Trip to MN

Over Thanksgiving we took a road trip to Minneapolis, MN. A trip that clocked out on Google maps, should have only taken us 10hrs. However when you add rush hour through Chicago, Thanksgiving traffic and one of the first big snows we have seen, plus a 2 year old who need to get out and run around so he doesn't drive his parents crazy :)...the actual time of the trip was 13 hours (10 of which I drove, by the way). The actual trip was actually pretty good except for the stand still in Chicago, but we got over it! Josiah was great!!!! I hardly heard a peep out of him. He just watched his movies and slept! He actually slept really great from about 9:00 pm on, which was awsome!!!

We got there at about 2:30 am and of course Josiah woke up...cause that's what he does when the car slows down. We let him run around, while we got everything set up and he went right to bed like a champ. I was so excited! We read his nighttime book which we read every night and off to bed he went...not a peep! It was so great to see our good friends: Jeremiah, Kelly and Brayden (almost 2 also)!

Since Josiah had been sleeping since 9:00 am, he was up bright and early! And boy was he a crab! He was kind of crabby and sick the whole time..poor kid and poor us. Dan had gone on a hunting trip and was gone for 5 days, so that was all mom time. Well, when Dan got back, Josiah didn't really want anything to do with him. There were only 3 days from when he got home until we left on our trip, so that little charade continued. Josiah would get really mad if Dan came near him or tried to pick him up. Not always, but much of the time. The longer we were there, the more crabby he got! He did have good times and times when he played really well with Brayden. But there were many rough times too!

Ok, so that was the tough part, but we had a great time. It was fun seeing the two boys playing together. Josiah was kind of a bully at times. For example, he walked up to Brayden and just shoved him down. Both hands to push him down. So we had to get after him and eventually he realized he couldn't push Brayden down without consequenses. Josiah loved playing with all of Brayden's toys! They had this little microwave that has a timer on it which beeps when the time was up. He loved that thing. And of course he loved the trucks. He even used a dump truck as a stepping stool to get to the light switch. Silly guy!

We pretty much relaxed most of the time we were there. We took a couple of walks with the boys, which was premediated on our part. We wanted them to take good naps and that was one way to ensure that would happen ;) And that they did. Josiah took 2 1/2 to 3 hour naps the whole time we were there. And that seems to have continued since we got home. yay!!! I got some great naps while we were there as well. I don't think I missed a nap :)

We did alot of visiting. We played a fun round of Cranium! Always fun with the right people. I got one spread done of scrapbooking. There wasn't alot of time left over, once we took naps every day. Plus there was a lot of preparation for Thanksgiving dinner. Dan and Jeremiah played a lot of computer games and played a couple of games of chess. When Jeremiah's parents came, they went to see the movie "Beowolf". So once again the guys got to go out and do something and us girls never got a chance to get out. Well we did get out for an hour shopping, but we were picking up stuff we needed for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner was awsome!!

Menu

Appetizers
chex mix
crab dip
cheese and crackers
veggies and dip

Main Course

Salad

Green bean casserole

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Sweet potatoes

Corn

Ham and Turkey

Desert

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Crisp

Real whipped cream

The food was great the first time, but even better the second time :) Josiah was a stinker about food most of the time we were there (but then again he usually is). But he wouldn't eat anything for Thanksgiving dinner. But he didn't beg for food for the rest of the night either, so he must not have been hungry. One thing that I was really surprised that he ate was this incredible soup that Kelly made. It had mushrooms, carrots, ham, rice and lots of yummy cheese and some other stuff that made it really good! But I was certain that Josiah wouldn't eat it. But like kids love to do, he proved me very wrong. He ate a lot of it and seemed to love it. Even Brayden ate some of it and seemed to like it as well. Moral of that story is that kids love to prove parents wrong.

I am sure there is so much more to write about, like our trip to Mall of America, lunch with my friend from high school, Dan's meeting with a company in Minneapolis. But I don't have time today. I will have to post at another time :) Plus this is one monster post as it is.

