Girls Just Love Shoes!

A few months ago we couldn't get shoes on Tralee's feet if our lives' depended on it. In fact, if she even saw a pair of shoes she thought we would try to put on her she would start to cry. Boy, things have changed. I think her "I'm-a-girl-so-I-must-be-obsessed-with-shoes" gene has FINALLY developed. It must have been a little slow, but now our little girl LOVES shoes! If she sees ANY pair she immediately picks them up and hands them to us, which means she wants them on. It doesn't matter if they're too big or small, they don't match, she already has a pair on, or it's almost time for bed and there's no need for shoes. Tralee just loves them. This is all much to Jim's dismay. A few months ago he was happy with glee thinking that his daughter didn't care for shoes. Now he's a little worried. After living with me for almost six years he understands the obsession that comes over women and their need for cute new shoes. Now he'll have two girls who love shoes under his roof. Just the other day I found a super cute pair of church shoes for Tralee on clearance. She didn't have any church shoes that fit, so I bought them, and once home I immediately showed Tralee them. She wanted them on right away. I was so excited and Jim even admitted I got a steal of a deal and that the shoes were cute!

Last night Tralee really wanted her Daddy's shoes on. So we captured a few pictures of the experience. It was cute. Excuse her appearance in the pictures. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Tralee doesn't like to waist time with diaper changes, so she ran away before I got her pants back on. Before I got them back on, she decided to step into her Daddy's shoes. I didn't want to waist this photo opportunity just to properly dress her, so the pictures are what they are. Also, much to my dismay right after I put Tralee in her jammies, she found some chocolate. I have no idea where, but she also has chocolate stains on her shirt. What's a mom to do? Just snap cute pictures I guess, regardless of what Tralee looks like! She's pretty darn cute, even with her neglected appearance! She was so proud to have her Daddy's shoes on.

Crafty Crafty

I took a cabinet door Jim wasn't using, painted it, and had Jim's cousin cut out a vinyl saying for me. It's really nice having someone nearby with a vinyl cutting machine. I would love to have one, but they're pretty pricey. So, until then I'll let Cathy be my vinyl go-to girl. Anyways, I think the craft turned out pretty nice. Don't you?

Diaper Change Anyone?

Tralee does not like diaper changes. It just takes up too much of her precious time. so, when that all-too-familiar stench is in the air and you ask her, "Do you need a change?" she TAKES OFF!! Sometimes all you need to do is go get a diaper, Tralee sees what is about to happen and OFF SHE GOES!!! It's pretty cute. Usually as soon as you catch her, and the diaper change takes place, she cries, wiggles, squirms, and does just about anything to get away. It's quite the process, especially if she pooped.

This morning's diaper change process was no different. I asked her if she needed a change (which she obviously did) and she kept running away. I decided to catch it on film. This was the third time I asked Tralee if she made a stinky. I don't know if you'll be able to hear it, but as she runs away she does a weird growling sound. It's as if she's annoyed and letting me know it!

Sick Girl

Tralee has an ear infection. I took her to the doctor today, because the cold she's been fighting for almost a month seemed to take a turn for the worst. Tralee hasn't been sleeping well. First it's too difficult for her to fall asleep, because of all the congestion. Then when she FINALLY doses off, she wakes up twenty minutes later from a coughing fit, and the cycle starts over again. I was up with her from 3:30 am until 5:30 am. I think she just gave up on sleeping, because she couldn't get comfortable with all the stuffiness. She finally dozed off, and when she woke up this morning her eyes were swollen. The doctor said it's because all the fluids are built up in her sinuses and that's blocking off her tear ducts. Poor baby! It's been an exhausting, frustrating, and sad few weeks watching Tralee suffer. I would have taken her to the Doctor sooner, but it seemed as though she was getting better. I guess her little anti-bodies couldn't quite fight off her illness, so it took over. Her Doctor prescribed some medicine to help join the battle. Hopefully this stupid cold will FINALLY go away! It's a dirty, yucky, stinky, infection and I want it to DIE!!! I'm usually a make love not war kind of person, but I want this infection to go to H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks and leave Tralee alone. She needs to be healthy again.

Tralee DID NOT like the doctor's office. Poor Dr. Babel (who I love) had to deal with Tralee SCREAMING the whole time. Tralee doesn't like strangers, and she REALLY doesn't like it when strangers try to touch her or hold her. So, when he was listening to her heart beat, even though I was holding her, she still freaked! It was even worse when he looked into her ears. She was fighting so hard, we had to lay Tralee on the table, while the Dr. held her head still, and I held her arms down. The whole time she was screaming. MY GOODNESS! She probably wouldn't have been so bad, if she felt better and got enough sleep. But she already had two strikes against her going into the doctor's office. Having a strange Nurse and Doctor examine her just put it over the top. She was DONE!

I've already given Tralee her first dose of medicine, and she chased it down with some infant's Tylenol. So. . . hopefully in a few days she'll start getting her health back. I can't wait to have a healthy daughter again.

Punch Balloon

My Mom sent Tralee a few little gifts for Easter. The punch balloon was one of them. After watching us do it, Tralee decided to take a turn punching the balloon. It's pretty cute to watch her do it.

New Calling

I was released from being a Visiting Teaching Supervisor and was called to the Primary Presidency. I'm going to be the Secretary for Primary! I'm excited and nervous. I was getting a little too comfortable just making phone calls a few times a month. Heavenly Father must have known I needed a new opportunity for growth! I have now idea what my new calling will involve, but I'm excited for the opportunity.

Easter Fun!

This was Tralee's second Easter, and the first one she got into a little bit. This was especially exciting for her Mommy and Daddy.

Saturday afternoon we headed over to Jim's Uncle house in Eagle where he was hosting the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Usually Tricia does it, but she as out of town, so Dave and his wife Becky took it upon themselves to host this event. We really appreciate them for doing this, as we all had a lot of fun. Here is Tralee and two of her second cousins traipsing off to find some fun before the Easter Egg Hunt. Here is Tralee playing in the sand before finding eggs. You can see some eggs in the background.

In case you don't know, Jim's Mom comes from a family of twelve kids. Eleven girls, and one boy. Dave is the ONE boy. Each of the original twelve have kids, and some of their kids have kids. So, when you plan a party on that side of the family LOADS of people show up. Some that I don't even know all that well, and I've been married into the family for almost six years. Heck. . . Jim doesn't even know some of his cousins all that well either. Anyways, the Easter Egg Hunt was no exception to the quantity of people you would expect from such a large family. Good thing everyone was prepared, and there were enough eggs for everyone.

