For wanting to start a blog, I admit, I'm rather pathetic.
I logged on and noticed it had been months since my last update and just rolled my
eyes at my lack of ability to sit down and type an entry.

Since it's been so long, I'm sure you can just imagine all the changes that have happened in my life. This entry should be an informative one, if nothing else.

We'll start with Wesley. He turned 11 months yesterday and I can't believe that in a month, he'll be a year old! He's crawling all over, will be walking soon, and is such a happy baby. We had to take the kids to the doctor a couple weeks ago, and Wes was 20 lbs 9.5 oz, so he's a pretty tall and thin little guy. We've started introducing him to non-baby foods (with a little baby food on the side) and he loves it! I think his favorite thing may be Cheez-its. Jase is a cheeze-it addict so Wes gets them quite often. He is now in his own room in his crib, and he really loves having the room to roll and stretch out in. In the morning when he's ready to get up, he makes his noises so we know he's awake and can come get him. He has 3 full teeth on top and 2 on bottom, with a couple more coming in. He laughs a lot and is really such a fun baby!

Killian is almost 6 and is starts Kindergarten the day after Labor Day. Based on a couple factors, we decided to put him in the private kindergarten class at his school. In order to put him in a public school, we'd have to find someone to transport him to daycare after school and it just didn't seem worth it. Most of the kids in his current class are also going to be in private kindergarten, so it would be good for him to have them with him. I am a bit nervous because he's going to start with a 3 week trial to see if he can "keep up with the curriculum".
Because Killian has ADD, it's a bit harder to get him focused long enough to learn what he needs to learn and do his work. The teacher of his class, is also the director of the daycare and we've had our issues with her in the past. I'm worried that she's already got Killian labeled as a problem child and it may cause a problem. But I guess we'll see how it goes and we'll
do what we have to do for his future. Otherwise, Killian is a happy kid
who is starting to learn who he is and we're doing well.

Jase is still doing well. Still working for Myriad which now changed their name to MyRexis, but it's still a good place for him. I love that he's got a good relationship with his boss and the other IT guys, and the company really values their employees and treats them awesomely. Because of the great work Jase has done though, he's a little bored and boredom and Jase don't really work well together so hopefully we can get that worked out.

Things in our home life have been a bit more difficult lately, because of me and all my "issues". I started to bounce back from all the post partum issues I was having, and my work decided to reduce force and I was laid off. That particular day was very emotional and hard for me and since then, it seems my emotions and anger have been more so than usual. I've been off work for almost 2 months now, and it's been quite an adjustment for me. I keep the kids home somedays which definitely keeps me entertained, but also keeps me from being able to get much done haha. I somedays am able to clean and get a lot done, and other days I don't really want to do much. I've been much more depressed and moody and it's been putting a damper on some things, but I am optimistic that things can only get better from here. I've also had some more issues with my neck and back hurting, so I am trying a new chiropractor. He's a little different than I'm used to because he doesn't do massage as part of the treatment, but he takes insurance and I guess that's important too. Sadly, being in pain and the side effects of the pain don't mix well with my already screwy emotions, so I'm also hoping to get that worked out soon. At least with this chiropractor, I got x-rays done and found out what exactly is wrong with my neck, which will be good to get things corrected faster and more efficiently.

I've been applying for jobs and hoping something comes about sooner rather than later, but so far, I'm doing ok at home. My work gave me a severance package and with that and my vacation time pay, we were able to survive financially like normal. My unemployment unfortunately is about half what my normal pay was, so we'll have to adjust on the smaller amount of money to live off each month. I've calculated it and the amount I get from unemployment would leave us with close to what we'd have if I decided to stay home and keep the kids home. Although if that ends up being the case, some things with Killian's kindergarten will have to change because I'm not sure if we will be able to afford the monthly tuition cost. But I am grateful that I was the one laid off instead of Jase, and I'm grateful to have the unemployment benefit
and be able to survive financially. I feel for all the people that are out of a job
in this economy and am glad I don't have it as hard as some do.

Even though the past couple months has been a bit stressful and emotional, we have been able to do some fun things. In June, my friend Becci got married! It was such a great day and she was the prettiest bride ever! Last month, us and my mom were able to take a trip to Idaho. We had a family friend getting married in Wellsville on the 24th of July, so we decided to make a little vacation out of it. We got to check out Craters of the Moon National Park, the Idaho Potato Museum, Alexander Reservoir and the Pocatello Zoo. We also just got back from our annual Lake Powell trip with the family. It was Wes's first time there (well, out of the womb anyway) and it was really fun to watch him swim, play on the beach and wear his very fat life jacket. The weather was also not super hot like normal, which I absolutely loved! For Labor Day weekend, we have plans to go to St. George to visit Jase's grandpa and step grandma. Then we have Wes's birthday, my birthday, my mom's birthday, Killian's birthday and Halloween to plan for, so the next couple of months should keep me occupied at least.

Maybe, if I'm awesome, I will actually post updates about some of these events haha. Especially being home, it's something to do to keep my mind busy. For now, here are some pics of what we've been up to in the past few months. Enjoy!

Jase, the kids and I at Craters of the Moon

My boys at Cascade Springs


Adam and I at Taylorsville Dayzz

Killy and I at Becci's wedding

Me and the boys

The collage I finally finished in my entryway!

I'm still alive, I swear!

