We MOVED!!!!

i can't believe it and it's really weird to say it. But we moved back to Tomahawk. it's really weird for me to say it and i think i've been in a little bit of denial about it cause it feels really weird moving back to my hometown but we did and here we are. We are staying with my parents for two weeks, then we go to England for Christmas ( we are meeting up with mike's dad , his wife, her two daughters, mike's sister and her new husband) in Cornwall, England for a week, another city in southern England for another week, then we end up back here and move into our new rental house in January. the place we are going to be renting looks great!!! i'll keep ya'll updated.

here's just the pics we took at the hotel before the wedding..
andy and jen's wedding was beautiful!!!!

off to the wedding

We are leaving early tomorrow morning for my brother's wedding!!! Hope the boys travel well and do well in the wedding. kael will be walking down the aisle with a 5 yr old girl ( hopefully she'll take his hand and lead him down the aisle)
I'm looking forward to it once we get there . I get to see lots of my family and see my baby brother get married!!! how great!

look what i did.

This is what i did!!! i made a baby blanket. My friend Katie is teaching me to sew. So she helped me figure out the sewing machine i have right now ( my mom's ) and we picked out fabric the other day and this was my first project. This little owl baby blanket. I'm very proud of myself. and she's going to help me make a little baby quilt. So i'll let you know how that is coming later ( this week i'm not doing much sewing because there are things to do to get ready for andy's wedding this weekend) So just wanted to share what i did. i'm very happy about it.
actually i have lots to share but will wait for the next post..i'll just do a few more pics of the boys. can't believe owen is already over a month old. it goes soooo fast. even faster the second time.

the simple things.....

today i enjoyed a nap, (actually the whole family napped) and i got up a little earlier than everyone and snuck downstairs made myself a yummy grilled cheese sandwhich (brie and aged cheddar) and a delicious brownie. and enjoyed the moment to myself....and then they all woke up.

hhmm......

So today was a little more 'real'. i felt a little more stressed and frustrated that i couldn't get much done with two boys. Everytime i put down Owen this morning he seemed to only last about 5-10 minutes before waking up and crying, and every time i tried to feed owen, Kael seemed to want to climb right up next to me in the rocking chair ( which isn't big enough for 3 )one time spilling a whole bag of trail mix all over the floor. And when i got Kael to go upstairs with me so Owen could sleep a little, Kael was brushing his teeth and so i thought i'd try to change the sheets on my bed and all the sudden i hear 'splashing' and run to the bathroom and kael is playing with his toothbrush in the toilet!!! lovely!!!
but once again i'm grateful that my husband works from home...so i got a shower and made us breakfast on his 'lunch' (which is around 8-9am since he starts work at 4am) and my good friend Katie came over and made the boys (Georgie and Kael) and me lunch and did some dishes for me. And because mike gets done with work at noon, i went out this afternoon and did some more errands, which is sooo easy when you only have a baby. Although i had to get Owen's passport photo taken (because we are going to England for Christmas) and he cried the whole time and it took a long time to open his eyes...but me and the girl at walgreen's finally pulled it off.
it's funny when i had Kael i wouldn't have thought to go out with him when he was only 3 weeks old on my OWN, but today was no problem. Owen is soo much easier to take out than Kael at this point.
And i even got to fold the 4 + loads of laundry that we hadn't touched yet. And we already had more dirty sheets (thanks to owen spitting up most of his milk last night all over the sheets around 5am) and a few more loads to do.
but hey, we're doing well.

the boys n me.

well....today is my first morning with both boys on my own. (mike has to work occasional saturday's and today is it) So my parents had Kael last week and so he came home last night. And i was soooo glad to see him. It's amazing how quiet the house was without him. It was good for me so i didn't have to lift him but i missed him sooo much.
So, this morning is going well so far. (it's not been long ) But Owen is still asleep upstairs and me n Kael are downstairs and we've already had coffee and breakfast. I even got to clean the kitchen a little. :) so it's a good start for me.
We'll see how the rest of the day goes. i can't believe i have two boys...:)
i'm feeling a little more pain since lifting kael yesterday so i'll have to take it easy today. i dont want to be in pain anymore.....
i love my boys sooo much.

