I am Ready to Move!

For the most part, I am patient with living in this less than glamorous house, in this less than glamorous neighborhood. I know that in a few short years we will move on to bigger and better things.

But

this

is

the

last

straw!!!!

(Not literally, but that sounds good.)

Last night I went to brush my teeth before going to bed and when I opened the medicine cabinet to get my toothbrush there was a cockroach on the shelf!! Sooooo gross! So of course I ran down the hall with a bad case of hee bee gee bees to get Scott to kill it. He decapitated it with a can of shaving cream and flushed it down the toilet. Then I made him sanitize the shelf and sink with clorox wipes. Clorox wipes don't work very well on toothbrushes though - maybe a little too poisonous. I refused to brush with it because what if that nasty roach happened to crawl on the bristles? Unfortunately, it was an electric toothbrush and we didn't have any extra heads in the house. Scott, while sympathetic to my plight, was unwilling to go to Wal-Mart for a new one. (Okay, it was 11:30 - who can blame him). I decided to boil my toothbrush head...for anyone who wants to know it doesn't work very well because it melted somthing inside and wouldn't go back on the base. That left me brushing with one of Stephen's (unused) kiddie toothbrushes. I am glad we had a few extra around.

As a side note, I have found a roach in my medicine cabinet one other time in the past and on at least two other occasions, under the sink, not to mention the dead ones I find occasionally in other parts of the house first thing in the morning. Of course, most of you will remember the more recent "roach in the toilet incident." I am so parinoid about roaches in that bathroom now that I creep in there and carefully inspect the bathroom each night before getting ready for bed - I would rather be looking for a roach and find one than not bother to look and get a nasty suprise. Scott is very amused by the whole situation and he loves to tease me about it but he is always there to kill the suckers for me! Thanks sweetie!

The other last straw with this house is that our air conditioning is not working right now. For anyone who has lived in Arizona, you know what this means. It is unbearable in here and while we are fortunate to have free maintenence with this house we now have to sit around sweating and waiting for the guy to show up. The lady I spoke with on the phone said she would "call the guy," and have him come check it out. I asked how long it would be and she said that "he is working on a few houses ahead of yours - he will come after that." AHHHHH!

After the dust settles...

Scott found a job!!! Yay! He will be working for Whitton Companies doing some office stuff - estimating/accounting... We are so excited because it will be full time to start off and then he will be able to work part-time in the fall and they are willing to work around his classes! Not only that, he will be able to get some experience in something related to accounting.

This big change comes with some mixed emotions: excitement, gratitude, and sadness. I will miss having my hubby around every day to help out with the kids and around the house and to talk to whenever I want. I have been rather spoiled but I knew it couldn't (and shouldn't) last.

I also feel a lot of gratitute to my Heavenly Father. We have been praying and praying for a job like this to come along ever since Scott quit his last job to go to school full time. (Almost a year ago). I often wondered why this particular prayer didn't seem to be answered. Looking back over the time I realized that I needed my husband home as much as possible - my pregnancy was so scarry at the begining and I couldn't lift Stephen at all - how could I have made it through without him there? Then, after Boston was born I still couldn't lift Stephen and with the c-section, I was out of commision for a while - Scott was able to be there to help me then too. And of course, the most recent surgery for my hernia. I feel so normal (for the first time in soooo long) and I can lift my babies and do whatever I want to do and it is GREAT! So after all of the dust settled this job landed in our laps. Heavenly Father knew the right timing, like He always does.

SEALs we are not

We were watching the Military Channel one night at my parents house and there was a show on about Navy SEALs and how they train them. We found it very interesting to watch all of the things they had to go through - one of the things they have to do involves rafts like the one pictured below. See how tough and cool they look?I thought, "Hmmmm, I have been on a raft kinda like that in the ocean...." Here is what me and my sister, Celsea, look like as Navy SEALs:
This picture was snapped by my Uncle Brad while we were visiting in San Diego. I was six months pregnant with Stephen at the time. I had spent most of my time that day, knee deep in the surf - playing it safe. Somehow Scott and my Dad conviced me and Celsea to try out the raft. "We'll pull you out a little way and then you just ride back in," they said. "It won't be hard," they said. They forgot to mention that you have absolutely no control over the raft as you ride in. You have to know that as the surf tossed us around we mowed over some helpless kid. I literally felt my bottom hit her head. We couldn't even apologize or find out if she was okay. Notice Scott laughing in the background. We about peed our pants laughing after we were safely on the beach!

Ahhhh, I love California! Yeeeeee haw we are going there next week!!

And one thing is for sure: Those Navy SEALs are tough cookies!

One berry, Two berry, Pick me a blueberry!

