A Beautiful Mess

I have heard this so many times but this is my beautiful mess.  I am so thankful that I no longer have a foot in my rib but along with that comes other things that are not so fun.
We welcomed Charlee Paige to this world on the 20th.  We didn't really have a name picked out definitely until that day.  We were set on Stella Pearl for a REALLY long time but it got changed when i was joking around with the name Charlee.  Tim liked that name a lot and it served 2 purposes for him.  His dad's middle name was Lee and it wanted to incorporate it somewhere in the name.  Tim's pseudo good friend is Charles.  So we killed 2 birds with one stone by changing the spelling to "lee" on the end.  The middle name was the hardest part.  Trying to come up with something that flowed well.  I had seen Charlee Paige and liked the sound of it but Tim was really leery of it.  I am surprised he let me use it because when I liked a name he poo poo'd it because so and so's dog was named that.  Paige is the name of our good friend's daughter.  I guess he decided I could pick the name since I agreed to Charlee. 
I had a c-section again with Charlee and the experience was really different.  The spinal was a different feeling then the epidural from last time.  It really wasn't something that I liked.  I felt like someone was sitting on my chest the whole time, and I just wanted to go to sleep.  It didn't help that I was already tired when we went in.  After it was all over i knew I would be cold with the chills and be experiencing itching like last time.  I just didn't think the shivering would start as soon as I walked into the surgery room; I hate that feeling.
Charlee's APGAR scores were all 9's which is really good.  Kind of proud of that one.  She did have a lower temp in the recovery room which held us back there for awhile.  We then went to our room for the next two days.
I have to say I was disappointed in the hospital and I could not help comparing it to the hospital Willow was born at, Methodist Women's Hospital. The recovery room was for everyone unlike the private one I had with Willow.  When they moved me to my real room I commented that it was small and they laughed at me and said that it was one of the bigger ones and at least I had a private room.  Really?  They still have double rooms especially with a mom and new baby?!  The cot Tim slept on was a joke.  it was so low to the ground he might as well been sleeping on the floor; the nurses were really nice though. 
Charlee didn't latch on that good right away.  She wouldn't wake up enough to do anything.  The second day she did the cluster feeding thing and it was really making my uterus hurt.  It hurt so bad I asked if we could give her formula to satisfy her.  She ate like 40ml, which is double what a normal newborn would eat.  Sent her off to the nursery and they didn't bring her back to me until 5am.  That formula really filled her up I guess.  When we got home I tried feeding her and it was impossible.  I tried pumping so it would get the udders going.  I was so frustrated because my milk was not in yet, no wonder the babe wasn't interested in my boobs.
It is not like I am a new mom so I kind of knew what was going on but every child is different.  Willow took right away and went with it.  I have to say everything is really different.  My pain is worse it seems.  The breastfeeding things is not as easy as before. My crotch looks as though someone kicked me with this huge bruise there.  Yes I know you wanted to know this info. I had to start taking steroids a week before delivery to get my platelets up.  With taking them my immune system became suppressed and I got a cold sore.  So I started taking meds right away in hopes to keep that at bay.  Unfortunately I started to get one and another and another and another.  Yes I got 4 different spots of those little F@#$(^s.  It was bad and to top it all of the next day was newborn/family photos!  Thank God up in heaven for photoshop!!!
Willow has been really good with her but I think she acts out  little more then usually.  I look at her and she is so big to me now. Her hands and feet are huge.  It is crazy how I see her differently.  I feel bad how I can't give her the attention I used too. 
I am sooooo thankful my mom is here to help with Willow.  She has been a life saver.  I think I would be curled up in a corner crying.  She has helped a ton with everything too like laundry, cleaning and cooking. 
Charlee has been a really good baby thus far.  Her nights and days are mixed up, which is to be expected but she rarely cries.  I know the next 2 weeks are going to change but I am hoping for good changes.
So I will leave you with pics of me, the beautiful little mess, and our new daughter.

She looked like a little thumb head. The cheeks have gone down some since we came home. 

Short and Sweet

My intent for this entry is to be short and have more pics then anything. 
As of today I have 9 more days until the little one gets here.  I am so ready.  I seem to get more headaches now and the uncomfortable thing is so high right now I want it out.  On the other hand I don't because we don't have someone to watch Willow while we are at the hospital.  My mom will be here next weekend to help us with Willow then.  I have been told I look small for being about ready to give birth.  Kind words I must say but I don't feel that way. 
My planning for when we would be in our new home and when the new baby would be here was off, so 2 weeks after the babe arrives I will have to continue wear maternity clothes.  I am super bummed because I only have one pair of pants.  It is getting cooler here and I find myself wanting long pants.  I don't even have a pair of long workout pants. 
I pulled out some baby things to get ready, like the pack n play.  Willow thinks it is hers and that is where she wants to sleep.  She also thinks the boppy is hers and must play with it.  We keep reminding her that it is the baby's.  I am kind of nervous to see how she handles all of this new baby thing. 
We have decided to enroll Willow in a daycare/preschool after the first of the year.  It will be only 2 days a week to start.  I think she will get a lot from this socially and educationally.  The lady was recommended by my pilates instructor.  Her son is attending there and she has noticed a significant difference in his attention span and how much he has learned in such a short amount of time.  Yes I know I am a stay at home mom, but this gives me some time alone with the new one.  Plus I don't think Willow listens as well to Tim or I when it comes to new things.  The swimming lessons proved this to be true.  She will do what ever for the instructor but when we try to get her to do it, she will not.  Who knows maybe she will meet her forever best friend there just like I did.  I can proudly say I met my best friend in preschool and we are still best friends today. 
The house is coming along now and it seems we should be moving in it before the scheduled date but we won't be.  I am just counting the days till we have our forever home here in Phoenix and all of our stuff!

