The Grass is Always Greener...

Just a few of the conversations I've had this week at work have come back to the old saying "the grass is greener on the other side" and it is funny how many situations this saying applies to. There is always something we want that we don't have.

My thought process started this week when I was talking to my coworker about how much Chris and I want a house, and how we feel stuck in our Condo since the economy plummeted and our house lost value. How many homeowners 5-6 years ago (when we bought our place) would have ever thought that renting for 5 years would be more beneficial than owning a place for 5 years. Because that is the situation we are in. If we were renting, we could just leave/ not renew a lease. But No, we have to sell and most likely take a loss if we do. We feel stuck.

Then I was talking to a coworker about her life and her new purchases since she just bought the new iPad and was telling me how excited she was playing around with it. She is a single girl living with roommates making RN wages (we aren't millionaires... but we do alright) and she just got back from China doing charity work for Operation Smile. It was her second time.

As I was driving home I was thinking about all the places she has been and how she not only has the money to do so, but the free time as well. Her rent is probably 1/2 or even 1/3rd of what my mortgage is. And she can buy a new iPad if she wants.

However, that is a narrow way of looking at it. I look at her situation and see the freedoms I used to have and how I have sacrificed some of that to be a wife and mom. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a wife and mom (I wouldn't trade that), but there are some things you have to sacrifice to do so. I read a post on Pinterest that said, "You know your a mom when going to the grocery store by yourself is a vacation". There is some truth to that.

But what it really comes down to is looking at the WHOLE picture.

My work friend has expressed a desire to find a good guy and get married. So maybe she looks at my life and sees that? Who knows?

Maybe Chris and I's situation with our Condo isn't ideal, but there are families in my ward with 2 or even 3 kids... (with more on the way) that are in a 2 BEDROOM CONDO.... that bought their place for more than we bought ours. There are family's just barely getting by with one income. There are family's where both parents have lost their jobs and have little education to fall back on. And I'm complaining that my 3 (soon to be 4) person family is "running out of space" in my 3 bedroom condo. There is always someone in a situation worse than yours. It really puts things in perspective. I am humbled a lot talking to people in my ward.

I'm glad that we do desire more for ourselves and look to others for inspiration. That desire helps propel us forward. Without it we would never progress. However, we do need to keep things in perspective. That way we can be grateful for what we have, while we work for our dreams.

#2

So, for those of you who don't know (or haven't see the little "creepy baby" counter in the corner of my blog... as some people like to call it):

Chris and I are expecting baby #2 in September!

I am very excited to have this new little life coming to ours. We had a rough year last year, but despite all of that, we have had so many blessings! This baby being one of them.

It is strange how different this pregnancy has been from Max. I was so sick with him. I threw up nearly every day, was so nauseated all the time, and was taking zofran from 10 weeks to about 24 weeks.

This one I have experienced some nausea, but it usually goes away when I eat (That DID NOT happen with Max). I have not taken one zofran pill, nor anything for nausea. I have felt overall pretty good besides the absolute exhaustion I feel nearly every day. Like I could sleep all day. Then I can't sleep at night. But I don't want to complain because so far this one has been easier.... even with a 2 year old in the house. (Maybe someone is watching over me)

The 2 year old on the other hand... has challenged me in ways I never realized. He is striving for independence and does not like to do anything that is not HIS way. I understand why it is called the TERRIBLE two's. So many power struggles each and every day. Some days I lie in bed fearing that I can't even handle the one I have, how on earth am I going to handle 2! But like all challenges in life, we figure out a way. It is a learning process and it won't always be easy, or go the way we imagined. But that is Life! All you can do is try to enjoy the ride, however wild it may be.

But even with our challenges, I sure do love my son. He makes me laugh every day. This is his future "blackmail picture".

He found my bra and a swimsuit insert in my underwear drawer and used them as a necklace and hat. He kept saying "hat" and putting it on his head. So funny!

