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!

Sick Boy

Josiah started coughing on Friday evening and woke up on Saturday very congested. He continued to sneeze and cough, with runny boogs all weekend. Sunday night seemed to be the worst of it, so we kept him home today. We always feel so helpless when they are sick like this. Shoot even a pacifier can't pacify, because he can't breath and suck at the same time. We put him to bed last night and he went right down. Then about an hour later I came into the kitchen and heard a pathetic little cry...no idea how long he had been crying because it was so quiet, but I got him up and we snuggled on the couch for a little while until he started feeling better and started playing. We let him play for a little while and Dan took him back into bed. Josiah is a major manipulation stage right now. He won't go down for a nap or to bed at night for me. He just stands right back up and starts jumping and crying. For Dan he goes right back down. And the thing is, I don't even stay in there with him or get him back up when he is acting that way. I just let him cry it out and cry until he gives up and goes to sleep. So I don't know why he keeps doing this..except that he knows that at some point I will probably cave. Well he has another thing coming. The only reason I went and got him last night was because he sounded awful and could hardly breathe. So I got him up and we got out the vaporizor and gave him some tylenol. After Dan put him back to bed at about 10:00pm, he slept until 9:30am this morning. So at least he got a good nights sleep.

I guess he ate a ton for breakfast this morning and kept asking for more. Dan said he finally cut him off because he was afraid he would get sick. So he must be feeling better. Eating is always a good sign with him.

Spongebob Power Toothbrush

Ok, so the image is very small, but last weekend I bought a spongebob power toothbrush because Josiah showed great interest in our powered toothbrushes and we weren't having alot of luck getting him to open his mouth consistantly. Ever since I bought his new tooth brush, not only does he open his mouth without a struggle everytime, but we are now in the habit of brushing every morning and night. More than I can say for myself sometimes. I should just bring my toothbrush down with his and then I could brush mine at the same time :) At any rate, I highly recommend the power toothbrush for toddlers who refuse to open their mouths....they are just more fun!!! He can even get in there and do a little more brushing himself (bonus)!!!

Potty Training

Dan and I have decided to take a proactive role with potty training. I have been told by some that boys just can't be potty trained until they are 3 1/2 (why 3 1/2, I have no idea), but I just can't imagine having to buy diapers for another 2 years. And having them poop in their diapers at that age just seems weird. I know that this topic is one of great contraversy. But as a parent we do have to pick sides. And we believe that we can potty train him before he's 3.

Our plan for right now: Every morning we get him up, take him to the bathroom to brush teeth and have him try to "Go Pee" (as Josiah says). Then when we get home, take him and have him try to "Go Pee" and put one of those pullups on him for the evening (so one a day for now), in the hopes that the pullups changing powers will make him realize he is going pee or whatever they do :) Then before bath, have him "Go Pee" again. As of right now, we are not going to enlist our day care, because she is of the mind set that it can't be done and shouldn't even be tried until they are 3 1/2. So we are going to do this on our own, until we start to see results. I have told our day care about it so that if Josiah says "Go Pee" she will know what he is talking about and eventually start taking him to go.

We have not done any research on this topic, we are just going with our gut instinct right now. So we will see how this goes. Any advice from any of you seasoned parents ;)

A little more busy

The person I am filling in for, is officially on maternity leave. She left work on Friday at 9:30am and won't be back until January '08. She had a healthy baby girl on Sunday...so cute. A co-worker and I went to see them last night. Lily Sofia (her grandmother's names). Both the baby and mom are doing very well and are making their way home today.

So Monday was my first day of taking the reins all on my own. And surprisingly, it was very busy. Today was very busy, up until a few minutes ago when I accomplished all of my tasks :) there are a few little things to work on, but I need to make them stretch until the end of the day!! A perfect time to do a quick post.

