The most heartbreaking thing

As most of you know, I got a dog three weeks ago that I named Luna. I loved Luna and she loved me. But she didn't really love a whole lot of other people. Basically, she just loved me. She started nipping at my family and my dogs so I took her to Behavior training that the shelter I got her from offers for free. I thought it would all improve and by the time I moved into my apartment, all would be well. Now, let me clear somethings up, Luna is not nor will ever be a mean dog. She nips out of fear and anxiety and sometimes defensiveness. In three weeks, this dog had become my whole world and I was willing to do whatever it took to be able to keep her. I scheduled an appointment in Friday because the night before she had tried to nip my sister. She had never fully bit anyone but it was only a matter of time. My mom came with me to the meeting. I was hoping they would be able to give me a more aggressive action plan to help

Luna feel comfortable and not be threatened to bite. 

Unfortunately, that was not how the meeting went. They suggested that a surrender Luna back to the shelter to find her a better home where she could get more help. Like was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever heard. I just started crying. I didn't have an option. I would have to surrender my dog the next day back to the shelter. I cried for the remainder of the day. I more like sobbed. I was so upset that the dog I loved so much and had done nothing wrong her in book, had to be given back.

It was the hardest thing I've had to do. On my way to work this morning, after saying my final goodbye to her, I cried the whole way there. 

I knew I needed to find a new dog and somewhat quickly because otherwise I knew I would just cry for days. I went to a place with the kid I nanny just to see what dogs they had. The guy on the phone said he had some really cute teacup poodles. So I went and looked. And let's just say I didn't leave empty handed. I came home with the cutest little 10 week old apricot teacup poodle. I named him Oliver (Ollie for short). 

Now I know it seems fast, considering my dad took Luna to the shelter today, but I knew she was never coming back. And I am still completely heartbroken, but being distracted by Ollie has helped. And he is the cutest little two pound dog ever. Full grown he is expected to weigh about 4 pounds. He's very sweet and playful and has been excellent so far. 

Ollie and I have had a very long day and we are pooped. I love my little baby boy and I am very thankful for my parents who let me bring my little boy home. I'm excited to see what the future holds and I can only pray that my sweet Luna finds the perfect home for her. I will always love her. 

I love you all! 

-Jessica. 

MAJOR LIFE CHANGES!!!

Wow, I have been meaning to write this post for days now but I feel like I never have the energy or the time! So now, I'm taking the time.

So, a lot has changed since my last post. A LOT. These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of changes and a lot of upcoming excitement!

Let's start.

First, I'M MOVING OUT! I am really excited. I am moving more downtown so my drive won't be as long to school! I will have three roommates, none whom I have met yet. I move in August 15/16! I will have a nice big bedroom with my own bathroom! I'm currently am trying to get my room all packed up and everything that I need bought because I don't have much time before I move out!

I also got a dog!! Her name is Luna. I named her Luna because I wanted it to have something to do with me being in school for medical assisting. Luna came from the Pulmonary Semilunar valve you have in your heart! You have one on each side. So Luna, is a piece of my heart! (Aw, so cute). I rescued her from Austin Pet's Alive in Austin. Well, I didn't really adopt her; she adopted me. She came from a shelter in San Antonio that was out of room. I guess a couple in SA were trying to adopt her but found that she would run or nip at them. She has never bitten anyone, but she sure has tried. We don't really know much about her history except that she was found as a stray. She was obviously someones pet though. She is completely housebroken, knows sit and down, and listens very well when I tell her no. She is a flight-risk which makes it a little hard when someone opens a door or I take her anywhere. If Luna takes off running, she isn't going to stop. Hopefully that will change. She is a chihuahua/terrier mix. She looks like a giant chihuahua. She totally has the chihuahua face and ears but she's huge. She is a chihuahua on steroids. She is very sweet and loving to me and commands my attention at all times, or whoever is close to her. She only likes women for some reason.  I think she may have been abused by a man. We definitely have things to work on, but I am really excited to have her. And she is so cute. She has the biggest ears!

That's about it for my big life changes! I feel like a real adult now!

