Leave me comments.....

I would love to know if anyone is out there and reading, so please leave a comment.  Even if I don't know you feel free to comment.

J

Hey there. Just getting settled into the new job, been here about 3.5 months now.  Great chance, in a great company, just a little nervous I bite off more than I can chew sometimes.  Been home for a couple of weeks and may go to Houston next week for 2-3 days so no major travel planned.  We'll see once the Avenal CA. job gets going towards completion just how much I'm gone.  I did tell them honestly when I interviewed that anything over two weeks travel is too long.  Hopefully it would be me going back and forth, or the Family coming out to visit for a while, but you never know till it happens and not knowing is what scares me the most.  I love my Family and I know this job will let me provide for them better than I have in the past, I just would hate to strain my relationships for money.

Andrea's back on her "drugs" now after the pregnancy and feedings, very hard for her to stop feeding before the 12 months she did with the others but with a changed life, come sacrifices.  And what a joy this little "sacrifice" is!  Anna's almost 9 months and growing every day.

All getting excited to head to Florida again this year, no Disney, but Sea World and the beach.  Flights, Hotel, Condo, and Car are all booked.  Just need to decide if we are going to do a special tour at Sea World or not, I think Yes.

TATA for now.

PS. My goal is to add a picture 'O the day, we'll see how I do.


Loves,
J

Update...

Hey there!  Well alot has happened.  We had little Anna as I said before, I got a new job, and our little family is growing up!

With this new job I've been traveling alot.  I guess alot is kind of an understatement, but Andrea and I knew it would be when we took the leap.  We have a fundraiser tonight for ALS and uncle Dale (RIP).  So hopefully more to come.  GOD BLESS!

Jay

Well, well....

It's been a long time. So long infact there is a new Viera in the mix. We added Anna Renee on May 3rd 2010.

Hello again....

Hey everyone, just getting back into the swing of things after an awesome Family vaca. We all had a blast at Disney and then on Longboat Key. Unfortunately vacations can't last forever. We had some really nice weather except for two days, one was windy and the next was rainy, but you gotta shop at some point right? Andrea is doing great with this pregnancy(again). She's like super mom or something. I'm starting to freak a little thinking there's another child on the way, nothing major just typical Dad shit. Andrea is still doing super well and really showing MS, and all of us, who's boss around here. Now I get to show you the fun I had on vacation, aside from doing Disney like the rockstar fam we are, and then chillin on the beach, I got to drive one of the very rare and exotic rides that Italy hand produces every year. Some of you won't give a damn and you can close your browser now, but for those that are interested I will add some pictures.

This is a 2010 Ferrari California. It is #3 in America and had 504 miles. Four hundred and fifty some horsepower and coming in at almost $250,000, it is one of the best cars I have had the pleasure of driving. The sound is amazing, the ride is indescribable, and it was a blast to drive.

TATA for now,

Love J

Pictures....

Here we go, finally got pictures to load....

this one was a challenge, Emma was not having any part of the step sisters and step Mother, but in the end Annastacia(?) the one in pink had a talk with Em and got her to come around.

Tinker Bell,

Mickey and Minnie,

Peter Pan,

This is the view of Cinderella's castle from ur room.

Magical!

Hey just got done at the Magic Kingdom for the weekend. Had a blast, the kids were blown away. Anyone that said Madz was to young was dead wrong. We had an amazing room at The Contemporary resort, the closest to the park as you can get. Fantastic room and incredible service. Now were down on the beach in a 2 bedroom 2 bath cottage till Sunday, time to relax and unwind from the chaos of the Kingdom. Sorry can"t upload pictures, they will come later.

Hey everyone. Lots of prep to get the heck outta town, I for one am in desperate need of a break, getting very burned out at work. We got to go out to dinner tonight and the girls were pretty darn well behaved. Hopefully good practice for Florida. Well not much to say with out sounding like I'm whining. We just all need a break from the day to day. Here's some pics from dinner, Emma has "Ted-E-Bear" a bear from school that comes home and does adventures with the fam and then we add pictures and a little story in his diary. TATA for now...........

