the essence

Friday, July 17, 2009

Yesterday we took the girls to the free summer kids movie at the theater. I've wanted to do this at least since last year but we didn't have a theater close to us who participated. Within the last year we've had a really nice "Cinebistro" open near us & they show two kids movies each Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday morning during the summer. I love free events!

It was the first movie the girls had ever been to & I think it was a hit! We saw Open Season which I can say was pretty cute & I actually enjoyed, too.



They were both pretty good during the movie although we kept Addison quiet & still by feeding her popcorn & Raisinets throughout the movie. The girl never really sits still, especially not to watch tv, so Ray would just giving her some candy every few minutes - I don't think I've ever seen Addison sit in one place for so long!





I have no shame in bringing my own food to the theater - I stopped at the grocery store in the movie & bought the popcorn & candy for about a 1/4 of the price it would've cost at the theater.

If you ask Addison what she did yesterday she'll tell you she went to the movies and had chocolate. "I get chocolate at the movies." In fact, even as we were walking into the theater she kept telling us she wanted chocolate. Good thing we didn't have to pay for the movie, I think she enjoyed the $1 candy more!

I totally love things like this so much more now that I have kids! Part of the fun is simply watching the kids enjoy themselves, don't you agree?

Jessica 9:25:00 AM

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Yesterday was my first day off this week from Hilton. Working this Hilton job now makes me really not mind piano so much.

In the afternoon Erin and Claire came over & had lunch with us. It was so cute watching the girls play!

Kate, 7 months; Claire, 9.5 months




I've finally started giving Kate solids on a more consistent basis. Contrary to Addison as a baby, Kate LOVES food & fusses for it if I don't feed her quick enough. Of course, she's also teething & I think part of what Kate likes is simply grabbing the spoon & knawing on it. True to family form, Kate loves refried beans!



In the afternoon Addison walked out of Ray's office wearing his outside hat saying she was going to "mow the lawn." (just as Daddy did earlier in the day) Ray told her to put on shoes & that she couldn't wear sandals. So, what did Addison put on her feet? Close-toed dress shoes! Such a girl...



Now, I can hear Addison singing songs such as "Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World" & "Everybody Ought to Know Who Jesus Is" in her bedroom. I put her to bed about an hour & a half ago! I've had her back & up & she ate & ate - at least she's in a great mood & was hilarious when I had her up tonight!

Jessica 9:05:00 PM

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Both girls are asleep! And, they both seem to be sleeping well, rather than the uncanny ability of one to wake up shortly after the other has gone to bed.

Because I work so much on Mondays & Tuesdays I have a difficult time deciding what to do on these afternoons when I'm not on the phones. Especially when the girls are sleeping. I can't seem to bring myself to nap. Instead I just lay there thinking about everything else I could be doing. There's just too much to do in life to sleep too much!

I have my iron plugged in & ready to go, but I think I may put that off until tomorrow. I do need to touch up my pedicure. I'd also like to make some lesson plans for piano. I'm thinking of starting a toddler class for group lessons, as I've had a recent surge of interest in piano lessons for two & three-year-olds.

Another thing I'm loving: a Sweet Bay grocery store just opened up across the street from Target. While over all they're way overpriced & the quality hasn't been that great the store has been sending out coupons each week for lots of free food: eggs, bacon, sausage, butter, bagels, ice cream sandwiches, etc. Some of my coupons expire today so I need to go get that before my piano lesson arrives. Other than the coupons, I mostly like that Sweet Bay has a redbox in it! $1 movies right across the street = :)!!!

Jessica 2:06:00 PM

Last week I finally gave Addison some playdoh to play with. I wasn't waiting for some specific time, it was simply a matter of me forgetting to give it to her before! A shame, it's such a great creative tool! I made her sit at the kitchen table and when I came back this is what Addison had done with the playdoh:





Hm...I'm not sure what to think of that! I was pretty impressed with the perfect little arc going on, though. I wonder if she'll attempt anything more on the creative side anytime soon?

Jessica 7:05:00 AM

Monday, July 13, 2009

Last week turned out to be a great week. However, if you're looking for photos, I didn't do such a good job in that area.

