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July 13, 2004
Oh my goodness, I have a lot to catch up on. I am so swamped -- not with work, but with stuff in my personal life that I just really want to do! Catching up Jake's webpage, working on scrapbooks, writing letters to cousins, keeping up with my favorite diaries and blogs, keeping my house semi-clean (which usually takes a backseat to these other things . . .) I've been promising myself for 2 weeks I'd write another entry. So here's the plan: this entry is for what's happening in MY life (and kind of Jake's life), and the next entry is just for Jake. I'll date this one for yesterday, then get one up later today for the Jakester.
UNCLE DAVID
First things first: June 2nd and 3rd we spent in Chattanooga, TN, but it wasn't to have a fun holiday weekend. Lou's Uncle David, who has been battling his second bout of cancer all year, had been in the hospital for a week and wasn't doing good. He had double pneumonia, and a tear in his esophagus that caused anything swallowed to go straight to his lungs. They didn't know if he was going to make it even through the weekend, so Lou and I left Jake with mom and drove out to be with the family. We left Friday morning. Thursday night I spent the entire day after work doing Lou's grandmother Frankie's Mary Kay newsletter. She's an executive senior sales director, and her unit just finished up the seminar year and hit the half-million mark in sales, which for them is a big deal. So Frankie wanted her newsletter to go out by the weekend, regardless of what was going on in our family life. I saw Jake for literally 90 seconds that night because by the time I got to my mom's he was ready for bed, and we left the next morning.
The visit went better than we thought. We met Uncle Roger and Aunt Julie for lunch when we got there, kind of for a debriefing. They told us how he was doing, and that when we went in the room we needed to be upbeat and positive and to NOT cry or get emotional. (Not crying is NOT my strong suit!!!) But actually it wasn't that bad once we got there, because David was sitting up in bed and was in a good mood and was joking around with everyone (which is what he does. He has such a fun personality.) At one point he even told a visitor from his church that if he had any youth in the church who needed someone to talk to them about not smoking, he's the guy to come to. (He quit several years ago, but had started when he was 15!) We spent most of the weekend just sitting around in the hospital, or going out to eat. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some scrapbooking magazines, and I also went to a bookstore and got a book to read. We mostly just spent time there so he wasn't alone. It was nice that Lou and I got to spend some time together, but I didn't like not seeing Jake for over 4 days. (And I'm so tired of people saying it will be nice for me to get a break from Jake -- I don't need long breaks from him, I have a 10 hour break every day, it's called WORK and commuting.) I'm very lucky to have my mom here to just drop him off at.
Uncle David is doing ok at the moment. They think maybe they can get him in with a cancer specialist in Alabama in the next week or two to repair the hole. This may buy him more time. I don't know how much time, and I don't know at what point they're going to stop just buying time, because I know he doesn't want to be put on life support, and the cancer hasn't responded to the chemo and radiation since they started in April. So I don't know what will happen. David's oldest daughter is getting married August 7th in Kentucky and I can't decide if we're going to go -- Jake can't come to the ceremony and I hate to leave him and I've only met this daughter a few times and Lou's not close to her -- she's very nice, I just don't know if I want to throw away a whole weekend and all the money for travel. Does that sound mean?
PRISCILLA IS IN MARYLAND
My best mommy friend, Priscilla, took her darling daughter, Elauna, on a trip to Maryland to see her mom and old friends. Priscilla is having her second child in September and says she is NOT making that trip with the kids once the second one comes along, so she's there for one last trip for a while -- for 3 WEEKS! Between no piano lessons this summer and no Priscilla to hang out with the past few weeks, my life has felt weird. My family has a tendancy to "adopt" my friends, and Priscilla has definitely become another sister, and Elauna another grandbaby for my parents to dote on. Even my dad just adores her. He loves little girls (he has 5 daughters). We miss them! We do have Zoe to play with -- and actually when Kristina picks her up at the end of the day the 2 or 3 days a week mom has her, she sits and talks to us for like an hour -- which is nice, because my mom doesn't know anyone here and she loves to talk to people and dispense her parenting wisdom (and Kristina is pretty new to the baby thing, even though Zoe's almost 1), and I like getting to know people from church and that's so hard without 1-on-1 time. Anyway, I'm REALLY looking forward to P and E getting back and coming over to play.