Dave and Becky have a nice big house, and a nice big yard to go with it. So, there was enough room for everyone, and enough room to hide TONS AND TONS of eggs. The upper part of their back yard was designated for children six and under, while the bottom yard was for kids seven and over. As soon as we got the okay, Jim and I took Tralee to search for eggs.


I was surprised at how quickly Tralee understood what to do. I mean, she's only 14 months old, and as soon as we showed her an egg and told her to put it in her basket, she walked right over to it, and did what was asked. After a while we didn't have to tell her what to do, she just figured it out on her own. We pointed to eggs for her, but she did the rest of the work. WHAT A SMARTY PANTS!! I love the picture above. She's so proud of all her eggs! We only ran into troubles after she discovered that there was candy in each egg. So, instead of searching, she just wanted to eat her treasure after each egg was found. We had to keep her moving, or she might not have discovered all that many eggs. And lets face it, Jim and I wanted her to find eggs not only for her, but because there were Bottle Caps in some of them, and we LOVE bottle caps! In the end Tralee did all right. She really enjoyed herself! Here is a collage of her picking up and egg and transferring it into her basket.
These next two are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Jim is helping Tralee find eggs in the tree. Look at how happy Tralee's face is!!



When all the eggs were found (it took all of 15 minutes or so) it was time for dinner. Everyone was asked to bring something, so there was plenty of food. Dave and Becky supplied the hot dogs and hamburgers, and everyone ate a nice lunch.


After I had a sufficient amount of grub, I visited with some of Jim's cousins while Jim and some more cousins played volleyball, while kids ran around, jumped on the tramp, and others visited. We left after a while, and I must say the Easter Egg Hunt was a success! Tralee was pooped!

Easter Morning Tralee woke us up. We decided to put out her little Easter Basket with some goodies in the middle of our living room floor and let her discover it on her own. I hoped she would do it before church, because "the Easter Bunny" put some healthy snacks in there for her to eat while at church. She found it, and disregarded the healthy snacks and went right for the chocolate! She's a girl after her daddy's heart! Jim's the chocoholic in this family. I can take it or leave it. More often than not I'll take it, but Jim goes through withdrawals if he doesn't get chocolate all that often. I think we decided that from now on we might do the Easter Bunny thing on Saturday, and save Sunday for the gospel aspect of Easter. We'll see.

Easter afternoon Jim's Aunt Nona (the eldest of the original 12) invited us over for Easter Dinner. Some of her kids and their kids were there. It was a nice bunch, and Jim's Grandma Callister even showed up. She's the one that was brave enough to have 12 kids in the first place. We asked her what some of her favorite Easter memories were. She explained that she and her sister ALWAYS got a nice Easter dress. She also explained that her favorite treat from her Easter Basket was a candy called "Chicken Bones." Ever heard of it? She said it was like a peanut buttery, flaky candy. Hmmm. . . sounds interesting.
Oh. . . I have to note that at church on Sunday, Tralee saw some kids holding Easter eggs, and she ran up to them all excited. She must have remembered Saturday's festivities. She looked a little forlorn when the kids didn't hand over their eggs to her. There's always next year Tralee.

So, that pretty much sums up our Easter.

Naked Time Potty Time

Tralee loves to be naked. Changing her diaper has turned into a real struggle. As soon as she feels the sweet freedom of a bare bum, she does everything in her power to avoid getting trapped into another diapered experience. To avoid her running away after we take her diaper off, we try to change her on her changing table, because she's a bit more cautious up there. However, this morning I was changing her downstairs on the couch. As soon as her diaper was off, she wiggled and squirmed until I gave up and decided to let her bum have a minute or two of sweet naked freedom. BIG MISTAKE! Jim and I were watching her run around, as happy as can be when all of a sudden she stopped and stood still. Then it happened: SHE PEED. . . on the CARPET!! She looked a little sheepish afterwards as I explained that's why I keep her in diapers. I didn't get mad, I actually laughed. It was kind of funny. Plus, she didn't struggle to get away when I put her diaper on. She just laid there with an embarrassed look on her face. Luckily it was just a little peep, not a big one, because cleaning it up wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. AND luckily it wasn't a poo! So. . . that's our day so far.
This afternoon we're going to Jim's Uncle's house for an Easter Egg hunt. Usually Jim's Mom does the egg hunt, but she's out of town this year. So, we're off to Eagle to hunt Easter Eggs. I made Mellow Jello to bring and Red Velvet Cup Cakes. I've wanted to try the red velvet recipe for a few weeks, but never did because I knew if I made them, I would eat them. So, this was the perfect occasion to try them. I made them, and now I can give them away. They turned out great!

So there you go and there you are.

3-5 Servings a Day

I'm trying to be really health conscience lately. Not only to lose weight, but because the more I read about certain "power foods" the more impressed I am. For example, I started adding flax seed meal to Jim and my morning smoothie because not only is it rich in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, it has been linked to fight cancer. Specifically colon cancer and breast cancer. I can hardly tell the flax seed meal is in my smoothie, and I enjoy the extra little crunch it adds.

In my journey to become more healthy, I've pursed through Jessica Seinfeld's book. Deceptively Delicious. If you're not familiar, the idea behind the book is hiding veggie purees in food. She came up with the concept because she had picky eaters in her family, and she needed to find a way to get her kids to eat their veggies. You hide the puree in food similar in color. For example pureed carrots or squash would go well with mac 'n cheese since it's already orange.
Now, I don't really have a problem eating my veggies, but I know I probably don't eat 3 to 5 servings a day. I usually have fruit with breakfast and lunch, and do the veggie thing at dinner. So, I thought following Jessica's advice would benefit me and my family. So, yesterday while Tralee was napping, I steamed and pureed spinach, cauliflower (my least favorite veggie), and carrots. I added 1 cup of the cauliflower puree to our mashed potatoes at dinner. I couldn't even tell the difference! I still had a side of steamed spinach as well. My mom was concerned I wouldn't offer veggies to Tralee, and only hide them in other foods. Not the case, I'm still doing veggies, but I'm also pumping up my family's veggie consumption by adding the purees to foods we enjoy. I'll add the cauliflower puree to scrambled eggs. For dinner tonight I'm making taco soup. I'm going to add carrot puree and spinach puree to that and see how it turns out. I'm excited about the prospect! I'm also going to try brownies with carrot and spinach purees, and Italian Meatloaf made with ground turkey and carrot puree. We'll see how they all turn out! Here are the fruits of my labor from yesterdary. Each bag is 1/2 cup.
Here's Tralee enjoying some mashed potatoes with cauliflower puree. She had already eaten dinner, this was her second helping of potatoes. What a hungry girl! I had to help her eat, or this would have taken forever. She likes to do things herself, but she hasn't quite mastered the spoon yet, as you can see.

