Stripper

I guess I should give a quick update...my uncle had a cardiac cath last Monday. They put in 2 stints, then sent him home the next day. He is doing well but this has disqualified him from using the experimental treatment for his cancer. There MIGHT be one last option. They will find out this week if there is one last protocol to try at MD Anderson (cancer hospital).

Thanksgiving wasn't all that bad. Ok, so it wasn't great either. We had steaks etc. I made the most yummiest cake that night. It was a pumpkin pound cake with a white chocolate cream cheese filling and a maple glaze. It sounds gross but is was so good! I was just happy to be with my hubby and precious kids. They make me so happy ; )

The potty training saga continues. I won't bore you with 1 million stories from this week. If I told you all the times Jacob stripped down and peed in my house you might never step foot through my front door again! Actually, he mainly only pees in the crib and outside. I have banned him from the crib. This is his second night to be in his big boy bed.

I tried his crib for nap time today and he stripped and peed in it AGAIN for the 10 millionth time this week. He pottied 3 times before laying down. We tried to lay down in his bed first but he wouldn't stay (at night I lay with him until he falls asleep) and Jenna was awake so that's why I put him in the crib. Never again. If he won't stay in his bed then he doesn't get a nap. Oh well. That just means he'll fall asleep faster at night. I'm not sure if it's a reward or punishment for him to miss his nap.

One quick funny story...on Friday night we had put Jacob to bed in his crib then gone downstairs to watch TV. We heard him talking and giggling but nothing major, and it was quiet within 20 minutes or so so we figured he was asleep. A little while later, we went upstairs to get ready for bed. I went in to check on Jacob and ran out of the room hysterical...laughing. I seriously almost peed my pants. Jacob was asleep in the crib as I suspected, laying on his stomach as usual with his lovey over his head, only he was NAKED! His diaper and zip-up footed jammies were laying there beside him! He hardly even stirred when we picked him up to dress him! Oh ya, did I mention he strips even when I put a belt on his pants as tight as I can. Oh, and he can get his diaper off even if he has on a onesie too. He's such a mess!

Jenna and I continue to fight this cold thing Jacob gave us. Brian has had a touch of it too. I have been so tired! I have napped every day for the past 3 days! Once Brian gets up I run up to bed. I have GOT to go to the store tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a little more energy.

Homeless for Thanksgiving

You know everything I just wrote a few hours ago about being so excited about Thanksgiving...not having to cook or clean etc? Well, scratch that. We are now homeless for Thanksgiving.
It's a long story so I'll try to be brief. It all started 3 yrs ago when my uncle Mike was diagnosed with melanoma. It of course spread (as melanoma always does-which is why it's so deadly) to his liver and lungs. They did a cocktail of chemo of which he only tolerated for about half the length of time he was supposed to get it. The side effects were too much, he had to quit. He was in "remission" for a little over a year. With his type of cancer, the doctors consider remission when the tumors aren't actively growing, even though they were still there.
A week or so ago we got the bad news we knew would come eventually. The tumors are growing again. They had doubled in size in 2 months. The doctors told him at this rate his life expectancy is very short. The problems was trying to figure out what to use to treat him, as he had already tried all of the options in round 1 of chemo. They finally found an experimental drug that they were going to start the first of December. Because it is experimental (he would only be the 2nd in the nation to receive it) insurance does not cover it. So now they had to come up with $25,000. His church immediately put together a fundraiser which took place last Friday night. It raised $21,000. What a miracle!
Well, this morning my uncle woke up and told my aunt he felt funny, and that his chest and arm hurt. He told her he thought he might be having a heart attack. They immediately went to the ER where it was confirmed. I think it was minor but we'll know more tomorrow after his cath.
All that said....they were going to come down (from Houston) for Thanksgiving. Now, my parents are going there. Which means we are stuck at home again. I feel really guilty for being so bummed. Hello! My uncle who has inoperable, incurable cancer just had a heart attack. I am worried about him, don't get me wrong. I just know he's in really good hands. If everyone could please keep him, my Aunt Rita and my cousin Jonathan (who will turn 16 next month) in your prayers.
I bought supplies for making queso and cake so I guess that's what we'll be having on turkey day! Brian is really bummed too. We were so looking forward to a nice, relaxing day. There's just something about my parent's house that is so relaxing! Anyways, now the plan is either burgers or steaks. Oh well, maybe next year!

Update

Both kids are suffering from a cold so we stayed home from church today. Brian stayed home with the kids while I did a massive WalMart run. That place was nuts! I was thinking most people would be in church or getting ready for the Cowboy game. Not.

Jacob has been very in to "go potty" this past week. It's not something I initiated. We all know I do not have the patients for that! He's done well. He usually goes a little in his diaper which reminds him that he needs to "go potty." Then we go in the toilet and the cycle continues. I think we went through a 2 week supply of diapers this past week because I can't stand putting on a non-dry diaper after he goes in the toilet. Even if it's only a little wet (which is usually the case) I put on a clean diaper. I need to get over that!

