Wishing on a star!

We are hoping for some good news this week. Ken has applied at a really great company that had actually contacted him! They said they like his work and would like him to apply. We're not sure if it will happen or not, but we are being optimistic. Kennedy has started swimming lessons and she is loving it! Our neighbors little boy is in the same class with her. I have to bribe them to get any pictures though because he has boy germs and she has girl germs. They are learning early I guess. Averie just got over Roseola which is nothing serious, but she gave me and her doctor a good scare. She had a fever with no other symptoms for four days and although I thought it was teething she had never been THAT fussy for teething all day long. So I took her in and after hours of testing and poking and crying they thought it was either Mono, Roseola, or Meningitis. Luckily it was only Roseola! She is crawling all over the place, but had little interest in pulling up or walking. Her doctor says she will probably be a little bit delayed in her large motor skills, but mostly because she is unsure of what she is capable of doing. She is such a sweetie though and everyone always tells me she looks like a little doll. She's the happiest baby you could ever meet. I'm looking forward to this week and what it has to bring. I hope we get some good news, but if not I know there's a reason for it. =)

RIP Punkin

I can't believe I forgot to update about our precious cat Punkin. A little backround on her:

My Stepdad was painting a house and this adorable calico cat was sleeping in the back of his truck every day. The lady that owned the house had told him she was a stray along with all the other cats that she was feeding. So he brought her home on Halloween 1998 and gave her to me. She was the prettiest Calico you could have ever seen, but with her cuteness came some attitude. She would scratch at the bottom of the door every morning when she wanted you to feed her. If you let her in your room she would knock over anything and everything just to get you up. She was such a pain in the ass sometimes! She was also the friendliest cat and would be annoying when people came over. She always wanted to be petted and held. Punkin was Kennedy's best friend. I don't know that Punkin felt the same way, but she tolerated Kennedy. A year after Kennedy was born she started to have UTI's on a regular basis and this had continued for the next two years. This last fall she had started to get an infection in her cyst and the only option was surgery which would have costed 500 dollars. Her infection had clear up and heal before we could do surgery, but we couldn't afford the surgery. Her infection never cleared all the way up and it never healed either. She was miserable and in pain. She would try to walk, but only make a few steps before she would fall down again. All she wanted to do was lay by the fireplace. I remember looking into her eyes and I just knew she was ready to die. She just wasn't there anymore...she looked empty. We had decided to put her to sleep on October 30th 2008. One day before her 10th anniversary of living with me. We decided to burry her at my parents house since I've always felt like that is where she really belonged. Although, I will forever miss her, I will NOT miss her pooping on the floor. =)

I guess I should update this thing since it's been forever. Averie is now 8 months old and she's growing like crazy. She can sit up finally, but still isn't crawling. I don't expect that to happen for awhile though, because she's such a lazy girl. She is in love with her sister and will not eat if her sister is in the room. The two of them together is the cutest thing though. They are starting to interact more and they will sit on the floor and play together. Kennedy is always trying to talk to her and ask her if she wants to sit on her lap. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to go crazy because Kennedy is ALWAYS trying to pick her up. No matter how many times we tell her not to she still does it. I guess that's part of being a parent of a three year old with selective hearing.

Kennedy has recently started to write and draw much better. Her drawings actually look like what she is trying to draw and some of them are quite impressive for her age. She drew a goose a few weeks ago after watching aristocats and it really looked like a goose. Her teachers say she can write most of her name...which I knew, but they also said she is one of the few kids in her class that actually tries to write her name. We are very proud of our little stinker. Although, I think she could work on her social skills. Apparently a little girl in her class pushed her and my sweet little redhead decided that she would inform me to tell her mother that she can't come to school anymore. I of course didn't tell her Mom that, but I told Kennedy to tell the little girl that it makes her sad when she does that. She seemed to take that well. Kennedy has also started ballet, tap, and tumbling classes. She lights up when she is dancing and it's quite possibly the cutest thing ever. In fact she infomed me after her first class that I can go watch her and she will show me how to dance. This is a good thing!