After dinner I bathed Tralee, then I went to the Y to work out. I had a nice work-out. I felt the burn!! Jim got Tralee to bed while I was gone. So nice!

Now to play catch up:

Last Sunday we changed Tralee out of her church clothes, and a few minutes later she was chasing Corky around with her church dress. It seemed as though Tralee wanted Corky to play dress-up. We couldn't resist, so we helped Tralee by putting Corky in Tralee's dress. Tralee was quite thrilled, but Corky was TICKED OFF!! It was pretty funny.

That's all for now.

Joni Lee

Today's my sister-in-law's Birthday. She's child number five out of six in the original Jacobs' clan. And, from watching some old Jacobs' family videos, she was by far the cutest of the bunch! No offense to any other Jacobs' children, but Jim agrees with me on this one. Joni was a doll! A blond, lurpy, couldn't say her r's doll! Now Joni's still as cute as can be! She's a blast to be around, and whenever I'm with her I find myself laughing.The first time I met Joni, was also my first trip up to Canada. I was resting in a bedroom and in walked Joni! She jumped on the bed, gave me a big hug and kiss, and told me how happy she was I was going to marry Jim. How's that for an introduction? There was no awkward hand shakes or conversation, I was immediately just one of the family. It's safe to say I liked Joni from the start. I don't get to see Joni all that often, but when I do there's always fun to be had. So, wherever she is on this day of days, and whatever she's doing I hope she's happy.

Happy Birthday Joni Lee Jacobs!

You Just Never Know

Today was fun and a bit alarming.

I called Carey, one of Jim's cousin's wives I hang out with, and asked her if she and her girls wanted to go swimming at the Y with Tralee and me. She agreed and we had a nice time with our little girls. She has an eight-month-old and three-year-old. Carey came to our house, we hung out for a bit, and then we packed up the girls and left to go swimming.

Tralee loved being in the water. She walked right into the beach area, and almost ran into deeper waters. The girl has no fear! She kept trying to get me to let go of her. Funny girl! What was so interesting is how comfortable Tralee became floating in the water. She kept arching her back and wanting to lay in the water as I held her. I barley had to support her as I just let her float. She loved it! However, after about an hour I asked Tralee if she was done, and she signed back "Done!" So we got out of the water, and left to go back home. Carey and her daughters came with and we were all enjoying just hanging out when Carey's phone rang.

I knew something wasn't quite right when Carey's face went white and she exclaimed, "WHAT!?!?" into her phone. She immediatly walked to the door and started putting on her shoes. My heart sank as I realized something was very wrong. When Carey got off the phone she let me know her husband was in the hospital. All she knew was he had been crushed by some machinery while working. She was reacting how any wife would react after getting this news. I did what any friend would do, and offered my services. . . what could I do to help? In the middle of this Carey got another phone call which let her know that her husband was conscience, and it wasn't as bad as we first thought. PHEW!!! I drove to the hosptial while Carey followed me as she wasn't familiar with the area we live in. Then I stayed and watched her girls while she saw her husband. He was fine, banged, bruised, and stitched up, but able to leave the hospital that night. Another big PHEW!! I stayed in the waiting room the whole time. Tralee napped for the first bit, so watching three kids ages three and under wasn't all that bad.

In case you're wondering what happened to Trenton, I guess while working a 1600 pound dog kennel tipped over and fell on him (there might have been more than one, but I'm not sure). He was able to catch one last breath that he used to call for help on his radio. Luckily he had his radio on him! A woman ran fast and had to use a fork lift to get the kennel(s) off of him. Carey told me that Trenton said they got to him just in time. If he was stuck like that any longer he might not have made it. SCARRY! Now, this is a third person telling the story, so my facts might not be straight. . . just so you know.

After today's events I'm reminded about how fleating our life on Earth is. We live moment to moment, never really knowing what the heavens will dish out. We have experiences like today's that remind us how lucky we are for what we're blessed with. I'm thankful my friend's husband is okay, and that he had enough oxygen to call for help. I'm thankful for my and my family's health. I'm thankful for my husband and how hard he works for his family. I'm thankful for all the moments Heavenly Father sent an angel to protect me or a loved one, and I didn't realize it -- I'm sure there are pleanty of these moments.

When I left the hospital I told Carey that the next time we hang out, we have to make our husband's swear to us that they won't get hurt so that we can finish having a fun day wihout any alarming distractions.

So, that was my day. I'm glad that it ended happy!

Out to Eat!

It's been so long since we've been out to eat. So, I didn't complain at all when Jim came home from work and said, "Let's go out to eat!" I was especially glad because I hadn't figured out what to cook yet.

I have days where my meals are completley planed out, and I really enjoy being in the kitchen. Then I have days where I just don't want to cook and have absolutley no motivation to do so. Yesterday was one of those days, so going out to eat was a treat!

We went to TGI Fridays. Jim ordered ribs, I ordered a sandwich. Both were good. We ordered Tralee a juice, and she sampled off of both of our plates. It was a nice time.

When we got home, Jim started watching an NBA basketball game, and I got ready to go work out. I've been doing the stair climber at the Y. That thing kicks my butt! It's not just a stair stepper, but actual stairs that move like an escalator that you continuously climb. After that I did some weights, sit-ups, I biked, then I went and did more sit-ups. I'm determined to be swim suit ready this summer! I really wanted to just stay at home and be lazy last night, but then I thought of what I looked like in a swimsuit and decided I better go work out.

I have to go grocery shoppping today, and then I want to think of something fun to do. Maybe Tralee and I will go swimming at the Y!

Later Gator!

