Happy New Year!

So, another new year begins. Yesterday, we tried Noah on Neocate. He seemed happier than usual. In fact, I've done it once again, gotten my hopes up that he will be good with Neocate. We refer to this Noah as the old Noah, though really we only catch glimpses of him. We can tell this is who he really is because its the happy, mellow baby we experience when his tummy is feeling really good. We have high hopes that this Noah will last into the new year. I've already given up milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, treenuts, oatmeal, rice, chicken, corn, and there must be other stuff. And of course, recently we are starting to think maybe green beans, we don't know for sure, but something we ate on or around Christmas caused him the most fussiness he has had in awhile. It prompted me to start the great gastroenterology race..... Not that it got me far. It has felt like Doctors or more for consulting and clarification of the information I find or the patterns we notice. I feel like Google is my new best friend, as well as the thousands of other people out there who have gone through this before. However, I am convinced if I give up processed food it will all get better.
This formula seems to be the largest challenge. We have tried a few and at first they seem to help, but then his poop starts to tank again. The thing is, I don't know if I need to wait longer, or if it just isn't working for him. Further complicating matters is the fact that his tummy is so sad, he wants to nurse ALL night long. I cannot comfort feed him if its a bottle, and waking up all night long to feed him bottles he only sips off of is tough when I have work in the morning. And the fact is, I would totally suck it up and do it, but I don't want to get up all night long, if it just isn't going to work in the end.
Once again, I have vomited anxiety and worry all over the computer screen, but it sure does feel good to get it off my chest!
In other news, we had a good time this holiday season! We went to Lake Tahoe, where there was not a drop of snow. The thing about my family is, we managed to still have fun, despite the bitter disappointment. I love that about them. One way to make it fun was to mimic all of the experiences we would have had if there had been snow. Like my 12 year old pushing a rock and joking about it being a snowman. Also, we took that opportunity to hike down to Vikingsholm, something I would NEVER do in 80 degree weather. It was a mile down, and yes, a mile back up. I HATE hiking up. I am always thinking I am about to have an asthma attack.  But hey, I made it to the top and it felt like such an accomplishment. We also had your standard Christmas gathering, and nearly the whole family was there. That's right 29 people in one house.
So as the year 2011 ends, hopefully we say goodbye to the year of poop (and our endless obsession over what color the baby poo is), and say hello to a new year of healthy eating. I am intrigued to see how this change will affect everyone.

The Family

Well it has been a long time since I have posted. Probably because I got a new phone and lost the login info. Or maybe because I was busy finishing my prelimnary credential. Or perhaps it is because we got married. Or maybe that we got pregnant and had sweet, little Noah with his colic, reflux, and allergies. Life in the last year or so has brought a fast forward through changes, learning and growth. My students in my class have all growed up and graduated out and with their commencement and the birth of my second child it truly seems as though a new chapter in my life has begun! Its been a whirlwind of a year, and with a new baby and new activities it promises to be another interesting year, but this year I will try to take you with me!

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Busy, busy week!