37 weeks

Portal to front door

Entry way

Dining room

Kitchen

Butlers pantry off kitchen to garage

Powder room

Master bath

Jack n Jill bathroom

Guest bathroom

Looking down to master bed.  Living room on the right.

Master bath.  I hate the position of the tub!

Bad pic of the walk in shower

My baby girl being cute.

At the Light the night cancer walk.  She was attached to the is bear she got there.

LIVE for one night only, Tim (me) will be a guest blogger!

   Yes, that's right, I was invited to guest blog, either Heidi didn't want to type, or figured ya'll needed a good laugh rather than the downers of being prego and living in the desert, so your stuck with me for the next little stretch, hopefully you're not thinking you just wasted "X" number of minutes off your life at the end.

So where to start.....we have a countdown!!  15 days till the baby is here 30 days till we move in, and neither can get here fast enough!!  Heidi is getting bigger and bigger by the day, which I know is easy to say "she's prego, what do you expect...." but NO, literally, we took 'bump' pictures a week apart, and she is HUGE!  She went to the doc last week and was telling him how the baby keeps kicking her in the ribs (she has a bruise across the top of the bump from the baby kicking), and the doc looked her over, figured out where the head, butt, and feet were, and then proceeded to tell her "you have a LONG baby in there!"  not quite sure where "it" gets that gene!  Willow has been running her ragged around the house, A) Willow is getting fast and playful B) momma is getting slow and irritable; bad combo, I never know if I'm going to come home to happy to see me prego wife and happy daughter, or The Exorcism Part VIII: GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME AND THE 2 YEAR OLD TOO! We are practicing being that 90 year old couple right now since we just have the "little" queen bed, and prego needs 47 pillows to make a nest to sleep in.  Seriously, she has 6 pillows and 4 couch cushions arranged just perfectly so she can get comfortable, the baby doesn't rest on her guts wrong and make it hard to sleep, and she can actually get up when it is time too.  Last week (and the week prior) she made this nest on the couch, I traded this week, and must say, other than hanging off from my knees down, it's pretty comfortable (a problem Heidi would know nothing about).  The down side to the couch is you can't lock people out!  Willow has this internal 0500 alarm clock and wants to share the morning with EVERYBODY so she'll creep up to the couch, get right in your face, and stare at you for a while until you open your eyes and jump cause she's 4 inches from your face, or she'll eventually smack ya with a shoe or her hand; the later not being a cool way to wake up.  We can't complain too much though, she goes down (or at least to bed) at 2000; sometimes doesn't fall asleep for 2 hours, but usually stays down for the whole night.  Needless to say everybody is ready for nap time on the weekends when she does this, momma often takes naps with the babies during the week, daddy goes to bed by 2030 or 2100 often.  We're old!

We went to a new church this weekend.  We had been seeing window stickers all around the desert "C.C.V." and kept wondering what it was?  Was it the new Body by Vi cult?  The next pyrmid scheme?  Some political clique that we weren't aware of?  So anyways I was having a conversation at work with a few people and somehow we crossed into religion (one of two taboo subjects I rarely discuss with co-workers next to politics) but we did anyway.  Come to find out C.C.V. is a big church around here.  We had just been talking about how we didn't know if we fit in at the church we had been going to, it just didn't feel like OUR church, and we got kinda tired of hearing about money this, money that, give give give give give every week.  Heidi made fun of me for knocking it at first cause we were in a converted gym, it echoed, the band was kinda corny, no pews, no hymnals, no stained glass.  We went to the "Fall Festival" on Halloween with Willow which was a blast, they did put on a good gig for this, half a dozen blow up bounce houses and giant slides, "Trunk or Treat" for the kids, games, cupcake walk, music, food, and fun for all.  Willow figured out this candy thing REAAAALL fast!  She had a 1 gallon ice cream bucket decorated for Christmas to go with her Desert Snowman costume with her pink boots.  Every now and then we tried to sneak a piece out of her bucket and she immediately felt the weight difference or something and turned around yelling at is "NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOO...." until we put it back; leaving was not cool.  We tried to hold her bucket so she could play games.....no chance, so just muscled that bucket, full bucket, around but she was not going to let loose the death grip for one second.  So anyways, we went to the new church this weekend and were both very impressed, it felt like home, people talked to us, the kids area was great!, I'm pretty sure L.L. Cool J was the leader of the band, and they started out by singing a Police song (S.O.S.), they had a Starbucks in the church (not the selling point, but it was pretty funny), and a full service deli that they treated us to lunch at after the service, again not the selling point, but was still pretty cool.  No, the sermon, as my friend at work was telling me, was taking a story from the Bible, and relating it to current events; this weekend it was the story of Elijah, it was very uplifting, and neat to hear in this perspective.  There still weren't any pews, hymnals, or stained glass, but it felt right, the people were nice, we got a call from the pastor, and they didn't mention money or politics once.