Airhead

I'm an airhead! This is not the first time I've come to this realization. In fact, when I was in sixth grade I lip sang to the song "I'm too Ditzy" sung to the tune of "I'm too Sexy" for a music class talent show. My peers found it hilarious, I was just being me.



Not too long after Jim and I were married we got a nice camcorder from my parents as a Christmas present. We used it on Christmas morning at Jim's sisters house, it worked great! After the excitement of opening presents subsided, everyone in our party decided to go ice skating. We packed up our snow clothes, ice skates, and sledding gear, and headed outside for some winterly fun. I wanted to bring our nice new camcorder, so I grabbed it as I was heading out the door, along with my other snow gear. Jim and I walked to the car with some of our nieces, and I set some stuff on top of the car, so we could strap in the little girls, and pack in the rest of our gear. Then we were off! Everyone was happy and things were going great until cars passing us started honking and waving at us. "That's odd!" I thought. Then I heard the "CLUNK. CLUNK." Which made me realize I forgot to grab our nice new camcorder from on top of the car. "THE CAMCORDER!" I screamed. Jim pulled over, and I quickly got out to survey the damage. Luckily for me the camara was in its protective case, but while tumbling off the top of our car it fell out. Still, there was only minor damage done to it. The major damage was done to my ego as I sheepishly got back in the car to have my, not-so-pleased husband exasperate to me, and everyone else, the fact that I was an airhead.

A few years after this incident I was filling my car up with gas, while talking to my mother on my cell phone. (I know I know, you're not supposed to talk and gas up at the same time.) After the fueling was finished I climbed back into the car, still talking to my mother, and happily drove off. Then I heard it, the all to familiar "CLUNK. CLUNK." I looked in my rear-view mirror to see my wallet in the middle of the fairly busy road. You may think this is bad enough, but it gets SO MUCH worse! I pulled over, told my mom I had to go, and ran backwards to retrieve my wallet that had opened and cards and receipts were surrounding it. I gathered the remnants I could, all the while checking to make sure an on coming car wasn't going to smack into me, then I stood up and turned back towards my car. . . only to see it rolling away!!! "CRAP!!!" I thought. "I left my manual car in neutral!" And wouldn't you know it, I was just lucky enough to park on a slight downward slope. It was going on a joyride all by itself. It had rolled off the side of the road, rolled past both lanes, and was heading towards the suicide lane. The next lane after that was oncoming traffic! I took off towards the car, completely forgetting about the traffic behind me. I was only thinking of getting to the car before it rolled into on-coming traffic. . . which it was!!! I must have had an adrenaline rush, because I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. I made it to the car just as it was about to leave the suicide lane and crash into a burgundy Cadillac that a confused old lady was driving. At this point I still didn't realize there were cars behind me witnessing the most recklessly embarrassing event of my life. I quickly started my car, regained whatever composure I could, and slowly continued to my destination. I drove slowly to give all the cars that witnessed this event a chance to pass me, and because I was shaking so badly from the adrenaline rush I didn't dare drive any faster than necessary. I call this moment my "Mission Impossible for the Blond."

Today I had another airhead moment that brought these other two moments flooding back into my memory. Tralee and I were heading towards the bank when I heard, you guessed it, "CLUNK. CLUNK." I wasn't all that surprised when I looked in my rear-view mirror to see a book laying in the middle of the road. You might think that for a silly book, I would just leave it. However, it was an art book I found while digging through the garage yesterday. I set it on the roof of my car thinking it would be fun to look at the pictures with Tralee. Obviously I forgot I had set it there. Anyways, I like books and I like art. I like them so much that I decided to turn around and retrieve the book I had forgot about. It took a minute for me to find a place I could safely park and quickly retrieve my book. I found it just in time for a big ol' truck to run over my art book, and tear it apart. A few pages of art went sailing off in the wind, but I retrieved most of the book and although it's torn apart, the pictures still look nice. So, I think I'll save what's left of the book to do crafts with Tralee when she's older. Until then we can still look at the pictures of art.

So, you see, I'm an airhead! For those of you who are thinking of calling Child Protective Services in fear that I'll place Tralee on top of the car and drive off, don't worry. When it comes to Tralee I'm extremely cautious. In fact, I think I'm so totally obsessed with Tralee's safety that Jim often accuses me of "hovering." However when it comes to possessions. . . well lets just say books, wallets, and camcorders better watch out! Also, if you have an extremely rare or valuable possession, I'm not to be trusted with it. Let's just leave it at that!

Poem from Jim

So, I'm a horrible wife and didn't do anything to celebrate our first kiss, except post about it on my blog. I did give Jim lots of kisses though. So, hopefully that will be enough.

When Jim got home from work he handed me a little card. There was a picture of a leprechaun mooning me on the front of it, then you opened it up and it said, "top of the moonin' to ya!" Then, as Jim always does in cards, he wrote me a poem. It said,

"clovers and green!
Some berries are blue!
Do you remember the 1st day
That I kissed you?

I love you baby nose!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jim"

So cute!

Jim watched Tralee last night so I could go work out. We both fell off the bandwagon (work-out wise) when we got sick. Now we're starting up again. I haven't weighed myself lately, because I don't want to know what happened when I stopped working out. I also didn't really watch what I ate while I was sick, because I just didn't care. Well. . . I care again. I've been eating healthy (since yesterday) and I plan to workout at least three times a week. So. . . hopefully Jim and I can both stay healthy so we can get bathing suit bods for summer.

That's all I have to say about that.

A Very Special St. Paddy's Day

Today is very special. Not only is it my brother Jimmy's and his wife Amy's wedding anniversary, but it's the anniversary of Jim and my first kiss. AND . . . to bring it all together it's St. Paddy's Day! Oh. . . and it's our niece's Colleen's first birthday. Can this day hold anymore excitement? I don't think it can!



For those of you who don't know the story of Jim and my first kiss, I'll explain it to you.



It was the year 2001, and I was sitting in my dorm room with another fella who I was friends with. We were chit-chatting when I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door to have Jim pushed in by a few of his buddies. The guy I was friends with left when Jim came in, and Jim and I started talking. Jim handed me a sour gum ball and said, "Happy St. Paddy's Day!" I guess he was handing out candy, because since he served a mission in Ireland, St. Paddy's Day is special to him. Anywho, I put the gum ball in my mouth, spit it out and said, "Ouch, that hurt my tongue!" Jim jokingly replied, "I'll kiss it better." I thought to myself, "he's not really going to kiss me, is he?" Jim said while I was thinking that, he was thinking, "She's not really going to let me kiss her, is she?" Well, we ended up kissing! Then Jim asked me out on a date. While I was getting ready he went out into the hallway with a big grin on his face to meet up with his friends. His friends took one look at Jim's face and asked, "Did you kiss her!?!" Jim just smiled, they all freaked out, and Jim and I left for a group date. So there you go.