Amidst the busy early work week schedule (I try to finish most of my hours each week by Wednesday) we did manage to meet Aimee, Edgar & the kids at Barnes & Noble for Story Time on Tuesday. Addison asks to go but then when we're actually there she only really enjoys the singing for a few minutes & then would rather go play with the train set on the other side of the room.

On Thursday my parents came over!!! I was supposed to work 8a-9a but I THOUGHT I wasn't supposed to start work until 8:30 so I missed about half of my shift. oops

I also had to take Kate to her well-baby check-up at 10:30 so while I took her there my mom watched Addison & Rach & Ruthie came over to visit. I was so thankful that the appointment was actually fast! That almost never happens with ped appointments. Kate is fine with all the normal development & somewhere in the 50% for height & weight.

After I arrived back home we all went to, where else? Target! The land where anything & everything you don't need but want to own can be found! The rest of the day is a bit of a blur, as can happen when you spend your time chasing kids around. My parents did take us out to Tijuana Flats for some delicious nachos for dinner & once the kids were finally in bed for the night I took my mom to peruse the great deals at the mall.

I had quite the time the week before blowing through the gift card Ray's dad gave me for my birthday. I had a list of all of the items I was looking to purchase & I found great sales! My mom also found some of the best stuff while we were out & we both got the same kind of buzz just from shopping that I usually get after drinking a bunch of caffeine.

Speaking of caffeine, we did stop at Barnes & Noble after our shopping trip & relaxed with some coffee and magazines before heading home & watching a movie. Man, I sure did miss my mom being up north for a month.

Friday was another bit of a blur - I know we did some grocery shopping, took Addison to the pool, I taught several piano lessons, & Ray & I drove over to Hilton to pick up several checks (thank goodness our direct deposit has finally gone into effect).



Now, for this weekend...um, I don't think I did too much. I guess just ran some errands & Ray helped Conrad take some things down at camp. We had some good meetings at church yesterday & just a bit of work in the afternoon.

Now, I'm back on the phones today: 6am-noon & then 6pm-midnight today. I hate the 12 hours, but it's so worth it to put in two long days in order to free up most of the other days of the week.

Jessica 6:10:00 AM

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Today is July 8, 2009

So at 12:34pm and 56 seconds today it will be:

12:34:56 7/8/09

Jessica 9:55:00 AM

Monday, July 06, 2009

I'm still battling out this cold, which is a real bummer since Mondays are my busiest days. It's really difficult talking on the phone for 10 hours with a sore throat & stuffy nose. Ray offered to take my hours tonight but when he requested the switch it was denied by the powers that be saying it was too close to the work time for it to be switched. I don't get it, they've done it before on short notice.

The 4th was a very low-key day for us this year, it was our first holiday that we were required to work (we're required to work two a year) so I was on from noon-4 & Ray was on 4:30-830. That pretty much scratched any events for the day, I didn't even put any cute 4th of July clothes on the kids, which I would normally love to do.

Ray did have an old friend from high school who contacted him the day before. Geremiah is in the Air Force & has been in Australia for the past 3 years. We hadn't seen him in about 5-6 years & he was only going to be in town for 2 days. So, I whipped up a delicious dinner (seriously, try this ribs recipe, they really do just fall off the bone!) & Geremiah showed up around 8:45.



After spending 3 years in Australia, the Air Force has now stationed him in...Omaha. Yeah, Omaha. The poor guy. He said he can't wait to leave. I asked how long he's been in Omaha...2 weeks. So, you know, 2 weeks down, 2 years and 50 weeks to go.

We talked a lot & then watched Taken...again. Ray & I had watched it the night before & liked it a lot - Ray really liked it. Liam Neeson totally kicked butt in that movie.

We chatted with Geremiah & chatted some more - I wasn't really paying attention to the time but before I knew it I was going to bed after 2am! Ray told me that Geremiah didn't leave until after 3. I don't even remember the last time I had stayed up that late. My throat was feeling funny too so I ended up staying home sick from church the next morning.

Even being exhausted it was still lots of fun to hang out & catch up, especially after 6 years! I'll be so glad once we're all better & well rested, though.

