Progress!!!

This morning was not one I'd want to repeat any time soon - a big poopy mess to clean up (Oliver's diaper did not do its job), Ian spilled a large glass of EleCare, and a lot of crying/fussing on the part of all three children over various and sundry things. In hind sight, I should not have taken the kids to the birthday party for Dr. Seuss at the library, although Nadia got lots of compliments on her Cat in the Hat costume that she wore for the third year. One of the books the librarian read was Horton Hatches an Egg, and that happens to be my most favorite Dr. Seuss book, and I hadn't yet read it to the kids (I have read them Horton Hears a Who many times). The highlight for the kids was eating chocolate cake and having their faces painted (Ian picked a green snake, and Nadia asked for a pink dog). While we were there I discovered Oliver had a fever. That explained why he couldn't sleep last night. I nursed him at 1am and then he woke up again at 3:30am (but I just turned him over in bed that time) and was up for the day at 5:45. After we got home, I also came down with a fever and sore throat. Oliver's nose would not stop running. I am praying that it doesn't progress to anything more severe for him in light of his lung disease (the nurse said at his 6 month appointment that he had been labeled with "chronic lung disease" which was news to me). His last Synagis injection was a little more than 28 days ago, and they only last 28 days supposedly. I also am hoping to feel better asap because moms don't get sick days, although I am planning to stay home the next two days.

We had two exciting developments this evening though! First, Oliver sat independently for a few minutes (first time ever). I am NOT saying he has mastered the art of sitting independently, but he's making a lot of progress in that direction. Way to go, Oliver!!! Second, Paul had a call from the school that interviewed him two days ago over the phone inviting him to interview on their campus next week! Paul is a little nervous about the 20 minute presentation that is not allowed to be about his area of research. I am grateful that at the minimum he will get some interviewing experience, and possibly it might result in a job offer. If it did, we would only view it as a short term position as New Jersey is not where we want to settle down long term. Paul said if we can't stay in Pennsylvania then he either wants to move south (farther south than Maryland) or farther west. I'm just grateful that out of 60 applicants he made the cut of those selected to interview on campus. Way to go, Paul!!!

Giving Thanks

I am a day late with my weekly gratitude post, but better late than never, right?

1. I am thankful for the good health we've enjoyed the past 6 months. As of tomorrow, it will have been 6 months since any of us were hospitalized, and that's not something I take for granted. We've also been rather healthy even in terms of minor illnesses. I was reminded of that yesterday because Ian and Nadia came down with something. Both have runny noses, and Ian also had a fever and a cough yesterday. Oliver didn't have a fever or a runny nose, but he was really cranky yesterday so I think he also must not have been feeling himself.

2. Oliver continues to gain weight at a nice pace. He will hit 15 lbs before he turns 7 months old. He's currently up to 3 percentile for his weight! People still comment to me on how small he is for his age, but when I look at his preemie size clothing, I am amazed at how much he has grown.

3. Paul had his second phone interview yesterday! They called while he was at work. This one was just with one person and was impromptu (the first one was scheduled with a committee). They said they had 60 applications for the two positions. If Paul is selected to come for a face-to-face interview, they said he will find out between now and Sunday. Yay for not being in suspense for long. It isn't our first choice because it's at a community college in New Jersey, but if he's invited out there it would at least give him additional interviewing experience, and if they offered him a job, it would at least give him teaching experience. We haven't heard anything from his first telephone interview. No news is probably not good news in this instance.

4. Paul hadn't submitted any applications over the past week, but he's working on some today. As of last week he had submitted 27 applications. Once he finishes the ones that are in progress, he will have submitted 34 applications (2 were submitted thus far today to bring the current total to 29). I was encouraged that one posting this week was for a tenure track position at a university in PA (although it was in biochemistry so he can't apply for that one). I'm hoping that maybe there might still be a few more tenure track openings posted this month (at 4 year schools). Almost all of the openings lately have been at community colleges or for temporary positions (visiting assistant professor) at 4 year schools. Two of the seven he's working on are for teaching post doctorate positions (2 year positions). They will be the first post docs he's applied for. He's been applying for jobs for more than four months now. It can be rather discouraging at times, which meant that yesterday's phone interview was encouraging for both of us.

5. I am thankful that Paul's dad is very flexible regarding Paul's work schedule. Paul had originally planned to take off work today (and work tomorrow instead) to go to PSU to meet with two different professors regarding two additional articles he might try to get published this year. This morning he changed his mind and rescheduled his meetings at PSU for next week. He's staying home today to work on job applications and such.