The house is feeling more like a house now that drywall is up and painted, the stucco on the exterior is up and painted, cabinets and light fixtures are in, and the roof is on, the only problem now is they lock it at the end of the day so nobody can go in and mess anything up (is what I like to think vs. trying to keep us out so we can't poke around and bitch about things we find as they're doing it.)  While I like that they committed to a done date finally (not as soon as we had hoped, but it's something), I am still conflicted with, and have voiced my bitches, about our salesman, our design center ^%D$$!*, and the lack of craftsmanship.  I won't go into detail as it will only get me fired up again, but unfortunately or fortunately (depending on which side of the fence your on) I know just enough to be dangerous about some of this stuff.  Trim, cabinetry, doors, windows, etc.  Whatever, they'll fix some things when we walk through, they probably won't get an advertisement worthy glowing review from me, and they will be back OFTEN once we're in to fix things for as long as I am told our initial warranty is good for.  We went last weekend to a pool company to discuss plans for a pool; bad idea with Heidi and a 2 year old.  3 hours later we got out of there knowing this was not who we were going to use.  Lame salesman, I won't get into that, I could rant for another 4 pages about that cro-mag with a bad moustache and hair coloring.  The equipment was not as good as one company I spoke with, he wasn't listening to anything we said about "...keep chuggin' on working on the pool, we can worry about the yard later..." no, he wanted to plot out the whole yard like he was playing Farmville, with fruit trees and all (and yes, we know they were fruit trees cause he actually farted around putting oranges on them in his autocad, despite telling him, "...yeah yeah yeah, let's get back to the pool..."

Going to the store the other night we're in the center turn lane of an island waiting to turn into a shopping center (left), and the car facing us has his brights on.  I turn slightly to target him a little better and bright him, and the ol' fart flips ME off!!  Heidi didn't tell me that part till it was too late to go tell him what dusty hole he could put that finger in, and it kinda stuck in my craw the rest of the night that somebody got a flip up on me.

Last week we thought our fridge here died; called the landlord and he had one on order and being delivered before I could assess it.  Old one just needed a good thawing and cleaning, but it was too late to cancel the order.  New Uncle Bill (Landlord) was fine with it; this one is old anyways, and if it is still working he's cool cause he's always wanted a fridge for his garage.  We got a new fridge with a working ice maker and water dispenser, which is uber cool since water out of the tap is about 85 degrees on cold here in the desert.  On that note Heidi has been shrinking all my clothes washing them with warm to hot water :(

Willow is starting to realize a baby is coming, she knows where the baby is, she has been feeding and taking her baby doll for walks, and trying to suck every ounce of our attention now, like she knows that she's going to have to share it in a few weeks.  She use to be very independent and entertain herself; now she has to be on our hip 24/7.  Bath's here with glass tub doors suck; needless to say she has learned (like it or not) how to take showers with us.  We also started swimming lessons a few weeks ago with her, Heidi had been doing it up until this week at which point I took over; something about Heidi not being able to move in the pool with a 2 year old.  It's fun, but she's SOOOOoooo independent that she wants to have fun rather than do the lessons that she's suppose too.  She does love the water and for that I am grateful, I just want to make sure she can swim before we get a pool or go to the lake, or whatever.

Paid off the truck this month  WHOOOO HOooooOOOOOOO! So now momma has a little extra dough to furnish, paint, design, etc. around the new pad, or daddy gets a pool and a Mini Cooper, jury still out on this.

Went to a co-workers Saturday night for hangin' by the pool with a nice cigar, watchin' some football, enjoyin' some food, and having fun.  Heidi and Willow enjoyed themselves too, some other kids there, lots of new people to meet and get to know the area from for Heidi; very refreshing camaraderie and good people that I/we can hang out with at work and outside of work, and people Heidi can ahgn with and have something to talk about too (kids, the desert, food, homes, gyms, churches, etc.)  They lived in a gated community in North Scottsdale (Fountain Hills I think), pulled up the the guard shack and the name placard posted for the guy on duty was Mr. Schart, I ain't schartin' ya, it really was!!

Saw a '57 Chevy golf cart, VW Beetle, Hummer, John Deere, Jeep, Cadilac, and many other humorous golf carts running around here lately; the Snow Birds are here!!!!!

Well, I think I'm finally about out of things to say for now, if I'm lucky, or if by popular demand, maybe I'll get called back for an encore guest appearance, if not, you all need to stay on Heidi to blog more often!

Peace Out!!

Not Much to Say

We had a busy weekend, which means virtually no nap for Willow or Mommy.  We went to a free even at a Railway Railfair on Saturday and then Oktoberfest for Daddy on Sunday.  Things have been better for me around here.  The neighbors/snowbirds are coming around and my doorbell seems to be ringing more.  I have been going to the MOMS club events as much as I can.  I have yet to still meet all of them but the ones that I have met are really nice and so helpful with just getting to know things around here. 
Willow had her second week of swimming class.  It didn't go as well as I wanted.  I couldn't get her to do the things she was suppose to be doing.  She just cried.  The instructor took her from me and she was doing everything for her.  Frustrating how kids will do so well for others but not for their parents. 
The house is moving a long well.  We are right on track for our closing date of December 6th.  I am also on track for delivering on November 19th.  So much happening so close together and it is not just little things either. 


I will leave you with pics from this weekend.

You would have thought it was going fast with the way Willow's hair is blowing back.

Did NOT like the bounce house this time and it had nothing to do with the little guy behind her.

Mommy and Willow on the train.

Oktoberfest with the Popp's. 

Willow and Addie putting the "apples" on the trees.

She always puts the sunglasses on upside down.  At least she wears them though.

Another day of riding a merry go round. 

Addie

Free activity of painting the maze.

Willow getting in her art skills with Whitney.

The girls and their master pieces. 

No Time to Cry

Man last week was a busy week for me and I got a lot of windshield time in.  I put 400 miles on my car in just 3 days! I had a friend in town from Nebraska, a date night with the husband and a doctors appointment plus starting swim lessons with Willow. 

We had an appointment to "pick" out our granite, so they say.  That was really not the case.  It was more like here are the 5 slabs of the granite color you wanted do you like?  Good, sign here.  It was such a waste of a trip to the East Valley but to make it worth it we got to see my good friend Russ.  He was in Scottsdale for a convention.  It was so good to see him and he always knows how to make me laugh.  He brought me a little bit of home to me, which was himself. 