Owen Thomas Oates

Hi devoted readers of Jessi's blog. Mike here writing a post dictated by Jessi...currently in a hospital bed feeding our wonderful new son, Owen Thomas Oates.

Labor started on friday around 12:30pm. After 2 hrs the contractions went from 5mins apart to 1.5 mins apart. When I arrived at the hospital I was 7cm dilated. Contractions became more intense, my water broke and then the doctors expressed concern about the babies heart rate and wouldn't let me move around. I had to stay laying on my right side. After 2 hours of very intense contractions. (mike's hand bare the marks to verify) (jessi talking now...) i got to 8cm, but the baby did not seem to be doing that great. So they suggested an emergency C-section, which i said was fine because i felt they weren't overreacting but were genuinely concerned. So, i was rushed into the operating room, where i was completely put under ( Mike was not allowed in the room either, as it was a rush/emergency c-section not just a routine one) i was out and woke up later in the recovery room pretty out of it, to find out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Owen's neck three times and therefore if i had tried to push him out vaginally he probably wouldn't made it. so, in this case i am grateful for the C-section, although it is not what i would've chosen, in cases like these where they save little lives i was happy to have my healthy baby boy in my arms. So,
Owen Thomas Oates is the newest member of our family. Weighed 7lbs 6oz. Born on October 17th, 2008.
i'm in lots of pain, but in love with my little boy. And Owen is feeding and sleeping well.......and i think i'll take a nap now.

beautiful fall day

this week has been soo beautiful. sunny cool weather. well actually today was 75 and sunny, so we went to the park with kael and let him run around..:) here are a few pics of us. it's also me and mike's anniversary and it's been a good day, low key, but good. I got a wonderful card and a gorgeous bouquet from my wonderful husband. i love him more and more all the time.
and i love my beautiful son and am looking forward to meeting my other son. :) Me and mike had a big weekend away in september so i'm happy with today and just hope that i go into labor soon.
i love fall..it's perfect, the trees are changing colors, the air is crisp, i crave hot chocolate and yummy desserts.....a perfect season to have a birthday. ( and an anniversary)
i know some of the pics are a bit blurry but i think they are cute anyways.

a little prayer can't hurt

hey ya'll. i am soo ready to have this baby. so if you think of it, send out a little prayer for me that he comes soon.....my mom is here until he comes helping me out which is great and i'm getting some extra rest. aren't mom's the best??? i am enjoying my last few days with kael....he is such a treasure and i can't believe we are having another son any day now. i am very very uncomfortable though physically and really want this baby to come out. thanks for any prayers...also just pray tha ti can have the VBAC i truly desire.....

hhmm.......

i am ready. although i'm nervous as well..its weird that you have no idea when you will have your own baby. no idea at all. could be later today, could be the middle of the night, could be in 2 weeks..who knows....i'm finding everyday i think about it though and hope that i get sleep at night, 'just in case' i go into labor. last night i got less than 4 hrs of sleep, thanks to kael and also just being awake and uncomfortable. my mom is going to come down on friday though because i am having back issues, so from now on i am not suppossed to lift kael at all, or do any lifting. no moving furniture, no major cleaning projects. so my mom is going to come and stay until the baby is born. which is a very big blessing and i'm very grateful.
not sure what else to tell ya'll. not too much going on..just waiting for the little guy to join our family. excited to see his little face and meet him.

kael lately...

here's a few pics of our wee boy. he's so much fun and i love that he's in my life.

feeling the need

feeling very much like i need to get things done NOW!!!! like pack a bag for labor/hospital. Get some last minute things i want to have for when the baby is here, maybe make some more meals to freeze so i don't have to do it later. organize the baby's rom/clothes. you know..the usual......

tour the hospitals, register still at one of the hospitals.....i have dr's appointments almost everyday this week, one for kael today, two for me tomorrow..another one on thursday (which is also partly a birthing refresher course/appointment) feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed, i wish i had someone to just help me with where to start.

