Kingsquared » Life as we know it

My Three Children

Jessica — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:50:47 +0000

Here is my favorite picture of January. Havoc, Sawyer, and Duke hanging out on the floor. Couldn’t miss this photo op!

Mmm Mmm Eggplant Parmesan

Jessica — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:43:03 +0000

Since I missed the nesting phase of pregnancy due to Sawyer coming early, I think my body is trying to make up for it. Since John has been home all I want to do is cook and bake. I think my food is delicious so I’m going to share it with the world ( or just the three people who read our blog)
With out further ado I give you Eggplant Parmesan!

Things you will need for making this delicious dish:

2 eggs – beaten

1 Tablespoon water

2 eggplants (medium) sliced to 1/4″ thick

2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (divided)

2 jars garden style pasta sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Things to do to ensure deliciousness:

Combine eggs and water in shallow bowl. Dip egglant into egg mixture and place on baking sheet (single layer), feel free to squish them on there. Bake eggplant at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

While the eggplant is baking, you will need to spread a little sauce on the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ pan (do not grease). Mix bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. When the eggplant is done baking it’s time to layer it up.

Layer 1/2 of the eggplant on top of the little layer of sauce. Then, pour 1 cup sauce over the eggplant followed by 1 cup of the bread crumb mixture. Repeat with eggplant, 1 cup sauce and the rest of the bread crumb mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I started cooking my noodles with about 10 minutes left of the 45 minutes. I used angel hair but I think it’s usually served with spaghetti noodles.Your preference really. after 45 minutes uncovered and spread the rest of the Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top and bake until cheese is mealted and bubbly (about 10-15 more minutes).

You might want to heat some sauce on the side while it finishes baking. The sauce in the eggplant loses the water and gets thicker after baking. I would suggest plating noodles, a little extra sauce, then a square of the eggplant Parmesan then enjoy!

Monster having a little fun

John — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:12:22 +0000

We caught the monster in a good mood – good moods are quickly followed by really bad moods and sleep so it’s all a matter of having a camera in the right place at the right time. I’m home (obviously) and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

A new year

John — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:53:31 +0000

So, we’ve finished all of our work, save for loading our bags and we’re simply waiting to go. The New Year celebrations weren’t too shabby. They had a local band play (and they did a damn good job) followed up by the DJ. We played some cards, drank our customary two beers, and laughed throughout the night. I was pleasantly surprised. I was kinda expecting – yep, it’s a new year and I’m going to bed.

Well, just a few more days and I’ll be back home with Jessica and the monster. I can’t wait.

It’s definitely not the same

John — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:49:49 +0000

I know that Christmas is right around the corner but it sure doesn’t feel like it. Here’s why

1. You can’t see my building from space (it isn’t properly decorated)
2. I haven’t eaten 26,000 extra calories worth of sweets this month
3. Jessica and I aren’t working as a dynamic duo in the kitchen trying to get everything ready
4. I’m not hiding in the kitchen away from the insanity that is the extended family annual white elephant exchange/pig out fest and I’m not avoiding a certain in-laws cheesecake
5. I don’t get to hang out with my son and my wife
6. They only have one type of turkey and it pales in comparison to the one Jessica prepares
7. My dorm room doesn’t smell like Christmas is here – and thank god for air fresheners or it would smell like me
8. There is no fireplace here (or that damned yule log on Comcast that everyone insists on watching) we’ve got a real fireplace this year bitches
9. I don’t get to stare at the aftermath with Jessica, shrug my shoulders, and say “we’ll take care of it tomorrow”
10. I haven’t made the 14th trip to the grocery store to get that last last last ingredient

Luckily, we’re ignoring the calendar this year – we’re going to celebrate in our own special way when I get home. It can’t come soon enough.

The boy is finding his voice

John — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:45:50 +0000

Jessica sent me a video today of our little boy having a conversation. I’m a big fan of it – you might have to be related to us to appreciate it.

