The Houdini Hamster

This morning Jonathan took the hamsters out of their cages and let them run around in their balls for a little exercise time. Princess was put in her cage after a short period, mostly because she just sits still in a dark area to escape the kids. They love to chase their balls around the house and alter their paths.

The girls went to their room, Joseph sat on the couch to watch daddy play his game and we let Tinkerbell run around some more forgot about Tinkerbell still being in her ball. About 30 minutes later I ask if she's still in her ball. Jonathan says "Oh yeah!" walks down the hallway, grabs her ball and Tinkerbell is MIA. AHHH!!! Instant freak out session takes place.

We found her rather quickly in the laundry room behind the washer and dryer. After about five minutes of trying to get her to come in our general direction, we were able to get her back into her cage! Whew!

Hopefully the remainder of the day is not as frantic.

Jaclyn & Jonathan

Look Out First Grade!

If you read my blog about Joseph's first day of kindergarten, you’ll see how emotionally devastating that day was for me as a mother having to let go of her baby! However, I made it through the day with relative ease.

But, if I thought the FIRST day of kindergarten was hard, I wasn’t prepared for the LAST day and kindergarten graduation. First of all, I’m convinced the only reason for a KINDERGARTEN graduation is to send parents into total fits of nostalgia and emotion overload. At least that’s what it did to me! For weeks leading up to the event, I was feeling that tinge of sadness. The five kindergarten classes were preparing a musical production before the actual graduation ceremony. That ceremony came complete with a processional and individual “diploma” presentations! Everyday Joseph grew more and more excited about the BIG DAY. I, on the other hand, grew increasingly sad that time had passed so quickly and my little big boy was growing up so fast!

The morning of the graduation, Joseph got on the bus and headed to school. Just going through that motion with my kindergartner for the last time secretly overwhelmed me. As I waved goodbye, tears welled in my eyes. I think as I get older, I’m either getting more emotional or more hormonal! ;) I was horrified by my emotions. I thought if I’m already blubbering like this now, there’s no hope for me at the graduation ceremony.

When Jonathan, myself and Papa arrived later for the festivities, I thought I made a mistake leaving my tissue in my purse in the van. Amazingly I made it through the entire event tear-free! I consider that a feat when I remember how incredible he was during the songs and poem recitals. They sang and recited their poems with such precision , it was awe-inspiring.

So my little big boy has moved from kindergarten to THE WHOLE summer with ME! And then first grade in August... ... *sigh* I will cherish this short time with him while I can.

Isn't it neat to see how much they change in less than a year in school?!

Jaclyn & Jonathan

Explaining Death

As you all know, we have had two hamsters. Monday morning both hamsters were alive and well. Monday afternoon Jonathan comes home and says, "Did you see Ying Yang? She's just sleeping out in the open." Two hours later she's still there. Curious, we open the cage to pet her "just in case" and she's cold and hard...

First thoughts: I can't believe she's dead. She was just fine this morning.
THEN: Crap! Can we get it to Petland and get another before the kids notice?

After talking it over, our final decision was to tell the kids and explain to them what happened. We figured that it would be the best and easiest way to explain death to them instead of them learning the hard way by (heaven forbid) losing someone other than a pet. I know that there is no easy way to explain death or even an easy way for them to understand death. Especially when they're our kids' age, at this point their view of the world is very literal. They have a hard time understanding that all people and living things eventually die, and that they won't come back.

We were honest, never used euphemisms, and we encouraged questions. They don't need to know every little detail, but they deserve to know the facts. (This also was how I approached the "sex talk" with Joseph when he started asking questions a while back). If you're curious about that conversation, let me know, I'll tell you how it went.

Joseph, of course, understood much more than the girls about death. Joseph took it pretty hard. He was very sad and cried and asked a lot of questions. He was pleased with our answers and was reassured that we can go on living and being happy. We asked if they wanted another hamster and they almost instantly forgot about Ying Yang's passing.

Tressa picked out a cute little orange colored hamster and named her Tinkerbell. So now we HAVE two hamsters again and the kids are pleased. Tinkerbell is super sweet and lets us hold her and hasn't bitten anyone YET. Hopefully she'll make it longer than two weeks.

How would you have approached this situation? How have you approached this situation?