Jenna has been trying hard to roll over the past few days. I bought her some bows today at WalMart that said for ages 3 and up. Who knew bows had an age ranking? Needless to say, she has plenty of hair to hold them!

We are looking forward to NOT having Thanksgiving at our house for the first time EVER! No cooking, no cleaning, no entertaining. It's going to be great (at my parent's house). I am baking of course. I can't let an opportunity to bake slip by!

Ponytail

Jenna got her first ponytail last night. I couldn't resist. Everyone always says "her hair is so long you could put it in a ponytail!" Well, I did to prove they are right!

We love the tiny barrettes Ami got for us. They tame the mane.
Jacob had a busy day streaking. I would post a picture but I don't know how to cover the "zone" so no pervies can see. First he stripped in his crib, then the backyard. Good thing it was warm today. Both times it was because he needed to "potty." He peed in his crib (the diaper was totally dry) and on the back doorstep.
He's doing well potty training. I'm not doing anything. Just waiting for him to tell me when he needs to go. I'm not patient enough. I figure eventually he'll want to go in the potty which seems to be true now! He loves the m&m reward system too.
We have a very busy day of errand running tomorrow, then Papa is coming on Friday to play. Jacob is very excited about that. He hasn't seen Papa in a while. He kept asking about him last week but he was out of town in San Antonio. All week he would say "papa, onie-onie-o." Now he says "Papa, onie-onie-o, home." That means he was in San Antonio but now he's home. I love that kid!

Dress Up

One of the differences between girls and boys: when Jenna has a blow-out and needs an outfit change I see it as an opportunity to play dress-up! She got this little dress as a hand-me-down from one of my mom's clients. I thought it was SO CUTE and have been patiently waiting for a warm day so she could wear it!

We haven't been up to too much around here. Friday night our friends the Watsons came over with BBQ and the Wii. I rocked it at golf! Well, sort of. Baby Emma is so precious. I could have held her all night! I think she's 6 weeks old and still 2 lbs less than Jenna was at birth!

The ladies breakfast (church ladies that is) was fun Saturday morning. IHOP was so yummy and it was nice to finally get to go...usually ladies night out is on Monday nights; Brian is at work so I never get to go. Now we're going to do a Saturday morning once per quarter. It was obviously popular. I think we had 20 people show up!

After breakfast I got to go shopping. My mother in law gave me $$$ to go buy the kids some clothes. It was SO FUN! She had a 20% off coupon for Carters (my FAVORITE store). I went nuts. They were having a big sale. I got a ton of stuff! Plus, I got another 20% off coupon and when checking out they told me the ENTIRE store will be 50% off the week after Thanksgiving AND you can use the 20% off. Sounds dangerous!

We've been going on lots of walks. I'm trying to shed some pounds. I don't seem to be getting anywhere but the walks are nice. Jacob loves to go feed the ducks. I think I'm going to start looking on Craigs List for a double jogging stroller. Our double stroller is ok but I walk pretty fast and it's a bit hard to maneuver.

Jenna is a giggle box - only giggles at Brian of course. She's very chatty these days too. Jacob is loving the cooler weather. Here is him playing with his new tricycle (another hand-me-down). He likes riding down the tiny slope at the side of the house into the fence. I guess crashing is fun when you're 2.

Work is starting to pick up. We are so much slower than this time of year a few years ago. I think it's because we dropped so many insurances but that's a different story. I'm going to go play with my baby girl now until Jacob wakes up from his nap.

POOP!

Jacob teaches Jenna how to "ride the bull"

Jacob doing patty-cake with Jenna

Today was crappy. Literally. It started off with a frantic call from Brian. He forgot his vest. Yes, his bullet-proof vest that goes under his uniform. You see, he plays racket ball with the guys Wednesday mornings, then showers and goes to his part time at the jewelry store, then from there to work. It's his "long day"...he packed up his stuff last night but somehow forgot the vest. So I grabbed the kids and off we went to Richardson to take daddy his vest and some lunch.

Once we got home and ate lunch, it was nap time. I have been working on trying to get Jacob to sleep in his "big boy bed" and get out of the crib. We will be needing the crib soon, plus he jumps in it and I'm afraid he's going to break it. Anyways, after battling with him for about 30 minutes I give up and put him in the crib, then go to check email. When I go to check on him, I find him in his crib, pants off, holding his diaper saying "poop." The diaper is a little wet, but no poop...I look down and see the poop. Nice. So I clean him up, change the sheets, get him back in bed (he fell asleep fast after all the excitement) and go to lay down and Jenna had woken up. By this time she had already gotten a good 1hr nap or more. I was desperate for a nap since I worked yesterday so I play with her for a few minutes, nurse her, then lay her down. She did eventually go to sleep and so did I. Yeah!