He also does this silly dance whenever music comes on. I call it his "white boy dance" because it is so funny and sorta awkward looking. He sorta moves his arms like a monkey and rocks back and forth. We were watching American Idol the other night and he just kept doing his little dance and laughing because Chris and I were laughing. If I ever need a laugh, I just think of his white boy dance.

He loves the outside! I swear he would live outside if he could. I try to take him out on warm days, but I really dream of one day having a fenced in backyard where I can let him run free without having to chase him so he doesn't go in the street, or the Jordan River, or some place scary. He loves the slide, and when Max finds something he likes he does it OVER

 and over 

And over 

and OVER

Again!

I am so excited for the future with Chris doing really well at his job, a baby on the way, a sibling for Max, the possibilities of going part-time soon, and the dream of a house.

By the way, if you know any one looking for a great 3 bedroom 2 bathroom condo in a central valley location then let me know. We are hoping to get our place on the market this summer. But who knows?

TWO!!

Max is 2!

I wanted to have a fairly low key year considering last year was so eventful as well as lots of things going on in our lives simultaneously. So we decided to have a dinner party with all the immediate family that lives in state. My parents, my MIL, SIL Lori, and Chris, Max and I. We had delicious ham, cheese potatoes, salad, fruit plate (Max's favorite) and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Max loves fruit (especially strawberries)

He always has a spoon or some kitchen utensil in hand. He loves playing with utensils. Sometimes I wonder why we even buy him any toys. All he needs is a kitchen drawer and some utensils and he's entertained.

He actually tore open his gifts for the first time. He loved doing it to. It was more exciting than the actual present!

He loved the party stuff. The horn and especially the BALLOONS! This boy LOVES balloons.

My Mom made him the most beautiful quiet book for church. He loves playing with it. Especially the "shapes" page. He know all his shapes. Even an Ot-ta-ta (Octagon).

He got books mostly and a cool helicopter from aunt Lori.

It was so cute to see him react to having all the people he loves in the same room. He was on cloud nine. It was nice to spend time with family and have a low key birthday.

Monkey See... Monkey Do

So Max is in a very mimicking phase. He loves to copy what we do. Anything from vacuuming, to sweeping, to washing our hands. I can work it to my benefit sometimes. For example, he didn't like wearing his snow mittens. So I sat down with him for about 30 minutes with my snowboarding gloves. I put them on like it was the funnest thing to do in the entire world and cheering and laughing. Then he wanted to put his mittens on and join in the fun. So we proceeded to take our gloves/mittens on and off and cheer and laugh. It was great fun to him.

He also loves being like his Papa (Grandpa). My Dad showed him how to beat on some drums and make a funny face. So now every time Max beats on the drums he makes the same funny face. It is hilarious.

But most of all, he loves being like his Dada. He has watched numerous times Chris put hair putty in his hair. And Chris has even put a little putty in Max's hair to make it spike up. So for about the last 4 months Max has been putting multiple substances into his hair. This includes Neosporin, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Soap, and Diaper Cream. I usually catch him doing it before he gets too many swipes in his hair. But it has happened multiple times even though I tell him he isn't supposed to put these things in his hair.

Well this afternoon he was playing so I decided to do the dishes. He disappeared into our bedroom so I went to check on him. He was just playing with his spongy letters on the floor. So I went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes. I noticed it got really quiet... which is NEVER a good thing when you have a toddler. So I went to check on him again and this is what I found:

It's Bag Balm, an uber greasy substance that has multiple uses. I use it for Max's Diaper Rashes because it clears it up in 1-2 days. Chris uses it on his patches of dry skin. Since I use one for Max's butt, I bought Chris one of his own for his skin. Max got a hold of Chris's nearly BRAND NEW tin. It was Everywhere!