Jessica 6:53:00 PM

Yesterday Kate turned 7-months-old. She marked the day with a 101 fever by the end of the night. I'm sick, too, though mine's just a sore throat/stuffy nose, no fever. Addison's better at least. She still has two molars coming in & she's still in a foul mood so that's really no fun. Kate reminds me of Megan when she'd get sick - still just happy & smiling at you.







I'm pretty sure we picked up this virus at camp but we still had a great time there. Besides, I've come home sick from camp ever since I was a teenager so it wasn't a big surprise for it to happen now.

The theme for the week was Survivor: Promised Land. Con & Rach always do a great job with their weeks & Conrad doesn't spare any effort to make it unique. For banquet night he made "trees" which Rach arranged to have draped with green tulle. It looked pretty cool:



Unfortunately, Rach was not able to be there most of the time because she came down with a cold. She's also expecting again(!) so she wasn't feeling well to begin with. I'm so excited for them! I knew she wouldn't be feeling well so I really wanted to be able to go so I could help her out with everything she wouldn't feel up to doing. So, for banquet night, I took her direction & then took the liberty of setting up the decorations & such (a job I don't mind at all).

Some of the other highlights while we were there:

Wedesdsay night, after the kiddies were in bed, the kitchen was busy & alive with the preparation of homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning. There were more cooks in the kitchen then needed, but it was fun to watch! Or, as Lori said when she walked in, "Is this cinnamon roll class?"



The game on Thursday evening was human shuffle board aka make the kids sit on blocks of ice while they get shoved across the gym floor!



How many ethnicities were at camp that week? I'm not positive, but there were enough to let us know "What' for dinner" in 5 languages!



Our family photo on banquet night.



Can't you just hear the Survivor theme song in your head?

The rest of the photos from are visit can be found here.

Jessica 8:02:00 AM

Thursday, July 02, 2009

In my purse I keep a little notebook to jot down whatever may come to me while I'm out. Usually, that ends up being little tidbits that catch my eye in a magazine, sometimes it's a shopping list, notes from church or a product I want to find in the future. I was flipping through this notebook today (which I've been using since 2007) & here are few of my notes at random:

"Waking multiple times during the night appears to alter the body's natural pain-control mechanisms contributing to backaches, headaches & muscle soreness, a study in "Sleep" notes."

Moda Fabrics "posh"

Mango-Lime Sorbet 150 cal.
1/2 C frozen mango pieces
2 limes, juiced
1 T honey
Puree in blender until smooth & thick (1 serving)

"Success is not proof that we are in the will of God."

baby-yoga.com
childrensyoga.com
itsybitsyyoga.com
nextgenerationyoga.com
specialyoga.com
yogakids.com

"The fumes emitted from the tip of a cigarette are about 4x's more toxic than the filtered ones smokers take in, although smokers do inhale more fumes overall."

Fat resistance diet
apples, almonds, bell peppers, salmon & egg whites

"Increasing coffee intake may prevent liver cancer - National Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden. 2 cups lowered risk by 43% on average."

"1.5oz. of pistachios daily lowers blood pressure & reduces the workload on the heart during emotional or physical stress - Penn State Univ. @ State College."

Even though I don't look through this notebook much, I still feel the urge to write down all of the little interesting tidbits, recipes, & websites I come across.

Jessica 10:17:00 PM

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Today really didn't go how I thought it would.

Addison woke up with a fever of 104 around 10:30 last night. I was on the phones until midnight & when I got off Addison was still up. Nothing was bringing the fever down - I had her in a cool bath around 12:30 before finally sending her back to bed around 1. Between 1am & 4am I was constantly getting up with Addison. You could tell the poor girl was miserable & I finally moved her out to the love seat in the family room & she fell right to sleep. I slept on the sofa next to her & finally got around 2.5 hours of sleep.

I still had 3 piano lessons to teach today but no phone time. I was so exhausted, the day is kind of hazy. I spoke with people & did a few things but my memory of today is not that great.

The fever was still hovering around 101 most of today & Addison was pretty lethargic & wouldn't eat & hardly drank. I called Darlene for her advice again this evening & she told me what to give Addison & right after I did Addison started to improve. She started eating, drinking, wanting to play, & her fever started to go down. I gave her more tylenol before bed to hopefully get the fever to go away so Addison (& ALL of us) can get some much needed rest tonight. Last I checked it was 99.9 - yay!