We did get some really great pictures while we were there, but I am going to have to post them at another time, because I didn't get all the MN pictures copied to bring to work with me. So maybe tomorrow I will be able to do that.

The Cutest Kid Picture of All time (non-bias of course)

Sorry I didn't get back sooner!

Things went well with Dan's review. As well as they can when they tell you "we will have to discuss what you have asked for". But Dan felt confident that he was able to say all that he had intended to say and the meeting never got out of hand. He asked his supervisor what the verdict was as of Tuesday and he said that he wanted to do another guys review before they make any decisions. Same old crap!!!! What does another guys review have to do with Dan's review. Whatever! And then they post-poned the other guys review! They are entirely screwed up in my opinion. No organization and they love to screw around with peoples lives!!! And don't care to boot! However they are having their Christmas party at Carabas, so I think we will go just to take advantage of the free dinner. They have the best bread!!!

Anyway, so we are just waiting to see what they are going to offer Dan for a raise! Home Depot or Lowes might be getting a visit very soon!

The prayers must be pouring forth...

I have 2 interviews tomorrow, can you believe it.

1. With Aerotek, a scientific staffing company. Once they saw my new and improved resume they were interested. Before, they didn't even give me the time of day. Same person! Crazy.

2. With the company I am at right now, for an admin position. But great benefits!!!

Thank you!

A week home with mom...

Dan was gone hunting from Wed. through Sunday, so Josiah and I had some good quality bonding time, probably too much because now he wants me to do everything for him and Daddy can take a hike. I know that will just take some time.

What a joy Josiah has been over the past week. I don't think I had to give him a single timeout! Big deal! I think what had been going on a couple of weeks ago was that he was teething. I looked in his mouth and what did I find? Two, two-year molars on the bottom. That makes sense, the tantrums now make sense, the difficulty going to bed make sense. It all makes sense. Every time he teethed before, we had about 2-3 weeks of crabbiness.! So only 2 more teeth to go :) And I just pray that they don't decide to start pushing this coming week because we are heading to Minneapolis for the holiday and that would be a very long ride.

At any rate...great weekend and I will have to fill in later!

Needing Prayers

Without going into much detail, I would like to ask for prayers for Dan at his job. The company has been doing some pretty nasty things lately and he/we need guidance as to what to do. They have been anything but loyal (which they claim at every company meeting or any time you talk to them) to him as an employee who has been there for 10 years. No recognition (I think I've talked about this). But lately the things have gotten worse, if that were possible. So I ask not only for guidance, but for patience or whatever it is Dan needs right now. I'm not sure patience is the thing to ask for at this point since patience has gotten him nowhere at that company. After a slap on the wrist this morning, they told him they would do his review on Wed. morning and that they weren't sure they would be able to allow him to leave early on Wed. to head out of town for the holiday weekend. So now I have the time off, ready to leave at noon, and they have said they aren't sure. So if I get out at noon, with the hopes that Dan will get out too, I will lose the pay for the rest of the day because they aren't "sure". NO RESPECT for their lives at all. Ya know, not many people have the loyalty to a company that Dan has, I mean the crap that he has put up over the years, not to mention the fact that they fired me over BobEvan's sausage. I am sooooo angry right now! I can't even imagine how Dan must feel and to have to go into a review with all that anger. So now you can see why he/we need prayers!

The company I am working for right now is soooooo very different. They truly appreciate their employees. They do all kinds of fun things for us; tailgate parties, halloween party, they celebrate each persons birthday individually, they respect us...and the real kicker is that I am a temp employee and they don't treat me any different. I have been here a total of about 2 months and I feel more respected and wanted around here than Dan has felt in years.

So as we know our paths are about to change, or at least we feel they are going to, please continue to pray for us to follow the path God has chosen for us.

Thanks!

Swimming

A fun day spent with cousins and Grandma

All Tuckered Out!!!

Halloween Pictures

We stripped him down to carve our pumpkins and he wouldnt' have anything to do with the pumpkin except to carve it.

