oh yeah

Sorry! I left out some very important information! My new love is named: Shark Navigator Never Loses Suction Upright. (heh heh. It's like his first and last name is Shark Upright but people gave him the nickname: Shark "Never-Looses-Suction" Upright. Similar to me, Jen "You-Can-Never-Vacuum-Too-Often" Strosnider.) You can go and meet him here!


In other, much sadder news, my son either has a cold OR allergies. Either way it is sad and miserable for him to breath, for mommy to hear him struggle to breath. I hate how these things sneak up on us out of the blue. Plus also on EASTER when all should be merry and bright. No Sunday school for him today I guess . poo. *a sniffle and a pout*

Happily though………………………………………….we have a risen Lord. Amen.

Procreation of Dust Bunnies

Warning: This post contains images of a graphic nature. Viewer discretion is advised.


FIRST OF ALL….I must say that I vacuum every week! AND we take off our shoes at the door. AND right before David was born we steam cleaned the carpets and couches (I won’t go into how disgusting that was.) WE ARE CLEAN PEOPLE, people! That's just how I do.

Yesterday’s post was written after only seeing my vacuum for the first time. Last night I used it…

This is what was picked up from vacuuming ONLY my bedroom (which is tiny and most of the carpet is covered with furniture.) I was so grossed out I had to take a picture.

It is both horrifying and exciting.

It makes me wonder about the carpet of people who don’t clean as often as I do.

It makes me love my vacuum cleaner even more.

It makes me want to vacuum the rest of the carpets and floors today. And the baseboards and the chair rails and the couches. And the tapestries and the draperies (I always think of that Cinderella quote when I’m listing in my head what I need to clean.)

ALSO, it’s lightweight, quiet, pushes easily, the cord is really long, the filters are lifetime (you just have to rinse them out occasionally) and it’s a really pretty purple.

LOVE. IT. and that is all.

Birthdays Suck.............

………………..actually, I looooooove my birthday! I believe that the whole week (month?) is my birthday and take full advantage of soaking it up. *grin* I’m really not scared of aging (even though time is flying by a little too fast.) Even as a child I always thought of my thirties as being the prime of my life, so getting closer to that number isn’t so bad. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, I’m so thankful for every day, every blessing.


………………and also………….presents! not just because of stuff though. (I’m trying to de-clutter my life, resist the pack-rat/hoarder/OCD collector in me) Ever read the “Five Love Languages”? Mine is gift-giving… I love it! From picking out something special for someone (even a small thing) to the wrapping of it (you should see my ever growing wrapping paper collection), I love making something special for someone special. To me my dad was always the best about this, he would remember when I had casually mentioned I liked something and would surprise me with it for birthday/Christmas. My mom on the other hand would get me something like a cheese making kit (still a Tran family joke to this day.) Well this year they done good – surprised me with a very much needed vacuum cleaner (my old one had stopped being very effective a loooong time ago, and as a cleanfreak this rather bothered me!) Maybe another sign I’m getting old, but this sort of thing thrills me now. (Pots and pans and new kitchen knives for Christmas and a girl is happy!)

March was a wonderful birthday month, possibly the best present I got was warm weather (hello spring! I thought you’d never come!) I’m sitting outside on my porch as I type this, and I’m LOVING it! Thank you God for being so good to me.

Baby Signs

I have been trying to teach my son some baby signs – more, milk, juice, help, please, sleep. Before I refill his tray with Puffs I sign and say, “more please mommy.” My darling son has invented his own sign, which he has been teaching me, called “more NOW mommy!” This sign is basically banging hard on his tray. Then when I sign and say “more please” he just grins and bangs again (which is David sign for “I said NOW, and aren’t I cute?!”) Then when I help him put his hands together to make the sign and repeat, “more please mommy,” he grins even bigger. I’m sure he’s thinking, “Mommy’s so cute, but very slow at learning my sign language, I will just have to keep it up. Puffs. More. Mmmmm.”


Sooooo, I’m not sure who is going to give up first and learn the other person’s sign. All’s well that ends well – my boy is stuffed with puffs.

Three's A Crowd

The other day I baby sat for a friend… Her two kids, Brayden and Sophie, are adorable and David and I had a lot of fun with them…

I admit I was a *little* worried about watching three kids – especially two babies – at once. But hey, I figure that’ll be me soon enough. (Although my family planning doesn’t include having a six month old and an eight month old at the same time.) I see moms in Wal-Mart, kid in the cart, kid in a backpack and kid walking beside, and I cringe a bit. I *know* this is what I want in my heart, a house full of kiddos, but I’m also a tiny bit nervous at the thought.

The kids were great though, we played on the floor, Brayden gave us a puppet show, we ate lunch and then the babies took naps. (Put Sophie to sleep, fed & changed David, put him to sleep, fed & changed Sophie when she woke up and David was still sleeping, so I only had to juggle a little bit.) Wasn’t so bad after all. Of course that was only four hours, so we’ll see how I can do it once I have three of my own 24/7 – it will be an adventure!

Listy McListerson

Another new year… and I wouldn’t be the JenTran I know if I didn’t come up with a bunch of resolutions… 1. because I love making lists (always have, always will, OCD and whatnot), 2. because I think it’s a good idea to have a set of goals, 3. the new year is always a great place to make a new start. My list of resolutions almost always have included 1. growing closer to God, 2. getting in better shape, 3. reading more. Mostly it’s about becoming a better version of myself… I think those will be my top three once again. And I’ll add to that 4. keeping up with this blog. (maybe)

Sometimes I can’t remember what it felt like NOT to be pregnant…. I feel like this little guy has completely taken over my body and mind. I really do enjoy being pregnant, but I sort of miss a lot of things:
- taking deep breaths
- not having to pee in the middle of the night
- fitting in clothes
- painting my toes
- not having a constant bloody nose
- being comfortable when sleeping
- I think this list could go on and on….

But there are a lot of great things about being pregnant too….I really love it when strangers ask when I’m due or if it’s a boy or a girl.

Other pregnancy news/changes
- I’ve had to go up a bra size
- I’ve been getting a lot of braxton hicks, they are weeeeeird
- He especially likes to kick me on my right side, like way way over towards my back and it kind of hurts
- I’ve started his baby book/photo album… it’s so cute
- I get leg cramps, especially at night :(
- At my last appointment my midwife said my glucose was great but my iron is a little low, weight gain is perfect, size of uterus is right on track, his heart rate is steady, everything looks good.

I do wish I was feeling a little less lazy. My to-do list seems ever growing, but it’s nice if I can at least fold a load of laundry.
There are curtains to be made, scrap books to be finished, letters to be written, piles of stuff to organize, pictures to hang…. Oh yeah, and I’d like to maybe finish his nursery!
But we can’t even start until the cats are out because their litter box is in the front bed room. Once they’re outdoor cats we can move everything up fort and start painting. We’ve been having a hard time getting them outside because the weather has been so dreadful. Hopefully it will start to get nicer and we can kick them out! Yea! I really can’t wait until they’re out. I love them but they’re driving me crazy.

I can’t wait for the weather to start to get warmer! Life is so good!