Jayden's Lump

A few months ago, I noticed a lump under Jayden's arm by his armpit and between his breast. It was scary so I took him to the doctor. The doctor told me it was a swollen lymph gland probably from an infection. Well this lump seems to still be there or has possibly gotten bigger. It is like a marble under his skin and it sticks out. It moves around. Mike took took him "along" to the doctor with the girls on Friday. The doctor didn't have his chart, but again, stated not to worry unless it stops moving around, feels warm/hot to the touch, or turns red. I was telling a couple I work with about it and he's worried. He has had cancer and it was a lump in that same spot and it wasn't red or hot. His was bigger. Anyhow, he begged me to take Jayden to get a second opinion and demand an MRI to see exactly what it is. Tonight I sit here and did some searching online and it seems I find the "not scary" stuff and the "scary" stuff where both sides tend to aim towards his lump. At this point, I'm not sure what to do. Our doctor has told us if it does become red, hot, or hard, then he would have to have it removed. It's just so creepy to see this bump coming out of him and even worse to feel. I'm just hoping and praying it's nothing and that it will go away. I'm probably going to call the doctor again and talk to him personally on Tuesday about why I shouldn't worry about it. How does he know for sure it's not cancer or a tumor? I don't know what to do!

First Day of School

So the first day of school went off without a problem! The kids came home bouncing off the walls with excitement. They had all made friends and they all told me they loved Sioux Valley "way" better than Medary. This made me feel awesome! I walked them to school today and introduced myself to all of their teachers and made sure the right rooms were found. Joseph's teacher even said he worked hard today and he was a great student. We are a bit concerned about Joseph because he has trouble focusing and staying on task. Dalton broke his sandal, so Mike had to take him his other shoes. Shawndra and Shaylee both had a good day. YAY!!

Swinging Tonight

Took a few minutes tonight to enjoy the gorgeous weather before supper. Jayden and Devin played on the playset. Jayden loved swinging.

He kept throwing his head back and laughing.
Then I took him out and put him on the slide. He wasn't too thrilled with that.
But he got used to it and loved exploring.
Devin kept asking for "underdogs".
Tomorrow we will be celebrating Shaylee and Dalton's birthdays. Since we moved the week of their birthdays, we had to celebrate late.

New Job, New House

Hello. That's right, I have a new job. I've spent the last 3 days thinking really hard and crunching numbers on paper, along with writing down the pros and cons. Last night, Mike and I decided I should go for the job. It's in my field, Early Childhood Education. I am now a Family Advocate with Early Head Start in Lake County, which is Madison. I will be driving, but am hoping that in maybe a year or so, the opportunity might arise to transfer into Brookings. For now, I'm getting my foot in the door. I will have approximately 10 families and will serve children in their homes who range in age from Birth to 3 years old. I see each family for 1 1/2 hours one time a week and bring activities to their home. I will also be responsible for PALS, which is like a big open invitation for my families to come to my office/PALS site and participate in the parent education I will provide, the activities, and the snack. I am totally excited. I haven't even graduated and I've already been offered this job!

We are in our house! We love it! We still have lots of unpacking to do, but initially we are done. The kids are super happy and so are we. We finally have the much needed space we all desired.

School starts in Volga on Monday. Hard to believe how fast the time went once again. Seems like not long ago we were beginning summer. I hate to think snow will be on the way in just a few months! Oh well, I guess I'm ready for cooler weather. I've never been one to enjoy heat. Plus I hate bugs!! HAHA!

The Move

We are finally in our new house and so excited to be here. The kids love it. We ran into a minor setback when we moved, actually on the 14th hour of moving. The boys' room reeked like cat urine. I called the people who cleaned our carpets and they told me that what probably happened was the urine was soaked into the pad and by shampooing the carpets it brought the smell back to the top. It was so bad I can't even explain. We hauled all the boys' stuff back out and shut the door. We went to Midstates yesterday and bought new carpet and ripped out the old crap last night. Tonight we still need to scrape the rest of the padding up and then bleach the concrete. So far, since we pulled the carpet out, we can't really smell it at all. All we smell is paint. So I believe the problem will be solved. It just amazes me how nobody could smell that before the carpet cleaning, so I guess it was kind of a save for us.

We have spent the last three days packing, unpacking, putting things together, organizing, and doing some cleaning. We are finally out of the trailer completely, but no where near put together here. Our garage is packed full. We need to have a rummage sale, but I would like to wait until next year during Volga days when there are lots of rummage sales. I actually tried to arrange the garage somewhat tonight in order to make room for ONE van. I thought I did good, got in my van, pulled it in, but it wouldn't fit. It went in, just not far enough, and I don't think I could have opened my door. So hopefully we can get some more stuff unpacked so we can actually use the garage!

Anyhow, I best get back to cleaning and unpacking.

What a Day!

Guess it's been awhile since I updated again. We closed on the house this morning. We are official home-owners! It's so exciting and overwhelming. Today we did a little cleaning and then started painting. We got the boys' room painted, which is a sky blue. I'm not crazy about it, but I think it will look good when we get the Superman comforters in there along with furniture and whatnot.

The girls made a deal with us today. They have also wanted a blue room, except their bedding has no blue in it. So I kept telling them that the blue is just not going to work and I'm not buying them new bedding because theirs isn't old. Well anyhow, we broke down and bought them new bedding that has blue, purple and bright green in it. The deal was....we keep their last paycheck from the paper route. They had to talk about it and discuss if it was worth it, but in the end they told us money isn't everything. Their room is now bright blue and purple! It's crazy in a good way. Then they will have bright green curtains to go with everything.

We also tackled one wall in our room. We actually put grey on that wall and it looks pretty neat. The carpet is such a bright blue it's hard to find a color that we liked that didn't completely clash.

We also had a couple of guys installing a window today in one of the bedrooms. What a difference that made! The room had no window before, now it does. They just need to put the trim on and it's done.

I also went to court today to testify as a witness. That was interesting to say the least. Of course it couldn't have happened at a worse time. I'm glad it's done. I guess the case is now headed to a jury trial.

Tomorrow we both work and then are headed back to the house to do more painting. We have 8 gallons waiting!! Well, maybe 7 now. Then on Wednesday I suppose we'll tidy up the house and get ready for the carpet cleaners to come. And then Thursday we start to move.

I will add pictures when I get time.....