Jaclyn & Jonathan

Getting There

I was conversing with a friend via text message and she asked me this:

Are you comfortable with who you are now? And if not, what are you trying to change? What do you think is the line between accepting who you are and working to become a better you?

I honestly had no response at first. I always thought I was comfortable with myself and then I hit a "mid-life crisis" and found myself questioning not only my future, but my existence even... However, I am back in my normal state of mind and I couldn't be happier. After a long thought process I responded to her question(s) with this:

I think that everyone should constantly attempt to become a better version of their present self. There should never be a point in life where you stop and say, “Well, I’m happy now so - this is how I’m going to live for the rest of my existence”. Am I comfortable with who I am now? Not fully - but I have years ahead of me to figure that out. But at this moment in my life - I know what I want. Getting there is what’s happening now.

How would you respond to said questions?

Jaclyn

Getting A Head Start... Sort Of...

The girls have been in Head Start now for almost a week! Eek! They are just in the summer program as of right now, which ends somewhere around July 16th. Then *hopefully* they'll be accepted into the fall program.

They absolutely love every bit of it! Joseph had been talking to them every day from the time we found out about all the stuff that happens at school and all the little rules that have to be followed. I had never seen them so excited about any one thing before.

The first three days we were required to take them to school and pick them up, and they were super anxious about wanting to ride the bus the whole time. They love their teachers. I have not met Amaya's teacher yet, since she has been out with a sickness since day one, but her substitute teacher and assistant are great. Jonathan and I absolutely ADORE Tressa's teacher Mrs. Knight. She will talk your ear off, but she is super sweet and active and is always on top of the kids and what they're doing.

The first day the girls met at the playground during recess and didn't leave the others side for a second. They even held hands going down the slide. When Amaya's class left before Tressa's, Amaya had a serious breakdown and would not let go of Tressa's hand. It was awful. However, Tressa did do her best to reassure sister that they were going to see each other after school and it would be okay! :)

Monday was their first day on the school bus and they were so happy! Tressa was a little hesitant, but gathered her cool once she stepped aboard. While getting them off of the bus yesterday Tressa's teacher, Mrs. Knight, is assisting the bus driver and tells us she was walking around her classroom while the kids were eating breakfast and noticed that Tressa wasn't eating very well. Then noticed that Tressa was actually Amaya. They had mixed up the girls when they got to school yesterday morning! So they've already had a break down, ridden the bus and been mistaken for the other. They have had a rough week! :P

Saturday we went to the pet store and bought two little Teddy Bear Hamsters. They're so cute! It was our treat to the kids for being good and helping out around the apartment and celebrating our little family's success in our "own little home". Unfortunately Joseph lost his privilege for bad behavior all week at school and bad behavior at home. Once he can fix his behavior at school, he may earn his "pet privilege" back. Right now, any time he comes home with bad behavior reports we make him write sentences about what he did, for instance, "I will not talk in the classroom when I should not because it is against the rules." So far it's working.

Amaya fell in love with a brown and white hamster that bites constantly and named her Princess (Go figure, right?) and because Tressa was so sick and her allergies were kicking her butt she opted out of picking a pet because she "just wanted to take a nap" she told us. So daddy went ahead and got another hamster that is black and white, and called her Ying Yang. She is actually very calm and hasn't bitten... ... Yet. Hopefully I'll have pictures of some sort up soon.


My online classes ended last week and I'm so happy! However this week is finals for my regular classes. Got lots of studying, studying, and more studying to do. Getting more excited for the taste of summer break I'm about to get!!! No more studying! I can finally enjoy catching up on some hobbies and organization and TV!!! Lol

Jonathan is still working (Thankfully!) and he even got a pay raise after the company laid off 15 people, so we're hoping it stays looking bright for him, for us. Our marriage has never been so perfect. I definitely think being on our own has helped alleviate a lot of the stress and our communication skills have been their best yet! I have never been more happy in my life than I am right now, this moment of these last two months. It's an amazing feat that we have conquered... Just when we thought we were on the verge of divorce.

I hope that everyone is doing well and would love to hear from you. I could try keeping in touch with you too, but I suck at it! I swear I have a million and one things to do all the time! Ugh! Hopefully Summer break will give me that chance. Until then, I'll stick with the blog to keep you all updated.