6. Yesterday morning Oliver started fussing off and on as early as 3:45am, and I got up with him at 5:30 (and then Ian came down at 6:15). Between that and the kids not feeling well yesterday (and a lengthy battle with Nadia over eating chicken and dumplings), I was exhausted last night and went to bed within 30 minutes of putting the kids down for bed. I was grateful I went to bed so early when Oliver woke up at 2:30am. I had him back down by 3:05 (usually he's up for at least one hour so that was better than usual). When he woke up again at 4:30 I was really flustered until I went into his room and saw he had his hand pinned under his body. I helped him out and he went right back to sleep and slept until 7:00am. I can't remember the last time he slept until 7am. I'll take a 2:30am feeding if it means my day isn't starting at 5am.

A day in the life

Here's a little snapshot of what a typical day is like for us as a family of 5 with a 6 month old, 3 year old, and 4.5 year old.

My day starts sometime between 4:00-6:30am depending on when Oliver wakes up. The longest he sleeps is 10 hours, and I put him down somewhere between 7:45-8:45pm. He sometimes only sleeps for 8-9 hours. I'm trying to get him in a routine of sleeping from 8:30pm to 6:30am. A few months ago he was sleeping 11 hours at night. I would love that to happen again, but I'm okay with 10 hours, especially since he was up at midnight and 4am on Saturday night.

Paul is very inconsistent as to when he gets up. Sometimes he gets up when I do or at some point while I'm downstairs with Oliver, and other times he doesn't get up until Ian or Nadia get up. Once he's up he eats breakfast, packs his lunch, changes into his work clothes, and drives to work. He has a one hour commute each way in the Prius.

Since Oliver gets up earlier than the other two kids, Oliver and I have usually both had breakfast before they get up. I nurse him, give him a bottle, eat my cereal while he sits in the high chair, and then I feed him some fruit and baby cereal. Nadia and Ian get up sometime between 6:45-7:30am. While they eat their breakfast, I take Oliver upstairs so that I can get showered and dressed. Ian always has a bagel (torn into pieces), vitamins, and warm EleCare for breakfast. Nadia has a bowl of cereal (it was Corn Pops today), glass of apple juice or skim milk, and vitamins. Oliver lies in his gym in our bedroom while I shower. He lies on our bed while I get dressed, and then he lies on a bathroom rug between my feet while I blowdry my hair and brush my teeth. I shampoo every other day.

I then bring the other two kids upstairs and help Ian go to the bathroom and get dressed. I only have to help Nadia select her clothing. She dresses herself. Ian has gotten much better at figuring out which socks will match the shirt he's selected. He thought he needed to pick underwear that matched, but I've been telling him that it doesn't matter. On Monday mornings I give the three kids a bath before breakfast. They have at least two baths a week. The other one is usually on Friday.

Oliver usually goes down for his first nap around 9am, and he usually sleeps for 2-3 hours. I use this time to get a little laundry, cleaning, or cooking done, but I use most of the time to read picture books to Nadia and Ian and do "schoolwork." I do one load of laundry every other day. Usually Ian plays while I do the schoolwork with Nadia, but lately he's been asking for his own schoolwork. Today I worked with Nadia on reading some three letter words as well as six of her BOB books. I recorded two videos of that. With Ian I gave him pictures of animals to sort (farm vs. forest). He doesn't grasp that concept yet. I gave him pictures of individual socks and mittens as well as pairs of socks and mittens, and he did that perfectly. I put pictures of ducks into a bathtub and asked him to select the number (also on slips of paper). He did well with that if I gave him really small sets (under 5). I also worked with him on some animal flashcards (and made a short video of that). This morning we read mostly Berenstain Bear and Amelia Bedelia books (Nadia and Ian selected the books).

Usually about the time Oliver is waking up from his nap we are about to have lunch (around 11:30am). Nadia lately has been having either blueberry yogurt, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a ham and cheese hot pocket for lunch. Ian always has a glass of EleCare and a wowbutter and jelly sandwhich cut in 8 pieces. They both have some pretzels with their lunch and usually half a banana. Lately their dessert has been two Hershey kisses each. Both kids have Paul's blue eyes, but they're both definitely chocoholics like their Momma. I read a couple of chapters of a book to them during lunch. We are reading Stuart Little right now. Every other book we've been reading has been a Ramona book. They LOVE Ramona. Nadia listens the the Ramona books on CD in her room during quiet time. The last one I read them was Ramona and her Father and Ramona and her Mother will be the next book I read them. Even Ian will ask me to read about Ramona and Howie.

