Catching up...

I always try to post more often, but it seems I can never manage to post more than once a week... or at least lately. I've been so busy at work and, despite me thinking that it was actually going to die down, it seems that it is at least going to keep me busy through October. I can't complain at having a job and at least the high influx of work means that they have a need to keep me around. :)

Speaking of JOBS... we got the best news ever on Monday night! After almost 7 months of unemployment, AARON GOT A JOB!! He had an interview with a placement agency called Ciber Corporation and they sent him to an interview for a project manager position with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. He met with reps at SCCA last Friday and they offered him the job Monday. It's only a temp position right now and he'll be there through February, but they did say that there's a possibility of a permanent position towards the end of his contract. I'm really hoping they extend that opportunity to him. He'll be bringing in good money (yay, just in time for birthdays and holidays!) and it's doing something he wants to do AND is good at. His first day is Wednesday, September 30th. Congrats to Aaron and praise be to God, the Almighty!! Without his love and guidance we'd be lost. Our prayers were answered as he continues to provide for our family.

Let's see...what else? Oh! We had a fundraiser at my work last Friday called "Pie in the Face". We had the 3 Vice Presidents and a plethora of Senior Management volunteer their faces to our worthy cause for the American Heart Association. Associates could pay $5, $10, or $20 for a pie of Cool Whip to throw/smash in a volunteer's face depending on the distance away. I'm happy to say that we raised over $2000 to go to the AHA for the Heart Walk that's taking place on Saturday, October 3rd. I'm a co-captain on the "Heart Matters" team this year and I've absolutely loved every minute of it. Plus, putting 3 pies loaded with Cool Whip in my boss' face was well worth it too... :) I'll be walking this year in memory of my grandpa, Royce Farley, who died from heart failure on November 24, 2003 and in memory of my uncle, Steve Farley, who passed January 5, 2006 from a heart attack at age 43. If you are in the Seattle area, please come down to Qwest Field next Saturday and walk (for free!) for a great cause. Dogs and children are welcome to walk with you. :)

And now to leave you with some pictures of my favorite little boys ever!! Enjoy!

Resolution Update and More!

So, a couple weeks ago I blogged about some resolutions I was working on centered around healthy eating in my family. I thought I'd update with the progress.

1) "Boob Man, No More": After many futile attempts to keep my breast milk up for Jaxson, I'm sad to say that my breastfeeding days are over. :( I've tried Fenugreek, Mother's Milk tea, pumping...everything! Jaxson just didn't want to nurse. He only uses the breast for comfort purposes and those are sparingly at best. Other than those few and brief moments, he pretty much refused the breast altogether. I'd pump for him as much as I could and give him the breast milk through his bottle, but I still needed to supplement with formula because I couldn't produce enough at each feeding. At this point I'm still lactating a little, but I suspect that my milk will be dried up by the end of the week. I'm not sure how I feel about all of this. On one hand, I'm happy with the fact that I was able to breastfeed him for 5 months because I was only able to breastfeed Jayden for 2 months, so I made it 3 months longer. I didn't feel nearly as guilty weaning Jayden as I do with Jaxson. The only thing I can guess is that maybe it's because this time it wasn't my choice to wean? I WANTED to breastfeed... not saying that I didn't want to with Jayden, but I think I rationalized it differently once I went back to work and I was okay with switching him. Since I had supply issues with Jayden I felt better knowing that (with formula) he was at least getting adequate nutrition as I consistently couldn't provide enough milk for him...and formula was better than starving my child. You'd think I'd be more proud and have a bigger sense of accomplishment for lasting longer with Jaxson, which I do, but I also feel a bigger sense of failure. I feel like I'm less of a mother because I couldn't provide for him. In my heart of hearts I know that it's completely bogus to think that, but there is so much pressure to breastfeed children these days and I was so proud to be breastfeeding especially while working full time-- let me tell you that both of those things combined come with quite the demands. It's hard to be everything and everyone I'm expected to be. So many shoes to fill and roles to play. Maybe it's just my pride that's wounded, I don't know. Jaxson doesn't seem to mind in the least that he's on formula...as long as he's getting fed when he's hungry he doesn't care. So why should I? Each day is a little baby step. I'm doing okay, but I'm having a harder time coming to grips with this "decision" than I expected. Oh well, at least I'll get another shot at it once we have baby #3, right?