A holiday away from home

John — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:18:05 +0000

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been away from home during a holiday. In fact, I’ve never been away from Jessica during Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’m sure that if I was home, I’d already be home from work trying to prep everything for the feast. Jessica and I would be working in tandem in a dance around the kitchen. We seem to do best under pressure, with no time, with lots of distractions, and with little working room. Each year we’ve managed to get everything ready on time and somehow not blow our tempers (at each other at least). This year I’m going to miss that part of the tradition. This year, of course, I miss out on spending the holiday with my son. He doesn’t know what’s going on yet and we haven’t got him eating solid food yet so he isn’t missing out on much. Next year, of course, I’m prepared for a little boy covered in gravy, turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. Hopefully somebody gets me the pressure washer that I want.

I never thought that I would miss preparing the food with my wife – it’s something we do every year. This year is the first time that I’ll be away from it.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve been away from my family while on a holiday. The first few years in the military I didn’t come home and I spent it with coworkers or in a deployed setting. Having a holiday in a deployed setting is by far the strangest part. Everyone is trying to enjoy the day as best as they are able while our minds wander to what our families are doing at home. We group together fairly well and make it through the day. I think we all have come to a universal consensus that no matter how special they try to make the day, it isn’t as good as being home. Since I’ve been around for a while I need to spend special attention to my newest airmen. Most have never been away from their families like this and they have probably never missed a holiday in their life. If nothing else, I’m just going to make sure that I put a smile on my face and involve them in they day – whatever that may hold.

So – I’ve got to run to the gym and start my day. To everyone that reads this – Happy Thanksgiving.

I’ve been busy

John — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:04:19 +0000

I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been gone but it feels like it’s been a while. Sure, I could look at the calendar in the bottom left corner of my screen and do some simple math (my peripheral vision has betrayed me and it’s two weeks) but it makes the first two lines of this post moot. Ok, so it’s moot. I don’t care.

Work has been interesting. I fly around and move people from spot to spot. For the most part, nothing interesting happens. Once in a while we’ll have something break on the jet that slows down our day and causes us frustration. Occasionally weather will play a factor into what is going on. This job is so much different from my last job. Every flight matters. Every person or thing I transport needs to be at a set location and time.

I’ve been flying a shuttle mission lately – it’s a real killer because of how the crew rest breaks down. You wake up at alert and then have a 15 hour work day. When you land you’re set to fly again in 22 hours. You’ve been awake for 18 hrs and now you have a choice to make. It’s 22 hours of time to kill. Do I just go to sleep now? Will I be able to sleep later? When I wake up I’m going to have a 15 hour day. If I fall asleep for the first part of the day I’m going to have at least a 29 hour day. My choice has been to sleep now and then sleep a little later. You live in a state of sleep deprivation. I did two of these back to back. I got back last night from the second trip and fell asleep for 12 hours. I work up, ate, and did some work stuff and then fell asleep again for another 5 hours. I guess I was a little tired.

I really like my job.

Don’t you love how vague I have to make these blog posts? I can’t share what I’m moving, when I’m moving, or where it is being transported. I guess you’ll just have to use your imagination.

I really miss being home with Jessica and Sawyer. She sends me videos and pictures almost every day. I’m missing out on quite a bit of him growing up. He just had his two month checkup along with his shots. He’s up to 12lb 7oz and he’s doing quite well. He didn’t like the shots… he cried for almost two days straight. Jessica had to deal with him, by herself, for two days straight (over the weekend). She was quite worn out from the whole deal. She told me that I had to be around for the second round of shots. She doesn’t want to do it by herself and I can’t blame her. It’s gotta be rough – I want to be there for the both of them.

I promised photos

John — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:13:00 +0000

And I have one – there are thousands of others (literally) but I’m just going to upload just one.

Let’s hope I didn’t forget anything

John — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:13:07 +0000

I arrived home at 1130pm on the 21st of August from a trip to Afghanistan. Jessica woke up at 6am to go to the bathroom and woke me by yelling… “uh John, I think my water broke” and I responded “are you sure you didn’t pee your pants” with her responding “uh, pretty sure I didn’t.”

In my jet lagged and freaked out state I remembered to put on clothes and get the dogs fed and kicked out the back door. Jessica didn’t have a bag packed because the boy was a few weeks early. He was nearly four weeks early and we thought that we had plenty of time remaining; we didn’t. As I drove to the hospital both of us were laughing and talking as the stress hit us. Jessica started sending text messages and engaging the army of support that was vital to our sanity and survival. Cassy and Alice headed to our house to do some laundry and pack a baby bag for us – we simply hadn’t had a chance to get to it and we didn’t think that we would need it for a number of weeks. I made a quick call to Jessica’s parents and talked to Joe and said “so Jessica’s water broke and we’re on the way to Madigan” and that was about it.

