Part III - The Friends Dinner

When I say that, I can't help but think of the Friends and wonder if people think I'm referring to it. I guess that shows my age, doesn't it? Friends and Seinfeld...the ONLY must see TV NBC has ever had...

Anyway, we started preparing pretty early for Friday. Cory did all the shopping on Wednesday, getting beer, sodie, requesting the super stuffing from his dad... we cleaned and cleaned in preparation. Yes family, it's true. We cleaned for the friends, not for you. LOL

For those of you who missed it, here's the spread and the reason for the meat jokes: ham, brisket, turkey, green bean casserole, fruit salad, rolls and mashed taters. That's right. A 3-meat combo. Merry Freakin' Christmas! Everything was SO good. For dessert, we had homemade cookies, chocolate mocha trifle, buttermilk pie and a chocolate layered pudding dessert. We were all about to explode but it was soooo worth it.

Jerm & Andia got Kaia the coolest giant hippo (see separate post... the gift is NOT for the dog) from Ikea. I've actually used it for a pillow, it's so soft. Kaia has laid her head on it and squeezed it too but I haven't captured that with the camera yet...

Isaac and Kaia met and exchanged gifts. She was all over him, he was not sure what to think of this handsy little girl. Grabbing his face, taking his toys...


We got him this little safari roller which needed to be inflated. Holly started to blow it up and Cory, being the generous host, piped in, "Oh I have something I can do that with" so she gave it to him and he disappeared. For like, an eternity. Finally, I got up to see what he was doing. The "thing" he was going to blow it up with didn't work, so he was sitting quietly in the nursery... well, here ya go:





I died laughing, and was proud at the same time. Despite his crabby demeanor, my husband is really such a softy.

Everyone played Wii bowling while Diane, Paula, Holly and I oohed and aahed over the babies. Rick, Diane D. and Josh stuck around til midnight and we all played some righteous Wii tennis.

It took us three shifts of cleaning the kitchen to get it back to normal. The dishwasher is cool, but it made us lazy. We didn't want to hand wash all that shit so we filled up the tiny thing, emptied it, filled it, repeat. :)

It was a great time and no matter where we are next Christmas, we must find a way to repeat the event. I really enjoyed it and am so thankful to have such great friends, old and new. I wish one of these days we would get our shit together and take some group photos!

Best Christmas EVAH (part 2 of 3)

We woke at the normal time, 9-ish, with Kaia hungry and me barking like a seal. Stupid sickness, go away! Can’t I please leave 2008 healthy?!? Anyway, we got up and started to get ready for our day.

Family started arriving around 9:30. Cory started cooking (meat, again!) and once everyone got there we had brunch. Bellinis, breakfast casserole, southwest quiche, cinnamon rolls… man, we had quite a breakfast spread. Kaia gummed some cinnamon roll but was more interested in the bags and tissue paper around the tree.

Since this was all about her this year, we let her tackle her gifts first. She got her first pony! J A cute little red ryder pony and she squealed like we’d never heard her squeal before when she started bouncing on it. Too cute. She was pretty much giddy all day, like she knew it was Christmas. Just wait kid, it only gets better!

We put Kaia's party outfit on her again so the Cheney clan could see it. She looked just as cute in it the second time around, minus the tights because they were covered in dog hair from the night before. :) Thanks to Aunt Candice by the way for providing the tights and shiny shoes.

What I wish I had record of is Cory's dad laughing his ass off and playing Wii golf. I've never heard the man laugh like that. In fact, I don't know that I've ever heard him really laugh before, at least nothing more than a short chuckle at someone else's expense. It was good to hear and kind of cool to see the two of them doing something together and enjoying it...I think babies just bring out the best in everyone.

My sister's new boyfriend

I gotta hippopotamus for Christmas...

but my dog won't let me at it...

Watchin for Santa...

Best Christmas EVAH! (part 1 of 3)

It really is true, kids make Christmas. Kaia doesn't even have a clue that it's Christmas yet somehow she was extra giddy and didn't want to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. :)

We spent Eve with my mom at my sister's house. We got her all dressed up in her party dress and headed over. It was Kaia's first attempt at opening Christmas presents. She of course was mesmerized by the paper. We had to take it away from her because she kept sucking on it, getting ink everywhere.
























She got some great books and a beautiful stuffed care bear from Grandma Jane. I used to love the care bears when I was little, and used to draw them obsessively (along with Garfield). Anyway, she gave the bear a big hug to welcome him to the family.

More later, I smell a poopy diaper...

Kaia's First Christmas

I can't wait to post details and pictures. Check back soon. ;)

Nobody Tagged Me, I Stole It

8 TV shows I watch:

1. Survivor
2. Sarah Connor Chronicles
3. What Not to Wear
4. Lost (when it's back)
5. Um... Cory? Help me here. What do we DVR?!?

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. El tapatio
2. On the Border
3. Blue Heaven, Key West, FL
4. Los Cabos!
This is sad. I can't come up with 8 that I like enough to be on a list, yet we eat out all the time. Also, am I from Mexico? is that all i eat? good grief!! and I wonder why I can't lose the baby weight...