Ian goes down for his nap at 1pm, and Nadia has her room time (it's in no way shape or form a quiet time). She will occasionally take a nap in the car, but she never naps in her room. Ian's nap is an hour long the vast majority of the time. Occasionally it's as short as 40 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Although I love spending time with my kids, I will admit that I feel a big sense of relief if there is an overlap between Oliver's second nap and Ian's nap (and Nadia's room time). Today there wasn't any overlap because Oliver didn't go down for his afternoon nap until 2:30pm, but sometimes I get close to an hour. I would say the average would be 20-30 minutes. I try to get as much accomplished as possible during that time in terms of cooking dinner or packing or some other task. Ian no longer cries when he wakes up from his nap. I am very pleased about that! Sometimes I put Oliver to sleep before I put him in his crib, and other times I put him in his crib awake, and he soothes himself to sleep. His afternoon nap is usually 1-1.5 hours long. If his morning nap is short (for example on Sundays he usually only sleeps for about 30-40 minutes in the pack n play in the church nursery), then he'll take a 3 hour afternoon nap.

Dinner usually starts sometime between 4:30-5:00pm. When I cook a meal, I try to make enough to last two nights, at least for Paul. If it's not enough for two nights for everyone, then the rest of us will have pancakes or something the other night while Paul finishes what I made the previous day. Dinner is my least favorite meal of the day because it's the one that involves the most battles (another reason to feed the kids pancakes every once in a while as they love them). Ian did discover a few days ago that he loves lasagna. It's so nice to be able to serve him what the Nadia, Paul, and I are also eating. After dinner we watch a dvd. The child who finishes eating first gets to pick what we watch. However if Ian "wins" then he almost always picks whatever Nadia suggests, so in reality Nadia is the one who is always picking what we watch.

Paul usually comes home while we're watching the dvd. After he's changed out of his work clothes, he plays with the kids. Sometimes they rough house or do a puzzle. Last night the four of us played beginning sound Bingo. Our cards had pictures, and we spun the spinner to select a letter and cover a word on our card that started with that letter. Today was an unusual day because I bought Paul and the kids tickets to see "How I became a pirate." Paul came home earlier than usual so he could shower and be ready to take the kids to the 7pm show. Oliver and I stayed at home. The kids were both wearing pirate costumes. I bet they are having a great time! Sometimes while Paul is at home is when I make a run to CVS or the grocery store. Last Wednesday I did my grocery shopping after taking Nadia to AWANA on my way to choir rehearsal. I try to avoid taking all three kids to either store because the shopping cart only holds one child, and I prefer not to hold Oliver while shopping (and Ian isn't mature enough to walk beside me like Nadia does).

At 7:45pm we head upstairs to get the kids ready for bed. Our bedtime ritual inclues reading a Bible story, praying, and saying a blessing on them. If Ian pays attention during the Bible story, then Paul allows him to pick another book to read before bed. At church we've been doing some "faith at home" sessions, and in that they recommended saying a blessing on your children every single night. They gave suggestions of several Scripture passages to pick from. I picked Numbers 6:24-26. Nadia is quick to remind me if I forget to say the blessing. When Oliver was sleeping 10-11 hours at night, I was going to bed at 10pm. Lately I've been going to bed as early as 8:30pm because I haven't been getting enough sleep otherwise. I'd prefer to stay up until 9:30pm.

The question I hear the most often each day is, "May I pet Oliver?". Oliver is one well loved (and petted) baby.

The song I hear the most often during the day is "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho". Ian sings that song umpteen times a day. His next two favorite songs are the Wonder Pet theme song and "God is bigger than the boogie man" from the Veggie Tales.

The websites I visit the most often are Facebook (when I am nursing Oliver or feeding him a bottle I will scan my news feed or play a word in a Words with Friends game) and Higheredjobs.com. I send Paul an email whenever I see a position he might want to apply for. Facebook is my leisure activity. I also watch a movie once or twice a month (dvd from the library). Other than that I never watch any tv. I don't miss having Netflix or cable tv although I want to be able to watch football again next fall.

The kids are getting better about playing together. Lately they have been spending a lot more time up in their bedrooms (together). If they are in Ian's room, they are playing with his train table. It cracks me up how Nadia uses her princesses to reenact Bible stories. I overheard her one day using them to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast) was one of the characters who walked right by the injured man and didn't stop to help him. Cracked me up! If I listen to Ian while he's playing by himself, sometimes I can tell that he's imitating an episode of Wonder Pets. They both enjoy dressing up in costumes, playing hide and seek, listening to cds, dancing together, etc.