Stephen LOVES to eat blueberries - they are his favorite fruit, hands down. Arizona is not a state known for its blueberry production so they are very pricey if you buy them fresh. We get them on sale sometimes, but usually have to resort to the frozen variety. These are much messier than fresh blueberries. We have discovered that the generic brand has higher quality blueberries than the name brand - the name brand are squishy-er and make a bigger mess when he eats them ... it doesn't come off very easily either! It also so happens that one of our favorite books to read before bed is "Jamberry" by Bruce Degen. It is a favorite of mine from when I was growing up - my dad liked to read it to me. The text and pictures are both so fun!

Chocolate Milk Diet

My goodness, it has already been almost two weeks since we took Boston to the doctor for his two month visit! Apparently, he is "thriving." He weighed in at 16 lbs 12 oz. (That is 2 pounds more than Stephen was at this same age). This is off the percentile charts, so Scott jokingly asked the doctor if that meant that Boston was obese. The doctor laughed and said no, that he was "thriving" and that he was the size of a six month old. He is in the 90th percentile for his height and the 64th percentile for his head circumference. No wonder my back hurts when I carry him around for any length of time! Well, we love him no matter what size he is such a sweet and adorable little baby and he smiles and coos all of the time now. He is sleeping all night long - I feed him at 10:00, put him to bed by 10:30 and he sleeps until about 7:00! I know, I am spoiled, but hey, he is the size of a six month baby so shouldn't he sleep like one? The doctor seemed suprised that Boston was still as big as he was even though he was sleeping all night - he must have thought that I was feeding him every two or three hours all night still. The doctor kept laughing and saying, "wow!" He also told me that I must be making some major quantities of milk - to which Scott said, "yeah, it's chocolate milk - all she eats is chocolate!" Well, that is not true...exactly....

These pictures were taken one day while we were doing laundry - hense the lack of clothing! I must say that Stephen's smile is particularly winning in both of these pictures - I love my little boys!

Down with Percocet!

Warning: Long post ahead - don't worry it isn't gross or anything, I just felt like writing and it became very long...

I will tell a few of the highlights of my experience on Monday and Tuesday. I had general anesthesia (which makes me nervous - something about falling asleep and not knowing what is happening to me...) and apparently I was out of it for a long time. I am very sensitive to medications and usually require much less than the regular dose so they probably over did it on the anesthesia, but better that way than not giving me enough! The first thing I remember when I woke up was feeling the pain in my belly, thinking "holy cow, that HURTS," and uncontrolable shivering - my teeth were chattering so hard. The nurse kept asking if I was cold and I kept saying no so she eventually gave me some medicine to make the shivering stop. They asked me several times what my mom's name was (she is the one who came with me to the hospital) and they went out to the waiting room to get her.

As I was lying in the bed, still quite sleepy and out of it, I saw Dr. Jarem (the OB/GYN who delivered Stephen and who I saw throughout my pregnancy with Boston) walk by the foot of my bed. I said "it's Dr. Jarem!" (I am sure it sounded slurred and goofy.) She kept walking so I figured she must not have heard me. Then she came back a moment later at about the same time my mom got to me. I think we had some sort of conversation. I remember Dr. Jarem saying "hello, my dear!" (her trademark greeting - imagine it very cheerful with a heavy Polish accent) and I remember saying "you are my favorite doctor!" (which is true, but sounds a little childish to say to someone). She gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head (according to my mom). I also remember telling her that I had hernia surgery and that I would be back to see her in a year or two. Who knows what else came out of my mouth? I think that Dr. Jarem must have been pretty amused by my slurred statements.

When it was time to leave they gave me some Percoset and wheeled me out to the car. The rest of that day was kind of terrible - a lot of pain, nausia, throwing up, etc. The next day was a little better - no throwing up, and I had my brain back at full capacity - no more Percocet, thank you very much. I descovered that that particular narcotic makes me very sick. But, of course, without the narcotics, I felt the pain a lot more.

I think the most surprising thing for me through the experience has been that it hurt so much more than I anticipated. For some reason after having the two c-sections I figured that this would be a cake walk. Also, the term "outpatient" implies that it is not too bad. Fortunately today I feel so much better. I got to take a shower and finally see the results of the procedure and.........I have an INIE!! Well, for me it is an inie - it still has a little part that pokes out but it is so much more normal! Of course it is still bruised and looks pretty gross because of the incision and swelling, but I can tell it is going to look great!

The other big challenge with this surgery has been taking care of Boston. I pumped at least three days worth of milk and froze it in preparation for the surgery day. The pediatrician and anesthesiologist both told me to pump and toss the milk for the first 24 hours after the surgery. This meant that Scott had to feed Boston bottles for that first day. He did great - he always took the bottle without any trouble and seemed to be very content. In some selfish way, I feel bad that he took the bottle so well - I guess I would like to believe that I am the only one who can fill that need for him. After the 24 hours was up he went right back to nursing, just like a champ. My milk supply is a little lower because of the liquid only diet I had to be on, but it seems to be coming back in just fine.

