things we have been up to lately {in picture form}...

c.j.'s 36th birthday {ida chewing on carrots}

putting up the most gaudy tree on the block {must re-decorate before christmas gets here}
beatles rock band
ALOT of beatles rock band
bathing this little lady

dahl's 5th birthday

best long-haired christmas song ever...

yo

i am stealing internet capabilities, while c.j. is out of the house, it still doesn't work in my office...shhh

official update:  

we are in the house.  the house is not put away yet.  we have had construction guys come back to do "touch-ups" in the basement.  we still don't have a stove {long story short: after the 4th visit from the installer, the bertazzoni that we purchased does not work, they are shipping a new one from vancouver which means another week without a stove}.  our goal is to have the house put away by saturday.  it is still wicked cold.  idas food trial today was officially cancelled at about 10:30 this morning as they blew through her veins in both hands and both feet trying to get an IV going.  luck of the draw, i guess.  it is december 15th??? i thought it was the 10th today, i am not in touch...  eli had an amazing christmas concert last friday.  it was like going to a broadway show, very impressive.  pictures are on the way, but just not right now.  it is still a gong show here. holy cats! i need to get our christmas cards in the mail.

out.

almost there

i am packing our stuff up in the basement. the basement we moved into in july. we have split the family up between 2 bedrooms, sometimes sleeping in one room in the bed, sometimes in the other room on the floor, clothes tucked in all kinds of places, sharing a bathroom, just kind of shacking up. as a disclaimer, mom and dads basement is hardly a basement. we have been very comfortable here, but of course, we haven't been "settled" for some time now.

the only things we brought here were our clothes and paperwork/files. i think that everything we brought here has multiplied by at least 10.

today is the final "push to be completely moved-sleeping in our own house-in our assigned rooms-flushing our own toilet day."

it will be nice to be settled again.

i just put ida down for a nap. she is a month away from being 1. when we moved here to calgary, eli was 6 months old and we lived here at my mom and dads while we determined where to live and build a home. i am so very grateful for the kindness and generosity that mom and dad have shown us over the last 6 months and over the last 8 years. they are the first to help in any way, shape or form. that is a huge blessing in my life and i want to say thank you, thank you, thank you....

...SO, as our parting gift and token of our appreciation, i have hidden 8 stinky diapers {like easter eggs} around the basement for you to sniff out. one of them has a $200 gift card to "The Keg", so make sure you carefully and thoroughly open and check each and every one before you throw them out. you guys are good, so i know you will find them with ease. you better hurry, company is coming on friday {hi stacey!}...

studio move WITH pictures, ohh ahh...

ida + i waiting in the car for eli
the view from the drivers seat
sleepin' lady
move: done. c.j. and dad were cold, wet, hungry and tired. {notice the red cheeks on c.j.}

last year, around this time, c.j. was in the process of moving his studio from the arbour residence to a echoy 2000 sq/ft bay way across town {visit the february 2009 archives, you'll find it there}. it was a really big job. lots of equipment, lots of junk to de-junk out of the arbour basement. it was a scene. the day they moved it was freezing, absolutely freezing.

today c.j. is moving his studio. again. this time from that cold, echoy bay across town into our warm, cozy, new house. they are putting the finishing touches on his studio space in the basement as i type {i will post some pics as soon as the floor has cured so i can walk on it}. oddly enough, c.j. chose today to move. this week the weather has been lovely, today Environment Canada has issued a storm watch for alberta. how ironic. when i was getting eli ready this morning i opened the door to assess the weather outside and it was cold and the wind was howling. i am pretty sure he won't be going out for recess and lunch today. and c.j., we still haven't found our winter coats, so he left this morning with a hoodie and a puffy vest from my dad. no touque. no mitts. {note to c.j.: dude! dress for the weather!}

all i could do is wish him "good luck" as he walked out the door. i may find him like han solo, frozen in carbonite, but more like a popsicle, just, frozen...

now... i need to get ready and go clean that house so we can move in.

the drywall dust is EVERYWHERE!

