Note to Self

As my son continues to grow taller, his reach also extends. In fact, almost nothing on the kitchen table is safe anymore.

This means he just might swipe his bottle of antibiotics when I'm not looking. This in turn means a good hour plus of searching for those antibiotics, a frantic call to the pharmacy for a refill (which, turns out, isn't yet covered by insurance since it's too soon after the original fulfillment) and freaking out about what's going to happen to his pneumonia if his next dose of z-pak is 12 hours off schedule.

It may also mean that daddy finds said antibiotics tucked away in the Christmas tree box (which daddy has to repack since mama cannot physically fit that dang tree in there).

Grandiose Illusions

I took off a full 10 days from Christmas Eve until this morning. I had visions of magical holidays spent enjoying each others' company, play dates, walks to the park, and much needed cleaning and organizing.

But then reality hit. Carter ended up with pneumonia and an ear infection. Torrential downpours kept us on floodwatch 2010. I got two separate colds within 10 days of each other. And Seth couldn't end up taking off the time he had hoped to. I had to cancel 4 separate doctors appointments, all of which now need to be rescheduled meaning we miss work and daycare.

We did manage one play date after the antibiotics ran its course and my house is much cleaner and more organized. I even organized my spices, which has to be one of the most time consuming and least rewarding chores. The Christmas decorations are back in the attic and my floors were relatively clean for about 2 hours.

For 2011, I wanted to make resolutions to be better about meal planning, cleaning, and spending time with God. After the week we had last week though, I'm going to focus on getting through every day. Having a baby, surviving with a toddler.

I do have a vague meal plan for this week, scribbled on a sheet with a cryptic grocery list, a work message, and random notes from the first call to the doctor's office this morning. I'm going to count that as a small victory.

Baby GIRL Jobin!!

Carter's going to have a little sister :) This has been confirmed for the 4th time today, so I'm starting to really believe it.

And, some news that I'm selfishly excited about, she's in the 50th percentile! Not the 95th! Nice and healthy, and her head is smaller than Carter's ever was. Whew.

Truer words have never been spoken.

"It's not about Why this? It's about What next?"

The Mikey Show, which I love, is doing the Mikeython, ending this morning. Currently, Mikey and his wife are pouring out their hearts about their son, their struggle with his autism, their life, and their faith in God. Mikey just said this in regards to the blessing that Jake's autism has been. 

You can also donate here: https://www.mogiv.com/jake/general/

I need to confess.

After weeks of fretting and far too much emotional deliberation, I've made a major decision.

The Family Jobin will not be sending out Christmas cards this year. 


This is a big deal to me, which makes me feel like a failure as a wife and mother. What would Martha Stewart think?! We've sent out cards every year since we got married. I was the bride who wrote my thank you cards before the plane landed on our honeymoon. I have an adorable kid I'd like to showcase.

But mostly, we don't have a picture I like and really don't have the time/energy/resources for a photo shoot and that Christmas cards entail. I'm in that awkward stage where I look like I ate way too much at Thanksgiving, but not actually pregnant yet. The hours of selecting photos, picking out my favorite card, analyzing prices, compiling addresses, paying for the whole thing... and we all know I'm physically incapable of doing anything halfway.

Life is a little crazy right now and I've spent a lot of the last 17 weeks trying not to throw up every single thing I eat and just trying to function on a basic level. Something had to give. Can someone please reassure me that my son is going to turn out okay despite this? We're fed, clothed, he's relatively happy, that's enough, right?

And don't worry, I'll be sending out birth announcements this summer.

More Carter stories

Some people may be bored with these stories by now, but personally I find my kid to be hilarious and entertaining.

Last night in the bathtub, Carter was repeatedly pouring a giant cup of water over his face and practically drowning himself. Eventually he got tired of Seth's repeated correction and said "bye bye daddy" and closed the shower curtain.

He's hilarious, entertaining... and the future prospects are terrifying.

We're screwed: Part 29

Carter's new favorite game is pulling everything out of the kitchen cupboards. I decided I'd put a rather heavy box of bottled sodas in front of it (which, he promptly pushed out of the way, just as he did with the second attempt of the bag containing a 16 pound bowling ball).

When he first saw my attempt at separating him and his beloved drawer, he looked up at me, flung his arms and yelled "come on!"

17 Months.

Happy 17 months to my little tantrum-throwing, argumentative, fiercely independent, rebellious, risk-taking, loving, energetic boy.

Right now, he's disputing Baby Einstein. The nice voice announced "tiger" as a lovely tropical picture showcased this. Carter, in response, yelled "NO!" That's my boy.

My annual November pondering

How soon is too soon to decorate for Christmas?

My husband would say it's obviously any time before Thanksgiving.

However, I say... if we're not hosting Thanksgiving, no one will even really know we're disrespecting the turkey in favor of the far superior holiday. Plus, at the latest, I have to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Immediately. Maybe even Thanksgiving night while eating my delicious leftovers. So maybe we can just decorate a few days early and savor all 4 glorious days of the Thanksgiving weekend...

If you pay us an come visit unannounced this weekend, there's a good chance you'll find yourself face to face with a fully lit Christmas tree. BEFORE THANKSGIVING!  Consider yourself warned.

Dinner table conversation

Last night, Carter was having a cup throwing contest with himself. He won. After repeatedly correcting, gently redirecting his efforts, trying to distract him, etc. we had the following exchange:

Carter: [general whining and straining for cup]
Me: Carter, can you say "mama, I'm sorry I threw my cup, can I please have it back? I promise not to throw it again."
Carter: "Amen!"