Loose ends or just fine, can’t figure it out?

So I have been wondering something…what am I waiting for? I don’t know if everyone else feels this same way but it seems like all too often I find myself having this perpetual feeling of ‘waiting for something’. I don’t even know what it is–just something. There are those things, those plans, those times in life that I am actively waiting for like Chiropractic school. When I say I am waiting for it I mean I am waiting until I get done with the last few remaining credits before I can make it finally happen (only have 16 credits to go); but still, there is this nagging feeling in the back of my head like I am suppose to be somewhere, to be something–to be more, or different, or somewhere else, or happier, or not so complacent, or working harder, or not working as hard, or like I am spending my time focusing on the wrong things but then if I don’t focus on the ‘wrong’ things then the ‘right’ things may be impacted. I just feel like I am in this race trying my hardest to get somewhere, a different place or state of mind–something. I can honestly say it is a little overwhelming. Who am I racing? Who am I competing with? I know it sounds like a deep-though to say I may just be competing with myself and as hokey and trite as it may be, I think it may be true. I don’t quite know how to describe this feeling. It’s not quite unsettled and definitely not confused but rather, maybe, purely neurotic ?

The other day I was feeling this way and couldn’t put my finger on why. I am a big list person and plan everything out. Usually I am able to make a check-list, get things out of my head and down on to paper or at the very least write down ideas and thoughts just to get them out of my head and to keep them from circling around my often times manic frame of mind–but this day I couldn’t even think of a list to make, no thoughts to write down and get off my chest, so I just sat there (this is gonna sound a little bit like a fat person ordering a diet coke with their super-sized #6–in no way helpful) and I just scribbled. Not doodled, or sketched, but actually scribbled–just random lines and squigglies, for an entire 15 minutes! It was oddly therapeutic and calming, as if I was getting my mental train-wreck out of my head and down on paper; never actually resolving any issues or problems.  I’m sure there is probably some clinical definition for where I am right now in my life but all I can say is tomorrow will come and today isn’t really that bad. Weird, huh?

NOBEL–not so much.

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize because ‘his promises of disarmament and diplomacy were too good to ignore.’ Really? I, Jake, PROMISE that every man woman and child by the year 2056 will live in a mansion of their own, never get sick, never be hungry and will  never have to worry about crime, bigotry and death. There…is that promise of mine too good to pass up for anyone? Should I get the Nobel, now? How come–I promised those things would happen, though! Should he get the Heisman Trophy because he watches college football or a Super Bowl ring because he may have been at the game and supported the winning team? Come on! While I don’t hold the personal belief that Pres. Obama is the Devil-incarnate as some others do (I have actually been compelled to agree with, at least to some degree, what he says he is trying to do), I do think that eloquence is hardly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize.  I don’t profess to be an intellectual by any means and hardly know much about the qualification process for the Nobel Peace Prize but I do know this: the prestigious award was intended for those individuals who have DONE great things in their life to promote and step towards world peace. Whether that be through intellectual movements, scientific advancements, or  all the way down to agricultural improvements. I could see maybe the Pulitzer, if he had actually written any of what he has said, but he most assuredly hasn’t–I would presume very little of it, if any. The difference here is that the majority of the laureates had actually proliferated peace, they had actually done something to make an impact or make change–Mr. Obama has not (at least nothing that should be considered Nobel-worthy). Obama is not the first to win this award undeservedly, however; Yassir Arafat and Al gore are just a couple that come to mind who, in my opinion, are rowing in the same boat of self-entitlement and impassioned speeches as Pres. Obama. It isn’t my money to waste but President Obama, while his intentions may be honorable and his words beautiful is no more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than any one of the 88 Miss America pageant winners, who also have only ever ‘talked’ about peace. Why would they be kept from the lofty rank of the candidacy for the award? Have they not been endorsing it for over 8 decades–in the most eloquent ways possible? Dust off your tiara, Mr. Obama, and get that parade-wrist wound because as far as this blogger  is concerned you have not been any more influential than a pretty girl wearing a bathing suit (painting the pretty picture is nice but in the end it’s making not a bit of difference.) If it took Mother Theresa 69 years to win the Nobel Peace Prize, I have to say, either Obama has become one of the World’s most influential, peaceful people, in only 10 months of his Presidency or the World has no more standard for excellence. I am losing my will to live–with every sheep-like motion of society.