Ken and I have been busy with life. He's still going to school and getting straight A's and he's working at his job full time. In addition to this he is doing webdesign for a few people for some extra money. The schools here are in a budget crisis and many schools are possibly going to be shutting down early this year because they can't afford to keep them running. I rarely get calls anymore because most of the schools that I worked for are in the Reynolds district. Apparently they are going to be filing bankruptcy. I'm sad to see this happen and the people who really are going to pay for this is our children. I'm hoping they get things figured out so that this is not the case. I've also started going back to the gym and have been working out with Julie a lot. I'm hoping to get to my goal weight of 130 by the end of the year. I know it's going to happen this year because I'm more determined than ever to get back in shape. If I can just stay healthy and keep the girls healthy. Speaking of which We have all been really sick except of course Ken. He's got a super immune system and he eats like crap, drinks crap, doesn't take his vitamins, and is just all around not taking care of himself. Somehow he escapes getting sick every single time we do. All I can say is I wish I had his immune system. He's another one of those people with selective hearing. I've been trying to get him to the doctor to have a mole looked at and he never does make an appointment. I have officially given up on nagging him. He's a big boy and should be able to do it on his own.

I have also read this book that gave some insight on my husband. Although, I admit I had quite a few shocks after reading it I feel empowered to understand him a little better. The book is called for women only (what you need to know about the inner lives of men) written by Shaunti Feldhahn. There was also a book for men to read that is by the authors husband. As soon as our friend is done with it I am handing it over to Ken so he can understand me better. Anyways, I'm out of room here. Hopefully I will blog more often now that facebook has improved.

This is a once every six months post!

Wow have I been slacking on my postings! Somebody should update this thing for me. Anyways, Averie was born on May 23rd, and she's a very good baby. I could have ten kids if they were all like her. Lucky for Ken our first was very hard as a baby, so we don't have to worry about that now do we? Kennedy loves being a big sister and is always helping me. She even helps me get everything ready when we're leaving. She'll run and get her blanket, a bottle out of the fridge, and clothes or whatever else she can get ahold of. She's really become quite the kid! Kennedy is also pretty much potty trained now. Thank God! That was my least favorite thing to do. Especially when they're regressing because they will pee on the floor just because they are mad about something. It's not fun! We also had Kennedy go with her Grandma Ellen to church for the first time. The last time she went she was a year and a half old. She loved Sunday school and now we are inspired to start going too. What else do we have to do on a Sunday? We have been telling Kennedy that when she uses the potty she gets to go to school. Well, I think she thinks Sunday school is it. She woke up today telling me to get dressed because she has to go to school. When I told her that we couldn't go to sunday school today she informed me that we needed to go to Uncle Sid's house, and when that didn't work it turned into Grandma's house. She's quite the trickster too!

We also celebrated our friends graduation today. He's a firefighter now and graduated at the top of his class. He has worked extremely hard to get to where he is and obviously is going to make an excellent firefighter. We're very proud of him. He read his speech to all of his friends and family and one thing that he said really stuck out to me. Anyone who's been through school knows how hard it can be and knows that the hardest part is trying to stick with it when you so badly feel like quitting. I've been there and I know Ken has been there. Josh said in his speech "the roots of education are bitter, but it's fruits are sweet" I couldn't agree more with that. Even though my job doesn't pay well, atleast I can say I love what I do. I know someday I will have my own class...even if it's not for five years. I know I'm also helping kids build the roots of their tree. There is nothing more amazing than knowing you are helping a childs future be brighter.

We're having a baby....

GIRL!!!! Kennedy is going to be a big sister to a little girl. We're naming her Averie, but are lost on middle names. We are so excited to have another little princess to rule the house. It's going to be so weird to be a mommy to two kids, but I know it's going to be the best thing ever. Also, Kennedy is going to start preschool this year and I'm so excited about that as well. She's going to have the same teacher I had when I was three...that is if she will start pooping in the potty. Anyways, I'm thrilled!

13 weeks

So the baby is growing like normal and I'm getting fat! :( I've gained 6 lbs so far! I have a cyst in my ovary, but apparently that's normal. And I'm eating too many carbs. Which explains the fast weight gain already. Our cat we adopted is crazy and hates anything with fur! That's about it...so much for a blog.

8 week apt!

