A Winter Trip to the Zoo?

Owen and I headed to the zoo the other day to buy Grandpa an owl of his own for Christmas.

December 23, 2008.

Just an ordinary day before Christmas. That is true any other year. This year December 23, 2008 was still a day that we could barely get out of our driveway, a day that we could barely get down the street, and a day when the mounds of snow had started to become too much. To the zoo we go.

We found the required owl, we put backs mugs for Noni, Steve, and Kiki, we picked up a stuffed turtle grandpa really wanted, we put back books for grandpa, Felix, and Robee, we picked up a frog for Linda at Greg's work, we put back mugs again for Noni, Steve, Grandpa, Kiki, Robee, Felix, Ben, Kelsey, Daddy (yes, he was holding them all and luckily they were plastic). Finally our shopping was done.

After paying for the necessary owl, unnecessary but darling turtle, and small frog, Owen asks me if we can go look at the elephants. I explain to him that we have been there a really long time and we weren't going to buy anything for him. He said that he already knew that and he wanted to go look at the ones outside. Could he really mean the ones outside? I told him it was very cold. He didn't care. He had thought of everything, he said he would just put on his hood and then he would be fine. To the elephants we go.

We were the only ones there. In fact, when we got to the zoo, they told us to come in. We saw ELEPHANTS, HIPPOS, and ICICLES.

I love Owen, I love 3......And that is why I went to the zoo on December 23, 2008.

It is Time to Come Back

I am finally starting to feel a little bit better and I feel like joining the real world again. I figured I would start with blogging and then perhaps in a day or two I would try cleaning and doing laundry. I need to start slow.

The last 6 weeks have been rough. I started feeling sick just after 5 weeks. I have thrown up more times than I can count. Two times were troublesome. Once on the sidewalk outside Greg's work party and once after pulling over on a busy street under a street light with tons of cars passing me by. I have learned a lot from this experience, I realized that the best place to throw up is the kitchen sink. (Gross, I know.). But, there is no water in the sink which then allows me to avoid food flying back in my face. It is easy to clean as well. Yes, I highly recommend it. I have also learned that it is weird to throw up something cold. I threw up an Instant Breakfast the other morning and it happened so fast, it was still cold. Totally odd. These are the important things I am facing right now.

Poor little Owen, he has been a good sport. He said to me this morning that he needed to eat breakfast soon or he was going to throw up. I said to Greg the other day, "next year, I will be more fun at your work party, I won't be sick, I will wear something cute, I won't throw up, I won't sit by myself trying not to throw up". Owen said, "you can help me with things again.". My poor baby.

I went to the doctor just before week 10 started. Everything was fine. I had an ultrasound and everything looked great.

So, in summary, we are hanging in there. I haven't thrown up since yesterday and I updated my blog. Things are good.

Tis the Season.

It is that wonderful time of year, the time for holidays, shopping, family, and of course for little kids to be sick! Oh, what a night/day we had. On Monday, Owen was given, although we tried not to take it, a cold from Felix and Robee. On Tuesday he sounded yucky and developed a cough. On Tuesday night we went to bed. On Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning (3:00 am to be exact), little Owen couldn't breathe. His cold had settled into his chest and he was gasping for air. I had Greg take him outside but I don't think it was cold enough to help. We decided that we had better take him to the emergency room. We got up, got dressed, and headed to the car. I had just buckled Owen in and he started coughing which led to him throwing up all over his seat and all over his best friend, Owl. I unloaded Owen from the car seat and brought him inside to be changed. The worst part was that Owl couldn't come, he had to be washed.

New jammies, no owl, we are back to the car and we are off.

We arrived at the hospital and the person checking us in immediately called for a nurse to come and get us. The nurse came right up and took us back. We went into the room and the respiratory nurse came in to start treatments to help him breathe. The first one didn't work and Owen still couldn't breathe. They moved to the next treatment with stronger drugs to help him get some air. The doctor confirmed he had croup and contemplated admitting him to the hospital. He wanted to see how he responded to the additional treatments. The second treatment seemed to start to loosen things up so he could actually breathe. They also wanted to give him a steroid shot to help him. The nurse came in and had Greg hold his legs, she asked me if I had his arms really good. I said I did but knew all the while this was totally unnecessary. I explained beforehand what was going to happen and told him it was going to hurt. As she put the shot in, he calmly whispered "ouch".

