Saturday, 24 October 2009

• I am Awful!! So Sorry!!

   Geez - I held to that commitment for a real long time hey? But, I think I have a better excuse this time. The week after my last blog, life was definitely thrown into a whirlwind. Dan found out he got that job in Iowa and would be starting on October 12th. We went to Iowa the weekend of October 3rd to look around and try to find a place to stay. Ultimately, we decided to rent for a year so we are sure the job is going well and are able to judge a little better what area we want to live in. We found a house to rent that is actually kinda out in the middle of nowhere, but the address is North Liberty. I did not know how HUGE Cedar Rapids is - we decided it would be best to have more than 4 square feet of yard space for our dog and 4 boys. The drive for Dan is about 25 minutes. We also got our house on the market and had an open house on Sunday, October 11. Before which time we had the basement painted and a tree taken down. Dan left that Sunday afternoon for Iowa with his little car loaded as much as he could get it (though, that really isn't much) It was all pretty crazy for a while - trying to get both the house ready to show and Dan ready for Iowa and his new job. But, we made it. So far, we have only had 3 people look at the house, but one couple seemed quite interested. The man was VERY interested, but his wife was insistent that they look at other houses before making a decision (which is totally understandable). We also found out that our fireplace is pretty much junk and should be fixed before we sell the house. I finally made an appointment to get it cleaned and the guy discovers that the firebox is rusted through in four different places. So, basically, we are very fortunate we had not yet burned the house down.

  So, in the last two weeks - while Dan has been working in Iowa - I have been a single mother home sick myself and with sick kids. Go figure, Dan leaves and it all goes downhill. I have been sick for 2 weeks straight now and Noah has been running a fever since Monday. I took him to the doctor on Thursday and they think he has H1N1 - but he didn't get meds for it or anything. (They figure that is probably what I have too.) Right now, I am just praying that the other boys don't come down with it. The doctor actually put Austin on a round of preventative anti-virals. Because of his asthma, they really don't want him catching it. I have been working at not spreading it - washing hands and trying to keep Noah away from Asher as much as possible. So far, so good. Now Noah and I just need to get better.

  Other than sickness, we are doing pretty well. Getting geared up for our move. I decided to order boxes this time instead of trying to hunt them down. We are renting a 26' moving truck and getting as much help as we can to get our stuff out there. I think we will have plenty of help this side of the state border for loading up, it is more the unloading there we aren't sure about. But, we will make do with what we get. I am considering having a packing party - as everybody has been telling me that I shouldn't be trying to do this on my own with 4 kids to take care of. I have just never been very good at accepting help for anything. I really should start packing things we don't use regularly now - but haven't gotten much done with the sickies in the house as of late. Honestly, it doesn't all seem quite 'real' yet. Though I think I may be in denial or something. I have told Dan more than once that I changed my mind and he is commuting cuz' I don't want to move anymore. The boys are relatively excited about it, but understandably apprehensive. It will definitely take some getting used to. But, Dan is absolutely loving his job so far, so I really think it will ultimately end up being a good move for us.

  Austin, Eli and Noah are all doing well in school. I had their parent/teacher conferences here in the last couple weeks and they all went wonderfully. Austin and Eli are both above their grade levels in both reading and math. I did find out just the other night that Eli - though he is good at it - does not like math class. When I asked him if he could cut one thing from school what it would be, that was his answer. Whereas Austin's favorite thing is math. I guess Austin is more like Dan - who was always good at math and loved it - and Eli is more like me - who was good at math but just didn't care much for it. With pre-school, there really isn't much to report at a parent/teacher conference. Noah plays well with others and listens to instructions well and that is about all they are looking for at this point. I was just glad to hear he isn't tackling everyone like he does with his brothers all the time.

  Asher is doing great! He is getting big way too fast. At his last appointment (just over 2 weeks ago) he was 17 1/2 pounds. He is back on the charts, but still in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. He has started eating two 'meals' regularly. Lately, it has been sweet potatoes around lunch time and bananas w/ cereal before bed. He is to the point where he expects it and starts to get mad around the time I have been giving it to him if he doesn't have it yet. He even opens his mouth for it now, instead of me kind of having to pry it open with the spoon. (For anyone who doesn't know - that is normal for babies. I was not force feeding him really, they just don't get it at first so you kind of have to pry their bottom jaw down with the spoon to get the food in there.) He has rolled over like 3 times, but it is still pretty much an 'accident' and surprises him when it happens. I have a video, but I am having a hard time getting my videos uploaded on here. He is a very happy, smilely little boy.

  I guess that is pretty much all in a nutshell. I was happy to finally have some true fall weather here the last couple days. Right now, I am counting the days until Dan comes home to 'visit' again - Halloween weekend. But, that is really about all I know. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

   

  Jumping on the bed at the hotel in Iowa. Dan tried to stop them, but I pointed out that that is what hotel beds are for and pulled out the camera.

  

  My mom tells me that this is not an abnormal occurrence in siblings...but I still think it is funny. (Austin was in there, but ran away when I pulled out the camera.)

  

  We were driving around just kind of exploring the area, and these are the kinds of roads we found. Look closely, there is actually a stop sign at the end of that 'road' - who drives on there? I found it very entertaining that it even had nth Avenue names.

  

  A cool pic of Dan in the hot tub at the hotel. And some of the boys playing in the pool.

  

  This is a not-so-great picture of the house we will be living in for the next year.

  

  And the upstairs fireplace. There is one pretty much just like it in the basement.

  

  A couple pictures of Asher in the baby sling that I made to use with him. I have been meaning to get a picture of this for a while and finally did. He loves this thing and actually generally falls asleep in it.

  

  A picture of cool dude Asher ...

  

  ...and one of him not looking so happy.

  

  Here he is all dressed in orange like he is ready to go hunting or something. I love the expression on his face in this one.

  

  And deep in conversation with his favorite puppy.

  

  One more HUGE smile pic of Asher sitting in his Bumbo seat. He has a love/hate relationship with this thing.

  

  Some pictures of the boys on a trip to a park later in the summer. I thought the slide pictures would be cool ... and they are ... but it was hard to get one of Austin without getting kicked in the face b/c the kid was just too darned tall for the slide. I can't believe how big he is getting!

  

  Here is a picture of how Noah spent the majority of the last week. I have to admit, it was kind of nice (at least at first) when he ended up sleeping in bed with me as that was better than having no one in there with me. I remember taking turns sleeping with my mom when my dad would be on the road for longer periods.

  

  And, I got one video to upload. It is the one of Asher rolling over that I caught. I have some other cute ones I want to get up here and I will keep trying.

  Well, that is all for tonight folks. I may continue to be sporadic on here for a bit, but I will try to do my best. Once we are settled in Iowa, I WILL get back into a routine on here. (I'm pretty sure my father may force a more regular updating to be more strictly stuck to :) Hope all is well with everyone reading this and that you are all staying healthy. 'The Holidays' are quickly approaching and we are looking forward to seeing those of you we don't get to see very often (and those we do). Less than 9 weeks left to shop!!! : P Have a great week.

   

  • 12:57 AM
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