Ups and downs

When I say that I mostly mean downs, but I am trying to stay positive here.
Today I took Zander to the dentist for some fillings. I already felt terrible about allowing my 3 year old to get cavities, but we smiled through it and went in September to get the fillings. The dentist gave him an oral sedative, which did nothing but make him run around like a crazy man all day, we cancelled the appointment and could not schedule and IV sedation until now. We went in today and found out that in addition to the fillings he needed he also needed his front 2 teeth capped because they were thin and the nerves were in danger of being exposed. I signed the paper and then I cried, alot. I feel like a huge failure as a mother here.
He came through just fine and was excited that he could feel immediately that the Dr. had made his teeth bigger and stronger. He has been "wiggly" all day due to the effects of anesthesia, so I have tried to keep him calm.

This after noon I went to see my urologist, who was supposed to get all the records of tests done by my previous urologist this summer and go from there, but somehow he decided if he was taking over my care he wanted to re-do all the tests. These tests are time consuming, and to be honest they hurt like heck. I cried again. I was then told that they could schedule the first test Thursday the 18th at 10:30. I told them I am starting a new job on the 10th and will be off by 3:30 every day, could they work around that..... "No, we only do these procedures on Thursdays between 10 and 11" I said Okay, can you put me on the cancel or no show list? "No, we don't have one, do you want the procedure done or not?" Of course I have to get it, but I am afraid I will loose my job. I cried even harder yet. I did hold it together until I got into the hall, but then I lost it. I sat down and just cried. A nice old man who had heard the whole thing came up to me and said that he would pray for me, and that things would work out. He talked to me until I was able to smile and the tears stopped.

The ups are that Adam and I are doing well, he is enjoying school. Aidan is happy and healthy, and Zander is the tornado that I love.
I would give anything for a friend here, just someone to sit and chat with, but this city does not do that I guess, at least not where I live.
I am just sad, tomorrow will be a better day I am sure, I will try to post then with some happy thoughts!

Holiday fun...

Our holiday has been the most fun few weeks of this year, by far! Aidan got out of school on December 20 for Christmas break, the other 3 kids arrived on December 22, which was a day we have been counting down to for months! Their arriaval brought all sorts of excitement, and in that excitement a little bit of chaos, but it was a good chaos, all 7 of us were happy and super excited!

On Christmas eve we went out to Adam's parents house and met up with Sister Jen and her 3 kids. We had a White Elephents gift exchange which was all sorts of fun. The girls had a battle over some biolage hair product, and the boys battled over frisbee's and footballs. Zander took up the strategy of just sneaking around when people were not looking to switchfor the 2 or 3 gifts he really wanted. The whole thing was adorable and fun! After the fun day with mom mom and pop pop we went over to visit our great friends Dirk and Racheal Harper. We visited, exchanged cookies and love, and it was a great day all in all.

Christmas morning came and with our normal rules (Kids can come out of their bedrooms from the time we tuck them in Christmas eve night until we knock on their doors Christmas Morning) I told Dylan to go in and wake up the younger kids at about 6:30. I got a scream of "Jen, Vomit emergency!" and came running. Apparently Aidan Wolfe felt sick but thought he could hold it in and by the time he lost it he couldn't get to the bathroom, so he just leaned over the middle bunk in our bunk bed and puked all over the floor. He of course didn't come to alert anyone because he had been threatened with terrible things if he came out of his room, so he didn't, and left it for mom to clean up in the morning..... Fantastic! So Christmas fun got put off a little while as I cleaned up the disgusting mess that decided to give us a Christmas surprise. So after a good shower and a change of clothes we were ready for our festivities!

Here is the big pile of presents for our family

Everyone got just what they wanted... Lyndsay got good running shoes, Dylan an innerframe backback for a hiking/camping trip him and Adam are planning. Aiden T. got his covetted camelback, Aidan W. got the bike he has wanted for many months, and Zanders prize was a spongebob painting book (from his stocking) He also got a VSmile game system which he loves. Everybody is in heaven

Our new years was fun as well, but that will be for another post... maybe tomerrrow!!