I love you all!
-Jessica

Welcome to the stab lab

So, I finally started phlebotomy. I had been waiting for this all quarter. I couldn't wait to learn how to draw blood. But, drawing blood is scary. You literally have to stick a needle in someone else's arm and pray to God that you get blood in the tube. There are also a lot more that goes into drawing blood then I realized. There are different tubes for different tests and it's a lot to remember. There is a specific angle that your needle needs to be when you enter into the vein. There is a specific way to hold the needle and push in the vaccutainer. But, even though I have to remember all of that, it is really fun. I am officially addicted to taking peoples blood. I found myself looking at the guys on the bachelorette last night and seeing who had good veins for a blood draw and I think it's clear to say that everyone in my class is in the same boat. The first time you get blood into the tube it's like a big sigh of relief. I didn't miss the vein and my classmate isn't crying in pain. Then you think to yourself, hey maybe I can take blood. I have to say that the fake arm was way more nerve racking than actually sticking someones arm. DISCLAIMER TO THE FAKE ARM MANUFACTURERS: They don't feel real, so you should try to make them better.

I'm going to brag on myself right now: Brandon (a fellow classmate) and I were the only ones that were allowed to take blood without our teacher watching. *hair flip*

Well, its finals week so this post is going to be short, but I am definitely going miss this class. Of course, I have the same teacher next semester so it's going to be awesome.

I love you all!

-Jessica

Looking at the facts

Y'all, my baby sister is graduating from high school this week. There is no way that is possible. But, I am so happy and incredibly proud of all she has accomplished. My sister got into UT and even more impressively the McCombs business school. She is so smart. She's graduating in the top 10% of her class. I could not be prouder to call her my sister. 

But, as graduation comes near, it makes me think about my graduation and how my life has changed so much. I never thought I wouldn't be getting a four year degree. I never thought I'd be living back in Austin. I never imagined my life in the medical field. And with all that comes the good and bad. I have lost a lot of friends from college that I thought would be in my life forever. And I gained some amazing friends there that I know I can always turn to (love all you hope people). 

I never dreamt I lose a grandparent as fast as I did. I also never realized how much I'd miss him, even if he was a little crazy. He was crazy in the best way. My grandfather passed away in January of this year. He fought hard, but now he is breathing easy with his wife. Pulmonary fibrosis sucks and I'm just going to leave it at that. I had the honor of having him at my graduation, but unfortunately Meaghan doesn't and neither will the nine younger ones. I count myself lucky that I got to spend almost twenty years with a great man who had a great heart. I will surely miss him embarrassing me and his quirky British accent that he always spoke in. (Disclaimer: he isn't British) He will certainly be on our minds this week while we celebrate Meaghan and all her accomplishments. 

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I imagine I'd be where I am today. It's still hard for me to accept that right now, I'm not getting a degree or pursuing the career I thought was what I was supposed to do. I still love working with special needs children, they are my heart, but that is no longer the career I am pursuing. It's hard to get good grades when you just don't want to. I felt like a failure, and to be honest, still do. I watch my classmates and my colleges friends having the time of their life in college and I'm not doing that. Don't get me wrong, I love my school. I really, really do. And I'm doing really well. My clinical gets me excited about my future and I love all that I'm learning, but it's not how I saw my life. My school is different. It's the school you go back to, not the one you start at. So a lot of my classmates are married and have kids. It makes school different. One of my teachers is closer to my age then some of my classmates. But my school is fun and I'm excited to have a career as a medical assistant. And the cool thing is that I have options. I have options to pursue my career further through Virginia college if I want. And I know my parents will support me along the way, whether I chose to stay a MA or continue on to something else. 

Never could I have predicted that I would still be nannying. I can't explain to yall how much I love the kids I nanny and their families. I would do just about anything for them. I love my newest little addition into my heart,baby macquarie. I love baby snuggles. They are literally the best. Being a nanny is one of the most rewarding jobs, because i know that the kids love me, maybe not as much as I love them, but they love me. Being able to watch them grow up and letting them teach me things is so fun. I would be a nanny forever if I could. Being with the kids I nanny, even when they are throwing fits, brings me so much joy. Even when I want to pull my hair out, I still love my job. And I'm so thankful for the families that trust me with their precious cargo. Nannying makes me happy and I'm so thankful I am able to continue with it. 

Life is funny sometimes and I'm sure on a crazy ride. But life would be boring if it were predictable. I think you'll just have to stay tuned to see where I'm headed next in this crazy thing I call life. 

I love you all! 

-jessica

THE BABY IS HERE!!