UPDATE: the weather outside is a hilariously wicked bad blizzard. i just talked to c.j., they are creeping along the highway, about 10 feet visibility, blowing snow, big drifts, wind shield wipers that don't work and semi's rolled over in the ditches. i hope they make it. i better suit up, i need to get out there and fetch eli from the bus stop. wish us luck!

p.s. i went to the house to clean it and almost fell over by the toxic soup that is going on in the air right now. the sealant that is on the cement floors is curing and the place smells like a paint can. will have to wait till tomorrow. rats.

feeling much better today, later flu

one of the greats.

new to you

ida and c.j. installing the dryer
wheat, it works!
pears, works too!
found the winter head gear
carrots are coming along, more on the tray than in her mouth however...

check out the size difference of eli and kids in his class
eli + the mounties at the remembrance day ceremony

i believe i have the flu. again. this time it is a different flu. more like the stomach cramps, body aches, fever, etc type flu. i haven't felt this junkie since... the last time i had the chesty, fevery, coughy, H1N1 type flu, what 3 weeks ago? ah well.

i finally downloaded some pictures tonight i thought i would post.

we are about 75% in our house. we have been waiting for the basement to be finished so that c.j. could move his studio in. looks like he is doing that tomorrow, so maybe by the weekend we will be completely moved over. i have not been there in a couple of days, but apparently the entire interior of the house is COVERED in drywall dust from the construction in the basement. what a nasty job to try to clean up.

i need to lay down. more soon.

add it to the menu...

yeah, no pictures tonight. i have shots to share, but they are on 3 different cameras and unfortunately i am too lazy to download them this very second.

we participated in another food trial this week. i had a good feeling about PEARS and indeed, no reaction. she even seemed interested in eating them, which, was just like heaven. no tears, no struggling, no problems. still a bit apprehensive, but she did open wide for a couple of bites, just like she was a eating pro! ya-hoo!

on tuesday we are going to try wheat, which i have to say, i am worried about. i think she will have a reaction. they think we need to rule it out. problem is, we have to try everything and inevitably there will be some things that work and others that don't. i just really don't like the reaction to the things that don't work {and neither does ida}.

i have found that i am really drained when i get home on these trial days. just emotionally and physically drained. it didn't ever cross my mind that i would feel this way, but i am finding that this is happening. i was much better prepared this week than last week. i packed a lunch, brought my journal to catch up on, tucked away some toys for ida. it all went smoothly.

things are slowly getting accomplished at our new house. the basement is coming along, not on schedule, but it is getting there. c.j. will be able to move his studio equipment in by wednesday or thursday of next week. the rest of the house is being put away. there are some things that are still missing, like our winter coats {HELLO! we are cold}, the main base for our cordless phones and some essential pieces to ida's crib... which we will be trying to get ida to sleep in {wish me luck with that task, as you know she still nurses all night long.... can't they just make a crib big enough for the both of us, OH YA, it's called a BED}.

we had parent/teacher conferences this morning. eli has such a nice teacher. things are well and eli is doing terrific at school. good kid.

we went to "fantastic mr. fox" this evening. it was fantastic. wes anderson is fantastic.

i am falling asleep sitting up. it is a sign, good night.

C-A-R-R-O-T-S

sneak peak: working on our christmas card photo
ida hanging out in our new living room
homemade carrrrrrrrots
our new diggs
pooped out from getting a IV and eating
i woke up and this thing was on my arm...
barf bowls make good hats
holding onto dads finger
c.j. popping in for a visit

can you say we have been busy?

friday we took possession of our new home. we honestly can't believe it's ours and we are in a house again. mom and dad have helped immensely by bringing several loads over on the weekend. we have had jeff and a construction crew working like crazy in the basement developing it for c.j.'s new studio space. they are doing a really great job. it is going to look amazing when they are done. the appliances have been delivered, some are working some still need to be installed... i have spent days at the house unpacking box after box. when we originally moved we had the house professionally packed thinking it would need to make the long trip down the california. so, as i am unpacking, i am amazed at just how awesome things were wrapped up. i haven't found any casualties yet, nothing broken or funny.

