D and Mak

What would I do without Dylan and Makayla?

For those of you who dont know them, Dylan and Makayla are my neice and nephew. From early on they have been hanging out with me and spending the night at my house from time to time. Since Jubilee came along, she too has discovered how fun it is to hang out with them. She calls Dylan, "D", and Makayla flucuates from "Mak" to "Ahkayla".

When Jubilee sees D and Mak, its pure excitement. She bounces, squeals, screams and practically vibrates. She loves and idolizes these kids! They are sooooo good with her too. Jubilee is two, and as much as I love her, I know that she can be....well, two. Even so, D and Mak are very patient, playful and loving with Jubilee. Dylan is 11, and Makayla is 12. Still, they always make time for Jubilee. She never is an annoyance to them and they are always willing to play with her. They go above and beyond the call of cousin-duty with her. Yesterday Makayla even changed a poopy diaper for me! Dylan has also done his share of poopy clean up.

Oh yes, they do more than just play with her. They babysit when I ask... never hesitating to take care of her if I need a break and keep her from under my feet to get a few chores done.

In fact, while I was out of town recently, I came home to a very well-tidied house! Compliments of D and Mak! You may be thinking, "oh thats sweet!" But wait! It was JUST a well-tidied house. They CLEANED MY COMPUTER ROOM! The computer room in my house is more than just a place for my computer. It holds most of my garfield belongings, plus my make-up vanity. If any of you know me well, you know 3 things: 1) I am a slob. 2) I own more garfield things than probably Jim Davis himself. 3) I could open up my own girly froo-froo store with the amount of make up and other pretty products that sit on and around my vanity. D and Mak CLEANED it all! I was amazed. This task would have taken me days. Which is why I avoid it completely. My computer desk was littered with Diet Mt. Dew cans, half drank water glasses, pens, random note pads and other office supplies, dust bunnies, and probably a few rodents nests. They were so brave to even attempt this!!! When I came home I could see the floor! I was amazed! I was shocked! I was giddy! I cried! It was the best present anyone could ever give me!

What would I do without D and Mak?

Bits and Pieces

Lots going on around here lately and I havent had too much time to blog. So here is a random update of things....

Last blog entry had anxiety ruling and Jubilee with a fever that broke the next morning. No more anxiety, thank goodness! But Jubilee's fever came back and stayed through most of the weekend. She is fine now and back to her happy bouncy self!

Im going out of town tomorrow to hang out in North Bend and just get away a little bit. Jack has promised to make his famous Washington Apple Martinis. YUM!

Big Brother has started. My guilty pleasure. I feel like I lose brain cells watching it, but I cant stop. Jase is so funny. Someone please put Janell in a round room and tell her to pee in the corner!

It has been soooooooo hot here the past week. Of course this is the week my air conditioner stopped working. The fix-it man is coming today to look at it. But now the heat wave is over and I probably wont need it again until next year.

Thats all for now!

Pulling the all Nighter of Anxiety

For the most part, my anxiety is very much in control. Once in a while I will get a little wiggety over something ridiculous, and I can recognize its irrational and know it will be over soon. Last night was not one of those times.

Jubilee has had a fever off and on since Monday night. I knew she must have been feeling awfully icky because all she wanted to do was lay in my bed with her binky, babies, and blankey. Jubilee is very happy and exuberant by nature, so when she is feeling blah, its obvious.

All week her temp had been 101 - 102. No biggie. But then, last night as Troy was putting her to bed he asked me to come feel her chest. OMG ....it was on FIRE and her little heart was racing. I took her temp again, (under her arm), and it was 103.9. If you take a temp under the arm, you are supposed to add one degree. 104.9..... YIKES!!! While I called the on-call service for the doctor, Troy ran a bath in hopes that would help take her temperature down. Of course its just a answering service, and they have to get a nurse to call you back, so in the meantime we gave Jubilee some more Motrin. Troy finished her bath and laid her down...we took her temp again - 103.1 ... whew..ok, coming down. By now, anxiety is knocking at the door, but nothing I cant ignore.

