I just have to say - I DO LOVE ANTI-BIOTICS. But my oh my, what a terror they rage on Ethan's rear. We called the doctor on Saturday (They are open on sat. htank goodness.) and they said we could give him 3/4 teaspoon Immodium AD to help with the explosive bum. Which i am also thankful for anti-diaretics. Just when you think you couldn't be thankful for anything more gross after counting your newborns diapers religiously thier first few weeks of birth - they give you something else for which to be thankful for.

I am desperatly trying this year to get my history work in order. I have over 200 pages of hand-written essays and notes on everything from American history and architecture to European, and Chinese political government. One day (hopefully at the end of this year) I would like to comile them into one "book" and then have it bound. I love history textbooks (weird I know), but this "book" that I am working on has my thoughts and ideas embedded in it. Which probably means that no one will ever be able to understand what I am saying in it! Oh well, it's just for own sense of accomplishment that I am having it bound. It is kind of like saying I am finally done. But then we all know that I will have to do a second edition so that I can continue to add to my collection of political thoughts and all the more essays which I am sure to write.

I am going to try an convince Jacob that we can afford to save up about 1,000$ this year and every year to come so that I can take a few night courses at the extension here in Brigham. Now that he has nights off I could take a class a few nights a week and try finish my basics here in Brigham. I would still like to get my teaching degree and a masters in American Political History as well as majors in American History (Particularly the Revolution period) and American Military History. I know it will take me some time to get these all done but I have the time it's just coming by the money. When my kids are all grown I would love to teach a few High School courses and possiblya few courses at a local college or extension.

Jacob starts his training tomorrow. I am hoping that he can pass it quickly and if he does he will start his new job next Monday! Ah, a day shift. One more little thing that I am thankful for.

We took Ethan to the doctor and decided it is time to get tubes. It feels like he has one continous ear infection since he was 3 months old. Tubes are our last resort but we are hoping that it takes care of this problem once and for all. He will have them put in on Thursday, January 31st.

We got family pictures taken today. We are so cute! They won't be ready until February 5th but we are very excited to get them back. We go Target. They do a really good job and they are so cheap it is unbelievable. When we get them back I will be sure to put some on our site here.

I just have to put my little note on here. El Matador in Ogden is the best restaurant I think ever put on this wonderful Earth. We went there and I could go and just have thier chips and salsa and be happier than I have ever been. But then you get the food and you can't understand the joy it brings me. If you haven't been, you should really consider it.

Jacob starts training for his new job at the Post Office on Monday. He has to pass a ten-key test before he can take the position but he has been practicing and he will do just fine. We are all really excited about him having a normal shift. I know it sounds silly but it is just one more step to leading a normal life. Swing shift was alright - it was nice being able to shower every morning but being able to sit down for dinner as a family will be even better.

Ok, so just a quick note. I know it has been a while but we got rid of our internet and we are still looking for another provider. Christmas was great with Ethan and he had a blast with all of his new toys. Granted, most of them were from Grandma's and Great Grandma's but still. We spent most of this week in the ER and hospital because Ethan came down with RSV and a mild case of pneumonia. That was fun. We got one bill from the ER today and it was 850$. Thank heavens for great insurance. Our portion of that is $50! How people ever have kids without insurance I will never know. Jacob just received a bid for a day shift that he will start in a few weeks. We are both really excited to live "normal" lives and be able to do things together at night.

More later!

We went to see Santa this past week and that was fun. Well, it was fun for everyone except Ethan. Lets just say that it is a good thing that Santa only comes around once a year. Although I am planning on this same picture (only Ethan a little bigger) next year.

Ethan does this thing where he puts his hand in the air and you are supposed to say "Yeah! Ethan!" for him. Like he needs more attention right? That is why he gets angry at the end of the video. Because I am not saying "Yeah".

I know it probably seems like all I ever write about is Ethan - which gets boring I know. But seriously nothing else happens in my life. I don't have a car so I stay home and the only other thing that happens is.... nothing. We play all day and then sleep all night and start over the next day. But honestly I can't think of a better way to spend every day. Granted I wish it was possible to potty train a 10 month old but that I can live with.

