10 Weeks and counting...

Two months have passed and still...Josh is unemployed. Lovely, isn't it? It's good to know that membership in a Union is paying off really well. But I suppose what can you expect? If Unions were so fabulous then I suppose everyone in the job force would be in one. Eh. I guess it has its benefits. (Still annoys the crap outta me though.) This past week Josh called his Union guy that is supposed to be in charge of getting him a job. You want to know what he said? He said that Josh is no longer third in line for a job. He's second. Second...yay. *ahem* Excuse me for a moment while I do a little sarcastic dance of joy...

*doing a jig on the dining room table*

Okay. Now that that's out of the way I can go back to being annoyed again. So here I sit...ticking away at my keyboard and contemplating what the next big move is going to be. We have a whopping four months left of unemployment (thank the good Lord for unemployment). After that...well...bye bye Union. Why don't we say adios to the Union now? Because they'd be chasing after us for all the money we owe them for schooling, etc. But after unemployment runs out, Josh plans to go before the Board and say something like this: "Look dudes. You can't get me a job and I'm about to lose the house. So yeah...either kick me out or I quit. And about the money? You can try and get it from me, but seeing as how I don't have any (hello? no job?), then good luck with that." Alright...so that is what I would say. (I have a bit of a sarcastic streak in me.) But I'm sure Josh would come up with his own version of that. Until then, we're trying to just figure out what to do with all the time on our combined hands. I think house remodeling is out of the question but I'm sure we'll come up with something. For now, just wish us luck. Hmm...maybe I should try Vegas...

Control

Asthma. It is one of those problems that no one should ever have to deal with. But unfortunately, until they find a cure for it, many people will have to whip their wheeze. Alex, of course, is one of those people. About a year ago, his doctor diagnosed him with the annoying little lung disorder. Josh and I were both confused and worried about how to deal with it. (I, being the more worried.) At first it was terrifying. The doc told us that he probably already had scar tissue in his lungs but we wouldn't be able to find out until he was old enough for the x-rays. So until that point, he had to go on a smorgasbord of medications to get it under control. So there I was with a pile of prescriptions in my pocket and a kid with out of control asthma. A worse mama, I could not have felt like. But I just kept doing what the doctor told me to do and it turned out that he was wrong. After switching to his new doc, we were merrily skipping along our new path of knowledge. I'll be honest. I was completely skeptical about the massive amount of medication I suddenly had to dose my kid up with. Visions of horrendous side effects on children danced through my head at all hours of the day and night. But by the end of month one, he was already about a million times better. By month two, he'd stopped flaring up altogether. By month twelve...we have total control. How do I know we have control? Easy cheesy. It goes something like this: Alex's main issues with the Big Wheeze (aka: Asthma) were allergens and respiratory illness (colds). Colds were the worst though. He was hospitalized multiple times from lack of oxygen with something as simple as a cold. So we stopped exposing him to other kids or places that he could pick up colds on doctor's orders. But despite my careful planning, the blasted buggies thwarted my every move and he still continued to get sick. I swear that he could just look at a germ from a mile away and it would invade his body without even stopping for directions. So we tried other avenues. He has a severe mold allergy and our house, being the old crusty matchbox it is, smelled like mold nearly all of the time. So one weekend of construction, two sore thumbs (blasted hammers), and a clean house later...I kicked our big mold issues butt. Amazing enough, I noticed that he stopped getting sick. Heck, even I, the queen of colds, stopped getting sick! Mold is some nasty stuff, I tell ya. The doc thinks that it destroyed all of our immune systems and getting rid of it was the key to our success. So for almost a year, Alex has been sick-free. However, I had no way of seeing if the controller meds were working until he got sick. Guess what? He just got over his first cold since starting medicine and I'm positively ecstatic to say that he got through it - wheeze free. Now, for you (my faithful reader) this may seem like small potatoes. But for me, it's an amazing blessing. For three years I've worried about Alex's lungs. Now, not only does he breathe easy, but so do I.

**deep breath**

Hallelujah, we have control.