I sat for a 1/2 hour staring at the phone, willing it to ring. I was almost positive I was going to get some grumpy nurse wondering why the heck some wet-behind-the-ears mom is worried about a little fever. Instead I got the most helpful and understanding registered nurse ever. She said that Jubilee's fever could not be related to the chicken pox shot she got on Monday. If she were to have a reaction to her shot, it wouldnt be for 14 to 20 days after she received it. So either she's got a little bug, or its bacteria related.

Here is where my anxiety decided to have a party and invite its white trash relatives. It never occurred to me before that it could be anything other than a little bug. Suddenly my mind was playing through 100 different scenarios - all of which no Mom should be picturing about their baby. The nurse was speaking to me ...telling me what to do if the fever got over 105. I was hearing her, but at the same time, my mind was busy deciding what I would do if Jubilee died from a fever. The nurse is still talking...We had to take Jubilee's temp every hour until we noticed it was coming down. After the nurses call, we snuck in while Jubilee slept and took her temp again: 102.5 Whew!

However, seeing a lower temperature didnt ease the anxiety at all. I had somehow convinced myself that if I fell asleep, she would get worse. Rationally, I knew it was just a fever, and it was coming down. But I couldnt stop the anxiety. I prayed for a bit, and eventually I fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I was dreaming. It was one of those dreams where you arent aware youre dreaming and you think its really happening. Like when your alarm goes off and you hit snooze, and you dream you are getting in the shower - getting ready for work - then you wake up think, "whoa, that was a dream".

In my dream, I woke up with Jubilee's fever on my mind. I went sleepily to her room to check on her. As I got there I looked down into the crib and I couldnt see her. It was too dark. I turned around and switched on her little flower lamp that gives off a soft enough light to see, but not enough to wake her. I turned back around to the crib to see Jubilee blue and lifeless.

Then I really woke up. I sat up gasping for air about ready to scream and have a total freak out when I realized it was just a dream. I ran to Jubilee's room to check on her and she is fine. I touched her skin and she even felt cold. A first in 4 days. The fever finally broke. I covered her back up and now the anxiety is gone. But, UGH...a rough night.

Jubilee's 2 Year Well-Baby Check-up

Its a little late, but we went to the doctor today for Jubilee's two year check up.

Height: 32.5 inches (7th percentile)
Weight: 21lbs and 8 oz (1st percentile ...or not on the charts as the nurse explained)

Before you ask, no, they were not concerned with her weight. Jubilee has always been a little bean and her growth curves are on track. If the percentiles dropped suddenly or jumped suddenly, then there would be cause for concern.

She asked about Jubilee's development and observed her as she performed certain tasks. The doctor said she had 3 year olds as patients not as advanced as Jubilee is. YAY! To some of you this may just sound like a Mommy bragging....and I am, but even more than that, I am rejoicing because of what happened at her birth and the profound disabilities the doctors told me she would have. Im still not done being amazed at what a miracle baby I have!

Jubilee did have to get one shot for chicken pox. She took it like a trooper and even got to go get some ice cream with Meema, (my mom) afterwards.

Camping and a Book Review

Camping this past weekend was fun as expected. We had great weather, great food, and great fun. However, because of babysitting issues and lack of a ride home, Aunt Donna could not get tipsy. I know...I was disappointed too. I was soooooo looking forward to the cat screech/Beaker dialect.

We had a great visit anyway with the Botts/McGinley clan and we all decided we do it way too seldomly. I taught Chelsea, Justin, Jamie, Jeff and Rachel how to play King Mau. Its a card game with ever-changing rules. It was hilarious to try to keep all the rules straight as we sipped on pineapple juice, mandarin absolute, and grenadine. I miss everyone already,..I have so much fun with them.