Josiah has been an angel lately. Well as much as an almost 2 year old can be. Fewer tantrums and time outs work like a charm right now. He cries through his timeout, but with some advice from friends, we have learned to ignore him when he is in time out...good advice. He can hear the dinger ring when the timeout is over and he is instantly a new kid. We are starting to use it for the times when he demands things from us. For example; he says the word "Dadoo" and if you don't stand up and walk to the cupboard where he knows they are kept, he starts screaming and crying if we tell him to be patient. We tell him to say please, or ask him what he is supposed to say. If he continues, onto the timeout bench he goes for 1 minute. When he turns two, it will be 2 minutes. For now he stays there and cries with big crocodile tears. But as soon as the dinger rings, he stands up and says please. Bizarre, actually! But wonderful. We will continue to use this method as long as it works...and hopefully that is for a long time!!!

I'll have to fill you in on more Josiah stuff tomorrow ;)

A New Day

Things are better today. I think the tornado warning last night, which sent all of us down to our basement at 10:00PM, may have put some things into perspective. I have also been praying more and more and the one thing that keeps coming up: I need to start reading my Bible. I haven't even opened it in months, maybe years actually. So last night I opened up to a random place (well random to me, but I am sure God had a direct purpose for it) Read Joel 2:12-15

12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast, c
all a sacred assembly.

Talk about God speaking to me through his word! And then again I woke up this morning when Dan got a board up call just before 6am and I began to pray and God just kept telling me to read his word. So I started at the beginning of Joel and read until I fell asleep. Today, I am making a conscious effort to Trust God's plans for me. I need to stop worrying...it is making me sick with grief and I know God doesn't wnat that for me. I need to enjoy where I'm at and know that God will provide after this job...He always does.

I just need to remain completely positive about my job search. If one door shuts another will open. This depression is crushing me and it needs to be over. I do have some choice in the matter...not always, but today I am going to make a concious effort to do so!!!

So thank you for praying for me and continue please. But even though I am not at a successful job, I have been very successful in life. I have been married longer than 50% of the population, I have one of the most beautiful little boys in the world and our entire family has their health. Success is a perception. Dan and I have succeeded in life and we are grateful for our family and health. I think I just needed to write that down, to realize how true that statement truly is.

Thursday

Mood: Still Ho hum
Weather: Crappy

I'm not sure what the deal is lately, maybe the weather, maybe the uncertainty of my future. Who knows! But another dead end with the staffing agency in MN. My resume is so all over the place that people don't know what to do with me. I have so little consistant experience that I can't seem to find a niche. Job descriptions always have qualifications that I can't, by any stretch of the imagination, fill. So discouraging to have had all the schooling, all to have it either make me overqualified, or because I am so far removed from it that the degree and experience seems to be overlooked. Half the time I have no idea what I would like to do, and then when I do, my hopes get stomped by not fully qualifying therefore they don't even consider me. I even considered going back to school for teaching, but because there are so many teachers and so few jobs here, my Master's degree makes me not marketable. They won't hire someone with a masters (even though it isn't in education) because they would have to pay me more. So to spend the time and money in college again, just to put myself back in the same boat...doesn't look very inviting.

The thoughts of going back to school pop back in once and awhile, but in what? How would we afford it? Would I go nights, the only time I have to spend with Josiah? Or full time and get it done sooner? So much uncertainty!

My dream jobs: Wedding coordinator (full time). The other thing I have thought about is a garage sale business. Let me explain: I would come into someones house, providing all the tables, signs, price stickers, etc. and they would provide the pile of stuff that they want to sell. I would simply come in and set it up for them. I could then run the sale for people who work full time and can't attend to the sale during the week. And then I could take everything that is left to Goodwill, returning to them a receipt for tax deduction purposes. Yah, I have all these pipedreams of starting businesses, but I have no idea how to start, let alone where to get the money.

Anyway, something will eventually work itself out! Today, HR recruiter came to me and said they had a full-time position for an admin asst. here, but they need someone before Jan. which is when the maternity leave is up. Bad timing again! or good timing and it isn't something I would want to do full time.

