Warning this is a long video but here are the kids unwrapping gifts on our Christmas morning
All these years I have been hiding a secret from the family. Well it was not even really a secret you all know I did it and we just all never chose to discuss it. In reality it kind of made me feel a bit detached living that way. The truth must come out now as I am going through a life changing transition. With my third kid on the way and my birthday that just happened I started to feel really old. My shortness of breath was getting worse and when I got my mountain bike I was not able to ride it very long at all. I was getting way to winded way to fast. Yes I know I was out of shape and I know I don’t live the healthiest of lifestyles. I can also contribute this to the fact that I was up to about a pack and a half a day of cigarettes.
Now yes I have been smoking for what I would consider a long time… About 49% of my life so far. Don’t ask me why I started I do not know. I have tried to quit before but I just was not happy with myself. I switched into a depressed, angry, and irritable person. I would get very snappy and edgy which didn’t go well with the way I like to live life… Like a blade of grass just going with the flow.
On top of this I always felt the need to hide my habit because I felt as if I would no longer be accepted as one of the family. Smoking was shunned in our house which is understandable it is a horrible habit to have. I feel I was forced to hide things as you don’t want to get things taken away or no longer feel wanted within your own household.
Anyways all you guys knew I was a smoker I feel you just never knew how heavy of a smoker I was. When visiting for long periods of time I would switch to chewing packets to make sure I could maintain my cool. Nicotine controlled what I was doing and I accept that myself.
Now I am not a closet smoker per say as I smoke quite openly when I have living my life on a day to basis in my normal surroundings.
I got to thinking about when Nanny had her last quitting attempt and she said Katie wanted to hug her so much more when she was not so stinky. You know those long hugs you get from your kids. I thought about the hugs with my daughter and I know I smell so badly of smoke by time I get home from work due to my own habit and the habit of others.
Trisha was always frustrated that I hid my habit from you guys because when people came to visit I would go long hours without nicotine which would always kind of put me in one of those moods. I hid my irritability well I thought but she told me I would get very snappy with her. This was not intential of course it is just a side effect of not getting your fix.
Anyways I have found a replacement to my smoking. I am still a nicotine addict which really does not bug me that much. Nicotine in its pure form is just as bad as caffeine and it is a risk I am willing to take. I have switched over to using a personal vaporizer to get my nicotine intake. There is no bad smell, no 4000 chemicals you are taking in like a cigarette, and no tar what so ever. Pretty much what is happening is you have nicotine extracted from the tobacco plant then they are cutting it with glycerin and water. These gadget are powered by a lithon-ion battery which instantly heats an element to 255 degrees and vaporizes your juice.
You may have heard of the electronic cigarette and there are a lot of misconceptions about them. The FDA put out a scare to the media which has made a lot of people scared. What the FDA said was that when they examined the juice they found traces of three different chemicals and nicotine. Then they went on to say that the long term effects of these devices are unknown. Now I am willing to take the risks the FDA has warned me of because when I smoked a cigarette I was inhaling tar, nicotine and 4000 other chemicals.
The only real reason the FDA got involved with these gadgets is because of the way they were being marketed to their customers. These e-cigs were being marketed as a quit smoking device which really they are not… They do make you quit smoking I have experienced this over the last two days.
Yes two days ago I got my e-cig in the mail shipped right from California. I have not touched a cigarette since. Yes you still get the urge to smoke because you are addicted to those other chemicals but it is way easier to overcome with your e-cig. You get that hand to mouth sensation and your nicotine fix at the same time.
Now I could have very easily hid this from everyone in the same way I did smoking but I am tired of living that lie. I feel as though I can be accepted by the family since I have removed everything that is dirty from the smoking habit and I have cleaned it up into something that is no worse than drinking coffee, tea, or soda on a daily basis.