When I first discovered him I panicked and grabbed the tin and started trying to get as much out of his hair as I could by scrapping. Then as I was running his bath I thought... I need to take a picture, because I knew even though I was incredibly upset/angry at the time, I knew someday I would want the pics. So I grabbed my camera (with a towel as my hands were INCREDIBLY greasy) and snapped a couple of pictures. (Pardon my messy bathroom)

Here is when I found him with toothpaste he was trying to put in his hair:

Anyway, I have washed his hair multiple times with baby shampoo and my clarifying shampoo and even tried Dawn thanks to my FB friends suggestion. It is still very greasy, but vastly improved.

Stinker.

The Plague

I wish I could be posting all the fun Christmas festivities that our family enjoyed over the holidays. But instead we had a low key Christmas due to the fact that our family was stricken with a virus that I have coined "The Plague".

Chris got ill at the beginning of December. He was still recovering from a cough/cold that he obtained while out in Boston in November. He developed a fever that peaked at 104.9 and was very ill. We got him in to see the Doctor and they told him he probably had caught the flu and gave him some Tamiflu and sent him on his way. He was very sick for about a week, but had to go back to work after 2 days because he could no longer miss any more days. He finally started feeling a little better.

Then the Sunday after he started feeling better, I got the worst food poisoning. Nausea, Vomiting, diarrhea, and the worst stomach cramping. I could barely get out of bed. And Chris developed a sharp pain on his left side that hurt every time he took a deep breath. When I listened to him I felt like he had a pleural rub. So both parents were incapacitated. Thank goodness for my mom and dad for rescuing us by taking Max to their house for a sleepover so I could rest and recover from being poisoned and Chris could rest. He went to the doctor the next day. He got a chest x-ray. Results = Pneumonia. So he started antibiotics.

I was frustrated because we have all been so ill multiple times in 2011. When were we going to catch a break?

Then the following Tuesday I was at work. I started feeling nauseated and tired and feeling really crappy in the afternoon. By 5 pm I had a fever of 101.5. I felt awful. Over the next five days I continued to have a fever, body aches, and malaise. And the worst was the coughing. Instead of having a normal "tickle" in my throat that makes you cough, I had chest tightness that left me feeling short of breath most of the time. I feel like I've developed some asthma symptoms. Instead of having an audible wheeze, every time I cough afterword it would sound like there were pop rocks (or soda bubbles) in my airway. I coughed so hard that my diaphragm hurt and I hadn't slept well for 3 days.

So finally on Christmas Eve I drug my butt to Instacare to see a doctor and get meds. I felt like they gave me the usual run around. Could be pneumonia. Could be a virus that there is not treatment for. But it's so hard when your suffering and you just want relief! I had a chest x-ray which showed bronchitis with a RAD (asthma) component. I got antibiotics and a narcotic cough syrup. Finally on Christmas Morning at about 2 am my fever broke. I woke up in the biggest sweat where my hair was soaked. But no more fever at least. I am still coughing and have some chest tightness to this day (3.5 weeks later).

Then poor Max.

He was about 2-3 days behind me. He had fevers for 8 days total. After about 7 days of fevers I brought him to the pediatrician where he had his nose sucked out and the doctor said if his fevers continued to see them in 2 days. I went to work the next day and Max was with my mom. She said he had a fever and didn't want to drink all day. When I saw him that night he was really working hard to breath and very restless. He had the same "pop rock" cough that I had. I wrestled with the decision whether I should bring him to the emergency room (It was about 10:30pm). The MOM in me wanted to take him in to somehow give him relief. But the NURSE in me wanted to wait and see. Because I knew he wasn't bad enough to be admitted. He was breathing hard, but I could here air movement throughout his lungs when I listened with a stethoscope. I figured that they would probably suck out his nose (a small form of torture) possible poke him if he needed IV fluids, put him on a pulse oximeter to watch his oxygen levels, and send us home 3-4 hours later. So did I really want to sit in a ER (without Chris who could not miss another HOUR of work and needed to stay home and sleep) After a nearly 13 hour shift and RUIN Max's entire night of sleep just to be sent home. So I just decided to watch him. He finally fell asleep and I listened to his lungs, and watched his breathing for about 20 minutes before I felt comfortable enough to go to sleep myself.

