Jesica VS. The Refrigerator

Today, I tackled the refrigerator… I am not going to post any before pictures because someone would probably turn me into the health department!  Imagine a bunch of Tupperware with miscellaneous leftovers in them… fruit and veggies that have gone bad, and lunch meat that we never ate...couldnt really tell if it was ham or turkey...  but here is an after shot…all nice and clean! 

After taking on this daunting task, that I have been putting off way too long, I have realized something that I think I already knew.  Either I need to make less food, or start making it a priority to eat leftovers.  Not really sure how to approach it yet.  I have good intentions; I make a large dish of something with every intention of eating it the next day for lunch or dinner, but for some reason or another, it just does not happen.  I realized how much food and $$$ we are wasting, and it makes me a little upset.  Goal for next week: NO leftovers… If I have extra, I will freeze it for a  later meal!  I need to remember that I am cooking for 2 1/2 people... not 10!

HAPPY 50TH DAD!!

Once again, we had another busy week, and crazy weekend… Saturday, we celebrated my Dad’s 50^th Birthday at the Longhorn.  I haven’t been there in a long time (since before being a mama) but the food and atmosphere was great… minus the dueling piano’s… apparently they don’t have that anymore… The server said “its been over 3 years” WHOOPS!  Well I guess if we ever have an urge to go see that type of show again, we will have to go to Chopsticks!



HAPPY 50TH!!!

Sunday, we got up at the butt crack of dawn, and went to Belfair so we could go quad riding all day… Yes, being 34 weeks pregnant, I did ride, but very carefully!  Blake had a blast, and so did my dad, trying out his new Polaris!  Blake liked the new quad so much that he fell asleep while riding with grandpa… he said it was the low roar of the giant that put him to sleep… he refers to his new quads as the Cadillac of quads, but we call it the old man rider!   It was a beautiful day and we got home around 3:30, I took a 3 hour nap, got up and ate, then got Blake to sleep, and then went back to bed for another 9 hours… these last few weeks are going to be the hardest for me, I can already tell!  YAY 6 weeks left until we meet our new bundle of joy!!

Kyle and Blake out in the woods!!

Blake and Grandma

34 Weeks Pregnant!

He fell asleep on the beast!

Top Priorities

I feel like I have always had my priorities in line… Kyle and I grew up very quickly because we were ready too, and we have always been very responsible.  We bought our 1^st house when we were 19, our second when we were 22 and now our 3^rd at 26… It has always been a priority for us to make a stable foundation for our family.  I am not saying that we haven’t had little bumps along the way, but  we have always put our families and each other before ourselves and although, I know that priorities and responsibilities are different for everyone, I can’t help but wonder what some people are thinking when it comes to their choices.  I wonder… does that person realize what it means to be a parent, do they realize that they should put their child before themselves and fight for every ounce of their being?  As a mother, we would give up all that we have so that our children had everything that they needed, but some people that I know feel differently.  They use their child as a bargaining chip with the other parent (not together)… they give to themselves first, and their children whatever is left over.  This makes me really sad.  It makes me wonder why some mothers think that this is right?  Of course, I am not talking about most, but there are some women in my life that just don’t get it, they don’t realize that they need to set an example and they certainly don’t know what it means to be a protector of their child. 

After getting some much needed advise from a wise mother in law J, I have decided that the best thing to do is to completely distance myself from these people.  I will continue to surround myself with people that have the same values and morals that I do.  I am at a point in my life where my main purpose is to take care of my family and to help my kids grow up to be loving individuals.  I won’t allow the negative outpouring to affect my family as they continue to make the same bad choices over and over again… I wish them all the best, and they will always be in my prayers, but they will not be apart of our lives.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Trired

I am very tired of this weather and tired of cold and flu season.  Blake isn’t even in Daycare, and he is getting sick, which I then get sick because I am the one sleeping with him when he is coughing and hacking up a lung all night.  I feel so bad for him because he just seems helpless, and I am not 100% either, and I so wish I could take some Nyquil and just sleep...I coughed so hard today that I kinked my back...REALLY?!?!  Good thing is that Blake seems to be better today and not coughing as much, so maybe we both can get a good sleep tonight… one can only hope!

