I HATE apartment living. Really. I despise it. I loathe it. I pine for the day when I can actually own a home.
Our limit seems to be 2 years in a given apartment complex. Legitimately, we're usually looking for more space, but it also has a lot to do with how much we end up hating the lease office and its employees. We were actually pretty happy the first year, and then the complex was bought out by another company. Enter tons of problems, maintenance orders not being put in, MAJOR attitude from anyone and everyone we ever spoke with, and not ONCE receiving a call back, despite innumerable promises.
We knew we wouldn't be resigning our lease here, which is up June 15th. Our apartment, despite being a 2bed/2bath, is really pretty small. It's small with just Amy running around, and by the time next year comes around, I would be trying to keep 2 small kids in check here. So, we decided to look around. We looked at townhomes and a few houses, and we were getting kind of discouraged. It was a bit difficult, because most of our income comes from student grants/loans, so we don't have a high "monthly" income, which is what places look at.
After a lot of hard work, and a lot of hard praying, we found an awesome place. It's a townhome, and the complex is managed by a woman we know from church. There's no big clubhouse with all the extra "amenities" that we never use. That means that rent is way lower than any comparable place! We'll be paying just $15/month more than we are now for twice the space with a finished basement and washer & dryer. No more laundromat. No more hearing elephants thundering around above us at all hours of the night (although we do have really good neighbors--they just walk really loudly). No more attitude.
We'll be moving the first weekend in June, and plan on staying in this new place until Brett graduates and gets a job, at which point we'll look to buy a house.
Pictures will come when I have them!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Poor Baby David
David gave us quite a scare at the end of March. He's been on formula almost since birth--he could never really get down a good latch/suck, and despite trying and trying, and then trying to pump, he was never particularly interested in nursing, and my milk started to dry up. We started him out on Enfamil ProSobee, which is what Amy was on once I stopped nursing her. She never had any difficulties on it, and for the first while, neither did David. (Our ped. recommends soy formula because the protein more closely resembles the proteins found in breastmilk, making it easier on their digestive systems, for any curious parties.)
We started noticing some change in his bowel movements a couple days after Mom got home from California. They were more frequent and watery. By Wednesday night, he had full-blown diarrhea. Then we started noticing some nasty stuff in it. What, you may ask? Um...that would be bloody mucous. Yeah. Delightful.
We went to the ER after calling a 24-hour nurse line and being told to go in. Despite being told what he was in for, the nurse in triage didn't even want to look at his diaper when we changed him there, and told us we didn't need to save it. Eventually we got back to a room in the ER. He was a champ when they came and drew blood. All of his labs came back normal, and he wasn't dehydrated, so they sent us home and told us to just give him Pedialyte, no formula, and follow up with his doctor in the morning.
The next morning the pediatrician said pretty much the same thing, and ordered a set of stool cultures for David as well, to be done overnight and dropped off the next day at the lab. THAT was fun.
Friday afternoon I took the cultures back to the lab and called Dr. Laycob's office on my way home to let them know I'd turned them in, and that oh, by the way, he's had bloody mucous in every diaper for over 24 hours now.
Go figure, that worried him. I wonder why? He was concerned enough that he told us to go back to the hospital and that we would be admitted. I wish he (and we) had known that he could've admitted us directly to the hospital. As it was, we spent seven hours in the ER before we were finally moved upstairs. We were so grateful for friends who took Amy, no question, and took care of her for us. Thank goodness for great friends!
Long story short, they had no idea what was wrong with him. He definitely perked up after several hours of getting fluids. Other than that, his vitals were fine, his temperature was normal, he wasn't vomiting, and once he was more hydrated, he was his usual happy self. The stool cultures came up negative, too. So, still no clue what was up. They had us switch him to a different formula. Alimentum is a special formula with the proteins and sugars broken down about as much as possible, so it's a lot easier on the digestive system.
He was on the Alimentum for a little over a month, and was doing so well that the pediatrician told us we could step down to Nutramigen. Nutramigen is basically a step between Alimentum and the soy formula. He was on that for maybe 3 weeks, and a few days ago he started having issues again, so we're back on the Alimentum. At the very least, he's still gaining weight really well, so despite the much stinkier formula and the nastier diapers, I'm happy!
