So Pretty

Do you suppose they'll appreciate these pictures when they are 16?

Yes, he's pretty. He loves to wear headbands!

Fake Money Scam

While I was working on Friday night, we had fake $100 bills come through. It was amazing to me that the cashiers didn't catch how fake they felt. To their benefit, they did pass the marker test, but the actual "feel" of them was so thick and smooth. They even had the security line and watermark on them. Managment went through the videos and seemed slightly sure of who did it. Well the next day, a member of management seen these two guys come in wearing the EXACT same clothes! They strolled through the store with management discreetly on their tail and the cops waiting at the door. From what I heard, at one point they thought they were being followed and ditched their cart, but went to pay for just a few items. Just as soon as they paid, the cops pounced on them and handcuffed them. They were from Guatamala. How dumb can a person be to go back to the same store in the exact same clothes, one day later, and pay for merchandise with additional fake money!!

Now today, we found a fake $20 bill. This one is missing the watermark and the security strip and also has some cheap looking purple on the bill.

Tis the season......

Videos, why?

Good Morning! Why is it I can not get videos to upload on blogger? I tried months ago and now I tried again the other night. I wait for over 2 hours for a simple 30 second video to upload and it never does. I don't think blogger should give you the option of posting a video if they can't support it. Ok, I'll get off my box now.

I have OFFICIALLY 3 classes left and I GRADUATE! December 13th is right around the corner and I will be the first in my family to actually graduate with a degree!! Neither of my parents went to college, so it's a huge accomplishment for me. Not only that, but I did all but ONE semester as a single mom and a non-traditional student! Even as I type, reality hasn't sunk in. I need to buy my cap and gown. Maybe that will help.

Well, I'm off to work for the next 14 hours. Oh the joy of having two jobs......

Today's Appointment

We did not get the news we hoped for, but I guess I'm ok with it. Dr. Karl doesn't usually remove G-tubes in the fall or winter because that's when children are the sickest. He tends to be an overly cautious man, but I can respect him for it. He wants to leave the tube in for two reasons. One, if Jayden is sick and refusing to eat, we can still get fluids into him through the tube. Secondly, Jayden's weight to length is on a downward trend on the curve charts. Jayden used to be in the 50th percentile, now he is in the 10th. He gained weight, but a very small amount. The feeding team claims he's getting enough caloric intake through what he takes daily, but would like to see him take in more calories through food instead of "milk". We will also start transitioning him from Pediasure all of the time to some whole milk once a day. We need to continue to offer him a variety of foods, not just the foods we know he will eat. I feel we do this already. When we make supper, we don't make Jayden special foods. He's served what we eat. We're hoping Jayden continues to gain weight, otherwise we will have to resort back to the feeding pump at night for additional calories.

They also said he's delayed in speech and recommend speech therapy. He already receives Occupational Therapy, but will start receiving Speech too.

We will continue to take him to the doctor once a month for the next 4 months getting a weight check. Around February or March, we will make see Dr. Karl again, do a repeat Upper GI and then talk about removing the button, assuming he's gained adequate weight.

Feeding Clinic Today

We're headed to feeding clinic today in Sioux Falls. I have high hopes that Dr. Karl will give us a date for surgery to remove his Mic-Key button. I will update later!

Sick Jayden

Jayden has been sick for well over a week, running a fever for 5 days, throwing up off and on. He slept all day yesterday. Mike took him to the doctor yesterday and he has ear infection and sinus infection. We attempted daycare today. That didnt' work so good. He layed on the couch all morning, tried eating lunch, and then threw up again today. I just fed him a banana and he devoured it, so hopefully he can keep that down. His ear is draining a really thick goopy green stuff, so the infection must be coming out. Poor little man, I hope he gets better soon. He's just not himself.