Tim had got me concert tickets to Jason Mraz for my birthday on the 2nd.  I had signed up to find a babysitter for us since we have no family here to watch the beast while we tried to have adult only time.  I thought I had one all lined up and then last minute she said she couldn't make it.  I was so frustrated!  Who was I going to call then, I know no one.  I should have seen it coming when she was suppose to come over to meet us and Willow the week before and she called and said she was sick and couldn't make it.  Thankfully, a co-worker of Tim's said she would watch Willow.  She lives like blocks from where the concert was, so that was convenient but Willow didn't go to bed there.  She immediately fell asleep when she got in the car to go home about 11:15 that night. 

Willow started her first day of swimming lessons.  It was  good, but she has a lot to work on.  On the way there she puked and on the way home she puked again.  Man I am a pro at washing and putting the car seat back together.  

We did a walk through on the house with our realtor and foreman before they put the drywall up.  There was a lot of things missing that we paid for and some things that I am glad we caught now.  We paid for some extra outlets that were not there and some in the wrong spots.  Some good things that came out of it is I got the door from the bonus room to the garage taken out and then a door put in the laundry room to the master closet.  YEAH!  That is huge to me.  I am very thankful that our realtor was there.  She asked why we didn't have overhead lighting in the bedrooms and I said we didn't want the ceiling fan pre wire.  Well little did we know because no one told us was that it also meant wiring for ceiling lights.  Um no we are not going to light the rooms with a lamp.  So all that pre wiring was extra.  Who does that?  Really you are going to charge us more just to have overhead lighting?  We want it though so they have us there.  We decided if they are going to do it they might as well do it for the fan also.  It just amazes me what I think should go into a house they call it an option.   We did get a final closing date of December 7th, so we can move in.  Yes!  It is not the exact time frame I was wanting but what can I do?

We also have a date when the little one will be here too.  Either November 19th or 20th.  Tim wants to work it around his work a little so he can get the most out of his days off.  So we have a busy couple weeks there for us.  I am thankful my mom will be here for a couple weeks to help with Willow when the baby gets here and then Tim's mom will be here for a week.   

32 weeks

Quick bath in the sink.

Pink EXPLOSION!  She picked out the shoes, according to dad.

104 Degrees

So I really have no clever title for this post without it being a Debbie Downer.  Today was hot for what I am used to at this time of year.  I am sure all that are reading this are enjoying the nice fall football weather while I am not.  I keep hearing it will soon be over, so I am patiently waiting.

This past week was for worse than last but there were some good moments.  I think I cried daily.  I just don't have anything to really do other than being home constantly with a 2 year old.  I have tried little craft things with her but that only holds her attention for so long.  Going outside is not really something fun for Willow.  I don't know where there is a park close by.  I fell like I have raised my voice to her more than I should and my patience has been super thin.  I needed to join a MOMS group.  After some research I found one in the area that our house is being built in.  YEAH!!!

I went to an activity they were having at a park in the neighborhood our new house is at, though I was 45 minutes late.  I got lost and got a late start to begin with because Willow threw the biggest fit I have ever seen right before we left.  It continued in the car and most of the way there, we made it though.  I met 2 other moms and their kids.  It was nice to talk to someone and also talk to them about living in AZ.  I learned that now is the time to be planting a garden.  One lady that used to live a couple houses down from where our house is had a problem with scorpions.  Not to excited about that one.  All in all it was good to get out and talk to other ladies and have Willow play around with others, I think this will be really good for me.

Thursday was probably the worse day of the week.  I woke up before Willow and basked in that.  When I went to the bathroom I noticed I was bleeding.  This really started to freak me out.  I knew it couldn't be good.  It was before 8 am so I got Willow up and planned for the worse.  I tried to pack a bag for me in case I was to be admitted and a bag for Willow in case I needed to call my only friend in Phoenix to watch her.  I called Tim to let him know what was up.  I was instructed to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I stopped bleeding before I left the house.  On the way there I was going over the worse case scenarios in my mind again.  I just couldn't believe all this was happening to me at the worse time and place where I had no one for extra support nearby.  The nurse checked me out and said it had stopped bleeding but it looked like it had come from my cervix.  While she was checking me in and such she noticed on the monitor that I had a contraction, which I did not feel.  I told her of my history of low platelets with Willow and how I was put on steroids for it.  We then did some blood work to check my platelets and to see if my placenta was detaching.  After a super long wait everything was fine but my platelets were on the low side but nothing to get to excited about.  Mine were 115 and they are suppose to be 150-450.  I was sent home to be on bed rest for a couple days and no heavy lifting.  All of which seemed and was impossible with a 30 pound 2 year old.  I avoided lifting Willow but staying off my feet was not really in the cards. 

Yesterday for my birthday I didn't really do much.  We went to the house and saw the little progress that has been made.  I so want this house to be done before Thanksgiving!  In reality I don't think it will be so.  I can only hope and pray. 

I finally got Willow into her swim classes this week.  That will get us out of the house along with going to my new MOMS group activities.  Maybe I will be so busy I won't have time to think about how much I want to be back in Nebraska. 

My funny of the week is that I got a text from a number I didn't know and the lady asked me what I thought of the dress in the photo and she asked me to be honest.  I replied that I couldn't really tell from the pic and asked who she was.  She apologized and said she had the wrong person.  I then told her I could still give my opinion.  She explained the dress to me and I gave her my thoughts etc.  It was a lengthy convo.  Then she asked what I was doing for the game she didn't want to be stuck at a tailgate all night because she didn't fell that well. (the number was from Nebraska)  It was hilarious. 