We started noticing some change in his bowel movements a couple days after Mom got home from California. They were more frequent and watery. By Wednesday night, he had full-blown diarrhea. Then we started noticing some nasty stuff in it. What, you may ask? Um...that would be bloody mucous. Yeah. Delightful.
We went to the ER after calling a 24-hour nurse line and being told to go in. Despite being told what he was in for, the nurse in triage didn't even want to look at his diaper when we changed him there, and told us we didn't need to save it. Eventually we got back to a room in the ER. He was a champ when they came and drew blood. All of his labs came back normal, and he wasn't dehydrated, so they sent us home and told us to just give him Pedialyte, no formula, and follow up with his doctor in the morning.
The next morning the pediatrician said pretty much the same thing, and ordered a set of stool cultures for David as well, to be done overnight and dropped off the next day at the lab. THAT was fun.
Friday afternoon I took the cultures back to the lab and called Dr. Laycob's office on my way home to let them know I'd turned them in, and that oh, by the way, he's had bloody mucous in every diaper for over 24 hours now.
Go figure, that worried him. I wonder why? He was concerned enough that he told us to go back to the hospital and that we would be admitted. I wish he (and we) had known that he could've admitted us directly to the hospital. As it was, we spent seven hours in the ER before we were finally moved upstairs. We were so grateful for friends who took Amy, no question, and took care of her for us. Thank goodness for great friends!
Long story short, they had no idea what was wrong with him. He definitely perked up after several hours of getting fluids. Other than that, his vitals were fine, his temperature was normal, he wasn't vomiting, and once he was more hydrated, he was his usual happy self. The stool cultures came up negative, too. So, still no clue what was up. They had us switch him to a different formula. Alimentum is a special formula with the proteins and sugars broken down about as much as possible, so it's a lot easier on the digestive system.
He was on the Alimentum for a little over a month, and was doing so well that the pediatrician told us we could step down to Nutramigen. Nutramigen is basically a step between Alimentum and the soy formula. He was on that for maybe 3 weeks, and a few days ago he started having issues again, so we're back on the Alimentum. At the very least, he's still gaining weight really well, so despite the much stinkier formula and the nastier diapers, I'm happy!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Life is busy!
Wow! Things just keep bombarding me, and it's been almost 3 months since I updated my blog. Shame on me. And now it seems like I have so much to write about, it's a daunting task. I guess that's what I get for putting it off all the time, right?
So, I'll be updating on the comings and goings of the last few months over the next few days. Here are some things I plan on covering:
-David's health and brief hospitalization
-Brett's semester
-Apartment search
-Hailstorm and its aftermath
-Upcoming family reunion
-Summer plans
-Fall semester
So, be patient with me! I'm a very busy mama. Part of the reason I've not been writing lately is that Brett and I decided we were spending too much time on the computer. Totally guilty. I readily admit that I pop online for "a quick look" and end up wasting way more time than I intended. I get easily engrossed in things, and don't realize how much time has passed. Admittedly, some of it is necessary, but a lot of it wasn't. So, I'm down to an hour of recreational usage, which is not very long for me since I love catching up with people via Facebook and looking for new recipes and crafty ideas. It's been hard work, but I'm doing really well! I usually just leave the computer off now. I know that if I get online to check email, or something else, that while intending to only do that one thing, I'll pop open a couple more tabs and then get distracted. So, better to remove the temptation. My house is cleaner, I'm doing more with my kids, and Brett has had a homecooked meal nearly every night for the past several weeks.
Definitely worth it.