Still alive and kicking :)

I am not much for writing lately, I have been in a funk, and I try to keep my blog as a happy place, one where I can go back later and remember the good in my life. The good is still there, it is just burried under a huge pile of stress and depression that I am having a hard time digging out from under.
I am still looking for a job, not a fun thing at all... I finished my associates degree this week, so I am hoping that will help me out in the very near future. Adam took his last final for the first semester of law school earlier this week... Yay for him, I am so proud! This year has been the hardest in either of our lives, and yet he is still making the effort and succeeding in law school. My number 1 priority is to make next semester less stressfull for him!
The kids are doing well. Zander loves his daycare, and he also loves church. I hadn't been in quite a while but we recently started attending again. I accidently put him in a sunday school class for a few weeks when he should still be in the nursery until January. He was pretty ticked off when we discovered my error and he had to start going to the nursery, but he has an idea of what to look forward to in just a few short weeks now, and he can't wait to officially be a sunbeam!
Aidan had a perfect report card, is on the honor roll, and loves his school and teachers. Last weekend the Arizona Science center had a free admission weekend so we all wend down to check it out.... Aidan was in little geek heaven! He soaked up every minute of it!

The other kids will be here nex week, we are all so excited to spend some time with them, and thanks to some members of our church, we are able to have a few gifts for everyone despite my lack of income. I am so so thankfull for that (our bishop also got Adam and I a brand new queen size bed after a year of nothing but an air mattress..... merry christmas to us!

More posts and pics promised when our family is reunited on Tuesday!
Love you~

Mid November wrap up

well this has been a super busy time in our lives! We have gotten ourselves into a nice routine, I work from 9-6, so Adam has dinner ready when I get home, we spend an hour or so playing with the boys before bedtime, and then start it all over. I guess this is how the normal familiy does it, but I am struggeling with the lack of time I am getting to spend with my family, but I am thankful to have a job.

We had a great Halloween, Aidan was a very scary Grim Reaper,

and Zander was a super scary shark.

We went to a halloween carnival where the boys did a trunk or treat thing, got lost in a corn maze, and played some carnival games. After that we went trick or treating for a few hours. Aidan wasnt feeling that great and was passed out by about 9 in the car... poor guy!

We have finally had a chance to get out of the house a bit for family walks, and a trip to the park yesterday, it was great... Zander is such a big boy, what a bittersweet feeling that is!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so Adam took me out to my favorite place for dinner, the Outback, and he even made me a great home made cake for after dinner! I have a good man!

My mom and dad are coming down for thanksgiving, I am so excited to see them, I even get 2 days off work to spend with them! Sorry for the short and random update, life is just busy!

Love you all!

Downtown fun for the Staley's

On Saturday we took the nice weather and headed out on our bikes for a tour of Downtown Phoenix. I love experiencing things on a bike... we can get there faster, there are no kids whining to be held... Adam is fantastic at riding his bike with Zander being pulled in the baby trailer... we sure love having that thing! First we stopped and played in and on a fountain that was not in use... the boys did anyway... see the discussing who could jump farther? Gotta love those boys!

We rode to the Chase field, where the Diamondbacks play and to the US Airways Stadium where the Phoenix Suns play. It seemed that there was a suns game getting ready to start, there were tons of people lining up in Suns jersey's and paraphernalia. I love, love, love the excitement of a basketball game.

This deep love I have for the Phoenix Suns comes from my old boss and good friend Doyle and Cher Hancock. As a teenager they would also give us their season tickets, usually me and my best friend Shawna, and we would hit the town, having the time of our lives at the basketball games! So many of my good memories come from those games. I feel a deep need to take my kids to see a suns game, finances are not working out at the moment, but I have a feeling that something will come along and we can go this year!

We took a leisurely bike ride, stopping at some pretty spots, like this fountain that they played in and on for quite a while. We all posed on the concrete baseballs at the Chase field, enjoyed each others company... just had fun!

After that we spend Sunday with a trip to the pool, then worked on some puzzles and snuggeling. In school news Aidan is doing great as always, Adam did fantastic on his mid-terms and is very happy about that... and Zander... Zander has decided that daycare is OK after all and has been excelling for most of last week and again this week! I am so proud of my 3 boys!

I am still working, just hoping to make it through the 90 day period where The University decides with temps they will keep on... Fingers crossed!!

Turning it around!

Wow what a difference a week can make! Zander decided on Tuesday that he was ready to enjoy himself at daycare and has made a complete turnaround! In fact this morning he asked me if I could get ready FASTER so he could go! From the first day he has gone there when I drop him off he turns into a rabid spider monkey, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my midsection. He clings on to me as his teacher pry's him off, often taking my shirt with him. Morning drop off was the hardest thing in the world for me. Leaving my baby knowing he was absolutely miserable was just not ok. But this week.... all I can say is WOW!!!! On Tuesday when I dropped him off he only cried a little bit, I was pretty dang happy with that so when Adam reported to me at the end of the day that Zander had had a "Good" day I could not believe it... I had to have details! Zander not only used the bathroom, but he also ate a cupcake! This is huge guys!!! This is the first time he has had a bite away from mom or dad in a year and a half! Adam and I praised and rewarded Zander all evening, telling him how proud and happy we were, and the next morning Zander announced that he was going to have a "Happy day at daycare!" I was skeptical, but at drop off he let me put him down, then he gave me a kiss and said "Bye mom" I was on cloud 9 all day! Adam called me when he picked Zander up and said that he had eaten lunch, been happy all day, and even sat with his class for activities and made me a picture! Thursday and Friday followed suit, it has been a fantastic week!

