One Day at a Time

Really, I am... I seem to write half a blog post and then I save it for later and then a few weeks later I go back and rewrite it and then save it.... Maybe I should just post small little things. But here goes the catch up!

Our first family picture we took while in Northern Idaho last weekend.

Devin got a job at Hiland Partners in December. Over night we had to pack up and move everything. We moved an hour away from Minot in a small town called Stanley. We have a cute little three bedroom - three bathroom townhome just out of town. Sometime in January Hiland was sold to a much bigger company called Kinger Morgan. We were a bit worried that the changes would be big and we might be out of a job or our company housing or something. In the end, Devin was moved over to Kinder Morgan and things are staying the same and getting better.

What I look like running on 4 hours of sleep and 15 hours of driving to get to my brother's homecoming.

I am trying to be a super mom. It gets tough some days, but in the end I know I can do it. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, feeding and changing a baby, grocery shopping, planning, and working out finances. It seems I don't have much time for anything else. I hope when the weather gets warmer, I can get out and play some volleyball and go walking with Kamille. Truthfully I'm scared to do that around here with all the creeps running around these days. A few months ago my dad told me that one of his coworkers went for a jog. He got just out of the RV park and some guys stopped, threw a rock at his head, shanked him and robbed him. A few months before that my little brother used to jog on that same road every evening. (That's scary)

She started making this face a month ago. She scrunches up her nose and smiles.

Kamille is now four months! Time is going by so fast. She rolls over all the time and is now almost able to roll from her back to her tummy. She tries so hard to sit up but when I try to help her she just stands up and gets all happy. She LOVES to stand up and hold on to me or the couch. If her legs were a little longer, I know that she would like her Johnny Jumper or her walker, but she is just too little. She started eating rice cereal and oatmeal cereal. We gave her a taste of banana baby food and she loved it. She likes when we use a spoon and she tries to hold it. Sometimes when she cries she says MAMA... and it breaks my heart. Overall she is a happy baby and loves life. At her 4 month check up she was 13 lbs 2 oz and measured 24.25 inches. She rose from the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile.

She loves her Auntie Carlene

Since Thanksgiving she has been having trouble keeping formula down. The doctors have told us that she should be getting better at 5 months. I can't wait when I can pick out an outfit and she can wear it all day. I go through 3 everyday right now. Last night was the first night she slept in her crib in her room across the house. It was really hard for me. In fact, when she cried at 3 this morning I cuddled her up and brought her back to her bassinet. I'll be able to leave her in her room someday, but right now, I don't have to. :) Because I'm the MOM, that's why!

Jacob getting of the plane. Feb. 13 2015

Jacob loves Kamille! The sign says "Welcome home I've waited my whole life to meet you"

Fun note: This year we have so much to look forward to. First of all my brother, Jacob, came home a week ago!!! He was in Oklahoma. In May my brother, Justin, comes home from London. Then in June my sister is getting married and the week after that my sister-in-law is getting married and then we have a family reunion at Lagoon! (This is just half the year). It's exciting!

I think it's funny how similar Justin and Jacob have their hair after all this time.