Icy Day and a Steep Driveway

Have I mentioned I love my house? I love having a garage to park my car in! I love that our street is finished and there is no more drop off or muddy mess at the end of my driveway. However, I've decided as of today, that I do not like my steep driveway when it's icy. I learned today that even having breaks on and "thinking" you are stopped, doesn't mean you will stay in one place on the driveway. Yep, that's right. Backed out of the garage today, nice and slow, reached up to push the garage door opener to shut the garage, when I had the weird feeling I was moving. The pine tree next to me was moving, but that just wasn't possible. At that moment, I realized I was sliding down my driveway. I frantically looked both directions hoping and praying there were no vehicles coming because I obviously wasn't able to stop. Thank goodness there was no traffic, no children, no garbage cans, no mailboxes....just me, entering our road SIDEWAYS after sliding down the driveway. Let me tell you, it's a feeling of NO control. The amazing thing? I actually got back UP the driveway when I came home. Ok, it took several attempts and I had to gun it across the street, but I made it. My car is safely parked in the garage, basking in the heat, and thankful for a safe trip home.

Now the ice stories don't stop there. I cruised down HWY 14 at 40 MPH until I realized it was just wet in the driving lane. There was no way I was going into the passenger lane. That looked nasty! I run my errands, go to the chiropracter, and then head to Wal-Mart. I thought Wal-Mart had some GREAT front row parking spots. So I parked, opened my door, and stuck my foot in 6 inch deep water. No wonder these great spots were open...they were FLOODED! So I back out, and move to the other side of that row. Nice spot, it's dry, looks good. I get out and at the same moment I am doing the splits getting out of my car I realize I'm on really thin slippery ice.

I should also mention that dragging two very full 30 gallon garbage cans across the lawn is a joy too. Crunch, crunch, through the snow/ice. I get to the boulevard and realize once again that I am sliding on my lawn/dirt. I jump to the rocks. Bad mistake, those were worse than the lawn. I'm sure I looked absolutely silly. At least I didn't fall....

Graduation is Coming!

I'm so excited! Graduation is coming up fast! The ceremony is on December 13th and begins at 10am. It sounds like the ceremony should take less than two hours. I had mixed feelings of whether I wanted to participate in the ceremony or not and I have decided I think it would be fun to walk through. It's also a way to put closure to my college education.

34 days to go! Can anyone tell I'm excited???? :-)

I should mention on a totally different note that Jayden is now sick. He threw up last night in his crib several times which led to a bath at midnight. This morning he has a fever, but is in good spirits and playing. Mike and I both thought what "good" timing for this to happen. We just happened to not have daycare today, so it was a way for us to be home with him. Tomorrow is a holiday, so we'll be home then too.

I best shower and get cleaned up. Have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Joseph!

Joseph celebrated his "Golden Birthday" yesterday by turning 8 years old! I cannot believe how fast the kids are growing up! I tried telling him he was 6, but he kept insisting he was 8 (with a smile). Silly Val.

Here is his cake. It was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. YUM!
Joseph posing so nicely. He was so tense holding that cake.
I think he was worried he couldn't hold it or it would slide. I knew it was ok.
Boy, we better be careful. Looks like that cake could catch fire!
After singing Happy Birthday, he blew out the candles.

I wonder what he wished for?

Joseph says, "Is there cake on the bottom?"

Val says, "Yep, the whole cake is ice cream."

Joseph says, "Oh no wonder it tastes like ice cream."

Devin loved ice cream cake. Well everyone did for that matter.

Shaylee showing how cute she is with ice cream on

her lips. Silly girl.

Shawndra doesn't look too thrilled.
Jayden LOVED ice cream cake.

Everyone was done eating and he still sat

at the table to finish his. I tried cleaning him up

so we could open presents, but he shook his head

and kept on eating. I should know beter than to

take ice cream away from a "pre-toddler".

Can you tell he enjoyed it?

Halloween 2008

So Halloween has come and gone again, and I am late at posting pictures. But I figure it's never too late to share, right?! We chose to do Halloween on a budget this year instead of wasting money on costumes that would only be worn once. Needless to say, we had 3 girls that got new pajamas and went as "pajama girls", although the oldest two figured they were "animals". You can see why in the pictures! The other three were either used in previous years or were bought on sale at Planet Kydz. Yay for consignment stores! Enjoy the pictures!