The next day I took him in. He was looking better, but still breathing kind of fast. We got a Chest X-ray for him and gave him an albuterol treatment. Then we were sent home with some antibiotics. His x-ray showed viral process with an RAD component.

So in December ALL 3 of us had "The Plague". All 3 of us had fevers, horrid coughs, chest x-rays, antibiotics, and at one point or another wanted to die.

But we are slowly recovering. Slowly I say because Chris caught a minor cold after the plague and Max now has it and I have been suctioning buckets of snot out of him. But we will get better and hope we don't catch anything else.

It wasn't a very Merry Christmas for us, but I am grateful for family. Especially my parents for helping us out so much through this, even if Christmas was not the same for them with 2 of their 3 daughters not in town/home for Christmas and their only daughter who is... completely incapacitated with illness. They are amazing.

Here's to Hoping that 2012 will be so much better, and HEALTHIER!

E-Christmas Card

Well,

I always have good intentions of sending out a Christmas Card. I ACTUALLY did it last year. But Alas. Christmas will be here in 6 days and I haven't even mailed out my Christmas gifts to my sisters and sister in law. And I have to work the next 3 days. So...

I will have to do a Blog Post/Christmas Card again this year.

Here we go.

This year started off with a pretty traumatic event. Just 4 days into it we had the notorious Tylenol PM incident that gave Max his very first ER visit.

But he also learned to walk. Which may or may not be a good thing. Because now he runs away from me any chance he gets! I can't believe he's only been walking for a year... seems like he's been walking forever!

Just a day before Max's First Birthday Chris was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. A little atypical for someone his age, but not crazy rare. He has been doing well making changes to his diet, being aware of carbs, and taking his insulin. He has managed it very well.

Max turned 1 year old.

Chris completed his final classes at the end of April getting his degree in Network and Communications management. He worked hard and I am so proud of him!

To celebrate his graduation, both our Birthdays (Chris turned the big 3-0), and our 5 year anniversary we went to Peurto Vallarta for some much needed R&R. I got to sleep in for the first time since Max was born! 

Chris officially graduated in June and he spent 2 and a half months looking, applying, and interviewing for jobs.

He had interview for a job at Skywest (Where he was currently employed) for an IT job. It was going to require a lot of travel. He really wanted it and was a pretty good candidate. He interviewed on a Wednesday and was supposed to hear their decision the next Monday. He had another interview on Monday and was hoping to not have to go to it because he wanted to have the Skywest Job. When he didn't hear from them, he went to his interview at EMC. He came back telling me about what a good company it was and now he was confused which job he wanted. On Tuesday he got a call. But not from Skywest, from EMC wanting a second interview the following day. He spent all night preparing and studying for questions they might ask. On Wednesday he went to his second interview and they offered him a job. And as he was accepting it Skywest was calling him on his phone to offer him that job. But EMC offered him a really good wage, as well as lots of opportunities to advance in a fortune 500 company. We are so grateful that Skywest hadn't called on Monday when they said they would. Or else he would never had interviewed at EMC. And our lives would be so different!

Life is busy now. Chris works during the week and I work weekends. We are both working full time right now in effort to save some money.

Max is a busy boy. He loves to be active and explore. He loves to be outside. He has an unexplained obsession with the moon. He loves looking in the sky and looking for the moon. He also love's "Sta" (Stars) Maybe he'll be an astronaut one day?

I can't believe he is going to be 2 in a few months! He loves shapes and knows all of them. He finally started calling his cup a "cup" instead of a "Ga". He knows all of his body parts. He loves "turtow's" and "Efa's" (Elephants) and Sha (Fish). He loves to throw tantrums if he doesn't get what he wants. I have been working on my ignoring skills, but it is hard sometimes. He is just a spoiled little boy. But he will give you kisses whenever you ask and he really brings so much joy to our little family.