Love J

we're baaaccckk!

Hey everyone Jay here. Not sure if anyone actually looks at this any more but here we are. Got a great start to the new year. We are all real excited to get on our way for the Family follies of our annual Florida trip. We are going to do Disney again this year and the kids are beside themselves. We have an awesome room rented for disney and a great little cottage on the beach for the following week on Longboat Key. I for one can not wait to get outta here. The kids are growing by leaps and bounds. Emma is back in gymnastics nd loving school and all her friends. Maddie is also doing gymnastics in a class I do with her, I don't know if she has more fun than I do! Andrea is VERY prego and seems to be having another great prego experience, she's so tough she won't complain anyhow.(gotta love strong minded women) I am still installing and fixing carwash equipment and loving it, just in desperate need of a vacation. Much love to all our supporters and family and friends. Andrea is doing a bang up job of showing MS just who the fuck is boss. Again gotta love a strong women, and god do I! She started a group for "young moms with MS" aka: lets get the hell away from husbands and loud kids for awhile. Her and a buddy, Jen, started and they both need and deserve breaks. Hope everyone is well, and hey if you read this do me a favor and click the comments at the end and just let us know your still there. LOVE, PEACE, AND GOD BLESS!

Hi! It is me, Andrea. Remember me? Wow, it has been a while. It seems like we have been busy - doing nothing in particular - so when it is time for bed, I don't have the desire to type. Also, I KNOW that I have some photos that I was going to post here. But, because I am playing "musical cameras" lately in trying to have a camera around that works, I cannot find which SD card they are on. I may have to wait a day to post them.

Anyway, here I am! Things as a whole are good. I feel great, Jay has been traveling a lot and that isn't so great, on the other hand the weather has been pretty tolerable!

Last week Monday,I met my "MS friend" Jennifer (I hate having to define her as that, but it is easier to keep her straight like that) and a man named Jeff who works for the MS Society of MN for dinner. Jennifer and I had an idea of starting a "support group" - not really in the traditional sense, more of a social get together - for women with young kids. Jeff really loved the idea because there are not any other gatherings like that and he has been packed with questions lately from women who fit that criteria. So Jennifer and I are putting a group toghether that will meet once per month and develope a community of people who have so much more on their mind then the MS.

The big highlight of the week was on Wednesday. A huge day for Emma. Grandpa Al picked her up and drove her to school, then participated in class as the "Mystery Reader". He sat with the kids ad read a book to them and spent time with Emma in class. She thought that was the coolest and she was so excited that her friends were just as thrilled as she was to have her grandpa there. So much fun!

After school, the girls and I packed up and drove to Eau Claire to visit Jay where he was working all week long (and the week before and most of this week). Emma was amazed to drive to a new state, "It looks like MN!" and "I can't beleive that they have grocery stores here". I suppose an 1hr 45 min drive seems like a lifetime away for little kids. We hung out in the hotel, which in and of itself was a thrill, we went to dinner as a family and went swimming. Madeline, the little fish, was hard to keep out of the pool.

The next morning, Jay had to get up to work. The girls and I indulged in a wonderful continential breakfast, then spent more time in the pool and went back to the room and took a hot shower. The girls took full advantage of the ability to take a shower as long as they wanted. I suspect that Emma was in there for a little more then 45 minutes - that's my girl! We met Jay for lunch then headed back home.

Jay came home Friday afternoon and we spent a nice weekend together. Nothing exciting, just time together. Thankfully, evening though work still calls in Eau Claire, Jay vowed to us (and just as much to himself) that he was driving to and from Eau Claire every evening.

Oh yeah, my friend Jennifer forwarded this link to an intriguing story that was done about an upcoming investigational procedure for MS. Who knows where it will lead, but at least someone is working on it! Hopefully this link works! http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091120/W5_liberation_091121/20091121?s_name=W5

Count down to turkey day!!