Home Sick

Another week down for the books.  It has been an emotional one for me to say the least.  It was a bad week to start off and then it got better for sure.
Wednesday we made a little trip to the hospital unexpectedly.  I hadn't felt the baby move like it normally does, which is like a little kick boxer trying to make it's way out.  I felt he/she roll around but not like it's normal kicks.  I called the Dr's office and they were quick to respond.  I was told to drink a big cold glass of water and lay down for an hour and count at least 6 kicks.  Well I didn't get my "quota" in.  I called Tim and told him to meet me at the hospital.  I am less then thrilled about the hospital we will be having this baby at due to the location.  It is not ideal for emergency situations for how far away it is.  I get there and notice we have to pay for parking.  I was beside myself.  Really?!
I get checked in and they hook me up to the heart monitor for the baby.  I was so relieved to hear that fast heart beat!  All the way to the hospital I was worried about what would happen if things were bad.  What would we do with Willow in case we had to have the baby now.  I know the baby is viable at this stage but I don't want to be spending my days on the I-10 back and forth to see my new little one till he/she gets home. Then what do I do with Willow when I go to the hospital for visits.  Oh my head was spinning from the what if's.  I am just thankful everything is alright.  The nurse said the baby probably moved to my backside and I wasn't feeling the kicks like I had been.
Thursday was probably the roughest day for me yet.  I felt to lost!  I didn't know what to do with myself or Willow.  I tried to go outside with her but she didn't want to be out there.  I don't blame her.  there is nothing to do in our backyard.  There is nothing but rocks!  "...Here honey, go run and jump in those rocks...."  I know of nothing to do around here let alone where things are.  I didn't even have a clue what to be making for dinners and I love to cook.  I was so down on everything!  All I wanted to do was cry and go to sleep. I miss home so much.  I miss my friends and family, my house with a grassy yard, the neighbors with kids and I even miss my job. 
Later that night we went to dinner with our new Uncle Bill and Aunt Kaye, our landlords.  They wanted to treat us to dinner.  It was really nice to have a conversation with someone and to get out.  I picked this fabulous steak house and I can't wait to go back again.  Willow behaved really well for us which is always nice.  She typically does well for us around other people.
When we got home we noticed out light out front that flashes was on.  This light is for emergencies around here.  I guess when you have something wrong and need help you turn the light on and the sheriff's posse comes to check on you.  Willow must have turned it on before we left and the Sheriff's posse was waiting for us when we got home.
Tim went to work SUPER early Friday morning (2 a.m.) to check out a process at work that they were doing to make sure it ran good.  He didn't get home until Friday evening about 8:30  I even made him tacos for dinner and he wasn't there to get them freshly made.  Now me making tacos for the taco head is a big deal.
Before Tim got home I had another little visit from the Sheriff's posse.  Willow had turned on the emergency light AGAIN.  Needless to say that switch is taped up now.  Little sneak.
Tim sent me out alone yesterday to run errands and to get a pedi yesterday which was really nice.  We ended the day watching a movie as a family, something that was new for all three of us together.  I can't believe Willow actually sat there and watched the whole movie.  She even had her own bowl of popcorn.
Today we went to check out a new church for us to attend regularly.  I guess there are 2 campuses for this church that are fairly close to each other.  We got to the one that was holding the service we wanted to attend.  When we got there we were directed to the other campus due to a water main break.  SO it was kind of chaotic.  We sent Willow to a class for her age group, which she seemed to have a good time in.  It was nice and they have all kinds of activities and functions for people throughout the week.  There is a meeting for people that are new to the area to meet other people and get to know one another.  I am sure we will be attending there again.  I need the sense of community and a resource for me when I need something. 
So here's to a good close to a bad week.  Let's see what this coming week brings me, it should be good it's my birthday this coming week.  Could it get any worse? 

Willow's birthday outfit

The new bubble machine she got for her birthday

Our fried chicken picnic we had at the park

This is how I found her this morning before I woke her up. 

A Two Year Old, Wiener and a Pussy

Ahh my life is complete now that Willow is here and it is giving me a run for my money.  She was acting ornery before but now that she is officially 2 it is like she is a different person.  Whew, good thing I got pregnant before this new attitude or I would have said no way on another child ;)  She is still telling me no and it has to be her way or no way.  Getting her dressed is a chore and I am not physically wanting to chase her around. 

Beans was here with us for a couple days and that was another task at hand.  Both Willow and Beans were chasing the cat around.  Poor cat really had no where to hide.  Before he would retreat to the basement, but there is no basement here.  Willow just wants to pet him so bad she will cry about it.  Simon does not care for her at all.  I think the only person he really likes is Tim. 

Yesterday was a really trying day for me around here.  The vet appointment I had supposedly didn't exist but they could get me in a half hour earlier then the appointment I thought I had.  Good thing I called to get their fax number to get that all figured out.  Beans would not go to the bathroom outside for me.  It was like she needed grass to go on, the rocks were not cutting it for her.  SO that tells me we need to have a little patch of grass for the dogs to go on.  It was frustrating because I did not need her peeing on the carpet in our rental!  When I got to the vet and was getting Willow out of the car she puked.  Ahh I couldn't turn around and go back home.  So I put her in the only clean thing I had in the diaper bag,  a t-shirt.  We get back home and Beans is still not going outside.  Put her in the kennel and thank goodness I did because the landlord came by to drop off a new entertainment center.  After he left I tried again to get Beans to go outside, surprise! she would not go.  Brought her in and then she decided to relieve herself.  I was so mad!!! My day was just all out of sorts. 

Today I took beans back to Corbin and Whitney's.  They live way on the other side of Phoenix; literally on the other side.  It was early this morning and it took forever because of traffic.  I was almost there and Willow pukes in the car again.  I am chalking it up to car sickness and just eating before we left.  All weekend we were in that car road tripping and she didn't get sick.  So I will wait awhile after breakfast before we get in the car again.  Washing the car seat can be a pain in the rear and then putting it back in the car.