The baby is here and he is precious. He was born today at 4:31am weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds and 3 ounces and he was 21 inches long. I won't share his name with you yet, because the family has not made it official and I think it should be them to share it. So once they share it, I'll happily let yall know. I went and saw him today and oh man he is so so precious. 

Mom, Amanda, is doing great! When I saw her today, she did not look like she had giving birth 10 hours before. She looked awesome. 

I think Dad, mike, was more tired than mom. 

I was there for several hours and spent some time snuggling with the baby! Soo precious. And then rai came in and met his baby and that was awesome to see. 

In other news, ford is a rockstar. I went and saw him in his school of rock show and he killed it. Proud nanny moment! He was so good! It was a Rolling Stones show. Ford not only played the guitar but also the bass and he sang. And he was a rockstar. It was an awesome show. All the kids did amazing! 

It's been such a crazy couple of days but super fun! Thanks for reading!

I love you all!

-Jessica 

Do I look sexy in my boot?

So for the last couple of days I've been sporting this really really cute walking shoe. And I mean it's so cute everyone is jealous. Just kidding, it's horribly ugly. 

So, now I'll tell you why I'm sporting this fabulous walking shoe. 

I caught a glass patio table top with my foot. 

My mom ordered this patio set from Amazon and the table arrived first before the chairs. I left my house for like thirty minutes and my mom had set up the patio table, inside the house. Now, I'm not quite sure what her logic was besides the fact that she didn't feel like setting it up outside, but she decided to set it up in the middle of our dining room. So, while it was Intransport to the outside where it belongs, the glass slipped out of the table and landed directly onto my foot. So now I'm waiting on the results of if its fractured or not. 

In other news, Rai helped my win a $25 gift card to sonic for just merely being cute. That's one thing he's really good at. So I rewarded him with ice cream(don't tell mom). But, it was only a little bit and he had gone that day with out any accidents that we know about, so I think it was well deserved. Thanks Anne Hudson at Kase 101 for the awesome gift card. 

Ford wants me to buy an Apple watch. Yes, they look cool, but I'm not sure I need one. I have a Fitbit charge HR that tracks my sleep, it has the time, my exercise, my steps, the flights of stairs I go up, and the amount of calories I've burned. It also has a battery Life of like 5 days. My wrist will vibrate if I have an incoming call and will wake me up with a silent alarm if I set it to do so. The most Important thing to me besides the heart rate is the sleep. I love that it automatically tracks my sleep. The Apple watch doesn't have that ability. Ford told me to wear the apple watch during the day and my Fitbit at night. But I would probably sell my Fitbit If I got an Apple watch. I just can't justify the purchase of an apple watch. Ford is going to try to convince me. It's like I want One, but I don't need one, unless there is a significant upside that I'm not seeing. I could pay for about 1/2 of my apple watch with the money from my Fitbit. But is the Apple watch really worth it? Is it worth the money? I'd love to hear your opinions on this. You can leave me a comment on here or the link on Facebook or even text me. 

Anyway that's just a snippet into my week so far. I'm trying to kill time before I have to go babysit. Time is moving really slow. I'm trying really hard to think of more things to write but I can't. 

Uhhh, schools good. I'm official now. I got my med bag which has a sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) and a stethoscope so that's super fun. Listening to bowel sounds grosses me out. And I'm also taking volunteers who want their vital signs checked and possibly blood drawn in the future. I'm just kidding about the blood draws, but seriously if you want your vital signs checked to make sure you're still alive, hit me up. "I'm really good at this". You'd get that if you were in my class. 

Totally serious about the vital signs. 

I love you all! 