I can't wait until the weather warms up so we can get back to going to the playground several days a week. I love the fresh air, and I need some exercise to lose some more weight. Spring can't come fast enough in my opinion!

In Transition

In the past I haven't left one situation before I knew where I was headed. I had signed a contract for my first teaching job before I graduated from college, and each time I changed jobs over the last twenty years I never left one job until I had signed a contract elsewhere. When I resigned from my job a couple of months ago, I did it before Paul had found a job in his field. That made the decision more difficult. Paul has applied for 27 jobs thus far, and within a week that number should be at least 30 as 3 more are in progress at the moment. We still haven't heard whether his telephone interview last week will result in an invitation to interview on campus next month. Although we may not have a choice, accepting a visiting professor position is not our first choice because it means in another 1-3 years we'll be searching for another job for Paul and moving yet again.

We've never put our house on the market without knowing where we were moving, but that's what we'll likely be doing in about 5 weeks. I haven't paid rent since 2000, but we might be doing that later this year if Paul doesn't get a tenure track job. It doesn't make sense to buy a house if we know we'll only be living there for one year. I am not looking forward to packing this whole house up so I have started already to try to do it gradually. I packed up at least 20 boxes over the last two days. I figure it also will help with showing the house if a lot of stuff is already packed in boxes in the basement. I figure that by packing and hopefully getting the house under contract we are making it easier to move at the last minute if for example Paul got a job offer in July for an adjunct position that started in August in another state.

When I bought my first house (January 2001), I thought we'd live there for quite a while, but we moved 3.5 years later. When we moved in  July 2004, I remember saying that I thought we'd live in that house for decades. That house was close to my tenure track job and also not too far from Paul's dad's company (where Paul was working at the time). However it wasn't long until Paul decided he wanted to earn his Ph.D. in chemistry, and since his BS was in mathematics, he had to earn a MS in chemistry first (in chemistry most people go straight from a BS to a PhD). When we moved in September 2008, I knew we wouldn't live here for very long as we figured the odds were very slim that he'd get a job in his field close to our current home after he graduated from PSU. We were hoping he'd finish the program in 4-5 years, and he did just that and finished in 4.5 years. I really would like to settle down. With how often we are moving one might assume we were in the military or something like that!

The future might be a mystery to us, but God knows where will be living and what Paul's next job will be. I'll just keep praying that God will provide him with a job in his field and that we'll be able to sell our home quickly for a good price.

Thankful Thursday

1. Last Friday we received two boxes in the mail from one of my aunts who lives in Florida. She had intended to send the gifts to us at Christmas, but because of her beloved dog passing away, she sent it last week. It turned out to be a lovely Valentine's treat!

2. On Monday Paul had an appointment to take care of two recalls for the Prius and also get the (long overdue) oil change. I can't take his car to the dealer any more since the three kids don't fit in the backseat of that vehicle. He didn't want to sit at the dealership for 2+ hours so we followed behind him in the van and had dinner at Friendly's (used our last restaurant gift card). The meal went rather smoothly, which is not something to take for granted with 3 children age 4 and under at a sit down restaurant. Ian ate his first ever grilled cheese sandwich (he and Nadia split a kid's meal so actually he ate half a sandwich), and he LOVED it.  Yahoo for finding another food that Ian likes! I need to add that into the menu rotation at home.

3. After we placed our order (but before the food arrived), I dashed over to JCPenney and used a $10 off coupon (that are very rare these days) to buy Nadia and Ian each a pair of Carter's pjs for next winter. Thanks to the coupon I paid a total of $4.00 for my purchases.

4. After we ate dinner, I made a quick trip into Sears and bought a few things on the clearance racks. I am sure at some point I'll be comfortable taking the three kids to the mall myself, but I haven't gotten there yet. I took advantage of having Paul along. We then made a trip to Aldi's and then dropped Paul off at the dealership because the car was ready.

5. We only have one week left of gymnastics. Whew. Ian has made a lot of progress, but I don't really feel he's ready for the preschool class, and I think Nadia is ready for something more challenging. Staying home on Wednesday mornings also will mean a better nap for Oliver. Starting in March we'll try our local library on Friday mornings again.

6. On Tuesday night I served cheddar chicken, rice, and carrots for dinner. I was in shock when Nadia asked me for MORE carrots. Be still my soul. It was the first time Ian ate any rice, and he did pretty well with it. It takes him forever to chew chicken though. Paul had macaroni and cheese instead of rice as he's not a fan of rice, but as I said earlier, I am trying to be more conscious of exposing the kids to a wider variety of foods (not just what Daddy likes to eat). I will say he ate LOTS of rice when we were in China in 2006. He pretty much lived on rice for those 3 weeks!