The second poop episode happened in the early evening. I pick up the dog poop every day with a shovel so Jacob won't step in it while running around the yard. Well,he has a big shovel and I guess he had gotten a fresh pile of you know what on his shovel and was bringing it in the house to show me. Apparently it fell off the shovel right at the entry to the back door and he must have stepped in it. So I got to wash his shoes for the second time today. Mimi babysat yesterday and she let him play in the wet backyard so his shoes were all muddy.

So now for the final (I hope) poop. I had bathed Jenna and Jacob was still in the tub. He likes to sit in her bath chair when she gets out. So I was drying her off, dressing her etc when I look over and see Jacob straining. I say YOU HAD BETTER NOT!!!! I thought I caught him in time but he had squeezed out one tiny little terd. So I got him out, got the terd, then sprayed down the tub, chair, and toys with bleach water.

Geesh! What a day. On a funner note, Jacob is talking A LOT. It's amazing how fast it's happening. He sings all of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and all of his ABC's except for HIJKLMNOP but I think he's said LMNOP before. Brian has always sang his ABCs like this: ABCDEFGHI JACOB QRSTUVWXYZ so I blame him for the missing letters.

He also knows the names of all his books. He pooped in the toilet twice yesterday too, though I'm still not really pushing the whole potty training thing. He pees in the potty several times a day, usually when I take off his diaper to change it. He hasn't grasped to concept that he has to tell me when he needs to go.

Jenna is awesome. Love her, love her, love her. Enough said, right? We finally got our pictures back so I'll post some for you. Yikes, I need to go call Grandma, it's her b-day. Do you think she'll still be up? I'd better go try!

Brag

I'm not usually one to brag, I leave that to Brian (sorry honey but you know it's true!) but I feel that it's ok to brag in my blog, and I have lots to brag about.

First off, I have cooked three meals this week. Whoop-tee-do you say? I just don't cook real meals that much. And when I do cook it's always the same old spaghetti or chicken enchiladas or whatever. I am so tired of turkey sandwiches and chicken nuggets. So, this week I cooked taco soup, a cheese ravioli bake, and ranchero pork in the crock pot. And I have a special meal I'm going to prepare for my darling husband on Friday. Oh, and Brian liked the first two meals a lot, but he hasn't tried the pork yet. I'm so proud of myself!

Next up: Jacob. He amazes me everyday. I am constantly asking him "where did you learn that?" The past month or so he's begun to really speak in sentence. It's so cute. He brings me books and says "mama read" or "go outside" or "what is it?". He says longer things too I just can't think of anything right now. Last night I was eating a brownie and gave him a tiny pinch of a bite. He ate it then said "Jacob big" ....he wanted the big brownie! That's my boy! He's very into identifying everything he sees. He'll tell you what it is, what color it is, where it came from, etc. It's fun to just walk around the house with him and listen to everything he says. Oh and one more funny story. Yesterday I was putting his hot dog in the microwave to cook and he said "zap it!" Isn't that cute? I swear they store everything they have EVER heard in their brains and it just sits there until they start talking!

Now for my sweet baby girl. Jenna has been sleeping 8-9 hours at night. I know this is somewhat normal for many babies but being that Jacob was at least 9 months before that happened, I consider it a miracle! God does listen even to our selfish pleas! Jacob really enjoys showing her all his old baby toys. She has been enjoying his old play mat. It has a ball that hangs down that you kick. She's quite a kicker already. And once in a while she will bat at the little hanging fish too.

I don't have anything specific to brag about for Brian. He's been doing a great job being my "trainer" getting me back in shape. He also does a great job with the kids on daddy day (every Thursday or Friday when I'm at work).

Now for some random thoughts. First off, what's up with Lupe Valdez's (Dallas Co Sheriff) eyebrows? It looks like she drew them on with a black sharpie. Weird. Next, I want to give two thumbs up for both of the Presidential candidate's speeches last night. I thought they were both great. I know that God will use Obama to do great things for our country, even if his values aren't the same as mine.

The Monkey and The Ladybug

TRICK or TREAT! Our first time trick or treating was a great success! Jacob had so much fun. He had no clue what was going on but he sure enjoyed it. Jenna did great too. I think the both got hot after 10min or so. Halloween is usually cold and nasty, but not this year. Go figure, both of their costumes were for 50 degree Halloweens, not 70 degree!

This is Jacob's gorilla aka "monkey" costume. The face doesn't show up well but it's really funny. It's very gorilla-ish. He LOVED it. When I showed it to him yesterday morning, he exclaimed "LOVE" and huged it, then took it to the rocking chair to snuggle!

This was a cool pumpkin at our neighbor's house. Jacob was fascinated by it.

And of course our little darling Jenna sporting the cute bib her Aunt Heather bought her.