So, what's up with the Joosts these days?

WELL... let's see.

Jay is still out of work and attending Sierra College. He is greatly enjoying his classes this semester, as they are all in his major, which is Applied Art & Design. He only has math left in his general education requirements, so he's enjoying focusing on the stuff he's really there for. Our intention was that he absolutely needs to go back to work by January, so with the end of the year drawing near, he is going to have to really re-double his efforts to find work. Once he does, he will have to cut back on school, but he will continue and achieve his goals in however much time it takes! He is receiving a Pell Grant, which is a Godsend, for sure, and has allowed us some more comfort in the finances.

I am still working for JP Morgan Chase, but have transferred to the Lincoln branch, which is quite a bit closer to home. We are undergoing a remodel, which is nearly done now, and it has been quite hectic. We are also a month away from the official conversion from Washington Mutual to Chase, and I can definitely say I look forward to having all this behind us. It's just obnoxious in so many ways to deal with the Chase-but-not-quite-Chase thing, as we are still using the WaMu computer system, policies, and products, but are at the same time trying to learn all the Chase stuff and slowly re-train our customers, as well. Other than work, I am still pregnant, of course. :) I have my cesarean date set for November 20 at 9:30am. We did not find out the gender, although I still have my personal feeling that this is a boy. I am getting bigger and heavier, and look forward to having THIS behind me, too! lol But, of course, I enjoy pregnancy for the positive points. I am at a point now where I know this COULD be my last pregnancy. I don't think it will be, but Jay and I are going to take our time on having another baby, and I don't know what the future holds. Regardless, I am trying to remember to cherish every little kick and punch from within, because it truly is an amazing experience, and I know I will yearn for it some day when we have decided we have enough little mouths to feed. God willing, we will somehow become financially set and can just keep having kids! But, honestly, I don't see us going beyond five children. I got my flu shot today, and am anxiously awaiting the release of the H1N1 virus vaccination, so I can get that one, too.

Annie turned eleven on Sept. 2 and started sixth grade in late August. She is now a Middle Schooler! She seems to enjoy it, and is doing very well. She is playing my old clarinet in band, which is kind of neat. I am glad she has that opportunity now; they didn't have band in Elementary School. She is in advanced classes, and I am excited by how well she is doing. She was sick a week and a half ago, and went to the doctor to be tested for H1N1, but the result was negative. It was good that she was tested, though, because she did have the symptoms. As it turned out, a girl she plays with regularly tested positive for H1N1 around the same time! Annie is frustrated with me, because I won't allow her to play with that little girl yet, even though she has been cleared to go back to school. I want to wait and make sure no one else in her household comes down with it, though, because it is way too risky if it makes it into our household while I'm pregnant. NOT a risk I'm willing to take! When I explained it very bluntly to Annie, she seemed to get over her annoyance. She got her flu shot today, also.

Jacob is going through another bout with poor listening, but this is nothing new. I have started keeping track of how many times I've told him to do something and telling him, "This is the third time I've told you to ______" and it seems to help. It makes him aware of the fact that he's ignoring my requests/directives. He usually responds with a quick, "Oh, sorry, okay" and does what he's been told. He is struggling with being respectful of Julianna's individuality and human-ness. He tends to want to treat her like a non-person, snatching whatever she is holding and pushing her around. She was laying on her tummy on the floor tonight playing with his Leapster and he laid down next to her to see what she was doing and she immediately grabbed the Leapster and held it away from him while yelling, "No! No! No!" and pushind him away. I made a point to explain to him that she did that because she has gotten so used to him taking whatever she has from her for no reason. I think it made an impact... I hope. We're working on it. He got his flu shot today, as well. He struggled when he saw the needle, but quickly calmed down when he realized it really didn't hurt that much.

Julianna is growing and changing as fast as I can type. Her vocabulary is still pretty slim for her age, but she communicates very well. She is eager to talk more fluently and is always trying new words. She teases and grins and runs faster than I can in my condition! She is a Daddy's Girl for sure, which started when I started working full time. It's a little sad for me, but she still loves her Mommy. It's just different with Jay. He's the one who can always make her laugh. She barely made a sound when she got her flu shot today. :)

Baby has been named. He will be Jonah Isaac Joost OR she will be Abigail Loretta Joost. He/She is in excellent health and growing as he/she should be. As far as we can tell, everything is perfect. :)

Jay's mother had a heart attack resulting in kidney failure in the beginning of August. It was a VERY scary time and we almost lost her, but she is doing relatively well now. She was in Cardiac ICU for 5 days and in the hospital for a total of 12 days. She lost vision in her right eye as a result of the heart attack and is not expected to regain it. She is still walking with the aid of a walker. She has been released to return to work no more than 16-20 hours a week and can receive disability income at the same time, so that is good.

