30-30 Over the Hill

Yes, my little "man" has turned 6. What a sweet guy I have. As I put him to bed last night our conversation went a little something like this:

Carson: "Mom, I don't think I'm ready to turn six"

Me: "Why, Bud?"

Carson: "Because the last five years have been really great." (hint of sadness in his voice)

Me: "What do you mean?" (Trying desperately not to burst out laughing)

Carson: "Well my early years have been so good, I don't think it will be as good now that I'm so old!"

Happy Birthday Carson...I promise we'll make the next five years just as good as the last.

29-30 I just need my bed...

I wish this was it...a little more sleep and I just might kick this cold....

28-30 Little People...

Still feeling a little under the weather so I'll just post a few pics of these sweet kiddos of ours! The first two are of the kids at the pool during our recent trip to Florida. The picture of Cal is recent.

27-30 Feeling "Fuzzy"

When we spent a week with my sister-in-law and her kids in Idaho my niece Alli spent a lot of time with Callum. She loved to play with him, hold him, and talk to him. Cal could only handle small amounts of "Alli Attention" before he would begin to fuss and whine (note: It wasn't only Alli Attention that caused him to fuss ; ) At this point she would look up at me with her big brown eyes and ask, "What is wrong with him Aunt Jenn? Is he getting fuzzy?" With a hidden smile I would reply, "Yes, Alli he is fuzzy." He really was (and sometimes still is) a very fussy baby. There really was nothing in particular that was bothering him. He seems to need things just so or he is just not happy...

Well, today I took a page from Cal's book and have been feeling "fuzzy" as Alli says. I woke up still tired with a headache that has only continued to increase in intensity... I discovered that my camera lens was broken and I didn't accomplish anything on my to do list and grumped and complained to anyone who would listen to me today. I think I need a big dose of Vitamin C and a good rest. Call me tomorrow, hopefully "fuzzy" Jenn won't answer your call....

26-30 Back on the wagon...

Well, I knew it.... and I blew it.

Every time I had a minute I kept telling myself that I should post, but in the end I just ran out of energy and time. Dan spent the day at a "case competition" at Columbia in the city (he was a judge - not a participant) so I had a wallow in self pity day followed by an evening with some girlfriends. It didn't help that when Dad is gone I am on soccer duty. We hit Carson's game at 9 and Erika's at 12:30 -- by 1:10 it was rained out and we came home to warm up and shower. I just missed it yesterday, but when you fall off the wagon you jump right back on, right?

25-30 I'm exhausted...I'll blog about the house soon

Don't let the sweet face fool you. He's out to destroy me! For the past month or so he has been waking up around 2:00am and crying til you pick him up. All he needs is a little snuggle and he falls directly back to sleep. Unfortunately for me he continues this cycle every 40 minutes until morning. If you try to calm him without picking him up he throws an enormous fit and refuses to stop screaming. I feel some tough love coming on...

24-30 Finally!

***I will return to answering questions tomorrow***

Today I decided I had to get Halloween out of the way. After all the work I put into our costumes I realize now that I did a lousy job of getting pictures of my "blue crew", but since I was on the Activities Committee and Dan left the camera in the car I didn't have many opportunities to sneak away for photo opps. We went as:


Yes, the Smurfs + Gargamel

Most of these were taken during clean-up of our ward Halloween Party so Carson (Hefty Smurf) had eaten off most of the makeup around his mouth, and Callum (Baby Smurf) had been slobbering all over my (Brainy Smurf) shirt and neck so we all looked a little scary-crazy by the time we took the picture.



Carson during his school parade.


Lovely "Smurfette"


And of course Dan was Gargamel because the kids couldn't talk him into being Papa Smurf.

The kids really wanted to be Smurfs this year and after searching high and low for pre-made costumes to no avail I told them "no". After much begging, I decided this may be the last year for a while that one of my kids would want to have such a crazy costume. So Smurfs we were! I spent three days madly trying to make a pattern and then sew Smurf hats, pants and "boots", and a dress for Smurfette. Gargamel was a little easier to do... It was fun to watch the people at church try to figure out who I was (in real life not my character). It was fun and the kids loved having their friends ask who they were. Hopefully I can scour out a few better pictures to post another time.

23-30 My Feet...

How are your feet?