Jubilee had a blast too. Rachel took Juju to the park several times where she got 3 different kinds of filthy. I hardly recognized my child covered in dirt by the end of Saturday - but the more dirty, the more fun, right??

A Book Review: Twighlight by Stephenie Meyer

First of all, you should know Ive never done a book review. In fact, Ive never even read one. This is just my official way of saying, "Hey...you get to read of what I think of this book!"

My friend Elizabeth in North Carolina recommended this book to me. She said I would thank her.... so, on record: Thanks Eliz! I dont often listen to other people when they tell me what I should read...but Elizabeth is an exception. She is a librarian, (and no not the frumpy old kind. She is pretty hot), and she digs a lot of the same kinds of things I do. So when she said, "Vampires in Port Angeles...get this book!" I did!

The story is set in Forks mostly, but Port Angeles is also the background for some of the story. This was very interesting to me because Ive never seen a book set where I live....but even more interesting - the author had it all right. When she described the harbor, the scenery, the restaurants, the book stores or even the highways - it was all correct. I was impressed by that. I was also impressed with the way she described what you should envision as the story was told. It painted a bold picture without having to skim 5 pages dedicated to describing a leaf. She is a talented author. I got to thinking...obviously she is familiar with the area. It said in the book's "About the Author" section that she lives in Arizona but I almost positive she was from the Olympic Peninsula. While camping, I asked my cousin Jamie if he had heard of her. He grew up in Forks - and like Port Angeles, its a small town where everyone knows everyone. Sure enough after studying her picture, he remembered her. Her name wasnt Stephenie Meyer at the time, but he knew her. She was a year ahead of him in school, and was a cheerleader. Small world!

Ok, back to the book itself... The story was right up my alley - a vampire love story. While I normally like my sagas about vampires a little more dark and bloody, this was a book that kept my attention. When I wasnt reading it, I was thinking about what was coming next. I found myself smiling at that "first and true love" feeling the characters where experiencing. Add the fact that only one of them was human, and then it was "first, true, and forbidden" love.....I was hooked! If you get it from your local library, you would find it in the "Young Adult" section. So its not too gory or dark, but its good. Get it!

Jubilee and her Boys

Juju and her great grandfather, Jim. She calls him "Big Papa".









Juju and her Uncle Andy.









Juju and her Uncle Matt.

Juju in her Uncle Jason's hat with Uncle Jason's beer.

Juju and Uncle Jason.

Juju and her cousin Dylan.


Juju and her Papa, (my Dad).

The Drunk Stages of Aunt Donna

This weekend marks the annual Botts/McGinley family reunion and I am so excited. First of all, while we camp all the time throughout the summer with family, this is the only camping trip that my Dad's side of the family joins us. Life and very little time always gets in the way, so the third weekend in July is always set aside for everyone to get together.

Why is this more exciting than other camping trips? Lots of reasons. I get to see family I dont see very often, we usually camp at Salt Creek - which is not one of our normal spots, and mostly ...because its the one time of year that Aunt Donna gets so drunk she can barely walk or talk. First off, Aunt Donna does embarressing and hilarious things almost daily. She is just that type of person. She is constantly doing things to humiliate herself...and not on purpose. Add alcohol to that dynamic and you have one entertaining weekend. Its better than Jackass on steroids.

This is a series of pictures from a years past family reunion of Aunt Donna drinking. You can see her get progressively drunk as time goes on....



This is the first margarita. No problem.


By now she's probably had 2 or 3. The hysterical and uncontrollable laughing has begun. This is also the Incoherant Talk stage. She sounds like a mixture of a cat screeching and Beaker from the Muppet Show. No one can understand her.

This is what I like to call The Oblivious Stage. In these pictures it was her birthday and her birthday crown was falling from her angelic head. ....and she was totally oblivious.


This is the most entertaining stage for all to witness. I call it The Snorting Stage. Now she is laughing uncontrollably, talking like a screeching cat/Beaker, and snorting.