8 things that happened today:
1. I went to work and did nothing. Just like the past month.
2. I drove a dirty crockpot to my sister's so I could use the garbage disposal.
3. I took Kaia to daycare, then stopped at Sheperd's for a sodie.
4. I surfed.
5. I panicked about being unemployed.
6. I hugged my daughter.
7. I went out to dinner with my Mom, hubby, Kaia and sister.
8. I went to Pier 1 when I was supposed to be at work. See #1.

8 things I look forward to:
1. The new year
2. Watching Kaia play with Christmas wrapping
3. Dinner with friends
4. Christmas Eve with my family
5. Christmas morning with my family
6. Getting a new job
7. Getting a new house
8. Cory someday liking his job.

8 things I wish for:
1. I wish girls wouldn't go through the "loser phase" of dating
2. I wish for Kaia to be happy and healthy
3. I wish for Cory to someday like his job. :D See #8 above.
4. I wish I could find a kick-ass job in a really cool place. Preferably in 2009.
5. I wish for all my friends and family to find happiness.
6. I wish Fletcher would stop his incessant whining.
7. I wish for us long and healthy lives, not long and riddled with disease in old age. I want to die fast when my time comes.
8. Would wishing for a million dollars be too cliche and shallow? Oh well, who cares, I wish for it anyway.

Job outlook

I applied for this today:

A day in the life of an RN or CHES/Clinical Health Advocate may include:

The Clinical Health Advocate is co-located at the client’s onsite clinic in Garland, TX, serving as a key member of the health improvement team. The Clinical Health Advocate will work with the assigned CIGNA account management and medical management teams to analyze the population risk profile, design a package of health promotion and wellness programs that meet those needs, oversee the delivery of those programs and ultimately shift toward a culture of health within the organization. Additionally, the Clinical Health Advocate will assess the client’s environment and organizational policies, and work closely with the client to establish the appropriate setting to impact successful health improvement programs. The qualified candidate will develop relationships within the local community of non-profit organizations, vendors and network wellness partners that will result in the right mix of resources to facilitate the delivery of diverse programs to diverse populations.

Literally minutes after submitting my resume, I received this:

Hello Stephanie!

Thank you for your application. Your resume looks great- I will give you a call on Monday to talk further. In the meantime, would you mind doing an online application for me?

You can go to www.cigna.com and look for the careers section...

Have a great weekend and we'll chat Monday!

Jen

Sniff

This is doodlebug getting her first breathing treatment, while playing with the new tag toy Mommy bought her. The little bugger has bronchiolitis.

She's been coughing as you know, so this morning Cory called and got her an appointment and I took her in at two. We just wanted to check her lungs and make sure everything was clear from the sinus/ear infection round. Doctor C was a little afraid it was RSV, the viral stuff we got her shots for last year when she came home from the 'spital. They did a nasal swab and all clear, no RSV. BUT she does have bronchiolitis, which is viral so nothing we can do but wait it out and help her breathe easier.

I have to say, breathing treatment kind of freaks me out. I know they've been doing this sort of thing in hospitals for years, but I worry about giving a kid asthma medicine when they don't have asthma. It's one of those things, along with autism, that has really increased over the past 20 years so I can't help but wonder if we aren't giving our kids these diseases with some of the treatments we use for other things. I haven't done any research but I know I didn't take any breathing treatments when I was a kid. And I'm sure I had an infection or two. The older I get, the more paranoid I am about healthcare, medicines and the like.

Of course, it doesn't help that I have been reading, off and on, a book called "healing the new childhood epidemics: autism, asthma, allergies and ADHD." It basically says a combination of poor nutrition, toxic nutrition, actually, and an onslaught of vaccinations are causing new childhood diseases to take the place of chicken pox and all the things we all had as kids. It's interesting reading, but I'm not about to not vaccinate Kaia.

Yesterday or whenever I put up that last post I was feeling all hopeful about a job and in a short amount of time, I've gone to being scared that I'm not going to find anything, anywhere, and we will lose the house, the car, our credit standing... it's freaky shit to worry about. I imagine it's normal to hit all areas of the spectrum, I just wish I wouldn't go from one end of it to the other end. Somewhere in the middle would be nice...

possibilities

so far, I have possibilities in OKC, Denver and here. I haven't heard anything "real" from anyone, but was told to "expect a call soon" for one in Denver, I met some people in OKC at a conference last week for jobs there and at the same conference heard the health department here is trying to un-freeze a position so they can hire me. things are looking up on the job front. I am hoping I get multiple offers and have to pick the best one. Can you imagine that scenario? it sure would be nice. I am not holding my breath, but I do feel hopeful.

Kaia is doing great. She still has a worrisome cough but is not phased by it. She's cruising around now, according to Cory (I haven't seen it!) cautiously making her way along the "fence" generously supplied by the Bloyds. We can actually sit and relax in our living room now instead of chasing her all around, telling her not to get into this or that. She still doesn't eat worth a crap but... at least she drinks her milk. I forgot to mention in my last post that she finally hit 15 pounds! woohoo! She wears somewhere in between 6 and 9 month clothing. We have some 9 month PJs and they still swallow her but the 3 to 6 month stuff is finally too small. Still size 2 diapers though. I think she'll be in them forever. (by the way... we don't like swaddlers anymore, for you aunties who buy diapers).