7. Oliver has only been sleeping for 8-9 hours at night, which means he's been getting up at 4 or 5am. He slept for 10 hours the last two nights. I much prefer to get up at 6am rather than 4am!

8. I am thankful that no one has ever said anything to me when Ian has had a meltdown in public (ex. at the library the past two Wednesdays when he didn't want to leave). I'm also thankful for the encouragement of strangers when they are well behaved. A woman told Paul at Aldi's how much she was enjoying listening to Ian sing. He was singing "If you're happy and you know it" while in the shopping cart. Another woman told me at Sears how sweet she thought it was when Nadia gushed with gratitude over the princess clothing I was buying her.

Sloppy Joes

Lately I've been trying to find more foods that the kids might enjoy for dinner. Since the pulled pork was a hit with Nadia, I thought I'd make sloppy joes. I know she's had sloppy joes (some call it beef bbq) before - once at our church, once at Paul's parents' house, and it was also one of the meals people brought to our house while I was on bedrest. Sloppy joes are by no means one of my favorite foods, but I don't mind eating one every now and then. Because Paul doesn't like them, I had never made sloppy joes before.

I selected a recipe online and made some yesterday. It didn't go down as easily with either child as I had hoped it would. I also made macaroni and cheese, as I was trying to make a child friendly meal. It hit me recently that for the past 11.5 years I have mostly limited my menu planning to Paul's preferences. Every once in awhile (such as when I've had company or when Paul has been at a conference), I've made a recipe that I used to make when I was single that contains some ingredient Paul finds offensive (such as tomatoes or salsa).

 

I want to do a better job at exposing my kids to a wider variety of foods. Once the kids are grown and gone (sniff, sniff) then I'll go back to just serving the foods that Paul and I like best.  Since I've been cooking my dinners (the past 19 years), I have only been eating my favorite vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, corn, peas, green beans, carrots, sugar snap peas, and lima beans). I have decided I need to start serving and eating some of my non-favorites (broccoli and aspargus for example) so that the kids are exposed to a wider variety. Who knows, one of them might love broccoli? One problem is that Paul hasn't bought into this theory, but he usually only eats dinner with us on the weekends. I'll make sure to serve one of the vegetables he likes when we're all eating dinner together. It was a bit awkward tonight as Paul doesn't eat sloppy joes, so he cooked a frozen pizza for himself, and the kids really wanted to have the pizza also. Monday-Friday he eats dinner after they are in bed so they won't know if he didn't eat what the rest of us ate. I just need to make sure I serve foods Paul likes on the weekends. Who knows. Maybe in my 40's I'll discover I like broccoli? I am not saying I'm going to serve every kind of food. I draw the line at brussells sprouts, lamb, shellfish, and liver for example. I am looking forward to eating some of the dishes that I enjoy (that Paul doesn't like) more often such as meatloaf and recipes that include tomatoes. I'll just have to make sure I have some other foods on hand that Paul can easily heat (such as hotdogs or frozen pizza) so he has something to eat on the nights I prepare a dish he won't eat. Hopefully the list of foods we all enjoy will grow over time. I think pizza is the only thing on that list now, if we are including Ian. If we're just talking about Paul, Nadia, and I then that list also includes most pasta dishes (spaghetti, tuna noodle casserole, lasagna, etc.).

 

Aside from wanting to expose the kids to a wide variety of foods, I also feel like I need to practice what I preach. I tell the kids to eat at least a few small bites of everything I serve, but then I only serve foods that I like to eat; I'm not really holding myself to the same standard. I remember others having a policy where each family member could have a small list of foods that they never eat. Once they get a little older and have tried foods enough times to hopefully be less picky eaters, I plan on letting them create their lists and not requiring them to eat that food even if I serve it. Shellfish and brussells sprouts would certainly be on the top of my list!

 

While we're on the topic of food, I have to say I am THRILLED with Oliver's attitude toward solid food. At 6 months old he's doing better than Ian was at 26 months old. He hasn't totally mastered the art of using his tongue with solid food (some still comes back out and has to be scooped up and put back in his mouth), but boy does he like to eat! He can eat 3.5 oz of fruit plus some rice cereal in one sitting! Now that he's discovered solid foods are yummy, I am going to introduce veggies to him sometime this week. First I need to make some. It's so much cheaper to make carrots, peas, and green bean baby food than to buy Gerber's. So far Oliver has had blueberries, cherries, apples, and rice cereal. If I hold his hands (so he doesn't put them in his mouth), it's a much less messy experience. Way to go, Oliver! Now, if I could just shift his wake-up time a bit later. Lately he's been getting up between 5:00-5:15am every morning.