The Cut-Off Stage. Needs no explaination. At this point she cant walk and barely can sit up in her chair, let alone reach up to fix her crooked tiara.

We leave today and get back Sunday. Hopefully I will have great pictures of Drunk Aunt Donna to post! Cant wait for the party to begin!!

Warning: Mommy Brag Ahead

I know Juju is special... and even if in reality she wasnt, I would still think so because Im the Mommy. But she really is.

In the past week alone Ive had 4 people, (two strangers on a ferry, 1 relative who met her for the first time last week, and one lady at school.), who said talking to Jubilee was like talking to a 4 or 5 year old. I dont really know if thats true...I dont know a lot of 4 or 5 year olds that I talk to as much as I talk to Jubilee, but since more than one person unrelated to us said so, Im tending to believe it.

Jubilee has always been ahead when it comes to social and verbal skills. Doctors comment on that regularly. I dont notice it as much because I see her everyday. But I am happy thats the case considering she was behind in motor skills for so long.

We went to the library yesterday, (where I picked up Twilight - thank you Elizabeth), and they have a playhouse in the childrens section. Its equpped with a play kitchen, dishes, a telephone, table and chairs, and even a real doorway. I sat down so Jubilee could play in it for a while and soon two girls around age 5 came to join her. They started to play "Restaurant" and included Jubilee in everything they did. I sat and giggled to myself as they went through the motions of making and serving me coffee, tea, milk, and ice cream. Then the clean up and the bill. Jubilee seemed to understand the concept of all this and gave me a pretend piece of paper, "Money please." I loved watching them as they didnt break character once and worked flawlessly together to run the best restaurant I'd ever been to.

She can count to 20, knows all her colors, can sing about 5 songs, and we're working on her ABC's.

We've been working on Jubilee's manners a lot also. As long as she isnt over-tired, she is catching on. For example if you ask if she wants something to eat, she will answer, "No, thanks." or "Yes, please." (Most of the time.) If she is at the table and finished eating she will say, "May I be excused?" (Sounds more like, "May s'cused?") If she bumps into you she will apologize and if she burps she says, "excuse me", (sounds like "oopsy"). Dont get me wrong...she is still 2 years old and reminds us often.

Obviously I am a proud Mommy. I know we're lucky to have such a smart kid. I love that as she gets older Im still reminded of what a miracle she is.

Some People Just Make Me Shake My Head

I had an interesting experience at WalMart today. When we, (Aunt Donna, Juju and myself), parked we noticed the car directly in front of us had two pug dogs locked in the car. It was easily 75-78 degrees outside - thats hot for Ghettosville. Upon further inspection, the windows were rolled up! I got out and heard the lady parked next to me was talking into her cell phone. She was clearly talking about the dogs trapped in the hot car. She said, "Im calling the cops about those dogs!" Just then one of the dogs appeared in the back window and was heaving/gasping for air. It was clearly in distress. The lady - Jessica, said that she had just gotten in her car and it was easily 100 degrees inside from being in the store for 10 mins. These dogs were overheating. The police transferred her to animal control who apparently were on their way to free the dogs. In the meantime, the police had instructed Jessica to have someone go in and page the owner of the car. Aunt Donna went inside to do that while I stayed with Jessica until Animal Control showed up.