So, I'll be updating on the comings and goings of the last few months over the next few days. Here are some things I plan on covering:
-David's health and brief hospitalization
-Brett's semester
-Apartment search
-Hailstorm and its aftermath
-Upcoming family reunion
-Summer plans
-Fall semester
So, be patient with me! I'm a very busy mama. Part of the reason I've not been writing lately is that Brett and I decided we were spending too much time on the computer. Totally guilty. I readily admit that I pop online for "a quick look" and end up wasting way more time than I intended. I get easily engrossed in things, and don't realize how much time has passed. Admittedly, some of it is necessary, but a lot of it wasn't. So, I'm down to an hour of recreational usage, which is not very long for me since I love catching up with people via Facebook and looking for new recipes and crafty ideas. It's been hard work, but I'm doing really well! I usually just leave the computer off now. I know that if I get online to check email, or something else, that while intending to only do that one thing, I'll pop open a couple more tabs and then get distracted. So, better to remove the temptation. My house is cleaner, I'm doing more with my kids, and Brett has had a homecooked meal nearly every night for the past several weeks.
Definitely worth it.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Little David!
David is now a little over 2 months old, and boy, is he growing! He was born weighing 9lb 3oz. Now he's up to 12 lb 2.5 oz. This is awesome, especially since he dropped about a pound the first week or so. He's so cute and chubby, I just love it!
How could you not love this handsome little man?!
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| Newborn David |
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| David, 1 month |
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| David, 2 months |
How could you not love this handsome little man?!
Mississippi vacation
So, the first week of February, I took the kids down to Mississippi. It worked out nicely--Brett drove us to Memphis, and Spencer picked us up there since he'd already been in the Memphis area for a temple trip that morning. Poor guy--he had a very long day that started very early. I'm grateful he was willing to stick around for us.
Admittedly, it was a tough week as far as taking care of the kids. Sharon was a huge help all week, but it's just not quite the same has having that second parent there. I was happy when Brett arrived Saturday morning so he could help with the kids before taking us all home Sunday night. That, and I missed him. I do kind of like the guy.
Difficulties aside, I had such a great time! I loved getting to hang out with Sharon. I never really got to know her growing up, since I'm eight years younger. Neither of us was particularly interested in the other. :) But now that I'm an adult, I'm really trying to work to develop relationships with my older sisters. It's not always easy, since I really don't know them very well. But I am glad to say that I feel like I'm getting to know them better, and at the very least, I don't feel awkward having a conversation with any of them. That's quite an accomplishment for me!
Sharon and I pretty much spent the week in the kitchen. It was glorious. :) We baked and cooked and baked some more. We had a different dessert for every night I was there. It was amazing. I won't even say how many boxes of butter we went through. I feel my arteries clogging back up just thinking about it! Still--completely worth it. Here's our dessert menu for the week:
Saturday (I arrived late that evening)--Sharon had white chocolate blondies with maple sauce waiting for me. Oh my goodness. Now, I'm definitely a chocolate girl, but they were incredible. If I were making blondies, I would definitely make those.
Sunday--Coconut brownies. This was a concoction Sharon came up with that used coconut extract among other things. They had a great flavor. I really liked them.
Monday--Sweet & Salty Cake. This was our first 'Pinterest' recipe of the week. It was...pretty good. The cake layers were delicious and so moist. It was supposed to have a caramel sauce between each layer and a whipped chocolate caramel ganache frosting. But you couldn't really taste the caramel. Like, at all. So...I give this one a C+.
Tuesday-- We made a trifle from the cake tops of the Sweet & Salty cake, the leftover ganache frosting, and some whipped cream. It was yummy.
Wednesday-- Banana pudding to go with our Southern meal of fried chicken and biscuits. This was really tasty, and looked so pretty in the trifle bowl. I love banana pudding.
Thursday--Sharon's birthday! Shellie made a Key Lime Cheesecake. It was SO good. Nice and creamy, with a good flavor but not overwhelmingly tart. Yum. I wish I had a picture of this one. I really was not good about taking pictures that week. Shame on me.
Friday--Dark chocolate cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream frosting. It was okay. I was kind of underwhelmed. The cake was good, but it wasn't great. The frosting was pretty much a disaster, as I had to add several cups of powdered sugar that weren't even supposed to be in it. It DID have a good strawberry flavor, though. I just...expected more.
Saturday--Brett was here! Hooray! We made Pecan Pie bars. Oh, yum. These were quite possibly my favorite dessert all week, to be honest. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.
