Life away from Home

I really should be more faithful to my blog and dedicated about posting stuff, but I'm not. Because I am just too busy to even get around to it these days. Life has been in the fast lane since we moved to Connecticut. This past year has been quite the challenge for my sweet Adam and my marriage, because of all the stress we have been under. Don't worry though Sean and I are still going strong and Adam is doing better then he was before. I will kind of sum up the past few months in reverse, so bear with me. This past week my poor sweet boy fell off the bottoms of the stairs and broke his clavical. He cried for about an hour in a half and I felt the need to take him to the doctor's and sure enough he had a fractured it. He is doing better, but is still in some pain and that makes it tough. He sure is my little trooper though and is being tough. Also, he has a smile on his face by the end of the day and that lets me know he is surviving.

Sean has been busy with school and has finals this week, so he is super stressed and having to deal with Adam means no sleep for both of us really. Audrey is doing really well and will be starting Pre-K this fall. She will go to school five days a week for half the day and I am a little sad about it. At the same time I am not sure what I am going to do with myself, just having one kid home. I think it will be a time for me to focus on Adam a little bit more and have mommy-son time.

As for me I am working as a Gymnastics coach and helping out with the competitive team, so that has kept me busy. I really am just trying to get by with life right now. It has been all to challenging lately. If it is not one thing it is another thing and it feels like I can't catch a break.

Adam is going to be my child that gives me gray hair, because of all the health issues he has had this past year. We have been in and out of the E.R. several times, had hospital stays, surgeries and numerous doctor visits that I can't even keep track of. He is going to see an Immunologist in about two weeks and we will see how that goes. I will have to blog about his health record later though, because frankly I am tired and need to catch some shut eye. I really hope life can show me a little bit of sunshine soon, because I need some positive rays right about now.

A quick update of our lives

These pics are from last October when we had are last family pics. We are due for some again soon. I will post some more updated photos of kids hopefully next week.

I have a lot of catching up to do with this blogging. I have lots of updates about the kids coming soon and lots of pictures. We are now living in Connecticut!! Anyways, I just wanted to post something for my husband and kids. I love my family dearly!! I am glad that I have them in my life and cannot picture my life without them. I feel so blessed to have such a dedicated husband who is a hard worker, who loves me and understands me for who I am. Lately he gets me presents each holiday and without fail he will get me something from Victoria Secrets Online Catalog, which I think is super sweet. I really like there clothes and think it is even better that they come to me in the mail, so he can't go wrong there. The clothes are always a perfect fit too! It is just nice to know that he thinks of me and remembers how important it is to make me feel special as an individual. Thanks, babe I love you!!

My kids are doing great!! Audrey is still a very spirited young girl and is my little miss sass with spunk. She loves to play with barbies and horses. Lately, she has been interested in watching spiderman which is funny to me because she is such a little princess. She will be five in October and will start Pre-K at the elementary and attend school five days a week, for half the day. It will help prepare her for full day kindergarten the next year. For her fifth birthday she wants to learn to ride a horse, so it will be so fun to see because she loves horse a lot.

Adam is now 20 months old!! I can't believe he is nearly two and how much he is already acting like he is in his terrible two's. He really has such a sweet spirit to him and always gets a smile from anybody he sees. I don't know if it is his contagious smile, or his spiky mohawk hairstyle that gets more attention. He is starting to say lots of words like, hi, hello, bye bye, da da, me me for (mommy). He can also, says turtle, fish, shoes, car, ball, flower, tree and others I can't think of right now. It took him a while to really start speaking a lot, since he had constant ear infections and his hearing was muffled until he got tubes in his ears at the end of December along with his adnoids out. He has had a lot of health problems in the last few months, but has been such a trooper through it all. Just in March he had his tonsils removed and that was such a hard surgery for him to recover from. I love my little man and his cute personality.