I really hope that Addison's better by the morning & that none of the rest of us, especially Kate, pick up this bug. I have a feeling the bug was picked up while we were at camp but didn't really set in until we got home. However, Addison felt great at camp & had a fabulous time. When we had to leave on Saturday Addison said, "I don't want to go home!" Neither did I.

This is Addison & her best friend at camp last week, Heather. Or, as Addison said, "Feather." Addison also called her "little girl."

"Mommy I want to see the little girl. Where's the little girl?"

It was so sweet!



Addison became taken with Heather shortly after we arrived at camp. The initial attraction? Heather had "boo-boos" on her knees, just like Addison. The previous week Addison had quite traumatically fallen & received some pretty bad scrapes on her knees. When she saw Heather, Addison kept telling me that Heather had boo-boos because she fell & then Addison kept trying to show Heather her own boo-boos. Addison was stuck to her like glue after that.

That first night we had the carnival at camp & Heather had to work a booth. So, Addison stood right next Heather nearly the entire time! Just stood there, watching Heather, eating her popcorn, & feeding Heather pieces of popcorn through the net. Everyone there who knows Addison was pretty surprised that she was actually staying calmly in one place for once. (I couldn't get too close - Addison kept telling me to "go back, mommy." Miss Independent!)



That night at chapel when Addison spotted Heather sitting across the room she got up from her seat next to me & spent the rest of the evening sitting next to her new friend. Except when everyone started getting out their Bibles. Then, Addison ran over to me & said, "I need my Bible, mommy!" After giving her one she happily ran back to her seat with the big kids.

It did just melt my heart. The girl loves her Bible books. She's especially obsessed with the story of Goliath. In every Bible book we have Addison wants to read about Goliath.

Well, it's a little after 10 & I think Addison has comfortably fallen asleep. Ray's working until midnight (of course) but I'm going to steal the opportunity for some much needed rest & get to bed early!

Jessica 9:19:00 PM

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

So, we're kind of getting back in the swing of things since arriving home from camp. Ray had to work six hours when we got home, we had church Sunday morning, I worked the afternoon, he worked Sunday evening after church & then, yesterday, I worked 10 hours plus 5 piano lessons.

So, there are piles of laundry all over. The house is a bit messy. And, yesterday was a bit difficult.

But, you know what? The worst work day of the week is over! Today, I only have to work 10 hours, which really doesn't seem bad after yesterday. It's all perspective, you know? I have 6 hours "off" this afternoon, which will give me time to spend with the girls, do some laundry, cook, & run some errands. I know I could spread the work hours out a little more but I'd much rather just get it over with & be able to enjoy the rest of the week.

After today, the only think I have left for the week are piano lessons. Which, let me tell you, I enjoy that work much more now that I'm spending all of this time on the phones. (I just went out on my break to find that Ray has started the laundry - what a guy!) :)

Unfortunately, Ray & I are required to work two holidays a year & this year we're both required to work the 4th of July. :( Such a bummer, especially since the hours we were given are from noon-4pm & 4:30-8:30pm. That pretty much cuts out any get togethers with anyone as those hours run right over lunch & dinner. We may or may not be able to see any fireworks (although, honestly, I'm not that into fireworks). I think I'll be pretty happy to have a quiet evening at home that night.

Jessica 9:24:00 AM

Saturday, June 27, 2009

We're home & completely exhausted. Poor Ray is working a six-hour shift right now. We had a great time but I'm pretty bummed about getting back to work tomorrow afternoon.

Jessica 9:59:00 PM

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

22 minutes left on the phones and the I am DONE for the day. Twelve hours is a long time to sit in one place saying the same thing over & over.

Addison is spending the night at Ray's mom tonight. It's her first time staying away from home without one of us with her. Ray said she had already laid herself down on the little pallet of blankets they'd made on the family room floor for her. Now that I think about it, this may be the first time that I'd been apart from her at night.

I'm sure she'll have fun, Ray will be picking her up in the morning while I'm on the phones -AGAIN. Just 3 hours in the morning, though, & then I'm done until Sunday! Yay!