So we had our first apt today! The baby is measuring right on target and it took two and a half hours to hear that. Ok I'm kidding! NOT! Seriously, they had asked me to come in an hour early and I show up and I have to wait past my original time! I was not a happy camper and neither was Kennedy, but we made the best of it. We saw the baby on the ultrasound and he/she was moving it's arms around like a "mover and shaker" according to the technician that is. She said this one was a wiggle worm. So we are preparing for another active baby! =) Kennedy was repeating herself over and over again and she said "mommy's having a baby?". It was like she was expecting it to be today. Although, my brother and his wife ARE being induced tonight! Maybe she was just confused. Anyhoo that's about it for now. We go back in after Thanksgiving to see the little turkey on the ultrasound again. Woohoo!

My baby!

So apparently this baby that we are growing isn't our baby it's Kennedy's baby. Yes she actually informed me the other day WHILE she was lifting my shirt up over and over again that in her words it's "my baby". She has made it very clear to me that regardless of all the hard work I've put into this baby it's not really for anyone else but HER. Actually, I think it's rather cute! She is going to be one heck of a big sister though.

With Halloween on it's way, we are preparing Kennedy for her role. She is going to be little red riding hood this year and we've bought her a classic fairytale book. Only we forgot that the story should be rated R. The wolf eats the grandma AND little red ridinghood and then the hunter comes and cuts the wolf open and pulls grandma and little red ridinghood out. Of course in the end they are alive and well, but for God's sake why do they make it so graphic and evil. I've forgotten all about these classic stories being insanely innapropriate for kids. So now when we read it to Kennedy we say that the wolf sends them to the closet and the hunter comes and rescues them. Atleast the pictures aren't evil looking though. She is going to make one CUTE little red riding hood though!

stuff

This week has been crazy for us! Well, mostly me. I worked four days this week which is rare and people at the school are just now finding out that I'm not an actual employee. It's kinda flattering though when someone tells you you should be. On top of that I've been sick and I could barely talk at school for a couple of days. I had to get my assistant to yell for me a few times because my voice had turned into a squeaky mouse. The class I sub in the most is probably one of the most challenging I have been in. There are multliple high needs kids in that room and only one assistant. Despite the fact that it drives the teacher nuts I'm glad that it's my friend taking on the challenge. I couldn't see anyone else do it and still like their job.

My pants are starting to get snug and it's irritating me because I shouldn't have this problem yet. I'm not even 6 weeks! So far I haven't gotten too sick and I'm hoping it stays that way. With Kennedy I was puking till four p.m. and I litterally couldn't stand up without getting sick. I couldn't even shower until the evening. I really hope I pass that up this time because with working and everything, I think it's going to be a nightmare. I've already warned the teachers to expect a puke bag in my hand at all times lol. I don't think they realize how serious I am though.

Kennedy has been a little stinker as usual and is giving me heck lately. Her newest thing is that I'm not allowed to stand anywhere near the potty or the bathroom when she's on it. I thought this didn't start till they were like 6? She tells me to "move" or "get out". And she has a very serious look on her face when she says it. It's like I should know that a two year old needs her privacy!

Her bedroom was recently painted by Grandpa and it has a Dora border around the room. She's obsessed with Dora so I guess that was a good pick for a theme. We have all of her bedding ready for her, but we are waiting for her actual bed. So far she hasn't tried to climb out of the crib again so we're ok for now.

oh and one more final note! I have a zit on my nose somewhere, but I can't see it!

baby on board!

Yes we're expecting number two sometime in late May or early June! Ha we're going to be parents of two kids! Now that will be some entertainment! So far I haven't felt very sick. Although, today was my first day feeling sick in the morning at work. Usually by the time I get to work I feel fine, but not today for some reason. Maybe it was a one time deal though. Let's hope anyways!

I'm opptomistic!

Finally I can say that our year is turning around for the better! I can't say much more than that, but I'm am beyond happy!

crazy momma

Kennedy is driving me nuts! She's as cute as they get, but the girl is too darn smart! She has once again gotten into my makeup, only this time actually tried to put mascara on. She had a nice black smear across her eyelid. She also decided to try some face lotion (which by the way costs 15 bucks) for a tiny tube. It was all over the sink, counter, floor, clothes, and of course her body. It was dripping from her arms onto the floor. Now I was in her room trying to organize her bookshelf and I heard the soudn of a empty lotion bottle being squeezed. I knew right away the little stinker had surprised me again. I think it's time to lock up the makeup. She even knows how to open the doors with a safety doorknob thing on it. The four year old I babysit can't even open those! On top of that she has been throwing fits when she doesn't get her way with everything! She wants me to sit on the left side of the chair and she wants to turn the light off. Okay, that's fine! But then she'll pretend like she's going to turn the light off only she stands there with her hand over the light switch and will not do anything. So of course I say ok Mommy will turn the light off and when I do she's pissed beyond belief!