He wanted to go home so bad. The second he could finally breathe he said he was done and ready to go home. I explained that we had to stay and make sure he could breathe before we could go. We had to sit and wait to make sure it didn't get worse again. At one point, he was in my lap and breathing in the misty air, he looked at Greg and started singing a song. I started crying. He doesn't like to be sick and wants everything to be the way it is supposed to be. In the car on the way in, when things were at there worst, we were listening to his songs and Take Me Out to the Ballgame came on. He yelled in a little weak voice, "Daddy, it is your favorite song."

The respiratory nurse came in to check on him and after she left, I said to him, "she was nice". He said, "Who, her that hurt my leg?".

He decided at that point that he could do without his dad. He asked Greg to please go home and get his owl. The nurse had given him a bear when we got there, he gave the bear to Greg and said, "take this bear back to the lady and get my owl". We sent Greg home to get ready for work and to get our little friend.

We waited, continued the treatments and discussed why we couldn't go home yet. They came in to do a chest X-ray. I told him he needed to sit on the bed and be very brave while they took a picture of his chest. I had to leave the room while they did the X-ray. I stood at the doorway and watched, he was so brave. He just sat there in the bed, looking so afraid and watching me.

The doctor came in and said it was my choice, we could admit him for a day or two or we could head home knowing that we may be back. As we were discussing these choices, Owen took the heart monitor off his finger and was taking his hospital bracelet off his wrist. My choice was easy. We would head home and if needed we could come back.

Greg and newly cleaned white owl came back and picked us up. We took Greg to work and headed home. It was about 7:30. He fell right asleep.

He is almost better now. He is coughing some but nothing like it was. It is Thanksgiving now and I am thankful for the doctor who gave me a choice to go home. I am thankful that he is ok. I am thankful for our washer who cleaned his best friend. I am thankful for the humidifier that helps him breathe. Hopefully we are over the worst and on side of getting better!

Daddy is Mean...

I am sitting in my bed the other day when I hear yelling from the bathroom. Owen and Greg were in there brushing Owen's teeth for bed. Owen came in the room with a grumpy look on his face. I asked him why he and daddy were yelling. This is what he told me.

O: "Daddy is mean".

J: "Why, what did he say?"

O: "He said, " FINE! You can't brush your teeth, just go to bed!""
O: "And I said to daddy, "It doesn't have to be this way!!"

J: Laughing too hard to say anything else.

M.I.A.

Where have I been you ask. Where is my update on my favorite crazy child you wonder.

Well, I will tell you. I have been pondering, thinking, wondering, worrying, rejoicing, and sleeping!! And why have I been doing all of that..........................................

Here is how the story goes.

Sunday, October 19, 2008: Why am I starving!! And why is my stomach so fat today? Dismiss both to me being crazy.

Monday, October 20, 2008: Wake up and have some strange urge to take a pregnancy test. The odd part of the story is this, in 2 years of "trying" I think I took 2 tests, both of which happened after I was 3 or more days late. So, why I would do this 5 days EARLY was beyond me. Especially considering there was no trying this month, in fact, there was the opposite of trying and no fertility treatments and no drugs. I got out of bed and peed on the stick. 3 minutes go by, no expectations. I am about to throw the test away when I notice the faintest of lines showing up. I must be hallucinating. Throw the test away. Go to work. Stop at store on the way to buy another one.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008: Totally convinced the line wasn't there or I took a defective test, I wake up nice and early and pee on a new stick. Best if I just watch the clock. At 2 minutes I take a peek. Another faint line! A little darker than the first and definitely a line. I am totally not on board with these lines yet. I fish the other test out of the garbage to see if there really was a line on it. Now I can compare. Sure enough, 1st test really light, 2nd test, still light, but a little darker. Throw both tests away and decide to test again tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008: Ok. Now I have convinced myself that it was a fluke. I am not pregnant, how is that possible. Confident that I would see one line, time for test 3. Pee on 3rd stick. Determined not to look, I watch the clock. I can't help myself and I look over at 1 minute and the infamous line is already there and clearly a line. There are obviously two lines. What does this mean? Does this mean I am pregnant? Decide maybe it is time to tell Greg. Fish 1st and 2nd test out of the garbage to compare. 3 lines, each darker than the first. After music class Owen and head over to Greg's work. While Owen is entertaining all of Greg's co-workers, I say to Greg in my most casual voice I can muster up, "I think I am pregnant". (Yes, three tests and three pregnancy lines later, I am still not sure). Well, I will test again in the morning to be sure.