-Jessica 

Nepal part 2 PLEASE READ AMD SHARE

So I know I briefly talked about what was going on in Nepal and how desperately we needed to pray for them, but I wanted to talk about it a little bit more. Nepal has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. My grandparents have probably been to Nepal at least twenty times over the span of say, fifteen years. My grandma has many many many friends there and people that she has grown to love and that my family has grown to love, and we don't know if they are okay. I have been to Nepal twice and I still remember a lot of it. Nepal is kind of like Africa. It needs more attention drawn to it then it receives. Nepal is a third world country. No one has clean water because their main source of water comes from the Bagmati River. The Bagmati River is gross. It is filled with trash; it is where everyone bathes, it is where the animals bathe, it is where the ashes of the deceased get pushed into, and I'm sure there is quite a bit of human waste in there as well. And this is what they are drinking. Nepal is also one of the few societies that still use a caste system. The lowest class are the untouchables. And it is clear when you are there who they are. They are the ones eating out of the trash because they can't get jobs. They are the homeless people on the streets. They are the ones putting their children on the side of the road, hoping someone will take them because that's one more mouth that they cannot feed. Nepal still has a huge amount of lepracy. And lepracy is scary. They are cast outs who beg for money on the side of the road. Some of them don't have noses, or fingers, or toes, or majority of their legs. Lepracy is real and it Still lives in Nepal. Nepal is so poor that the equivalent of one dollar there (rupies) is one penny here. And just recently, Nepal over threw the king and became a democratic society. When I was there, the king still ruled. The pollution is so bad there that when you blow your nose, it's black. This is real. This isn't Africa. It's the forgotten country of Nepal. 

And now the earthquake has hit this country that was struggling immensely already. The death toll has risen to nearly 4,000. Still, a majority of the people we know are unaccounted for. One of my moms friends from high school lives in Kathmandu with her husband, and their two kids, and they are unaccounted for. These are people that we love and care for. 

One of the worst parts of it all is that, I will probably never know if some of the victims are the children I love from the orphanages. And I think there are some of my orphans that lost their life, Just because of the amount of orphans I worked with my two years visiting. Oh, how it breaks my heart. I wish I could just hop on a plane and fly the 32 hours and go and find every last one of those orphans that I love. But, the reality is, is most of the, have aged out of the orphanage by now. And are probably homeless, or have already passed. Very few of those kids I worked with are still under 18. And when they are 18, they can't stay at the orphanage anymore. These kids have no family, no money, and no where to go. And this is real. And this is Nepal. And these kids aren't adoptable. Nepal has strict rules on who can adopt. It's almost impossible to adopt a child from Nepal because believe me, if it was easier, we would have taken some home with us. But this is life. This is their lives. And we don't know if they are okay or not. And it breaks my heart. I look at all my pictures and I remember each kid and the time we spent together. Some kids I saw two years in a row. I know them by name and yet, I don't know their safety. 

So I ask you to please read this and pray for the safety of all of our loved ones. Please continue to pray and please share this. Share the heck out of this page. Let people know that it's not just some random place, it's a place that we need to hold near and dear to our hearts. And that these victims have names and stories and loved ones. They have a face and they are real. Because Nepal is real. And it needs our help right now. I'm going to attach some more pictures now, with a few more faces with names that you can pray for. We love these kids. This is so real to my family and I. It's so uncontrollably heartbreaking for us to face the reality that not everyone is okay. Hey, smiles from the mountain hotel, I hope you're safe. Hey, guard that opened the door for us, and we had an unspoken friendship that lasted two years, I hope you're okay. These are people that are real. This place, no matter how far away, is real, especially to my family. Please, please, please, continue to share and pray. Let the world know, that Nepal needs our prayers. 

Sita, is the little one In the hat. She is eating Dahl baut which is what most Nepalis eat. We spent two years with her. She's probably 12 now. 

These are some of our favorite boys. The one behind me name is Shankar, and he was so sweet. And the one next to me name is Jala. We sponsored Jala. The boy next to Meaghan was also one of our sweet boys we saw two years in a row. 

This little boy has a family. His moms name is Geta. I painted this a few years back and it's currently in my parents bedroom. This little boy is probably six now. 

Last, but not least, is Bebic. Oh how we love Bebic. Bebic has enough personality and charisma for the entire world. We met him our second year and we all fell in love with him. He was so funny and sweet. He called me Barbie the whole time. 

Thank you for reading this post. Again please share and spread the word. Show the world these faces. The world needs to see these faces. 

I love you all!

-Jessica 

It's time for a serious post... That everyone needs to read

If you are unaware of the situation going on in Nepal, I will tell you. A 7.9 earthquake hit Kathmandu, Nepal recently. There was so much destruction and so far about 1,500 Nepali's have been found dead. My heart is heavy today. The destruction is incredible. Temples that are thousands of years old are now in ruins. I pray for all of those that I know, that they are not any of the ones that lost their lives.

 These are a few of the faces I pray that are unharmed. These sweet kids are probably not kids anymore, but they may not have a home anymore, or a school. They may have lost some friends, some loved ones, teachers, or just some nice people helping them out.