Admittedly, it was a tough week as far as taking care of the kids. Sharon was a huge help all week, but it's just not quite the same has having that second parent there. I was happy when Brett arrived Saturday morning so he could help with the kids before taking us all home Sunday night. That, and I missed him. I do kind of like the guy.
Difficulties aside, I had such a great time! I loved getting to hang out with Sharon. I never really got to know her growing up, since I'm eight years younger. Neither of us was particularly interested in the other. :) But now that I'm an adult, I'm really trying to work to develop relationships with my older sisters. It's not always easy, since I really don't know them very well. But I am glad to say that I feel like I'm getting to know them better, and at the very least, I don't feel awkward having a conversation with any of them. That's quite an accomplishment for me!
Sharon and I pretty much spent the week in the kitchen. It was glorious. :) We baked and cooked and baked some more. We had a different dessert for every night I was there. It was amazing. I won't even say how many boxes of butter we went through. I feel my arteries clogging back up just thinking about it! Still--completely worth it. Here's our dessert menu for the week:
Saturday (I arrived late that evening)--Sharon had white chocolate blondies with maple sauce waiting for me. Oh my goodness. Now, I'm definitely a chocolate girl, but they were incredible. If I were making blondies, I would definitely make those.
Sunday--Coconut brownies. This was a concoction Sharon came up with that used coconut extract among other things. They had a great flavor. I really liked them.
Monday--Sweet & Salty Cake. This was our first 'Pinterest' recipe of the week. It was...pretty good. The cake layers were delicious and so moist. It was supposed to have a caramel sauce between each layer and a whipped chocolate caramel ganache frosting. But you couldn't really taste the caramel. Like, at all. So...I give this one a C+.
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| Photo from the Whisk Kid |
Wednesday-- Banana pudding to go with our Southern meal of fried chicken and biscuits. This was really tasty, and looked so pretty in the trifle bowl. I love banana pudding.
Thursday--Sharon's birthday! Shellie made a Key Lime Cheesecake. It was SO good. Nice and creamy, with a good flavor but not overwhelmingly tart. Yum. I wish I had a picture of this one. I really was not good about taking pictures that week. Shame on me.
Friday--Dark chocolate cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream frosting. It was okay. I was kind of underwhelmed. The cake was good, but it wasn't great. The frosting was pretty much a disaster, as I had to add several cups of powdered sugar that weren't even supposed to be in it. It DID have a good strawberry flavor, though. I just...expected more.
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| Photo from sweetapolita.com |
Sunday--Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake from my new Paula Deen cookbook. This was good, but again, I'm a chocolate girl. The cake layers had a really good flavor. I would've liked some contrasting filling instead of the butter filling from her recipe. I think it would be great with a raspberry filling. It was tasty.
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| Gasp! My own photo! |
We had a fun week. Elizabeth had New Beginnings (scary, since I remember when she was born...I'm getting old). Sarah had a Fairy Tale Ball at school that we got to go to. It was way cute.
Another really fun part of the trip for me was getting to know Rachel better. She's always so quiet and shy when they come up to visit. I think I'd maybe heard her talk a couple of times before. But she warmed up to me quickly, and was such a cute little chatterbox! She's such a sweet girl, and was always ready to be helpful. And she's in love with the movie Tangled. What can I say? Rachel's got good taste!
Matt was a lot of fun, too. Mainly because he and Amy were partners in crime all week, and you could pretty much count on him shouting "Mamie!" fairly regularly when Amy did something he didn't like. It was way cute. They did get along well, though. I could tell when we got home that Amy really missed being around her cousins. She loved all that extra attention.
And sweet Kate! Kate was so attentive to David all week. Really, the three older girls all were. But Kate had a special ability to just sit there and cuddle him and make him so happy. I loved watching her with him.
*sigh* I miss the Leighs. I guess I'll just have to plan another trip!
Another really fun part of the trip for me was getting to know Rachel better. She's always so quiet and shy when they come up to visit. I think I'd maybe heard her talk a couple of times before. But she warmed up to me quickly, and was such a cute little chatterbox! She's such a sweet girl, and was always ready to be helpful. And she's in love with the movie Tangled. What can I say? Rachel's got good taste!