Jenica Lloyd and Chris Price...to be married on June 13th

Carlene Jackson and Nate Backus...to be married on June 18th

God Bless,
Kaylynn and Devin Jackson

Two weeks before Kamille was born, Devin's job at Waste Management as a flow tester began to go down. We were promised 80+ hours a week and then in one week we had zero hours. He wasn't on the schedule anymore. We didn't panic because we had some money saved up and we believed that he would be on the schedule next week. Well three weeks later and a baby in our arms, he was still not working. In those three weeks we filled out 20+ applications and didn't hear back from anyone. Finally we got somewhere. A company called Cameron Oil said they would give Devin a trial with a temp agency. After 3-6 months, if he was doing good, they would hire him on permanently. It was a breath of fresh air. We were going to be okay. Devin would come home for lunch and be covered in oil. He talked about how much he liked learning about the wellheads.
Then came the phone call. After 6 days, Devin's supervisor called him in and told him that he wasn't roughneck enough for the job. What does that even mean??? Because he doesn't swear or go drinking with the guys? He doesn't take a smoking break with them? He's too happy? As you can tell, I was not a happy camper about the situation. We fired up the resume and started filling out applications again.
After a few more weeks, we had hit rock bottom.
Devin worked at the temp agency doing roofing and construction. We saved all the money we could for bills and formula for Kamille. Our fridge was empty and our cupboards were bare. All we had was hamburger in the fridge that my mother-in-law brought up. I would just stare at the hamburger and try to be creative. One night we got a knock at the door. There stood an angel (a friend from church) holding a box of food. A small turkey, potatoes, stuffing, corn, pie, rolls and a few other items were in the box. I waited for our guest to leave before I just cried.
Throughout these past weeks I could see different steps in my mood towards the Lord. First hope. I was hopeful and even confident that Devin would get a job. Then it turned to desperation. After that (I hate to say it) anger. I was so angry. I didn't know why the Lord would allow this to happen to us. What had we done? Where was he? Did he even care? Then when you hit the bottom you feel nothing.
The day before Thanksgiving seemed like we could take one step up out of this hole we were in. Devin got a call from Hiland Crude for an interview. He did awesome. They pretty much offered him the job and are working on a background check. That should take 10 to 14 days. So now we are just waiting. As soon as he accepts the job, we have to move to either Stanley or Tioga. That's about an hour away from where we are now. I feel like I just unpacked the last box from moving last time, but I really don't care. As long as my husband is working and I can be with him, things are going to be great! We are coming up on our one year anniversary (the 20th) and this last year was a hard one. We are hoping that 2015 brings a little more consistency in our lives.
This Thanksgiving we had a lot to be thankful for. We were thankful that Devin's mother brought up boxes of food for us so we weren't stuck with just hamburger. We were thankful that Devin's family could come to us for Thanksgiving and spend time, laughing, watching movies, playing games and also be there for Kamille's baby blessing. We are thankful for our trials, because without them, we wouldn't know how strong we really are.

Well we weren't expecting baby Kamille to arrive until Halloween but she came when the Lord was ready to send her. I would love to say that everything was perfect and went through very smoothly, but then I would be lying. They say having a baby is the worst pain you will ever feel, and I felt pain for sure, but it wasn't the traditional birth pain.
On Wednesday the 8th, I had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Bedell (he's pretty much awesome). The nurse prepping me took my blood pressure (which has been amazing the whole pregnancy) and she just looked puzzled. She told me it was really high, so she would try the other arm. It came back high also. She then checked my urine sample and told me that protein was present. I knew what this meant but I needed to hear it from the Dr. He came in pretty quick and said, "Mam, it's about time to head over to the hospital and have this baby!" I was in shock. I told him I had three more weeks and that she wasn't allowed to come on Joey's birthday. I asked him if we could wait until tomorrow and he sent me down to take some blood tests. I then waited for the phone call, telling me what to do.

About two hours later Dr. Bedell called and said that it wasn't looking good. I had mild preeclampsia and she needed to come ASAP. If my blood pressure got too high it could cause a still birth for Kamille, and it could cause damage to my organs that could cause death. I called my mom and I was off to the hospital by myself. Devin and his sister were at work and I knew that the baby wasn't coming until after they had gotten off.


Right when I got there, I was put on 3 different IVs and lots of blood work needed to be done. I told the lab tech that I was allergic to adhesive and she said that was impossible and proceeded to put tape over the gauze on my arm. About 4 hours later they came back in to take more blood and took off the tape and sure enough the skin came with it. That caused them to put an allergy band on me and believe me (kind of). I was just waiting for hours in pain, but not with contractions... it was just discomfort. I was having contractions and could see them on the monitor but I couldn't feel them and they weren't getting stronger. After 12 hours of liquids being shoved through me and just dilated at a 3 cm.... I couldn't take it any longer. I needed sleep and I just needed it to be over. I ordered for the epidural. It seemed it only took a second for a guy to come in and I signed the papers. The doctor put the epidural needle in and it felt like my spine was being crushed. I waited for the relief but it never came. Then I heard a beeper go off. The anesthesiologist pulled everything out and stepped out of the room. I just sobbed in Devin's arms in pain. After a min he came back and he then got the right spot and the spine crushing came again. Then it got really warm and I couldn't feel a thing. It was over with and I could finally sleep.

I woke up hour after hour when the nurses would come in and check me. I still wasn't going anywhere with my dilation. After 24 hours of just waiting Dr. Bedell came in and said I was only at a 5 cm and we would have to have a C section. To me it was all really quick and I was taken away and strapped down. Then nurse told me I shouldn't feel anything but pressure, but NO PAIN. I took a deep breath and then felt the cut, the pain was so bad I screamed out. I wasn't supposed to feel anything!!! They pulled and suctioned liquid but I could feel everything. I just cried and yelled, and then the nurse told me to take a deep breath in a nose-mouth thingy. I was out.

