Gramma Janette

Today I found out the my maternal grandmother, Janette, has Leukemia. 5 years ago she was diagnosed with Colo/Rectal Cancer and later Liver Cancer. After some treatments and much medication she went into remission.

In August, the day we found out about Jonathan, we also got a call that Grandma was no longer in remission and had pre-Leukemia. At that point it was decided that if and when her cells took a turn for the worse and went into full Leukemia, she would have 2 weeks to a few months to live.

Tomorrow Zack and Grayson and I are driving to Crescent to spend some time with Gramma and the rest of the family who will be there. She wasn't able to make the drive to Jonathan's memorial so it has been a while since we have seen her. I just wish it were under better circumstances.

I have great memories of being a kid and driving from San Diego to Crescent Oregon and spending weeks and months at my grandmas house. I remember getting sick one summer and having a sore throat. She pulled out a bag of frozen strawberries and I ate those for almost a week! And the whole time I just lay on the couch and she rubbed my back.

I baking cookies with her when I was really little and when my parents got divorced and we lived with her for 5 months she let me bake until my little heart was content all the while cheering on my efforts. Even my random GIANT cookie efforts that really wasted ingredients more than anything else.

I have many fond memories of Gramma Janette. I hope she beats all odds and lives forever. Either way I hope she knows how loved she is.

Janette with Jesse James (1987)

Janette with me (1979)

Janette roughly 1978?

Janette and Leeroy roughly 1984/5

Me, Gramma Janette and Grayson 2007

Oh bugger!

I went for an interview yesterday that I thought for sure I had the job. I thought I was a shoe in. And since they said they would probably have me come work half days the rest of the week and start full time next week for their 17 month old son, I was sure the job was mine. Yay! Until today. I had not heard a word about working tomorrow so I emailed thanking them for the lovely meeting and asking about more details for when they wanted me to come. I heard nothing back. I later called to get the same info and ended up leaving a message since there was no answer.

While I was putting Grayson down for the night I got an email saying that they had hired someone else today and that they had meant to call me. Sorry? Wait what?! Did I miss something?! I thought I was starting tomorrow or Thursday?! Arg. Pisses me off. So now I am deflated and sad just when I felt like I got a slight re-inflation (Is that a word!?)

So still we are jobless and one day closer to homelessness. Fabulous!

I'm screwed.

38 weeks pregnant

I just realized its Saturday. Saturday is the day that I would switch to the next week of pregnancy. I would have been 38 weeks pregnant today with my sweet baby Jonathan. I would be waddling around all huge and round, having a hard time standing up from the couch and a hard time getting back down once I had finally gotten up. I would be so tired and yet still unable to sleep because no matter how hard you try there is no comfortable position when you have an a$$ the size of Texas and a small whale in your belly. Oh and that is not to mention how often you get up to pee. By the time you lie back down you realize you have to pee again (hey Erin you there yet?! :o)

I would be pulling up my shirt to show Grayson his baby brother and so he could kiss and talk to his baby. All of which he still does sometimes by the way. Today as a matter of fact. Today he pulled up my shirt and asked about the baby. When I told him our baby was an angel and gone he said oh. And pulled up his own shirt to ask about that baby, I told him neither of us has a baby in their belly right now (I will save the no babies in his belly talk for later. :) he said oh again and went back to his train table.

Anyway, I would be 38 weeks pregnant today. I still feel pregnant sometimes. When I first heard the term phantom kicks I thought people were crazy until I felt them. Every once in a while I will feel like my ribs or stomach is being "pushed" out of the way by someone so small and yet so demanding of space. It seems like an eternity since I felt them for real and I can't wait to feel a baby in there again and yet... I don't if I ever will really be ready to be pregnant again.

Eventually, Someday, I hope to announce that we are expecting a perfectly healthy baby, until then I will look at my little boy and smile because he is perfect just as he is. I love you sweet baby Jonathan!

Christmas Dinner

After a lovely calm day of relaxing and hanging out after we opened our presents we set out to go to Forest Grove to our friend Geneva and James' house for dinner. Geneva made a delicious ham, cranberry cocktails, smashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and blueberry pie! We brought homemade cranberry sauce (cause the can is just WRONG!) sweet potato casserole and a pickle/ olive platter. It was a great spread!

Grayson is just 2 months older than Jimmy so they play pretty well together, when one isn't taking a toy from the other (usually G from J- sorry!)

The dad's wrangling the boys.

The boys drinking their "milt" as G calls it.

Geneva makes these amazing Gingerbread houses, and we were going to eat the one she kept so she handed me a mallet and told me to break it. I was so scared I would break the table! (This is the WORST pic of me! I hate it) but its shows off the house.

It took me 3 (or 4!) tried but that sucker didn't stand a chance! Ha! It was delicious too, I am still munching on it. :)

Allie's Sweater

I made this sweater for my niece Allie. I hope it fits! She lives in San Diego, so when her mom puts it on her, I am hopeful that she will snap a pic and send it to me so I can update! hint hint!

Melissa here is the link!