The snow, although beautiful, is really taking its toll on my plants!  Dear Spring,  Please come soon!!!!

Sickly Weekend...

So this weekend was rather interesting, First, starting on Friday, I had my 32 week Dr appointment and everything looks great, but at the last minute, I decided that I better get Blake into the Dr after Grandma told me that Blake had been complaining that his ear hurt… so Luckily, I was able to get him in at 4:50, and it turns out that he has a double ear infection and the cold/flu that has been going around.  So we were given antibiotics for him (first time that he has had them) and THANK YOU CAROL for letting me know about the diarrhea that comes along with antibiotics!  I stayed on top of it, so no rashes yet!  I know he is going to read this someday and be mortified that I am talking about this, but holy cow!  These side effects are horrible! 

Kyle had to work Saturday, so we stayed in and watched the hockey movie (Miracle) around 3 times because Blake didn’t really have the energy to do anything else.  Kyle also had a game at 5:00 that night that we have been talking about going to all week, so I don’t know if this was the right thing to do, but I bundled him up like a snow beast, and took him to the game.  Part of the reason that I took him was that he was really looking forward to going, and the other reason was that I was going stir crazy sitting at home.  This was just ONE day, and I had already reached my cabin fever limit which tells me that I have a lot of learning to do!  If I am going to be a stay at home mama, then I must get some inside activities together, and I must learn how to entertain my child at home without resorting to playing outside because, let’s face it, that is not always possible in WA!  Although, I have no problem throwing his rubber boots and rain coat on him and sending him outside, but any suggestions for an active toddler would be appreciated!

As it gets closer to the time where I will be staying home, I am getting more and more nervous/excited/anxious.  Not really sure how to classify it yet.  I have always known that I wanted to stay at home and raise my kids, and as it comes closer, I am starting to panic.. just a little bit.  Realistically, I only take care of Blake from 5:30-6:00 in the morning (car ride the grandmas) and from 5-7:30 at night, and also the weekends.  We are really busy, so we usually have something to do over the weekend, and are very “go-go” type people.  It is starting to hit me that in just 7 weeks, I am going to be responsible for taking care of 2 children full time…all day… all night… and also the house.  I know that I will figure it out, and everything will be just fine… eventually, but it’s the adjustment period that I am a little worried about.  I know that I have wonderful resources to help me through… mom and Tammy, but I am just hoping that I don’t mess up my boys too badly!

Blake loves when Uncle Mitch Stops by!!

Giving Blood Saves Lives

We had an absolutely wonderful day yesterday.  Both Kyle and I took the day off because Cascade Regional Blood Services hosted a luncheon for the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce, and we were invited!  CRBS was given some time to talk about how blood donations impact our community, and how it really saves lives.  Blake wouldn’t be here today without the lifesaving open heart surgery that he had when he was 4 days old, and the blood that he received that made all of that possible.  We are very grateful to Cascade for supplying our community with blood…you don’t really think about how important it is until you need it.  The ironic thing about all of this is that you need to have a specific blood type to give for babies surgeries (ECMO BLOOD) You need to be O-NEG and on top of that, you also need to be CMV-NEG.  Only 2 percent of the population has this blood type, and guess what… both Kyle and I are O-NEG/CMV-NEG.  We now regularly donate at CRBS with their ECMO program.  We are saving babies every 56 days, just like someone saved ours.  We will always be grateful for them, and do whatever we can to support them, and help gain awareness for this amazing cause.

Here he is... 2 years later!



CRBS Donor Event 2012

After the luncheon, we went down to Redondo… We absolutely LOVE it down there… I am going to live there someday when I win the lottery!  Anyways, Blake did such a great job of behaving (thanks to Cari for bringing the Kindle Fire) that we promised him that he could go throw rocks at the beach.  We didn’t have much room because the tide was in, but we made it all work J 

What a Weekend!!!