2) "Puree Master!": Onto more positive updates, I bought A TON of fruits and veggies to make my purees since I want to start cooking more and eating healthier. I want to establish good eating habits for my kids, which should start when they are young...and start with the parents. Aaron and I have always been notorious for skipping the veggies even since we were kids and we don't want our kids to be picky growing up like we were, so it's a learning experience for all of us. I stocked my fridge full of the following purees over the last week: carrot, banana, spinach, avocado, chickpea, & cauliflower. I want to go and buy some berries, peas, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, squash, and beets as well to make more purees. I had my sister's two youngest kids over on Sunday so my sister and brother in law could watch the Seahawks game and so I decided to test out my new purees and new cookbook ("Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld) on the target audience: picky eaters (especially kids!). So, I made "Applesauce Muffins". They are made with oats, applesauce, and carrot puree as well as a streusel topping made from oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I gave each child a half a muffin with their lunch and all 3 kids ate their muffins! Trevan, my 5 year old nephew who is an EXTREMELY picky eater, said to me, "Auntie, this muffin is so good! I can't stop eating it!". Muahahaha...and he had no idea that there were vegetables (gasp!!) in it! I think he had 3 muffins that day, my niece had 2, and Jayden ate 3. I gave one to my sister, Aaron had one as well, and I ate the remaining two. A whole dozen GONE within hours! I'd say it's a success so far...so much so that I've convinced at least 3-4 family members or friends to go and get the book just for their families/kids. Tonight I think I'm going to try my hand at macaroni and cheese and then some peanut butter banana muffins. :) Oh, and the nice thing about these purees is that whatever I don't use for my DD recipes I can use as organic baby food for Jaxson. Two birds with one stone. :)

3) "Baby Weight Be Gone!": I've had a really hard time losing the last 10 pounds of baby weight, but because of my healthier eating habits I've lost 3 pounds this month!! I'm down to 170, which is still 10 pounds away from my goal for this month, but I'm glad that I'm making some progress. I don't work out, but I hardly think I live a sedentary lifestyle with two young kids... As my boys get a little older, I will probably start hitting the gym a couple nights a week and leave the kids with Aaron. Our apartment complex has a pool and I love to swim laps, so I will probably start there. My goal for the end of the year is between 140-145 so I have at least another 25 pounds to lose in 3.5 months. It's going to be tough since I've always struggled to lose weight even when I was vigorously working out on a regular basis, but we will see.

4) "Juice Lockdown": Jayden was going through a phase where all he wanted was his juice. Everything was, "Joo! Pee Mama!". Luckily it seems to be only just that: a phase. He's back to primarily drinking milk, with juice on occasion. We let him have it once a day if he wants it, and it's usually diluted quite a bit with water when he does have it. Other than that, he eats pretty healthy stuff. We try not to keep overly unhealthy food in our house. His favorite foods are: Cheerios, peanut butter, rice, berries, yogurt, oatmeal, and applesauce. If he gets dessert, it's usually sugar free Jello or sugar free pudding.

5) "Still In Progress...": Aaron and I are still working on the whole exercise thing. It's hard with 2 kids though. Aaron's brother and sister-in-law are currently trying this new program called P390X (or something like that). It's a 90 day program with healthy recipes and exercises. They might let us borrow that if it works for them. In the meantime, I'm going to try to go swim laps a couple days a week. Our only other resolution still in progress is eating together as a family. It'll be better once we have more space. Currently our living room/dining room is too small to accommodate our furniture in an arrangement that would allow us all to sit at the table, so we are at least settling for trying to eat in the same room. Once the kids are older and we have a bigger dining room, this should fall into place quite easily.

In other non-resolution updates, Aaron had another job interview yesterday. It was actually for a placement agency for a project management contract position, but the pay is good and there's a possibility for future permanent employment. The contract is only for 4 months, but at this point we will take almost anything just to get Aaron working again. Aaron said the interview went well and that the gentleman he interviewed with told him that out of 50 resumes, Aaron's was by far the best and that he was going to recommend him to the hiring manager of the company he'd be contracted to. We should hopefully know by the end of the week whether or not they will give Aaron the job, so fingers crossed!!

In all other news, everything is great on the Andresen family front! The boys are growing, bigger, stronger, cuter, and sweeter by the day. They continue to amaze me and melt my heart. I just love them. :) Jayden is swiftly making the transition from baby to toddler to young boy. It both saddens me and excites me at the changes he makes...I'm so proud of him, but I cannot believe how quickly he's growing! He's not my "baby" anymore. :( Jaxson is as sweet as ever and I love how much of a "Mama's Boy" he is. His face lights up when I get home from work and he wants to be with me all night long. :) He's learning new things too...like how to scoot and he's desperately trying to sit up (which he can do with assistance, of course) and he's always grabbing at everything. Everything fascinates him and he wants to touch it... you can see the wheels turning and see him analyzing everything around him. He's like a sponge!

Well, it's back to work for me as my lunch hour is over. Have a happy "hump day"! Only 2 more work days until the weekend!

Random Thoughts...

It's my first day back to work after a much needed extended holiday weekend. I took Thursday off and my work had a mandatory business closure day on Friday. It was so nice to just relax at home with Aaron and the boys! Too bad every weekend can't be like that!