Sleeping at night is really hard for me.  The only comfortable position is on my back.  I know your not suppose to do that this far into the pregnancy.  Tim is constantly catching me sleeping on my back and making me roll on my side.  If lie on a side I get this pain in my ribs on the side that is down. It is strange.   Needless to say Willow's nap time is also my nap time. 

Willow has been really good about sleeping in her toddler bed.  She has fallen out once so far.  Yesterday's nap time was a battle though.  If I didn't have the gate up I am sure it would have been worse.  At night she has no problem laying there and not getting up.  We have been so blessed with her sleep habits I just hope the next child is as good if not better. 

Don't really have a funny story this time.  It is more of a cute little Willow story.  When we went to pick up Beans from Corbin's she walked in and pointed to the wieners and said clear as day "that's mine!"  She hadn't seen them for a month and was so excited.  It's crazy how sometimes her words are so clear and other times you have no clue what she is saying.  Oh well she will get there. 

Ups and Downs

So I can say I have had a little more than a week here in my new city, and a big city it is!  I had new appointments with people, gone to new places without Tim and figured out how to get there.  Okay so I had some help from the GPS.
My first OB appointment was okay.  Don't know how I feel about the new guy who I will be getting personal with.  Right now is not the time to be shopping around and looking for a new one either.  He was friendly but I have high standards coming from my old OB.  I think I have high standards when it comes to all my doctors.  I really like them a lot and the new person will have a lot to live up to.  Is that a bad thing?  Everything is right on track with this pregnancy.  I supposedly gained only 2 pounds in a month.  I am sure it is not correct considering they are different scales.  We talked about when I would deliver which sounds like a huge possibility of Thanksgiving day.  The 3 days prior he is out for some court duty he does.  I would like to do it on one of those three days but we will see.  The move in date of the new house is going to be a factor in this too.
When we left the appointment was where it got ugly.  To get there it took me 50 minutes.  To me that is far away in case I ever have an emergency.  The doctor said there was an easier way to get there, which was to use the 51, you can get off right there close to the doctors office.  Well me, who has no clue as to where I am going, turned the wrong way and could not find the 51.  I drove around trying to find a major road that would get me back to home base.  I had Tim following me since he met me there from work. I am sure he was like where is this lady going?  It took us an hour and twenty minutes to get home.  Was not really thrilled about that one. But my husband is great and I love him dearly for going with me, despite the tour of the "bad" part of town that me and Hilda (the GPS) took him on.
When I started looking for a pediatrician I looked at location as one of my criteria.  There is no way I want to be driving far with a sick child.  Finding one close to home that has affiliation with the Children's hospital is challenging.  I want to go to Children's in case the need arises.   I have worked in to many hospitals that have a pediatric floor but really I  think the nurses and ancillary staff are at a loss when it comes to the kids needs.  Just my opinion.
I started back up with my pilates here at the Lifetime gym.  If you don't already know I am really a believer in the good that pilates has done for me.  I started it back just a couple weeks before I got pregnant.  Since then I have had minor, and I say minor, back pain and I have kept lots of weight off. I have had back pain since I was pregnant with Willow. At 20 weeks I actually was one pound under my pre pregnancy weight before I had Willow.  Now that is something to be happy about.  My instructor in Omaha, Rachel, was AWESOME.  She would tailor the class workouts for me as I got bigger.  She was just wonderful.  Another person I was scared no one could hold a candle too.  Well, I was right.  The new instructor who is the head of the pilates is soooo not for me.  I guess there are 4 pilates styles and she was nothing like Rachel.  The class was totally different and I was so lost.  I think I about teared up in class wondering what the heck I was doing there and why I was paying her extra money for this.  Needless to say that started my day off wrong.  I said I wouldn't give up and give her a chance plus the other instructor might be better.  I would be taking her classes on Friday's  Thank the Lord she was better.  She did a lot of things Rachel did and I actually was sore from the class.  I can't tell you how happy I was about that.  I wanted to praise her and give her a HUGE hug after class.  Phew, got that going for me.
Another first for me here was my hair.  I bought a groupon for a cut and color.  It was close to our house and I thought it was reasonable enough.  I am used to paying  close to nothing for a cut and color PLUS wax back home.  My really good friend has been doing my hair for over 15 years!  It's not like I do crazy things with my hair but I don't want some newbie that is going to color it and ooops sorry that is not the color I meant to give you.  Plus sitting there for over an hour talking small talk gets kind of old.  She did a great job and I would go back to her.  Not sure if I will after we get into the new house since it is not that close to there.  She really likes the bling!  I think she had glued rhinestones onto everything imaginable.  Her mirror, apron, trash can and her little supply cart.  It was over the top for me.  Oh well she did a good job though.
This weekend Tim and I went to Pasadena to the Husker game.  It is only 5 hours from here.  The game wasn't all that exciting as you fellow Huskers know.  The Bruins fans are rude and I can't believe some of the stuff they did.  One guy kept saying Sandusky was a ButtHusker.  He kept saying it over and over.  It annoyed me for many reasons.  I am sure he uses that in some way for every team they play against this season.  Then after the game some guy came up to Tim and I and said " F you Nebraska.!!!" at the top of his lungs.  That was like out of left field there.  Really?  Your team just beat us and that is what you have to say?  I should be saying that to you.  They were just dumb.  Sitting there on the bench was killing me.  There was like no room and I swear I had the smallest rear end of everyone sitting there and I am pregnant one.  There wasn't even room for my boobs.  I noticed the bench in front of us, which was all men, had plenty of room.  They were not touching each other at all. Then all of a sudden at 4th quarter someone came to their seat and sat down in that row and there was STILL room in between them.