 

 

Sensory Issues

Although he's come a long way, Ian still definitely has sensory issues. He often cries when I wash his face or hands. I have learned that if I let the water temperature warm up, that he tolerates it a bit better. Nadia and Ian are opposites in terms of their preference for the water temperature for their baths. Ian likes it nice and hot (takes after his Mommy), and Nadia likes it rather cool (takes after her Daddy). He doesn't like being wiped with toilet paper (says things like "ow"), and since he poops on average 2-3 times a day he gets wiped more than once a day. He does not like to have food on his face or hands. I am not very good about remembering to use the brush on him (that the OT gave us), but serving him a "pb and jelly" (doesn't actually have peanuts in it) sandwich for lunch each day is a bit of therapy for him because his face and hands get sticky. Hopefully there will come a time when it won't bother him quite as much as it does now. One upside of his sensory issues is that he keeps his clothes "just so." He always makes sure that his sleeves are pulled down, that his shirt is pulled down, etc. I wish Nadia cared a little more about this. She doesn't care if her belly is exposed because her shirt got hiked up or her skirt is pulled down farther than it's supposed to be. She almost never puts her socks on properly. Ian would have a fit if the seam wasn't exactly right on his toes and the heel wasn't exactly in the right spot. Neither one of them like having their hair combed, brushed, or shampooed. Neither one of them like having their fingernails or toenails clipped. Nadia actually fusses more over having her teeth brushed than Ian does. He has come a LONG way in that regard. I have wondered at times if his sensory issues are at all related to his allergies. He gets rashes so easily from things like walnuts, peanuts, cinnamon, ketchup, etc. I thought his bright red ears after his bath was a reaction to the shampoo or something, but the allergist said it's likely just from the warm water. Because of Paul's skin issues, I only use "sensitive" laundry detergents (free of any scent).

The realtor called me yesterday after she had done the market analysis to determine a listing price for our house. I was VERY pleased with the number she came up with as it was a tad bit higher than what I had told Paul was my "dream" number, and I had given her zero input regarding the price. I actually thought my dream number was likely way too high. It's very encouraging to me to think we might possibly be able to sell the house for an amount that would cover what we paid when we bought the house (plus closing costs), what we invested in the house the past 5 years (fence, garbage disposal, ceiling fans, new sump pump, etc.), and our closing costs for selling the house (1% tax plus 6% to the realtors). We plan to list the house in early April. I hope it goes under contract quickly because showing the house with three little ones will not be easy. I want to start packing this month so I can do it ever so gradually.

Paul had his first phone interview yesterday. Hopefully we won't be in suspense for too long as to whether they want him to come out for an interview in March. We're trying not to get our hopes up. I'm hoping Paul will write some cover letters this weekend so we can complete applications #22-28. The two latest ones are for a lecturer position in VA and a two year post doc in NY. It will be the first post doc he's applied for (not his first choice). I wanted him to apply for a faculty position in Hawaii, but he's not interested. I wouldn't want to live there long term, but if he doesn't get a tenure track position for this fall, I could live in Hawaii for 1-2 years!

Thankful Thursday

1. My dad got FABULOUS news yesterday. The urologist at Hopkins said that the oncologist my dad saw last month was wrong. His cancer hasn't returned! PTL!

2. Paul went several weeks without submitting any more job applications (he submitted 18 in 2012), but we're working on 6 more right now, which will bring the total to 27. Those 27 schools are located in the following states: PA, MD, RI, MA, NY, OH, WV, VA, NC, NJ, and TN.

3. Paul is scheduled to participate in a telephone interview tomorrow at 5:30pm! We are SO grateful that he finally made it to this stage with one of his applications. If nothing else, it will give him some interviewing experience. Most of the positions he has applied for have been at 2 year schools (not his first choice because he would prefer to teach physical chemistry, which is only offered at 4 year schools) or for visiting professor positions at 4 year schools (1-3 years in length, which again isn't our first choice as we'd really like to settle down after our next move). This telephone interview is for a physical chemistry position at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. I am trying not to get my hopes up, but this is exactly the type of job Paul wanted, and it's one of the very few applications that was for a physical chemistry tenure track position. We'd appreciate your prayers for Paul on Friday that he will do his very best. They emailed him a list of questions to be prepared to answer.

4. My sister, Yvonne, gave birth to her sixth child. Julianna Kate (their second daughter) was born on Valentine's Day. Oliver is no longer the youngest of my parents' 12 grandchildren. Julianna won't be the youngest for long as Wendy is in the third trimester as well. We'll look forward to meeting Julianna next year. They haven't met Oliver yet.