Jessica 11:38:00 PM

I'm so happy that it's 3:00 today.

This is the week that we would normally be working at camp. Due to the new jobs, we weren't able to make it this year. I've been so bummed - it just doesn't feel right now to work at camp during the summer. Just in case we'd be able to go up at all, we did make our work schedules this week so that I finish all 29 of my hours by 11am Wednesday morning. Ray will finish at 12:30 tomorrow but then have to work 6-midnight on Saturday. (His mom is watching the girls this afternoon & Ray is working at her house so we can work at the same time).

Anyway, this week at camp they actually have a few more staff than they have campers - very unusual for a high school week! Anyway, we're definitely not needed but we were told the ac is running in the cabin anyway, so we're welcome to come up & stay for a bit. I think we're going to go tomorrow afternoon. Yay!

Camp is my favorite ministry. I'm so thankful I went when I was younger & was given the opportunities to work there during the summers & that we're still able to go back now.

Okay, finally on my 2.5 hours break - I need to rest! And, of course, I need some coffee.

Jessica 2:57:00 PM

Monday, June 22, 2009

The other day I was doing a work out video & Addison kept trying to do it with me. She even laid down on the mat & started trying to do leg lifts. It was so cute I had to pause my workout & get her picture!

Jessica 8:03:00 AM

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Sweet 16 + 10

Two days ago while I was making dinner, Addison was sitting at the piano playing & singing "Happy Birthday Dear Mommy." I found out today that Ray had been practicing with her for my birthday. :)

(Video won't upload now, I'll try again later)


Yes, today is my birthday. In honor of that I took advantage of being able to build our weekly hours & neither Ray or I worked today. No Hilton, no piano. The day started off great with that one-hour massage I blogged about yesterday. I just can't get over how wonderful that was - I nearly fell asleep a few times!

After the massage I went to Target for my weekly coffee & I also bought some just-for-fun make-up - all for free!



A little while back I received two $5 off coupons for NYC make-up. It said I won a drawing or something, but I don't remember entering. I won't complain about free make-up, though!

When I got home Ray told Addison to get me my present. She excitedly handed me this sweet card that Ray made for me:



Ray wrote a wonderful note on the other side but I love this side, do you see what it say? "Addison's art/Kate just cried" Apparently that's Kate was not happy while Ray & Addison made the card.

This afternoon I took my birthday money & we all went to the mall. I picked up some sale items at Ann Taylor Loft - two nice tanks & a cute skirt. This is my attempt to get a photo of my new clothes; it ended up looking more like the facebook photos teenagers take:



I took a picture of Addison & I-only afterwards did I see what she was doing:



And, my girls. Addison loves to entertain Kate:




Now we've just been relaxing at home & Ray is out picking up a pizza from my favorite pizza place for dinner, I picked out "Bride Wars" (love redbox!), & I have some yummy ice cream for later - Edy's Caramel Cone Crunch.

Jessica 7:11:00 PM

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I'm very sorry that I didn't get on here to update everyone, but our car began working all of a sudden on Monday!

I know, it was a total shock. So, thank the Lord it started working again, thank you to everyone who offered a ride to us to get groceries & stuff, it's very much appreciated. :)

Today is my last difficult day of the week. I'm in the middle of a 5 hour shift right now & after this I get to go to the DMV to renew my license. Everyone's favorite thing to do, right? Especially with two little kids in tow. I wish I could just renew online, but apparently after 10 years a vision & hearing test is in check.

After that, I have 3 new piano students today. I'm a little apprehensive about this for several reasons:

1. This is for an hour & a half while Ray is working. Which means, no one to watch the girls (this may be resolved, his mom may be able to come over for part of the time)

2. Two of the students are 3 & 4. I've taught 4-year-olds before, but never a 3-year old. Yikes.

3. And, lastly, I'm always a little nervous about new students. The parents sit in for the first lesson usually & I just never know how well the kids will do. Especially a three-year-old.

