Strange things happening

The story I'm about to tell happened quite a while ago, when Nathan was the only child. Justin got up early one morning and went hunting. Natey woke up at about 5 or so and I brought him into our bed to get a little bit more sleep. He laid there for a little while and then started whispering. This went on for a few minutes until I asked him who he was talking to. He pointed across the room and said "I'm talking to those kids". "What kids?", I asked. "Those kids over there" he said as he pointed across the room. As you could probably guess there were no kids to be seen - or at least I couldn't see them. I said "Will could you please ask them to be quiet?" He whispered something, turned over, and went to sleep.

A few months later I was doing something in my room when Nathan came in and asked me who the man in a picture was that I keep on my dresser. You see the picture above. That's my grandfather, my dad's dad, who passed away over 20 years ago. I explained to him that it was my Papa trying not to confuse him because he also has Papa's of his own. Keep in mind that Nathan was less than 3 years old when this happened. He said "Oh! I know him. I talk to him all the time." He turned around and walked out of the room.

I believe him. I think kids are clairvoyant. After all, they come to us from Heaven, don't they? Why wouldn't they get a glimpse of it from time to time, if nothing else just to soothe them? The thought of a possibility that he knew my Papa gave me great comfort.

Recently we've had something strange happening. I can't decide if Justin is doing this or not. I'll tell you about it nevertheless. A few weeks back I found a lid to the milk gallon in a cupboard where we keep our cups and plates.

I found it hard to believe that Justin was interested in keeping these, but left it there for a few days with intentions of asking him about it. About 3 days later I threw it away. It wasn't long before another one appeared there. Finally I asked Justin why he was saving the lids. He acted as if I'd lost my mind. I told him about the one I found the week prior that I'd thrown away. I explained that another one showed up and thought I better find out why we were saving them. He swears up and down that he didn't put them there. Well, I know I didn't and the kids are too small to put them there - even with the help of a chair.

See what I'm saying? Strange things are a happenin'.

Congratulations CHAR!!

I tried to post this yesterday but my scanner was giving me attitude. My friend Char got married yesterday in Hawaii. Her husband, Travis, is such a sweet man. She really chose a keeper. CHAR - YOU HAVE A HUSBAND!!!! I met Char when I was doing hair at Impressions. She and I do each others hair now since neither of us work in a salon. She works at the Sioux Falls Zoo which I think is super cool. Anyway, I wanted to post this yesterday but couldn't.

CONGRATULATIONS CHAR AND TRAVIS!!!!!

Baby Smurf

You remember The Smurfs, don't you? I used to love that show when I was young. I had many of the little Smurf figurines and even a Smurf record. I've watched The Smurfs on Boomerang and wonder how I could have enjoyed it so much, but I did. Cartoons were so simple when I was a child.

On Friday, Dr. Henry said that if we wanted to try a home test on Jack to see if what he has is reflux then we could. He suggested we add blue food coloring to his next bottle. The theory behind this is to see how far the stomach acid is coming up. He said we might see blue coming out of his nose or be able to see blue in his nose. So when I dropped Jack off at Pam's before coming to work I asked her to make the milk blue. I'm sure you can imagine the look on her face. Well, she did and it never came out of his nose (thank goodness), but it sure showed up in his diaper. His butt was stained blue. HA!!! Tonight Justin asked me when Jack's poop was no longer going to be green. That's funny!

Saturday night Justin and I went out for supper with our good friends Linda and Russ. We left the kids home with their kids and one of their kids friends. I wonder what they thought when they changed Jack's diaper? I totally forgot to tell them about his blue butt. I could have told the girls that Jack was a Smurf, but you know they wouldn't have had a clue what I was talking about. (Sigh)

Sick kid update

Thankfully Nathan no longer fits in this category. He's been doing much better. Peach is on the mend as well. She's still not 100% by any means, but she's been sleeping better which means she's healing. She was pretty cranky yesterday. Her poor nose runs like a faucet. She's too young to blow it and too old to let it sit there until someone can help her with a tissue. Therefore she wipes it on her arm or sleeve which leaves her face with that beautiful glazed snot look.

I took Jack to the doctor on Friday and discovered he has acid reflux. Claire had that too as a baby. Come to find out, Natey probably did as well. Dr. Henry prescribed Zantac for him and he HATES it. I called the pharmacy to see if they put the mint in it or if it comes to them that way. Of coarse - it comes to them that way and the guy said it's very hard to mask. I put it in some formula (I wasn't willing to risk Jack spitting out breast milk) last night and he drank it right down. I guess the up side is that he smells minty fresh. :) Dr. Henry also taught me how to hold Jack so that it would be comfortable to him and also help him settle down. I'll have to post a picture of it when I get a chance. Dr. Henry told me there are 5 signs that a baby has reflux. He ran down them quickly and I remember 4 of them:

• Arching of the back
• Chronic cough
• Chronic runny or stuffy nose (congestion type problem)
• Projectile vomiting

Jack has 3 of those 4. The first 3 listed are the ones he suffers from. He also said that the baby would show signs of Colic. Jack tends to hate the hours of 5-9pm. I asked Dr. Henry if he was sure about this (Oh yes I did!). The reason being is because Natey acted the same way. He would have periods of long lasting crying. He also arched his back like no other. When Jack started doing it I just figured it was something my kids did.

