In the trailerhood...

Todd started his new job last week, and we parked our trailer at an RV resort for the summer.  The kids and I will be back and forth, and Todd will be home on weekends, but it's going to be an interesting summer.

We spent five days last week living in our trailer and it went pretty well. The resort has a pool, a miniature golf course, and a game room with air hockey, foosball, and a pool table--all free for those of us renting our spot by the month.

Unfortunately, the only picture I got was this one of the kids watching cartoons before breakfast:

Have you ever heard the song "Trailerhood" by Toby Keith?  It was popular a year or so ago, and when Todd and I were staying at the house next the the hospital waiting for Justin to be born, we saw the video SEVERAL times.  It makes me laugh.  I never dreamed that a year later we'd be living in the trailerhood...

ten months

This month has been a rough one for Justin (and the rest of us)!

I still don't know exactly what his problem was, but his sleep schedule was completely out-of-whack.  He rarely took naps, and woke up several times during the night for a few weeks.  He had a cold, but his ears were fine.  I was starting to wonder if he had pinworms just because his behavior was so unpredictable. It still has me baffled, but thankfully he is back to his old self now.

The sad part for me, was that in the middle of all this, he weaned himself.  Out of the blue, he started biting me (bite and rip...'til I bled) and refused to nurse.  When I finally gave him a bottle (out of desperation) he guzzled it down.  I was so sure I was going to be able to nurse him to a year, and I'm heartbroken that he stopped early.

 funny tidbit: Justin drinks half of his bottle, and then wants to switch to the other side to finish it off :o)

At ten months, Justin:

-gets into EVERYTHING and puts it straight in his mouth
-weighs 19 lbs.
-wears 9-12 mos. clothes and a few 18 mos shirts
-loves to be where his brothers are (doesn't want to miss anything)
-loves to "groove" to music
-is now drinking formula and feeding himself puffs and cheerios
-has an obsession with electronic gadgets...cell phones, watches, cameras, you name it
-likes the song "If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops" (especially the "tongue" part)
-knows and responds to his name AND nicknames: J.T.,  J-Tag, Justinator Tater, and our favorite...Tater-tot!
-signed milk twice (but hasn't done it since)
-doesn't like his crib at all (we used to put him down for a nap with no trouble...now he cries for a few minutes)
-has developed "selective object permanence"  (if you try to hide a cell phone, he knows it is there and will go to any length to obtain it.  However, if Mom leaves the room for a second, he is certain she no longer exists and does not take it lightly)
-needs a hair cut, especially over his ears but I'm too afraid of him looking like a "big boy" so I refuse to cut it.

The outfit Justin is wearing was a gift from Grandma Helen (Todd's grandma) to Caleb.  She picked it out the day before Caleb was born, and passed away the next day--within 20 minutes of Caleb's birth.

Home...away from home

Our newest addition:

We named her Liberty, but call her "Libby"

Born: 2002

29' long and 7,700 lbs (when her diaper is full)

 Todd starts his new job next week, and until we can sell our house, this is where he'll be living.  We've been watching the KSL classified's, and 45 minutes after "Libby" was posted on Thursday (in our price range) I made a quick call to the owner. Todd happened to be on his way through Cedar City and made a stop to see her (90 minutes after the ad was posted), and within 24 hours we became the proud owners of an RV.

For Grandma's sake, I'll give you a tour:

 This is my kind of camping...

 What is Todd going to do with all this space? 

I guess the kids and I will have to visit him often.

 I love the fact that you can walk all the way around the bed.

 The kids couldn't really care less about having a travel trailer...(ha, ha)

Actually, they spent half their day today reading...on their bunks!

When Todd went to level the trailer this morning,
he got choked up when he found this card from the previous owner's daughter:

Todd grew up traveling all over the country with his family in their RV.  To this day I believe it is why he and his siblings are so close, and the relationships they built have gotten them through some tough times.  Todd's mom often talks about the time that they spent reminiscing about 100 different nights that they had spent in their trailer.

When Todd and I first got married, I wasn't too keen on the idea of owning an RV.  My idea of a vacation is to get AWAY from the kitchen, not take it with me.  However, with the cost of feeding four boys in a restaurant (especially when they get to be teenagers), and the world we live in today (cell phones, internet access from anywhere, ipods, and movies in the car) I'm now looking forward to being "stuck" in such close quarters.  We won't be taking it on any long hauls until the gas prices come way down (or our income goes way up), but we already have a list of places to visit in mind: Mesa Verde, Arches and Canyonlands, the Grand Canyon, Flaming Gorge and "Dinosaur Land", California, and someday Nauvoo.

I can't wait for the day when we can think of 100 memories that we made in our travel trailer.

The latest

I feel like time has been at a complete standstill since the announcement that Todd was going to lose his job.

I've stayed plenty busy, and accomplished a lot, but when I look back at this time in some future day, I really think it's all just going to be a big blur in my memory.

I hope that if nothing else, I will remember the overwhelming sense of peace that I've been blessed with.  I have no doubt that we are being watched over, and I am so appreciative of all our family and friends for their love and prayers in our behalf.  We feel that support.

Most of you probably already know that Todd accepted a job offer last week.  We are grateful for the opportunity, especially since we have both felt drawn to the area and feel good about it. He will be doing therapy in a residential treatment center for teens, and working towards building a private practice on the side.

Our next matter of business is to sell our house.  We don't have any leads right now, but again I feel a sense of peace that it's all going to be okay.  We are looking into buying a camping trailer for Todd to live in, while the kids and I stay here until our house sells. Luckily we will only be about 3 hours apart so we can see each other on weekends.  I hope and pray that this won't last too long, and that we'll be able to move before the kids start school in the fall.

For my own record-keeping purposes, I'm including a list of what we've done in the last month or so.

Since I've last blogged:

- Brayden spent a week with an unusual stabbing pain, low grade fever, and loss of appetite that I was afraid was appendicitis.  After several tests to rule out appendicitis, bowel blockage, kidney or urinary tract infections, or testicular problems, a radiologist looked at his x-rays and determined that he had pneumonia! It was definitely one of the strangest medical mysteries we've encountered thus far.

-The school year ended and the kids graduated from Kindergarten, 3rd, and 4th grades.  I feel way too young to have a 5th grader.

- Another one of my dear friends, Vanessa, moved away.  I'm still in denial about it.  I've been so caught up in my own craziness that I didn't even have a chance to help with her move.  I stopped by to say good-bye before she left and cried all the way home.  This is saying something since I've been "emotionally constipated" for the past several months and have barely shed a tear.  Miss you, V.  Please find a job close to ours...

-Todd's Mom, sister, and brother and family came to visit us over Memorial Day Weekend.  Linda was a huge help in getting our house ready to show, and we enjoyed our time together.  We made the 2 hour drive to Goblin Valley, but only stayed for about 45 minutes because of the darn wind. We were cleaning sand out of our ears for two days afterward.

- We drove North the following weekend to attend our niece Emily's baptism.  I don't feel old enough to have nieces and nephews getting baptized.

And now I'm off to make S'mores with the kiddos.  Todd just pulled in from work and we have some gigocious marshmallows to roast over the fire pit.