Thursday, October 23, 2008: This is getting all to familiar. Pee on 4th test. 4th test is smarter, results tell it like it is, pregnant or not pregnant. No more lines for me. 20 seconds into the test, I see "PREGNANT". "Hmmm", I think. "I might actually be pregnant."

Friday, October 24, 2008: Is it possible that 4 pregnancy tests are all wrong. This was the day I was supposed to start. I was sure this was the day I would curse myself for testing 5 days early.

Saturday, October 25, 2008: Perhaps today?

Sunday, October 26, 2008: Today?

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday..... 7 weeks in. Totally nauseous and sick. I am finally starting to believe that I am pregnant!!!

Halloween

What a great night we had trick-or-treating with Noni in Edmonds. We have been for 3 years now and we love it. We love the popcorn, the hot chocolate, the photography studio that takes free pictures of the kids and the monster music playing throughout the streets. (Trick-or-Treating to the Ghostbusters song - heaven).

Owen had as much fun as a three year old has on Halloween. He did really well for about 4 places, then he was a little distracted and needed my gentle coaxing of saying, "say trick-or-treat", "say thank you". Eventually he found the popcorn and I was instructed to hold the candy bucket. Then it got worse. He informed me that he was too hungry to say trick-or-treat and that I had to do it. At each business he would look up at me with eyes that said, "it is your line". I would obediently say my line, get the candy and it was off to the next business. At one point he said, "after they give you the candy, you need to say thank you". Oh, well of course.

He was very concerned about his snake tail all night and insisted that I carry it for him. At one point I was holding a hot chocolate, bag of popcorn, bucket of candy, baby wearing blue clothes and a tail. What a great night!!


After trick-or-treating, it was off to Noni's for pizza and pumpkin carving. She did a great job on the Monster Inc. pumpkins he ordered her to do. Sulley and Mike Wazouski. He also wanted Randall, Boo and Mr. Waternoose but Noni explained nicely that we only had two pumpkins.

Once Owen was ready to go he asked if there was some pizza left he could take with him. He packed a bag of pizza and bread, put his sauce in with the candy and let everyone know that it was late and he had to go. He said he was too busy for a picture and he had to get in his chair and leave. He pushed Noni away and told her to close the door. We left and he cried for 20 minutes about how he didn't get to give her a big hug. I think he has been talking more about that than the night's events.

I love Oprah but...

I really enjoy watching Oprah. I think she has so many wonderful shows that are both educational and entertaining, HOWEVER.... I have a strong dislike for her taste in financial gurus. For the love of Pete, can she please stop having shows featuring Suze Ormann??? She is not only a little displeasing to look at, but the words that come out of her mouth make me want to jump through the television and strangle her. If I hear her say one more time that if you choose to pay your rent rather than pay your student loan payment you are being dishonest to yourself and to the company, I will have to start writing letters. Furthermore, (this is a ranting blog) an 8 month emergency fund would be nice, but come on!! People are struggling, people have no money to eat.

I am qualified to have these opinions because I am a bankruptcy attorney. I deal with people all day long that are barely making it. This isn't because they used credit cards to buy televisions, or furniture. It is because they used credit cards to eat, to drive to work, to LIVE.

Credit card companies are predators. They are evil. Of course someone is going to live on their credit cards when they have no job and can't afford the groceries. Seriously. It is tiring.

Don't worry, next time I will delete the Oprah that says Suze Ormann in the info box so I can actually write a nice blog.

At least something good can come from this....I love my job, I love helping people who have been struggling for months and years to make it and to pay off their debt. I love bankruptcy and the positive changes it can bring to someone's life.