So, with out further adieu, I'd like to take this time to apologize to my mother-in-law. (Don't take this wrong - it's totally said with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.) It seems to me that this happened when Nathan was about 4 months old and after our Annual Meyer Camping Trip. I had to work the weekend, of coarse, so Sharelle took care of Natey while the guys were off fishing and such. By the end of the weekend we had to hold Natey away from our bodies and bounce him in order to get him to sleep because that was how Sharelle had done it all weekend. If you were able to do this than you could get him to sleep easily. However, it wasn't easy for me and I cursed Sharelle for this for quite a while. After having the visit with Dr. Henry, he assured me that Sharelle didn't ruin Nathan (that made me giggle when I typed that...my words, not his) and that he felt quite positive that Natey also had reflux as a baby.

I'd like to Thank Sharelle for inadvertently helping us with a problem that we didn't know we had. Can you imagine how life would have been had we NOT done the horrible 'hold him out and bounce him to sleep' routine? So Thank You Sharelle and I'm sorry I ever uttered foul language directed at you while bouncing Nathan to sleep. It's only 4 years over due. ;)

Any way, we're hoping the kids are on the road to recovery. It's been a long 2 weeks for us. I hope all you other people out there that are either sick or have sick children are on the mend as well. Have a good week!

Poor Peachy Pie!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Justin took Claire to the doctor this morning. He found out that she has double ear infection. There is a (ewww) pus ball in one of her ears. That just ick's me out! Anyway, the doctor told Justin that she wants Peach to see a doctor when she's done being sick because today her tonsils are HUGE. That would be why she keeps gagging and choking. The doctor Claire saw wasn't her normal doctor and hasn't ever seen Claire, so that's why she wants someone to see her after she's sick, to see what her tonsils look like at that time. Poor little thing! I feel so sorry for her. She gave her some meds and told Justin to get a few other things for her, so hopefully she'll be on the mend soon. Peach was digging in her ears yesterday and was very restless when she slept which made me think of her ears. Hopefully she'll be better soon.

I called Dr. Henry's office today for Jack. I don't think he's much better. He still coughs his poor little head off and is still snotty. I try to help him with the aspirator, but I don't usually get anything. He sleeps in his swing, but is still very congested. I just didn't know how long we should let this go. The nurse said they better see him again and we made the appointment for tomorrow at 9:15. As usual, I'll keep you informed.

Keith Urban is coming.....KEITH URBAN IS COMING!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited this makes me. It was just announced that Keith will be coming to OMAHA. If you don't think I'm going - then you better get to know Kerrie Meyer. I have no idea what the date is, but I'm there. Now, who's going with me? :)

The mometer?

Peach is not well and is actually at the doctor as we speak. Yesterday she was beyond cranky, the poor thing. When she woke up from a nap and I thought she felt warm. I asked Nathan to get me thermometer which he'd had probably an hour or so prior. He looked around and said he didn't see it. Then he walked out of the room and came back with this.

Me: What are you doing? (half angry)
Natey: You said you wanted this.
Me: What?
Natey: It's the mometer. You said you wanted it.
(Pictured above - a baby monitor)

2 months old

Here are pictures of each of the kids at 2 months old. You can tell they are all related, that's for sure. Check out their side profiles.....

Me: Nathan, it's time to pick up your toys.
Nathan: I don't want to.
Me: You were told that you'd have to pick up the toys if you chose to get them out.
Nathan: (Not said snotty - just a thought) When I get big I don't think you'll be my parents.
Me: Who do you think will?
Nathan: Probably Grandma and Papa.
......long pause......
Nathan: You and dad will probably be my cousins.

Natey's favorite song

Natey informed me that he has a new favorite song. You can listen to it here. We were driving around the other day and I put it in my CD player and cranked it up. Natey wanted to know who the singer was and was SO excited when he found it it was his Aunt Shannon. The song is called 'All of Me'. Shannon recorded it and played it at her wedding. I didn't ask permission to put it on here so.....SURPRISE Shannon. (If I had a nervous smiley....I'd put it here.) :)

Christmas gift

I don't know how well this is going to show up, but I wanted to post it anyway. Justin got me the greatest gift for Christmas. It's a mother's bracelet. On the left is a green stone and It says Nathan on the silver, then Claire, then Jack. I LOVE it and wanted to share it all with you!

My boyfriend

My boyfriend is out of rehab! By the looks of this picture, he gained a few pounds while he was away. I'm not in love with the way his hair looks in this picture, but we all know I can help him with that. He made a statement on his website to his fans. If you listen carefully you'll hear him tell me that he loves me and can't live with out me. He also says that he can't wait to see me at the next concert that comes closest to Madison. Ok, so you might not be able to get that out of the message, but I sure did. :)

Why is it so hard?

I never once thought being a parent would be an easy job. Sick kids make life hard for anyone.