Obviously the first attempt at putting the costume on didn't go so well...but pretty darn cute picture.

Josiah and Dan came up to where I am working now for the first round of trick or treating. From 3-5pm everyone had bowls of candy at their cubicles and the kids went from cube to cube filling their bags. Great way to trick or treat...safe, dry and done early :)

We went to chucky cheese afterwards for dinner. Josiah had a great time! Even met a little girl to take for car rides :) But the stinker wouldn't look up for a picture.

A few good days!

The last couple of days have been much better. Fewer tantrums and more cooperation. We'll take what we can get. He has also eaton what I have given him, so that always helps our evening routine go much better. If there are no tantrums at the dinner table, it is less likely that there will be a tantrum after dinner. Although the other night he had a time out the second we walked over the threshold into the house. He wouldn't come in and when I tried to pick him up he went limp and was crying. Apparently he didn't want the apple I was promising him as we walked in, he wanted the chicken nuggets in the bag I was holding that he got his first whiff of the second we hit the threshold and I offered the apple. This was all after he through an all out, lay on the cold ground, kick and yell, tantrum because I wouldn't let him eat the old apple on the floor of the car (yah, I have a hard time keeping my car clean, such is life). Ok, so I put him directly into timeout and right after he got out of timeout he ate the entire apple and his first mcdonalds hamburger. We can now up the types of meat he will eat to hotdogs and the unknown meat they put in the hamburger at McDonalds. I really hope that someday soon, he starts to try new things. But he does love applesauce and cottage cheese, the new staples in our house.

Now I am really hoping that this weekend will be good. We have thought about taking him to see the new Bee movie. Now I am sure there are some out there that will read this and think that he is much to young, but that boy loves to watch movies, so we will just have to see. But I definately would leave if he gets bored and can't sit still. We'll just have to see. If we do go it will be on Sat. morning when the crowds will be minimal. Who knows! Maybe he will love it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tantrums

The life of a 23 month who is teething must be tough. He knows what he wants, but can't tell us and therefore can't get what he wants which leads to the inevitable tantrums. His mouth is sore and can't tell us about that either, so he is crabby and can't tell us what's wrong which leads to the inevitable tantrums.

Bedtime is getting harder for some reason. He used to go down very easy. We would take him into his room, turn his night light on, turn his music on, lay him down, hand him a pacifier or 3, cover him up with his "deet-deet" also known as a blanket, walk out and presto, instant sleep.

Bedtime today: It's time to go night-night...response: ungh (not sure how to type out a grunt) which means no. Are you ready to go night-night....response: night-night (we take this is a cue to put him to bed, but we are very wrong). Dan picks him up (because he will no longer let me put him to bed), and instantly he objects which leads to the inevitable tantrum. Dan usually wins these, well if you can call "taking Josiah into his bed kicking and screaming, turning off the light and saying good night" winning. He does go to sleep on his own though, which is pretty amazing to me. He only cries for a few minutes and he must realize that he is very tired and off to sleep he goes. Now, I am not naive enough to think that this won't change, oh no. I know the pattern of a toddler is that there is no pattern. So we will just have to wait and see until tonight to find out what he decides to do.

Even mornings are becoming an issue. Dan got up with him this morning and all I could hear was Josiah fighting whatever Dan was doing. He is not wanting his diaper changed...but refuses the potty. What to do? This little man just can't make up his mind. I think that mornings are a bit confusing to him. Children love routine and we keep changing his morning routine. Some mornings I take him to day care and some mornings I get to sleep in, while Dan takes him. So the mornings when Dan takes him, I think Josiah gets confused and wants his mommy. Not that he totally cooperates with me in the morning either. Cooperate really isn't in his demeanor right now.

Oh yah, the dinner table tantrum. First of all, I think his staple dinner right now is cottage cheese and apple sauce. I'm not sure if that's ok or not, but I am having great difficulty getting him to even try anything else.

Well I will have to continue tomorrow. I ran out of time today!