Cha- cha- cha- cha- changes!

Well, there's a lot happening at the Reynolds home! Some really great and some not so great....


1.  The bad-- Rowan has been sick. It all started two weeks ago when Rowan was nursing before bed. I was stoking his face and noticed a lump on his jaw about the size of the tip of my thumb. It felt pretty rooted to his jawbone but also was under on the soft tissue.
       I called into work (thank God my boss uses FB) and the next day got him in to see the only available dr. at the clinic (who happened to just be a general practitioner-- not a pediatrician). She was great with Rowan and thought he might have a blocked salivary gland. She told me she wanted to get an ultrasound but wanted to call around to check if that would give her the picture she needed. After about 15 minutes she came back in and informed me that she had been directed to the pediatricians (who didn't have any time to see Rowan that day) and they had told her not to do anything because THEY wanted to see him for themselves.
       So, I went upstairs for an appointment, scheduled one for the next day, called in to work again (which they were VERY understanding about, thank God), and went home to cuddle with my baby.
       That night, Todd got home from doing his Nat'l. Guard stuff and I let him know and the next morning we headed out. We saw a pediatrician (not Rowan's regular one) who checked him out and deemed that he had a swollen lymph node. He prescribed amoxicillan for seven days and said if it doesn't reduce in size or if it gets bigger in that time to bring him back. Which worked fine because we had his Well baby appt. scheduled for seven days from then (two birds with one stone and all that)
        We proceeded to give the meds as directed for that week and it did, in fact, get bigger. On Thursday we took Rowan in to his regular ped. for his well baby and informed her about the lump. She checked it out and said she thinks it's an infected lymph node and prescribed a DIFFERENT antibiotic. She said that if this one doesn't work then we need to bring him back (AGAIN, AGAIN!) and she wants to do an ultrasound or CT scan from there.
       On Friday, we started his new meds (Cephalexin FOUR times a day, I might add) and that night I went to a family BBQ at my sister's house. Rowan started to feel hot and wanted me to cuddle with him for most of the night (which is unusual when there's a lot to explore!). I got him home and checked his temp.-- 101.8 degrees :(  Poor guy. I waited until the next day (Saturday) to give him his infant advil because I wanted to check the drug interaction with the pharmacist. All day he was cranky and cuddly-- just wanting to be held. He didn't eat much but took his medicine just fine. I used cool washcloths and a cool bath to keep him soothed but he was still not well off. You could tell he was tired but only took a short nap and then woke up cranky but, strangely, listless as well. That night he was up almost hourly and I just want to say thank you God for Todd because he took those shifts. I woke up with him at 7:30 and this day has proceeded must as yesterday did-- fever ranging between 99.5 and 100.9, give him his antibiotics and advil, he's happy for about two hours, feed him whatever he will eat, he sort of falls asleep then wakes up crying if you're not holding him. If he's not better tomorrow I'm going to have Todd call the doctor and get him in because three days of fever is just not okay! I'll keep everyone posted on that front.

at 10 weeks :)

2. The good news! We've finally let everyone know about the newest addition to our family :) I'm now 12 weeks pregnant (almost out of the danger phase)!
     This was a planned pregnancy. Todd and I did a lot of talking while he was away and we both came to the conclusion that we were ready for our second (and FINAL) child. As children, we really felt such a joy in having a sibling close in age to us (Todd and Beau are about 21 months apart, and Sarah and I are 15 months apart). We loved having that special person as a buddy to grow with. I mean, Sarah drove me kind of crazy growing up but she's my best friend today and I wouldn't trade her for anything :) Todd feels similarly about Beau (although I'm sure Beau was the one driven crazy, as he's the older of the two).
      It's amazing how different my second pregnancy has been. My morning sickness was completely different; whereas, with Rowan, I was somewhat sick all of the time and therefore lost weight, with this one I feel horribly sick whenever I let myself get even the least bit hungry!!! I've already put on 5 pounds :( My mom joked that this was probably going to be a 9lb. girl >:0
     We are hoping for a girl though. One of each would be perfect, but of course we'll be pleased and feel blessed no matter what God grants us! I'm due March 11th, two days before our wedding anniversary. What can I say? We love to cluster our holidays <3

Well, those are the two big things for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to post more regularly now (but we'll see how that goes with a sick toddler, eh?)

Change and change alike.