I am sharing all this with you because I don’t want to hide anymore. I don’t want to make myself go through the stress of worrying about things. I am already losing my hair and I want to try to keep most of it at least for 5 more years. I hope I am not shunned the same way I feel I would have been as a smoker. If you choose not to accept me because of a nicotine addiction so be it. Nicotine is used in medications to treat a variety of different illnesses. The only con to nicotine is heart dieses which is the con to caffeine. I am not trying to justify this in any way. I am an addict and apparently I do not want to try giving up the drug at this time.
It feels so good to get this off my chest and I hope you guys take the news well… I am just looking for support. My wife is behind me 100% and she was skeptical at first but she has seen that I am still happy and my mood is not changing and she likes that I do not stink anymore! You are even able to vape in the house to make it smell a little better and second hand vape is harmless since its just water and glycerin vapor. I still will not vape around my children as it would just feel odd to do just like you never smoke around your kids.
I am going to attach a banner to this post that will show how long my progress is keeping up.
Nanny if you would like more info let me know and I will come up and give you a demonstration of how everything works and we can talk about start up cost and so forth. For Canadians you would save so much money you would be shocked.
If you would like to do more reading on this full thing since I know you guys are a bunch of worry warts then please follow this link.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com
This was so hard for me to type out and I hope it is well received.
Love James
Well as many of you know Andrew came into town last week and we went for a little camping trip. We got a nice long hike done and drank plenty of beer and just relaxed and talked around the camp fire. We took a drive around the mountain to check out some other sites and to get some better pictures. Anyways it was a good time and exactly what I needed before going back to the 7 day a week grind.
Anyways with my phone I was able to get lots of interesting info about our trip. Here is a spread sheet with info on the hike.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ajr8Z1xqMtkrdEZUTWxGeDFaSF83eHQ4NjhKUnFVWEE&hl=en
Now remember this is only one way… My battery power was not going to last the full way back so I just ended the track at the end of our hike so it would be easier for us to calculate total distance. Now from that spread sheet you can see a map of the hike. If you missed that link in the spread sheet here it is.
View James / Andrew Hike in a larger map
After looking at the map tiles given I have determined that is an old picture because the first mile of the hike is in the river bed as it washed away the trail a few years prior :O. That kinda gives you an idea of how bad those 2006 floods were!
If you didnt get to see any of the pictures from the trip you can check them out here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033146&id=1119547325
Anyways I go back to tossing newspapers tonight and will do it through may
Today I had a good time. T came over to the house to pick me up at 10am then we blasted over to a piece of property by the hospital to pick up a washer and dryer. We loaded the washer and dryer into the truck and drove them up to her place in blaine. After unloading the truck we drove down to birch bay to pick up some boxes and a big chair to drive back to her place in blaine. Now she has has all her stuff in one place and is so much happier. After a day of hard work she rewarded me with a good Mexican lunch and a beer from a restaurant in ferndale. We then arrived back at the house in the early afternoon and shot the breeze till she had to go to an appointment at 3.
Now I am at home thinking about how much I enjoyed getting out of the house. It feels really good to help someone out especially when they helped me out previously. T was one of the largest helps in our move from the third floor down to ground level. There was something about being out and about that felt kind of refreshing. The problem is I dont have many friends that need help moving stuff all the time and I do not have much money to spend on my days off if any. So being able to help someone move something is always nice.
This is driving me closer and closer to buying a mountain bike. That way I can take a ride around town and enjoy the weather or the trees or something and get a little bit of an excerise in the process. Sometimes being couped up at home 3 out of 7 days in a week is just a bit much. Sure I could go hiking or something with my friends but most of the time they are not awake during the day since they work all night long. I need to find a few more ways to entertain myself.
To getting out of the house every now and then. Another change in the lifestyle I am already slowly trying to change.