Adventures in Remodeling: The Conclusion

Tonight is the last of my 'Adventures in Remodeling' blogs. The bathroom was really coming together by the time we left and I think the boys were ready to be done. Poor Ben, of course, still has a bit of a project ahead of him still. But I saw all of the stuff that they are putting in there (lights, sink, tile, etc.) and I know it's going to be beautiful when it's finished. I hope we get to go back soon and see the finished project. Even though my stress level went way off the charts a few times, we all had a great time. We laughed. We cried. (Some more than others. But hey...don't judge me. I watched 'Marley & Me' and if you've seen that movie then you'd understand.) When all was said and done, seven days with the family had come to an end. For Alex, the ending was too soon I'm afraid. Though he didn't shed his million tears at the good-bye, he was sad to leave. But I think it was one of those bittersweet moments because he was actually quite happy to be home in his own bed. Honestly, I think six nights of sleeping with his sister in the same bed was a bit too much for even him. Abby's a restless sleeper and I found her literally sprawled over top of Alex like a bad heating blanket more than once. I hope that we get to spend some more time with them all soon because I already miss them. Not too long ago, we used to live just five minutes from each other and now the drive is significantly more so we do miss seeing them so often. The drive was long, but worth it in the end. Thanks to Ben and Heather for the great time and the hospitality! Now, I shall leave you with a quick video of the crazy cousins. (Now, why can't I have an awesome basement like that? Oh yeah...unemployment. :-)

Adventures in Remodeling: Farm Day

So by now of our past week, the bathroom remodel went on a temporary hiatus. Four walls, a ceiling and a bathtub later, the boys were wiped and ready for a nice break from remodeling. There was a coat or two of mud on the sheet rock and five bored kids in the house. What better to do than head to a local place of entertainment. There is a place not too awful far from their house that is a Farmstead for children. They have baby goats to bottle feed, lots of farm animals to pet and feed, cane pole fishing, play equipment and various other things to entertain kids of all ages. And of course, by kids of all ages, I really mean adults. And by adults, I mean...well...me. I actually had quite a bit of fun there. The kids had a blast too. The best part was the fishing. They have a stocked pond there and you pay to get a little bucket of worms and an old fashioned cane pole. There are some perch and various other fish that inhabit the water and it is stocked enough that you are pretty much guaranteed to catch at least one or two fish. So it was Alex and Abby's first time fishing for the most part and their attention span lasted about five minutes. Lucky for me, Josh loathes fishing. So while he watched the kids, I desperately attempted to catch a fish. About ten minutes into it, I was just about the only one who hadn't caught a fish. Ben, being the naturally awesome fisherman from all his practice, (or sheer luck. I'm not sure which.) caught far too many fish to keep track of. Heather came in with a close second and each of the girls managed to somehow out fish Aunt Jessie. Never fear. I eventually caught two very small perch. Now the much more entertaining part of this little fishing ordeal was the big fish tail that Ben and I kept seeing about two or three feet from the shore. Oh, I tried to no avail to catch that blasted fish as he taunted me from his watery world. But who swooped in and managed to hook him? Ben. What the heck?!? Keep in mind that we were using wimpy old cane poles with weak string and tiny hooks. So the line broke when the fish was just within grabbing distance. Turns out that the big tail that taunted us was a large-mouth bass. A big one, too. Ben hooked him twice more with his mad skills, but in the end, he eluded full capture. Regardless, it was fun and got me in fishing mode. I can't wait to buy a couple of Zebco kid reels and take the kids out this summer. It was a great day, the boys got to relax from the remodel, and everyone got a nice little sunburn for a souvenir. It was a great photo op too. So here's my bazillion photos (really just 14) from the day.

One of the many things to climb on.

Abby feeding the baby goats. Poor goats were in a milk coma by the afternoon from the hundred kids feeding them.

Couldn't resist snapping pictures of Abby feeding the goats. We had to be careful with Alex and the bottles. (Milk allergy, you know.)

My niece, Lauren, with a baby goat.

A little old time fishin'!