Ok, I'd like to stop and start over. I'm at work right now and as I was typing this, a commercial came on for St. Jude's Hospital. So instead of saying how hard it is to have 3 sick kids back to back, I'd like to say that I'm glad that it's not something worse than a flu bug. It's funny how a commercial can put something into perspective for you.

What I wanted to say was that Natey is doing much better, so much that he'll be able to go to school today. He missed all of last week (one day was teacher in-service). I think he's looking forward to getting back to school.

Claire is our sick girl right now. Last night she was wrestless before I went to work, so I went up to her room to check on her. I felt her and she was quite warm. I took her temp and she was at 101.something. I gave her some Motrin in hopes that it will come down. My guess is that we'll have 3 days of fever with her as well. Stay tuned.......

Jack is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't get how one day his breathing sounds fine and the next it's not good at all - like a revolving door. With Jack it's more of a day to day thing. We don't know what each day will bring us with him.

Justin has somehow stayed healthy. I don't have a clue how, but thankfully he has. He's ready for a break. As reported, he stayed home with the kids Thursday and Friday. Then he did his usual Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night I went to Flandreau with some of my friends, so he's ready to have a little break. He's been so great through all this which makes life a TON easier for me. Thank you! (kiss)

My only fear for now is that Natey will get BACK what Claire has and we'll have a horrible cycle. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I found this picture and just had to post it. Isn't it beautiful? So very peaceful. It was taken of Natey while we were camping in Pierre. He was having a great time casting. He's very good at it too. He loves to fish. I think he and Justin will try to do more of it this summer since Natey's getting older - older, you know, almost 5. (giggle)

Speaking of Natey, let's get you all an update on the health (or lack there of) at our house. As I said on Thursday, Justin stayed home with the kids. When I got home from work I took one look at Natey and thought he probably had a fever. I took it and sure enough it was 102.8. Justin had to go to work for a few hours, so I called him to see if he would be able to stay home with them on Friday and possibly take Natey to the doctor. That's exactly what happened. He stayed home from work and took Nathan to the doctor. Turns out what Natey has is a virus and luckily his doctor thought he was on the back side of it. His temp never got higher than 99 yesterday.

Justin took Claire and Jack to Pam's while he took Nathan to Sioux Falls. At one point I called Pam and she said she thought Peach had a fever. Of coarse we weren't surprised, but we had hopes that it wouldn't happen. Jack still has coughing fits which aren't fun, but we'll just keep giving him his nebs.

I started this post yesterday so I'll end it here and do another one soon.

Uh-oh

Do I smell a lawsuit? What do you think? I know of two people that rushed out and got new car seats BECAUSE of this report.

And the baby is.......

*Claire*

I can't believe nobody guessed it! I don't usually see much of Claire in Jack, but many of you said you did when I posted the last pictures. I looked in the Meyer children archives to see what Claire looked like when she was 2 months old. I saw that one and about fell over. I do have to say that it's the only photo where they all look so much alike. I'll post some other pictures of Claire at 2 months old another day. Claire is pictured (taken yesterday) with a gift she got from my cousin Holly. I think she (Claire) and I are some day going to fight over the adorable elephant. I love that thing! Not only is it soft as butter, it's cute as all get out! The other ear gives her birth weight and length. Flat out cute!

Now for an update on the sick kid crew. They are still sick. Natey woke me up around 3 this morning telling me he had a bad dream and that he needed a drink. I reached up and felt his head and he was burning up. I took his temp and he was at 102. I got him a drink and laid in his bed with him for a little bit. Thankfully he took some Motrin (he's not always good at that) and I assume must have gone back to sleep.

Jack sounded worse this morning than he did yesterday. He was fussy yesterday and wanted to be held. It's so hard because I can't get a single thing done around the house. It took me almost 2 1/2 hours to make supper last night and it was only steak and fried potatoes! I would start peeling the potatoes and before you know it he was screaming his head off. UGH!

I fear that Peach is next. Her nose started running yesterday and it was that gross, thick, yellow (sorry) stuff. She woke up early today (7:45) and was saying "Dad! Where are you?". So cute! She seemed fine when I left for work.

Justin hasn't gotten it yet either. I just got off the phone with him and thankfully he's staying home with the kids today. As for me, I think I'm on the mend. My nose is very pretty. It has that onion peel look that everyone desires. I'm just thankful that it's still on my face. I thought for sure it was going to fall off yesterday.

So that's it. That's the update for today!

Guess the baby

Sick.....and getting worse

Tonight Natey started taking a turn for the worse. About 8pm, Natey said he was freezing and wasn't feeling well. I wrapped him up in a blanket on the couch as we finished watching American Idol. When it was time for bed, he was still complaining of being cold. He said he really wasn't feeling well and you could really tell. It was written all over his face.

Justin was going to take him up to bed and I was feeding Jack. I kissed him goodnight and decided that I better take his temp. It was 101. Justin no more got back down stairs from tucking him in and Natey started screaming. He threw up. I went up because that kind of sick kid isn't Justin forte. While I was trying to clean up the mess Natey got sick again. He was burning up. He wanted to take a bath because he said he was stinky. It was probably about 10 by then. I put him in the bath and he was just shivering and had goosebumps a mile high. Poor little guy! The whole time he was in the tub he had goosebumps. He decided to lay down in the tub to try to warm up. He didn't last long in there, less than 10 minutes. I was getting his pj's back on him and he was trembling.