We went to Redding last week to see my good friend Jaimie and her family. Perhaps the most important discovery made on the trip was a magic "P" onion ring that made it possible to spell important words like "Poo" and "Poop" in onion rings. At Jaimie's house we had some good conversation and fun play time with the kids. The boys were super cute and fun! We got to hang out at Whiskeytown lake and even venture over to enjoy the history of Old Shasta. The museum was fun! The "ghost" exhibit kind of freaked us all out a bit... Well at least me and Daniel! Making pizza was fun and I thoroughly enjoyed Scrabble, I think it may be an addiction! On Sunday we went to the Sundial bridge. Its super cute, but i kind of wish we could have gone in the evening, when it is all lit up! After all the busy adventure we grabbed some lunch at Del Taco before heading out. I found out how irritating it is when someone appears to be ignoring Richard just because he is Asian. Guess that somewhat limits our potential towns to move to. At any rate, before heading out we discovered an odd pile of jeans, a shirt. And a curly haired wig on the trash outside Del Taco and I think we all kinda wondered who robbed a bank... All in all Redding was pretty good, but extremely exhausting!!
Unfortuantely work started with a bang. I think it was some kind of crazy carry over from the full moon. I know, sounds like a crazy superstition, but work at AK for a year, or even a month, and you would know how serious the side effects of a full moon can be. We had a weird week where many of the kids were edgy and we had to go hands on and escort a student to the time out room and hold the door for an hour an twenty minutes. Something I have never done before. Ever.
Daniel had a couple of volleyball games and unfortunately, his team lost. Richard (in his continual quest to "turn the Johnsons Asian" ;) made us sushi at home. It was surprisingly tasty for having seaweed in it. Daniel even tried rolling it himself.... Not so easy as it looks. :) On Thursday, we took a break from all the crazy and enjoyed dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Oh Sweet Tomatoes, how I missed thee...
Finally, on Friday, the weekend came. I enjoyed margarits at La Perla with the girls from work, it was much needed! Then we dove into Asia weekend. More attempts to turn us Asian, lol. We went to the Japantown Festival with Diane. The festival was alright, but not great. It was good to see Diane, but I sorta missed our dish time where we fill eachother in on all the crazy happenings in our lives.... Darn, guess we'll have to go get pedicures! >:) After that I got to nap (man, I'm so spoiled :), before we went over to Ringerhut for dinner (more Asian food.... There is definitely a trend). We topped the night off with a laser show at the De Anza Planetarium. I am certain the show would have been better if I was high or on Shrooms, but it was still pretty cool. However. Now it gave me a taste for Planetarium, and now I think I have to go back for stars!
Perhaps the most relaxing day this week has been Sunday. We started off with a family breakfast, where even Moe got pancakes. Daniel has decided it should be a Sunday morning tradition, and I suppose I am in... As long as I can still sleep in. Now we are doing our REAL Sunday tradition of laundry and hanging out at Starbucks. Who knew laundry could be so relaxing? Between the Starbucks time and sleeping in, I think I may actually be ready for this week! Especially if we get to enjoy a movie without a kid in tow.....

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Whoops!

k, posted too early! Took the Bubs to pancake house and then dropped him off at a party. Its always nice to hang out just the two of us! :) We hit the Art and Wine Festival. Couple of glasses of wine later I left with some super cute earrings and some fun little grass people that look like Chia Pets, we headed home for a quick break before Deb's party. Its pretty fun, especially when Mario and Nikki get going! Lmao, we had some funny laughs especially on the way home and at Jack in The Box. Man, those two are funny...... On the bright side, we learned how wonderful The Original House Of Pancakes is :)

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Party!

Big day today, omg! Dragged my sad little booty outta bed just for some pancakes. Okay I say just, but man, those were some damn

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Training Day!

We had a training at work today. We were learning about how to teach the kids awareness, safety skills, and all about boundaries. It was a pretty good and fun. That is of course right up until she calls Richard and I up to demonstrate for her. Yep, he had to pretend he was going to give me a hug and i had to shrink away from him and tell him "I don't want a hug right now!" It was so funny that everyone was cracking up, except the presenter who had NO idea why everyone was cracking up. Nikki laughed so hard she cried and America even got in trouble, hehehehe. I couldn't even look at anyone without giggling. Good times...

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Sailing the Seas and Second Dinner

We finally got to sail today. We have been talking about going for some time now. The sail boat was a huge pontoon with an enormous sail. It was amazing to see seals, dolphins and even a cute little otter. The boat's gentle rocking and music from "The Party Tape" of old made me feel like a kid again. I loved every minute of it. I was sad when they pulled down the sail and began to head back in.
We followed that up with a trip to DT Santa Cruz for some food. We were lucky to stumble upon the Greek Festival where we tried Loukoumathes. Um, can you say YUM! Afterwards, we went searching for some real food. Richard is so nice he went to Chocolate Restaurant, even though I think he was jonesing for some falafel. Too bad Chocolate didn't actually have "real" food because after eating there we had to head over for Second Dinner at Joe's Pizza. Finally, after burger, beer, sammich and fries our tummies were full and happy again!

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