Hey, hey, hey

Well, here's some good news!  Rick heard last week that the first round of layoffs occured last week.  And since we knew nothing about it that means we still have a job!  At least until the fall when we have Round #2.  Yay.

On the family front:

Miss Patti is now approved for the new zoning for her preschool (Nathan has been on hiatus due to these issues) and will be meeting soon to figure out if she needs any updates or changes to her school in order to start up again.  Maybe we'll have preschool again by March?  Nathan has also been having more playdates with his buddies and just loving it!

Rick is trying to find a certified welder to stitch-weld our support beams together downstairs.  We had a bunch of burly men over, was it last Saturday?, who helped lift 550 lb of steel overhead where it now is bolted on to our old I-beam.  We were amazingly grateful to have so much help.  When the guys at church are asked to come out for a move it seems as if you are lucky to get five guys out.  Lifting a beam is not like a move - it won't take longer with less help, it just won't happen.  We figured we needed at least 10 people to come over or they wouldn't be able to lift it.  Rick had 2 co-workers come by (who don't live even remotely close to us - thanks Dave and Matt!) and had so many other guys come by to help that we literally had it up in seconds.  They were so fast that there were a handful of guys who showed up late and missed th show!  But they did come just in time for cinnamon rolls.  :)  As soon as the beams have been welded together we can remove the supports and Rick's hated lally column and we can continue working on the main area of the basement.  I think Rick plans on trying to finish up the back bedroom while he waits on welding.

Rick has been super fabuloso about getting to work by 7 so he can be home at 4:30.  I can't tell you how much that helps out my day!  If he's home after 5 it seems the evening is just shot.  (What would I do with a normal workweek?)  It's nonstop craziness from the time Ashlyn gets home and it seems if we don't eat by 5  then we don't get baths, family time, scriptures, prayers and such done without tears and frustration on all sides.  I really appreciate that he has been so good about getting up and out of here on time.

And on that note - I have been working to get this household running the way I would like.  We are making monthly trips to the thrift shop to donate our purged items and I'm organizing away trying to make things easier to find and use.  I am trying to find a nice schedule for kids/cooking/cleaning/etc that will let me do all the things I would like to do for my family.  I know it is possible and I like being able to work on this now and hope to be in a pretty good position by summer.

We've been trying to get out of homebody mode and have people over for dinner and games about every other weekend.  So far it's been really fun!  We really have been itching to break out Settlers of Catan.  Last week Carla and Mike creamed us (beginner's luck?) but the time before that I actually won!  This happens so rarely that I didn't even notice.  :)  Rick had to tell me that I'd collected enough points and the game was over.

Big plans for Valentine's Day - none.  :)  But Rick does have a meeting about 20-30 min away that morning for church.  What the Sunday School presidency needs regional meetings for I don't know.  And on Valentine's Day?

Ashlyn is a spelling genius.  She now has a pretest each Monday where they give her 10 words to spell sight unseen.  Friday is the post-test and she hasn't missed a Friday word yet!  Last week she was the only one in her class to do it!  Yay!  This week she missed "always" on the pretest - she used 2 "l"s.  And I think I'm over hating her school.  She has shown me that she is really doing well, choosing good things and making good decisions.  I couldn't ask for more.  She really is fabulous.

Lauren is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma.  We haven't had a weight check since 6 months (since her percentile went back up to 10 from 3) so I'm not sure how she's doing.  She is still having a bottle at night when she goes to bed, another around 11ish (at night) and sometimes one more early in the morning.  She doesn't like to drink much during the day.  She should be sleeping through the night  by this point but because of her weight issues in the past I am nervous to cut back her calories - no matter when she's taking them.  I realize that she will most likely start eating more in the day if we do cut her off at night, but I'm too scared that she won't and I am not brave.  In a month she has her 12 month check-up and I will need to see some good percentile numbers there before I think I will have the confidence to do it.  Or maybe the doc can just tell me it will be fine and then I can blame someone besides me if it doesn't work.  She's not walking, or cruising, or talking at this point.  She does love to stand and will walk holding your hands as long as you let her.  And then she will refuse to let go or sit down.   She can make a "number one" with her pointer finger (I love having that picture on their first birthdays) and she claps and will occasionally wave.  She loves to wiggle to music and turn pages in books (but not necessarily when you are finished with that page).  She is such a happy girl and loves her family so much.  She just lights up when she sees Daddy or Ashlyn come home and she loves to play with everyone.

That's it for us!  Hope you're well.