I always find myself noticing the change in people-- and resenting it. Have you ever had that moment, where you meet up with an old friend and you have all of these expectations of falling right back into that great friendship of old? Then you find yourself standing in front of a stranger disappointed and sad...


I feel that I should very clearly say that this is completely selfish. It is silly and unfair to expect a person to stay the same as time passes. It is also important to say that people don't necessarily change for the worse either... Merely, my disappointment stems from the expectation and longing to have the same feelings of ease and comfort that I had in the past.


People change..... so much. The only thing to be done is to swallow that selfishness and get past it. Perhaps I need to try harder to familiarize myself with the person with my old friends' face? My way of life is certainly not the only way, I just do my best to be good. I wish others, however, would be open to listening to my perspective. I hope also to be open to doing some listening myself.


On a completely different note, Rowan had his 12month photos done. Who else finds the idea of this AMAZING?! My little baby will be a year old on Moday.......... He did well at the appointment but didn't really care for the cake lol. I'm very excited to see how the session turns out :) Afterward, however, he threw up-- too much sugar for a digestive system that is unused to it.


All in all I'd say that this day could best be described as.............................awkward.

Oh, LIFE!

What can I say? I'm a TERRIBLE blogger! lol I just fill up all of my time with so many other things and when I get around to my "internet time" it happens to be cutting into my bed time!!!


So, a lot has been going on. First and foremost, I joined Weight Watchers in January. From then til now I have lost 30.4 lbs and haven't had a weigh in that showed gain. This is THE MOST successful I have ever been in my life. I don't know what happened but something just clicked in my life and it was time for change. Perhaps it was because I was fast approaching a new (larger!) pant size, perhaps because Todd has been away for training, or perhaps because I was getting winded playing with my baby. I just thought, I'm not going to live very long if I keep this pace up. And, ya know what, I just want to look sexy! lol


Anyway, in addition to modifying my diet with a program, I found a great friend who is a MACHINE at the gym. She pulled me in and pushed me out of my comfort zone. It has been a slow and arduous journey but, by golly!, I'm a runner!!! For those of you who've known me for any length of time, you are well aware that I've never been a fan. The reason being that I've always been so awkward. Turns out that with some practice and someone right there telling me to keep going it can be done!!!

Today I hit a big milestone. I really struggle with distance running (I'm much more comfortable sprinting) but today I was able to run 2 miles almost non stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess the 5k Diva Dash being on Saturday really shocked me into pushing it; that and my group was running really behind this morning and I knew I only had 30minutes to work out instead of 45. Anyway, I put together a really kick butt playlist last night so I popped my headphones in and went for it!!! Having the music was a HUGE help. I found my running pace at last! And, just like that, it wasn't a struggle anymore. I was shocked to discover that I COULD DO THIS!!! So I made two miles in 22minutes, a new personal record!!!

In addition to running 3miles Monday-Friday, I go to Zumba Tuesday & Saturday, Spin on Wednesday, and Boot Camp at 5:30 AM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Boot camp has been a real killer but I've really started toning up which I LOVE!

As far as other recent life events, well it's a big month here in the Reynolds home! My birthday is next Monday, Rowan will be one year old on the 23rd, and Todd's birthday is the 24th-- whew! We're a bunch of May babies :) For those who are wondering, we're not having Rowan's birthday party until Todd gets home.

Uh-oh, Rowan's into things---gotta go! <3

A God thing

     So, I have a phrase with my family and friends that we say whenever we feel like a prayer has been answered or something has gone "right"; we say, "It's a God thing." Today I had one of those moments.
     I had just finished my day at work and was driving and just feeling profoundly sad. I was really missing Todd and was not feeling like a good parent, and some other things I'll not mention so I did what I always do when I feel helpless-- I prayed. And, man, I was praying my heart out, I was offering it all up to Him. I was asking Him to take it on for me. And, at the end of my prayer I simply was asking, "Help me."
     Well, no sooner had I uttered those words then my friend Amberlie texted me and wanted to know about some plans we had for the evening. She was looking forward to seeing me and had food for dinner, etc. She came over and we had a great time. We laughed and ate and just had amazing friend time.
     Now I'm nearly in tears again, only these are tears that are coming from a different place in my heart. I've never had a prayer answered IMMEDIATELY before. I was reminded of the scene in Bruce Almighty when Bruce is asking for a sign and God sends a truck full of signs whizzing right past his car. Only, I had the joy of immediately recognizing it. Praise God!!!
     God also did something else for me today-- he sent me the fellowship and companionship of another sister. I mean, I've been married to Todd for almost a year now so Jo has been my sister for a while. We've had great talks before but since I've been staying here she and I have really sealed in that bond that one can only have with a sister. It's been so refreshing to talk with a teenager who has such a heart for service. She is an amazing soul with insights far beyond and deeper than the regular high school Bieber-Kesha soul-less frights that society is turning out today.
     So I've learned, and really realized today, that you can never have too many sisters!!!! And also, that God is right here with me, helping and supporting me every day. <3