I started school up today. Looking forward to getting an education this time. I think I finally have it drilled down to the field I want to be in. Anyways online learning has come a long ways since the last time i dropped out. The things I didnt like about it before have all changed for the better. You have live interactive lectures which is really great. They provide the software for you if you dont have it. And to save money on books most books are now ebooks and you can have software auto download them for you so you can read / listen to the books. Its nice because the full book is indexed so you can just do a search of the book and find the information you are looking for. Way better then having to go all the way back to the index of the book to find a page number then find what you are looking for on that page. You can highlight your ebooks too just like you would a normal book. Very nifty. I will start to try to update this blog more as I make more lifestyle changes for myself. Its one of my goals to try to keep you all up to date 
We traded our car plus some cash for a new van check it out
http://www.mototips.com/members/jthompson-albums-our-van.html
Today James had his 9 month check up and our little guy is growing just fine. he is 19lbs 7.5oz in the 30% group. 28 1/4 in. in the 45% and his head had the biggest growth spert. at 18in. in the 55% group. Doc is very pleased with him and how alert he is. James was Crawling all over the Doc. room. I’ll post a video soon of him and his new moves. We finally found out what could be causing james to spit up so much. He has asthma when he spits up it bothers the vale at the end of his breathing tube that keeps the food down causing him to weeze. So we have to chart down the time he weeze’s and for how long, check back with the doc in 4 to 6 weeks. and adjust his meds if needed then. Other then that James is doing just fine. hard to believe he will be 1 year old in a few months.
First off sorry it’s been a while since any of us has posted anything, but this growing family has been very busy. James has decided to quit working for the Seattle Times, Starting the 23rd he will only be working at the Casino 4 days a week, he wont be able to pick up a fifth day it looks like, but I don’t think the family will mind having one extra day with him. We sure do miss him when he works so much. Katie had t-ball clinic on the 7th of march when we first got there I don’t think she was up to playing but mommy streached with her and the group and went around to the different stations with her to get her warmed up. The First station was the basic catching the ball in the glove like a crocadille. She wanted no part of it. I tried to get her to play, but she was playing the shy card. The next station was hitting the ball with the bat. She started out acting shy but once I picked up the bat and showed her how fun it could be she decided she wanted to give it a try. So katie and mommy took turns. She eventually warmed up and wanted to play. the 3rd station was throwing the ball once again she played the shy card and didn’t want to particapate mommy eventually got her to throw twice. I noticed the first time she threw right handed then the second time was left. So not sure what hand she will be throwing with. The last station was her favorite. The kids got to practice their slideing skills. This station katie had no problem with. Pluse what kid wouldn’t want to run and slide on a big mat. Needless to say I think she had a great time. I cant wait to see her actually play with her team. I don’t thnink she will like to throw the ball, but she wont mind hitting it or sliding 
other then playing ball katie loves going to school, sometimes when I go to pick her up she pretends like she didn’t see me. Geeze whats up with that. Katie is still doing swimming lessons and going on field trips. Katie loves being a big sister to her brother James. She does not like to be called “katie”. She wants to be called “Sister Katie” you know that sister part is a big deal to a three year old. It’s a good thing She likes being a big sister. Jimmy is growing entirley way to fast can you believe he will be 9 months old on the 19th. I cant believe it my little man is growing so fast.Jimmy is starting to say more words. His first words were mama, baba, and now he is saying dada. His next Doc appointment is in a few weeks and I will be able to catch everyone up on how much our little buddy is growing. I think he is small for his age, maybe because katie was so much bigger then him. I don’t think Jimmy will be blessed with his dads height, but more like Papa Pat’s height. Katie will probably be taller then him..lol.. poor guy.Jimmy has been enjoying the taste of real food these days, he started fussing at us when we had a snack or dinner so we shared a little with him but anytime we have somehting he must try it. Or he sill snatch it. It’s pretty funny watching him eat something for