On a cute note, she has learned how to say have it! She says "I want to habit mommy" it's the cutest thing! Any day now she'll be sneaking out of the house to meet up with Elijah next door! I'm sure that will go over well with Daddy! =) Actually forget about Daddy, Mommy is the one she'll run from lol.

fo shizzle

Today I went to the dentist to get my tooth fixed. The other day my tooth had chipped (actually it was a few weeks ago) and it's been starting to bug me. Not a lot, but every now and then when I'm eatin or just pushing on it it hurts. I know don't push on it right? Well, I was worried it might be getting infected so I figured I should go and get it checked. They made me do those stupid exray things where they jam a disc type thing in your mouth that's three times too big. I ended up only being there for mayb 30 minutes, but it seemed pretty quick. After I got back home I saw Kennedy, Maddox, Tavaris, and Nicholos playing in Kennedy's room and my cousin Tessa was trying to get the kids out. They were screeching in her new tape player/microphone Elijah gave her. I hate that stupid toy because it always makes that loud microphone is too close to the stereo sound. Anyways, they were having fun and Tessa was....well, probably not. Maddox ran out of the room screaming "that hurts". Eventually we took it away and I told myself I was going to give it back to Elijiah.
We went and checked out the apts my cousin is going to move into. She and her husband are going to be managers at this place. They are hoping to get caught up so that they are able to move out within a year. I seriously felt really bad for them because even though they don't have to pay rent, they do have to pay other bills and the apt is so tiny. A few hints of what is to come was left in the cupboards. Roach killer, a snake to declogg sinks, and a nasty plunger. The closet doors are so flimsy my cousins one year old almost took it off by pulling with one arm. It has baseboard heating and with two little ones that is going to suck. There's NO dishwasher...and again with two little ones that is going to SUCK! They have to pay 100 anytime they want to wash clothes. The only good points about it is their kitchen is a little bigger than their old kitchen and there's a really cool park within walking distance. I really hope they get rich fast so they don't have to stay there long. I know with one kid it wouldn't be easy. She's going to be watching Kennedy this school year if my mom gets a job too so I hope the three kids in that small house isn't too much.

babysitting and stuff

So for the past two weeks I've been babysitting a four year old. He's quite interesting to say the least. He's a pretty good kid, but omg 4 is WAY harder than two in the sense that he NEVER STOPS TALKING!!!!!!! I am so not looking forward to that. Today he was telling me what to do, how to do it, and why to do it. I pretty much heard this all day "Why are you driving that way?" "Go faster! You can go now" "Where are we going?" "Why are we going there?" "pass that car" "that car is going fast cause a cop is after them" "look that's where Daddy works" "See that big garbage" and that was just in the car. Imagine what it's like at home! I took them to this indoor play park today which I knew he would just love, but when we got there he started crying because he wanted to go to the park. I told him he'll love it here and that Kennedy really likes it so we have to let her play atleast. He didn't do anything for 10-15 minutes and then I asked him again "you don't want to play?" He told me "no". I told him he was being a grouch and that seemed to motivate him to play. It was pretty funny that he was pretending to not be interested in something you could tell he really wanted to do. Sometimes he will try to talk back to me, but luckily I still have my own tricks to get cooperation from him. If it wasn't for teaching I really don't think I would know how to deal with him lol. He's really a sweet boy though. Most 4 year olds I've been around get annoyed with Kennedy because she's so in your face. Luckily he seems to enjoy her most of the time. Although, he doesn't like it when she pulls his hair to wake him up lol, but I can't blame him for that! Anyways, I'm tired and we have to wake up early. Night!

oompa loompa

So today was a very busy day. Although we didn't go to too many places. I had a four year old to watch and Kennedy. I've never met the four year old, but his parents are going through some stuff and they needed a babysitter for a few weeks. Luckily he seems to be a pretty good kid. I'm not sure what I think about spending my summer like this, but atleast he's capable of taking care of himself for the most part and is pretty good at entertaining himself. The things that come out of a four year olds mouth amazes me at times. Anyways, I'm starting to bore myself so I think I will skitdaddle!

