Happy Halloween

The day started off at Team Physical Therapy for me. I have Planter Fasciitis. It's not very realistic to have a mother of four who can not get up on her feet and go full throttle all day. I notice it every time I get out of bed and then throughout the day. When I've tried to start back on my walking routine, inevitably I live to regret it because my feet ache so bad. So the unremoved pregnancy pounds are contributing to the planter fascia and the pain from the planter fascia is keeping me from getting out and walking. Good thing that Jon got me started on biking with him.

Later in the day (in the midst of pumpkin carving) I needed to send Jon to the urgent care to get antibiotics for James. He has an ear infection. I got the ballerina fairy all made up while they were away and then he was able to take our clan trick or treating. I stayed home to greet the little princesses and gremlins that stopped by our door. I had to start giving only ONE piece of candy. Usually we all go out trick or treating together and miss half the kids, so we end up with lots of candy. This year we ran out. Jessica started volunteering to give her treats. She really liked passing out candy.

We allotted a bit more time for pumpkin carving this year. James was utterly disgusted by the pumpkin pulp. Jessica was so excited that she colored her pumpkin with markers and decorated it with stickers before we got around to carving it. We used a cat pattern where you just poke holes to make a design. It turned out pretty cute. Jacob was very ambitious to carve a spider design, but then opted for his own hand drawing. In typical fashion he spent the most time carving - even though he is the one who has lost fine motor skills in his hands (from the chemo).

Stepping into Another World

We had a delightful time. Weather was perfect. Manageable meltdowns. Super fun memories. WAY WAY WAY funner than chemo this week.




The kids & Jon sat down in row three of the Soak Zone for the Shamu Show. Jayson & I took to higher ground since he was nursing and sleeping. The kids were kind of bummed that they didn't get drenched. They needed to be one section over for the tail fin splash.

All during the Artic Wild simulated helicopter ride, Jessica kept reassuring me that we weren't really crashing or in an avalanche. "It's just TV," she'd say. "It's just pretend Mom."

I spent longer watching the walruses than the kids wanted. They were just smashed up to the glass. Interesting creatures.

I was trying to take silhouette photos of Jessica in front of the fish tank, when all of a sudden the polar bear jumped in to snatch a bite to eat. We were standing just 10 feet away from a bear catching fish. FASCINATING!!! He looked so cool floating in the water with his fur swishing back and forth.

I TOTALLY forgot that the huge water hill on the Atlantis ride is just a warm up. After you go up the elevator you go for a steep spin on the coaster tracks. Both Jessica & Jacob rode the ride with Jon. I don't think either of them liked it.

The Shipwreck Rapids turned out to be a favorite. I went with my little brave ones first (Jessica & Jacob). Later we returned and James went with dad & the others. We all loved that one!!!

When I Was a Baby...

Jessica likes to compare herself to baby Jayson regularly. She watches video footage of when she was little and loves seeing her baby self. She often starts sentences "When I was a baby..." and then gives us some insight to her early childhood.

Today she said, "When I was a baby, James liked me because I wasn't evil."

Pub Scouts

Since Jacob has started Cub Scouts from home, Jessica has seen first hand how fun this can be. Jon & I have tried to look through their books and set goals with the boys so we can do stuff together or use family night to accomplish some activities. Of course Jessica wants to be RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the fun. She argues with the boys, "I'm in PUB Scouts too!!!!!" Apparently she believes that it is the Princess Unites w/ Boys organization.

She wonders where HER book is. Today while I was sneaking a much needed nap, Jon took time to sit down with each of the boys. Jessica insisted on having her meeting also. Jon reviewed bike safety rules with her, had her draw a picture of a bike, and apparently they are going for a short walk. Their lesson wasn't long enough for her. I just kissed Jon and said, "thanks for being a good dad." Our feisty daughter is going to give those boys a run for their money.


In the middle of our photo shoot yesterday she said to me, "do you wanna see my scary face?" Do I need to be asking for scary to get a full blown smile? She's got the cutest scary face I've ever seen!

Going Through a Phase

A couple weeks ago I taught Jacob one of my favorite card games: Phase 10. He caught on quickly and won me hands down. You play this game by getting sets (same #) or runs (cards in numerical order). Each phase you are trying to play a different assortment of sets & runs. The winner is the one who completes all 10 phases first, but it's possible that both of you will finish all ten phases by the last round. At that point you compare points. Our closest match was when we both finished all ten phases and it came down to the point tally. Jacob won because he had stuck me with ONE card (5 points). Now Jacob wants to play this game every day. I enjoy this time with him - actually I didn't enjoy the HUGE blowout yesterday when he whooped me by two phases and I had 100s of points. I really kept wondering if he had stacked the deck, but I was the dealer. He knows how to gloat too. But he had a good time.

Those Baby Blues

Father & Son

I guess all that hair shaving has paid off. Jacob feels a deep bond for his dad. He sat with him during his first ultrasound and took him for his first CT. Jon has also been involved with taking him to clinic appointments. Jacob is often found cradled in his dad's arms.

Jacob refused to go to his CT appointment with me today. He wanted to be with his Dad. So I'll busy myself with errands of the day and needs of my younger children. In my heart, I'll be sitting in the CT scan room.

Sneak Peek - Into My Son's Future Modeling Career

I'm 9 Months Old

The official 9 month photo shoot has been postponed because Jayson was cutting his second tooth. He seemed happy enough earlier that day when I snapped these, but later he was ALL FUSSY.


Look Out!!! Here comes trouble! He is SO proud of himself for getting around. He has already explored the family room, so he prefers to crawl on the tile. He has gotten a few bonks from those hard tiles already.


He likes to show his super strength by moving the chairs around.


Enough pictures already!! Pick me up Momma!!!



My sweet Baby Jay prefers table foods. He is WAY too cool for pureed jar foods. He eats what the big kids eat. Some of his favorites are: lasagna, teriyaki chicken, Cheeze-It Chicken Fingers. He also enjoys: strawberries, peas, bananas, pears, brown rice, cantaloupe, apples (although he tries to store slivers of apple in his cheek for later, so I don't like these so much), homemade pizza, oatmeal, green beans, carrots, & corn. He even eats steamed broccolli. He isn't particularly fond of peaches or any jar that has sweet potatoes.

I love this sweet boy!

It was not a TREAT to see that I'd been TRICKED!!

Okay, so you tell me. Look back at THIS post (or scroll down to Jessica's messy bedroom). Does the photo below look much improved? The answer is: no, it doesn't. A few books were put back on the shelf and the mattress has collapsed to the floor, but the drawers are all untucked, the tea party is still out, the laundry still scatters the carpet. Since WHEN do I take my four-year-old daughter's word that she did her job. I can't believe I fell for that!!!! She totally tricked me.