Now, there's one more sad part to this story, and a happy ending.

After Jim and I dated for a bit, I broke up with him for stupid reasons on my behalf (this is a whole other story). So, when I wasn't returning Jim's phone calls, he was so sad! Then one night I came home and found a single sour gum ball taped to my door. Later on Jim told me he had put it there, in hopes that it would make me smile. Poor guy, I broke his heart!

Now here's the happy ending. After Jim and I were engaged I was leaving work and walking towards Jim's car (he let me drive it, because I didn't have one). It hadn't even occurred to me that it was St. Patrick's Day, and the 1st anniversary of our first kiss. So, when I got to the car and found sour gum balls scattered everywhere I was a little confused. Then I saw a card taped to the steering wheel. The card said, "Tis the luck of the Irish that brought us together. . . .'Tis the love of a lifetime that will keep us this way." Then Jim wrote, "I'll always be there to kiss it better. Happy First Kiss Anniversary! Love Jim" Isn't that cute? Anyways, now St. Paddy's Day has a special meaning for us. We almost always do something cute for each other today. Last year we exchanged cards and treats. This year. . . I'm not sure. I better think of something!



Well, Happy Birthday to Colleen! Happy Anniversary to Jim and Amy! Happy First Kiss Jim! Happy St. Paddy's Day Everyone Else!

Daddy's Home!

Burk Babysitting

I watched some of Jim's Aunt's kids today. It was pretty fun. They have a little girl a few days younger than Tralee, and it's cute to watch them interact. Their daughter Brinley is so well behaved compared to Tralee. She doesn't cry/whine when her mom leaves. In fact, it didn't even seem like she realized her Mom was going. She just wandered around. Tralee keeps a radius on me. If I get too far away it's like something inside her goes off, and she goes into crisis mode looking for me. When I leave Tralee with anyone for even a minute, she starts wailing.

When we were at the Mom's luncheon yesterday Tralee started climbing the stairs, and another Mom went to go pick her up. As soon as Tralee realized someone other than her mother would dare to come near her, she started running/hiding her face from the other mom to get away from her. As soon as the mom picked her up, Tralee started crying until she was back in my arms again. CRAZY KID! It's not like I RUN to her every time she cries. I let her calm herself down, or find her way back to me on her own. So, I don't think it's completely my fault that she is the way she is. Part of the problem is it's just her and me all day everyday, so she's used to that dynamic. Oh well, hopefully she'll grow out of this Mommy phase soon. It's difficult on me, because I know of fun and cute she can be. But, if anyone else tries to get in on the cuteness Tralee turns into a clinging crying mess!

One funny thing happened at the Mom's lunch yesterday. Someone was playing peak-a-boo with Tralee, and she wasn't quite ready to warm up to this person yet. So, without looking she was scooting back towards my lap. Michelle was between me and Tralee, so Michelle picked up Tralee without letting her see who it was. Tralee started hugging, laughing, and snuggeling with Michelle like she thought it was me, and she was playing and laughing with the person playing peak-a-boo with her. We all knew that Tralee didn't know an imposter Mommy was holding her. We all waited to see how Tralee would react when she realized she was being lovey-dovey to someone other than me. It took a few minutes, but Tralee turned to me with a smile on her face, and then her face went from smile to utter confusion in less than a second. Then she turned towards Michelle's face with a "Oh no, who's been holding me" look on her face. As soon as she put two and two together she started crying. It was almost like she was crying more out of embarrassment than fear. We all started laughing, and Tralee managed to find her way back to her real mommy. It was cute!

I went to Michelle's today to watch her kids. I took the babies for a walk, while Spencer rode around on his bike. Then we played outside until the girls got cold/cranky. So I took the kids in, fed them, put the girls down for a nap, and just hung out with Spencer until Michelle returned. It was a nice day.


Now I'm home again. Jim didn't make it back yet, so we had to schedule a make-up game for bowling night. He thought he might be back in time, but there's still a lot to do. Jim said the house is over 12,000 square feet. CRAZY! Part of the problem is the people who delivered the cabinets put them in the basement. Jim had to carry all the cabinets from the basement to the main part of the house before he could start installing. Poor guy! That took up a lot of time. Who would put cabinets in the basement? Stupid heads!

Well, I'm going to post some pictures and call it a night!

Raincoat

Last year I found a cute raincoat for Tralee on clearance at Walmart. I think I got it for $7.00. It's so cute! Today was raining, so I thought it was the perfect time to break it in! Tralee was just happy to go outside. She loves going outside! She'll sit by the sliding door going into our backyard area and stare into the distance with a faraway look on her face. When Jim leaves for work, she'll run towards the door in hopes that Jim will take her with him. As soon as Jim waves bye-bye and closes the door Tralee's disappointment is apparent by her tears. Since the weather is getting nicer I try to take her out at least a few times a day and let her wander around. Daddy also takes Tralee out when he gets home from work. She just loves it!

I'm starting to feel like myself again. I'm at the end stage of a cold where your body is trying to get rid of all that gross stuff. I'm coughing a lot, but I feel better. So I'm thankful for that!

Since I felt better today, I let Tralee wander around outside for a while with her new cute jacket. Afterwards we left for Theresa's house. Theresa is one of Jim's cousins, and she invited a lot of stay-at-home moms in the family over to her house for a "Mom's Lunch." There were 5 Moms that showed up, and a dozen kids or so. We let the kids play, while the mom's chit-chatted. We ate homemade pizza, salad, veggies and dip, fruit, cookies, and drank lemon-aid and water. It was fun. Plus, since Theresa has eight kids, she had some hand-me-down clothes for some of us with younger kids. I found some cute clothes for Tralee to wear. YAY!