Matt was a lot of fun, too. Mainly because he and Amy were partners in crime all week, and you could pretty much count on him shouting "Mamie!" fairly regularly when Amy did something he didn't like. It was way cute. They did get along well, though. I could tell when we got home that Amy really missed being around her cousins. She loved all that extra attention.
And sweet Kate! Kate was so attentive to David all week. Really, the three older girls all were. But Kate had a special ability to just sit there and cuddle him and make him so happy. I loved watching her with him.
*sigh* I miss the Leighs. I guess I'll just have to plan another trip!
At last!
Wow, having another kid is exhausting. And I know all of you moms who already have two or more kids are now thinking "Well, duh." Yeah. I'm starting to get it now. If one child is sleeping or at least quiet, the other is screaming and needing attention. Or both do at the same time. It's hard to THINK sometimes, let alone actually sit down and write blog posts.
All things considered, though, I LOVE being a mom! Yes, sometimes I have to take a moment to close my eyes and chant my personal mantra (I love being a parent, I love being a parent...repeated ad infinitum). It's taking quite a bit of adjusting to get things done with two kids. Personally, I feel like it MORE than doubles my work, and the amount of time it takes to get ready to go anywhere. But we're adapting, so I can't really complain too much.
David is proving to be such a sweet, mellow little man. He's a good counter to his sister's high-energy dramatic personality. He'll cry if he needs something, but other than that, he just sits quietly and looks around. He smiles at anyone and everyone, and we've already gotten him to laugh several times. David loves having his feet played with and will just smile and laugh no matter how long you do it. I just love him so much!
I'm pleasantly surprised at how helpful Amy is with David. I was concerned about her getting jealous, but that doesn't seem to be an issue at all. She loves to help mother him. If he fusses, she'll drop what she's doing and run over to him, fuzz his hair and try to give him his binky (and sometimes succeeds). She loves to help hold the bottle while he's eating, and helps burp him. She "tickles" him and often climbs up beside him on the couch (or goes to him in his bouncy seat, etc.) and gives him a big squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. It just melts my heart.
I really do love being a mom to these two kids, and I look forward to seeing them become fast friends as they grow up!
All things considered, though, I LOVE being a mom! Yes, sometimes I have to take a moment to close my eyes and chant my personal mantra (I love being a parent, I love being a parent...repeated ad infinitum). It's taking quite a bit of adjusting to get things done with two kids. Personally, I feel like it MORE than doubles my work, and the amount of time it takes to get ready to go anywhere. But we're adapting, so I can't really complain too much.
David is proving to be such a sweet, mellow little man. He's a good counter to his sister's high-energy dramatic personality. He'll cry if he needs something, but other than that, he just sits quietly and looks around. He smiles at anyone and everyone, and we've already gotten him to laugh several times. David loves having his feet played with and will just smile and laugh no matter how long you do it. I just love him so much!
I'm pleasantly surprised at how helpful Amy is with David. I was concerned about her getting jealous, but that doesn't seem to be an issue at all. She loves to help mother him. If he fusses, she'll drop what she's doing and run over to him, fuzz his hair and try to give him his binky (and sometimes succeeds). She loves to help hold the bottle while he's eating, and helps burp him. She "tickles" him and often climbs up beside him on the couch (or goes to him in his bouncy seat, etc.) and gives him a big squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. It just melts my heart.
I really do love being a mom to these two kids, and I look forward to seeing them become fast friends as they grow up!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A look back
At the beginning of last year, I posted a letter to myself stating my goals for the year in this post. So, now it's time to take a look at my goals and be accountable for what I did well, and for what I...um...well, for what I didn't do so hot on.
-Goal #1: Lose weight/exercise
I did pretty well on this one...for a while. I was going to Zumba once a week, and usually I did Pilates at least once a week. Usually. I got pregnant in April, though, and had morning sickness that kept me from keeping pretty much anything down, so I stopped going since I probably would've passed out (and I didn't think Kyra would appreciate me passing out in her basement). So, I'm not sure how I would grade myself on this one. Probably a solid C. Once I was pregnant, I pretty much stopped exercising. Granted, I had good reasons, but I still stopped.