the firs time when his eyebrows go crossed and his lips pucker up. He loves blood oranges the most. Jimmy id dtarting to crawl and the boy wont stop grabbing things, better not leave anything on the floor or itgs his he thinks. I taught Jimmy to clap his little hands, So now when we say “yeah good boy” his chubby little hands start clappings. I believe the worlds best teachers are your own parents. And the worlds best hugs come from them too. I sure do miss my dads hugs. i cant wait to get to california and see everyone. I have been thinking aobut how much I miss it there. Work has been going fine for me. I’m still at the bank and liking it. Trying to keep up with stuff around the house, but working full time and running after 2 kids is exhausting . I cant wiat for james to be home more to help with the kids and help around the house. I cant wiat for that family time we need. April is coming fast and grandma thompson and possiable grandpa thompson will be heading up for a week . I was lucky enough to get the same week off so we are planning a trip to the island to see great baba. It’s been a while Im sure she will be amazed how much Katie has grown. It will be her first time seeing Jimmy too, so I bet she is extra excited to Meet James Gary. As for me I just cant wait to get away. It’s so much needed. Well Our growing family is about to get a little bigger As we just found out that baby #3 is on the way. That’s right you read that right. I’m 10 weeks and due the second week of October. James and I realize that life is going to be three times more challangeing. But we are ready to be parents for the 3rd time. There is nothing in this world we love more then being parents. I have a Doc appointment on the 30th. So I will let everyone know how the wee one is doing. James and I are fully prepared for the next chapter in our life, but like I say we chose to take our own road in life we may have taken the long bumpy road, but at least we paved it ourself. Jimmy and Number 3 will be about 15/ 16 months apart. And from how this mommy feels I belive it’s a girl. I feel almost how I did with katie only better. With James I was so sick I was on meds to prevent me from being sick. No matter if a boy or girl James and I will be excited. The most exciting part for me is Jen is also prego she is about 2 or 3 weeks a head of me. We sure now how to plan our kids. As Katie and Hailey are 2 days hy of a year apart, michael and james are about 6 months and the ones on the way are just weeks. My dad retires this september and turns 60 in october what a great gift 2 new babies, making it over 6 grandkids for him to chase after. What a way to spend a retirement. Well I think I have filled the family in more then what they were expecting. So I Better go I got a bun in the oven!
Love the Growing family.
A Baby is . . .
A baby is cuddles and tickles on toes,
the sweet scent of powder, a kiss on the nose!
A baby is teddy bears, rattles, and pins,
meals at midnight…giggles and grins.
Just thought I would let everyone know Katie will be starting Teeball! I’m so Excited she has her first clinic on March 7th at 10:00-10:45 . her first day of practice is Thursday April 25th at 5:15-6pm all Practices are thursday nights and all games are Saturday’s the season goes until June 13th. Katie will be on a team with my Co-workers Son, they are about a week apart and really enjoy playing with each other:) This Mama is totally stoked. every one know i love baseball !so if anyone has a free saturday I encourage you to come watch a game. at least we will get a good laugh it’s a group of 3 year olds playing We are luck enough practices are on james day off so he will get to watch katie practice and hopefully get a game or 2 in. And of course Brother will be cheering on his big sis.
Hi All, It’s little james. Just thought i would catch you up to date. I just turned 7 months old. i can say mamama, and i am learning bababa when i am hungry. I can sit up on my own. and I know how to lay down if i get tired of sitting. I make all kinds of fun sounds. I can lay on my tummy and support my body with my hands. I think i made mommy and daddy smile when then seen me try to scoot. I’m still un sure what to do with my legs but I’m still having fun. I absolutely love bath time, my big sister katie taught me to splash my bath water. I sometimes soak mommy while she is trying to wash me. I love being a little brother, My sister katie helps mommy take very good care of me. she feeds me and changes me. gives me toys to play with after mommy outs me to bed. other then all the cool stuff I am doing I love to just be spoiled. I have been going to school since i was 8 weeks old. i love it my teacher’s i even reconize them if we see them at the store. and i get really excited. well thanks for reading my post. I will make sure mommy puts up new pictures of sissy & I. Thanks for all the wonderful Christmas gifts. and making my first christmas special.