Monday, February 6, 2012

Ohhhh Those Tiny Booger Producers

Man, I feel like life has been going non-stop lately. I know, I know, its good to be busy and doing things and blah, blah, blah. But for real, I just want to be bored and have nothing to do for a few days! I think that is why I have SO been looking forward to this coming weekend.... John & I are going to this Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat thing that is through the National Guard. It isn't supposed to be a blasty-blast or anything, but it is a free weekend away from kids & responsibilities! And, not going to lie, the hotel looks sweet from the pictures online. And we get a date night! And a king-sized bed, without any tiny booger-producers climbing in with us at the butt-crack of dawn. Or, well, before it! Idk I'm just excited, and don't really have too many expectations for the weekend. Just that it will fun for some 1-on-1 time with my man, for more than a few hours :)

As I was babbling about before, life has been a tad busy. It all seemed to start about a week & a half before Christmas, when Jake got admitted to Children's for his RAD (Reactive Airway Disease) acting up again (aka oxygen levels dropping, wheezing like crazy, breathing so hard they thought his muscles were going to give out.... ya know, fun things).  Caused by..... *dun dun dun* a COLD. Seriously. Lets just say a 23 month old + oodles of needles + oodles of masked doctors poking & prodding at him = an interesting 4 days spent! He got back at them though, slowly but surely. First, he nailed one of the nurses in the head & eye with this huge boot-thing he had to have on his leg (to protect his IV since it was the 6th one they had put in...). He threw sippy cups at them several times, cried so loud they couldn't even check his breathing, and once he got the boot off, whipped toys when they started coming close to him. I mean, come on, the drs totally had it coming! I was fully rooting for him, except when he was crying, because that mostly broke my heart, and also made me feel slightly insane after so much of it.

So, we got through Christmas festivities with both kids being mostly sick the entire time, and Jake was crazy sick for his birthday again, but about a week or 2 into January everything cleared up and the kids have both been healthy since! Jake had his 2nd birthday party, had a blast, even though he somehow hates cake. So now we are transitioning slowly into John's "new" work schedule, which basically includes a lot of traveling. He works for the NG Event Team, so he brings the rock walls and obstacle courses and basketball/football games and other such things to events where recruiters are at and helps out. But it means a very, very busy spring & summer for him. So far he has been traveling anywhere between 5-10 days for January and February, and as time moves forward this summer he could be gone anywhere from 3-5 days/week depending on the events and everything... BUT the God-send in all of this is that we can travel with him when we're able, and that it will only send him within Minnesota. Soooo I'm going to try to be more appreciative about it, because really the whole job and benefits and everything is such a blessing to all 4 of us... I'll just have to remember that when he's gone!

Some updates on the kids:
Brooklyn was 3 (going on 13) on Nov. 18th! She is definitely my child.... stubborn to the core and will do anything to get her way! Haha so she keeps us on our toes for sure... But she is so very sweet & funny as well. She is always saying hilarious things, and has an amazing memory and can recall things all the time when we ask about them. Mostly slightly embarrassing things, but what better are kids for than for some solid embarrassment once in a while!? She loves to be cuddled with, and is starting to get very into all things girly. Princesses, barbies, littlest pet shop, dresses, HORSES; but she still loves playing boyish things with her brother. They play cars/trains all the time, and have wrestling matches that could go up against those of the "real" wrestlers in the WWE! She doesn't like to sit and just color anymore, but she loves to paint and do puzzles. Candy Land and Memory are her favorite games, and she can turn ANYTHING into a "mommy, daddy, and baby" and play with them. She is day-time potty trained, now we are starting to naptime potty train,, which has been going very well so far, no accidents! The next beast is overnight... That may be a little while!

Jacob just turned 2 at the end of December! He started walking a few weeks before Christmas, so is constantly trying to go faster and do different things. His favorite is to jump on his big sister's bed with her... And then turn it into a wrestling match. He loves all things having to do with cars, trucks, trains, buses, airplanes, and balls. He is very boy! Basketball is his favorite sport, and he always tries to get on the court when we watch John's cousin's games. He gets very concerned that they are not always trying to "shoot" the ball! He is working on his words and putting together 2-word phrases. He knows several, but not always ones he has done on his own. His physical therapist and teacher have been very happy with all the progress he has made since daddy got home from training! He loves to color, but still hates most food. The kid just will NOT eat most things. So he is still strictly on pediasure every day right before bed to ensure he has enough calories & nutrition in him for the day! Peek-a-boo, "night-night", and chase are among his favorite things to play. He tries to play with his sister's toys with her, but she just generally gets upset because he wrecks whatever she was trying to set up or play lol. He is starting to get interested in the potty and always wants to sit on it, but hasn't gone in it yet. But I am terrified to potty-train him! Anyone who has potty trained a boy I would love some tips! I know he is young, but he is interested! I just don't know what to do with his little thingy, I know, TMI lol.

I am still a nanny in Coon Rapids and love working with these kids :-) And Brooke & Jake love having playmates! Even if they do all fight like siblings ;-) And we're starting to look for a new place to rent this fall, 3 bedrooms, and can be an apartments, townhouse, or home! Let me know if you know of nice places with reasonable prices!

Just heard the sounds of Addison waking up, time to get back to work! Until next time :)