yesterday ida had her first food trial. i have to say i was quite nervous for her, even though i thought for sure carrots would pass the test. so, the night before, i couldn't sleep, i felt like i was having mini anxiety attacks and had to take some big, deep breaths. at about 4:30 i finally was able to get to sleep. 6:30 came too soon but we got ready and got to the Medical Day Treatment clinic on time. they had an area all set up for ida, the nurses were so kind. one nurse thought i looked familiar and we determined that she took care of eli when he had RSV and was in the hospital for a week just before he turned one. what are the odds?? anyho, they set ida up with a IV {something she wasn't very happy about}, then i had to get some carrots in her. now, this was no easy feat. she gagged, she cried, she chocked, she spit it out, she wouldn't swallow, she shook her head, she was not happy. keep in mind, this was the first real exposure to "food". carrots are a strong taste and even though it was thin, it was really strange for her texture wise {i am assuming}. i got 1/2 tsp-ish into her and she konked right out. she woke up right around the 2 hour mark, when a reaction would typically happen...10 minutes passed, 20 minutes passed... 40 minutes passed... OK, this is a good sign... so the dietician wanted me to now give her double the dose {about 2 tsp} and wait and see if this would produce anything. 1/2 tsp was hard, 2 tsp's was ridiculous. it was more of the same thing, but at this point the white tissue T i was wearing from JCrew was toast, the black wool sweater over top of that had a shoulder smeared with carrots and my left boob was getting oranger and oranger {sorry mom}. the only way i could get the carrots down was to struggle to get a spoonful in then follow that with some nursing. it took about 20 minutes to get that 2 tsps down and then she was out again. this time around i was frustrated, tired, carrot stained and spent. now, it was just a waiting game. at about 2:30 i had been there about 6 hours and i thought, it was kind of like flying. you have a little chair, kind of confined to a small space, not a lot of food. i thought at the end of this flight we will either be in "carrotopia" or going down in flames. i am happy to say, carrots passed the test and we arrived safely. i had given her last dose at 12:30ish and by the time we left at 4:00 she still had no reaction. so, now over the next week we are going to continue to introduce carrots on her terms. we are going to let her touch them, smear them, taste them, feel them and get her excited about eating in a positive way because if every week is like it was this week i might go mental. eating can not be this painful.

it will all work itself out, she will be a pro by next week. on the menu: PEARS. i can't wait.

thoughts @ 2:39 am

i like being a mom.

i have nursed ida probably 4 times since she hit the sack around 8:30. i don't really know how much she is getting, it is the kind of nurse that happens when she wakes up like a little lamb, with closed eyes and her mouth wide open searching for me. sometimes its for milk, sometimes its just for soothing. i guess i have turned myself into a feeding/soothing machine. some would say its a terribly bad habit.

she sleeps with me too. some would also say that is unnatural, unsafe and the worst habit to get into....

i love nursing ida and i love that ida sleeps with me. my experience as a mother has been amazingly enriched by these two things. when eli was little i did the same thing. i have cherished memories of snuggling him, watching him sleep, holding him close. so, so dear to me.

these kids are little just once. ida is growing up too fast. it brings me to tears to think she is almost one and i feel like i have mentally "missed" this entire year because it has been too hectic and stressful and unsure.

i guess that is why, in the darkness of the night, when i do not sleep because she wants to nurse/be soothed, it's o.k.. or if i do not get a 12 hour sweet slumbering sleep, that is also alright. because, i like being a mom. i like to see that she is alright and happy. i don't mind sacrificing my wants for her needs. besides, she won't nurse forever and they won't be sleeping with me when they are 19, so why fuss when this is all part of the experience for me. in the grand scheme of things, it's a short, fleeting time when she is little and just needs to be taken care of by her mom.

we all do it differently. i hope you are enjoying your experience.

a sample of "The Samples"

this video has a brief introduction, skip ahead to the song, you will not be disappointed.




boy, oh boy. this band reminds me of my good old college days. i actually saw these guys when at the salt palace in salt lake city when i was attending the university of utah. it was such a good show. i hope you like them too.

sleeping in the shower

we are finally crawling out of the sick bin around here. the residual coughing and blowing of noses that happens after being ill is almost over {even though i woke up this morning with a pounding head, sore ears and sinus?!? what is this all about...} anyho, more importantly, the kids are in the clear and on the mend.

