nothing on the market that we want. I mean, nothing. We started looking at houses that might work or we could make work, and then decided that we would be settling if we chose any of those. Some houses we loved the location but hated the house, others, vice versa. A week of looking and not finding had me worried. It's not like buying a house is a quick thing. You can't pick one and move in a week later. So I was worrying that we would reach our houses closing date and have no where to go. We decided that if it came to that, we would get an apartment while we waited for our perfect home.

And then the perfect home came along! We've decided that my mother in law has a special talent. You see, when my SIL (Heather) told my MIL (Janice) that she wanted a house with some land and a place for her mother to live, Janice found their house. 3 acres, 2 houses on the land. Just what she wanted. So, when we mentioned that we wanted to move and our criteria. Janice kept her eyes and ears out and found our perfect home. A talent, really!

We are in the middle of buying this new home. Price negotiated, home inspection done, paperwork filled out. Now we wait on the appraisal and the finalization of our loan, yada yada. Yay! Our new home is about 200sqft smaller than our current home but is laid out well enough that we didn't notice or feel like it was smaller. I'm so excited. Now I just need to pace myself and not pack everything we own 4 weeks early :)

34 days

I have been struggling through some rough days this past month! I'm so happy to finally say I'm feeling a lot better! My shingles are gone, but have been replaced by something that looks like chicken pox. The "chicken pox" are healing, and I have had 4 nights of great sleep! My leg and back only itch occasionally and I'm in much better spirits these days! 34 days... that is a long time. I hope to never have shingles ever ever ever again!

On a brighter note, Joel and I are going to sell our home. We've started the process of cleaning the house up, painting, re-touching, caulking, etc.. to prepare our home to be sold. It's starting to look spiffy. Technical term, yes. :) I'm hoping to be out of our house before summer is in full heat. And for two reasons- 1. I don't want to move when it's so hot. Packing, unpacking, loading, unloading... not fun if you're sweaty and hot. 2. Our house has air conditioning, but it doesn't work as efficiently as it could. I want me some good air conditioning! My fingers are crossed that we can sell this house for a good profit!

Easter was wonderful! We got to see a lot of family and Bentley got to have 3 egg hunts. He finally understood the egg hunting thing this year. It was fun to watch. Got to see all my grandparents for Easter as well. I love getting to see them. Grandma Gail played a couple games with Bentley after his egg hunt. He loved it to say the least! Many more happy days to come...

Good news or bad news?

It feels like a lot has happened since last Tuesday.

I went to the Chiropractor again on Wednesday because I HURT! I couldn't walk, stand up straight, sit, lay... There was no comfortable position. So I went to the chiropractor with high hopes that I would walk out of there feeling so much better. I did not. I felt the same, maybe slightly better. I remember going home, sitting down in a chair and crying. Nothing was making me feel better and I was starting to feel helpless and desperate for something to change. Later that day I noticed a small rash on my leg. I didn't think much into it (because I was in agony and my brain wasn't working). But later when my mom came over it struck me that when I had described my tingling feeling in my leg to the chiropractor earlier that week he had asked me if I had a rash. And I thought, how unusual that he would ask me that. So I called him up to see why it was that he had asked me about a rash and he asked if I could pop in before they closed. I did, and he said he was almost positive that I had shingles. He said they can cause a good amount of pain and that it just might be what was making my back and hip joint hurt so badly. Went to quick care that night and sure enough, I had shingles.

I remember people kept saying to me that they heard it hurt a lot and they were so sorry. I completely agree now. By Saturday, a full 8 days after my initial symptoms, I was pretty well covered from lower middle back to knee on my right side. They say the rash follows a main nerve from your back. That's why it hurts so badly. Its on your nerve. Your pain receptors.

I felt a big rush of relief to know that I had shingles. Weird, I know. But I was having pain without reason, which is scary for the brain. Knowing that there was a reason and that it would end has made the process easier. Not easy, just easier. Like I said, I cried. I didn't even cry giving birth to my 2 children without pain meds... Shingles hurt. Now here I am 11 days into this and I am finally starting to see improvement. It's a little depressing to wake up each morning with things looking worse. I was very relieved that the pain in my lower back subsided!! Soo happy! Now if the pins and needles feeling would stop spreading to other parts of my body... So far the "pins and needles" feeling covers my lower back down to my ankle on my right side, my ankle and foot on the left side(my toes feel so weird), just above my elbow down to my pinky on the right side, between my shoulder blades on the right side, and one of my ribs. The rash feels like a giant sunburn. My pain medication doesn't even touch the pain. I would have to get a prescription for that... nursing prevents me from doing so. So, I live with it as best I can. By the end of the day I am drained. I cry almost every night just from the exhaustion of trying to maintain normalcy. I'm not proud to admit that.

Joel has been great. He takes over a lot when he gets home from work and during the weekend. Poor guy painted the kitchen by himself. (My sister Megan came over and helped prime the whole thing. Thanks Meg!) We were getting new kitchen cabinets and wanted the kitchen painted before they were put up. Poor guy hates painting and ended up doing it all without my help. Cabinets look great by the way!

Tender mercies have been my life saver! Little things to get me through the day. I couldn't ask for more. Heavenly Father was watching out for me and those around me. Thank you to everyone who has been able to offer help. I'm truly grateful! Maybe in a week I will be close to normal.