To top it all off, Boston finally came down with the nasty cold that Stephen and I have had the last few days. I figured it was inevitable even though I washed my hands like a crazy person and tried to keep Stephen away from Boston. He is still a sweet little baby and doesn't complain much - his nose is just pretty stuffy and you can hear the congestion when he cries, poor little guy. Stephen is, of course, getting better. This is nice because we don't have to wipe his nose all of the time anymore and he is less cranky. All of you who have had a toddler with a cold can understand the misery it causes for the whole family.

Farewell Elephant Trunk

Tomorrow I am having my umbilical hernia repaired. My belly button has always been an "outie" but with each of my pregnancies, the hole in my muscles has gotten bigger and so my intestines are poking out more and more. This is dangerous if my bowel becomes stuck and so the muscle needs sewn back together. They will also place a piece of mesh over the top to hold it strong and keep it from happening again. It is an outpatient surgery so I will only be away from home for a few hours. I took some "before" pictures of my belly button (which, by the way, has the nick-name of "elephant trunk") and was going to be brave and post them, but as gross as my stomach looks in person, it is way grosser in a picture! I will spare you having to look at that (okay, let's be honest - I am sparing MYSELF embarrasement!) I hope all goes well tomorrow - no pain, and a beauiful "inie". What do you think the odds are of getting the surgeon to do a tummy tuck while he is at it?

Boston's Blessing

Today Boston received a beautiful blessing from Scott. We had both of our families there to enjoy the special day. There was a moment of panic just before Scott took Boston up to the front when Boston started fussing and we couldn't find the pacifier anywhere! Luckily, Boston decided to calm down and didn't cry during the blessing, though he did start crying again just after Scott brought him back to me. Later, the pacifier was located on the seat in the car.

After the meeting ,we had our family and friends over to our house for some lunch and socializing. It was so much fun to host the little gathering. We have the best family! I had hoped to get a picture of our little family of four, but we had to settle on a picture of Scott and I with Boston. By the time we got around to taking pictures, Stephen was missing his shoes and tie and his white shirt was covered in Cheeto mess. Also, he was running wild through the house with his cousins so we didn't think he would react well to the idea of having his picture taken just then!

It was a really wonderful day and I had the oportunity to remember the miracle of my sweet little Boston joining our family. He is such a blessing to me and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has given me the oportunity to be his mom. When I think back to my feelings and fears when I was pregnant with Boston and how much we worried and prayed, I reminded again that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.

Say Cheese!

I was laughing my head off during this photo shoot - Boston had this silly, adorable grin the whole time and Stephen kept making these cheesy faces! It reminded me of pictures you might take in a photo booth. I like photo booths....

Goodbye to my dish scrubber...

This post is both boring and pathetic but I had to say farewell to my dish scrubbing brush. We have had the same heavy duty scrubber since we got married five years ago and have used it in all four of our homes. (Don't worry - it went through the dishwasher often). Me and that brush have been through a lot together. I have never really minded washing dishes and I consider my "dish washing" time to be a good oportunity for me to unwind. Somehow, during all of that unwinding, I got sentimentally attached to this silly brush so when Scott brought home a new one from the grocery store I was a little sad to toss this one out. Hence, the post to remember it! Goodbye little brush!

I have no words...

This is one of the nastiest things EVER and it makes me want to move. As I was getting ready for bed last night I finished up my nightly routine with a QUICK stop in the bathroom. (I know what you are thinking now - "does Cami only write about gross bathroom stuff now??" - hopefully I will have no cause to continue writing about gross bathroom stuff after this story). As I went to flush I happened to glance down and notice that the water level in the toilet was very low. Concered that the toilet was plugged up somehow I watched to make sure the water went down - much to my horror I saw a massive cockroach spinning around in the water just under the rim of the toilet. I let out an invoulutary shriek and ran and jumped into bed and hid under the pillow, shaking and twitching in full "gross out" mode. (Take a moment here to reflect - if you dare - on what it would be like to have a roach "right there" inside your toilet as you are using it...) Scott just laughed and laughed as he went and made sure the darn thing flushed fully back to the nasty place from which it came. By the way, it took several flushes before it was gone. After my shuddering slowed down and I felt brave enough, I went and got the bleach out and poured it down all of the drains and plugged them up. This is the recommended anti-roach method for our neighborhood - sewer roaches are a common problem and the pest control doesn't work. Ah, the joys of living in an old house...

I have a new ritual now of flushing the toilet before using it and I can't think about this experience with out a nasty feeling and shudder running through me. I won't ever be the same.