LUNCH WITH LESLIE FROM MOM'S TODAY
I've seen Leslie so many times now, she's really more of a real-life friend than an iP friend (especially since she never updates her diary or keeps up with her TTM board, LOL! You know I love you, Leslie.) Anyway, she is a darling and on the 8th took me to the best restaurant EVER, the Pancake Pantry, just down the street from where I work. (Mmmm . . . chocolate chip pancakes! The best! The only thing I ever order, because once you've tasted perfection, you stop looking!!!) Anyway, I think Leslie felt bad because we were supposed to meet the week before but Ella ended up getting really sick with a fever and Leslie missed several days of work and didn't get to talk to me until later. Believe me, I understand a child getting sick, but I'm also up for a free lunch any way I can get it! ha ha. I love talking to Leslie -- especially because she's not all intertwined in my life like Priscilla is, so I can actually TALK to her, honestly, about what's going on. And as Leslie says, she doesn't know Lou, has never met him, so I can say whatever I want. And she is very understanding and smart and a great listener. I always worry after I see her that I've talked too much and dominated the conversation too much and she's going to be completely annoyed by me, but there she is the next time, sweet as can be, always a good friend. We tend to alternate just the two of us getting together, then a playdate for the kids the next time -- which is very refreshing to get to talk without chasing around two toddlers. I think we're going to try to get the kids together next week.
MORE STUPID THINGS I'VE DONE LATELY
(Kelly will appreciate this -- she loved it last time I did an entry like this. HI KELLY!!!)
I guess I never wrote about blowing out a tire, which I guess happened in May. Kathy had come home with me to watch Jake so I could do some housework. It was like 9 at night and raining and she wanted me to take her back to mom's (when it would have been easier to just spend the night but she's stubborn.) So I packed up Jake wearing just his jammas -- didn't even take his diaper bag or put shoes on the poor kid) and we took off in the car. It was VERY dark and VERY raining, and when I took a turn on a not-so-well lit corner coming off a side road, I ran over not just the curb, but the storm gutter, and popped a tire. I was able to drive us to a safe location and called Lou, who luckily hadn't left yet for work. Lou is a security commander for a university, so he's in charge of the whole campus every night and has to be able to respond to stuff like this, but I had no idea how good he was at it until he came to help us. He was no nonsense, not mad, not annoyed, just got out the spare, did what he had to do and got on his merry way. I was amazed -- it was like he was a whole other person -- a very resourceful, helpful person! I was very glad I had him to call. We ended up staying at mom's house that night (because it was so late anyway and I didn't want to make the 6 mile drive back to my house) and the next morning my dad and I went to Walmart to get the tire changed. I didn't have enough money, so my dad paid for it and added it to what I owe him (aren't parents great? God, I owe him so much money.) It took them 3 hours to do it, and there was hardly anyone in front of us. I have NOT been impressed with the speed of the Walmart car-care center, and I'm definitely not going back there again (had two other "why the hell is this taking so long?" oil change experiences.) I took the morning off work to get it done, and it was actually a nice break from routine -- I watched the Cat in the Hat movie on the little lobby TV (it was kind of weird) and actually laid across two chairs and took a nap. I can sleep ANYWHERE.