The new chapter

This is a purging blog, a blog to shed away all of the things I've been talking about and to begin again. I'll start by wrapping it all up.......
   Todd left at 3:45am. We had a splendid evening with the works-- a beautiful room at the Radisson Hotel, room service, the whole bit. I could not have asked for a better final evening with him. We got to talk and laugh and just be. We had a few moments when we would hear a noise and both stop to "listen for the baby", then would simultaneously laugh at the other person. I LOVE how Todd and I operate, we are seamless even when we differ. We are absolutely not a perfect couple; instead, we are a couple who has built our foundation on Faith, mutual respect and love. I believe that to be our magical recipe for marital happiness (pardon the little hearts swirling above my head, I know I'm being disgustingly cute but just let me gush a bit.). I think that the great difficulty I'm going to have in all of this separation will be the process of un-weaving Todd from my every day life. He is in everything. We wake up together, eat together, watch TV, play with the baby, brush our teeth, grocery shop, attend church, laugh, play games, etc, etc, etc,-- I really could go on forever. I'm so afraid of bitter loneliness without him. The thing is, I'm not afraid of loneliness itself; it is the type of loneliness you feel when you just know that part of you is somewhere else.
    That being said, I am so so grateful for all of you who have offered your advise, support, and love through this process thus far. I am so happy to have a barrage of babysitting volunteers, of free meals, of general (and generous) donations of your time to me. I know that, if it were up to you, I would never be lonely, always be fed, and constantly be given attention to. Please know that I will probably take you up on it at some time but please remember who I am. I am a hermit, I am socially awkward, and I am a control freak. There will be days that I don't want anyone touching my kid--even as I am frazzled by him; there will be days that I decline your offers to visit; and there will certainly be days when I decline your food (even though it is DELICIOUS!)-- but weight watchers works people! :) Remember that I LOVE YOU! --and don't take it personally.
   Alright, on to the new. Here are my goals:
          1. Be healthy! Continue with weight watchers and the gym-- Oh, have I mentioned that I lost 5 pound in a WEEK?! Woot!
          2. Be positive :) Todd is doing what he needs to do and what he needs (and I do too) is to know that I am okay and I am happy. Meditate, enjoy nature, paint, read. Remember to do these things that make me happy.
          3. Accept help and be gracious. I can't do everything all of the time. I will reach out to people when I feel hopeless, frustrated, or sad. I will remember to say thank you! (A side note, if you have helped me and I didn't say thank you, I am sorry! I have a terrible habit of it but I am ALWAYS thankful for the help!!!)
          4. Trust in God. I will always trust Him. I will be an active member in our church. Most importantly, when I feel weak, I will pray; when I feel strong, I will pray.


     Thank you for reading this (very) lengthy blog. And, again, thank you for supporting us Reynolds' We love you! :)

And away he goes....

   Well, Todd left today and won't return to Paradise until June. I am going to meet him in Sacramento tomorrow at the Radisson Hotel where the MEPS center is for his final night in California. He feels really good about it and I think that I do too; though I did feel a pang of sadness though as he said his goodbyes to Rowan. It's just that Rowan will be so different when Todd gets back. He'll be crawling or walking, talking, he will look different and act differently. I'm so worried that he won't recognize him, I don't want it to hurt Todd. I couldn't imagine having to miss all of the things that Todd will. I'm so proud of him, so proud of the sacrifices he's making to better our family-- I married very well.
   On a different note, business is booming! I've had continued work even past Christmas and people are still lining up orders. It feels so great to excel at something!!! I've begun reading more about entrepreneurship and am thinking about expanding my work to the internet by way of Etsy. I'm still in the development stages but it's all so exciting :) Hopefully, I will be able to upload some pictures of my work here but in the meantime, you can check out some of my things at: www.facebook.com/jenareynolds. Happy crocheting!!!