changes ahead

k, peeps. 3 weeks. i'm due in 3 weeks. looks like birth at the birth center is not going to happen unless there is some sort of mini-miracle. So i'm going to tour the hospital on Sunday. i have heard that the hospital has waterproof and portable moniters so i don't have to be hooked up to some machines and be confined to some bed....so that's positive. And my midwives are going to Doula me in the hospital, and they are very respected here so I will not be forced into anything i do not want (epidural's, etc) I feel very positive still that I'm going to have a natural birth. I'll labor at home as long as possible and then head to the hospital when the time comes.....i still need to pack a bag.....
we also got a mini-van and are selling our car. Our car will probably be gone by monday and we just picked up our new (new to us) mini-van. A toyota. it's very nice and i'm looking forward to having a mini-van again. And it has two sliding doors..:) with two kids i think it'll be so much easier and we'll have lots more room in a van.....
AND.....big news i keep forgetting to share...my brother, my baby brother is getting MARRIED!!!!! in november. So very soon and our little family is going to be in the wedding...me, mike and Kael. (not the new one though, hopefully someone will want to hold him during the ceremony) I am a little worried how i'll look in the dress since i'll have given birth not too long before the wedding....but we'll worry about that later.

Weekend Away

I just had a weekend away with my husband and no kid (except the little one inside) My mom came down and watched Kael for us, and we took off Friday night and headed to Chicago. We stopped at Ikea, and then headed downtown. We got a great deal on the Hilton downtown Chicago. So we got to sleep in (together) all weekend, take naps when we wanted, Go out to eat. We found this great diner for breakfast...and for dinner we had the BEST food ever!!!! None of it was a disappointment at all. We enjoyed just hanging out together and getting to talk and do whatever we wanted. We walked all over the city (so much so that i was in pain and we had to take a cab back to our hotel) but it was worth it. And when i got home my mom had cleaned our bathroom, hemmed sheets for me, cleaned my kitchen and of course she had watched Kael for us, and he was happy and well taken care of. It was such a treat and it was something that i had wanted but wasn't sure that it was going to happen. so i feel very blessed, And then we got to stop at Ikea on the way home and picked up a few things that we were wanting and needing for baby etc. So, it was a great weekend!!!!! the only sad thing was that all our pics got accidentally erased, so we have no pictures of our weekend away.......

a little pre-anniversary/baby trip

Well, i'm due in 4 weeks. can't believe it's all coming so fast. i feel like there is still so much to do in the house.....like i still need to buy a dresser for the baby's clothes. I've washed them all but they are in a bin in our spare room at the moment.
but anyways...i'm excited because my mom is coming down today, she is going to help me get some stuff done, and then tomorrow, she is going to watch kael for two whole nights while me and mike go on a little trip. We are going to Chicago for the weekend, (it's not that far) just the two of us, staying at a hotel downtown and just going to enjoy the time away. Since the baby is due the weekend of our anniversary and who knows when we'll get to go away together(without baby) AND who knows when we'll get to sleep through the night again once this little one joins us,(especially me with breastfeeding) we thought we'd take our anniversary trip early and it's so nice of my mom to take care of kael here for us. I'm really really looking forward to it. I feel like it is a break i've been craving lately. we can do whatever we want, nap if and when we want, both get to sleep in together ( a very rare treat) and enjoy some couple time. it'll be great for us i know. We are both longing for the time together. so, that's us leaving tomorrow and getting back on sunday. (and i hope we get a little trip to ikea in there)

unknown

that's what this pregnancy is pretty much about ..and i guess if i wasn't so 'pregnant' i might not be so emotional about it. i had an appointment last week at the midwife's office where they told me that it is actually still unknown whether i can give birth there and they'll let me know.
it's just that i have less than 5 weeks left now and it's been unknown for pretty much the whole 35 weeks so far....i was pretty upset when they told me, but i'm trying to not let me prego emotions get out of control. i talked to my dad last week ad he had met a girl who is about to have her second child as well, but she has to go right back to work cause she can't afford to take more than 2 weeks off , and she has no husband to help her...so it helped put things into perspective a little bit. i will still hope and pray for a birth at the birth center...but even if i have to go to the hospital it'd still be nice to just be able to have a natural birth.....no matter where it is. and in the end i do just want a healthy baby...so tha'ts me for now...lots of unknowns....

Kael's Party!!!!