What do you mean treadmills can be dangerous?

So I moved the treadmill out of our house and into the garage the other day. I prefer it to be out there; it’s starting to cool off and I can bump some pretty intense tunes while I run.  Sweatin’ to the newies but hard to get-use-to’s isn’t as fun as to the oldies but goodies, yet it still gets the job done.  Anyways–Abbie is feeling better now and has decided to start to walk (jog) on the treadmill for exercise, so the other day she is out in the garage walking as Link is playing around her and Hatch is napping.  Link, fascinated by the walking but not actually going anywhere that mommy is doing, decides to grab onto the handle of the treadmill and gently put one foot on the belt.  He giggled as it took his foot and drug it away from him. He did it again and again, all the while Abbie is watching to make sure he isn’t doing anything too dangerous, when all of the sudden he put too much weight on that foot and was whisked away! The back of the treadmill is situated right up against the wall and before Abbie had time to react little Link’s body was smacked right into it. It wouldn’t have been as bad if that was all that happened but he had lost his balance as he was drug along and ended up with his torso on the belt–when he hit the wall his little head touched on the belt just enough to push it into the wall as well and then bounced it around a little, similar to a rock-tumbler, between the belt and the wall. In the end it only left a couple of precious little rug-burns near where his temple are. He’s o.k. and escaped the incident with only those two little marks and some skin rubbed off of his big toe–but needless to say he’s a little more aware now and Abbie will most likely be taking her walks during BOTH of the boy’s nap-times from now on.

…update on Hatch.

Hatcher’s eye infection is completely gone and he is starting to sleep really well throughout the nights now. Every couple of nights he will get a little off schedule but for the most part he seems like he is really figuring out this life thing. He is really digging his adopted baby-swing from Link; it seems to make him comatose which is very OK by his very tired Mommy. Link is really digging it too, he thinks it’s fun to watch him swing gently back and forth – and when Mommy and Daddy aren’t watching he likes to see just how much lift that little swing can get! He’s so helpful. I tried to reason with him that the batteries do enough pushing for Hatcher but for some reason I don’t think he caught my point.

This morning we were woken up by a spilling sound right next to our bed. Link had filled a quart-sized Tupperware with water and nonchalantly dumped it on the floor – cuz, well – how else would he get our attention? It’s a good thing he’s so dang cute.

Great Beginnings, again…

I feel like I am in the 5th grade again and promising my journal every six months or so that ‘I am sooooo sorry, but I swear to write every day from now on’. While I won’t be writing every day I do hope to make a more consistent effort to keep the World aware of our daily goings-on. Oh, Modern Society and their being convinced that people really want to hear about every little thing they are doing.

Many of you may know by now that Hatcher Reed Swenson joined our ranks on Sunday September 6th at a healthy 9lbs 4oz and 22 1/2 inches long. His big brother Link (who is one week away of being 18 months old) was born weighing 9.2 and was 22″ long. Glad to see that Abbie is consistent when it comes to producing baby’s that would make even an elephant wince given that she labored au naturel, again, without any medicinal aids or pain killers. She is doing well enough – considering that the Baby Blues are very real and very here right now. Her mother Brena drove down from Selah, Washington and arrived about 6 hours before Abbie started laboring. (Babies must have been in the air that weekend; on Friday Abbie’s sister Bobye and husband Andy had their first; a gorgeous little girl named Berlin.)  Brena came down to Boise in like-fashion when Link was born also so I think we may just invite her over for all of our future children’s birth-days on the day that Abbie has just ‘had enough’ because it seems her presence tends to induces labor – in a good way; Hatcher was clinging on for an entire week past the due date. Brena was a life saver that week and we are so greatful that she was able to take as much time as she was to come and be with Abbie and help her during those first few sleepless nights. Thanks for all that you do for us – we love you!