So far Peach is in the clear. Let's just hope she stays that way. Also, we don't need Jack to start throwing up. Poor little sick kids. :(

Update on Jack

Ok, first of all, if you look at this photo and don't think this child looks exactly like Natey did when he was a baby - get off the crack. :)

I ended up not going to Sioux Falls yesterday. I'm not sure what I was thinking (probably lack of sleep), but I had it in my head that I was going to leave the house at 9:30. His appointment was at 10. When Justin asked what time I was leaving (as I stood there still in my pj's at 8:30) and gave him my answer of 9:30, he looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. He said "Uh - that's not going to work." After thinking about it (nice concept) he was right. I might have made it had I not taken a shower, but I didn't want to do that. I just rescheduled for today.

Jack weighed in at 11.4 pounds and is 23 inches long (he was 6.11 and 19 in at birth). I gave Dr. Henry the run down and told him what was up. He decided to test him for RSV because there is a ton of that going around I guess. We should get the results of that test this afternoon. Natey has the bug and I have something as well. Just after less than a day of my nose running, it's chapped and I want to cut it off. My head feels as though it could explode at any moment. It's not much fun. As for the kids, we'll continue to do nebs with Jack and Justin gave Nathan one today as well.

I had to leave this for a while and while I was gone the nurse called to let me know that the RSV test was negative. THANK GOODNESS!

Ok, so check out this adorable baby!

That would be Nathan. Do you see the resemblance? Holy cats - I sure do.

Ok, so last week I saw some cute food/craft ideas on the view. This one I thought was a great idea and very simple. Natey and I had fun making lips. I was cracking up. He looks like such a hick!

What on earth was that noise?

(I realize this will post on Monday, but in my brain it's still Sunday. Therefore the yesterday I'll be referring to is Saturday.)

Saturday I worked from 4-midnight. My normal shift is 8am-4pm, but Justin had a meeting he wanted to attend so I switched my shift. The only bad thing about doing that is after getting off at midnight I had to be back at work by 8am. Saturday at about 11:30pm Justin got on messenger and asked that I come home right after work. Jack had been fussy since about 5 that afternoon and Justin needed a break. After having a very fussy Jack earlier in the week I knew exactly how he felt and hoped that nothing would happen right at shift change. Luckily nothing happened (it usually does) and I was home by 10 after 12. I thought Jack might have been fighting a bit of a cold or something because he'd been pretty congested that day. Justin went to bed and I took care of Jack. He didn't sleep well at all which obviously meant I didn't either. At 5:15am I was awakened by a very strange noise. I had no idea what it was or where it was coming from. I listened closer and realized it was coming from Jack. Have any of you had a child with croup? That's exactly what Jack sounded like. Then he coughed and there was no question where it was coming from. It was horrible. I scooped him up and took him into the bedroom and woke Justin up. Due to the noise Jack was making, I wasn't sure if he was having a hard time breathing or what was going on. It sounded as if he was having a hard time breathing, however, I was pretty distracted by the loud noise that was coming out of such a little being. Finally I took him back out to the couch and slept with him until 7:22 (I'd hit snooze on my alarm since 6:45.) I woke Justin up and asked him to help me out. I needed to get ready and Jack was hungry and needed changed. Justin got up and we tried to decide on our plan of attack. I wanted Justin to take Jack to Sioux Falls to see a doctor. After Claire was septic when she was a baby and so sick, I'm not even close to being willing to take a chance with a sick child. Justin said he would if I could get someone to take the other kids. I was on my way out the door and told him I was going to call Tracy and that I'd be getting back in touch with him. On my way to work I called Tracy and woke her up. I told her that I needed her help, never doubting that she wouldn't say yes. I told her about Jack and asked if she could keep Natey and Claire. As I knew she would, she said yes without hesitation.

Justin took the kids over and took Jack to Sioux Falls. I waited restlessly at work. I was sure Jack was going to be put in the hospital. If you could hear the noise coming out of this child you would too. Finally Justin got done seeing the doctor and called to give me the news. The doctor (PA) said that Jack didn't have croup but had a virus in his throat. (Um, ok.) He said there was nothing he could do for him. Justin told him that we have his sister's nebulizer (sp) and wanted to know if we could use it. He said that would be fine and we could also give him Tylenol. I don't have a ton of faith in this doctor since it so happens to be a doctor from Madison, but we'll take his word for now. We also have a humidifier right next to Jack pretty much non stop.

After getting the news I called and let Tracy know since I knew she'd be concerned. Then I called Pam to see if by chance anyone at daycare had a similar sickness and if so what the doctor might have said to them. She wasn't home so I didn't get to talk to her. (She did call back later tonight and said she knew of no sick kids.)

OH - this is the best part. Justin told the doctor that Jack had been quite fussy lately and also very gassy. He said that it sounded like colic to him and wondered if any of the other kids had colic. Justin told him they didn't. I don't know much about colic, but why on earth would it just now rear its ugly head? My cousin's daughter had colic and she never stopped crying. Just tonight I had Jack laying on the floor and all was great with the world. I don't think it's colic. Whatever......