over the weekend i was taking a shower. since we have been staying here at mom and dads, the majority of the time if ida needs a bath, she pops in the shower with one of us. there is one tub here which we use occasionally but it is in my parents room. ida is getting too big for the laundry sink so what is easier than hopping in the shower with the little lady. she LOVES it. she kicks and squeals with delight as she is being handed in but as soon as she is in your arms she snuggles up like a little monkey, holds on tight and lays her head down on your shoulder. no squirming, no fussing, just pure relaxation. as i was saying, over the weekend i was taking a shower and ida was coming with me. she snuggled up, laid her head down and i rocked back and forth letting the water splash her back. i washed her hair, soaped her up, all clean. now, usually after laying there for awhile she will raise her head, peak around, try to catch the water on her tongue and then settle back into position, but this time she just laid there... ida, idy, idddaaaaa. hmmm, that is weird, let's see what is going on here... i moved her away from my shoulder and her little sleepy eyes opened slowly, she smiled at me, then she settled back to sleep. ASLEEP?! she fell asleep?? oh, it was so sweet. i could have stood there all day in the warm water holding that little lady. she was just like a cherub laying there in my arms, her plump pink cheeks and dewy eyelashes. i kind of didn't know what to do at that point. i thought about what a rude awakening it was going to be when i stopped the shower and step out into the chilly air to get a towel. oddly enough, she stayed asleep. i was able to wrap her up, get her dry and a diaper on without a squawk. she slowly awoke as i was rubbing lotion on her tummy, she was just happy and low-key, kind of like how you feel when you finish getting a massage. oh, ida. could you make my life any happier? thank you for the little tender moment.

good morning sunshine

i took these as ida woke her little sleepy eyes this morning. it is so good to have her back from ill-ville.

halloweiner

watch out world, the "e" machine superhero has been born
eli bundled up to at least say he left the house last week and collect a small amount of candy from the neighbours.
e-machines trusty sidekick "snooty monkey"


ida "stonewall" burton
a lot of this has been going on...

there isn't a morning that goes by that, as i lay here in bed, that i can look out the window and something is walking through mom and dads backyard. this morning it was some deer. the other day it was a moose. one night, it was a loudly grunting porcupine. a few weeks ago a deer was literally right up against the window eating moms dying tomato plants. that same morning, i got out of the shower, began to towel off, felt like something was watching me, looked to my left and i swear it was that same deer! face pressed up against the glass about 4 feet away.

creep.

oh, it has been a long haul it seems like. not a lot of sleep. but a lot of snot, coughing, gagging, barfing, pushing tylenol, nursing, sleeping sitting up, worrying, checking temps, sucking out snot, more snot, wiping sad eyes, holding, carrying, patting, wondering, praying, watching.

we weren't tested, but i am going to say/predict/shout-it-from-the-rooftops we had the flu here this last while. it presented as a croupy cold for the kids, but we got all the flu symptoms, fever, aches, sore throat, etc. i will say it is quite miserable, especially for ida. i have not been able to put her down for a week. day or night. there was a short moment when the tylenol had peaked in her system where we were able to squeeze her into her monkey suit for a token "1st halloween picture" but that was about it. this morning, as she lays here next to me, it seems her snoots have thickened up instead of the lava flow of snot that has been erupting since last wednesday. her poor nose. all she had to do was see was me pulling a kleenex out of the box and she would start shaking her head back and forth and start to boob.

hey! don't you know, the more you boob the more snot is produced! stop it! stop it! stop it!

i wrote yesterday i was going to take a break. how do you take a break from weighing in on life? i keep a personal journal, i kind of always have. it is important to me. i was a communications major at ricks college when i was attending there. i had a class where i did a weekly radio show and the only thing i could talk about and play was mormon contemporary music. that stunk. i have a established blog now. i can post anything i want. i am documenting daily life, things that make me happy and sad, pictures of the kids, c.j.'s accomplishments. that doesn't stink. it keeps me on my toes, it makes me a better writer, a grateful person, a better observer, a better mother? does it? i would have to agree with sandras comment on my "over and out" post. but last night c.j. came home and twice insisted that i not stop. it is a creative outlet, our family reads it, it is worth it.

eli was a superhero for halloween. we bought a "build your own" superhero kit that had generic "superhero-y" stuff in it. a mask. a cape. some fancy cuffs. with the help of c.j., eli was transformed into the "e-machine". the funny thing was, as soon as he put on that mask, he was someone different. he walked different, talked to us like a goofy old-timey superhero, made serious superhero-y faces. it was kind of hilarious and very eli.

ida was a monkey. you know, the old navy version. i bought the costume 2 months ago and she wore it about 7.5 seconds before she burst into flames due to her fever, the costume and the ridiculousness of it all. why am i sitting here, in a thick fuzzy monkey suit, INDOORS, boiling and you are taking pictures of me???!!!!!!! ah, she will never remember the experience until she looks back at baby pictures and we will reminisce, "remember when it was your first halloween?! ooohh, you were a H1N1 infected monkey, that's riiightttt..."

good times, good times.

over and out

maybe i spend too much time updating this thing.