Yeah! We got two full days of Jay to ourselves! These weekends prove to be nice when he has been gone all or a good part of the week.

Friday was a pretty lazy night. Jay must have worked hard during the week because he was dozing off on the couch around 7:30 and it was still hard for him to get out of bed the next morning when th kids woke him up around 8. Glad he was able to get rest in his own bed.

We ran some errands, found Grandpa Don a nice shirt as a birthday gift and had a nice lunch out. The girls turned into spunky little things and made the shirt buying process much longer then it needed to be. But, it was nice spending time together.

That evening we went to grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's house for a birthday party for Don. Had some yummy tacos and hung out. Toward the end of the evening, after a brownie and cake and ice cream (far more sweets then the girls ever, ever get) Madeline started acting a little sick. S we packed up and headed home. Half way home I head the tell tale signs of poor Madz puking in the back of the car. Jay jumped back there and had to strip out of his sweatshirt and then T shirt to catch the flying debris. We had it home, popped her in the bath and cleaned up a bit. After that puking Madz seemed to feel just fine and slept though the night.

Even through they did't end up going to bed until 11:30, they still managed to be up at 7. Amazing how that happens when you are a kid. Threw them in bed to watch some cartoons. Madeline lasts but only a few minutes doing that so then we were up playing and trying to catch a mouse that was running around - thankfully our cat is pretty good at doing that. I generally just catch them and go put them outside.

We got to church early to meet with the membershi coordinater. Amazingly I have been going to this church for about 20+ years and Jay for the last 15 years, we have never been officially "members". They consider me one since I was confirmed there and the girls are because they were baptised there. So we made it official this morning. Jay was moved when Pastor Dave put his hand on him during a special prayer.

Lunch, play, naps. While the girls were napping I ran to Target to get a gift for a baby shower, then off to the shower while the brood was still resting. Had a nice time at the baby shower and I think that Jay was happy I was home. I think that because I do not leave them very often they freak out when I am not around, even if it is Jay there with them.

We hung out as lazy people the rest of the night. The girls were still in their spunky moods and Emma was finding everything under the sun to complain about and it is wearing on my nerves. Glad it is bedtime for them and me. Jay leaves again for WI tomorrow. But, the girls and I will be leavning on Wed for a short roadtrip to meet him! They are so excited!

Wow, it has been a long time. And this is going to be pretty short and sweet. Jay is out of town for the most of this week and all of next. So it is all girls all the time at the Viera household.

Jay did have last Monday off because he worked last weekend. It was a beautiful day! Jay hung lights in the trees and Madeline strutted around in her cowgirl boots and hockey helmet. After Emma was done with school we met with her teacher for conferences. Emma is doing terrific in school! Her teacher said that she is one of the best readers in class. She is so studious and very smart. She hasn't seen a child so into books and comprehending in a long time. Thankfully she also has a lot of friends and people gravitate toward her. She has one little boy friend and one little girl friend who she really pals around with. I am so happy to hear that she is doing so well. It is a good start to a school career and it shows that I am not really just being a mom when I tell someone that she is really smart. No, really my kid is!!

The girls finished up their last gymnastics classes this week and I am hoping to get them signed up again. But, with Christmas approaching and 20+ people on the list to buy for, the kiddos may have to wait until after the holidays.

I feel like we have been running around like crazy ladies lately. Last night we took care of my friends 3 boys while she worked. Let me tell you, if you think you know little boys, you know NOTHING until you have seen these three boys. I love them dearly and I love my friend to death and will do anything for her, but holy cow, it is exhausting!!! But, we got through it and she was very thankful.

We had some other friends over today and another playdate with a little friend here tomorrow. I am ready for the weekend, but we have much to do. At least Jay will be home!

Yesterday Emma had school. Madeline and I got quite a bit of running around done during that time since I had forgotten (i.e. don't know how) to change the time on my watch I was an hour off. Got a workout done and all sorts of other things. We a day of introspect and thought.

