February 2011

(This is one of the pictures from my little photo shoot in the mountains I used for Kevin's birthday present!)

Chloe, Sabastian and Allen

Sandee and I

Laura and I

Ok,it has been way to long since I have posted an update! It took me several tries to remember my login info for my blog!

We have been busy, busy, busy as usual! Kevin busy with work and school for his millwright apprenticeship program, Chloe with school and her first year playing basketball, Josie learning new things every day and keeping us all on our toes, and I have been trying to keep up with the house, a new job and coaching Chloe's bb team!

Last weekend on Superbowl Sunday I was headed out to our friends, Kev was at work and the girls were in the car with me when I pulled up to an over-turned car in the road. I immediately stopped, told the girls to stay in the car, grabbed my phone and ran up to the scene. There was a couple, nearby neighbors that had also just arrived on their 4-wheeler when they heard it happen. I asked if they had called for help, the woman was just trying to get through. I then called our friends, told them what happened and they were on their way. In the meantime 2 other cars pulled up. One of which was a veterinary assistant. She asked if anyone had any towels, so I ran back to the car to check and see what I had. There were 2 boys in the crash. One was already getting out of the car when I first arrived and the other was still in the car. The one outside of the car was sobbing and saying he couldn't feel his fingers and had a large gash across the top of his hand. I turned around to see the other boy, all I could see was a bloody limp arm. I turned to look at the woman on the phone calling for help as if to ask...Is he alive? She whispered, he is concious, but in bad shape. I had the towel from my trunk and no one really looked like they were going to do anything, they were all in shock. So I crawled across the broken glass through the back window. The 18 year old, Mason tried to look up at me. His face looked like hamburger, a large flap of skin hanging off his forehead, and God only knows what coming out of the side of his head. I told him my name, applied the towel with pressure to control the bleeding, and began to talk with him. He had no idea what happened....Did I hit a car? Where am I? Is my friend Lucas ok? Am I going to be ok? I just did my best to keep him calm and keep him talking. It felt like an eternity, but help finally arrived. When they did and EMT crawled in next to me, I explained I have been applying pressure, gave him the kid's name and age, and he took it from there. As I crawled out, went to my friends, the tears were coming on... I had my friend come back to the car with me to get the girls as there was no way through to the other side of the accident. Told her to keep them looking the other way... I got back to my car, looked down for my keys and realized I had the kid's blood and my own all over my hands and arms. I grabbed clothing from a bag I had in the car for Goodwill and tried to clean myself the best I could. I got in the car and backed down the road. Ran up to a nearby house to see if I could park in their driveway, rang the door bell, no answer. Ran back to the car, looked in the sky and there was a helicopter coming in! I parked the car on the side of the road and ran back up to the girls and our friends. We stood for a few minutes and watched the helicopter land, then we hopped in their truck and went back to the house so I could clean up and get my head back together. What an experience! I called Dad and another friend that new we were headed out that way so they wouldn't be worried if the media got a hold of the crash. Good thing I did, it was on the news! After calling Mom and telling her the story, she (the microbiologist she is) said,"You need to call the ER! You have been exposed to his blood!" So I did, I talked to the ER, on-call dr., South Lane Fire and Rescue and the captain that was on the scene....the best answer I got was.... Just make an appointment with your primary care physician! Which I did, and 2 days later I was finally seen! In the appointment the nurse practioner brought in the head of occupational health services at the hospital and she informed me, just as mom did, that I should have been treated within hours of the exposure! I was pissed! So my bloodwork was done and they tracked down the boy flown to Riverbend and tested him for hepatitis and HIV! Scary stuff! So until we had his results, I was given 2 days of a hard core HIV drug. Expensive and nasty side effects! Yesterday I finally got good news that my results were clean and so were his! Today I am thankful the girls and I were not on that road just minutes earlier. I try to usually, but more so now, will I cherish every moment of every day!

Happy Birthday to My Baby

It was September 29th, we were at Greg's college football game. My original due date was September 26th. 3 days overdue and I kept having to go to the bathroom, to what I thought was pee..... Then 3 days later, it was much more apparent that it wasn't urine. It was Tuesday night, Kevin was working his second job at Home Depot and I was at home at the apartment in St. Charles. I called him at work and told him I kept having to change my 'delicates' and he then told me to call the doctor 'just in case'. So I did, they told me I needed to come in to test for amniotic fluid. I called Kev back, told him to come home, we needed to go to the hospital. So when you are pregnant and watching TLC, The Baby Story and Bringing Baby Home, you expect everything to be perfect. To have your bags perfectly packed, to look around your home and think......this will be forever changed when we bring her home.... But no.....I didn't want to go to the hospital that night! I was soooo tired! So we went, checked in, they did the test, nurse came in and said, "Sorry hun, you're not going anywhere, you have a slow leak."