Bj (pictured here) is one man that we know is safe. He was in China at the time of the earthquake. Bj does not know about his families safety right now. He has not been able to reach them. They live right out side of Kathmandu.

This is not currently (we think) an orphanage right now, but all the kids that we love were a part of this orphanage. They were transferred to the Umbrella group orphanage, which is located right next to one of the biggest temples in Nepal. It is called Syambu and we know that it was ruined but the earthquake. Please pray for all the children that live in that orphanage.

We love these faces. We pray for these faces.

We are praying that this sweet boy, Jala, is unharmed by the earthquake. He is my friend on facebook and has not posted if he is safe from the earthquake. He aged out of the orphanage so we aren't sure where he is now. He may have limited internet access. Pray for Jala that he is okay.

Little Sita, we are praying that you are okay. 

Sunita, Shristi, and Sita, we love you. We aren't sure of your locations but you are in our prayers.

We had a special bond with Sunita. We saw her both years we visited. Sunita and I were the same age which means that she has aged out of the orphanage. Pray.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for all my friends that I love in Nepal. Nepal should always be in our prayers, not just when a terrible thing happens. Nepal is a third world country that has been struggling for many years. Nepal needs our prayers constantly. Please consider adding them to your prayer list, especially now.]

I love you all!

-Jessica

Apple watch reveal... And this is the halk.

Here's a look at the brand new Pple watch! Unfortunately it's not mine. It's Ford's. Remember when I told you this kid new more than technology that me; I wasn't kidding. Poor kid has been waiting forever to get his watch. 

But the waiting process today definitely wasn't easy on ford. He was told his watch would be arriving at three o'clock at his dad's house. I picked him up from school at 2:45 and we headed straight to his dad's house. And then came the waiting process. The watch wasn't there when we arrived. So we waited. And waited. And waited until it was time for me to go to the Hovis's. Let's just say the waiting process wasn't easy on ford. He couldn't handle it. Standing at the door and the passing back and forth until I finally got him to watch the Big Bang theory with me. He was like a puppy in a window. 

I'm very glad that his apple watch finally came because he would have been crushed if it hadn't. 

In other news, I spent most of my evening with Rai in the bathroom. He peed on the floor again. Cool. And then the other half of the evening was spent making rai put his underwear and pants on by himself. That is a constant war. "You do it." "No rai, you can do it. I know you can do it." For some reason I don't think rai has figured out that his hands can help him put on his underwear and pants. He definitely thinks only one hand can do something at a time. So funny and frustrating. But he's so darn cute. 

He just wanted to point out all the avengers instead of putting them on. What a kid. Right here he's saying, "this is the halk.(hulk)"

I know this isn't very long but, geez, I'm tired. 

I love you all!

-Jessica 

Blue smurf by day....

Four days a week, I am know as a blue smurf. I get called that because of my blue scrubs. Each program at my school has a different color of scrubs. Medical assisting(me) and medical office management(moms) have royal blue scrubs. Pharmacy tech has purple. Sonography has red, and surgical tech has green. But, ma's and moms are the ones who are known as the blue smurfs. 

This is my second quarter at Virginia college. Last quarter I only took two classes, so I only had to go twice a week. This quarter I am taking two classes and my first clinical so I go four days a week. I don't mind going four days but there are some downfalls for going four days instead of two. First, there's the obvious. I have school almost everyday of the week like a normal person and not just two times a week anymore. Second, I only have two pair of scrubs (one more is on the way). I wear one pair for the first half of the week and the second pair for the second half of the week. This would be great if I liked scrubs. My scrubs just aren't comfortable. That's probably because they are too big! The third downfall is that my school decided to move this quarter. The building is beautiful and SO much nicer than the one we were previously in, but it's also a heck of a lot farther. Rush hour in Austin is not fun for anyone. But I think my school is worth the hour and a half drive because it truly is the best school for anything medical. 

I am starting this quarter off strong with good grades. My goal is to get another 4.0 like I did last quarter. All my classes are still at A's but we also just finished our third week. But, I missed the first day of my math class because I was sick and it brought my grade down to a C!!! It was insane. So these last three weeks I have been working my birthday off to get that grade back up to an A! I did it this week and it only took 5 A's and 5 days of attendance. Geez. All is well. 