The sun is trying to peak through, so maybe the day will get better. I do have a good TV night to look forward too :)

I wish, I wish....

I wish, I wish....that I could find a job that was both fulfilling and that I could stay at for more than 4 months or even a year. The economy is so bad here in MI, that I find myself longing to leave so that I can find myself a career. However, I just don't know what God's got planned for me. Does He want me to stay here working at jobs that I get to come home every night and not think about...a job that I can focus on my family in the evenings and on weekends, not worrying about stuff at the office. Is that why He has me doing these random jobs. Shoot, this is my 4th job this year, if you count the month that I was substitute teaching.

Or is the fact that I have severed ties with several friendships an indication that He is preparing me to leave? I just don't know. If I moved out of state here are the things I would miss more that I can imagine: my family (although, my brother, sister-in-law and kids are moving out of state any time now, but I don't know what I would do without my mom being able to just hop on down to help me clean or help take care of Josiah or just for a visit. This year has also been fun for family get togethers...I think we attended almost all of them, which is so much fun for Josiah to get to know his family, so I would miss out on alot of that), I would miss my dear friendship with Mindy (Ok, so the friendship obviously wouldn't end, but getting together and hanging out, doing baby stuff and having our husbands building stuff, that would be gone. She has been a huge support over the past years...a true friend that can tell it like it is and that's ok. And I can do the same with her and that's ok too. I haven't had that in many friends...so thanks Mindy), and my church family (however it has changed so much over the past 6 months. So many of the friends that I had made there have moved on, we have a new pastor (which I do like) and we just can't seem to get excited about being back in choir. I'm not sure what happened, but again, I don't know if this is God preparing us to leave the church, or is it God telling us we just need to get more involved and find our niche in the church we are at).

Ahhhhh, if only I could tell what God is trying to tell us and what He has planned for Dan and I. Shoot even Dan's friend found a company that Dan would fit right into, making furniture. I don't think there are any openings, but his friend talked Dan up to the company owner (or someone) and is going to bring him his resume :) I just talked to a scientific head hunter in the same area and sent her my resume. So who knows. I know that Dan would love to leave his job and I would love to find a job...but we are also looking in this area for both of us...and my mom has also been working diligently to find us both jobs here. So hopefully in the end we both have new good jobs...I just don't know where they will be.

Keep us in your prayers: My biggest prayer right now is that we follow what God wants us to do. And that is so hard to figure out sometimes...so pray for us. Thanks in advance!!!

Pictures of my New Hair cut/color

More Pictures

Pictures...pictures and more pictures

These pictures date back to September, but I haven't posted pictures in so long that I thought I would go crazy and post just about every picture I took. Dan's mom came to visit around the end of Sept., so most of the pictures are from her visit. We are having trouble with our camera, so many are fuzzy and many were deleted because they were just to fuzzy. We are hoping to get a cheap digital camera after Thanksgiving. But I am worried I won't get any pictures through Halloween. I will just have to take lots and lots of pictures so that at least a few will be good :) So here are the long awaited pictures!! Enjoy!

What kid doesn't love a lawn mower and better yet...what kid doesn't know how to start a lawn mower ;) hehehe

Picking Raspberries...a favorite past time for mom and Josiah. He loves to pick them and is very careful when he goes up to the plant. Fun and too cute:)

Dan stood up from the picnic table and launched his mom onto the ground. Not really launched, so much as rolled off :) Noone was hurt and she thought it was very funny!!!

Josiah had fun walking the dog...but it was a good thing that the dog didn't take off when he let go of the leash, because you know how long the attention span of a 2 year old is ;)

Grandma got Josiah a new bike and he loves it...sometimes he will sit on it to watch TV

To make Grandma's visit more memorable and just to have some fun, we made our way over to the cider mill for Cider and Donuts. What a fun morning! But Josiah sure was tired and ready for a nap when we got home.

An addiction to DaDoo's (or Donuts), just like his mom

Go Green! Go White!

Just laying around the house!