Crazy Train...

Why is it that everything in life seems to go crazy at once? Our happy little world has been turned upside down a thousand times in the last few weeks. Bob and I are looking for a new gig for him, and hopefully one will turn up soon. Since he's trying to switch industries, things are a little different than just working your contacts until something turns up. It's pretty stressful for both of us, but I have faith that the right job will show up soon.

Not only are we in search of employment, we are now the current home for my parents, sister, and their dog. Hopefully, my parents' house will be ready to go in the next couple of weeks, but we spent the beginning of the week helping my parents pack up and move out of the house they've lived in for 20 years. You'd think that they would have had some things packed up, since my mom has been wanting to move for about 20 years, but for some reason, Mom didn't really start packing until Monday when we showed up. My brothers and I have been dreading this move especially because of all of the crap our parents have accumulated over the years. I can't begin to describe the number of hotel coffees and plastic ware from Taco Bell I threw away. I'm pretty sure I packed 50 Bibles - one that was so tiny not even Barbie could read it. Perhaps the most frightening part of the house is the garage. We did get the house cleared out, but there are still tons of things in the garage that my dad is going back for.

As far as our current living arrangements, things are going well for the most part, but my sister freaks out any time her tiny dog is chased around by our giant dogs and our cat who has years of pent up frustration to take out on her little 4 lb mini-dog. The animals are getting used to each other, but Mom and Faith get pretty tense and like to hide away with the dog. I'm pretty sure my mom loves that dog more than any sane person would. She takes him everywhere with her. It's pretty crazy that my anti-animal mother is now a total nut over the Professor.

As if all that is not stressful enough, we have been on pins and needles praying for my grandpa. He recently has undergone several surgeries and is not totally out of the woods yet. I know that he's going to pull through, but we sure are worried about him. My grandma is spending as much time as possible with him, and just today, they took out the breathing tube. I'm sure that when Popo can talk, Grandma will feel a lot better.

Through all of this, our boys have been real troopers. They are all starting to suck on their fists and are attempting to suck on their thumbs. Ryan is the most obsessed with his thumb. Today, he finally got it in to his mouth and almost gagged himself. He's pretty cute when he tries to make it to his mouth, but after a while, he gets pretty frustrated.

Mikey is really laughing and smiling lately. He is so funny. When he's eating, he likes to laugh and smile rather than eat. His tiny little dimples just melt your heart and you have to laugh too. The other day, he started laughing at the Professor and it made my mom laugh and Mikey laughed even harder. It was pretty cute.

James is the only one who is not sleeping through the night. He's been waking up Ryan, and I think if he doesn't stop soon, he's going to earn himself a room of his own. He is starting to smile and laugh. It's hard to get him to laugh, but once you do, he's pretty fun to watch. He is starting to need his pacifier less (i.e. not 100% of the time, more like 95%), and his face is really filling out.

Tomorrow is the NICU reunion. I think even though the boys are not very far removed from the NICU, the nurses wont recognize our big boys. To look at them (especially Ryan), you'd never guess that they are preemies.