Jaclyn & Jonathan

P.S.
A couple that is very good friends of Jonathan and I found out that they are expecting their first (and probably only) child. Just want to say CONGRATULATIONS... It sucks! Haha! Seriously, Love you guys and we're so happy for you!

Procrastination is great.

So I sit here after closing out my Microbiology powerpoint presentation from pure frustration. If only I didn't seek "perfection" in this assignment or in anything I did. I need to learn that "perfection" is just that... "perfection". Perfection can be just good sometimes. I think I would save a lot of stress this way. Maybe I'll try just good... after this assignment... maybe...

Obviously we made it back from our trip safe and without delay or I would not be writing now. Here are the main highlights until I find more time to go into detail.

* I didn't puke in the plane and neither did Jonathan.
* We bought something really cute for the kids at the Memphis airport, but have not given to them yet.
* We saw our friends and had some great fun. Unfortunately we were unable to see some others that we had not seen in quite some time.
* I didn't call the kids more than twice a day! I did really well! :D
* Met my first niece, Savannah and she is beautiful. She's got the tiniest head and face I have ever seen.
* My nephews had grown so much.
* Brayden is completely potty trained!
* My brothers are amazing!
* My mother and I got along.
* My dad made me laugh a lot.
* Loading the U-Haul went rather quickly and with almost no problems.
* Our trip wasn't nearly long enough.
* I did not drive the U-Haul even for a second.
* We came home and all I could do was hold them and smell their sweet baby smell that I had missed so very much.

We are now almost completely into our apartment. Unfortunately we had a lot of our furniture and other things molded or destroyed, so it's going to take some time to get clean what we can and slowly replace what we cannot salvage.

Today is Joseph's sixth birthday and he couldn't be more excited (until he gets his gifts, that is)!!! Tomorrow we will have a very small party for just us so that Nana will be able to enjoy the celebration with us before her departure to Alaska. I am making a rocket ship cake per his request, hoping this doesn't end in an explosion. Seems it's been forever since I have baked. (Wish me luck!)

Happy birthday to my sister Tiffany as well. Today she celebrates her 21st! Love you sister and I miss you terribly!

Take care,

Jaclyn

FINALLY...

Heard from the ladies at the apartment! We sign the lease and get our keys this afternoon. We're so excited! The kids are a little leery about it, they think we're going FAR away from Nana & Papa, but we are doing our best to reassure them that we're only just down the road and will see them often. Once we get settled, I think they'll do just fine.

Joseph is doing well in school. He completed his AR goal this week and he's not had any write ups(so far!). He will graduate from kindergarten in MAY!!! I wish that all of you could make it. I will definitely be taking lots of pictures and video so everyone can pretend they were there!

School for me is becoming more hectic... My online courses end on the 30th of this month and then my regular classes end the week following. Have lots of homework, studying, tests, finals, and presentations to prepare, but it will all be done soon enough and I cannot wait for Summer break!!!!!

Only TWO more days until we board the plane! We can't wait to get our things and furnish our apartment!!! Ahh! I feel like a kid in a candy store!

Miss you all,
Jaclyn & Jonathan

Easter Things and Upcoming Events

     Easter, Easter, Easter! Oh what fun!... Right?! Well, for starters we forgot to color the eggs until six o'clock the night before and then we still hadn't filled the billion 50+ plastic eggs with anything. We colored the eggs, filled the baskets, and plastic eggs and were prepared for Easter morning. Easter arrived in what seemed like two hours or less from the time I fell asleep. Outside was a humid mess and the grass was wet and freshly mowed the day before, so grass was ALL OVER the house. The kids, especially Joseph were so excited about the Easter baskets and hunting the eggs. (I might post the video later).

     In other news Jonathan and I FINALLY have an apartment... Well, sort of... They called last week saying that they would call Monday when it was ready... I called because I am so anxious to get in there and they said it was being painted and shampooed at the moment, but we've still not gotten a call from them... It's been a constant battle going back and forth with them about getting things done on time. I'm trying not to complain and just trying to be thankful that we'll be in it soon enough, but damn! It's the cheapest apartment we've found, by $100 or more, and no one will put us in a two bedroom because there are more than five instead of four us (Mississippi state law). So we're patiently awaiting the phone call letting us know it is ready for move in!