Ford is super excited to get his apple watch tomorrow. He was sooooo excited when we got home and he tracked the shipping on it. He also made me a bracelet that goes with my blue smurf outfit. I told him I'd keep wearing it! I love it! 

I have been taking my dogs on walks recently. Normally we go after dinner. Today I am exhausted so I figured I'd take them for a walk when I go up tomorrow morning before it gets too hot. Milo is LOVING our walks. He gets so excited it's crazy and he prances the entire walk. Lucy HATES walks. She hides under the table like she's in trouble every time I pull the leashes out. Today she was hiding because she thought it was walk time! It was so funny! 

Anyway, today was good, but I'm exhausted. I hope you all are enjoying my blog so far. Leave me a comment below! 

My new bracelet from ford!! 

Lucy hiding under the table because she thinks it's time for a walk!! 

I love you all! 

-Jessica 

You had music class today, didn't you?

Normally when I pick up Rai from school he is in a good mood, but today was not one of those days. I could tell right away that he was tired because normally when I say "it's time to go", he will come immediately. Today he kept telling me "I want to play nore. (Nore=more) I want to play nore." I said, "No Rai, it's time to go. All your friends are leaving too." I could tell right away that Rai had had music class today. I don't know what Mr. Joe, the music teacher, does to them, but he is always exhausted after school on music days.  Odette(one of his teachers) told me that he needed a diaper change before we left. So I grabbed his two bags from the porch and we went to the bathroom. 

Rai did not want to go potty or change into a new pull up at all. I could tell that he was really tired. I finally got him to go potty. Then, it was the battle of will. (I won) I told him to put on his pull up by himself since I knew he was plenty capable. He spent more time demanding I put it on him and fake crying then actually attempting to put on the pull up and his pants. We were in the bathroom for a good 15-20 minutes before he finally got himself dressed.

Then on the way home he was demanding my phone so he could do his "work" which is just playing games on my phone. I told him no. He kept yelling from behind me "please! Please!" But, I wouldn't give him my phone. I knew he was in desperate need of a nap. So finally, when we were two minutes from his house, he falls asleep!!! Thank the lord!! A crabby child is no fun! 

Later, we went to target and I let him pick out some big boy underwear because I think that we just need to get rid of all the pull ups so he doesn't have another option. I let him pick out the kind he wanted so that maybe he would get excited and be determined. The biggest problem is that he doesn't know or understand how to voice that he has to go potty. 

So after I gave him a bath, we put on his new avengers underwear and we made it all the way downstairs. And then he peed on himself and all over the floor. And it scared him! I was turning on the kitchen lights and I hear him yell! I run over and notice a HUGE pile of water(which turned out to be pee). I was shocked. We were literally feet away from the potty and that was our destination. I had him pull off his wet pants and underwear and go sit on the potty. After he got a new pair of underwear on, I set a timer on my phone and told him, when he hears it go off, it means it's time to go potty. We did this three more times before mom and dad got home and then dad started a timer. Hopefully on Friday he will be I'm underwear. I'm not opposed to cleaning up pee. I have been peed on before by a camper. There are worse things In the world. 

T-minus 18 days to be potty trained. Yikes! I believe in you Rai! 

This is rai after he finally decided to stop fighting it. 

I love you all!

-Jessica 

The mysterious Ford is revealed.....

Meet Ford everyone! Ford and I are chilling today trying to decide what today's post should be about. We could talk about how I spent most of my day as a blue smurf, learning to glove and deglove properly, but that would be boring. I thought I would share some of my favorite Rai quotes from the past few weeks.

1) We were walking into the Long Center for a sxsw event and I look down and say, "Rai, are you licking my hand? Stop licking my hand. Why are you licking my hand?" 

2) We are standing at the checkout line in Randall's getting some food for dinner. "Rai, what are you doing? NO STOP!! You cannot take off your pants in a store. Rai, no." (Just for kicks he had some kind of explanation to why he was doing it, but it, made absolutely no sense whatsoever)

3) "Rai, what do you want to be when you grow up." " A giant astronaut!!" (Although his newest answer to that question is a firefighter)

4) "Rai, where should we go? The park? Rai house?" "New York!!!"

5) This particular day we were going to play at a park. It was somewhat cold, so he needed to wear a jacket. "Rai, which coat do you want to wear? Red coat or green coat?" "No coat!" "Dude, you have to wear a coat. It's not an option." "Superman doesn't wear coats." 