Around the stadium is a golf course and that is where everyone parked.  It was a very large golf course and I think we were parked the farthest back.  It blew me away that we were parking on everything but the putting greens.  It didn't look like a crappy course either.  Getting out of there and to the hotel was long.  We had no clue where to go and the GPS would tell us one thing but the police directed us elsewhere.  When we did get to the hotel I was in heaven because it was a king size bed!  Oh how that little extra space makes a difference.  In Nebraska I was using 5 pillows and had the king bed to myself.  Here I have maybe 3 pillows and a Queen bed I share with Tim.  Sleeping here is not as good.  I got some good sleep for sure after the game.
According to Tim there is some funny things that I have not been sharing on my blog that he thinks need to be written down.  One story is about when we went to the work party right when I arrived here.  There was a main bathroom just right off the living room that everyone used.  When I went to use the restroom I was looking around and noticed there was no hand towels and then noticed no soap by the sink.  I was in awe.  So next to the toilet was a shower curtain and I was like I will get some soap out of there.  I was also thinking of how it was odd that there was a shower in this bath room because it was no where near a bedroom.  (Yes I think of weird things.  You will also think I am weird because I noted that the baseboards in the bathroom were very dirty.  What can I say I look at those things.) Anyways, behind the curtain was a wall!  They put up the curtain to make it look like a shower.  Shower curtain rod with curtain rings and all.  It was weird.  So I just decided to wash my hands in the kitchen.  Ahhh there was not hand soap there either!  I had to use dish soap.  I was so grossed out.  Then to find out the lady who lived there was a Respiratory Therapist really topped the cake.  She should be so used to washing her hands all day and in the habit of doing so.  I was beside myself.  I told Tim there was no soap or towels in the bathroom and he said he thought he saw a towel in there. Tim and I went in there to change after we were done swimming and I had to show him the fake shower.  I knocked on the wall with the shower curtain and asked if he noticed this.  He was in disbelief himself.   His face was something to be seen.  The whole thing was pretty funny and I still can't get over how I never saw hand soap in the house, at least the parts I went to.  Annnnnd then there were the guys jumping off the balcony into the swimming pool, really, it was straight out of a bad frat movie!
Oh to end this long blog I will leave you with some pics of Willow on her camping trip with Chris and Carol she went on this past weekend.  Tim and I were jealous we were not there.  Can't wait to see her on Friday!  I have missed her so much.
Sorry for the long entry again.  Maybe I should blog more often then each entry won't be as long.

Notice who is drinking who's drink.

Here For Good

Ahh there is so much to say.  I have not blogged for awhile and a lot has transpired since I got here last Friday.  I spent 2 weeks in Colorado with the sudo parents.  That was nice and relaxing.  I didn't have to really do much and nothing to stress out about.
Tim came to Nebraska to drive me to Colorado. The packing and moving of the stuff in the house went great.  I didn't know what to expect but the movers were GREAT!  I was kind of bored doing nothing while they did everything.  It was a guy with his oldest son and daughter.  They looked rough around the edges but worked their butts off and were really nice.  I would not want to mess with the girl.  She packed and moved around all the stuff in the basement by herself.  There was some heavy stuff down there.  The dad saw how much stuff we were not putting in storage and suggested he could make an extra stop and drop it off at the rental house. He said that way Tim wouldn't have to drive the trailer over the mountains.  That was super nice of him!  The extra stop did cost us extra that the relo company would not pay for but it was cheaper then the U Haul trailer and Tim wouldn't be spending more on gas.  It was perfect. 
We got to Colorado late Friday night and all hung out for a couple days. Saturday we wanted to go to the Denver Flea Market which an excellent place to people watch!  Chris and Carol bought Willow a bunch of stuff she didn't need.  Some of which was jewelry.  She is a girly girly for sure because she is constantly wearing the bracelets.  She loves them. 

Willow was playing with Chris and Carol's dogs which are little West Highland Terriers.  They are not used to being around little kids and really not sure of Willow pulling on their hair.  Well one of them didn't like her pulling to much and bit her in the nose.  Holy hell broke loose for awhile but after a piece of licorice all was better and thankfully she still likes all the dogs!  Whew. 

Her bite marks on her nose and the licorice on her face.

Tim left us on the following Monday morning to drive back to Arizona with my wieners. (man i miss those little things)  He got up early and wanted to wake Willow to say goodbye.  Oh my, I have never seen her get upset when one of us leaves.  She was crying and I knew it was killing Tim since he had not really seen her that much. 
Willow and I just hung out for 2 weeks and enjoyed the mountain air.  The weather was nice and warm but not scorching like I knew Arizona was.  I read 2 books in one week which has not happened in a long time.  Willow got spoiled even more and I even got a massage.  I wasn't as great as I wanted it to be.  When I was pregnant with Willow I got several massages and it was on a table that had the cut outs for my belly and boobs.  It was nice to lay on my stomach and fully enjoy the massage.  At the place I just went to it did not have the special table.  I laid on my side while she massaged one side and then I turned over and she did the other.  Oh well.

Notice her new pretties on her arm.