     In only THREE DAYS we'll be flying in to Arkansas and heading to Missouri to finally unload our storage unit and bring everything (well, hopefully everything) back (to move into said apartment)! It's not going to be a "vacation" like I would prefer, but we are going to make due with what we've been given. Mike and Joy have ever so kindly agreed to keep the kids for us during our leave. I am so grateful for all that they have done for us and our family. We may think we hate one another at times and we have our disagreements, but we have never once taken for granted all that they have done. However, as grateful as I am to be able to take a trip alone with my husband, I AM FREAKING OUT! I've never flown before and Jonathan has not flown since he was an infant so it's going to be an experience for the both of us BUT, I've done nothing but think of all the things that could go wrong... Like, if the plane goes down, who will care for our children? What if something happens to one of us on the way back? What if? What if? What if? It's quite stressful really... I will call everyday, probably more than once everyday, so much that Joy will probably start letting the answering machine take my calls! I cannot express how much I hate that I am going to be away from the kids. It's a completely different experience than being away just for a few hours for date nights. We're going to be 600 miles away from them for three whole days! I love them so much! ♥

     Joseph will be six years old in only NINE DAYS! The original plan was to have a nice party (in our apartment), he would be allowed to invite six friends and we were going to have a blast. Unfortunately the plans we're changed to have his party the weekend after his birthday instead of the weekend of his birthday since all of our things might not be in place and we'll have not "cozied in" just yet. BUT Joy will be leaving for Alaska to join her daughter and her family on April 20th to await the arrival of their newest addition. We want her to be able to be here for his party, so now plans are to have a birthday party, just us, none of Joseph's friends or decorations or extravagant party. Joseph ever so sweetly accepted that he would not be able to invite his friends this year. He was so excited to be able to have his friends over and he already had a plan on what he wanted his invitations to look like, but after explaining the situation he was more than happy to give it all up! He's such a sweet heart!

     Today I was forced to cut four inches off of Tressa's hair after failed attempts to remove the so intelligently placed putty! :'( It was getting so long and pretty! Just leave it to Tressa! To Amaya's dismay, I made her throw hers away before she decided to play monkey see, monkey do. I will try to remember to pull the pictures of her new haircut from my phone and add them to the post.

     Hope that everyone else is doing great and enjoying the beautiful weather.

    

Jaclyn & Jonathan

 
   

The Holidays

     So... Been a while... Imagine that! I'm horrible, but improving....I think! :P

     Halloween has come and gone... But it was fun and memorable! I had originally wanted some sort of "theme" to the kids' costumes this year, but then I started to feel as though I were forcing something upon them, and taking away their independence somehow... So I let them choose what they wanted to be... Joseph decided he wanted to be a ghost, but not one with a sheet and holes, because Hunter at school was doing that! He picked this one:

     Then it came time for the girls to pick their costumes... Amaya has been fascinated with mermaids, so, of course that's what she wanted to be, but we looked and looked and looked and never found a very cute mermaid so she decided to be a ladybug and was disappointed to find they were sold out. So we got this one:

 

     Now Tressa was absolutely determined to be Tinkerbell... Unfortunately we could not, for the life of us find a Tinkerbell costume that was anywhere close to the actual Tink or one that was very cute... So then she wants to be Dora! This is where I kind of started the pushing of being the ladybug to match Amaya... Wrong! She was set, it was Tinkerbell, Dora, or nothing... So I of course started another long search for a Tinkerbell costume... and well, this is what we found and she was very pleased!

      Then I decided to make a cheap, yet adorable (of course) costume for myself... a ladybug! Jonathan had decided to do the Hulk. Joseph already had the Hulk fists, courtesy of Pat-Pat and Pappy for Christmas a few years ago. Unfortunately, time was ticking quickly and he did not even get started since I was makeup-ing myself and the girls... The weather was just right, not too cold! There were a few houses that the kids refused to walk up to because they were either too scary looking, had scary costumes, had scary music, or they saw them scaring other kids. However, this year they were much more willing to take candy from strangers! Lol! They screamed "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" as loud as they possibly could and made sure to say "thank you." every time! :) Such good kids! Towards the end, they all got a little tired and asked about 100 times if we were almost home. They slept well that night!

 

     Joseph's football season ended, and I cried. The mini speech coach gave them the last game made me tear up and feel like my little prince was a king... He truly is an awesome little boy!