We found some decent parking (surprising for the destination) and headed upstairs to Labor and Delivery triage. As we walked down the hallway we crossed paths with a few doctors. They took one look at Jessica’s wet pants and said “I think she is going to have a baby today” and we responded with a nervous and excited laugh.

We went to triage and they confirmed that yes, Jessica was going to have a baby soon. They soon shuffled us over to the birthing unit and one of the birthing suites. About an hour after arrival the first of the contractions started and Jessica’s day started to get a little worse with each one. They put her on a drug to help speed up the contractions along with magnesium and penicillin because we were waiting on results from a test that hadn’t yet come back. Adding to the “fun” was the fact that she had preeclampsia. Soon after the family began to arrival and we all did what is to be expected – we laughed and talked loudly. Soon after the TV came on (at the approval of Jessica) so we could watch some game shows and sports center. The nurse was quite frustrated with us as he thought that our presence and noise would upset Jessica. Telling Jessica what to do upsets Jessica – she’s quite used to the noise.

As our day progressed the docs came in and out and continued to check on her progress. They took her off the drug to speed up contractions and let her body do the work for a while. When we approached 9 hours of contractions and they spacing wasn’t regular enough to satisfy them they put her back on the drug and Jessica started to suffer. If you ask her, the word suffer hardly describes what she was going through.

Soon after the drugs started to kick it came the time for the epidural. Jessica was in quite a bit of pain and most of it was centered in her lower back. An epidural is passed through a catheter that is slid through a small gap in her spine. She has mild scoliosis and has a little twist in her lower spine which complicated things immensely. I don’t do well with needles so Becky stayed in the room with her while I nervously paced the hallway. Outside the room I could hear her screaming at the top of her lungs. At one point, a few nurses stuck their heads out from around the corner to figure out what was wrong. “Epidural” I said and they gave me a supportive smile.

Inside the room the resident anesthesiologist was attempting to find the correct spot to put the catheter while the attending looked on. After a few unsuccessful attempts the attending took over and got it in the right spot. When I returned to the room Jessica looked spent. Shortly after the drugs hit her and she was feeling much better about well, everything. We were watching the external contraction monitor and watched as she slept through contractions that would have previously had her crying out loud.

We returned to the waiting game while she rested. At about 8pm they came in and determined that her body was ready to deliver but they wanted gravity to help assist things along. They sat her up in the bed and told her that they’d be back in an hour for some pushing. At 930pm the whole team arrived in the room and we started the most difficult part of the whole process. I was at her right side and helped hold the oxygen (which she felt was suffocating her), assisted her in holding her head forward, and gave her words of encouragement. At only one point did I choose the wrong words. I told her to “breath through the pain” – I thought she was going to kill me. I meant to use the stuff she learned in yoga. It didn’t come across like that. Later I told her “that she could easily do this because putting up with me was far worse.” The nurse nearly fell over laughing – she hadn’t heard that one before.

Jessica would push through each contraction and then would pass out in between them (something that still amazes me). After about an hour of pushing she had finally done enough and the boy was finally freed from his prison. Not knowing exactly what to expect, what I saw scared the crap out of me. He was blue, his head was really misshapen, and the cord was wrapped around his neck. I cut the cord and then they stuck him on Jessica for a second at which point she uttered “he looks really weird”. As we hadn’t heard a noise from him the nurse took him to try to get him to breath. I left Jessica with Becky and headed over to the boy. Soon after he had a cough and a cry and his color rapidly started changing from blue to bright pink. I thought for sure he wasn’t going to make it through the whole thing. I turned around and they were still working on Jessica and all I saw was a lot of blood. I was worried on two fronts.

Soon after everyone came into the room to check on Sawyer and to see how Jessica was doing. We did all right. My brother in law, Jeff, asked me how I felt. The only word I could utter was “overwhelming”. Now he’s almost two weeks old and aside from a little bilirubin issue he’s been a healthy baby boy.

We’ve got pictures but I’ll deal with that at a later date – getting this done has taken long enough.