In Rai's little world, superman doesn't do a lot of things. Superman doesn't eat, and he surely doesn't sleep. 

6) We pulled into a shopping center so I could turn around real fast. "Are we in Arandalle?"(The made up kingdom in Frozen for all of you have escaped the madness) "Unfortunately not Buddy."

7) We often have to run into the store to get an item or two (via last post for an example). Sometimes when we pull into a store parking lot like Randall's, Rai will say, "I'll just stay in the car." My response is, "Uh, sorry buddy, but you have to come in with me."

I hope you liked these funny little snippets into my life with Rai. Also, Ford gets his apple watch on Friday so be prepared for a post on that! Seriously, this kid is so much more tech savvy than me it's crazy. He is constantly showing me things that I never knew I could do. You learn something everyday!

I love you all!

-Jessica

Where are your pants?

This is how the majority of my days I pick up this kid from school look like. Notice anything missing? That's right, he doesn't have pants on. Just some ugly(sorry Amanda) Lightening McQueen crocs, a monsters inc. pull up, and a random train shirt. But, no pants. Want to know why? Because Rai peed on them. Yup, you heard me right. At school, his teacher lets him go free hoping that it will help with potty training, but a majority of the time I pick him up with no pants on. This seems like it shouldn't be a problem, but it is always on the days where we have multiple errands to run before we can go to "Rai house". So, into target we go to buy yet again, another pair of pants. 

But besides buying pants over and over again potty training is going how it is to be expected. Not. If you tell Rai that it's time to go potty, he won't argue. He will sit down on the potty and go. What's the problem then you ask? He doesn't tell me when he needs to go potty. This afternoon when we got home from our errands, I made him go potty. He went potty right before we left the store. The ride was about 30 minutes home give or take, and by the time we got home, his pull up was almost completely full. What the heck? You literally JUST went to the bathroom 30 minutes ago. So then on went another pull up(more on that in a second) and I set my timer on my phone for 15 minutes. I told him that in 15 minutes he was going to go potty again. 

About 13 minutes into the 15 minutes he looks up at me from his table and tells me he has to go potty/had already gone potty. So, I race him to his potty which is maybe 20 feet away, and his pull up is already wet, and I'm talking like really wet. Ugh.  My next step was to attempt to find underwear, but who knows where those had been placed in preparation for the new baby's arrival. So, I dug through the laundry and found the thinnest pair of shorts I could find that I knew weren't expensive ones like Janie and jack or some store like that. I find this thin pair from a pajama set and decide to make him wear them without any underwear or a pull up on. 

I realized that this may lead me to be cleaning pee off the floor and a bath in the future, but I am so desperate for him to be able to vocalize to me that he has to go potty. Luckily, not too long after he put the shorts on dad got home and I explained what I was doing. He didn't have any accidents when I was there and he went potty once, so maybe it is a step on the right direction. Who knows? I'm new at this whole potty training thing, and I really didn't expect to be potty training someone at the age of 20, especially since he's not my kid. But, I love him anyway. 

Now, onto the part where I told you I'd explain more on. Rai thinks that to go potty, he needs to take off everything but his shirt. I'm not kidding. In the middle of a public bathroom stall off comes the shoes, the shorts, and the pull-up. Now, he's small and the toilet is bug so he has to hold himself up but putting his hands on the toilet seat. (Are you cringing or is it just me?) then, after he's done going potty he flushes the toilet and then demands I help him put on his pull up, shorts, and shoes. This is hard and painful because a) i have to crouch down and squat while he pulls my hair out trying to balance and b) those nasty hands that were just on the toilet seat are now on me. Ew. So today when we got to Rai house and we were putting on the new pull up and pants, I made him do it by himself. He wasn't so fond of that idea, but he's three. He is more than capable of putting pants on by himself. I sat there and coached him through it. And after about oh, seven minutes or so, he finally had a pull up and pants on. Then he decided he also needed to put his crocs back on, but I tried to assure him that that was not needed. Anyway, after round two of going potty, I made him put the shorts on once again by himself. This time it was a but easier, only taking about five minutes, but most of that was him telling me that I needed to do it for him. Dear lord child, all I'm asking is for you to learn how to put your pants on by yourself.

Wow and that was just a few hours. In other boring news for those of you still reading (not sure if anyone actually is), I got a 95 on a math quiz!!! Which is huge for me because math is the devil, I'm pretty sure. 