Kael's party was a success! A small party but it was perfect. Me, mike and my mom. then our friends Katie and George and their son (and kael's little friend) George. As soon as the party started we let the kids open gifts, so that they could play with the toys. And we had a cookout and just got to eat and enjoy watching the two of them play together. We had balloons out so that when he got up from his nap he could see the balloons and the wrapped presents.....i think we enjoyed watching him open his gifts as much as he enjoyed opening them. He would start to open them and then say ''ooohhh' it was cute!!!
I can't believe i have a 2 year old.
i love his little personlity.
He loves to play,
He loves to watch everyone around him.
i love When he hears a dog, he growls.....
his favorite words are No, yuck, cool, Dang!!!

6 weeks to go

so i've got about 6 weeks to go....crazy!!! So, i had a midwife appointment about a week ago and they baby was breech, so i was sent to a chiropractor as well as for another ultrasound to see exactly what position the baby was in. My back was adjusted twice before my ultrasound and the chiropacter i saw said my hips were very badly out of place and that's probably why the baby couldn't get his head down there. (Also why i've been in so much pain) And so then at the ultrasound Monday morning the baby had already moved his head down....so another answer to prayer!!! just one thing after another keeps going right. so i'll keep seeing the chiro until i give birth..
and i had my last day of work!! yeah....so so happy for that. i woked last weekend Saturday and Sunday and now i have no more scheduled days....and i'm not taking maternity leave (because they wanted me to work until the very end, and i don't want to do that) so i've just decided that that's it. I'm done with work. So i'll be a full time mom again.
so that's the news in my life right now.....also, Kael had a birthday on Sunday, 2 yrs old, but his party is actually this Sunday, so i haven't blogged about it yet.....

Birth Center here we come!!!!

so, here's the update, for those of you following my blog posts....i met with my midwife yesterday and she said there was some information just released that the birth Center could do secondary VBAC's and also some primary VBAC's. (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) So, i don't even have to be part of the study but i can give birth at the Birth Center!!!! Yeah!!! Another answer to prayer!
So, now the baby is still in the wrong position, his head is up(Breech). So, the next thing i would like prayer for is that the baby turns his little head down and gets into the right position for birth. My midwife has suggested i see a chiropractor that she knows that can do some adjustment that sometimes helps the baby get into position, so hopefully i'll be doing that this week, along with some exercises to get him moving....so pray that he moves his little head down.
thanks for all your prayers and support in all of this. I feel very hopeful and as if God is with me every step of the way. 7 weeks to go!!!!

things are moving along....

it may not seem like alot, but i'm really proud of myself. We are starting to get our house more organized and clean for the arrival of baby # 2. :) We moved Kael to a new bedroom, and that was alot of work but we managed to get his room done yesterday. It looks really good, it's not much different from his old room, but it's a little smaller, because i"m going to take his old room and turn it until a guest room/office/baby's stuff room. the baby will probably be sleeping with us for awhile but we needed a place for all his clothes, diapers, etc so now we can put that all in that other room and even though we have three bedrooms mike had been using one for an office but now he's in the basement so hopefully we can actually let guests have their own room ( instead of the couch)
And yesterday i felt the urge to go through our stuff in the basement, (our 'storage) and purge some items, so i've mananaged to get rid of tons of stuff, consolidate and i've gathered all the baby items (and started to wash them) so i can bring them upstairs. I'm feeling pretty good about my progress.
Its kael's birthday in one week, so we're getting his presents and hopefully we'll have a party on the weekend after his birthday. I'm excited because i think he'll actually enjoy opening his presents this time.
Today my plan is to get that 'other' room looking better, organized, cleaned, set up etc. and to go through some boxes that we haven't even touched since we moved in here.