It was a fun day. Tralee fell asleep on the way home, and now I'm sitting here wondering what to do tonight. Jim's gone installing cabinets in McCall. He won't be back until tomorrow. I'll miss him tonight, but I'm glad he's getting more work. We've been blessed with a cabinet company that wants to use Jim as their main installer. They pay really well, and want Jim to join their golf league. So it's a win-win situation! Jim's excited about the golf league, and I'm excited that Jim will stay busy with work. These last few months have been really slow work wise. We know the only reason we've been able to scrape by is the fact that we pay our tithing. So, we're grateful for all the work Jim receives!

Anyhow, all is well with the Jacobs Clan.

North and South

I just finished watching North and South, BBC's adaptation to Elizabeth Glaskell's novel. I LOVED IT! To anyone who also loves A&E's version of Pride and Prejudice, I highly recommend North and South. There's the same "will they ever get together?" going on in this story as there is in Pride and Prejudice There's another movie based on a book by Elizabeth Glaskell called Wives and Daughters. I've added that to the top of our Netflix as soon as I finished watching North and South. It was a bit long, but since I'm not feeling my best, I felt absolutely no guilt staying in my P.J's and watching it. I paused it several times to play/feed/read/bath Tralee, but I lucked out during the last 1 1/2 episodes while Tralee took a nap. That was the best part anyways! I just wanted to recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't already seen it, and who enjoys movies/books from the Victorian (I believe) period.

Birthday Card

Jim got a birthday card from his mother, that sings the song "Shout" when you open it. Tralee likes to open and close the card and hear the song play. Almost every time the card opens Tralee starts dancing. It's really cute. I got a bit of it on film, but you know kids never do things EXACTLY they way they do them when a camera's not in their face. Anyways, you get the jist of it, and it's pretty cute!



I'll also post a few pictures from Jim's lame-o birthday. We were all sick, and I never even got around to making him a cake. So, at around 6:00pm Jim says, "Oh well, it's already six and I guess I won't get a birthday cake." I felt so guilty that I drove to Walmart and picked him up a frozen cheesecake. I promised him that when we're all feeling better (hopefully by this weekend) I'll make him a wonderful birthday cake, and we'll go out and do something fun. Poor guy.

The other sucky thing that happened on Jim's birthday is Tralee fell out of a Costco shopping cart! After spending the morning on the couch coughing, sneezing, and feeling sick, Jim and I decided we should at least TRY and do something for his birthday. So, we went out for pizza, and decided to stop by Costco and walk around. Tralee doesn't sit really well strapped in, in the front of carts, and she usually squirms her way out of the restraint. So, I thought I could but her in the main part of the cart, where she could stand. I've done this several times before, but I don't think I'll ever do it again. We were slowly walking down an isle, Jim was up by Tralee, and I was watching her as I pushed the cart. I don't really understand how it happened, and it happened SO fast, but all of a sudden I see Tralee falling out of the cart! Jim and I both reached for her, but she tumbled out, did a summer-salt mid air, and landed on her back. I think an angel must have given her a soft landing, because for her height it was a long fall onto a hard cement surface. Miraculously Tralee was okay. She cried, but no damage was done, except for my ego. I felt like the worst must stupid mother in the world! At least Tralee is fine, and we're thankful she landed how she did, and not on her head.

We're all still feeling pretty crappy. I think I might be getting better, but I still can't sleep at night. I'm pretty tired. I have no urge to do anything but lay around and drink liquids. I started getting flu symptoms yesterday, but I won't go into the details of that, because it's not pretty. I just hope this sick thing is winding down. I'm ready to be healthy again. I did manage to clean a bit yesterday, because our house was getting frightening. Now it's just mildly dirty. Oh well. I hope the next time I write I'll be feeling 100% again.

I Just Love Happy Endings!

Last night we went to Jim's Mom's house for a birthday dinner for Jim. While there Tricia told us the best story about one of the doctors I saw while pregnant with Tralee. There were three OB/Gyn's at the office I went to for check-ups, and one of them was brand new out of medical school. Jim and I liked him, and he shared our LDS faith. He was the doctor I saw when I heard Tralee's heartbeat for the first time.

I knew I could get the scoop out of ALL the doctors, since Tricia is a delivery nurse. So, when I asked her about this particular doctor, she told me that he was LDS, married, had a teenage son, and that he and his wife had several years of failed pregnancies.

Last night Tricia explained that after two recent miscarriages this doctor and his wife were looking to adopt. It wasn't long after this decision was made that a young woman came into the hospital and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. This young woman was troubled, recently divorced, and the baby was the result of a one-night stand. While giving birth the woman was adamant that she DID NOT want to see the baby. The nurses gathered that she never once saw a doctor the entire pregnancy, and was in denial the entire pregnancy. After giving birth the woman wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible.

One of the nurses on duty thought of the doctor and his wife who recently decided to give adoption a try, and immediately called this doctor to explain the situation. It didn't take long for the following to occur. This doctor and his wife, I'm sure after fervent prayer, decided to try and give this new baby a loving home. He contacted the doctor who delivered the baby who explained to the birth mother that there was a couple interested in adopting the little girl she delivered. The birth mother agreed, signed all the necessary papers, and the adopting doctor and his wife came to the hospital to take their new daughter home!

Isn't that AMAZING!?! They JUST decided to adopt, and then this happened! I think there was some Heavenly intervention involved! Tricia said she recently saw this doctor and asked him about his new daughter. He had a HUGE grin on his face and explained that she was going to be VERY spoiled!

I woke up last night and couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about this story and felt so happy for this family that I hardly know. I only know this guy as a doctor. I once saw him at a Stake Conference and he looked at Tralee and jokingly asked after telling me how beautiful she was, "How much do you want for her?" He obviously loved children, and wanted another one. I can't imagine how difficult it was to deliver babies for a living, and not be able to have one yourself. Well, now he and his wife are blessed with a BEAUTIFUL baby girl! YAY!

I just thought I would share this story, because it's always nice to hear good news!

How I Met Jim's Father

Almost seven years ago my boyfriend (now husband) invited me on a trip up to his land of birth, Canada. We planned on fishing, touring Waterton National Park, and most importantly for me -- a girl contemplating marrying this guy -- meeting his family up there. Jim's friend's often told me, "if you want to know what Jim will look like when he's older, just look at his dad." They also warned me that Jim's personality is a lot like his father's as well. "Alright" thought I, "I will be able to see into the future on this trip to Canada, and discover what my future might look like if I marry Jim." Jim even told me on the 10 hour drive up to Canada that meeting his father would be an experience.