Well, thanks for reading. I think there are like maybe two people reading this. Haha. It's fun for me to write though. Rai and Ford are characters and until I have actually sat down and thought about what my days look like, I never realized how awesome my jobs are. 

I love you all!

-Jessica 

I'm also wondering why I'm starting a blog.....

Blogs seem to be all the rage nowadays. Everyone I know has, or has had in one point. So why not start one?  For awhile, I didn't feel like I had anything worthy to write that people would want to read, but then, I became a nanny again. For a lot of people, taking care of a three year old sounds like a terrible job, but it is the perfect job for me.

But let's talk about me for a second in case anyone is wondering. My name is Jessica, I'm 20 years old. I am currently enrolled at my third college in two years, and for once, I am loving it. I am currently enrolled in the medical assisting program. For those of you who don't know what a medical assistant is, it's basically a nurse. It's one step under a nurse. One may ask, "why not just go to school for nursing?". Here's why, college basic courses. I hated them. I hated school. I had absolutely no motivation on even attempting to pass those classes (minus the fact my parents were shelling out a large sum of money). By going to the school I go to now, I only have to take courses that apply towards my diploma. They are the fun classes you get to take your last two years in college, but I get to do all of them in a little over one.

Another reason why I don't just go to school to be a nurse is because I have a few health issues that can get in the way sometimes. My mom likes to call me a hypochondriac who actually isn't a hypochondriac. Almost every time I go to the doctor, something is legitimately wrong. Migraines are my big issue now, and probably my worst enemy for the last two years. I've probably had around 40 or so migraines in the last two years and I would guess that about 20 of them have ended me in the hospital.

By now I'm sure you're thinking, "please just get on with the rest of it and stop talking about your dang head".

So the tentative title of my blog right now is Blood, Books, & Potty Training because I feel like it's the best way to summarize my life in three (technically four) words. Blood is for medical assisting (I learn phlebotomy soon!). Books are in representation of the eleven year old I nanny that I have failed to mention thus far. And potty training has to deal with the wonderful three year old I nanny and my attempt to get him potty trained before the new baby comes (21 days) and all that comes with nannying a hilarious three year old.

I think it's time that I finally tell you all about this mysterious eleven year old I just randomly brought up. His name is Ford and he is one of the coolest, most mature, tech savvy, sweetest kid on the face of the planet. Ford is so well behaved it's almost scary. And he is so nice. And smart. The other day I was picking him up from school it was like literally 5 minutes before the bell rang and he calls me (from his iPhone 6 plus) and asks if he can stay after school for homework help. UH, YEAH YOU CAN.  Ford is a fifth grader who has awesome grades, asking to stay after school for homework help. What are you supposed to say to that? "No, get in the car we're going home?" So, I killed like an hour across the street with some retail therapy. I mean, did I really need retail therapy? No, but when you are the only person in the store and the sales lady is really striking up a conversation like I may have been the first costumer of the day, you feel so obligated to buy SOMETHING. So I bought a key chain. Anyway, back to ford. He's pretty much the coolest laid back kid ever and I'm pretty much just there to drive him around, which I'm totally okay with. It's been so fun being able to drive him around and not have to listen to frozen and actually be able to have a real conversations. We get along great and he's smarter than me. I am not smarter than this fifth grader. 

And the there is my beloved Rai. I have been watching Rai since he was about four moths old. And man, I love this kid. I love this kid like he is my own kid and that will never change. I have changed so many of that kids diapers he owes me for life. But Rai and I have a great bond. It's so different from anything else. I love the way he looks up to me with a big smile on his face. I even love hi, when I'm frustrated with him because he isn't listening and won't sit in his car seat. I would drop everything for this kid. And being able to spend time with him as my job is like the greatest thing ever. I've watched him grow up fro, a four month old baby that was conked out on my shoulder, to a vibrant three year old that is full of life. But let me tell you, potty training is some serious stuff. I've got 21 days to get him potty trained and let me tell you, you're in for a ride. 

I promise this blog is going to make you laugh, but my goal is for it to be real and raw. You know some days life is just hard. And that's part of life's journey. I hope you enjoy this into to Blood, Books, & Potty Training and I really hope that you continue to follow my journey of this crazy thing we call life. 

I appreciate every single one of you that took the time to read my first ever blog post. I love you all!

-Jessica