tired

I went to michigan recently with my family and my aunts said they read my blog and they have nicknamed it the 'whiney' blog...so in honor of them, i'm going to whine a little more today...i'm tired. my prego belly is making it harder to sleep, and also i just lay their awake, and we're still trying to get kael sleeping through the night again. (it's just the traveling and a wee cold at the moment) so he wakes up and then i'm awake for another hour, and then i get back to sleep...and last night was one of the worst nights, mostly just me not being able to sleep....Kael was actually fine) Except that he woke up at 5am and would not go back to sleep.......so all that to say ..i'm tired......
but on happier notes....i got to talk to my good friend Joanna last night on the phone, whom i haven't talked to since i left vancouver (almost 2 yrs ago) and it was so nice to catch up and just hear how she is doing.....it is so refreshing just to talk to a great friend. and hear other baby, labor and toddler stories.
i'm going to make zucchini bread for the first time and i hope it's good because a neighbor of my parents gave me huge zucchini's fresh from his garden, so i'm hoping to make as much as i can and freeze some for when the baby comes so mike can still get something to eat. :)
and just little reminder please keep praying about the birth center i get the news on monday. and as a p.s . for those praying...i'd really like a doula and so i just need the money and i need to find the right person.
thanks for all the prayers and listening to me whine...:)

i would like your prayer!!

Hello all. i wanted to give an update on where things are at with my pregnancy and ask for a little prayer. So, things are going well, I'm 31 weeks. It's all coming so fast. just over 8 weeks and i"m due. But i'm not sure where i'm having this baby yet. :)
First of all, at my 20 week ultrasound i was told I had placenta previa. - Which means that the placenta was right over top of the cervix. So, i was told that there was a chance if would move but if it didn't towards the end of pregnancy it can be concerning and if it never moved you would have to have a C-section. Which of course I do not want to have, knowing already what they are like. So, they scheduled an ultrasound for 30 weeks, and when i went in for that ultrasound they told me that placenta had moved and it was no longer a concern at all!!! yeah!!! answer to prayer. Seriously, we were praying and my parents were praying and I didn't tell alot of people because i do believe in the power of words and I didn't want anyone speaking negative about my upcoming labor and delivery. I want a natural birth. I know things are unpredictable but that is what i'm hoping and praying for. That I will be able to have a completely natural birth. so I truly believe it was an answer to prayer that the placenta moved. Now, that i know that i can go for a natural birth......i really would like to give birth at the birth center I have been going to for my prenatal care. and this is where I need some prayer. As you know, last time with Kael I tried for a natural birth and that didn't happen, in the end I had a C-section. So, now in Wisconsin ( and lots of places) it becomes complicated when you would like a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and birth centers are not allowed to deliver VBACS. But my birth center here in madison has been approached to be part of a study, and i guess if you are part of an official medical study then you could participate, and i dont know all the particulars and i know the whole time we've been going it has been something they have been trying to figure out what to do. So......i'm asking for you to pray that they would agree to be part of this study, so that i can give birth there. I know not everyoe will understand my reasons and some will, but I would prefer the birth Center to the hospital. I would feel much more comfortable there. you can check out the pics of the birthing rooms www.madisonbirthcenter.com they are great. the are very comfortable rooms designed for giving birth. A birthing tub, your very own , large bathroom with shower and toilet.....and it looks and feels like your at home. So, this is what i really want. They said they will give me a final answer at my next appointment which is August 18th. So i'm asking for prayer that I could get a yes, that this is where i can give birth. I appreciate all your prayers.....thanks.

this baby is coming soon.....

wow, i can't believe that i am 30 weeks already!!! that means this baby is coming soon. He's moving more and more and i can tell he still has room to do flips cause sometimes i can feel his whole body moving around. it's exciting. it's so hard to imagine another baby that isn't kael. And all of the sudden ( i think now that we've stopped traveling) I'm in nesting mode. I want to get the house organized, i want to get all the baby stuff we need. (because we moved countries alot when kael was little sometimes i just bought and sold some of his stuff in scotland so there are things i'd like again. So, i'm on the hunt for baby things ( today there is a big sale at Babies R Us i'm headed too) And i'm trying to get the house organized (stuff unpacked that we hadn't unpacked yet) and try to figure out where to put all the new babies stuff.......like i need a new dresser etc. so that's what i've been up to lately.
i haven't worked all week and it's great. I only really have a few more days of work and then i'm done!!! And that is exciting. This week has been great to just spend time with kael, and mike. Mike has started a new job (kind of) it's still working for his dad, but now he takes calls from customers and so he has to work a British work day so he now starts at 3 am and works until 11 am. Mike sitll has to adjust to the time schedule but I'm loving it. I get up with kael, make us all breakfast, mike has his 'lunch' then so he eats with us too...and then i spend the morning with kael and mike's done at 11am (once in awhile 12pm) and then we all take a nap together and have the rest of our day.
I am enjoying it alot!!! And soon we will meet this new member of our family. crazy!!!! and exciting!!!!