We really have had an eventful year. I have called it our year of illness, because despite the fact that Chris got diabetes, we have had multiple colds, Chris had the flu and pneumonia and I got food poisoning last week. So I hope that we are done for awhile.

Here's to 2011 and hoping 2012 will be amazing!

November Events since I didn't blog...

So....

It's been awhile. Again.

Not sure if I am good at this blogging thing anymore. I think that Facebook and Pinterest have crowded my Internet time. Not to mention precious time that Chris and I actually get to spend alone together. Not to mention the time I can actually watch what I want to watch instead of Baby Einstein, Sesame Street, and Super Why. But I do like to blog. I mainly do it as a photo/journal of what is going on in my life. As well as documenting my feelings at the time.

November

Chris left for Boston for 18 days in November for special training at the headquarters of EMC. It was difficult for me to be a single mom. Juggling work, baby sitting, Max's endless energy, and household things I can typically get out of like taking care of the cats (food and litter box) and taking out of the garbage were all me. I was lonely at night after Max went to sleep. I woke up at least 2 times every night while he was away. I sleep so much better when he is here. I would get scared often and find myself startling at shadows or even my cats thinking it was something scary. It was hard. I am glad he is home.

But a really exciting thing happened while he was away! On 11-11-11 my little sister, Sara, got married to my brand new brother (in law) Spencer. I have never had a brother before and I am so excited!

She was married in the Draper Temple and than had her reception at the University of Utah's Museum of fine arts. She was beautiful and it was a very special day. I am gonna miss her now that she is in California for good, but I know she is happy and she picked a great man. Plus her roommates (now ex-roommates) were absolutely AMAZING. They hadn't even known her for more than 2 years, but contributed large amounts of their time and energy to her wedding. I was way impressed and glad that they are out there in Cali to help take care of her since I am so far away. She has surrounded herself with good people.

Max getting his groove on.

It is hard to take pictures of a toddler that wont sit still for more than 2 seconds!

My little man Max is now 21 months old. He will be 2 years old in a couple of months... crazy!

He is an active little guy. Always on the go. In fact, I feel like the older he gets, the more energy he has. It is exhausting!

Max is absolutely fascinated with everything around him. Watching him discover the world is so fun. He is in the mimicking stage right now which is so cute. Except when he tries to clean the toilet with the duster because he thinks it is like the toilet brush. In fact he is quite fascinated with the toilet.

I have tried to use this stage to my advantage to get him to try new foods, to brush his hair and his teeth, to let me put his shoes on. I have even got him to sit on his little potty as long as I am sitting on the big one. I honestly don't believe potty training to be anywhere in the near future, but I might as well get him used to the idea for when it is time. 

The one thing he loves to mimic is putting things in his hair like daddy does. He's watched Chris put putty in his hair so he wants to do it too. Trouble is he has used daddy's putty as well as neosporin, diaper cream, and toothpaste in his hair.

Here is the toothpaste:

  

He missed most of his hair and it was just on his forehead! Ha ha ha

We went to free day at the zoo with my friends and their kids. It was fun even though it was FREEZING! Max really loves the train and the carousel. I can't wait to take him on more rides at either Lagoon or Disneyland. I can tell he will love them. He loves elephants and lions.

He never wants to let me change his diaper or get him dressed. It is a constant struggle every time. Here he is running away from me. I was just lucky to get that diaper on! 

Spaghetti face. He loves "noodows"

When I look at this pic I get the sense that this is how he is going to look when he is older. 

I put up Christmas today. I was going to do it right after Thanksgiving, but delayed it a little due to Max's high energy and enormous sense of curiosity. Even while I was putting it up he managed to take 5 ornaments down and kicked the "balls" (meaning the glass balls) across the room. I just hope I can put up with 2 and a half weeks of "don't take it off the tree!"