I had a meeting for an early childhood advisory board that I was on. Thankfully they provided very well trusted care for the girls since Jay was out of town. The meeting was an eye opener as to how tings change when there is a change in administration and vision. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the future. By the time we got home it was bed time. We tried to call Jay to say good night, but he didn't answer his phone.

Today the girls were less then cooperative in getting things done so that we could get out the door. We were able to talk to Jay this morning. And finally made it to the gym for a whole 15 minutes of a treadmill workout. Then on to Madeline's class for some fun and songs.

We had to hurry home to make sure that we took naps on time since Emma had gymnastics tonight. Finding sometimes deep thoughts are most destructive and eye opening.

So happy to say that Emma was well behaved and a good listener for class tonight. The teacher even gave the kids their paperwork as far as which class they could go into next. Emma was given the go ahead into the next class up!

We hustled home to meet my friend for a little pizza dinner and chatting about an upcoming meeting on Friday. We got some things done, but as it goes when the girls are around, there was much more attention paid to them then on the task at hand. That is ok, we got through it and got a little bit done. I need to finish u on some things before Friday.

Jay made it home part way through dinner. That was nice that he was only gone for 1+ days. He did run in the door then out again to help our friend look at her sump pump that was flooding her basement. I know that she was more then thankful for his help.

God the girls to bed, Jay is already in bed, now I need to get there. Oh yeah, I had another digital death in the family. My digital camera crapped out on me. This was a great camera that my dad gave to me. It was working so, so well. Suddenly it didn't want to work. Ugh, I do not have the magic touch with cameras. So I apologize for the lack of photos.

We made it through the week with Jay in WI. It actually went pretty quickly. Between gymnastics, Emma's field trip with Grandma Kim, and school we were never bored. I tried, and succeeded to change the girls schedule earlier in the week to the new time change so that we wouldn't be stuck with crazy kids for the week. It seems to have worked out today!

It was grea to have Jay home this weekend. On Friday we went to Grandma Kim's and Grandpa Don's to carve pumpkins. The first year the girls, in particular Emma, was able to really do the drawing and carving themselves. Amazingly Emma actually did the guts too!

Saturday we had a fun little Halloween party to go to, then rested up for a nice night of trick or treating. The weather was cool, but the wind was gone so not too bad. It is so cute because all of the neighbors when they answer the door always tell the girls "we have been waiting for you". There are not many kids in the neighborhood so they make out pretty well. A couple of houses even said that they were waiting for the girls to come then they could go out for the evening. Then spent a little time at the neighbors and made it home when the girls started to lose control due to a sugar high.

This morning was church then we went to lunch with some friends. It was a great time! We laughted and laughed. The girls were even midly well behaved and ate and entertained themselves so we could kind of enjoy our own time.

This evening was a relaxing one. Trying to spend time with Jay before he heads off to WI again for a part of the week (we are not sure how long he will be gone for). I need to give all of my Dr's a call to check on the pain I have in my back. I think I did something to a muscle, but just need to make sure that it isn't some sort of MS thing.

Jay is out of town for the rest of the week in lovely LaCrosse, WI. Thankfully he hasn't been gone mush oer the past few months. But, even though he was gone for the 6 weeks straight at the beginning of the summer, Madeline has forgotten all about that. Today she asked about a dozen times "Daddy going to be home after nap", "Daddy coming home tonight?" Poor little thing can't understand that he will be coming home, just in a few days.

Took Emma to gymnastics tonight equipped with an apology letter to her coach for "not listening" last week and a stern discussion about listening and keeping her hands to herself. She is 100% better then last week. There are a few other girls who get pretty crazy in class, and Emma (scary enough) just follows along wanting to do what they do. Hopefully she grows out of that by the time she is 13.