it's been awhile

So, I've been away traveling again. My family went to Michigan and rented a house right on the lake. I just got home Friday. It was great!!! My brother was there with his girlfriend Jenn ( whom i love) , my parents and then we got to see my Grandma, my Aunt Penny and Kelley, my cousins Brian, Lexie and Brenden..and got to swim lots, sit on the beach, eat yummy food and have a great time with everyone. Kael had a great time as well being with everyone....being the center of attention. He loves to be with his grandpa...wherever that is....
so now i'm back in Madison. and our air conditioning is fixed (yeah!!) and i'm looking forward to the next two months, i'm hoping to try out some new things, try to be a little more creative and enjoy whatever time i do have right now before the next one comes along... i don' t have any pics yet of michigan on my computer so i'll post some pics of scotland and michigan soon.

HOT

I will blog about the rest of scotland later...but now we are home and our air conditioner is broken and i feel like complaining....it's suppossed to be 90 tomorrow and today i'm so hot..what am i going to be like tomorrow??? they better come fix it asap!!! i'm pregnant and HOT

scotland continued

just wanted to keep you posted just a little..we are getting ready for lisa's wedding. Tomorrow is the wedding...tonight was the rehearsal. But this week has been great. We have rented a cottage/house with mike's mum and husband (Ronnie) have been visiting some friends and have seen some of Scotland. it's been very relaxing...although now that the wedding is getting closer there is more running around to do..and more to be done....but it's going to be beautiful. kael tried on his kilt the other day and he looks adoreable. i'll just post some pics from this week, not sure when i'll get to post from the wedding....but here some pics for now....

scotland

So, i'm off to Scotland tomorrow morning. Lisa ( my sister in law) is getting married and both mike and kael will be sporting kilt's. so i'll make sure to take lots of pics. I'm not sure who reads my blog anymore....but i hope you all caught a few posts ago that i found out i'm having another boy!!! we are very very excited.
k, i might post from scotland, i might not..we'll see.....

jamie

ahhh.....my dear old friend jamie came to visit this week. She was in Wisconsin for a wedding and I ended up getting her for almost 4 days. It was GREAT!!!! I saw her in January, but this time it was so great to have her here with me, mike and kael. we all loved having her here. And me and jamie stayed up way too late every night talking...it's soo nice to have a friend around who knows you, someone you feel comfortable with, i treasure my friendship with her and am sad that i don't know exactly when i'll see her again........love you jamie, thanks for coming to visit.

Hilarious

This is Mike writing here. I couldn't resist it's just too funny not to share.

Jessi woke me up in the middle of the night last night shouting..."Mike, Mike ahhhhh, ahhhhh!" Then she leapt out of bed and turned the light on. I thought she had went into early labour or maybe her water had broke. Then she started saying "There's a spider in the bed. There's a spider...it fell on me!!" So naturally being the awesome husband I am I started looking for the nasty beast so I could destroy it and protect my bride. I asked Jessi how big it was and she said it was about the size of her hand...then I thought....she must be dreaming....is she dreaming? There is no way a spider of that size would be in our room. Then she went on to say that it had fell from the ceiling. Ahahaha lol yup she was totally dreaming. Its was hard not to laugh even at 2am.

we are having.......

a boy. :) we found out last week. in between all the traveling, we went north for my mom's birthday, then me and mike came home while kael stayed with grandma and grandpa, and during that time we went to have our first ultrasound and we found out that this new little one is a boy!!! we are very excited. We wanted kael to have a little brother, so we're very happy.
on thursday i also went back up north to meet my mom and kael and the three of us continued north to Sault Ste Marie, MI and ONTARIO to go to my cousin's graduation party. it was a fun weekend, very quick and very stressful, Kael hardly slept at all, made me run after him constantly and was very very clingy.i'm guessing because i'd been away from him for a few days. So, i came home exhausted. i think i'm still catching up. i feel really tired and trying not to get the cold that kael has at the moment.
But again our happy news is that kael will have a little brother. no names picked yet....so that's our news!!