Our finances are going to take another hit while I'm on Maternity Leave. I am honestly not sure what we are going to do, but we are brainstorming. Christmas will definitely be modest, which kills Jay. He always wants a big Christmas, but... this year we get a baby instead! lol

We have been looking at double strollers. I think I want the Graco DuoGlider, but we need to buy a new infant car seat to go with it, which will bring the total to about $200. We don't need it immediately, obviously, but I hope we can get it soonish. It has a huge basket underneath, which we love, and we need another baby car seat anyway, so I don't mind having to get one to go with it. The company that makes the car seat we have now does not make a double stroller. :(

I am going to call it a night! I have work earlier than usual tomorrow and am TIRED. I hope you've enjoyed this little update! Thanks for reading! ;)

Dani

Keep On Keepin' On

So, this week we got TWO unemployment checks. The state is really trying to get caught up with Jay since his delay back in May/June. We got one check on Tuesday, immediately mailed back the continued claim form on the same day and rushed it to the Post Office before the pick up for the day, and got another check today (Friday). Pretty cool.

We are poised to pay August's rent on time... I think. We might be about $100 short, but that's a lot better than it has been. I am all caught up on all the credit cards except our Macy's charge, but I'm not too far behind on that one. I've paid a few lingering bills like DISH Network and an old doctor bill from forever ago. I made payment arrangements with another old bill and we closed Jay's credit card and went on a payment plan which reduced our interest rate from 30% to 6% and set our payments at $45.00 a month.

The only thing that is concerning me right now is that we no longer qualify for Food Stamps because I started working full-time, so that will be a change in our finances over the next little bit. Usually, we would get another month's worth of "stamps" (which is silly to say, because it's on a debit card anyway) on the 10th, but July was our last month so we will have to come up with grocery money on our own from here on out. I will be getting more WIC vouchers on the 30th, though. In a few more months, the WIC program will begin covering bread, fruit, and veggies, too, which is awesome.

I thought of something the other day... we are going to have TWO children in diapers at the same time for a while. That could get quite expensive! Hopefully, Jay will be back to work by then!

On that note, Jay applied and interviewed for a job at Magnussen's Auburn Dodge last week. He is still waiting to hear back. The Service Manager at Dodge was his Service Manager at Toyota, so he has his foot in the door already. I'm hoping and praying that it pans out, because it is definitely time for our income to stabilize.

The kids start swimming lessons next week, and Jacob finishes up T-Ball next Wednesday. He really enjoys T-Ball; I can't wait until he's old enough to actually be on a regular team! That starts when he's in Kindergarten.

I was listening to old messages on my cell phone voicemail today... I have a message from Jacob when he was probably about 1 1/2 making babyish noises and saying "Hi" over and over again and I also have a message from when Julianna was about 5 months old the first time she ever really laughed. I remember calling my cell phone so that I could record it. Annie was making faces at her or something and she was laughing. It's the sweetest sound. I love listening to those old messages... I'll have to find some way to save them if I ever change my cell phone service. I don't really expect to do that, though; I've been with Verizon forever.

I am feeling more positive tonight. I can't tell you how nice it feels to be almost caught up on our bills. We're so close I can taste it!! I just pray there isn't another long delay when Jay applies for his unemployment extension in the next couple weeks.

Our poor car (the Camry) has been sorely neglected while we've been hard-up for cash and now we have to replace the brake pads, the rotors, and one piston because we drove it way beyond the time we needed to change the brakes. Thankfully, we have the money to do it because of Jay's connections. A buddy of his is doing the work in exchange for a detail on his wife's car and he's getting the parts with his employee discount at Folsom Lake Toyota and we're just paying him back. The car also needs an oil change and a new windshield, which we will work on soon. The oil change is more urgent and easier to do ourselves, so hopefully it won't be much longer.

I should be in bed. I will write again someday. :)

Dani

How time flies

I have found that updating this blog takes up precious time of which I have very little, so I apologize for going so long between posts.

Every day, I tell myself to keep my chin up and look on the bright side and that one day this will all be behind us. I know that sometimes the economy sucks and then eventually it doesn't anymore. I know this, but it's so hard in the moment... Jay is still looking for work. We thought we may have caught a break when a Service Writer up in Auburn gave his notice, but now we're hearing that they may not bother replacing him. Jay should have gotten an unemployment check today, but apparently we forgot to have Jay sign his continued claim form last week, so they sent him another form to sign before they can mail a check. Now, if things go smoothly, he won't receive his check until Tuesday, most likely. We are overdrawn in our bank account and have a lot of people asking us to make payments for one thing or the other, and I have made payment promises that I now cannot honor. Thankfully, I was able to make arrangements so our car won't be repossessed, as was a possibility.