We enjoyed Jambalaya tonight - typically what the girls ask for when Jay is out of town. Then some snacks while watching Dancing with the Stars. A good evening all around. Tomorrow Emma is going on her first school field trip. Thankfully Grandma Kim has the day off of work and wants to go with her. So they will hop a school bus to a local farm for the day. Should be fun!

Holy cow, I have really been slacking on my blogging duties lately!! I think that with the weather being so terrible that by the time the girls go to bed, we are not far behind. This cold/cloudy weather makes you just want to hunker down in bed.

Nothing too terribly out of the ordinary last week. I think in my last post I gave you the update about my Dr appointment and I discussed how terrible Emma was at gymnastics. Thankfully the week got better!

Madeline had gymnastics on Thursday and she, along with Emma, just love doing it so, so much. With Madeline's class the parent still hs to do it with them. So happy that Jay is willing and likes doing it with her because it is so exhausting and I think that after she has been forced to listen to me all day she is not so entertained about doing it at class. They look like they have a great time.

At school on Friday, Emma was awarded Ted E. Bear to bring hom for the weekend. He is a stuffed bear that we take hom and he goes on "adventures" with us and we write about it in a ournal to share with the class. She was ssooooo excited.

Saturday morning I was very, very excited to see that Jay was ambitious enough to tackle another window. He took out and replaced the kitchen window. That window was terrible. I think that we lost a lot of heat out of it. But, even better then that the window was so dirty you could barely see out of it anymore. We had tried cleaning it, but the previous owners had screwed the outer window part on and the screws were stripped so we couldn't take off to wash. This is like looking out onto a totally different enighborhood. We only have two more windows to replace now. Hping that those can get done soon. We still need to finish the insides so that there isn't the exposed wood. But, that is a whole new ball game as far as what we need to buy. The girls and I played outside in the breif sunshine while Jay worked.

Saturday evening we got dressed up for a Halloween party at the recreation center. On our way there we drove by Paisley Park, home of Prince (my favorite), where a couple hundred people were lined up to get tickets for the concert that he was putting on there that evening. I didn't have money to buy tickets, so I had to forgo the show. I was really dissapointed. Oh well. We had a great time at the party. The kids played games and we rode on a horse drawn wagon.

Today was church and nap. After nap we went to a friend of mine to pick up her old carpet for Madeline's new room. I can't wait to have her room done!! Logistically, it will be great for when I get the girls dressed or ready for bed, but also it will be nice to not have her in limbo anymore.

Off to bed. Jay has a week of lots of driving and travel. A mostly girls week here.

This past weekend Jay and I felt like we were living like rock stars, or at least people who didn't have kids. The girls spent the evening and night on Saturday with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don. Jay and I went out to dinner - yes, an adult dinner that was uninterrupted by "I need to go potty", "Where is my milk" then out to spend some times with some people that Jay went to high school with. It was a nice time and it was fun listening to old stories - who would have thought that we wouldn't get home until 2am! Holy cow! I am too old for that. And even thgouth I was able to sleep in until 9am - totally unheard of otherwise - it was hard to recover from staying out so late. So nice to be able to spend some time together!!

We went to church sans the kiddos and had a nice lunch and took in some football with some friends we haven't been able to hang out with much lately (they do not have kids and that puts a much different aspect in putting something together). We had good intentions of finishing installing our windows, but the previous evening was still catching up with us so it didn't happen. We picked up the kids and all came home for a nap.

Today Madeline and I dropped off Emma at school and were off to my neurologist appointment. It was a regular check up. We did go over the regular stregnth tests and stuff, and we also discussed some things aout MS in general and in my MS that I had not previouly known. Such as he said that it is beginning to be widly accepted that MS is developed in the body from conception to age 15. I start to worry about Emma's dislike of Vitamin D milk when she was a year old. Before I knew about this Vitamin D importance. Ugh! But, I had also been wavering back and forth in getting the H1N1 shot (whenever they become available) because people with MS that get the flu tend to be far more affected then others who don't have diseased brains. Also, he reviewed my MRI and we discussed anticipated thoughts of the future. He said that I am in the middle on the spectrum. I am certainly not on the "highly affected", but I am not on the most midly affected. I am right in the middle. Could be worse, right? He said that it is very tough to decipher what will come in the future since the brain is so complex. There has to be lesions on both side of the brain to create a physical malidy. Not sure what that tells me. But, I know right now I feel just fine and hope to stay that way for many years.