However, I'm desperate for more students so I'm certainly willing to give it a try. This was kind of last minute, the kids are related to a guy Ray went to high school with & they reconnected over facebook. So, the lessons aren't going to finish until 6:30 so I don't know if we'll be making it to church tonight. Again. I just don't know when I'd make dinner & get everyone ready in time. :(

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow though. Neither of us are working. I don't have any piano. And, I've scheduled myself for my last massage (the gift from my friends a couple of months ago).

YAY! I can't wait!

Jessica 12:18:00 PM

Monday, June 15, 2009

As I mentioned earlier, we had a baby shower on Saturday for one of the girls at the chapel. Rach & Erin took charge of the event & did an amazing job! The decorations were really superb. I think it was the nicest shower we've ever had at the chapel.

Remember these puffs that my mom made for Megan's bridal shower a couple years ago & that I made for Erin's shower last year?

Well, Erin made a BUNCH of them & hung them from the ceiling all over the room! It looked fabulous! She also did the napkin rings that Martha Stewart has on her site for the project as well. It really looked so great.





Erin has also taken to making cakes. No formal training or anything she just decided to do it:



Can you believe that?!? I've been so impressed with all of the cakes she's been making.

Addison really liked the cake. Or, maybe I should rephrase that. Addison LOVED the icing on the cake. I think she may've been going into sugar shock here...




Rachel also made matching burp cloths for the mother-to-be to take home & cute little favors holding chocolates for the tables!



Me and the creative ladies



Everything turned out so nice!

Jessica 10:14:00 AM

Yesterday morning I woke up with a migraine and cramps for the first time since Kate was born! Needless to say, I stayed home from church with Kate & Ray took Addison with him. I spent the morning trying to get rid of the headache before my 4-hour afternoon phone shift began. I was pretty miserable when it started but, thankfully, Ray stepped over & gave me a deep massage while I was working (without me even asking!) & my headache finally completely went away.

I was still totally exhausted when I got off of the phones so I stayed home from church again in the evening.

And, so did Ray.

I was feeding Addison dinner when Ray walked out the door to go to church and a few minutes later he came back in saying our car wouldn't start. You know, our only car wouldn't start.

It really came as no surprise, it's been getting more temperamental & not always starting like it's supposed to lately. I've also had it completely stall on me while I was driving down the road. So, this most likely is not something that is just a quick & inexpensive fix. Really I'm not sure what we're going to do at this point. An expensive fix or a car purchase. Obviously, though, we need to do something, but it's still just a matter of prayer right now.

Unfortunately, I went grocery shopping for the week LAST Sunday so I'd been planning on going out today for groceries. However, I'm working all morning so I don't plan to walk the four-miles in the afternoon Florida heat for groceries. Thankfully, we had a baby shower on Saturday for which I made some sandwiches & I still had some leftover lunch meat. After the shower I also stopped at Publix to get some water & bought a bit of produce.

So, at least we have that in the house & I went to work making some things last night since I'm working 11 hours today. I made lentils & brown rice, whole wheat carrot muffins, I made a pizza dough & used the leftover lunch meat & some cream cheese to make little hot sandwiches, I cut up a bunch of fruit, and also made some egg salad.

So, I think we're set for a few days - but I only have enough coffee left for one more pot - what will I do?!?!?

Jessica 8:25:00 AM

Saturday, June 13, 2009

All about Kate

This week we gave Kate her first bit of solids. Last week, I let her suck on a piece of watermelon (she seemed to like it!) & this week I mashed up a bit of banana for her. She was willing to try it over & over, but made some of the funniest faces. I think the banana was a little over ripe.









Kate is also getting very close to crawling, she's getting up on her hands and knees quite a bit now & rocking back & forth. I love watching her!



She's doing the typical baby things like rolling all over the place, playing with her feet, reaching for toys and playing with them...it's so fun to watch! Addison started off pretty advanced physically & then just stopped. Stopped rolling over, didn't play with her feet or her toys for the longest time & didn't start crawling until she was around 10 months. They even sent us to a pediatric neurologist, remember? With all of that, it's fun to watch a baby of mine doing things at a more "normal" pace,







I just can't believe how big Kate is getting and I can't believe she's almost 6.5 months old! When I look at her laying in her bed I can't believe that she's not a tiny little baby anymore.

Jessica 9:48:00 PM