Our Life Lately

Although every day seems like dejavu I guess we do have little things that happen each and every day. I will give an update on everyone starting youngest to oldest!

Junior
Our little man is still a little joy in our house. He is so funny, he has basically mastered his walking and the poor guy now tries to run through the house and usually ends up tripping himself up or tripping over something and then BONK, there's yet another bruise. He is going through some definite separation anxiety lately. Depending on who was just with him (me or Dan) and that person leaves the room he starts to cry and cry. He has also started to pick up whining as a resort to get things, the little bugger needs to start talking with real words. This boy can eat! In the mornings now when we are getting ready for daycare and work he actually runs to the pantry door and started knocking on it or whining at it because he knows there is food in there. Anytime we sit down for a meal he eats twice as much as Katelynn does, it's actually pretty amazing how much he can shovel into his mouth in a sitting. He is still a good sleeper and goes to bed so easily. One funny thing that I noticed is he points with his thumb?! He also uses his thumb to push buttons or things instead of his pointer finger, very strange. He can say Momma, Dadda and more (obviously for the food), but other than that it's mostly just babbling along. He is very tall for his age and weighs around 24 lbs.

Katelynn
Katelynn is still in dance class for 2 more months. I can't wait to see their final recital. She is still in the preschool class and really enjoys it. I am anxious to go to the parent/teacher conference and hear what they have to say. She is signed up for 3 days of preschool next because she misses the cut-off date to start kindergarten here. It should be interesting next year when we hang out with my friends and theirs kids that she has grown up with and they are all saying they are in kindergarten and she is not. Katelynn still talks not stop, literally. From the moment she approaches our bedroom door in the morning until I close her bedroom door at night, the girl has a lot to say. We have to remind her at supper time to eat and talk a little less. She really wants to take swimming lessons this summer and I am hoping to get her into a couple of horse back riding lessons as well. As the days have gotten nicer and we are in spring her little neighborhood friends have all been coming and knocking on the door wondering if Katelynn can play. I can see she will be a busy little friend again this summer.

Me
I have been busy every night lately dealing with the HOA. We sent a $75.00 assessment to all the residents and they went berserk! People it's $75.00 check out what other people have had to pay on an assessment, it's not that bad. I have a crew of angry residents, the next HOA meeting should be interesting. I really have been trying to keep my cool and not freak out and show my true attitude to these ungrateful people. I do not get paid to do this and nobody else wants to volunteer their time, so back off.
Work has been going fairly well, although I am definitely working for my paycheck now. Some projects are really fun and the reports are really hard and I am trying to keep a good balance and still figure out if I am doing a good job or not. There has been some shake-up in our department recently which has put people's nerves on high. Our director has been laid-off and they have told us they are dis banning our division and that is about what we know at this point. It was supposed to be 9 months down the road, but the director got upset and something happened and it's done as of today. We do know that our jobs are safe and we got a message from the county manager today, so at least that is good news. They did a few lay-offs in my old department as well this week and it's sad to see people scared of what other lay-offs may be coming.
Home. The house is on the market and there is a sign on the front lawn. I am just waiting for some of the residents to figure out this is my house and freak out on me about assessing a due for the HOA (and we may have to increase rates next year for another issue) and that I am trying to sell my house and want things to look nice at their expense. It is not easy to keep the house clean everyday where if a realtor called for a showing and I'm at work it's ready for them. It's just not happening, so good thing we have not had any calls yet. We have been cleaning and storing things each weekend and putting some extra cleaning in.
Katelynn and I have been trying to go to church every other Sunday as well.

Dan
Dan's work is picking up. He thought that he would be seeing an increase of work more towards summer, but his builders seem to think now is the time to "hit it" and they are. He is going to be busy trying to juggle a few different contractors and homes that all want him at the same time for the next 3 weeks. He is happy to have some work coming though and it makes him a happier person! He is anxiously awaiting some warm weather to start grooming his backyard. He has already been out there checking areas that might need some sprucing up and watering. He did some excellent grilling the other weekend. He has really taken to Junior. He loves to get on the floor and play with him and just mess around with him. He puts him to bed almost every night (partially because Katelynn only wants me to put her to bed if I'm home - her statement - "Dad, doesn't read the stories right and he can't sing a lullaby good). He has definitely gotten into the routine of picking the kids up from daycare and has started to help more with the dishes and laundry. He'd really like to find a long weekend for him and Katelynn to head to Minnesota and really show her his cabin by doing some fishing and 4-wheeling, hopefully they'll be able to take their little trip.

Everything seems to be flowing nicely. We are looking forward to going to church on Easter and spending some time with family.