Abby and Josh. Yeah...I think she preferred dragging dad to see the ponies instead of fishing.

Ben with my Niece, Linsey. She caught a fish and I think Ben was pretty proud of his girl's fishing skills.

My first fish. Alex and Abby got a kick out of touching the slimy little thing. I was just glad I actually caught something. Otherwise I would have went home with a slight complex. :-)

Ben helping out my other niece, Kate, with her fish.

Lauren with her fish. She caught it all by her self. I was so proud. (And I'm pretty sure Ben and Heather were too.)

Abby was so happy when the goats were in their milk coma. She said, "Mama! The baby goat is

sleeping on me lap!"

Tomorrow we conclude with a wrap up of our Adventures in Remodeling with a cute video of the crazy cousins.

Adventures in Remodeling : Zoo Day

While the boys were busy, busy, busy with the bathroom remodeling, Heather and I opted for an escape from the confines of the house. Because, let's face it. You can't have five kids in a house and not expect to have the inevitable boredom. The newness of having non-stop cousin exposure wore off rather quickly and so it was time to find an out for the never-ending supply of toddler energy. So next stop: Zoo. Alex and Abby got to ride their first carousel. And you are also seeing the rare sighting of me, Mama Monkey. Heather got a hold of my camera. It's nice to be documented in photos from time to time.

Lauren, Linsey, and Kate have racked up quite a few frequent flier miles (so to speak) at the zoo. Heather, being the super-mom she is, takes them almost weekly when the nicer weather hits. So they know their way around better than most. They led us around like little pros. The problem was that they are so used to the zoo that the animals serve no purpose other than boring background decorations that get in the way of the play zones. (This zoo just happens to be packed with playground equipment.) Unfortunately, my kiddos were eager to see the typical lions, tigers and bears. (and elephants, kangaroos, and giraffes, etc.) So it almost became more of a fight to persuade them to show us the animals. In the end, we didn't really get to see too many living creatures. Oh...except other kids. Naturally, it is nearing the end of school. And what do schools do with children during their last week of class? Well they take them on field trips of course! And what is the most popular field trip? Zoos. We just happen to go on a day where the parking lot was brim full of school buses. Can we say 'mad house'? I found myself consistently hunting the crowd for Alex as he bounced happily around the zoo with the other kids. I found that my brain was almost entirely incapable of functioning on that level of insanity. I was almost glad to see the first of the many yawns that began to take over our five kids. It was nap time at last and we hauled all five kids back out to the van, piled them in their car seats, and went merrily on our way. Oh, don't get me wrong. The kids had fun and it was an awesome way to temporarily drain them of their energy. But it was good to be out of the crowd. We got back to an almost installed bathtub and walls in the bathroom. It was a fun trip, but remind to avoid field trip day like the plague. My brain lacks the specific mechanism needed to handle that level of insanity.

Here are the rest of the zoo pics worth sharing. This is on the train.

More train fun. The only one missing is Linsey. She rode with Heather. And what's that? Me again?? It is a rare day.

Notice how I have no photos of actual animals? The only picture I got of an animal was of a lazy seal that was so exhausted from his previous show, that all he did was float about a foot beneath the water. Funny stuff.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we explore: The Farmstead

Adventures in Remodeling

The reason for ye ol' blogging hiatus is simple. We were gone. About two weeks ago, we got a call from Ben (my brother-in-law). Turned out that he was getting ready to take on a major remodeling project with one of his dying bathrooms. And in a house of five people, one bathroom just doesn't cut it. So, due to our oh-so-convenient streak of unemployment, we were open to aid in his plea for assistance. We packed our bags and headed to their home for a whopping seven days. That, my friends, is the longest trip we have ever taken to date. Luckily for us, we love spending time with Ben, Heather and their three wonderful girls. But who was most excited about this trip, you ask? Oh. That's easy. Alex, of course. That kid was beyond thrilled to have three new playmates to share his week with. I must have heard the words, "Can we go to Uncle Ben's house now?" about a zillion times the week before we left. But what about Abby? Well, she took her own sweet time in warming up, but in the end she was pretty comfortable with everyone. She even let Aunt Heather hold her.