When I say Crazy Beautiful life, I really mean it!  SO we had some Beautiful things happen this last weekend… First, My mom and dad came over on Saturday.  Kyle had to work, and they knew how much I have been wanting to get the baby’s room painted, so my Dad watched Blake, and me and my Mom painted baby’s room (Yes, it was very ventilated) Blake was getting anxious to see what Mama and Grandma were doing, and I couldn’t keep him out of the room any longer, so I caved… handed him a roll of painters tape to keep him busy and set him in the crib so that he wouldn’t get paint all over himself… this is his masterpiece…

it was also Mitch’s girlfriend Erin’s birthday!  We absolutely ADORE her, and she is such a wonderful addition to our family… hopefully a permanent addition some day, and Blake can’t get enough of Auntie ERN!!  HAHA I love how he says her name!  So my parents were already over, and then Mitch and Erin Came over and we had a big family dinner!  I loved having a family dinner… I never could in our old house because it was too small, so it was really fun!  I even used some of my china for the first time J  I didn’t take a picture of anything that went on that day… I think that I was just too tired, and completely forgot to take a picture… but here is a picture of the beautiful birthday girl!!

Sunday was a lazy day where Kyle installed the garage door opener… that is the best gift I have ever gotten!  It makes my life so much more convenient in the morning!!  I was so thankful that he took the time to install it, and also kept an eye on Blake so that I could do a MASSIVE grocery shopping trip (we were out of everything) and I was able to save $80.00 with the coupons that I had, so not too shabby! 

Monday… Mondays are dreaded anyways, but this Monday was my least favorite.  I was rear ended on the way to work.  Thankfully, I had already dropped off Blake, so he wasn’t in the car, but the second I was hit, I immediately thought about my unborn Son…  The man that hit me was very apologetic, and I could tell that he felt horrible, but I wasn’t really caring whether or not I hurt his feelings.  He was not able to drive away from the accident (it looked like my Escape sat on his little Camry) but I did after I got all his information, and I went straight to my parents house just up the hill (I feel kind of bad that I just left him there, but I really wasn’t thinking about him at that point).  I called the Dr, and got everything taken care of… Baby is just fine… Mama was a little freaked out, but I am relieved to find out that everything is good.  She told me to go home, take a hot bath, and some Tylenol, and get some rest because I am going to feel it later, and boy was she right.  I slept from 12:00-4:00 and when I woke up, I could hardly move.  Dr Blake came to my rescue rubbing my back, and neck HAHA, he even got out his stethoscope to listen to my heart and to the Baby.  He says “Yep, Mama and Baby all better now”  What a sweet boy I have!  Car is at my mom and dad’s, waiting for the insurance adjusters… We will have to see what they say, but this should be fun!  Good thing that Kyle has a work truck, so we always have our truck sitting at home, which I am now driving… Can you say GAS GUZZLER??  Hopefully Tuesday starts out better!!

Starting to Feel like SPRING!!

Spring is arriving… all around my yard, we are starting to see the signs of spring, and it is exciting to me because I have absolutely no idea what is planted there!!  We moved into this house late August of last year, and most of the flowers were either dead, or done blooming for the year.  As I was weeding the flower beds over the later part of last summer, I noticed TONS of bulbs!!!  I tried to be careful not to disturb them so I could see what this spring had in store! 

 I love flowers… I love to plant them, and design different areas with different colors, my mom has an amazing flower garden, and I always remember fresh flowers in the house that she would just go out in the yard and pick!  Lucky for me, we have a huge yard with a pretty blank slate, so its time to get the creative ideas flowing!  One amazing thing about this house is that it has two amazing apple trees, and I can’t wait to add to that!  I would love a pair tree and also a plum tree… My birthday is right around the corner, so I will be hinting for those J  The lady that lived here before us kept this yard very manicured, but since her passing, he sons took care of the property, and the house stood vacant for almost 2 years.  There is a lot of over growth that we weren’t able to take care of last summer, but I look forward to digging in the dirt this Spring and Summer, and getting it back to its former glory… it’s like my own secret garden that I get to discover and create!   

We spent this evening soacking up as much fresh air as we could since the days are getting longer... Blake was even out in the driveway singing "rain rain GO AWAY!" It was so funny... I think that the neighbors were even entertained!