Penchuk.com

Well, I have poison ivy.  We think.  It might be poison oak.  Or something else, but whatever it is, it’s been labeled “contact dermatitis”.  Yuck.  Basically, I’ve got a few small patches on my arms, but they are getting better.  I can’t figure out how I got it, especially since I’m not aware of any exposure to it.  Regardless, my arms itch and I would like for it to be gone, thank you very much.

By the way, on Friday morning, Ben asked how a baby gets into a Mommy’s stomach.  He’s 4 for crying out loud.  I thought we had more time than that to be ready for this.  I told him we’d go to the library and get a book with the answer.  (A friend of mine referred to this a “calling an audible”).  Luckily, Ben seems to have forgotten.  Now we have time to get prepared.

That’s what I had for this year and keeping up with the website. Clearly, that’s not what happened. My last post seems like ages ago. One update per month was my New Year’s resolution. I guess that went by the wayside, just like most folks’ resolution to lose weight or quit smoking. Anyway, much has happened since April’s last post, so without further ado…

• Jackson – We now have on our hands a full-fledged toddler. Jack is extremely mobile and covers a lot of ground. Quickly. It seems that we’re constantly running around saying, “No, Jack…No, Jack…Jack, what are you doing?” Aaahh, the joys of a toddler. He’s beginning to show that he has a great personality. He’s happy, smiles, laughs and loves his big brother. We’ve found that Jack loves the outdoors, practically any food (especially watermelon) and is just a good natured kid. Our daycare ladies love him, too. Frankly, we’re not all that surprised!We did have a small scare about a month ago. Jack seems to have developed asthma that is brought on with a cold. I spent 5 1/2 hours in the ER with him on a Sunday night/Monday morning as he received numerous breathing treatments. Now we administer treatments once a night to make sure we get it under control. He’s doing great and we haven’t had any reoccurrences. The treatments have even become a part of the nightly routine that he looks forward to doing.
• Benjamin – Big brother is doing well. He, too, loves his brother. They get along well and he can be really cute when he’s taking care of Jack. Other times, not so much so. Ben is still learning that Jack isn’t a rag doll and that pushing him over isn’t funny, even if Jack does crack up laughing. This summer brought two weeks of swimming lessons which has been great. In the pool he’s been making slow and steady progress. We’re seeing that same steady progress with Ben’s speech development. He’s had issues pronouncing some sounds, particularly S’s. So, sun came out “dun”. The good news is that he has always been able to pronounce words correctly when prompted. It’s simply a matter of habit. We’re convinced the issues he’s had can be tracked back to his constant ear infections in years 1 and 2. Once we had the tubes put in, things have improved greatly. Most recently, he’s begun pronouncing those trouble words properly without prompting, so we’re encouraged.
• Laura – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Laura’s the best mom around. The kids adore her and she’s always prepared for whatever we’re going to do. She even keeps me in line. Work is still busy but challenging. Her move to project management took place a year ago so she’s been able to see progress in her growth as well as in her position. There are still plenty of challenges, but that’s to be expected.Her company recently put together a softball team and Laura is playing outfield for them. She came the home the other night and excitedly told me she had a hit. She’s a regular Cubbie. A few months back we took a family trip to Illinois to visit with Laura’s family. We spent time with Megan, Ryan, Kathy, Duff, Erin, Morgan, Paul and various other O’Donohues. We even got to spend some time with her college friend, Alison, and her husband, Rob. We had a great time up there, as we always do when visiting the Midwest.
• Andrew – I’ve been well. Being a dad is still the highlight of my life. It’s hard to believe how much you can love a couple of kids. Of course, there are times when they’re driving me (us) crazy and we need a break. That’s just par for the course, however. Work is work. I’ve been with RegEd for a few weeks short of 4 years now. I’ve been in the same client services position for just over a year and a half and still enjoy it. It’s always challenging and I’ve had some great experiences, both positive and negative while there. Recently a buddy and I took sailing lessons at a lake across the street from our office. It was a 3-day beginner’s class and now I know enough to be dangerous in a sunfish. I’ve been incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and can’t wait to get back out there to get better. Don’t think I’ll ever race (just not really interested in that…yet), but would like to be more proficient to actually sail somewhere significant on a vacation.

So, that’s the deal with the Penchuks. Things are busy here and we’ve got our hands full, but we’re surviving. ) And to my legions of fans (the four of you avid readers), I’ll try to post more…