maybe it has been a really long sick week.

it is probably a million different things.

taking a break.

isolation

while c.j. was in las vegas seeing U2, he hooked up with the fine fellows from his high school band "isolation". they hadn't played together since '96. enjoy.

seems like...

we have croup here.

eli is getting over this buggy bug and has passed the torch to ida.

ida and i spent about a 1/2 hour at 2:00 AM sitting on the bench outside of mom and dads place last night. it was dark and amazingly quiet. the moonlight was outlining the trees in the yard. there was a soft layer of snow on everything. it was kind of a nice experience that was dotted with little sealy barks from ida. i am sure the wildlife was wondering what the heck that noise was.

i got phone call today that chalked up another mini-miraculous-happening since we decided to stay here in calgary. the things that have happened are small in nature, but have made the smoothest transition for us back into the action here. after miraculously finding our house 2 weeks ago, we finalized the mortgage yesterday. our mortgage banker drove out to my parents house and sat downstairs with us looking at our options. he gave us a line of credit with a interest rate of 2.75%. 2.75%. with that little set up we will be saving over $1000 a month. do you know how rad that is?

i emailed eli's school teacher a couple of days ago to let her know that our plans had changed and what we were up to. she indicated that she would have to consult with the principal to see if it was o.k. if eli continued at the school since we would be out of the zoned area. i cringed when i saw that email as i was really worried they would not let him stay. within minutes i got a message back saying that it was perfectly fine he stayed for the rest of the year AND technically he would be able to stay another year through to grade 3. WHAT?! my eyes filled with tears. i was so thankful to hear that. i knew that there would be a brand new school available to him next year by our new home, but i worried about changing him and wanted to keep things familiar for him. wow. that little piece of news was so comforting.

yesterday i was calling around setting up services for the new house. i basically ended up calling all our old accounts to see if we could reactivate them. i was worried about set-up fees and hassle. all i got was "no problem! you are eligible for up-grades! oh, look here we can give you this promotional rate for the next 12 months..." thank you shaw, enmax, rogers.... you are making my life very cheap and very easy.

this morning eli's pediatrician's office called. he had not seen her for a year and a half {which is a good thing} and they were wanting another referral from our family doctor for him to come back to see her. {typically we all see our family doctor and if you have a child needing special care you are referred to a pediatrician}. in the interim, the office staff had shot a note off to dr. macpherson to see if she would take him back under the circumstances. the gal on the phone this morning let me know that she would indeed would see him and they would also take ida on as well. really?! really?!? really!!

like i said, these are all small things but they have stunned me as they have happened. it is like i have been able to re-set up my life and everything is super streamlined and things are all in order. such a good feeling.

on a completely different note, i have been sewing like crazy the last couple of weeks. i finished c.j.'s quilt - it just needs to be quilted now. i sewed a quilt top for ida out of great heather ross fabrics. i cut out a queen sized quilt out of heather bailey fabric that i think is going to be super fly and i am almost done my infamous-1-year-in-the-making christmas quilt top. dad brought home the last of the fabric i needed from california on saturday. i better get on that today.

git r' dun.

ida's GI update

a good start to the week.

today we had an appointment with GI clinic at the children's hospital. we have a really great doctor/dietician team and our visit was very productive. i thought i was going to have to go on a crusade to have them help me with our food trials, thinking i would have to hang out in the ER every time i did one. no, no, no. i was certainly greatly misinformed by our 100 year old grumpy crusty allergist. our GI doctor indicated that they are going to set up a weekly visit to a day treatment clinic in the hospital. we will go every tuesday, have ida worked up with a IV and test a food in very small doses. hooray! what a relief i won't be doing this on my own.

the first food we are going to try is carrots. if it works {which we believe carrots will} she may turn into a big orange girl. kind of like that girl from willy wonka... violet beauregarde, except she turned purple.... so get ready for pictures of ida with a slight orange tinge to her complexion, especially her nose. yee-haw!

this i believe...

for the weekend, i am giving you a gift.

on the bob edwards show on NPR he features personal essays that were written in the 1950's. they were written by remarkable men and women and every one i have heard is so uplifting, wholesome and insightful. the people that wrote these essays are folks that are hard to come by nowadays.

take the time this weekend and listen to a few, they are maybe 5-10 minutes long. your time will be well invested.

now! go take a listen!

overhaulin'

super quick.