     Thanksgiving came quickly after... It was a pretty quiet day. It was just us, Mike and Joy. Joy cooked an amazing turkey and ham and delicious pies (She even made me a pecan! My favorite!). Jonathan and Mike worked together, I mean, Jonathan watched Mike make spicy shoepeg corn, which turned out delicious too! It's definitely one of my favorite holiday dishes. We all ate way too much, and I have not been to the gym all month :-$. I swear I am going tonight!

     There are only 20 days left until we are in Missouri for the Christmas holiday!!!!!! I am so ready to see my family! It feels like it has been 10 years, not just 1 1/2. The kids have changed so much and so have my siblings. I have a nephew I've never met who is now almost 10 months old :(, a "nephew" from my best friend Whitney who I've also not met who is now a year old, and then now I have my first niece on the way and I'm afraid I'll not meet her until she is a year or older :(.

     I have just now started Christmas shopping, and I ordered the kids' dress outfits and they will not be here until a few days before we leave for Missouri so this years Christmas cards will be late! Sorry guys!

     I think that's pretty much it for now. I will be sure to update soon! Hope that everyone had a tremendous Thanksgiving and I hope that an even better Christmas holiday is in store for you! We love and miss you all! Kisses and hugs from all of us!

Jaclyn

P.S.
     I almost forgot! 
     I was letting the girls' bangs grow out since I find it super cute, but Tressa's hair is very stringy and a lot like my sister Tiffany's so I chose to cut her bangs. She was very happy about it! She always wants me to cut her hair when I cut Jonathan and Joseph's. I cut her bangs and she looks 10 years older! It's horrible! It makes me feel much older! So, then Amaya requests to have hers cut too. I did NOT want to cut hers, they were so pretty and naturally sideswept, but she insisted... I cut them, a little, just a trim, and she was not happy. She wanted hers to look just like Tressa's. I go against my better judgment and cut them... She chose to look at Tressa as I make the cut, and WHACK! off go her bangs... They look terrible and I will never cut them again, even if she begs! :P I cut Joseph's hair yesterday and he decides to tell me that after Christmas he wants his hair to grow out! Where did he get that idea? I personally think his hair is a little too fluffy for that, but we shall see... I will let him have his wish since school pictures and Christmas pictures will have already been taken! lol

    

Working out... Or... Something like that anyway

     I have definitely found myself doing that exact thing A LOT lately... Jonathan and I joined a gym late August and have been probably 10 times total! It's MID OCTOBER! Seriously! Every time we went I felt amazing during and afterward. I just want to get into shape anyway and flatten this tummy! I'm really just tired of being tired and lazy! It sucks! But here's the thing... I am NOT a morning person. Nor do I ever think I will be. The alarm is usually set for 3:30 or 4:00 AM, and every time, I hit that damn button, roll over and go back to sleep. Why can't I just roll myself out of the damn bed? How hard can it be?! I could go at night, right? No. I have class Tuesday - Thursday and Joseph has football practice most other nights. If I went at night I'd need a sitter, yes, we live with the in-laws, but they are around the kids just as much as we are and it seems they get a little on the grumpy side when we ask for them to babysit so that we can run errands and whatnot. So a realistic night time workout at the gym would be around 9. Not good for me! Workout for an hour, come home, shower and try to go to sleep? Yeah right! Not this woman! I'd get to bed about midnight if I did that! Funny thing... The more I type about night time workout, I'm thinking about trying it out for a week night. Wow! Maybe I should end this blog now!
     Bleh! EXCUSES, EXCUSES Jaclyn! Get off your ass and do something!

My personal goal for the month of October:

1. Go to the gym at night Mondays and Fridays, all month!
2. Get up at LEAST twice a week in the mornings! To workout of course!
   
3. Cut out the sugar Jaclyn! It's not doing you any good!
   

Self reward at end of month:

• A less lazy me (hopefully) AND
•  Halloween candy!!! :D
  

Jaclyn

Catching up... Kindergarten, Football and The Upcoming Holiday

      So... I am horrible when it comes to trying to keep in touch with those who are long distance, or those down the road for that matter... I am hoping that I can commit to posting something at LEAST once a month! I swear!