I woke up surrounded by nurses and saw the clock, it had been an hour and half and I was a mom. I never pushed or felt a contraction but I felt a lot of other pain. They wheeled me to the recovery room and Devin walked in with my little baby. She has so much hair and she was just beautiful.


We are now recovering at home and taking it slow. 6 weeks of nothing more than walking.
My labor and delivery didn't go as planned, but I have a healthy little girl. She smiles all the time and I can already tell she has attitude. I love her with all my heart.

Well honestly I have been leading a boring life... but I would rather have boring than emergency trips to the ER or unusual bleeding.
I'm in my second trimester and almost half way done with this pregnancy!! My first trimester I may have had a lot of medical issues but I didn't have any pregnancy symptoms. The only thing different was that I was extremely tired all the time. Now that I'm in my second trimester I have more symptoms. Food makes me nauseous and I'm hungry all the time.
The other day Devin's dad came down for the day and we went to Longhorn Steakhouse. The guys ordered steak and I was in the mood for "I'm starving and I don't know what to eat". so I ordered my usual chicken Parmesan. It came out and I wasn't hungry anymore. Then I took a bite. It tasted like the smell of raw chicken. I gagged it down and had Devin try it. He said it tasted fine, so I took another bite (this time smaller). It was almost worse. I just ate my mac and cheese side and sat for the rest of dinner. When the waitress came back and seemed shocked that I didn't eat my chicken. I explained to her that I was pregnant and that the baby didn't like it. A few minutes later she came out with a huge tray of chips and dip. She smiled and said it was complimentary and that I needed to eat something. As soon as she walked away I got a whiff of SHRIMP... it was some type of mexican shrimp dip. If anyone truly knows me they know how much I don't like seafood and the smell makes me sick right away. Well that almost made me lose my mac and cheese. I gave that dish to the guys too.
Another symptom that I have been having is acid reflux. All my life I have had mild acid reflux and now it's 1000 times worse. Every night at 9 ish my throat is on FIRE... I can't breathe and can't swallow. I take pills for it and have tried different kinds. I talked to my doctor and he said it just comes with pregnancy and to just take the pills. This is one thing I can't wait to be gone.

Well enough with pregnancy and on with the exciting life of Devin and Kaylynn. Devin works nights and I stay up with him. I usually can't stay up the whole night but I go to bed around 5 and he get's home at 7. We then sleep until 3ish and have time to make dinner, water the garden, do up the dishes, pack a lunch and get Devin ready for his next shift. Then he's out the door before 6. I then weed the garden, finish up cleaning the kitchen, maybe do a load of laundry and watch an episode on HGTV or the FOOD channel. We live in a single wide home. It's really nice but we live with 3 other guys. One works day shift and the other two work night shift... so to be nice and courteous I go to my room for the night. All night I sit in a tiny room with white walls. It makes me get cabin fever so easily. Usually from 8 to 5 watching Netflix and texting Devin. If I want something to eat (and as I mentioned before, I'm hungry all the time) I have to tiptoe to the kitchen with a flashlight just so I won't wake somebody. It's pretty much awful. But there is light at the end of the tunnel somewhere.... right? We will need to have our own place by the time the baby comes! :)

That is all that has been going on! :)
God be with you,
Kaylynn and Devin Jackosn

Homemade Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Homemade Noodles
   1 Cup Flour
   1/2 t. Salt
   2 Eggs
4 Carrots
5 Celery Stalks
1 Lg. Onion
3 Chicken Breasts
Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Butter
1 C Milk
1/8 C Parmesan Cheese
Seasoning to Taste:
   Garlic Powder
   Salt
   Pepper
   Italian Seasonings

Directions:

Noodles: Place flour, salt and eggs in bowl. It will be a thick dough and sticky, so use plenty of flour on hands and table. After mixed well roll out on table as thin as you can. Then cut into strips (a pizza cutter works miracles).
Chop onions, carrots, and celery as small as you want them and place them into a large pot with butter. Use medium heat to cook your vegetables until they are tender and soft. Pour in your chicken stock, enough to cover vegetables, boil your noodles, and extra broth. Toss in your noodles and turn to high. Boil until noodles are tender and cooked all the way through. While it's cooking you can cut your chicken into cubes and saute it until golden browned. After cooked throw it in the pot along with the milk and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste. Let cool and enjoy!  

Love you all,
Kaylynn Jackson