Abbie chose well to deliver in a Birthing Center called the Baby Place in Meridian, Idaho by a fantastic team of Midwifes. It was an amazingly peaceful environment and labor only lasted about 45 minutes and everything went as

Link and Hatch Comparison

smooth as could be prayed for. She attempted to have a water delivery but to my great pleasure ended up getting out and delivering on a birthing-chair. She wanted me in the water with her as support and while I love my family dearly – bless her heart forever for bailing on that plan before the ‘fireworks’ started. Hatcher is a cute baby. He is still having to learn the differences between night and day and had the beginnings of a little eye infection that has subsided with the use of trusty old colloidal silver and to our surprise (by recommendation of our team of Midwives) a drop of breast milk massaged into the eye lid at feeding times; overall his life’s first week has gone pretty smoothly and we are just praying we have another little angel baby on our hands – just like Link was.

Link is getting so big now. He weighed himself this morning after Daddy…coming in at an even 30lbs. He always was a stout little man and has had to learn about being a big boy and gravity now that he is running all over the place and sometimes not too gracefully. He has started to throw out every combination of vowels and consonants at the top of his lungs without really producing anything of an actual real word. When he doesn’t seem to be able to express what he wants well enough he resorts back to his sign-language that mommy taught him.  He still loves to find batteries and put them in our shoes and has mastered the ‘climb’ and is able to pull himself up on most things just shorter than where his “nickels” are. A few days ago he got on top of the toilette seat and was turning the water on and off in the sink. He could only reach the hot lever and was very surprised when he finally went to reach for the water – he now knows how to say HOT! He will bring us a diaper and powder when he needs his ‘poops changed’ and his mom and dad are still trying to remember that he is still “the baby” even if he isn’t the youngest anymore. We have found ourselves, already, expecting him to act more grown up than he should just because of the comparison between he and Hatch. It is an interesting psychosomatic change we are going through. He loves his slide daddy put in on the hill in the back yard and to mommy and daddy’s uncomfortable displeasure he has learned how to climb into the tandem swing on his swing-set by himself. Link loves to fill the dog water with sand from the sand box, even though daddy put it clear on the other side of the yard to avoid that from happening; he’s grateful for the challenge of balancing the sand in the shovel all the way over there. He’s a great little boy and we couldn’t be more proud.

Abbie, as I mentioned, is doing well; she is a champ in every sense of the word. Understandably, she is still pretty sore but she keeps on truckin’ and is an amazing Mother even though she isn’t feeling 100%. She finished Hatcher’s nursery which she chose to make into an Old World nautical theme. With some help from some of the lady’s in the family and a few friends she painted the walls with light and dark blue and white stripes, stained and installed a chair rail, had a bumper and a valance made (thanks mom) and turned the room into a really cozy place for our new little guy as he sleeps on the High Seas complete with little model sailboats and a fish net wall hanging with his name in the middle and a life preserver and a Captain’s Wheel. She is getting used to her new ‘normal’ but is the most capable person I know to make the change so I have no worries that she won’t be Super-Mom!

I am doing OK, as well. Abbie and I are both a little tired lately – for different reasons.  Abbie because of her new job as feeding-factory; open every 2 hours or so and ‘Chaser of Link’, and me because of my self-imposed schedule. I am working full time still as a recruiter for ITT Technical Institute. It is keeping me busy and, and without going into it, unnecessarily stressed out of my mind. I am also going to school full time wrapping up the 16 remaining credits I have left of my prerequisite credits needed for Chiropractic school!! Yay, it is almost here! And then to add to it I picked up a second job working for the Idaho Statesman as their Dock Coordinator. It’s a graveyard position working me three nights a week from 10:30pm – 4am. I actually enjoy it even though the hours can get me a little strung-out sometimes. It is nice to be able to go to a place and do a job that you don’t have to think too hard about and still get paid; not that ITT Tech exhausts my mental reserves but it’s just nice to be able to go, work, come home and not think about it till I go back. SO – between my jobs, school, brand new baby, rehearsing with my brothers, and my incessant need to always be in the middle of a project of some sorts…Abbz and I could use a break. Here are some pictures of a pretty neat Big-Boy Bed that I made for Lincoln.

Anyways, that will do for now. I’ll keep you caught up if you are tuning.

Tree for Big Boy Bed

Big Boy Bed