I'm not ready for Christmas. Haven't shopped. Haven't cleaned. Haven't thought about what to fix for the par-tay. And by the way, if you are reading this, you are invited. Don't wait for us to send a card or something because we're not that organized. :)

My throat hurts. Boo.

Well November Was Good...

Kaia didn't get sick one time in November. So we're making up for it by starting December off with a bang. We've all been home together since Friday. We put off going to the doctor until Sunday, figuredwe can't take her in every time she gets a fever, right? But Saturday night, her fever hit a record 102.5 so Sunday we took her to the walk-in clinic. She's been coughing, snotty and her eyes... her beautiful smiling eyes... have been runny and bloodshot with snot coming out of them. :( I was afraid she had pink eye on top of everything else.

Anyway, she's got an ear infection AND a sinus infection. The coughing is the worst though. Her eyes are red because she coughs so hard she bursts the vessels in her eyes. Doc says it will fade on its own and not a big deal but she looks SO sad. The smile is gone from her eyes even when her mouth is smiling. :( It's heart-breaking. She just moans and mumbles when she has a fever, like a little crazy person.

So, to make me and everyone else feel better, here's some pre-sickess pictures to enjoy.

I got her little hat and mittens at Penneys. Why are sleeping babies so dang cute?! I must have a million pictures of her sound asleep.

She has started putting her feet up on the tray of the high chair, so I took it off. She just put her feet up on the chair itself instead. LOL.

We put up the tree last night. I'm not quite done yet but as soon as I am I'll post pics. We're trying to figure out how to keep her from trying to pull up on the tree...

Dangit

I forgot to post a couple things about the weekend... I get all in Kaia mode and forget everything else!

My brother's house is awesome. I don't know how many square feet it is but the thing's got 5 bathrooms. FIVE! One of which is in the 3-car garage, which also houses two little office rooms. Amazing. I'm proud of my brother. He has worked for the same company since he graduated from college. can you imagine that?? Actually, before that because he worked a semester and would go to school for a semester. Anyway, he's a great dad. His boys are very lucky.

Matthew, the oldest, goes to a science magnet school and has a girlfriend named Amber. He's growing up so fast. Stephen was working on his science project where he hypothesized that a pulley system would be the fastest way to get up a tree, versus climbing up a slide or regular tree-climbing. My brother built the pulley and went to test it out. Fell out of it and landed on his back. Couldn't move so well the rest of the vacation. Ouch. Ben is a little OCD and currently obsessed with Star Wars Clone Wars. He is very sweet and read a story to Kaia.

There is a path behind their house that led to a park where we took Kaia swinging. She seemed to like it, especially more than she liked sliding down the slide with Mommy. Mommy got stuck on the slide so it wasn't that fun at the end. Came to a complete stop. Note to Mommy: LOSE THE WEIGHT.

Also while we were at the park, I was getting all crazy pushing Matthew and Ben in a tire swing. I got them going so fast, they were laughing so hard, it was so fun. So I decided I would up the ante a little and really got to spinning and pushing them. I was holding onto the chain and was running in circles and when I let go, I lost my balance and went careening the opposite direction. I flipped foot over head and landed on my back, my head bouncing off the ground pretty forcefully. It made me realize something. I am too old to act like a 10 year old. :)

They have a Wii and we played outdoor adventures... OMG it was so fun. We had it on advanced and I thought we were all going to die by the end. Talk about a workout! Stomping more than 65 moles in a minute (or two?) is hard work, and it left us all breathless. Even Cory. He held the record for mole stomping but it wore him out too. It was so much fun. I want one. I didn't realize how expensive they were though. Sheesh!

My sister informed me Friday night that we were all going to get pedicures the next day and she was paying for me to go. It was awesome. Talk about a girlie day! My mom got her hair done and then she, Paula, my sis-in-law and I went for pedicures.

I've found lots of jobs to apply for... OKC, Tulsa, Denver, McKinney and Allen, TX. I hope something comes through but I also hope that I don't really find anything until March. I'd really like to enjoy having a severance so I can stay home with Kaia for a month. She'll be one year old next month. Blows my freaking mind. I think we've done a good job of enjoying each moment though. I don't think we've been so busy with other things that we've missed out on her first year.

My First Thanksgiving

I was great in the car. But I don't want to do that again anytime soon.

I read stories with my cousins!

I tasted tortilla chips!

I clapped!

I swinged!

I rode in a little blue wagon!

I learned I can crawl really fast on carpet!

I did higher math!

I wore myself out.

I got to see Uncle Greg & Aunt Kathie, my cousins Matthew, Stephen and Ben, Aunt Paula, Grandma Jane, Grandma Cathy & Grampa Ward and Uncle Mark. It was a full weekend!