Fail

Exercising was going well. We were motivated to keep going, eat right, and getting excited to get in shape. But sadly both Joel and I were injured. Thursday night I pulled something in my back/buttocks area. I took Friday off with hopes of an easy day helping the healing process. Saturday morning, Joel was helping a family from church move and put his back out. Ouch! He was out of commission all weekend. I found motivation to do half a workout with as much enthusiasm as my body would allow. (Good workout too!) But, Sunday came and we were both out of commission. My body ached and throbbed and complained. Monday came and Joel and I made a chiropractor appt. Joel felt wonderful all Monday while at work. I on the other hand counted down the hours and minutes until our appointment in the late afternoon. Doc worked his magic and I left feeling SO much better. Maybe not 100%, but had high hopes that rest and relaxation would heal me quickly. 1.5 hours later I got an exciting delivery from UPS (the stroller I was waiting for! yay!) and with a little too much self confidence, picked the box up 1 handed and POP.... I put my back/pelvis out again. It hurt. And I regretted and kicked myself immediately. Today I am a big ball of hurt. I am doing my very best to not complain but my face says ouch, owie, groan, grimace. I had hopes of being able to pick up the work out again starting Wednesday... now I'm just crossing my fingers that I can get another chiropractor appointment for Wednesday and be healed enough to start monday. A whole week of break... boo.

On a brighter note, Jetta is getting close to crawling! She is leaning into a half crawling, half sitting position. You can tell she wants to do it but is frustrated and a bit scared what will happen. I'm excited for her and also thinking, crap, I'm going to have to put things up high again.

Jetta in her new slippers that mama made her. She's always happy. And maybe getting some teeth soon!

 Bentley is at a fun stage. Fun in honest and fun in sarcasm. At the same time. :) He is stringing sentences together and picking up our word usage. My favorite is hearing him say "I'm excited for ____." Today he was excited to have egg sandwiches for lunch and to go to Home Depot. Very exciting stuff. :) Apparently I have been saying 'excited' a little too much lately.

Oh and Bentley is currently obsessed with trains. And he has given favorite movies nicknames. "Cars" is called Mater McQueen (yes, 2 characters combined) and "Cars 2" is called Pink Racecars... ahh and Lion King is apparently being understood as Lyin' King... he said something to me today about the Lying movie. Can't remember exactly what he said but the gist was that it was untruthful. haha

Love my kids. Hope I heal soon. I hurt.

4 days down... 26 to go

Joel and I started 'Insanity' on Monday, February 25th. Our only free time when we are both home is either before the kids get up or after dinner. And lets face it, this mama isn't wasting precious sleep time exercising. So at night we exercise.

Yesterday was day 4 and the workout was called "Cardio Recovery"... What they meant to say is instead of doing everything as fast as we can (which is my interpretation of all other workouts thus far) we are going to do them moderately slow. And at first Joel and I were thinking, oh ya I can do this one! But then they want you to hold hard positions and "pulse". Pulse is like saying move oh so very slightly so that your legs BURN and yearn to stand or sit and not be BURNING. Needless to say, I think I got a better exercise from this "recovery" CD than I have from any other.

Oh and we bought a blender. Much much better! And we bought protein powder. (I never thought I would ever buy this in my life) We bought 2. One was from Walmart and was a vanilla flavor. YUCK! We couldn't add enough ingredients to hide that oh so awful after-taste. The second we purchased from Costco. Good 'ol Costco. It's chocolate flavor and of course double the size of our previous purchase. We had our fingers crossed we would like it because there was a lot of it. And success!! We both like it! We made a very simple shake last night after our recovery workout. (I still scoff at the 'recovery' part. ha... recovery) It was milk, blueberries, banana, chocolate protein powder and ice. Sounds a little weird but it was actually yummy.

Tonight will be my last workout until next monday. I'm shooting for 5 days a week, and Joel 6. Yesterday my calves were killer and I couldn't walk normally for the majority of the day. Today I feel much better. Except one of the muscles in my thigh. I think I pinched a nerve or something because it tingles in a not comfy kind of way. Oh well, more stretching I guess.

Still going strong.... Hopefully Monday finds me ready and willing to start again!

Insanity

So Joel and I are starting a new work out together. Joel is trying to get into shape once again and me... well, lets just say that things are jiggling that I'm not used to. Who knew your butt could jiggle just from walking?! So we purchased "Insanity" and have committed to each other that we will do this for 30 days. Joel is going to exercise 6 days a week and I am shooting for 5 days.

We started on Monday. First day, you do a fitness test. Holy moly... the warm-up was enough for me to say I'm done, but then we had to do the actual fitness test. We were both exhausted. And poor Bentley heard us jumping around in the back of the house and was having a little panic attack in his bed. (We did it at night when kids were in bed. Seems to be our only free time.) Both of us had beat red faces and were EXHAUSTED! I mean, drag our feet and flop onto our beds after a quick shower. Yesterday the work-out was even harder. But... we didn't feel so awful after our work out. I even felt energized. Joel thought I was crazy. Maybe I didn't push hard enough?? Who knows, I did a LOT more than I ever thought I could and was happy with my efforts. Jetta wouldn't go to sleep at her normal time so she ended up watching us work out. She giggled a couple times when our eyes would meet, but mostly sat and played with her toys.

2 days down. 28 to go.

Now to start eating healthy to jump start this program. Making a Costco run tomorrow. Last night we thought a blended something or other sounded good. We don't have a blender and thought a food processor would be good enough. Word to the wise, not good enough. (unless you don't mind chunky everything) My gag reflex wasn't having it. Blender from Costco? I think yes :) I love Costco by the way.  I'm going to try to blog our experience in hopes that it will keep me motivated to keep going. So far so good.