We had good week this last week. Jacob's new schedule is awesome and I love being able to plan things with set days off! On Friday we went down to Salt Lake to the Jazz and Lakers game. We bought some season tickets from a woman on line so our seats were pretty decent. Ethan had a sleep over with Grandma Youngerg (mom) and that was nice since he wouldn't have had a good time at the game. We did win however and it was a really good game. Jacob, of course, had us wearing our jerseys to support the team. It was a fun night.

Ethan is a growing little weed and we are loving every little minute of it! We put up our Christmas tree and decided that our best bet was to put it in the play pen. So... Christmas with kids is different but it is also so much fun. Ethan loves to pull himself up to the tree and rub his head in the branches - what a goof!

He also likes to get up close and personal with the camera. He has 4 teeth now - 2 on top and 2 on bottom. He loves to bit everyones fingers who are dumb enough to still stick them in his mouth.

His favorite thing to do however is try to get his Papa's X Box remote controller. They are very elusive and always out of reach. Every now and then he will get a finger on them and think they are the coolest things on earth. We can tell when he has one because this odd silence falls into our home and we can tell that he is playing with something that he is not supposed to. And when he is not trying to put his fingers on the controllers he is trying to put his tongue on them. We are surprised that anything in our home has survived the amount of druel that it has had to endure these last 10 months.

He has also started doing this thing where he scrunches up his whole face instead of just smiling. It sometimes is a little scary looking but it is cute too! He usually snorts right along with the face which just adds to the cuteness of it all. I can't believe that he is already 10 months and is looking more and more like a little boy every day. It makes me sad but I am so looking forward to being able to watch him run around and play at the park and learn to ride a bike and all of those things that we will get to do when he is older. I am, however, not looking forward to tanrums, school expenses, and not to even mention having to send him off to school in the first place. Oh well, we will just have to deal with all of that when it comes I guess!

Oh my goodness, it has been a little while hasn't it? This Thanksgiving I am thankful for acute care clinics that are open late. We took Ethan to the doctor last night at 8:30 p.m. and was told that he had croup. Maybe next year we could be thankful for a pharmacy that is open on Thanksgiving?? I doubt it.

Jacob found out on Tuesday that he is a now a regular. That means that he will get holidays off, he will have a standard start time of 1:00 p.m. and he will also not be required to work overtime if he doesn't want to. Also starting December 1st. our insurance premiums for the Option High will go down to 45$ a pay period. I love that he works for the federal government. It sure does have its perks.

We had dinner this afternoon at Grandma Youngberg's. It was nice and I really enjoyed the fact that there were other people there that could watch Ethan so that I could eat while my food was still hot. That was a definite bonus.

On Halloween we got carpet! Ethan loves it - and because he loves it - I love. Anything that means less bumps; means fewer cries; fewer cries; means less strees; and less stress means a happier mom.

On Halloween we of course visitied all of the Grandma's and Grandpa's and I got to eat all the candy that they gave him because he is too young for chocolate. It was great. He thoroughly enjoyed being a giraffe and thankfully and surprisingly Jacob had the night off so we were able to go as a family.

Right now we are saving money for a new car for me seeings how I don't have one at all. So if anyone is thinking about what to get me for Christmas - I want a car. See if you can afford that hu? Jacob's 3 siblings all just got new cars and it is really depressing to him. It sometimes make him wish that he had student loans where we could just buy things. But we have to keep reminding ourselves that one day they will have to pay them back.

This week was Katie and Kai's wedding. It was hard to take Ethan but somehow we all survived. The first night inthe hotel room he was SCREAMING before bed time. It's a good thing that bedtime is around 8:30 because if it had been any later I think we would have had an angry mob at our door. We were going to spend the night on Friday as well but Ethan had met his limit and Jacob had gotten off work at 8:30 so he picked us up on his way home from work. It worked out well and Ethan got a good night's rest. Now today he has a runny nose. That makes the day fun.

We don't have much planned for this week. Really the only thing of note is that Jacob and I are going to buy new underwear. Woo hoo! Hey, right now I will take anything I can get.