i am in the process of overhauling my address book/contacts. if you reading this, we are friends, so could you please pop me a note with all of your current information {ie: address, email, phone #'s}. i have synced a couple of things between my phone and laptop and desktop and now i am realizing that new information has been swapped with old information and it is making me MENTAL.

you can leave it here OR email me @: jessica@cjburton.com

thanks a million, you will probably receive a christmas card for your efforts!

just another old post....

mmmmmmhuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. {that is a big long drawn out exhale through my nose...}

a lot of random things have been floating through my mind this week.

c.j. was supposed to come home tomorrow. he has been in l.a. since sunday shooting a southern california edison job. whenever c.j. leaves, eli is very sad. he is typically fine during the day, but as night falls, he begins talking about dad, telling me how many more days it will be until he gets home, mentioning it in our family prayer, bawling, then rambling about it until he is asleep and i have told him a dozen times to "quit talking and get to sleep!". tonight c.j. called and said he had an opportunity to see U2 in vegas on friday night... i guess... what is another couple days right? needless to say this news brought eli to his knees with weeping and gnashing of teeth. his theory was that c.j. wasn't coming home on thursday night because he didn't want to see HIM and wanted to see U2 even more. we got it figured out and soon he was fine with the new plans. i just need to keep him preoccupied or it is going to be a long, sad "3 more days".

i had a really great day at the mall today. usually a walk around the mall is uneventful and drab. today i ran into a old friend from high school, was complimented on my unbrushed hair by a store clerk, bought a couple kids from my ward lunch, ran into a old YW leader, and generally had a smile on my face the entire time because of all the greatness that was happening around me. not to mention how cute ida was and how many "what a beautiful little boy!" comments that were thrown our way {i just couldn't correct them, it would have ruined the moment}.

i got a speeding ticket this afternoon. that kind of sucked. you know that feeling you get when that happens, i get red and sweaty and mumbly. i would be THE worst bad guy because i would never be able to do bad stuff and hold it together if i got busted.

what is with kids and michael jackson? i found this disc that someone in the family made after jackson kicked it and it has found a permanent residence in my car. i think we have listened to "thriller" 50 billion times. this morning on the way into school, through the pea soup fog, it was playing on repeat and in the backseat i could see eli lip synching it silently. i was thinking about it and i am kind of creeped out that we let him listen to him, i mean come on, the dude was not right on so MANY different levels. driving home from school earlier in the week, eli mentioned that he was sad michael jackson died. i told him that's what happens when you abuse drugs. he response went something like this, "too bad elvis died the same way...he was good, but i like michael jackson better." i think i am going to have to start playing more elvis and he might change his mind.

2 nephi chapters 2 and 3 are awesome. pull your book out and re-read them. such kind, amazing, instructive, testimony filled words from a father to his sons.

my XM radio serves me up all kinds of music. usually i can roll through the '90's, then the '80's right on down to the '60's and something good will pop up. the other morning i was switching channels around and was hitting the BEST songs. old, old songs from my memories of being younger. it was such a treat.

eli told me today 3 billion girls were chasing after him at recess. i asked him what happened if they caught him. he said, matter-of-factly, if they caught him they would drag him down into their dungeon. .....weird.... i asked if they ever caught him. he said, nope, i stood by the outdoor supervisor the whole time.

i'm gunna say it..... staying out here at my mum and dads alone is the pitts. it is scary. it is dark and secluded. your mind can really run wild. i will just keep thinking 2 more nights, 2 more nights...

i am going to go eat some hummus and pretzels, excuse me for a minute.

i heard a interview with a fellow in new jersey that goes into the myriad of foreclosed homes in his area and fixes them up to sell. he said that going into these houses is like entering a crime scene. it is like the owners had 5 minutes to get out. food still on the table, large heavy items left. he said it was sad and creepy and strange. you could actually look around the room and get a sense of how the owners had left and what had happened. the other crazy thing he mentioned was in almost every house he has gone through and fixed up, in the master bedroom/bathroom area a hole the size of a fist has been punched through the door. the said it just testified to the desperation and helplessness that he felt in these homes.

we saw "where the wild things are" the day it opened. i have to say i felt compelled to leave several times throughout the movie. it was dark. it was sad. it was full of bratty, crappy, yelly, fighting behavior. and now i am bugged we took eli to see it.

lastly... i saw this on a friend of mines blog and was blown away. the video is of a gal who lost 120 pounds. the best thing is, i know her. she used to be in my parents ward. this is recent and so crazy. be inspired. you can really do anything. i'm out.