In other news Adam is finished with his law school mid-terms and back into the swing of normal coursework. Adam and I are doing great, more in love than ever in our lives and best friends to boot. With all the stress of moving around, looking for jobs, and getting into and then starting law school we have been strained but we are back! I am thankfull for him every day, and to say he has stepped up in a way that most men would just run screaming from since I started my job would be an understatement. Adam now picks Zander up from daycare everyday, rushes home to be here for Aidan, makes sure Aidan does homework and chores, cleans the house and even makes dinner for me every night. I am one lucky girl for sure!

My job is going well. The University of Phoenix is a great place to work and while my position is entry level, after 9 months or so the doors will open up for me and I know I will move into a position that I love. The only downside is that my body has picked a terrible time to break down. I have had a lump in my breast for 3 weeks now that is quite painful and I cannot get in to see a Dr since I am working Monday - Friday so tonight I went to the ER to have it checked out and was told that I defiantly need to get a biopsy done and find out what we are dealing with. I must admit I am terrified because my grandmother had breast cancer and my mom has had cancer and multiple lumps removed. Any prayers you could send my way on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

All in all life is good. We are happy, and as a family we are B-A-C-K!!!

New job, new home, big adjustments!

At the end of September I finally found a job, and it is a good job! I have been working for 2 weeks now at the University of Phoenix and it is going pretty well! I found out that I got the job on a Thursday afternoon, and the wanted me to start on Monday! I was so excited, and yet so scared. We share a car, so logistics were a problem, we had 4 days to find an apartment that was either walking distance, or on the bus route from either my workplace or Adam's school, get Zander and Aidan pulled out of their current schools and registered into new ones, but of course we had to know where we would be living before we could do that, and they had to be able to start before 8 A.M. monday morning. We also had to move in that time. Thursday and Friday were a blur or looking at apartments. We finally decided on one that was walking distance from Adam's school, and I rushed to get the boys registered into their new schools. I actually got all of that accomplished, and we were at the U-Haul place on Friday afternoon getting a trailer to move our stuff when I got a call saying that a DUI from Washington had come up on my background check and I wouldn't be able to start work on Monday...... I am not even kidding!

So we just went on and moved into the apartment and I took that extra week to unpack boxes that had been in storage for over a year... it was like Christmas seeing all of our stuff again! We are now moved in and as settled as we can possibly be! Aidan is happy in his new school. He joined the Zoology club at his school, they meet twice a week after school and people from the Phoenix zoo bring in different animals for them to study and interact with. Zander is in a new preschool right by the apartment. He is having a pretty rough time with being put into preschool at all, and is having some big issues.... he has been going full time for 2 weeks now and refuses to eat, drink, or use the bathroom anytime he is there. This means that he is starving when he gets home, and he often wets his pants because he just won't use the bathroom. I am kind of beside myself on this issue. I cry all the way to work after dropping him off in the mornings, it is heartbreaking to leave him there, screaming for me, but I HAVE to do it, and he WILL get used to it in time! I am going to keep a good attitude if it kills me!! The one thing he does do at daycare is take long naps. This is not a good thing because Zander has not been a napper for about 2 years, so he is now awake every night until at least 11, and it is a constant battle of punishing him for getting out of bed over and over..... but how can you get mad at a face like this?

The apartment we got is great. It is so nice to have a place of our own! It is a 2 bedroom apartment, but we don't consider it small, just cozy! The boys bedroom is big, there is plenty of room for Zander's bed, the bunk beds, and all the other stuff that kids think they need :) We had such a great time setting up all of the kid's stuff! Zander has had hours of fun driving his cars on the street map rug in his room, and I love how organized their room is..... until Zander has been in there for about 10 minutes anyways... how is it that 1 little 3 year old can make this room look like a tornado just went through it so fast? Thank goodness for IKEA and their organizational furniture! We put pictures on the toy bins so that Zander can clean up all by himself now, and he even gets the toys into the correct bins!

My second favorite place to be..... the first? The pool/jacuzzi of course!