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Ok, speaking of cars, there have been several times in the past few months I've put Jake in his carseat, made sure he has something to drink, found a toy for him to play with, got in and started the car and started driving, only to realize I forgot to buckle him in! BAD MOMMY! I immediately find a place to pull over and strap him in, but I feel so horrible that I forgot to do it -- and that it's happened more than once! Ugh. At least I've not locked the keys in the car since I've had him. I've got to hold on to that little accomplishment. :o/
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I cut my foot on my mom's screen door two weeks ago, and it's -almost- healed. I was carrying Jake in at 6:00 a.m. (remember, I get to work at 7 and have a 45 minute commute once I drive to mom's house, back to the interstate, and to work.) The deadbolt was locked and mom wasn't up yet (sometimes I just plop Jake in bed between her and dad and they wake up later), so I was holding a sleeping, 32 pound Jake, had my key in the door trying to turn it, the other hand on the knob, trying to pull the door toward me to unstick it, and my butt to the side holding the screen door open. When I finally got the door open and tried to jump inside, I wasn't quick enough and the bottom of the screen door scraped the back of my foot and gouged a big chunk of skin out. I managed to limp to the bedroom and sit Jake down before freaking out (an accomplishment I can add to my ever growing "times I've gotten hurt but not dropped Jake" list). And luckily it didn't start bleeding until then, but once it started it didn't stop for like 3 hours. And mom didn't have her house unpacked enough to really know where the bandaids were (we've since made sure we're stocked up), so we had to search high and low for them. I was limping for 3 days, and the cut took a week to scab over because it was so deep. I am so stupid sometimes. I'm really careful going in that door now, though!
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Did you know that if bath water gets in toys and they're left to sit for a few months, they will be attacked by mold? I found this out the hard way. Up until a few months ago we gave Jake quick baths in the kitchen sink and he had a small bucket of toys we kept on the counter for him -- 2 rubber ducks, and a set of Little People Zoo animals (6 total -- well, I put one in the garbage disposal accidentally, so 5). We also kept his shampoo and soap bottles in there, and it hasn't been looked at since I think March when we realized Jake was WAY too big for baths in the sink. So I decided to clean the little tub out and get the animals out so Jake could play with them. The small rubber duck was no longer yellow, it was GREEN! GROSS!!! The FP animals all still had water in them (there's no way to get the water out) so I just threw everything away. So goodbye to the Pandas, Hippo, and Crocodiles. They were good toys and they will be missed. I will probably buy more eventually, to add to our ever growing world of Fisher Price Little People (more about that in the next entry).
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After our fun trip to Aunt Julie's for Lauren's birthday and a pool party (you know, when Jake jumped in the pool?) on June 5th, I somehow lost my swimming suit and my shirt I was wearing over it -- both were NEW and CUTE. I still have Jake's suit, the shorts I was wearing, and our towel, so I'm really confused as to what happened to the shirt and suit. I know they were still wet when I changed out of them and put them in a plastic bag. If I find them as a moldy mess in another month I'm going to be pissed!!!
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Oh, speaking of ruining clothes -- I ripped a hole in one of my favorite jean skirts last month. I was putting Elauna in her carseat after they came to visit us, and her carseat is in the middle of the backseat (which is the safest place and actually Jake is so heavy to be lifting into the center, but it's the safest so I keep his seat there even though it's a big pain in the butt.) Anyway, Priscilla had a plastic ice-scraper sticking out from under the carseat that I didn't notice and as I lunged forward to get Elauna to her seat, the scraper went right through my skirt! I'm hoping my mom can fix it once she unearths her sewing machine.
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This past Sunday I was standing in the bathroom putting make-up on, because for once I had gotten up early and Lou was watching Jake. I put moisturizer on my face, then a little foundation, eye shadow, and crayon eye-liner (I can't use the small sharp ones, gotta use the big, soft ones.) As I put it back in my make-up bag, I saw some mascara and thought "gee, I haven't worn mascara in forever. I'll put some on." Got it on my left eye just fine, sat there and thought how beautiful I was, then proceeded to poke myself hard in my right eye. "Oh!" I thought. "THAT'S why I never wear mascara." Duh, Jen.
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Ok, one last item in this installment of "stupid things I've done lately." Wednesdays are trash days in our neighborhood, so on Tuesday nights Lou takes the garbage can down to the curb as he leaves for work. Now normally in the morning as I'm leaving my driveway at 5:45, I'm lucky I can START the car, much less drive it. Still, I'm careful to look behind me as I'm backing out to make sure the people who live across from me aren't also backing out, and no cars are coming down the street in any direction (I have never seen anyone on my street that early in the morning, we live on a no outlet dead-end.). So I looked to make sure no cars are coming, start to back up, and BOOM. Lou had put the trash can DIRECTLY BEHIND MY CAR (WTF?!!!) I knocked it over and several bags fell out. Yeah, 'cause that's what you want to deal with before 6 a.m. I was pretty mad about it, but yes I also saw the humor.