As for me I am taking each day one at a time and trying to make it through the challenging times in my life. Connecticut definately has been an adventure so far, because of the all the trials we have been through as a family. I think it has been one of the toughest trials of my life with having a husband in school full time and dealing with a child who has had health problems, which has not given me much sleep at night. Also, being away from home and not having family around has been tough, because I miss them so much! I know I will make it through this and will grow from my trial. Sean has had a rough go as well and I hope he know how much I appreciate him dealing not only with his trials, but for helping me through mine. He is a such a strong person and helps me through the hard times in life. I only hope to do the same for him and be supportive like he has been for me. I love you hun, forever and for always. :)

Anyways, here is some pictures. Hope you enjoy. After this post I may blog about a lot of the past, so I can remember sweet things in life.

5 years and still going strong

It is our 5 year anniversary today!!! I can't believe how quickly time flys. Marriage so far has been great and Sean and I are very happy. We are going to Connecticut next week to go find a place to live. It is amazing the steps and leaps we are taking in our lives and it only gets more exciting each and every year of are marriage.

similac recall

Tonight, I just found out that the similac product we have been feeding Adam is a part of a huge recall and to make things worse he has been drinking this formula for over a week, or two. Apparently, their was beetle and possibly beetle larvea in the containers that had the formula in it. This is so gross!!!! Not only is this gross but it causes the babies that were drinking it gastrointestinal discomfort and among other symptoms. I've notice over the past week, or two that Adam has been extremely fussy and he has not been sleeping well and has been moaning/groaning nearly all night long. What would we do to comfort him, give him a bottle and change his diaper. I feel awful that I did not resolve this problem sooner. Adam has not had a huge appetite either and is just all around irratable. I know he is not teething, no teeth surfacing right now. I have officially taken him off of the formula and hope he will take to real milk better, since he is old enough now. I spoke with a representative from the similac hotline on the phone tonight about the container I had that is apparently infested/contaminated with beetles. She said that I should return it immediately and that the company will reimburse me once it has been received. I asked her about symptoms, or if it could cause a greater health risk. She said that it usually only causes gastrointestinal discomfort, fussiness, no sleep, loss of appetite and that it should clear up as soon as I take my baby boy off of it. Which I have already done. The thing that bothers me is what if his symptoms persist and what if it possibly causes a greater health risk to my boy. I may be overreacting, but I feel like them wanting me to return the product is to protect there hyneas from any lawsuits, because then they will have the evidence of the contaminated product. Especially if someone's child were to get some other illness, or disease from the beetle that was found in the formula. Why not, just tell us to throw it away. I guess it would defeat the purpose of the recall and reimbursement.... I called the doctor's office and the medical assistant told me that it should not be a problem, unless symptoms persist. As if they haven't been going on for the past two weeks I had told her!! Just wait it out, for a couple days she tells me. At this time I was fuming and still am a little disappointed with how the whole situation with the recall is being handled. Because the lady at the doctor office said it is probably some other virus. I read another story about a lady who had an infant on similac that had been throwing it up, and that the doctor's office said the baby was probably sick with something else. We concerned parents are just being pushed aside since this is such a big recall! 5 million cases of formula are being called back and similac is expected to lose 100 million dollars from the outcome. Why doesn't the company tell us what kind of beetle that was found in the formula and also, if it may carry some kind of disease us parents should know about. I am just a worried mother right now and for all you mothers out there you know that is what we do best when it comes to taking care of our children. I don't worry all the time, just not pleased with this recall at all. Anyways, if you read through this whole blog about the recall, bless your heart for listening to me rant and rave about it. I am sure other people feel just as frustrated though. ....

Funny stuff about the kids

Okay I decided my last blog was a bit dramatic, so I wanted to lighten the mood on this one.
Funny thing that Adam did about a week ago, he is playing with the phone and I noticed that someone was talking on the other side. I just hung it up. I noticed the number he had dialed was 9111111. After I hang up immediately someone calls back on caller I.D. it said it was the Layton Police. I answer the phone and they said that someone had dialed 911. She asked if we needed any help and if everything was okay, before I had a chance to speak. I told her that my son had been playing with the phone and that we were all just fine. She asked me my name. But she could at least chuckle with me about it when I said my baby had done it, but still how embarrassing. Now it is just a funny story and a reminder for me not to let him play with the phone. =)
Audrey in the past couple of weeks has been asking me where her tooth has gone and has actually gotten upset about it on occasion. I kept telling her that she had all her teeth and that she was not missing a tooth. The other day she was sitting in the sink in the bathroom looking at her teeth and I realized why she thought she was missing. She got all upset about it again and said the Dr. took my teeth I need it back. Come to find out she was upset about her gap in her front teeth and thought she was suppose to have a tooth there. Funny girl I just laughed at her and told her she just had a gap in her teeth and that she was fine. We are going to see the Toy Story 3 movie tonight, Yay for movie nights. Anyways, that is all of the funny stuff I can think of for now.