I really don’t know what my problem is. I really should be better about updating this blog, but for some reason, I just don’t get around to it. And it’s not like I’m super busy either. It’s the opposite actually. I had almost 3 months on maternity leave, and have been back to work for almost 2 months and still have not updated this stinking page! To those of you who actually read my blog, I apologize for my lack of attentiveness. Let’s get to it…

It has now been almost 6 months, since my little Wesley was born. Some days it feels like it’s been forever and some days it feels like yesterday, that my little miracle arrived. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster with some crazy ups and downs. To start with the downs, I got a case of the post partum blues. The first week after we brought Wesley home, I was depressed and very anxious. I tried medication, but that turned me into a Zombie, so I didn’t want to take it anymore. After a couple weeks of being home with a new baby, I adjusted and it got easier. There were still days of weepiness, but for the most part, I did ok. I actually started to enjoy being home and I didn’t think that I would get to that point. I got to go to lunch with Jase a couple times a week, had chiropractor appointments twice a week, and got a few things done that I had on my to do list.

Going back to work was a tough decision for me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a full time stay at home mom, but I also felt like I should be at home with Wesley. I didn’t want to quit and realize it was a bad choice, so I decided to go back to work and test the waters. Jase and I talked about it and decided we had a few smaller things we could pay off faster if I worked for a couple months, and even if I decided to stay home, it would be easier with those monthly bills out of the way. It’s been 2 months and I’m still at work. At first I was ok being here, but my PPD (post partum depression) came back and things got harder for me. I finally was put on some low dose meds to help, and so far things are much better. I still feel weird sometimes at work, but it’s definitely not as bad as before.

Aside from work and maternity leave, the past 6 months have been fun for us. We have gone through Halloween, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Valentine’s Day, and are coming up on Easter.

For Halloween this year, Killian was Batman. It was awesome for us, because he already had a bunch of pieces that he got throughout the year as toys, so we really didn’t have to spend a lot of time and money on his costume. My grandma bought Wesley a penguin costume, which he was so cute in. We didn’t realize it right away, but Batman and the penguin complimented each other very well. We went to a trunk or treat thing at my mom’s work, and Killian had a party at school, so he was already stocked up on goodies before we even went trick or treating. Because I was on maternity leave, I got to go to Killian’s Halloween parade and sharing time at his preschool. All the kids walked around showing all the parents and the other classes their costumes. Then we all gathered together and each class sang a Halloween song for the entire group. I was very proud of Killian, because he sang really loud and really did a great job.

Our Thanksgiving this year was pretty busy. We went to Fred and Valda’s for the Dietrich side gathering, Jase’s parents for another dinner and then to my grandma’s for pie and cards. We were a little too late for cards, but it was still fun to see everyone.

Christmas, as always, is one of my favorite times of year. Killian decorated our tree this year, which was absolutely adorable. Christmas morning, my mom came over and we opened presents together. Killian got a lot of dinosaur stuff, some new PJS and clothes (a mom’s dream) and a Scooby Doo Chia Pet. Wesley got a floor play gym, a glowworm and some clothes and toys. I think the play gym and glowworm are his favorites. After opening presents, we went to Jase’s parents’ house for Christmas breakfast. Then we went to my grandparents’ house. We ended up staying at my grandparents’ house because people just kept coming, and we didn’t want to miss anyone. Jase ended up drinking a little with my grandpa, and had a pretty good time…that is until he got sick. He must have had just one too many, so we took him home and put him to bed. All in all, it was an awesome day filled with family and good feelings.

It’s now 2010 and so far has been an ok year for us. I am hoping that this year brings awesome things and hardly any struggles. Life wouldn’t be the same without a couple, but hopefully no big ones. My company is building a new building, which we will be moving into midyear, and I’m excited for that. As of Jan 3^rd, I’ve been there 4 years, so it will be interesting to see what the new year has in store.

A couple months ago, the kids had their doctor’s appointments…Wes for his 4 month checkup and Killian for his 5 year checkup. Wesley was 15.5 pounds and 27 inches long. He is in the 97^th percentile for height, so I think he’s going to be a tall kid. Killian was in the 75^th-90^th, so he’s going to be pretty tall as well. They both had to have some shots, but they handled it like troopers and Killian got a sucker when we were finished. We have Wesley’s 6 month checkup next week, so it will be fun to see how much he’s grown.

During the past 6 months, we also got a family photo shoot done, with a few newborn pictures of Wesley. He was 8 weeks, but we got some really great shots and I was very happy we did it. Now I just need to decide which pictures are going in my wall collage for the front foyer. We also got a new couch, loveseat and 65 inch TV (thanks to an awesome sale at RC Willey) for our main living room. I was so glad to get rid of the cat pee smelling, uncomfy as hell futon we had as our “couch”. It’s so nice to feel like it’s an actual room where we can entertain guests without having to cover everything up. We also finally got our wall décor back up so it feels like an actual room that we live in now.

In addition to those home improvements, we also got some new outdoor lights. The ones we had were getting a bit rusty, and just weren’t us, so we changed them and gave the house a bit of a new look. We’ve been in our house almost 2 years now, and most of it is feeling like us. Next step…getting my singing room put together. Wish me luck!

A couple months ago, I caved and let Jase get his dream car. He traded his Mercury Milan in and we got a slightly used Lincoln MKS. It’s the fanciest car I’ve ever ridden in, let alone owned, so it’s been quite the adjustment for me. Our payment did go up a little per month, but we sucked up some of the negative equity from the previous loan and got a way better interest rate, so it evens out a bit. Jase really likes his new ride, and I think it may have increased his ego a bit haha.

Well I think that’s all I have for now. Here are some pics of the things we’ve been up to these days..until next time!

The kiddos at Halloween....Killian was Batman and Wesley was a Penguin

(we actually didn't plan that)

Some pictures from our Family photo shoot

Jase's new ride



Wesley in his Christmas outfit...he was so cute!