So that's what we did today. I was shot when I got home. I cooked supper, ate, and went to bed. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I slept for 3 hours and it felt great. Since getting up I've been sneezing and my nose has been running. I hope I'm not getting sick.

I was supposed to take Jack to the doctor tomorrow for his well baby check, but it's snowing to beat the band right now. They've said 3-6 inches so we'll see. Jennie said she's going shopping come hell or high water. (Ladies - I think it's time for an intervention.) She said she'd call and give me a road report. I doubt I'll be going any where.

Tracy - thank you SO much for helping us out today. I'm not sure what I'd do without your thoughtfulness.

Have a good week everyone!

Yesterday I read something that brought me to tears. After crying, I composed myself and went into the living room where Nathan was. After talking to me for a few minutes he said "Mom, you look all choked up!"

Choked up indeed......

A fuzzy smile

It's just my luck that the first picture I took of Jack with an adorable smile on his face turns out blurry! Arg! I really don't know how I got him to smile. He was quite cranky last night. Yesterday when he woke up he sounded like he had a stuffy nose and sure enough he does. Pam was trying to feed him yesterday and he was gulping and making all kinds of noises due to having a hard time breathing.

Here's another one with an almost smile.

Yeah, I know it's fuzzy. This is why I REALLY need Aisha's camera!That one just cracked me up. I was changing my flash setting and happened to get this winner. HA! He'll be so proud some day.Speaking of proud moments, I'm sure this will rank high on Peach's proud moments list when she's 15. However, for now she'll continue to enjoy licking the mirror.
And last but not least, Natey. He insists on running around in his underwear. It was 4 degrees yesterday and he's running around the house in his underwear. I guess I should be glad it happens inside of my house and not out. However, I'm not counting the latter part of the statement out.

Remember when....

I know I've already posted twice today, but I came across these pictures last night and wanted to post them. These were taken over 6 years ago. It's funny to see how we've changed. Many of our appearances have changed, but our friendships have only grown stronger.This photo is crooked and hard to see the detail in the pictures, but we'll just roll with it. On the top left is my friend Loni. I met Loni at beauty school in Watertown. She and I had TONS of fun at school together and she laughed at all the stupid things I did and said which made me lover her all that much more. She's now married and has a beautiful son. Next to Loni is Tracy. I met Tracy while doing hair at a salon in Brookings. She went to a different designer before coming to me. We became quick friends and started hanging out due to the fact that each of us dumped our boy friends and had that among other things in common. Tracy is married (something I'll get to in a minute) with two great kids - one being the infamous Dawson. :) Down front is my best friend from high school, Richelle. Richelle and I talk to each other often and she came to visit me after I had Jack. Richelle and I have been trough so much together. We were pea's in a pod in high school and after. She's married and has two wonderful children, a boy and a girl. Obviously I'm the next one. :) Next to me is my sister, Shannon. She and I have a pretty typical sister relationship. We didn't care for one another growing up. We fought, physically fought, often. We were such different people, still are, but our relationship has changed since then. If you asked me what Shannon did during her high school career I couldn't tell you. I know she was a student coach for volleyball, but outside of that - no idea. We hardly spoke unless it was to fight. I'm happy to say that our relationship has changed and now I'd have a hard time going without her friendship. She's also married with two little girls that I adore.Here is a picture of Tracy and I. My make-up is gone and if it looks like I had been crying, I had. I'd just said good-by to my dad. He was leaving and I wasn't quite ready for that to happen. I'm so not afraid to take the credit for Tracy's marriage to Mark. I never call him Mark by the way. It's always Ferber and it feels very awkward when I call him Mark. Anyway, Tracy was living in MN and had a boy friend. She and I had lived apart for a few years but we hand wrote each other letters every week (the days before e-mail). She came to my bridal shower which had my bacholorette party to follow. We talked at great length and she wasn't happy with her current boy friend and so I told her I wanted to hook her up with Ferber. They met at our wedding and immediately hit it off. They were married just over a year later. The rest is history. I love that Tracy and I live in the same town and that we're raising our boys together. Even though they argue and compete at great lengths with each other, they can't get enough of one another. Tracy and I have been friends for 11 years now. Don't get me wrong, we've had our ups and downs, but I'd be simply lost with out our friendship.And last but not least - us! This is one of my favorite pictures of me and Justin. I can't believe how young we look. Holy cats! I remember that I thought I looked fat that day. What was I thinking? I'd give a million bucks if I had it to be that 'fat' again. (sigh)

Ok, I'm done posting for the day. Have a good weekend!

Baby Alec

You might remember me talking about my cousin Holly and her baby, Alec. He's so cute! I told her that some babies look like babies and some look like little children. Alec looks like a little child to me. Nathan was the same way. In pictures he always looked older than he was. I think it's because they don't have those baby fat rolls that some kids get. Nonetheless, he's adorable and I wanted to post a couple pictures of him which Holly okayed. She also thought it would be ok to post a picture of the rest of her family so I hope they don't mind.Here is my beautiful cousin, Holly, and her precious baby, Alec. Aren't they adorable? Love it!