I found a program through the city which will allow the kids to take swimming lessons this summer free-of-charge, so that was a blessing. I really didn't want to skip a summer, because I believe that swimming lessons can literally save lives and I always sign my kids up. This year, because we qualified for the free lessons, I am even going to do a "Mommy and Me" lesson with Julianna, which will supposedly teach her to pull herself out of the pool on the side. That could definitely be beneficial in a worst-case-scenario! So, I feel good about that.

I just go through such a roller coaster of emotions all the time. Jay is about to run out of his unemployment benefits, so we are coming up on his first federal extension. That is all well and good, but I've been told that you usually go three to four weeks without a check while they evaluate your application for an extension. Also, although I know the government is acutely aware at how badly people need the unemployment system right now, I always have it in the back of my mind that California is ultra-broke. Are they someday going to just say, "Sorry, we're out of money" and stop sending checks all together? Who knows? I don't trust any of the politicians anymore. Everything is a mess.

I find myself in a rotten mood because I'm so worried about everything, and that's not fair to my family. I am not enjoying it, either. I am experiencing a lot of headaches and hip pain at this stage of my pregnancy, also, which makes life that much more painful, physically.

I just really want to get to the other side of this mountain. I want to look back and say, "Oh, Jay, remember how impossible it was in 2009?? How did we ever get through that? I'm so glad things are better now!"

I'm scared and worried and confused and angry and disappointed. And what makes it worse is that it's all because of MONEY. STUPID MONEY! I hate that money can affect our lives so much. My children are healthy, my husband and I and all the people I love are healthy. I have a full-time job, which millions of people would love to have. I have a home. Our rent payments are late, but I have a home regardless. I am pregnant with another precious child, which is such a blessing!! I constantly remind myself of the good in my life, and yet I still end up feeling sorry for myself. I guess that's awful. Now I feel guilty for feeling upset. Sigh.

I hope all of you are doing well. I'm sorry this post has been such a pity party, but it's how I'm feeling right now. Hopefully, next time I will be in a better frame of mind.

Update

So...

I haven't updated my blog in quite some time, but honestly I have had no idea what to say. The reason for that is not that I do not have things to say, but more so that I have so much to say that I cannot quite figure out where to start.

Let's start at the end. Seems logical, don't ya think?

On April 2, 2009 a very long, winding, FUN adventure came to an end. The two-hour ER Series Finale aired while my mind reeled around what this would mean. I already posted a long account of my fears and sorrows where the ending of ER is concerned, so I won't do it again. What I will do is make a few brief comments about the actual final episode. Granted, it will mean nothing to anyone who doesn't know the show or didn't see the episode, but deal. I was THRILLED to see Rachel Greene appear as a hopeful soon-to-be med student. It made perfect sense to me to see her there, and of course it made it perfectly plausible that Elizabeth would be in town. Kerry and Susan were logical choices to be in attendance at Carter's grand opening, and OF COURSE it couldn't happen without Benton. Seeing Reese was a pleasure! The chemistry between Benton and Elizabeth was entertaining, although misplaced, I thought. Generally, it was a well-executed episode that very nicely summed up the fifteen year-long drama that is ER and successfully made me cry. I thank John Wells, Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace), and Warner Bros. for a job well done and an amazing fifteen years.

Okay, so moving backwards, we come to April 1. I started my job at Chase Bank (which most people in this area are still referring to as Washington Mutual). I was hired on as a Senior Teller with discussion of moving to a New Accounts desk, possibly as soon as June or July. Right now I'm only part time, but if I get the promotion I will become full time. I truly hope this happens as soon as possible, because part-time really isn't enough to pay the bills, but I am very thankful to have a job at all, so I'm not complaining. Honestly, if it becomes clear that I won't be full-time in the near future, I'll probably start looking for a second job.

We now find ourselves at March 31. It was my nephew's 17th birthday (shout out to Todd!) and we were preparing our family of five to get in the car and head for the festivities in Folsom. I, however, had been struggling with some suspicions that I could not shake, and although it was not the most opportune time, I gave in to my need to know the truth RIGHT before we were supposed to walk out the door. So, without any further ado, I will share my truth with you, my reading public. ;)

Jay and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our fourth child! Based on my calculations, I am due late November 2009. My first OB appointment is on May 5. I had to choose a new OB, because Dr. Lane (who delivered both Jacob and Julianna) retired from obstetrics last year. This is very hard for me, but I'm sure my new OB will be fabulous. Using a Roseville-based OB will allow me to deliver at Sutter Roseville's new Family Birthing Center, too, and that's exciting! I thoroughly believe that this is another boy I carry, but that remains to be seen. I don't really want to find out ahead of time, but Jay sort of does, so we haven't decided for sure.