PIANO RECITAL
The piano recital on June 13th was great. My three girls are such little darlings. Margie has been taking lessons for 3 years -- her mom is the one who watched Jake his first year. Alexis has been taking since October, she's Jake's buddy Ryan's big sister. Evie I've been baby-sitting since she was 18 months old and now she's 8. Her parents are both Lou and I's good friends (and former professors from college) and we got married on their back porch. Evie was our flower girl. She's my favorite little girl in the world -- kind of like the daughter I'll never get to have. She's so special to me. I mean, they all are, but Evie especially.
We had the recital on a Sunday after church. My sister Kathy came with me to watch Jake and Ryan in the nursery and to help me out. (I didn't bring my mom becauase honestly? She tends to steal my thunder during important moments in my life. That sounds awful, but she does, so it's easier to just not bring her if it's not really important.) Lou didn't come because he had worked the night before, but honestly it hurt my feelings a little that he didn't want to see it. He just doesn't get ANY part of my artistic side, and has trouble caring even a little about it. But whatever.
I had scrambled that Saturday to get ingredients bought, cookies baked, napkins and plates and juice boxes bought, typing up the programs and printing them . . . (planning a recital is harder than you think!) After church I rushed around getting the fellowship hall set up, the refreshments table ready, yada yada. I'm so glad I only do this two times a year. People started showing up, we got everyone situated, the girls were nervous and ended up putting lotion on their hands in the church bathroom because it smelled good, and their moms had to tell them to go wash it off . . .
Evie also takes violin lessons so she started the program out with a few violin songs. Margie takes cello (I have well-rounded kiddos!) so she and I played two cello/piano duets (the first time I'd performed musically in QUITE a while -- it was SO FUN!). The the girls each played 4 or 5 piano pieces -- some we did duets on, some they did themselves. Evie's mom played one of her duets with her, which was very sweet. They all did GREAT, and we had about 20 people in the audience. Everyone thought the girls did great (which they did.) I was so proud of all of them. Evie's two big brothers put the fellowship hall back together for me so I could talk with people (I love those boys!) The girls are taking the summer off from lessons because they're so busy and travel so much. It's nice to have a break, but I miss that extra money every month!
ANNOUNCING BABY NATHAN
I'm a GREAT aunt now . . . that's so weird to say. My older sister is a grandmother. My dad is a great-grandfather. Granted, dad is 70, sister is over 45, and new-daddy nephew is 26, so being a great-aunt at 25 makes sense when you've got a weird family like mine . . . Nathan Lugo was born on June 25th, 2004 and was around 8 pounds (aaugh, I can't remember exactly!) You may remember me talking about my sister Sheri and her son, Chris, who came to visit us in May. Of my two half-sisters, Sheri is the one that I have SO much in common with and I have a close relationship with her sons. My sister Sara doesn't really get me, and her sons don't talk to me much at all. I don't NOT like her family, we're just not close. Anyway, Sheri wants me to work on a webpage for Nathan (of course!!!) and she sent me a disk of like 500 pictures she'd taken during Nathan's first 5 days. Ummm . . . ok. I've narrowed them down to like 200 (worried that I'll not pick someone's favorite) and I have 10 pages planned so far, then the front page and home page, of course. Oh, and a baby announcement page. This is going to be a BIG project, but great for portfolio building! And I really wanted to do something for Mike and Angela, considering I can't afford to buy them any baby gifts!
See next entry for what Jake is up to lately!!! And there are TONS of new links on his webpage -- check it out! And TALK TO ME!!!
Jen
Webpage: http://www.mypages.iparenting.com/webs/strangejen4/index.html
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