Here is the rest of the family. From left to right: Holly, Neil (her dad, my uncle), Jenni (her mom, my aunt, my mom's sister), baby Alec, Katie, and Erin. They lived in Milbank when we moved there in 1988. I LOVED having them around. Jenni and Neil owned the movie theater, drive-in theater, video store and another movie theater in a town near by. It made me feel very important being related to them. I adopted her dad as my own since my dad lived in Texas. I adore my aunt and uncle. Being around them feels like home. They all now live in Florida and I miss them terribly. They all enjoy their lives down there and I'm happy for them.Here is Holly's husband, Robert. He's such a nice guy. I first met him when he came with Holly to my sister's wedding. My sister and I couldn't get over how into Holly he was. He was just head over heals for her. It was adorable. They make such a wonderful pair.

My cousin Katie got married almost a year ago to a guy named Justin. I haven't met him but they also seem to be a good match. She says kids aren't on her radar just yet. I can't wait until they are. Babies are so fun!

Erin works at Disney which is super cool. She gets to be a character and also dances in one of the parades. For those of you who don't know, this is a HUGE deal and a huge honor for Erin. They seem to have such fun lives!

Christmas picture

Here is the Christmas picture we had taken at Black's Studio of the kids. At first I didn't care for it, but now I really like. I wished that Natey's feet weren't in the air, but now I realize that it's just Natey being Natey. Claire had a mouth full of fruit snacks. They were feeding them to her like crazy. It worked out because most of the other pictures had her in tears. Some of you might have gotten a different picture of the kids because we only had a few of the ones from Black's made to give out.

Lordy!

Things have been chaotic at our house if nothing else. Tuesday, Tracy and I took the boys to the gymnastic meet. It was obvious the boys didn't know what to expect. After singing 'the prayer' (National Anthem) the meet started. About 20 minutes later Nathan wanted to know when the game was going to start. Dawson wanted to know when it was going to be half time. Cracked us up! Natey wanted to go to the meet to see Cassie compete. Cassie is the daughter of Pam - Natey's daycare provider. Cassie is very good and much more advanced than most of the girls on her team. It was fun to watch her do her thing. Here is a picture of her and Natey before the meet started. One of Natey's friends from Pam's house was at the meet too. She was actually there with Pam. Her name is Sophia but the kids all her Sopha. I think Dawson might have been smitten with her. Dawson had to show me his leg. It made me laugh. Take a look.....He told Sopha that he broke his leg. LOL!!! Check out the look on his face. LOVE IT! The kids were fighting over who was going to sit where. Dawson wanted to sit by Sopha which was fine with her, but she also wanted to sit by Nathan. It was a mess. The boys were almost sitting on top of each other just so each of them could stay by Soph. They got it all worked out and by the end of the meet Dawson and Sopha were dancing with each other. (giggle) We also met up with Amber and her oldest daughter, Shayla. It was great to hang out with them. I've since found out that Amber doesn't like chocolate so I'm re-thinking the new friendship. ;) (Kidding of coarse.)

Yesterday ranks high as one of the worst days of my life. Jack screamed his head off almost all day long. It was horrible. I couldn't do anything to comfort him. In the morning he'd stop crying if I held him, but that ended in the late afternoon. I held him for an hour and a half while Claire took her nap, but 10 minutes after I put him down he woke up. He did this all day long. After we got Natey from school, Jack wouldn't stop crying for anything. It didn't matter if I held him or not. Finally he settled down at about 7:45 or so. Justin came home right after work and asked if I needed a break. I was almost reduced to tears. I had to get out of the house for a bit. After walking around Pamida for 20 minutes I was ready to go back home. Jack seemed better today. He was smiling at me while I was changing his diaper this morning. I told him that I didn't want him to have another day like yesterday. I hope the smile was his way of agreeing.

Get to know me A-Z

I got this in an e-mail from my sister. I enjoyed it so I thought I'd share it.

A is for age: 32

B is for booze: Bud Light with tomato juice

C is for career: 911 dispatcher/trainer

D is for dad's name: Benny Wood (Goes by Ben)

E is for essential items to bring to a party: I like to mix it up. I bring whatever sounds good.

F is for favorite song at the moment: Stupid Boy - Keith Urban

H is for hometown: Milbank, SD

I is for instruments you play: Spoons - totally kidding

J is for jam or jelly you like: Chokecherry Jelly

K is for kids: Nathan, Claire, and baby Jack

L is for living arrangements: Home owner - being this is my BLOG, I won't say the town. You all know it anyway.

M is for moms name: Valerie Sue Blocker Wood Goosen. She goes by Sue

N is for name of your best friends: I will take the 5th on this so I don't hurt feelings. They know who they are.

O is for overnight hospital stays: 3 C-sections.

P is for phobia[s]: Water (like a lake or body of water - I'm not scared of a swimming pool)

Q is for quote you like: "Life is a balance of holding on and letting go."

R is for relationship that lasted the longest: Justin. We've been married for 6 years and together for almost 10.