-Goal #2: Write rough draft of novel
Um...I get an F on this. True, the group fell apart a few months in because the person running it completely disappeared off the face of the earth, but I could and should have kept working on it. And I didn't. Complete and utter failure on my part. It was an ambitious goal, and I failed marvelously. When I make another attempt at this, I will need to have a more solid plan on my part rather than relying on someone else to tell me when and how to do it.
-Goal #3: Baking 1 cake every month
I did...okay...on this one. I didn't end up doing 1 cake every month, but I DID do a ton of cakes. Pretty sure it was more than 12, since for a few months I was doing 2-3 cakes a month. I also helped to put together and decorate a wedding cake a few days before I had the baby. I got to try a lot of things I'd never even thought of doing, and it really was a blast! Not so great about the cleaning up right after, though....I'm going to go ahead and give myself a B- on this. I had a lot of fun.
-Goal #4: Blog once a week
Ha, another good intention, but this one didn't happen either. I DID, however, have 53 blog posts, which is technically more than one per week. But I also had an entire month when I didn't write anything. So, I'm giving myself a C on this one, too. Could've been worse, but could've also been a lot better.
-Goal #5: More personal interactions
This one, I totally rocked. I give myself an A+. At least I got an A on one of my goals! I volunteered several times for Burns Recovered Support group, attended several fundraisers, and attended several meetings. I attended book group down at Mom's house nearly every month. I went to almost all of the Relief Society meetings this year. We had friends over a ton, and really developed some great relationships. Amy and I started going to a play group. I got to socialize a bunch, and I loved every minute of it.
Overall, I did okay for the first part of the year, and then I fizzled. Like I usually do. So, my biggest issue is that I need to keep my nose to the grindstone and finish the year out. What will I be able to accomplish this year? We'll have to wait to find out!
-Goal #1: Lose weight/exercise
I did pretty well on this one...for a while. I was going to Zumba once a week, and usually I did Pilates at least once a week. Usually. I got pregnant in April, though, and had morning sickness that kept me from keeping pretty much anything down, so I stopped going since I probably would've passed out (and I didn't think Kyra would appreciate me passing out in her basement). So, I'm not sure how I would grade myself on this one. Probably a solid C. Once I was pregnant, I pretty much stopped exercising. Granted, I had good reasons, but I still stopped.
-Goal #2: Write rough draft of novel
Um...I get an F on this. True, the group fell apart a few months in because the person running it completely disappeared off the face of the earth, but I could and should have kept working on it. And I didn't. Complete and utter failure on my part. It was an ambitious goal, and I failed marvelously. When I make another attempt at this, I will need to have a more solid plan on my part rather than relying on someone else to tell me when and how to do it.
-Goal #3: Baking 1 cake every month
I did...okay...on this one. I didn't end up doing 1 cake every month, but I DID do a ton of cakes. Pretty sure it was more than 12, since for a few months I was doing 2-3 cakes a month. I also helped to put together and decorate a wedding cake a few days before I had the baby. I got to try a lot of things I'd never even thought of doing, and it really was a blast! Not so great about the cleaning up right after, though....I'm going to go ahead and give myself a B- on this. I had a lot of fun.
-Goal #4: Blog once a week
Ha, another good intention, but this one didn't happen either. I DID, however, have 53 blog posts, which is technically more than one per week. But I also had an entire month when I didn't write anything. So, I'm giving myself a C on this one, too. Could've been worse, but could've also been a lot better.
-Goal #5: More personal interactions
This one, I totally rocked. I give myself an A+. At least I got an A on one of my goals! I volunteered several times for Burns Recovered Support group, attended several fundraisers, and attended several meetings. I attended book group down at Mom's house nearly every month. I went to almost all of the Relief Society meetings this year. We had friends over a ton, and really developed some great relationships. Amy and I started going to a play group. I got to socialize a bunch, and I loved every minute of it.
Overall, I did okay for the first part of the year, and then I fizzled. Like I usually do. So, my biggest issue is that I need to keep my nose to the grindstone and finish the year out. What will I be able to accomplish this year? We'll have to wait to find out!
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