After 10 hours of sitting in Jim's Blue Grand Am, belting out our favorite songs, talking to my oh-so-cute boyfriend, and wondering what his family in Canada would be like, we pulled into his Grammy's driveway which is next door to Jim's Dad's. Jim got out first while I continued to study my new surroundings. I thought that Canada was beautiful in July, but what would his family be like? Then I saw Ross, Jim's Dad walking towards the car. Jim jumped out and greeted his dad with a hug, and I got out wondering what the introduction to my (maybe) future father-in-law would be like. I always thought I would be nervous meeting my boyfriend's family. It turns out I wasn't that nervous, and before I even took two steps out of the car I heard Ross yell,

"CORKY!!!" I turned around wondering who he was talking to.
"CORKY!!!" Ross exclaimed again while looking right at me. I turned questioningly to Jim, wondering why his father was calling me Corky. Perhaps Ross got me mixed up with one of Jim's old girlfriends, but Jim looked as confused as me.
"Corky, how are you?" Ross asked. I'm sure at this point I was still a little speechless, and probably mustered out a nervous laugh. Since I wasn't answering yet, Ross turned to Jim and explained that I looked like someone he knew or dated while in college. This cleared up the matter a bit, and as I was forewarned that Ross liked to give people nick-names I finally understood the matter and answered, "I'm good."

The rest of my trip to Canada was fun. Jim and I did all the things we set out to do. I met more of Jim's family, loved them all, and made up my mind that marrying into his Crazy Canadian family wouldn't be so bad. It also turns out that all the things I was forewarned about Ross were true. He and Jim do share several personality traits (to the amusement of their wives and other family members), and although I don't think Jim will look EXACTLY like Ross when he gets older, you can certainty see the father-son resemblance.

Since that first trip to Canada Jim and I try to go back every year and visit his Dad and other family up there. We've been back for Ross's 50th surprise party, Jim's Grandpa's funeral, family reunions, sisters' graduations, hunting gophers, fishing, cribbage tournaments, floating the river, and more fun. More importantly Jim's Dad and his wife Judy have made it to all of our special events in the States, and we really appreciate that.

I am especially grateful that my father-in-law is someone I'm not nervous to be around, in fact within the first few minutes of getting to know him, I felt completely comfortable. And to this day he still calls me Corky! When he calls me Corky now I actually answer instead of standing there with a confused look on my face.

I guess we just want to say "Thanks For Everything!" and Tralee and The Flea-Bitten Piece-of-Crap especially want to say "Happy Birthday Grandpa Ross!"

Happy Birthday Jim!

Today is Jim's birthday! He's 29! I can't believe I'm married to a 29 year old! When did 29 go from old to a normal age? The sad news is our whole family is sick. Jim caught what Tralee and I have, so instead of partying it up, we're still in our P.J's watching the boob-tube. I did managed to make Jim and nice breakfast, and I have plans to make him a cake later on today. I also woke him up with presents. He got another Irish shirt (tradition, he gets an Irish shirt every year), some of his favorite treats, and some new jeans. He seemed to really like them.

I'm really blessed to have such an amazing husband. Jim works so hard for our family, and I honestly believe if he could, he would give us the world. Jim is sweet, funny, kind, wonderfully weird, an amazing father, supportive husband, and worthy priesthood holder. He's so kind and giving of his time. The list goes on. In fact, I will make a list of 29 of the many reasons I love Jim.

1. He can't resist pulling over at a lemon aid stand, and giving the kids more than they're charging for lemon aid.

2. He's a crazy Canadian, who takes me to his beautiful place of birth every summer, and gets excited to see his family.

3. When I'm REALLY stressed out, he'll drop everything to come rescue me, take care of me, and do whatever I need him to.

4. He makes up silly lyrics to popular songs, sometimes it drives me crazy, but I mostly love it.

5. He's good at EVERYTHING he tries. Whenever we try something new Jim becomes a pro within a few hours, while it takes me years to master his skill (this also drives me crazy that things come so easy to him, but at the same time I'm so proud of my talented husband!)

6. Even though he complains about her, Jim helps take care of my dog when I need him to. He even lets her sleep between his legs every night. There's no other place she'll sleep!

7. He LOVES food, especially chocolate, so he raves about EVERYTHING I cook. Even if I under/overcook something, or something turns out discusting Jim will say it's the BEST thing he ever ate.

8. Every now and again Jim will surprise me with an amazing romantic jesture. (He's a romantic at heart, and I LOVE IT!)

9. If someone is having car problems on the side of the road, Jim doesn't hesitate to pull over and help. I don't know how many times he's helped push a car to the side of the road or to a gas station.

10. Jim would give the shirt off his back to some one who needs it.

11. He's the only person who can pull me out of the crapiest mood and make laugh hysterically within a few minutes. (This is VERY frustrating when I'm trying to stay mad at him, and all I can do is laugh!)

12. He HATES shopping, but will go with me if I ask him to.

13. Jim's a SUPER talented craftsman! He builds AMAZING cabinets and furniture. I love his handywork!

14. Jim LOVES kids, and would have an army of them if I approved.

15. When I was freaking out about being pregnant with Tralee, Jim taught me to have faith and know that everything would be alright. He calms me down all the time. Jim's my voice of reason.

16. Jim has a testimony of the gospel, and honors his priesthood.

17. Jim loves his family members, and just wants them to be happy.

18. He's really a good cook when actually does it. I call him my very own Martin Stewart.

19. He loves sports, ALL of them and tries to get me to enjoy them with him. He just won't give up that I'm a horrible athlete and not at all competitive! However, he did manage to convince me to join a bowling league and we've had a world of fun!

20. He's just an all-around good guy.

21. He's really involved in Young Men's in our Ward, and all the Young Men adore him!

22. We share the same love of food, and he'll even watch some of my cooking shows with me!

23. He's a wonderful father who knows how to get on his hands and knees and play! At the same time, he understands the importance of discipline and will help me make sure our children are raised the best way we know how.

24. Jim is very supportive of me, and if I get behind on my housework (i.e. our house is a disaster) he doesn't complain. He also understand how important it is for me to have a break, so he'll watch the baby while I go do things I like to. I can't stay away for longer than a few hours or I'll start to miss Jim and Tralee too much.

25. He teaches me a lot about the scriptures. We'll be reading them together, and it seems like he has the answers, or can find the answers to my several questions.