my two babies

Michigan

This past weekend, I went up to t-hawk, met up with Andy and my mom, and then Saturday the three of us, plus Kael drove up to Sault Ste Marie, MI to see my grandpa. He's been moved to assisted living recently and we all wanted to see him. My brother hasn't seen him in a long time, so we got to spend some good time with him. Of course we saw my aunts, uncles and cousins as well. Lots of good family time, It was a short visit but a very good one. I also really liked hanging out with my brother and getting to see Kael with all of his relatives. My grandpa's new home is very very nice. It feels like he's staying in a log cabin Lodge thing. And his room overlooks the Soo Locks, so He can see the big ships/boats going right by his window. It's hard to see grandpa being more frail and not the grandpa i remember, but he was doing much better than he was a few months ago. Here are a few pics from my trip....i also very much enjoyed getting to talk and hang out with my mom and my brother.

today matters

My mother-in-law just left this morning. She was visiting for a week, and it went way too fast. It was really nice to have her here. She babysat for us while we went away for the weekend to a business conference. And at our conference we got to hear John Maxwell speak. He is one of my favorite speakers ever. His teaching is so profound and yet so simple. he's a great speaker, easy to listen to, funny and comes straight from the heart. All his principles are things we all need. I'm also reading his book Today Matters and it is very convicting as well as inspiring. It asks questions like, are you living your life today, the way you want to live it tomorrow?? you can't live in past failures or successes....and you can't just keep wishing for tomorrow..you have to live today in a way that matters, in a way that makes your tomorrow the future you wish and want it to be. Make Today your masterpiece.

I want to live my life in way that reflects my values and constantly be seeking to better my life, my relationships, myself......etc...

so this weekend was amazing.

birthday party

Today we went to Kael's friend's Birthday Party.....he just turned 2. And it was so much fun. George had a sand pit and a water table...and it was beautiful here...i think i got a little sunburn on my nose. Kael pretty much sat in the sandbox for most of the day and cried when we had to leave. He was throwing sand in his hair and bringing me handfuls...it was all in his hair and diaper.:) great summer day....and we got to hang out with our new friends katie and george.

deadliest catch

Ok, i know this is weird. but lately i've been hooked on this show. and mike keeps laughing at me. See, Deadliest Catch is on the Discovery Channel and is all about King crab fisherman in Alaska, So if follows them on their boats and narrates what they are doing, how much they are catching, etc etc etc.....and for some reason i really like it. i even watched the season premiere last night. so it's that's my confession......

haircut

so i'm thinking of getting my haircut. any ideas???

Horton Hatches the Egg

i'd like to recommend a book to ya'll. it's called Horton's Hatches the Egg...by Dr Seuss (of course)

a great story of patience and faithfulness.

sick

just a little update.....me and kael have been sick. Saturday i worked from 5am - 1:30 ..a long shift anyways..and i thought that i was just feeling really rough because i was prego....and i hadn't slept lately and it was my third opening shift in a row..(which have gotten alot harder since being pregnant) anyways....i just kept feeling worse and so finally i got home around 2pm...and went straight to bed....was chilled, felt really nauseous and then the throwing up started, i had a fever...i just knew then it was more than being pregnant....i stayed in bed for hours,only getting up to puke. i think i was downstairs on the couch for one hour and then back to bed , so me and mike are laying down and i saw out right away but mike thought he should check on kael and good thing he did because there was throw up all over his bed....so mike cleaned it all up, and then changed the sheets, showered kael off, etc....and put him back in bed, went to go to bed again but thought he heard kael again, so went in there, picked up kael and kael threw up all over him......so mike basically was up all night with the little tyke......and he took care of the two of us all saturday and sunday......and kael was looking really bad on monday afternoon...he wasn't drinking anything, no pedialyte or water. so we took him to the ER, and he wasn't in serious condition but they tried to get him to take fluids and he wouldn't either so they put him on an IV and after that sent us home.....so kael is finally seeming more himself, just tonight for about an hour, he was smiling again which he hadn't done in a long time...it was so nice to see again. he basically slept on and off all day cuddled on my lap, waking up to cry, and readjust but tonight made me feel so much better to see him babbling and smiling again, and looking for his belly button. :) now he's sleeping and i'm sure he'll be alot better tomorrow. i'm feeling ok, better but not 100% yet.....
so i'm sure you really wanted to hear about all that sickness but that's what our live has been these past few days. thank God, mike didn't get sick, i don't know what we would've done without him. a wonderful husband and great dad.

