School Project

I just did this as a project for my photoshop class. This is Jay a year ago. The project itself is not that spectacular or difficult but he's just too cute not to share.

Ramblings

It's late. I had a migraine today and most of this probably won't make any sense at all. I can't sleep so I figured I'd jot down a few of my thoughts lately.

School started a few weeks ago and life has been very busy. I go to school every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night with two breaks for lunch and dinner. Poor Joe takes work off to watch Jay, except Thursday mornings when Katie (bless her heart) takes Jay for a few hours to let Joe work. It's been incredibly hard, especially for Joe who is trying to build a business only being able to work Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. For a while it felt like Joe and I were living two very separate lives with very separate goals. But then something pretty incredible happened. I realized that our circumstances were not going to change. I am supposed to be going to school right now. Joe is supposed to be starting this business. And, as a couple, we are supposed to come together and get through it all. All of a sudden, the idea of us being a partnership just clicked. We could be selfish with the our time, trying to accomplish our own goals, or we could do everything possible to help each other.

Before this realization, I was starting to feel sorry for myself. You see, I have always wanted to graduate. I adore school. I get very excited to learn new things and turn in homework and take tests and get shiny little A's on my transcript. The problem is that I have been to three other schools (when I was single) and none of those experiences were this hard. Doing homework during the day is nearly impossible with Jay needing my attention. I would love to have time to go to the lab, or library, or chat with professors, but as soon as class is over, I dart home to put Jay down for a nap or spend a few minutes with Joe before I head back to school. I kept thinking, "I have been praying for the opportunity to go back to school for years now, and now that it's here I can't even enjoy it." And I know Joe feels the same way about starting his business. He's wanted to do this for a very long time and my school is kind of putting a damper on that.

BUT our attitudes are changing. I've realized that I need to live more in the moment. When I'm at school, I need to be at school and not constantly thinking about home or feeling guilty. When I'm at home, I need to focus on Joe and Jay. Joe has the opposite problem. He focuses too much on the moment and forgets the long term.

This week has been so much better. I feel at peace. I appreciate school more, and most importantly, I appreciate Joe more. This is going to sound so dumb, but I felt a little older this week, like a real married couple. I thought, "Man, this is a mature attitude I'm having right now." And then I realized that only an immature person would think they were being mature. Oh well. It's gotta be a step in the right direction.

Are You Ready?

We are. Katie and I just made shirts for Jay and Gage to wear tonight. We made two for each boy and they turned out super cute. I can't wait for Jay to try his on. We're having a party over at Rick and Katie's (Joe's brother). It's tough to find Bronco gear down here but we're being creative. Joe actually found Boise State, blue and orange tortilla chips in Grantsville, UT. Random, huh?

Anyhow, Go Broncos!
(I realize that I sound like an obsessed fan... I'm really not. I just get excited when they get to play in a game that means something.)

We Did It!!!

We made it through nearly two full months of 100 degree weather or above! And now (reportedly) those days are behind us and we get to enjoy wonderful weather until next summer. Bring it on.

And speaking of bringing it on, we're all very excited about the BSU vs Virginia Tech game tonight...

Go Broncos!

Bla

Does anyone else feel like cleaning your house is like eating an elephant one bite at a time... only it's a magical, self-regenerating elephant that refuses to go down without a fight?

Today the elephant started eating me. Ug.

Dinner Tonight

Since I posted earlier today about Jay's allergies, I thought maybe I'd also share a goal that I've been working on lately. I'm attempting to cook as much as I can without dairy. It's tough but possible. You'd think that having a son with food allergies, I would just always cook that way-- but it's not that simple. First off, Jay hardly eats... at all. He's extremely picky and on top of that he's scared to eat new things because he's afraid he'll react to it. Second, eating dairy free can be expensive and it is time consuming considering most processed foods have some form of dairy in them. Third, my husband could not live without Ranch Dressing, provolone cheese, and chocolate milk.

But in order to prevent my son from eating pancakes and popsicles exclusively for the rest of his life, I'm attempting the impossible. Today, I found a recipe for Honey Orange Tilapia, another recipe for Garlic Red Potatoes (minus the Parmesan cheese) and two individual boxes of Green Giant Italian Seasoned Vegetables in the back of my freezer. Put it all together and Voila:

A totally dairy-free, totally yummy dinner. Jay actually ate some of the fish! I was shocked. For right now this goal is mainly for my peace of mind, knowing that we aren't eating dairy around Jay and that we can kiss him whenever we want (see post below). So far so good. Now if we can just get Jay to eat it....



P.S. Does anyone else totally waste romaine lettuce by putting it underneath a hot piece of meat just to make the plate look pretty?... I do.

Oh, and I sprinkle dried parsley on absolutely everything.

The end.

What Happens When...

So about forty million times a day I get asked questions about Jay's allergies. Things like, "What happens when he eats something with milk in it?", "What do you feed him?!", "Milk comes from cows?" etc., etc. Okay, I was joking on that last one but sometimes it makes me laugh how people fail to put two and two together. I cannot count the amount of times people are surprised that he can't have ice cream or cheese when I've told them a million times he can't have milk.

Anyhow, the other night I ate a piece of chicken, which apparently had contact with milk somewhere, because later that night I kissed Jay's forehead and this is what happened:

Kind of hard to see but it's hives people. His whole forehead broke out in hives from a tiny kiss, hours after I ate. Don't worry--Jay didn't mind. He got to stay up way past his bedtime, sucking on a benadryl spoon (handy pre-measured doses of benadryl), and watching TV with Mom and Dad. Lucky kid! I thought it would be a good idea to snap a picture. Maybe next time someone asks me a "What happens when.." question I can bust this one out.

Oh, and speaking of "What happens when" questions... here's what happens when Daddy watches Jay: Note the panda bear stamp on Jay's nose and forehead. Not the dorky haircut... that was my fault.