5. Paul has been meeting the deadlines for graduating in May from PSU. He took a long time to wrap things up at Bucknell with his Master's degree. He didn't officially graduate until January 2010 although he started his PhD at PSU in August 2008. I am relieved to know that won't happen this time. Today he submitted his dissertation for the formatting check. He took today and tomorrow off from work to accomplish that and also to prepare for his interview and to work on another article his advisor wants him to write.

6. Ian has been doing very well with baked milk and baked egg. That is such a blessing.

7. I discovered this week that Nadia likes pulled pork (some refer to it as bbq pork). She's a rather picky eater when it comes to dinner; so I celebrate each food we can add to the list that she likes. I need to start making it more often because Paul and I also enjoy it.

8. It was fun to try to make things special for Nadia and Ian today for Valentine's Day. I gave Ian a bag of iced animal crackers. He has graciously been sharing some with Nadia (he's much better at sharing than she is). I gave Paul a bag of peanut M&M's and Nadia a bag of peanut butter M&M's. I was hoping Nadia would share a little of hers with me (as that's my favorite kind of M&M), but so far she hasn't shared any. It's better for my weight loss goal that I'm not eating any candy today. I gave Nadia, Ian, and Paul cards. This is the first year Paul and I haven't gone out on a date around Valentine's Day. In the years before we had kids we used to exchange gifts and cards and go out to dinner. I received some nice jewelry on Valentine's Day in the past. Lately it's just been a card and going out on a date. This year I didn't receive anything, but I'd much rather be a mom than celebrate Valentine's Day. I dreaded the holiday when I was single, but I enjoy it now! Paul and I started dating 16 years ago. For lunch I made Nadia toast that I cut out the middle in the shape of a heart and fried an egg in that heart shape hole. I put jelly on the little heart shaped pieces of toast. I made the kids and I pancakes for dinner - heart shaped chocolate chip ones for Nadia and blueberry ones for Ian. Over the past 10 days I helped Nadia make Valentine's Day cards (some with paint) for Grandma, Pop Pop, and Daddy. She also got special treats and cards at Cubbies last night. I think the kids have enjoyed celebrating Valentine's Day! I know some complain that it's just a "Hallmark holiday," but I think it's fun to show those in your family that you love them! Ian absolutely adored the Valentine his Grandma mailed him. He proudly showed it to all the mothers at ballet last week. I didn't want to leave Oliver out so I bought him some Cheerios; he ate his first two Cheerios tonight!

9. Actually I did receive something today! A friend from ladies Bible study found a calendar (the kind I'd used for 20+ years) at Walmart and bought it for me. What a pleasant surprise to find it in my mailbox today! Thanks so much, Jann! I really prefer the paper calendar over Google's.

10. A realtor saw our house today. She says we have almost no competition as very few homes are for sale in our school district. I moved a lot of stuff to the basement yesterday, and I have to say I am enjoying having less clutter in the house. I am not looking forward to the keeping the house ready to be shown, but one perk of that process is that my house is going to be staying a lot cleaner! I'm praying that the house will sell for a good price sometime this summer. We told her the soonest we'd move would be June so she said we should list it in April.

6 Month Doctor Appointment

Yesterday I took Oliver for his 6 month check-up. He was 6 months (plus 5 days) old yesterday, and it was the 8th time he's had shots (and three of those times he was stabbed more than once). He had his first immunization in the NICU, immunizations at 2/4/6 months old, and four Synagis injections. The doctor recommended adding the flu shot to his immunizations yesterday, but I said we'd wait until the fall for him to get the flu shot. I said that because #1 I know the flu season is almost over and #2 I know that the first time an infant gets the flu shot he has to get it in two doses. I didn't want to have to return in the near future for the second half of the flu shot. I think this means Oliver should get a six month break from getting any shots as his next immunizations aren't due until August. He actually tolerates them pretty well aside from screaming from the time they stab him until I get him dressed and can comfort him. He had a fever once (after the 4 month shots).

With his diaper and socks on, he weighed 13lb 11oz, which put him at the 25th percentile on an adjusted chart (1.8 percentile non-adjusted). His length and head circumference were also at the 25th percentile on the adjusted chart. He's very well proportioned! They reported his length at 25.25 inches (1.0 percentile non-adjusted) and his head circumference at 41.5cm (4.3 percentile non-adjusted).