Damn, I thought. No sleep (for 10 more months since she was a terrible sleeper). So there we were about to become parents. Everything started at 9:30 that night. Kevin video taped the monitor measuring my contractions (that were incredibly intense and painful due to the pitocin to induce my labor) and Chloe's heart rate. I could have killed him with the damn camera! First time mommy, super woman that went though lamaze, insisted NO DRUGS! Kevin's mom was there, his sister, and youngest brother. I tried the damn exercise ball, that didn't last long. Chrissy brushed my hair as I sat in the rocking chair. When she stopped I rocked hard, pressing my head into the back of the hard wooden chair. By 1:30 am, the nurse came in and finally talked me into an epidural, I was in so much pain. After sobbing because I 'wasn't strong enough' I accepted the incredibly huge needle to puncture my spine. I thought Kevin was going to pass out. After a short while I was finally relieved from pain, all pain, my legs were numb. I then relaxed in bed with my mother-in-law by my side, in my very-medicated 'happy place' watching Rollie Pollie Ollie. By 9am it was time to start pushing. The nurse had to tell me when I was having a contraction and to push, because my legs were still numb.

32 minutes later Chloe was born, 7 pounds 7 ounces and 21 inches long. Bright ocean blue eyes and blonde hair. My PERFECT baby girl. Kevin cried, we kissed.... this was a PERFECT moment, everything it was suppose to be. So on this day, I reflect and cherish my family, my marriage and the privilege it is to be a mother. I love you Chlo Bug.

Back in the Saddle!

I have had a special request to keep updating this blog. Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Genevieve, I am back in the saddle. We’ll just have to see how it goes. Like I shared with her, it has been almost next to impossible to keep up with this, much less getting together with friends even when they complain about never seeing us. I was also reminded of why I chose to start this to begin with. I love the idea of having this blog to not just share our happenings with friends and family, but for a keepsake especially.

So what’s new? Kevin has been busy with work and school. He has been taking a millwright course at Lane Community College 2 nights a week. He passed both his fall and winter terms with a B+! I am incredibly proud of him and he is constantly commended for his good work at the mill by supervisors and co-workers alike. He just started the spring term with a math class that sounds like is a total joke. So at least he should do well in that class and then be done for the summer! I can’t wait for summer!

Chloe is doing absolutely TERRIFIC in school. She is a ‘Self Manager’. She had to fill out an application, be on a probationary period, and has to turn in a progress report every week. A self manager is a privilege at Latham Elementary. You respect others, yourself, turn in homework, etc. and you are rewarded with getting to be one of the first to go to lunch or recess. Chloe brought home a PERFECT report card last week! She either meets or EXCEEDS every component for her grade level! Kevin and I could not be more proud, we are so blessed. On top of that, Chlo just started baseball. Kevin of course is coaching again (but not the HEAD coach THANK GOD!). This is her first year playing player-pitch. We were going to have her play one more year on coach-pitch, but she was moved up with her buddy Emry. I made a suggestion to the head of little league and we are THE Chicago Cubs this year!!!! Chloe has been rockin at practices! She is hitting well and has quite the arm!

Josie, hmmmm… Stubborn little Josie. Love that girl. She is such a character! She has NO desire to go potty like a big girl! Chloe was so much easier! We are still working on it and will keep trying! She LOVES her babies! When she talks she does this funny, “Me – my baby….” Or
“Me – my finger hurts…” Everything is “Me-my…” She loves to dress her babies and put diapers on them. If someone didn’t know better, walked in our house and looked around, they would think I am a TERRIBLE housekeeper. (Ok, time is limited, I guess I kind of am) but there are always diapers all over! They look like dirty ones too! Josie will use wipes to clean her babies, take the diaper off, roll it, and seal it all up. A little over a month ago Josie moved up to her big-girl bed! She is in a toddler bed now and she loves it. I love it to! When she wakes up in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning she can come and get me rather than stand in her crib going, “Mom! Mom! Mom!” I love rolling over on the weekends to her standing at the bedside with her sleepy eyes and adorable smile.

As for me, I am just trying to keep up with everyone! I start my day at 4:15, meet Rebekah at the gym, workout til 5:30, go gome, make lunches, shower, get Kev out the door, wake the kids, take the kids to the sitter (that takes Chlo to school for me, thank goodness!), work all day, run errands at lunch, after work get the kids, pop dinner in the oven, off to baseball practice, eat dinner, bathtime, and my FAVORITE bedtime! I would not give any of it up! I love it! Someday they will be grown and I will have my own hobbies, so for now I will cherish every moment!

Kevin and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on the weekend of March 13th. It was AMAZING! I am so in love with the guy. It was nice to get away from our crazy lives and enjoy each other. We stayed at the Adobe Resort in Yachats. It was beautiful. We had a Jacuzzi tub in our room right by the window! It was a little tricky trying to get in and out of it during the day! We combed the beach for hours, enjoyed a fantastic seafood dinner, slept with the fire place cranked and window open so we could hear the waves. Ahhhhh… I love thinking about it and can’t wait to back next year!