S is for siblings: Sister - Shannon, Brother (step) - Matt

U is for unique trait: That I have? I'm a pretty boring cat - sorry.

V is for vegetable you love: Green Beans

W is for worst trait: In others? LIARS - can't handle it.

X is for x-rays you've had: I've had x-rays at the dentist and on my back.

Y is for yummy food you make: Spaghetti and meatballs. I made them the other day and they rocked the house! Justin would probably say my Prime Rib is the best though.

Z is for zodiac sign: Leo

Firsts:

First job: concessions at movie theater

First screen name: Who the crap knows?

First funeral: Paternal Grandfather

First piercing: Ears

First tattoo: Cartoon type puppy on my ankle

First credit card: I don't know, but I wish I'd never had one.

First Enemy: No clue - I've had many. Forgiveness isn't my strong suit.
First favorite musician/band: My boyfriend has this band. Maybe you've heard of him. (giggle)

Lasts:

Last movie watched: Cars

Last beverage drank: Tea

Last food consumed: Lefse that my mother-in-law made. SO YUMMY!!!

Last Phone call: I'm at work so it was a work call. Other than that, Mom called before I went to bed today.
Last Shower: Today
Last CD played: Love, Pain, and I love Kerrie by Keith Urban (I think that's the name of it). :)

Last website visited: Other than this one - google.

Single or Taken: Taken

What do you miss? Time for myself although I wouldn't trade my life, husband or kids for the world.

Hair color: Currently blond with brown low lights.

Natural color: Who the crap knows? Looks like it might be an ugly brown color.

Eye color: Green

Makes you sad? Death - it also scares me.

Are you happy? I'm quite happy, yes. I have a good life with a great family and wonderful friends.

How cute is this?

I challenge you to find something cuter than this. This is a recording of my niece Evie. She's 4 years old. My sister sent it to me in an e-mail and I told her I HAD to post it here for everyone to hear. It's SOOOO cute. LOVE IT! Click here to hear it. Sharelle, you HAVE to play it for Gary. Nathan listens to it and just giggles. He loves him some Evie.

Jack has started smiling. I swear there isn't anything much sweeter than the first few smiles you get from your new baby. He doesn't do it often, but when you get one it's adorable.

Did you see the car seat report? Holy cats! If you didn't see it, read it here. I had my undies in an uproar trying to find out if Jack's was on the bad list or not. Thankfully it wasn't. My friend and co-worker found out that her seat was on the bad list so she went and bought a new one. The bad thing is that her baby is almost too big for the infant seat so she wasn't sure if she should get a convertible or what. She went with the convertible. It's better to be safe than sorry. Who needs that to worry about? We worry about enough as parents to add more to the list.

Justin and Natey went to the boys basketball game last night. Nathan almost didn't get to go due to his behavior all day. However, he turned his attitude around and was able to go. They had a good time and the Bulldogs won!!

Tonight is my first turn around shift since coming back (obviously). I can't imagine I'll have that much of a problem getting to sleep before coming back - due to the fact that I wake up tired.

Whew!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who's checked on me for the past few days. My first day back at work was very odd. I felt like I didn't belong, like I was just a visitor. I had the same feelings after returning from having Claire. I was off for 8 weeks which is a long time to be off the job. I took 12 weeks with Claire because I didn't think I was going to be having any more children.

I was at work on Thursday being greeted by many friends and co-workers. People were genuinely glad that I was back. I could feel it and it felt nice. I saw one of the Deputies who was parked on the side of the road picking up one of his co-workers. As I passed and waved at him, he was clapping - indeed happy that I was back. It was nice and made me smile.

My friend Linda, who I adore by the way, came to welcome me back and I told her that I felt out of place. I told her it was 11 o'clock and I had yet to have anyone ask me to get them a glass of milk. I'd never last that long with out that happening here at home. The troopers had meeting in the large meeting room outside of my office that day. Some of them came in to welcome me back which I thought was nice. Who knew they'd even notice that I was gone? Anyway, one of them is from Milbank (my home town) and when he asked me how it felt to be back I responded with "I haven't had to get anyone milk yet. Can I get you some?" He got this strange look on his face and obviously didn't want to make eye contact with me anymore. He finally did say "I need a pop. You could get me that." After his meeting he told me that he thought I was talking about MY milk - breast milk. HA! No WONDER he looked as though he might pass out at any minute. Funny!

Going back to work made me realize how much of a break I really did need. I'm not sure that I'd call caring for 3 children under the age of 5 a break, but I really did need time away from the office. I'd gotten a bit too snippy and found myself talking back to the radio after almost every transmission I had. Now being back at work feels like a break. :)

Natey pulled a funny yesterday morning. I was just finishing up getting ready when Natey got out of bed. He came down stairs and realized that he'd forgotten his cars in his bed. He wanted me to wait for him while he went back upstairs to get them. I told him to hurry so I could get to work. When he came down, I was gathering my things. He looked at me and said "You look far.... familiar. Do I know you?" I laughed but I should have said "Yes son, it's me, your mother. This is what I look like with nice clothes on, my hair done, and make-up on." I have no idea where he picked that one up, but it was a good one.