About 15 mins later the man who owned the car showed up. I was so relieved he was going to open the door for those dogs. Jessica said, "Sir, I just wanted you to know that I had to call animal control to try and help your dogs. I dont know if you realize, but it is too hot for them in the car...." Jessica was very polite...and I was suprised because she was quite pissed off those dogs were in distress. Instead of even letting Jessica finish her sentence, this man instantly became angry. He accused Jessica of harrassing him and said he was filing a complaint against her. As he yelled, and I do mean loud, he was coming toward her jabbing his finger in the air as if that drove his point home. Jessica backed away and said she was scared of him now. I agreed at this point he seemed crazy. I guess if this happened to me, (I would never lock my dogs in a hot car), but IF if it was me and I didnt agree with the person confronting me...I would just say goodbye and leave. This man was ranting and raving as if Jessica had been angrily accusing him of animal cruelty when in fact she was much nicer than I thought she should be. After yelling and ranting at her, he got back into his car....leaving his windows up. I know it had to easily be 100 or 110 degrees in that car. He had a hat and a coat on. After maybe 2 mins, he stepped out of his car again and I said, "Wow, hot in there is it??" He waved his cell phone at us and said, "I called the cops on your ass. You two are in deep shit now! Im sueing you for harrassment! I know vetrenarians!" *blinks* I couldnt help but to laugh. It was obvious he had some mental instability at this point. Jessica however was still a little scared and decided to leave before animal control got there. I had Juju in my arms and there was no way I was standing there alone, so I went inside the store. By the time we came out, he was gone.

I really cant believe somone would lock their dogs up like that...or even act like that when approached by someone in an attitude of concern...not confrontation. Thank God my Mom taught me better manners. Crazy people can have them too you know!

I Am So TIRED

I woke up at 4:30am and I cant go back to sleep. I didnt even go to bed until midnight. Its 6:00am now and Jubilee is already starting to make her waking up noises. (A combo of growling and moaning.) That feeling really annoys me of being so so tired but not being able to drift off. It makes me cranky! I think I'll go take a bath while Juju wakes up.

Happy 3rd...errr...4th of July!

The Fourth came and went without much hooplah. Usually we do some kind of shindig at our house on the Fourth, but having a baby who usually hits the sack at 7:30pm puts a damper on that.

What we did instead was celebrate our Independence day on the 3rd. Dad had to go back to work on the 4th and it just seemed better for everyone involved. So we had a cookout at Mom and Dad's house consisting of yummy steak, corn on the cob, and potatoes. We all ate until we went into a meat coma and decided it was time for fireworks.

I write about my anxiety from time to time so most of you know that sometimes I get this illogical sense of doom about irrational things. For some reason I got this doomy feeling about the fireworks. I dont know if it was just the anxiety or the fact that I was divebombed by a Jumping Jack when I was a kid, but the irrational fear started bubbling up and prompted a question to my sister, (who bought the fireworks), "You didnt get anything that would start a fire did you???" In my head, the question totally made sense...but as it spewed out of my mouth I realized it was retarded. My sister looked at me with that loving look that only a sister can give that says, You Dumbass, and said, "No...I got fireless works. They're just 'works'." Nothing like the sharp sarcasm of your sister to snap you out anxiety-land.

So we headed back to my house to do the Fireless Works and nothing caught on fire. (Although I think maybe the neighbors were pretty hot considering we were putting on a full-blown Fourth of July show on the Third of July.) Jubilee loved the fireworks. It was more entertaining to watch her expressions than to watch the actual fireworks. She would open her mouth in a big "O" when something made a loud boom, and she would cover her mouth and gasp at all the pretty colors...then tell us all the pretty colors she saw. When a display would crackle and sparks would spill all over, she would wiggle her body sort of like she was dancing to the noise. It was quite cute.

Last night, (the actual Fourth of July), was just a quiet, (well, almost) night at home. Jubilee went to bed at her normal time and slept right through the fireworks going off around our house. There were none actually on our street, but just the next street over. Close enough to hear and see it all. Still she slept right on through without a peep. Awesome!

The rest of this week is going to be busy. Tonight Im going to try and see Superman Returns, and tomorrow I have to be in Federal Way for a doctors appt. Troy's grandfather is in town from California so we will be hanging out with them this weekend. I think we are going to Victoria, B.C. one day. I love Victoria... and no matter how many times I go, I always have to visit the wax museum's torture chamber. Love it!!!