take it up, take it up, take it down, take it down....

this is absolutely amazing. the whole. entire. thing.

playmates

i sneakily snapped this photo the other day. looks like eli was introducing ida to "shrek" the toy from mcdonalds that has a problem with flatulence. he had brought out a bunch of toys that were big and safe from the toy closet for ida to chew on and the two crawled around with "little folks" in their hands and played and played. for like an hour. having fun. who says a 7 year age difference is crappy? all i know is she loves him and he couldn't live without her. this morning as he was getting ready to leave out the door for school and he wanted to go downstairs to say goodbye to her. i told him she was still asleep, so she wouldn't even know he was leaving. he said, "well as long as you tell her i am safe at school and i will see her soon." will do buddy, i will let her know.

today is a tossed salad day of tasks. we are meeting a home inspector this morning at the new house for a thorough inspection. after that, ida and i will go down to the children's hospital for some ordered blood work from the GI clinic to check on a few things. then maybe i will go look at appliances... how's that for random.

...but you get what you need

look at this little lady. we love her so much. as eli did, she has brought so much happiness and joy into our lives.

you can't always get what you want. we have decided to postpone our move to california. ida's health is first and foremost and as she is not technically a sick child, she does have a strange and special circumstance with her diagnosis of FPIES. it has been such a difficult decision to make as the ball has been rolling full steam towards california. we sold our house months ago, our belongs have been packed, we have made several trips, worrying, praying, and preparing. last week our eyes were opened to what is going to be ahead of us for a few years. we had to take a few steps back and look at our situation.

...but you get what you need. after a few days of hashing it out, the choice to stay in calgary until ida has grown out of FPIES clearly has became the right/smart/correct choice. her health care is excellent, our out of pocket nothing, our stress level minimized as we maneuver through this. we searched the mls thursday, looked at 5 homes friday morning, put an offer on a house saturday afternoon and agreed on a price that evening. just. like. that. our possession date is november 13th. what i want to tell you is that the Lord provides. we feel so strongly that the decision we have made is what we need to do for her right now and i can't tell you how good that feels. we would be lying if we said we didn't have a level of disappointment. however the blessing and peace of mind knowing we have made the best choice possible outweighs the bummer-ness of the situation.

now. let's get on with life. a new chapter. here we go.

p.s. happy thanksgiving.

p.p.s i guess i should state where we will be moving to... the home we have found is in rock lake estates in rocky ridge. we will be just down the street from the soon-to-be-built calgary temple. what a perk that will be!

food trial #1 {a picture story}: the new frontier with FPIES

ida has just eaten 1/2 tsp of pure brown rice cereal {as seen in the corner of the photograph}. according to our dietician, this brand and type of cereal doesn't give even her extremely allergic patients any problems. now we will wait 2 hours in the ER and find out if it sits well with ida...

so we will play with a cotton towel and a barf bowl!
and play with a water bottle in the window sill...
and giggle...
and chew on a plastic bowl....
conclusion: shoot. looks like rice or anything in the grain family is off the list. we are discovering, this process will be our reality for the next few years. we will have to do this at the hospital with every single type of food she will put in her mouth until we know what is safe and what is not...

eli comes for a visit.
after about 6 hours she begins to perk up and feel a bit better.

good times at the doctors office today...

dear kauai,

listen, i really want to come and see you, but i can't.

in a couple of weeks when every grown woman in our family comes knocking on your door for a week, it's going to be fun. these ladies need a break. i know you will be nice to them. serve them with warm sunny days and lava flows. make sure the water is calm and inviting. tell the roosters and coconut shrimp to greet them with open arms.

here is my problem. in the next few months many things are going to change for me and my little family. i am going to have to fly from sea to shining sea to get things done. i have too much on my plate/mind to come try to relax on the beach for a week. i am sorry. i really am. maybe next time. maybe when i don't have a crawling 9 month old or when i am not worrying about a house or moving or going for immigration medicals or can comfortably squeeze into a swimsuit. you see, honestly i would probably be a pretty junky travel partner and who needs that?

maybe next time. there will always be one.

sincerely, jessica

october fest

start the month off right folks. trick or treat at sandra's and check out the madness.

you know you want it. pass it along.

p.s. {c.j. and i have personally had those cheesecake caramel apples. ask c.j. about them, he may start to cry reminiscing about the experience}