uhm

So I made it on one piece for anyone that cares! I made it to willsonville thanks to my freinds who had to help me. I hit a curb in a parking lot and gave everyone whiplash. (don't make fun I already know I suck) We went to chillis afterwards and I had this really good chipolte chicken meal. I just about died eating it though and regretted it for about 12 hours. It was harsh! Kennedy now knows her abc's all the way through and she's very proud of herself. She loves her kitchen we got her and is playing with it all the time. Only she makes me food and wants me to eat it, but then feels the need to add salt and pepper to my food while I'm "eating" it. Ken is back on a normal shift now THANK GOD! We now can hang out and watch movies at night and I get my feet rubbed again woohoo! As I'm typing there's a spider crawling on my hand yuck!!! Speaking of spiders Kennedy saw this gigantic spider on the ceiling today and she was saying "shoo spider don't bother me" little does she know that's the song for flies. Today I might actually make it to the gym. I'm so excited to get back there since I couldn't go for two months. I'm really excited for fall to get here fast so I can see rain again. I miss it!

going to the doctor

So Kennedy had her 2 year checkup today! She is 50% in height and 10% in weight. She said her intelligence is well above average and I have no clue where Kennedy gets that from! Kennedy just kind of sat there and let her look in her ears and mouth and all the kinds of things doctors do. She didn't even peep! We brought her a present for her baby she had in May and she loved it. She was asking us when Kennedy was going to have a brother or sister and that's when I told her about the miscarriage. She said she had one too about a year ago and she said it was hard for her as well. I love her doctor though because she's so charismatic and she has a great sense of humor. She's a sweetheart! Which is why I don't think I could ever take our kids to anyone else. I asked her what it's like with two kids and she said it was very hard. She had someone help her for the first two months because her oldest is quite a handful. She told me she's not going to get the mother of the year award because she's not good at it lol. Anyways, I'm so glad we have her for Kennedy's doctor! On a side note I'm pissed because I have to pick Ken up from work and he's out in Wilsonville. I'm not a freeway kind of driver and I almost kill myself anytime I have to go on it. Luckily my friend who also sucks at driving on the freeway is coming with me. She's a great sport and is always there to make me feel like crap when I'm sucking at driving, but that's what they are for. =) I am totally not looking forward to it, but maybe I'll talk Ken into making it up to me!

toys

So Kennedy got lots and lots of toys! She got lots of clothes too! We put her kitchen together today and she played with it for most of the day. It was so much fun watching her little mind spin while trying to figure out why she could only fit three wooden eggs in her pot and not four. She made me watermelon and tomato soup today and even let me sprinkle my own pepper on my soup! It was really cute! Especially when she picked her baby up and was multi-tasking. She's taking after me already! Her favorite part of her kitchen I think is the salt and pepper. It even makes the noise of salt and pepper when she shakes it into her pot. She's going to have high blood pressure at the rate she's going with that salt! Anyways, we had to rearrange our furniture to make our house look more like a house and not a toy store. What do you do with all the toys? We have to box some up and hope she'll play with it in six months or so. Her birthday party was a blast even though she was a crabby patty! She didn't get her nap in because she slept in and than Grandpa wanted to see her for a few minutes because he couldn't stay. So poor Kennedy was a tired pup! She had fun though and really enjoyed playing with the other little kids. She didn't want to open her present though! She only wanted to clean her table. She's such a clean freak! I have no idea where she gets that from though!

It is 1:16 a.m. and I'm up writing in my blog. =) I should be sleeping right now, but my husband likes to keep me up late so that I'm crabby in the morning for him. Today, or maybe I should say yesterday was Kennedy's second birthday. We went for a walk on her favorite trail in the whole wide world. We ate blackberries and saw horses. We even saw horse poop, which I just had to point out for Kennedy. She's obsessed with poop lately! We watched the ducks swim in the creek. The most interesting part of the walk was when we ran into a car who had two pitbulls in it. There wasn't anyone in the car or by the car so I was a little concerned. Especially when the dogs tried to break the glass. Eventually the owner came back to the car and decided to drive around for hours on end it seemed. Needless to say I was a little scared, because quite frankly they looked fierce! Anyways I'm rambling on and I'm super tired! I think it's time for bed. I promise I won't bore you or myself this bad again. ;)