I love the client that starts crying in my office because they will finally sleep at night and can stop worrying. I love the client that says we were sent to them from someone up above and we are the answers to their prayers. I love the client that brings Angie and Ben flowers and a card for all of their work. I love the client that pays the bankruptcy payment every month and is never late. I love the client that tells Emilee we can call at any time of any day because he considers us family. I love the client that says she has been helped more by my dad and I than all the therapists in her life. I love the client that tells my dad I am in great shape (that has nothing to do with this post, but I do love that).

In summary:
I will not watch Suze Ormann. I love my job. I love bankruptcy.

Who Knew

I should have known that this crazy baby would turn into my crazy boy. I should have seen it coming after analyzing this picture.
But he had tricks up his sleeve even then. He had wild crazy hair to distract me. No wonder I was not noticing the obvious.

What in the World

So once upon a time Angie, Alysa, Myself and Owen went to Michaels. We went to find some beads for Angie so that she could make a necklace for her wedding. Angie and I were looking at the string and studying intently which would be better. Alysa came over to us draped in several feather boas. We thought she looked cute and laughed and went back to our project. A few minutes she came over to us and said, "Owen is doing something, Jennifer, you need to come see what he is doing.". "Oh dear, ok, I am coming". I continued to look at string with Angie. "Jennifer, you really need to come and see what Owen is doing." "I am coming".

I slowly make my way around the aisle and to my horror I see what seems like hundreds of feather boas lying on the floor. And he is not done! He is quickly pulling them off of the wall and throwing them in a big pile. "Ahhh!!" I scream. "What are you doing!!!" He continues to do this horrible thing. "Oh my, Oh my, Oh my!!, Alysa! I need your help, we need to put these back. Owen!! You sit down over here and DO NOT MOVE." Alysa and I start to try to hang them back up. I try to sort by colors but then I look at my pile of boas and after hanging and hanging and hanging, it is not moving!! We finally decide we will throw them back up on the wall in any fashion before anyone sees this mess.

Owen is sitting on a low shelf being punished. I think he is sitting nicely. I am WRONG. He is collecting a new pile of boas and stashing them on his low shelf. He slowly takes another and another and another. Seriously!! Who is this child.

Alysa and I are still picking up boas, endlessly picking up boas, when the inevitable happens... the unsuspecting employee heads down our aisle. This woman is obviously angered. She still sees too many boas on the floor and a pile of feathers, stray feathers partly from the boas and partly from the large bag of feathers partially opened which Owen grabbed and shook all over. She says nothing to us, quietly scoops up the remaining pile of boas and storms away. Still not saying anything, she comes back over with a broom and vigorously begins sweeping up the remaining stray feathers. She was so mad. Owen did not care and Noni couldn't stop laughing.

The Sun

Owen's first picture that actually resembles something that I can figure out.

Here is a picture of the sun.

P.S.

Oh, and P.S. Greg, perhaps you should stay away from my blog.

Ha Ha

Greg thinks he is so funny. I have to post something, anything!! I can't let that scary picture that Greg put on, be the top of my blog. I thought Greg's eye scared me, well now my own blog scares me!!!

Very funny honey.

I'm fine... (REPOSTED BY JEN)

Dear Jen,

You should have seen the other guy.... (there used to be a picture here but the content has been removed by the true author of this blog.)

Love,

Greg

Eye Update

Dear Greg, Part II

Your eye scares me.

Love,

J

Didn't You Get the Memo

Dear Greg,

Apparently you didn't get the memo. I guess I better let you know what it said...

1. Don't invite guys to play football with you that measure in at 6'4'' and weigh somewhere in the range of 270.

2. If you do invite the guy that could have actually played professional football and you find yourself running toward each other, immediately turn and run away.

Now see, if you would have read the memo before you played football today, you may not look like this tonight.

and this..

And this.

I am sorry that I said you looked like Sloth from Goonies. But you do. I am thinking that perhaps next time you should stick to the football games in the comfort of your own home. The ones that take place with you sitting on the couch. Either that, or you could take my Broncos football helmet.

Tell them your wife made you.

Love,
J