Jaxson finally rolled over as of Friday!! He's rolled over before, but I think since it was so sporadic that it was more of an accident than anything else. But now he's doing it on purpose (and boy, he is really on a roll...ha! Get it?) and constantly. He's also trying to sit up. Anytime we lay him down flat or even on an angle for that matter, he is always lifting his head and trying to sit himself up. He can't quite do it unassisted otherwise it looks like a pathetic forward slump, but he's trying! The solid foods aren't working right now either. I still plan to make his baby food once he decides to eat it, but he's still not quite interested. At least not enough, and he doesn't keep much of the food in his mouth. He's still a very happy, content baby...but he knows what he wants and is impatient to get it (must get that from me...). Oh, and he loves to bounce in his Jumperoo. Now I know what his Auntie Samantha means about the Jumperoo inducing massive explosive poopy diapers. I experienced that TWICE yesterday! He's still not wanting to nurse. I've been pumping twice a day and feeding him at naps and bedtime, but it's still not working as I'd hoped. I go to see a naturopathic doctor on the 25th, so I'm hoping she's got some good tips for me.

Jayden is officially 21 months old today! I cannot believe that he's only 3 months away from being 2! He's definitely all boy and very very busy! I find myself losing my patience with him a lot lately (which I need to work on). Doesn't help that he's going through the "terrible twos" which comes complete with hitting, kicking, throwing food, biting his baby brother, screaming, and saying "No!" and "Mine!" constantly. Oh, but I do love him...and he's a HAM! Jaxson thinks so too. He babbles incessantly to Jaxson and then they both crack up laughing in each other's faces. :) It is going to be such a treat to watch the bond between the two of them grow as they get older. He's not only in love with basketball, but now he's addicted to cars and "Thomas and Friends"...or at least the sing-along songs. He could care less about the actual movies/stories, but when the music comes on he's out in the middle of our new living room (we rearranged since my mom gave us her fabulous couches!) dancing and bouncing away! He absolutely loves "Hat" (Sir Topham Hatt), "Teetu" (Toby the Tram) and "Hee-Hee" (Harold the Helicopter).

Aaron had his checkup from the biopsy on his lymph node on Thursday and the final verdict is... he doesn't have cancer! I was pretty positive about it from the start, but I'm glad that we now know for sure that he's okay. Thank goodness for that! I joked that he had to keep up his end of the deal now...so it looks like we will still add 2 kids to our family. Not anytime soon though. I definitely have the "baby bug" or "baby itch"...whatever they call it anyway, but my stress level needs to diminish a bit first before I can handle another young child. Our plan is to try in a little over a year (starting in December 2010) for baby #3. We want the boys to be a little more independent and we want to pay off as much of our debt as possible. Maybe even be on our way to purchasing a house by then. It will be here before I know it so I'll be trying as patiently as I can to wait and just enjoy my boys as much as I can in the process. Not that it's hard... they are the sweetest and most lovable boys ever!

Well, I have to get going. I have a meeting in 5 minutes for one of the fundraisers I'm helping out with for the Heart Walk! Have a great Tuesday! I'm loving the short week already...I thought it was Monday! :)

Welcome to September!

It's the beginning of a new month! I'm still so amazed at how quickly 2009 is passing by. It boggles me to think that Jaxson will be 5 months old already on Saturday. Jayden will be turning 2 in just 3 short months! Wow! The concept of time and how fast it flies when you have children is something I'm only just beginning to understand. In one aspect I'm so excited to see my children grow and learn, but there are moments in time where I wish it could just stand still because before I know it, these years of infancy will be nothing but a fading memory only captured by photos taken, some small physical mementos, and the little things held in my mind...my boys will be grown and on their own. Not that that's something I really want to think about now. It's still a long way off, but I know that 15 years from now I'll really be wondering how Jayden and Jaxson grew up so fast.

Anyway, that's not why I actually started to write, but when I thought of how fast this year has gone it just reminded me of the smaller things within the big picture.

Just a little update here... Aaron finally got a representative from Speakeasy to contact him and he has a phone interview set up for tomorrow at 4:00. I'm hoping he has better luck with them than he did with Cobalt and Telekenex. In addition to Aaron news, he had his surgery bumped up to August 29th from September 4th. He's feeling pretty sore right now and is unable to lift anything (including the kids) for the next 10 days. We should know the results of the biopsy at his follow-up appointment on Thursday... hopefully we will have good news. The thought of Aaron having cancer and any treatment associated with it is really scary, and frankly something I don't even really want to ponder. I figure we will cross that bridge if and when we get there.

Aaron and I are also finally getting to go out on a "date" (yes, you can still date your spouse!) on Thursday. My sister and brother-in-law get season tickets to the Seahawks and they are letting us go to a game. It's still preseason, but it's cool nonetheless. I've never watched a Seahawks game in person. I've been to the stadium before, but not for a football game. I'm really excited! My sister is going to watch the boys for us. :)

I've got Thursday and Friday off work (Friday is a mandatory business closure day at my work) and I'm really looking forward to the extended weekend with my family. My grandparents are coming into town on Saturday and they've never seen the boys (well they saw Jayden when he was 3 months old, but that was a year and a half ago!) so I'm excited for them to meet their great-grandsons. :) I'm really happy to see them myself since they live on the other side of the state and I rarely get the chance to see them.

Anyway, that's just an update on how we are doing. Nothing too exciting but pray for Aaron that the results come back negative for cancer/lymphoma AND that his phone interview goes well. Fingers crossed!!

~Shannon