God is good! He has a plan for our family which I will faithfully follow. He continues to bless us daily and has shown His love yet again!!

So, it was a busy week. Oh, and we were late to Todd's birthday gathering. :)

I will post more another day, but I must run to the grocery store. Ta ta.

And... We're Clear!

Girl Scouts Troop 1124 has sold it's last box of cookies. Sales officially ended on Sunday, and our troop raised $1210.55 for our girls (that is our profit, mind you, not the total amount sold). This has been AWESOME!
The girls hoped to earn enough money to go to Great America as a troop, so I'm sure we have that to look forward to. This money will cover materials for projects as the girls earn more badges and other expenses throughout the year. This is the only major fundraiser for the troops, so this is their "spending money" until next cookie season.

We have a number of upcoming events. The girls have a Father-Daughter dance this Friday. There are plans to participate in the Powder Puff Derby, which I'm excited about! They will learn CPR and First Aid. They are going to spend an afternoon in a mechanic's shop and learn how to change oil, check all fluid levels, change a tire, check air pressure, and whatever else comes up. They will spend time cooking and caring for pets and children. They will be making Easter baskets for The Sacramento Children's Hospital, as well. Of course, these are only the events I know about so far!

So, thank you for your support during the cookie drive and check in often to see what Annie is up to with her troop! This has been a very rewarding experience for all of us!

**Giggle**

That was so fun.

So, if you missed it (and I'm sure you did because no one I know watches ER with me anymore), it was awesome.

Only three episodes left, people!

Tonight we were treated to Carol Hathaway, Peter Benton, John Carter, and - wait for it... wait for it... - Doug Ross. Oh, yeah.

I was very impressed with George Clooney, because I wondered how well he could pull off Doug after all these years. He did it beautifully, as did the gorgeous Julianna Margulies pull off Carol. Benton ain't so hard, but admittedly Eriq La Salle played him to a T, as well. Then there's Carter... well, Noah Wyle has John Truman Carter III burned into his brain by now, I think!

So, Doug and Carol are married. I distinctly noticed wedding rings on their fingers. :)

Carter and Benton are so awesome together. I LOVE watching them. They have perfect platonic chemistry. And Benton totally saved Carter's life and that stupid surgeon's ass by following protocol, am I right?? ... Oh, wait, no one reading this saw it. Trust me, he did. ... Anyway, that was SO vintage Benton and Carter.

My husband noticed that the scene between Doug, Sam, and Neela appears to have been shot in two parts and edited together. I don't think the three of them were ever in the same room together. I guess Mighty George couldn't wrap his schedule around theirs... OR his appearance was still hush-hush and the actresses had to just deliver their lines with no questions asked. It's been done before.

Looks like we get one more night with Abby next week. That thrills me beyond words.

Oh, and I LOVE how Carol says to Doug at the end of the episode that the kidney went to "some doctor." If they only knew.

All in all, I am very satisfied. I think The Powers That Be have done a spectacular job with this final season. They have truly given it the respect and honor it deserves, as far as television shows go. I am proud to have been around for all of it.

Three more to go.

The Danger of Precedent

While on one hand, I completely understand the concept of precedent, when do we just admit that a mistake may have been made?

Some of the conversation in the Prop 8 hearing this morning has surrounded an earlier decision to allow the death penalty in the State of California. Life, most certainly, is a fundamental and inalienable right. I will not get into the death penalty discussion here, but I would make the point that the fact that the court made a questionable decision in the past does not mean they are required to follow suit in the future... or should I say, it should not. Mistakes have been made in the past. Racist legislation has been passed and subsequently overturned, as have other issues.

That said, however, the death penalty directly (not concerning indirect effects at this time) affects CRIMINALS. There is a difference in the way we treat our law-abiding citizens and our criminals. Rights are taken away when you are a felon. That is a fact. Therefore, regardless of your stance on the death penalty and whether or not it should be allowed, it does not have anything to do with the Equal Rights and Equal Protection conversation where law-abiding citizens are concerned.

On a lighter note, I am getting tired of the symantic arguments over the meaning of "inalienable," "fundamental," "revision," and "amendment." I understand that this is the basis of today's argument, but OH MY GOSH it's getting tiresome! Maybe someone will jump up on a desk or something and inject some excitment to the hearing. :)