It was a great week and the remodeling process went well. Josh got a taste of home improvement. Around our house, I pretty much wear the tool belt where home improvement in concerned. (minus plumbing and electric of course. That's Josh's area of expertise and he has the schooling to prove it.) Actually, when they started mudding the sheet-rock, I found myself a bit jealous. I was more than eager to trade off the screaming kids for a mudding knife. But in fear of stepping on any man-toes, I stuck with watching the kids. I think the remodel was part male-bonding so I didn't want to interfere. I do, however, have a hankerin' for re-doing my kitchen now. And around here, I don't fear the man-toe stepping. Josh knows I like to fix things up around here so he's cool with it.

Alex and Abby had a complete blast with Lauren, Linsey, and Kate. They have a big basement with ample ride-on toys (stay tuned for a fun video later this week). They also have a nice big backyard and live near many fun things to do. Seeing as how we were gone for so long, I'm breaking our trip up into a few blogs. I have way too many pictures to post on one entry. For now, I'll do a little thing I shall deem:

Our Week in Review: The Photo Section

Though this is a zoo photo, I had to post it today because it's one of the best of all five cousins together. How fun!

Alex and Lauren were once again great buddies. He followed her around like a little puppy dog all week. The first words out of his mouth when he woke up (way...way...WAY too early) were, "Can I go play with Lauren, mom?"

Please note in this picture the lady curling her hair in the background. That would be my elusive sister-in-law who managed to somehow almost completely avoid being in a single one of my hundred photos. It was like trying to click a photo of the Loch ness monster for crying out loud! This picture is one of many of the five cousins.

Guess who loves The Wiggles? Did you guess Alex and Abby? Wrongo! (well, righto really, because they do. But that's beside the point.) My nieces all are now in love with The Wiggles. Three more kids lost to the Wiggly insanity. (insert evil laughter here) This is them enjoying some of the DVDs we brought.

Biscuit makin' time. Fun stuff. I made a couple of horse bicuits for the girls. No...not those kind of horse biscuits. Horse shaped biscuits. (How immature is it that I just giggled a little?)

Abby loved this.

Talk about moral support for asthma. Breathing treatment time was eagerly anticipated by all the kids. They loved watching The Wiggles on YouTube while Alex did his treatment. Is it just me or does this look like the tiredest group of kids you've ever seen?

Stay tuned for more Adventures in Remodeling tomorrow when we explore the local zoo...

Happy Birthday Mandy!

I know what you are going to say if you are a regular reader:

Regular Reader Joe says: (scratching head, confused) "Now wait a second. You haven't blogged all week. I love your blog and check it every day and there was SO not a post on May 1st. Explain, please."

Mama Monkey Blogger replies: "Hello faithful follower! More observant, you could not be! It is true. I pre-dated this blog entry because I was out of town the day I wanted to post it. I wrote it today (May 9th) but wanted it on record that on May 1st, my super awesome friend, Mandy, had her 31st birthday. I did make a cake one day earlier, but I didn't write a happy birthday blog so I'm trying to make up for my major blunder." (Did it work Mandy? Am I forgiven? :-)

Alright. Enough of that absurdity. Yes. On May first, My long-time friend Mandy had her birthday. I was out of town for the big day but I do want to say that I hope it was a smashingly wonderful day for you. I made her a cake the day before and we celebrated with the sugary goodness on one of our play-dates. The full plan is to pick an upcoming weekend and go out to eat with her. Will it happen? We'll have to ask her wee mama's girl. At seven months old, Greta has become quite the little clingy babe and wants no one but her mama. (Yeah. Been there, done that. I am picturing a seven month Abby in my head.) So Mandy, when you get a free date in mind, let me know. Until then, we shall not-so-patiently await the big moment of freedom when we both shall go do some post birthday celebration where someone brings us piping hot food. Happy birthday dude!

Mandy and her yummy cake. I could sure go for a piece of that cake right about now.

The kiddos eagerly awaiting the sugar-fest.