Things I made for Christmas

This Christmas (and actually most) I made all of our gifts.
There are more than is pictured but I forgot to take pics of everything. Oops.

This is Jeremiah's hat and turtle friend. It is made of an up-cycled wool sweater and roving.

Turtle, turtle!

The scarf's I made for Diana and Geneva. Made from fleece and fabric.

A coffee cozy I made for James my friend Geneva's hubby. Also made from an up-cycled wool sweater.

The hat I made for Jesse, also a matching scarf. Also, you guessed it, made from an up-cycled wool sweater! I love those sweaters!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

We started the day off about 730, and after Grayson got his juice and a snack to start the day (whatever he wanted cause hey its Christmas! He chose cheetos!) we went and opened our stockings. Mostly candy and such. Grayson got some bath crayons and water color change tablets in his too.

Here is G headed into the Living room to see his presents and open the real loot!

He went right to the Train table from Papa Bill (Thank you!), he loves it and goes in there all the time to play with it! Eventually it will move to the family room but until the trees come down it stay there.

^Before^
And after we (mostly) opened gifts. Trashed.


Grayson LOVES his cape he got from Uncle Chad and Aunt Anna. Thank you!


He does this great Schoooo sound as he races around the house! It's so cute. Other fun loot he got, an easel and race track from Grandma Linda Buquet (thank you!) which he loves.
I hear DRAW at least 4 times a day. I put his easel (pictured above) in my craft room so he has a place to work while I do. :) It's really cute! He also got an aquadoodle and an outfit (he is wearing the shirt above) from Grandpa and Gammie Buquet, a cool matching puzzle type book from Grandparents Egan. Thank you! Our friends Wade and Di gave him some puzzles and we got him a few little things and the sweater I made.

Thank you everyone who made this Christmas special!

The Buquet Snow Hill

This is the hill/ cave that Zack and Jesse made with the shoveled snow from the driveway and sidewalk in front of our house.

Oh and so did I!

Hillsboro Blizzard 2008

So as I have been posting for the last year- oh I mean 2 weeks- we are in a blizzard. That is what they are calling it at this point. I have always wanted to live where it snows and I think I would still. That being said I am TOTALLY over the snow! And as Grayson would say "All Duh! All Done!" (Waves hands wildly to sign as punctuation)

I went out today because we got chains for my van and I still had some shopping to do and it had to get done. All was well when I left. It was about 32* and some of the snow was melting. I picked up my friend Di and off we went to Costco and Joann's and such. We were gone a few hours. I dropped her back off and turned off of her side street onto a larger more traveled street (from Cedar to Brookwood for those in the know- headed toward TV hwy) and no sooner had I gotten back on Brookwood and I was sliding sideways! I was doing less than 10 mph and going completely straight! The groves in the road

like these

were completely frozen again and slick! It had dropped to 28* by this point. I just kept saying "please don't hit me! Please don't hit me!" As there was a truck headed right for my tail end. They managed to avoid me and I was able to steer into it so I only ended up sideways instead of backwards in the snow drift. Then I got turned back around, VERY slowly!

I decided Brookwood was WAY too slick to do the turns coming up not far from where I was and I didn't want to end up head first in the flood plain underneath the curves so I turned off onto a side road to connect with a less curvey road ( Bently to 32nd) and finally- white knucking it all the way- made it home. Phew! I was the slow guy everyone was glaring at but I was so scared I would fly off the road.

In the back of my mind I had my friend Tricia's accident
and even though G was safe and sound at home with Zack, it worried me to be out alone and potentally unsafe. Anyway, All is well. I won't be driving again any time soon. I will leave that to Zack who has more experience in the snow and I will stay cozy at home or in my toasty heated passengar seat.

Here are some fun pictures around my house and area.

Icecicles hanging from our roof, taken out our bedroom window.

A kid shaking the branches on a tree by Di's house.

I love this little bush, only about knee high, covered in ice and snow.

Like I was saying before, I wouldn't mind living where it snows, as long as they own as many plows as it takes to keep the streets clean and safer. Hillsboro owns a few plow attachments for trucks that is it. I have personally seem 2 but those were on days that it was relatively friendly on the streets. Now we have 12-20 inches and 2-3 foot drifts and they are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they gave up cause this is the most snow they have seen in 20 or so years!

Snowy Days, Snnnoowwwy Daaaayyyys!

This is Zack's snow cave, he is sure Grayson will love playing in it.

It is made from all the snow he has shoveled off our driveway so I can get out of the garage and not drive out onto ice.

The back way into Rood Bridge park where we went to sled again today

Headed into the trees. So pretty.

Me or a Polar Bear?

This bridge is usually under water by now but since its been snowing instead of raining its not. Otherwise we would have to go around to the park. It will for sure by under after the snow melts.

To the hill we go!

Jesse sledding the stairs!

The boy can't "steer" for crappa, he always ends up sideways.

Zack's snow beard from the snow flying up as he sleds.

Where are Grayson's legs?

Me sledding. I got "brave" this year. Usually I am a total chicken! Maybe next year I will do the stairs!