***First, feet are gross...

I will explain....I have crazy feet. They are flat, but usually I am fine with that. My toes are shaped strangely, but I can't do much about that either. About 2 years ago I started having pain in my left foot when I would run. Then the pain became increasingly frequent until now when it is almost unbearable at times. Finally, in August I had enough and saw a Podiatrist. After a thorough examination and an MRI it was determined that I have a large Neuroma in between my 2nd and 3rd toes on my left foot.

Neuroma: A neuroma is an enlarged, inflamed nerve mass occurring most commonly at the ball of the foot near the 3rd and 4th toes. Symptoms usually consist of a sharp, stabbing or burning pain under the ball of the foot with radiating pain into the toes. In severe cases, a "clicking" sensation can be felt while walking. This is the nerve mass moving between the adjacent metatarsals.

My neuroma is a little larger than my pinkie finger. I had a round of shots that were horribly painful as well as useless. Last resort? Surgery to remove it. Unfortunately, my Dr. is going to be out of commission until the end of November and I don't want to do it over the holidays particularly so I am looking at having it done in early January. I am hopeful that it will relieve the pain and allow me to get back to a more active life!

We went to Disney World in September and I was really worried that it would be tough, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated as long as I wore a certain pair of shoes and alternated with my flip-flops. Thanks Liz for asking and hopefully it will be better soon. (I know you can sympathize...)

22 - 30 My favorite color...

I love the color of the water in this picture...I really don't like pink and never have. Even as a kid I wouldn't wear anything pink if I could help it. Blues and greens are always my favorites.

21-30 Answers...

1. How much longer do you think Dan will be in I-banking? Is he loving it? Are you loving New York and do you see yourself there for the long haul?


* Well, I hope no one from UBS is reading this.... I don't know howlong he'll stay. He HATES the hours. For those of you unfamiliar with his hours I will briefly explain. Usually he leaves before 8:30 am and returns home between 11 - 2 am (16-18 hr days) on average -- Monday to Friday. On the weekends he works 10 -25 hours from home or office depending on the deal. To compensate for the long hours they are usually paid pretty well, but Dan is too low in the pecking order to get the crazy bonuses you hear about but high enough for them to cut the bonus he does get when times are tough. If you average out how much he works with how much he is paid (or will be paid) it is sad. On the up side he still has a job and in the NY market that is a blessing. We took this job thinking he would stay long enough to pay down our student loans, but that is proving harder than we anticipated due to current conditions. So we are contemplating our options...any suggestions???????



*As for NY...hmmm. I am torn. Surprisingly, Dan really likes NY and our neighborhood. We both think:

Negatives:
- we hate that we pay the highest property taxes in the US (#1 or#2 is Westchester county). It is really obscene.
- paying to go to stores like Target. (I have to pay to park almost everywhere and it is annoying.)
- NY state Taxes! (taxes in general are a big complaint around here)
- Babysitters that cost $10 or more per hour. This limits our ability to have "date night" very often when you know you have to fork out $40-60 just for the sitter.
- The weather...I don't like cloudy weather and it is cloudy here WAY to often.
- everything is just SO expensive.
- our house..too small, too old, too expensive

+ We love the great schools the high taxes pay for.... Both the kids have fabulous programs and teachers.
+ the beautiful, green landscape out here.
+ being able to have NYC so close...I don't get in as often as I would like, but just knowing it is there is great.
+ having so many airports so close - you can go anywhere from NYC
+ our neighbors...they are amazing and dote on our kids/ward...love the wards we've been in outside UT/ID (nothing against the others, but our other wards have just seemed closer.)
+ our house...you kind of love it like a prisoner becomes enamored with his captor ; )


As you can see we are split here too...I guess much of it depends on the first question - his job. So I guess I haven't actually answered anything have I? Well, we are open to suggestions...

Thanks for the questions Molly... We miss the Philly days too. We loved our time spent there and think about it all the time. Funny, because Dan is at Wharton recruiting tonight as I type.

I'll tackle #2 tomorrow...

20-30 What do you want to know????

I can't blog Halloween quite yet because I am search of a certain picture so besides Halloween, what do you want to know? Anything? Help? I will try to answer the questions that are put on this post....so let the ????'s commence.

19-30 Part TWO - Success

Hurray!!! My baby was "good" for a babysitter tonight...what does this mean? Freedom...unfortunately I can't afford one as often as I want one, but this is a first step! Seriously, this is a great thing.

19-30 A clue....

Many of you already know what our family did for halloween this year, but while i am waiting to find a few pics of the whole famiy, here is a clue for you. the above picture is one i took while "creating" our costumes.