26. He served an honorable mission, and worked REALLY hard the entire time. He managed to stay positive even though several doors were slammed in his face while he was in Ireland.

27. Jim and I have the same dreams for our future. We agree on where we want to be in 10, 20, 50 years from now.

28. Whenever I ask him to change Tralee's stinky diaper he's NEVER once complained about it! I love that!!

29. He'll listen to me (or pretend to listen to me) jabber on for an hour or so when he gets home from work. He doesn't complain about it, because he somehow understands that I need to have an adult conversation. He will sometime says, "do you every breath?" He'll tease me, but that's okay, cause I'll tease him right back!

Happy Birthday Jim! I love you!!

Tag Thingy

Here's a Tag my friend invited me to do. I usually don't do these things, but enjoy reading others. However, I'm sick and I REALLY don't feel like cleaning. We've been home one day, and it's amazing how messy our house can get without me constantly picking up after Tralee, Corky, and Jim. Jim cooked for me all day yesterday and helped keep Tralee occupied so I could sleep off my 100 degree fever. Anyways, after finally getting out of bed, I came downstairs to a disaster. Oh well. The plus side is my fever is gone, and I feel a little better. I just don't feel quite well enough to tackle the mess my family created (I'm just putting it off). Anyways, instead of cleaning I thought I would do this tag, it's a nice way to put off the inevitable.

Whoever feels compelled to do this tag, GO FOR IT!! Just copy and paste it in your own blog, delete my answers, then answer away.

10 years ago I was: Thinking I was a hot stuff 16-year-old. You know those groups of teenagers that think they're SO funny and cute, but really they're just annoying all the adults in the room -- yay, I was pretty much the ring leader of that group. I did have fun though. My friends and I did some crazy, goofy things. I was also super boy crazy, and had numerous crushes.


5 things on my to do list for today:
1. Clean
2. Give Tralee a bath
3. Scrub and sanitize the carpet where Corky puked (this kind of goes with # 1)
4. Figure out what to do for Jim's birthday tomorrow
5. Decide if I'm well enough to go to our Bowling League

4 things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1. Pay off all ours and our families' debt
2. Travel
3. Open a fun craft/antique store (I would have others run it, but do the fun things like order stuff for the store when I feel like it.)
4. Hire a personal chef and personal trainer to cook healthy yet tasty meals for me, and whip my butt into shape. If that didn't work, than I would get a boob job and tummy tuck (having Tralee wreaked havoc on my body)

3 bad habits:
1. Procrastinating
2. Not thinking before I speak
3. Getting to places late (Jim HATES being late!!! HATES IT!! He'll let me know if we're behind on time, believe me!!!)

5-10 places I have lived:
Milan, TN
Fox Point, WI
Mequon, WI
Logan, UT
Smithfield, UT
Richmond, UT
Caldwell, ID


5 jobs I have had:
1. Babysitter
2. Sales Associate at Boston Store
3. Caterer
4. Telemarketer
5. Personal Gardener
6. Customer Service/Up Front Manager at Kmart
7. Assistant Store Manager at Boise Art Museum

6 things most people don't know about me:
1. I sleep with my feet out of the covers -- can't stand to have them under them, but I want by body covered.
2. I love those really unhealthy animal crackers with the pink and white frosting and sprinkles, I NEVER buy them because I'll eat the whole bag!
3. I'm a lot like Walter from The Secret Life of Walter Smitty by James Thurber and constantly have a more exciting version of my life happening in my head. Someday I should write some of the scenerios/stories going on in my head. I bet people would find them entertaining to say the least!
4. I secretly and sheepishly buy lottery tickets if the powerball goes above 100 million -- don't judge me, I could really use 100 million bucks!
5. When I was little I used to put on a Beatles tape (before CDs) my parents had and dance around our living room to the entire tape
6. I've been to Disney World 11 times, and would keep going back every year if I could.

So I tag: Whoever feels like responding

We're HOME!!!

Oh my goodness it feels good to be home!! Tralee was sick the WHOLE time we were watching Jim's Uncle's kids. She cried ALL THE TIME, and just wanted me to hold her. She also woke up every hour every night we were there and cried. I gave her Infant Tylenol, and that seemed to help a bit, but after having gotten NO sleep five nights in a row, I'm exhausted! I also caught whatever Tralee has. My head is achy, my throat hurts, and my nose is so stuffy that even when Tralee slept, I couldn't because I couldn't breath. I faked my way through the rest of our stay, and tried to be involved with the kids as much as possible. We played outside, baked, played games, and talked. So, hopefully the kids had a good time, and don't think I'm a dud for a babysitter, because I was out of it for a lot of the time I was there.

I felt bad, because when Tralee is healthy, and when she gets used to people she's a delight to be around. She was a stinker the WHOLE time for the kids we were watching. If one of them even tried to talk to her, she would freak out. There were a few sparse moments when she played with the other kids, but not nearly enough. Tralee pretty much demanded my attention, but I had four other kids to worry about cooking for, cleaning for, and running around. Jim helped when he could, but he had to work also. Plus, their oldest boy really liked Jim's undivided attention so it was a little difficult. It would have been much easier if Tralee wasn't sick, but what can you do?

We've been home now for a few hours, and Tralee seems happy to be home. She's not nearly as fussy as she was, and I think just having the familiarity of her home around her helps. She's been playing with Corky, and giving me hugs, so all is well.

I hope and pray that tonight, since we're at home, everyone will sleep soundly. I REALLY need some rest. I feel like a zombie. I'm so glad that today when Tralee falls asleep for a nap, I'll be able to rest with her. I can't wait to sleep, I never missed it so much as I do now.

Well, see ya later.

We're Here, but We're Not

Jim and I are watching his Uncle's kids for five days, so we're not at home. We don't have a lot of free time to blog since we're busy running kids to piano, soccer, gymnastics, mutual, school, and various other activities. . . so we'll update you after we get home and we're settled into our regular routine.

Tralee's has had a fever the last few nights. It seems like everytime we're watching other people's kids, she gets sick. She has a runny nose, she's been sleeping HORRIDLY (waking up every hour and fussing), and she's coughing and sneezing. Poor baby. She's really grumpy and clingy to be too, but I think it also has something to do with four kids surrounding her and wanting her attention. She feels a little overwhelmed, I can relate.

Until next time. . . .