Camping with the Fam

We went camping this weekend at Pleasant Harbor Resort in Brinnon. It sits right on the Hood Canal and its some of the most beautiful camping Ive done in a long time. We had great camping spots that overlooked the water, but with lots of trees around to provide shade in the 80+ degree weather we had all weekend. We also saw some wildlife, including bald eagles who seem to hover around our camping spots for two days. Janet took some great pictures of one that perched in a dead tree right above us. I will post those pictures when she sends them. She takes amazing pictures.

The resort had a pool and Makayla, Blake, Baylee and Dylan had a blast swimming in the pool every chance they got. Weather around here doesnt often get warm enough to swim, and the only pool available in Ghettosville is the ghetto public pool which is all inside. I took Jubilee into the water and she loved it. She wouldnt let me teach her how to go under the water, or even let go of her blue turtle life vest, but she did jump to me from the side of the pool. She would be shivering with her lips turning blue and saying, "More swimmin'!" She is such a campin' girl. She loves being outside and playing in the dirt. Although, if her hands get even the tiniest bit dirty - she will run to me and say, "Dewwty! Wash mah hands?" I think this camping trip Jubilee has gotten the dirtiest Ive ever allowed her to get. I thought it was ok considering she would play with bubbles...spill them all over herself, then we would go swimming in the pool with enough chlorine to kill the most stubborn germ. So between the bubbles and the pool, I figure we got a full blown bath in there.

Poor Mom Botts made this chicken dish on Saturday night. She was very excited about it because it was new and people who gave her the recipe raved about it. Wait...Im getting ahead of myself. First off, she didnt have all the ingredients. So she sent me to go fetch them from whatever store you can find in The Middle of NoWhere, Washington. Let me tell you - there are no grocery stores anywhere near where we were. Janet and I ended up at this "convenience store" in a BIG brick building. It reminded me of a prison building but with neon beer signs in tiny little windows. We walk in and the first thing you see is the old man who runs the place. You can tell he knows that his store is the closest thing to civilization for miles and miles. He barely acknowledged our arrival with glance that seemed to say, "Yep this is my store and I dont give a crap how dirty it is because Im all you've got lady." As you entered, to the left was a tall display of work boots, socks, various car, boat, trailer parts, and gloves. All seemingly from the 1970's and 80's. As you walked toward the back of the store, you apparently had entered the hardware/produce section...that is if you can count tiny sprouting potatoes and rotting bananas as produce. I knew it was also the hardware section by the hip boots, hammers and nails that were displayed conveniently next to the "fruit". Turn another corner and you found the "beauty" section which included nipple shields from the 1970's and nail polish that had long since been dried and stuck to the inside of the bottles. Going down the next isle you found a grand display of machetes, swords and ornate knives. I was amazed at this store. You could tell how long items had been sitting on the shelf by how thick the layer of dust was covering it. The most amazing thing about this store was it had all the ingredients Mom Botts needed to make her special chicken dish.

So back we went to our camp and eventually Mom Botts excused herself to make this tremendous chicken dish she was so excited to present. After a long anticipated wait, she brought the dish out for all to see. She set it down on the table and everyone gathered around. We all just stared at it for a second...speechless...searching for something positive to say. I cant remember if I actually said it out loud, but all I could think was, "OMG..its GREEN!" Not green like a spinich salad....but baby poop green. .....with chunks. Apparently it was dead silent for a little too long because Mom said, "What?!" That was our cue. We better be trying this green chunky chicken surprise. I tasted a bit with my finger and all I could think was, "Holy monkey...how long have those spices been on that store shelf!?!?!?" Then some brave soul, Blakey I think, took the first guinea pig bite, and as we all watched with cautious eyes, he gave us the ok....it tasted better than it looked. I tried some, and so did Dad Botts...in fact, I think he had seconds and thirds. It did indeed taste better than it looked. Good thing too! I think Mom Botts would have cursed us all if we didnt eat it.

She totally redeemed herself the next day by making the yummy traditional Breakfast Crap. (breakfast casserole that has affectionately come to be known as Breakfast Crap).

We love your crap Mom!!