I flew to my new home on Friday and left Willow with Chris and Carol for 2 more weeks.  It will be nice to get some things done with her not around and get acclimated to the place so I can get her ready for the change.  I also have my appointment with my new OB on the 4th and I don't have anyone to watch her while I would be there.
I stepped out of the airport, which was a mad house, and instantly thought what am I doing here?  It is fricking HOT!  Oh well, I agreed to it, right?  We got "home" and I was in awe of how much stuff was needing change around here.  Tim's bachelor life was ending that moment.  Things that I had trained him not to do he reverted back to.  Like not putting the seat to the toilet down (huge peeve of mine) and putting a whole pan of food in the fridge instead of putting it in an appropriate container.  There was all the moving boxes of things that needed to be put away in the living room waiting for my arrival. The funniest thing that I saw was the cat and his haircut.  Tim said Simon had been throwing up hairballs a lot and decided he needed a lion cut to maybe help with the puking.  He tried to give him some pills to sedate him like 3 times and he wouldn't take the pills, finally on the last try he took it and Tim waited a while for pill to set in.  Well when Tim turned on the clippers it must have been a buzz kill because he didn't like it one bit.  Tim tried his best but it looks horrible.  I compare it to someone on chemo and they are losing their hair in chunks.  It has grown out some now.  Tim said the tail he got a little close and it looked like a rat tail.  It was really a good laugh for me to hear the story of how Tim did this.  I would put up a pic but it would not do it justice. 
Yesterday I had no time to get to those boxes because Tim wanted me to see the house and the progress.  It is going to be big!  Tim just informed me that we will have 2 air conditioners.  Yikes, did we get in over our heads?  I thought some rooms would be bigger in my head but I am sure it will all work out fine.  The lot is huge and I can't wait for the back yard to be finished. 
After we looked at the house we went to the store to get things for the party that Tim's co-worker was having.  Tim wanted me to make something special because I guess they go all out with food at the parties they throw.  Not having my recipe holder I had to go to Pinterest.  I found a Carmel Apple Cheesecake Bar recipe.  I was really at a loss with making that because things here are limited.  I was searching for measuring cups and spoons.  Tim said I could just eye ball it.  I was like no way!  I did find the spoons and only a liquid measuring cup.  Let me tell you measuring out packed brown sugar in that is not ideal.  I then moved to the cream cheese part and needed to beat in the sugar and eggs. Not sure if the cream cheese wasn't softened enough or the mixer was just a turd but the beater broke off the beater stem.  I was like great, so I used what god gave me, my hands.  Yes I did.  I mixed the cream cheese with my hands.  It worked.  Oh how I missed my Kitchen Aide mixer.
Last night we went to this party with Tim's co-workers.  They were really friendly and everyone gets along great, something that I noticed at Tim's former job was lacking.  The house had a pool so the kids were swimming at first then the adults got in and things got crazy.  You would have thought we were at a high school party.  People we drunk and doing crazy stuff.  Crazy like jumping off the balcony into the pool!  I was seriously waiting for blood to be spilled!   It was a good time and it was really nice to meet people that Tim work with.  It seemed like most of them had moved here to work for Celgene from far away places too.  I got to drive home, lucky me.  I have decided I don't like to drive here.  The interstate is like 5 lanes wide one way and people are crazy drivers!
Today I finally got to tackle all the moving boxes.  Tim told me to slow down but I couldn't.  I haven't really done anything for 2 weeks and it felt good.  I got all the stuff put away, rearranged stuff and got Willow's room ready.  We got the TODDLER bed put together so that will be an adventure.  I rearranged the closet, sent Tim into shock and actually put things away.  Tim has this thing about doing something and not cleaning up after himself.  Something we will be working on. 
I can't wait for the new house to be done and to have my own things!  Especially my big bed and all my kitchen stuff.  I am very thankful for the temporary living arrangement but there is nothing like your own stuff.

Check out the kids mullet behind Tim.

T - 3 days

My world is being turned up side down right now and it is going to be a crazy ride.  Today I started packing up the stuff we don't want the movers to put in storage.  Had to think about what we will need for Willow and in case the baby is here before we are able to get into our house.  Packing my clothes was not that bad since my wardrobe is limited these days. 

I am going to miss a lot of things here that I will not have in Arizona.  Mostly my family and friends.  Some of the things here that seem like everyday stuff is going to be greatly missed.  For instance, the change of the weather.  I love fall when the leaves turn colors and the air smells so crisp.  Then spring when everything turns green and seems so new.  The green grass will be scarce in the desert.  I guess there are barely any clouds so those puffy white things in the sky are probably something little kids there have never seen, just like snow.  One huge thing is going barefoot.  Willow and I both love going outside with no shoes.  In Arizona we need to be weary of scorpions and the HOT cement.  I will not be able to let out my little dogs unsupervised in the yard, even though it is fenced in.  I guess coyotes will eat your small pets.  So that also means I will have to hear Simon at the door wanting to go out.  He will definitely be dinner for a coyote because he wanders off.

Oh so many changes and things to do.  I need to find a doctor for Willow and the new addition.  I got Willow in early to get her 2 year check up done so I am not rushed to find one when we get there.  I got to find a new vet for the dogs too.  I know I am going to be busy trying to find all these different people.  Thank goodness I will have 2 weeks before Willow gets there to get some of this done.  

Had a going away party/unBirthday party for Willow this last Sunday.  It was good to see my friends and family one last time before I leave.  Plus it also gave me a chance to give away somethings that we are not taking, liking our canned goods.  I hope to replenish my canned goods down there.  That might be awhile though, till I figure out how to grow things with the strange seasons. 

There are also so many things to look forward too with the move.  I won't have to clean the snow off my car or wait for the windows to defrost.  I will have a nice color to my skin year round, even though that could be a bad thing.  I won't have to worry to much about bugs.  I can grow a lemon tree in my backyard and make freshly squeezed lemonade!  We will be living closer to new and exciting things, like California and the Grand Canyon. 

So here's to the new chapter in my life!  I am thankful I have a great husband and daughter to experience it with.

Here is Willow with her some of her great gifts she got from everyone.  She really loves the doll stroller!!!