     Most of you know that Joseph started kindergarten this year! :( Joseph's  first day of Kindergarten. The last day he'd ever be home with me 24-7. The first day of growing up, gaining independence. Needing me less. It's the day I'd been looking forward to for a long time. All those long afternoons home with the 3 kids thinking "I can't wait until they grow up and are in school and I can get some time for myself again." Yes, I'll have more "me" time one day. But there is time I can't ever get back too. Time you don't realize you've  taken for granted until days like these.

He's growing. He's going.

 

     There he is on day one, with his Superhero Squad backpack and Spiderman lunchbox. So excited.

     Jonathan and I took him to school. He'll ride the bus home. We were almost late due to traffic, so we pulled into an empty driveway (hoping they wouldn't come home and be angry we parked there), and walked the remainder of the way (less than one block!). We walk him across the street and I begin feeling my heart fill full of sorrow and pride, trepidation and excitement, all at the same time. It's funny what motherhood does to your heart.

     We walked into the classroom. The door had fish with all their names on it, very cute! The assistant teacher directed us to a floor mat and we took a family picture! I loved it! The teacher had pictures and crayons set out on the tables and Joseph just took off and started coloring!

     I, on the other hand, did not do great. My goal for the day was not to cry in front of him...and I did it! I held off until I walked out of the classroom and then lost it. Jonathan  stood there and gave me a big hug. I felt like a huge dork but saw several other teary eyed mommies in the hallway too.My little prince born just yesterday at 5 pounds, 1 ounce walked into Kindergarten like a big boy. I watched him from outside the classroom for just a minute. Too far to reach him, save him, hug him, hold him. But I knew he wasn't scared or sad. And, to my pride and my heart ache, he never once turned to look back. But it was nice to be up and dressed and ready for the day so early. We got home and I took the girls outside to play since it was still cool. I usually don't have it together enough to get outside when it's not 1000 degrees!

     It's a wonderful school, a warm and outgoing teacher,and a room full of sweet kids ,or so I thought. Bryce, a little BIG girl, decided to pull Joseph off of the monkey bars and give him a fat and bloody lip on the second week of school. Joseph has come home almost every day with a smiley face on his behavior chart and he is learning so much, he can even read a little!!!

     Whew! That was a lot for one day! So I will summarize the remainder of this entry. There, there, no tears. Here it is:

• Joseph started football. My baby. Football. Full contact. Practice. Almost every day. Tackling. He is on the Vikings. Number 44, same as Forrest Gump, ironic maybe...  
•  I know nothing about football! Nothing! But everytime I watch him play I get more and more excited and I scream at the kid that looses the ball or gives our team a penalty. 
• I am going to start watching football so that I am not the only parent out there that has no idea what play they're doing.
•  Yesterday Joseph was in our bedroom watching tv with Jonathan and I and he see's an iguana and asks "Mom. Is that a dinosaur?" What do you say? I just laughed and tried explaining what extinct meant.
• Amaya came up to me the other day wearing her ball cap backwards and asks, "How do I look?" I of course replied with "You look gorgeous!" and being her confident self she says, "You sure are right Mom." Then yesterday she goes up to Jonathan and just stares, so he asks what she is doing and she replies with "I am just showing you how pretty I am!" Oh, three year olds!
• Tressa is still shy and mommy-fied as ever. She's always in my lap with her blankey sucking on her thumb. She has been sick for two days now. Puked last night, but only once and not a lot! Better this morning.
• Last night we all decided to give and get marker tattoos! I'm sure you'll be able to tell who gave which tattoo! I still have my washable, non-toxic tattoo this morning... 

•  Saturday we finally started night time potty training the girls, again! They have worn Pull-ups every night to bed because they'll wake up soaked if not. Results so far: Sunday: Tressa stayed dry. Monday: Amaya stayed dry... Hopefully they'll both stay dry tonight and for the rest of all the tonights ever! 
• Halloween is coming up! Joseph has decided to be a ghost; Amaya wanted to be a mermaid, but we could not find a "cute" mermaid, so we talked her into being a very cute lady bug! Tressa wanted to be Tinkerbell and we searched and searched for one that we like or that was in her size and had no luck, so she decided on Dora! No! Both Jonathan and I tried everything to persuade her into being the cute little bumble bee! But she was set on Dora! FINALLY and thankfully, we have found a Tinkerbell costume! Whew!

       I suppose that I have done enough rambling for today! I swear I will keep updated!

Love you all,

Jaclyn