So I will do my very best to keep up with this! Hope all is well with all of you that check this!

Happy Days

We have been go, go, go lately but a few things going on in my life have helped me take a step back and realize how precious everyday is. A friend of mine that is a breast cancer surviver of 3 years, had a masectomy and recontruction, was just diagnosed with leukemia. So sad, I often take my days for granted. Complaining about being tired and too busy. THANK YOU GOD for that! If that's the worse I have right now, I can handle that!

Another sad event, my father's wife left him and then was served divorce papers last week. Again, its unfortunate its only when these things happen that I open my eyes and realize what I have. I am so blessed to be married to you Kevin, all the petty things I get down on you for are not important! I LOVE YOU. I love you Chloe and Jo. I love you Mom, Dad, the whole Malmstedt clan, and all my friends. Thank you Lord for another hectic day, keep 'em coming!

On a fun note, we went to our very first Oregon Ducks football game this weekend! What a blast! We tailgated with some great friends, jello-shots and good food! During the game we enjoyed our over-priced hot chocolate. Both girls loved the big-game experience. Chloe just sat there and took it all in with big eyes and a huge smile. Josie just kept yelling, "Donald Duck!!!" as the mascot ran the field. It was hysterical! Dad came with and enjoyed his FIRST big game ever! He had a great time. I thought he would be ready to go before us, I was wrong! We were calling him and Sandy (a friend's mom) over and over on their phones! It was late, cold and we wanted to beat traffic. Go figure!

The Ducks played Arizona State Sun Devils and won!

Now we're back to the same old, GO BEARS!!!! They play Phili this next weekend. We are hoping they'll play better than how they have been!

Chloe plays at Autzen (Ducks stadium) next weekend so I will post more pictures then!

TTFN (TaTa for now!!)

Fall is Here

Fall is here and in full swing, just like us. If its not work, its school, football practice, football games, or the flu! Both girls were recently sick with the flu, consisting of a fever over 103, cough, runny nose, and body aches. It was terrible. I hate seeing them so sick, but there's also something special about comforting, cuddling and holding my precious babies too. I guess now that they are getting older and more independent I don't feel as needed. Of course I know I am, as an 8 year old and a 2 year old certaintly cannot take care of themselves, but that 'I need my mommy' moment I miss.

Hope to post more soon, gotta fly....

Back in the Swing...

Chloe is in 2nd grade this year! Had her first day Wednesday. The highlight of the day was being in 2nd grade (not 1st) and being able to have chocolate milk EVERYDAY if they so choose! Unlike when you are in first grade you can only choose chocolate milk on Fridays! Other than that recess is still the favorite time of the day....Chloe's teacher is one spoke very highly of by the administrators I work with. Her name is Mrs. Molly Northrup.

We have been soooo incredibley super duper busy..... School....work...football practice.....more work ....more football crap.....ahhhhhhhhh!

So Kevin is head coaching Chloe's football team, just took on a new position at work as a millwright at Weyerhaeuser.... I am working like crazy at the school district office (beginning of the school year=CRAZY!), Josie is starting to potty train....

I am so tired my eyes are crossing as I type.

Life is good, love family, love fall...GO BEARS.....

Hope to have for an update sometime soon!

With love,

Jess

Summertime!

The last few months have been crazy! Chloe finished the first grade with flying colors, Josie came barreling into ‘the terrible twos’, Kevin has been keeping busy with work and all his typical projects. I kept busy with mono, a sinus infection and an eye infection for a couple weeks in June….
We’re all well now, (knock on wood) and enjoying summer. We just took a little vacation over the fourth. We went to Loon Lake for 4 days, came back to Cottage Grove for a day, then back to the coast to do some perch fishing, then to Wildlife Safari…
We have also been spending quite a bit of time at the lake with our friends the Barkers. Weekends full of good friends, drink, boating, sunshine and water sports! It doesn’t get any better!
Last Saturday I had my first race since I was sick with mono. It was only a 5K, but I noticed how exhausted I was after! I am recovering as fast as I possibly can, I do not have time for sickness! I am starting to train for the ‘Run the Dam Loop’ race which is a 15K around the Cottage Grove Lake. I am excited and hoping I will be able to achieve a good time.
Summer is flying by, Josie and Chloe are constantly fighting and I am ready to pull my hair out of my head and send Chloe back to school. I never thought I would say that…. Now I know why parents are always happy to see the beginning of the school year in sight! Then come the fall Chloe will be playing football again. Mitey Mites this year! Josie has turned into a very strong willed little girl! She talks tons and is just hysterical to watch carry on in her own little language!
We are hoping to take some more camping trips this summer on the weekends Kevin is laid off and just enjoy every little quarrel and kiss with the girls that we can! I will try to be better about updates….Until I ran into Joni I didn’t realize people still check our blog!