this week i had a life

this week i actually had a life.
Monday night
i went for coffee with my new friend Katie, just me and her, mike put kael to bed and me and katie ended up talking for hours. it was great.
Tuesday morning was a new mum's group, which i have such a high hopes for. it was a group of women who all have kids around the same age, ( from baby to 2 1/2) and Bonnie is leading it and Bonnie has 7 kids, ( the youngest are 14) So, she has lots of wisdom, advice for us....she's going to give us simple advice , like cleaning tips, cooking tips, and she will also pass onto us lots of other things.
Wednesday: went to Madtown twisters me, katie, kael and george loved it.
Thursday: mum's group and such a beautiful lunch, homemade soup and salad. And all the mom's got to sit around the table and talk while the kids actually played together. It was great.
And so...this week i had a life. And mike even noticed i was happier...
tomorrow is a kids consignment sale i'm hoping to get to as well. hope i find some good finds. and maybe we might go to visit mike's dad. He lives in the caribbean and he might pay for us to go to visit..(in just over a week) just trying to check out details and see if it's all going to work out, since it's so quick......we'll see..........

thanks to my friend eva

it's so weird, how when things are rough, i actually want to blog, because i feel so lonely lately that it seems like i'm actually sharing with 'friends' what is going on when it put on my blog. But in truth, i actually need to reach out to people....not that those who read this aren't people. but i need to make myself vulnerable enough to reach out to and talk to specific friends....
and this week was horrible...well, the week wasn't actually horrible it's just that all my feelings hit the surface ( as well as i'm sure prego hormones mixing in with the feelings that were already there) anyways..so tuesday i just 'lost it' in a way, i broke down crying to mike, very frustrated with my life, or lack of, frustrated with having no friends with my whole life revolving around kael and mike ( even though i love them dearly of course) and i'm ready to quit work, working while pregnant is not fun, in fact it's getting more difficult to wake up at 415 am and then stand for 8 1/2 hrs....so in the midst of this crying, mike had to go pay a bill, and while he was out, someone knocked on the door and delivered flowers. My friend Eva, from Scotland, didn't even know what was going on with me, sent me flowers with a note that said 'Jessi, just wanted you to know how wonderful and special you are. I treasure your friendship. love you lots. love, eva' and of course that sent me over the edge as well and i bawled some more. it's amazing how just when you need a friends words can just be exactly what you needed to hear. God knew too. so, thanks to my friend eva.....it meant to so much.

madtown twisters

i'm not sure if i've posted about this yet or not. But i took kael to madtown twisters today. It's a gymnastic place, but everyday between 11am-12:45 they have open todller gym, with lots of foamy toys for them to play with, and open space to run around on all the soft floors, trampolines, so much for kids to do. And kael loves it. he ran around the entire time, finding lots of things to play on/with. and i love it too because he gets to use up all his energy, he gets to see hang/out with other kids ( not that he really plays with them) and i can relax a little it. My friend katie went with me today with her son, George who is just a bit older than kael. it's so worth it. And we can talk while they roam free. the only thing was that this week is spring break so there were tons of kids. but next week will be a bit more calm again. anyways....i wish my posts were about deeper things but that was day today so i thought i'd share.

things i really like lately.......

well, i'm in a good mood. so i thougth i'd share some of the things i've been enjoying greatly lately.....

KT tunstall's album 'eye to the telescope' me and kael like to dance to it.

naps...i had a nap today while kael napped and i know it's the reason i feel 10x better.

pickles....again me and kael love them

sunshine and warmer weather...currently it is 47 and feels like summer.

the book Beautiful Boy

my mom...she sent me clothes she bought for me ( just cause) and we're going to visit her this weekend ( hopefully my dad too) and i know she'll take care of me.

and i love my friends ( even though right now i'm missing them terribly)