He had show and tell on Friday which really makes school that much more fun to attend. He told me he was going to take two of his cars that he got for Christmas to show. I asked if that would be ok to take two and that I figured he should just take one. He said "No, I can take two. Mrs. Poncelet always says 'Is there anything else in your bag?' when you show just one thing." LOL! Come to find out, his dad only let him take one car. Nathan wasn't all too happy about that.

You might notice that my blog has a different template. I changed it so that I could print it out. I want to keep it so that the kids can read it someday. Who knows if blogger will always be here? Anyway, I might change it and I might not. Maybe I'll even change it to something totally different. We'll see.

I made it!

**I'm posting this early Sunday morning, January 8th, 2007.**

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who thought of me today. I had people stopping by, e-mailing and calling me at work to see how my day was going. That was so nice of you all. I really mean that. Jennie came in and gave me a big hug to welcome me back. Officers stopped and a Deputy saw me coming to work and clapped for me. It was so nice. My mom called and my mother-in-law sent me an e-mail to wish me well. My sister talked to me on messenger and my BFF Tracy tried to text me but I'd forgotten my phone at home - so she e-mailed me. SO WONDERFUL! The Troopers had a meeting down in the large room outside of my office and many of them stopped in to say hello and welcome me back to work. So very, very nice.

My day started at 5:30. Jack woke up and I fed him, got him back to sleep, and had a bowl of cereal. After that I got my lunch ready and got in the shower. I put some clothes on that WERE NOT going to fit me (lordy!). I quickly changed into jeans and finished getting ready. Right as I was walking out of the bathroom I heard Nathan get out of bed. I really wanted to be gone before he woke up to avoid any sad tears that he might shed. I've been telling him for a good week now that I had to go back to work. Each time I told him I had to return to work he told me that I didn't. Last night I made sure to tell him that today I'd be at work and pick him up from Pam's when I was done. It must have all worked because all he cared about this morning is that I turn on cartoons and cover him up before I left.

**That is where I ended and never got back to it.**

People will laugh at you!

Believe me when I say that I crack myself up more than I do others. Don't worry, I'm well aware of it. Today I had to run to Sioux Falls quick to drop something off. Nathan was ready to go and waiting for me to get ready. I put my hair in pig tails and came out of the bathroom to see what Natey would say. I could hardly keep a straight face. I looked at him and said "Ok, I'm finally ready". His face went from delight to sheer horror when he saw my hair. He said "MOM! You can't wear your hair like that. People will laugh at you!" I CRACKED up! It was so funny. He said "You aren't really going to wear your hair like that are you?" Uh, no son - there is no way on Gods green earth that I'd wear my hair like that out in public. However - it gave me a good laugh and that was all I really needed. :) I went back into the bathroom and put my hair into two braids to see what he'd say. I came out and he said "You can't do that either". I'm telling you people - I crack myself up! I went in and put my hair a normal more acceptable way and he approved.

Pictures of Jack

Happy National Hangover Day

I hope everyone managed to have a safe New Years Eve. Our family went and hung out with the Ferber's for a while last night. None of us had any aspirations of seeing the new year until later today. I haven't talked to Justin yet this morning, but my guess is that he rang in the new year taking care of Jack while the rest of us slept. I was in bed by 10:30, only 30 minutes after Nathan went to bed. Claire was a bit earlier than that. She had to watch Dora before turning in.


None of us will wake up with a hangover though. Nobody drank enough to get one. When we were younger, New Years was just another reason to get as sloppy drunk as you could. Now it's just a good excuse to hang out with friends and family. Some life changes are nice.


I woke up with a horrid pain in my neck/shoulder. I could hardly lift Jack due to the pain. I obviously slept wrong on it. It really hurts though.


Do you Google? I love to go to Google on a holiday. They do such fun things with their logo. Here's the one they have for today.I'm not sure how you get an O out of that red thing that looks like a Z, but it's still cute nonetheless. Also, if you go to CMT today (on TV) their logo is upside down. They had it like that last year too. Funny!

We don't have plans for today. Justin will have to go to work at noon, so the kids and I will hang out at home. Nathan got up a few minutes ago. Actually, he was having a bad dream, so I went up to see if he was ok. He wanted to come sleep with me on the couch so I carried him downstairs. Remember that neck thing I was talking about? Yeah - that was painful.

Last night when we were at the Ferber's, I had Natey get on the scale. He weighs 49.5 pounds. Dawson weighed in at 38.5 pounds. Peach was a whopping 25.5 pounds. I got on the scale and while I'm not telling you what I weigh, Dawson wasn't a bit scared to announce it to Tracy, Mark, and Justin who were sitting in the next room. :)

I'm looking forward to receiving my friends treadmill. My friend and co-worker, Jamie, is giving me her treadmill. I was supposed to get it on Saturday, but due to the rain we couldn't move it. We hope to try again today. I can't really diet right now because I'm nursing, but getting exercise will for sure help my fat cause. Actually, I can eat healthier while I'm nursing, I just can't cut my caloric intake by much. I look forward to seeing a smaller size on me, that's for sure.

Well, I left a mess in the kitchen last night so I better go take care of it. Have a good week.