During Oliver's appointment, I asked the pediatrician about Ian's forehead. You never know which pediatrician you will see. Unfortunately, we ended up with the one who is my least favorite. Normally I wouldn't really mind, but he was also the one who saw Ian and Oliver in December, and I was hoping to get a different doctor yesterday so I could get a third opinion regarding Ian's forehead. I figured that since he didn't say anything in December that he wasn't concerned about Ian's forehead. Yesterday he felt Ian's forehead, looked at mine, and said it seems familial to me. He thinks Ian's forehead looks like mine. I agree that Ian looks like me. He doesn't think we need to take Ian to a neurosurgeon. I'll hold off for now, but the next time Ian is in the presence of another pediatrician, I'm going to ask again to get a third opinion just to be sure.

Applications and Hives

I called the allergist's office on Thursday to ask if they had received Ian's bloodwork results from two weeks ago. The allergist called back and told me that Ian's numbers were very low for all three (milk, eggs, and peanuts). I told him about the hives Ian had two weeks ago that I thought were from walnuts in the cookies he ate. He told me that if the hives were only on his face and lasted for that many hours, they weren't from a food allergy. He said those hives were a skin irritation. I am familiar with that because it's the same with Ian and cinnamon. If he eats a cinnamon bagel, he's fine because the cinnamon doesn't get on his face, but if he eats something like cinnamon applesauce, he gets a rash on his face. The doctor said this might also happen with peanuts, and we might need to stick with foods that aren't messy. Thursday night I gave him his first chocolate peanut butter cookie. He called it yummy, delicious, and scrumptious. I'd say he liked it! He didn't have any rash or hives from that.

Yesterday at lunch I gave him his first real peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He had hives all over his face, and they were really bothering him (he was scratching like crazy). I don't plan on giving him another peanut butter and jelly sandwich for quite awhile (lately I've been using wowbutter which doesn't have any peanuts in it but really does taste like peanut butter), but I will continue to give him other foods with peanut butter that aren't as messy. The allergist said to wait 2-3 weeks before trying a new food. We did baked milk for two weeks and now have started peanut butter. If this goes well, I next plan to feed him eggs (ex. scrambled as he's already been eating baked eggs since November). Then 2-3 weeks later I'll try him on yogurt. I am not planning on having him drink a glass of milk for quite awhile. We still have some cans of EleCare so we'll stick with that for now. I'm hoping that he has outgrown some or better yet all of his food allergies. If he hasn't, I hope it's clear to me asap so that it doesn't get to the point that his eosinophilic esophagitis flares up again.

Yesterday I worked on six online applications for Paul. Some were easy to do, but most of them were very tedious. Some colleges use the same application for ALL their employees as evidenced by questions such as what is your typing speed, where did you go to high school, and what is your driver's license number. I have to enter a lot of the information that is already contained in his CV (dates he went to each school, contact information for references, etc.). When I applied for jobs, I never had an online application to fill out. Times have changed. I haven't totally finished the applications (because Paul hasn't finished writing the cover letters), but once I do, he will have applied for 25 jobs over the past four months. The ones that are farther south (North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) would be my top choices, but if we have to go to upstate New York for Paul to teach at a university, so be it. I was relieved when Paul said he didn't want to apply to one in Bangor, Maine. Brrrrrr. If applications could give me hives, I would have had hives last night, but I will gladly keep helping Paul apply for jobs in the hope that one of these will result in him being invited to interview for his dream job.

The only connection Nadia has to someone moving is when our neighbors moved to Oklahoma. So when I tell her that we will probably be moving sometime this year, she keeps asking if we're moving to Oklahoma. So far we haven't submitted any applications in that state. She was worried when I said we were trying to sell the house that we'd be selling her toys. I keep trying to explain we're trying to sell the doors, walls, windows, roof, etc. but will be taking all our furniture, clothes, toys, etc. with us. She was VERY relieved to hear this. I was very glad she verbalized her concern because I hadn't realized when I said we are trying to sell the house (I'm meeting with a realtor next week and we're aiming to put the house on the market in April) that she would think that meant we'd sell her princesses. She's also concerned about not being able to go to Sparks in the fall, but I keep assuring her that wherever we're living in the fall, we'll take her to Sparks. One of our neighbors put their house on the market this week. I am curious to see how long it will take them to sell it. I'm hoping theirs is under contract before we put ours on the market.

I haven't been watching movies the last few weeks since Oliver hasn't been sleeping as well as he did in November and December. He slept better the previous few nights so last night I stayed up much later than usual to watch a movie with Paul. That was a mistake as I was up with Oliver from 2:05-3:29am. I will be going to bed very early tonight.