Unbelieveably "winter" has already set in over MN. Just lovely. It isn't even the middle of October yet and it is already dull and snow covered. It is 8pm and I am eeling stir crazy here in the house already. Thankfully, for about the last 5 minutes, the girls are entertaining themselves playing and not fighting. But, I am thinking that this seems like a long winter without much to do.

Jay was home from work today and Emma was so excited that daddy was going to bring her to school. After school we all went to the local community center for some swim time. They charge and arma nd a leg to get it, but we had a good time. Emma is a little wuss in the water. That isn't all bad. She didn't want to go past the depth of her chest and she just kind of stood around. Madeline on the other hand follows suit with how her personality is starting to develop. She is a daredevil. She loved going down the water slide and didnt' mind if she went under water. And it wasn't long before she didn't want us standing at the bottom to catch her when she came down head first down the slide. She loved it!

Packing up, in the showers, we had a near major incident. The metal seats that they have in the shower feel on top of Madeline's face and threw her against the wall. She is a tough kid. Lots of crying, but no blood and hopefully nothing broken. She has a big bump on her nose and forehead. We filled out an accident report when we left. The commuity center seemed concerned that the stool had a faulty part (it did), but weren't as concerned about Madz face.

Nap time for the girls and Jay. I elected to stay up and watch Oprah interview Mike Tyson. I thought it was interesting.

It was/is a mellow night. Jay has now put on a movie for the kids. The summer is go, go, go with playing outside right up until the 9pm bedtimes and now we are just stretching to make it to 9 without dying of boredom. I suggested that we play Wii, but Jay got rid of the game so I guess that is out.

Have a busy week and I think that I designed our schedule to be like that. Although now I am finding that we are pretty short on days available for playdates.

Today we were to go shopping for winter outerwear with Great Grandma and Grandpa. They love taking the girls - all the great-grandkids - shopping for winter coats and snowsuits. And you would think since we live in Minnesota that shopping for outerwear in mid-October wouldn't be unreasonable. Well, we had the fashion industry all wrong. After going to three stores and having very slim pickins in all of them we left the shopping event empty handed. Not sure what the heck I am going to dress the girls in this weekend when it is supposed to be cold with a high possibility of snow. Just lovely - frickin' lovely.

But, after shopping we went to Grandma and Grandpas house where Grandpa Al came to meet us for lunch. We had fun playing around with great grandma's old wigs and enjoying lunch. Emma can be such a stinker sometimes. She throws mini-tantrums about the tiniest stuff. I suppose that is what being 4 is all about.

This evening we had to negotiate gymnastics without daddy who is trying to get some projects done at work. This was a perfect time to put the thoery to the test of the "type" of child Madeline is. I spoke to her teachers on Tuesday about this and we came up with a perfect way to describe her. She is a "strong willed" little girl. She knows what she wants and is not satisfied until she gets it. Thankfully she is very funny, because trying to accomodate her when she is activly working on her indepenence is pretty tough.

Things are getting crazy around the house. Things are so busy and so many things at hand. Hopefully somehow that will make winter go by a little faster. Again, I need to go buy a lottery ticket. I must find a way to get out of here!!

I am here and all is well! It has been a long time since I posted. We have just been so busy with school starting and getting back into our new schedule. I am trying to do the workout thing and get all sorts of other stuff done as well so by the time the girls go to bed at night I am ready to call it a day as well. I will have to write a little bit more substance tomorrow. We just got back from the neighbors and watching the Vikings walk all over the Packers. That was fun. I think that Emma may be coming down with something. She was pretty quiet and mellow tonight. Cross our fingers!!