Overwhelmed

Okay, I am just venting to myself and typing is a nice way for me to release my stress and frustration with my own self. I have been selfish and unfair to my family for the past couple of months. I have been putting myself in a position where I work so many hours during the week, where Sean is coming home early three times a week to watch the kids, so I can go into work... Really I have been self involved! The kids, my poor kids have been dealing with my nonsense and complete chaotic schedule for the past couple of months. I have been tense, stressed and am finally giving up my crazy schedule to spend more quality time with my family. I am going to get myself a more manageable schedule and only work a few hours a week. Instead of working nearly a part time schedule that is scattered all over the place. Also, I am going to stop doing so many favors for people because people never seem to return the favors to me and kind of take me for granted. I am one of those people that has a hard time saying "No" but when it comes time for me to ask a person for a favor they don't seem willing, or eager to help me. So I have decided to say "No" more often because in the end it will be more healthy for my family and I. I guess what started all this craziness was me wanting to feel more self-reliant on myself and to have a life besides being a stay at home mom. I mean for all you mom's out there I am sure you know what it feels like to stay at home all the time and want to lead some other kind of life. Well I kind of tried to be in two places at once to often and it burdened me and my family. I love my kids and husband and I want to be a wife and mom who is there for them and someone they can rely on. Over the weekend I was able to go stay with my sister in Idaho for a night and two days and when I came home my husband told me that he could not be a mom. Really woman are meant to be the nurturers and not the provider, because men obviously don't have what it takes all the time to stay at home with kids and be a mom. Don't get me wrong I know in today's society that both husband and wife have to work in some families just to make ends meet. Plus there are some Men out there that are great and can stay at home and take care of kids, but if I had to trade it around I feel like I could be the provider and my husband could be the nurturer of the family, because it is not easy to be a mom. We moms put up with a lot constantly and for all you mothers out there try and stay strong for your kids and husband. I could just be a stay at home mom, but I choose not to because I feel I need to have a balance in my life and if working just a couple of hours a weeks helps me do that, then that is what I am going to do. I am so thrilled to cut my hours back, it will be nice to lift that burden from my life. Anyways, if you read this far into my overwhelming nonsense I appreciate your putting up with my venting. My goal for this next week is to cut my hours back to two nights a week and one morning a week. Instead of three evenings a week, sometimes four and two mornings..... Plus I am going to make my husband dinner to come home to all of next week. He will be thrilled. Oh did I mention I think I might have a stress fracture in my ankle from jogging the other day. I am going into the doctor this week to find out, because my ankle keeps on bothering me and I am praying that it is not a stress fracture. If it is there is always a possibility that someone with a stress fracture has to have surgery to resolve it. I hope none of that is the case. .......

Moving

We are moving!! Well not right away, but in January 2011 we will be moving to the east coast to Connecticut in just about seven months . Sean got into a Nurse Anesthetist program their that he had applied to last summer and was just made an Alternate candidate for 2010, but the school reviewed him for the 2011 year and wanted him to come there. The school called him up a couple of weeks ago. After about a week, or two thinking it over he accepted there offer to go to school there and is anxious and excited to start. It is crazy how life can change and turn a different direction one day and the next we know we are moving across the country and altering our lives drastically. Seriously, the day before we received that phone call for schooling we were talking about possibly building a house here in Utah and Sean was thinking about doing a MBA combined with a Masters in health administration. I'm so proud of my husband for all of his hard work in getting this far in school and his career it has been such a long road for him and by the time he is done with school it will be eight long years behind him. The exciting thing about moving out there is it will be right on the coast and about an hour away from New York City and there is so much history out there and will be fun to visit some sites. The downside is there is no family, friends and it is not a familiar place to us at all. I know it will be good for our little family to experience this next step in our lives and will help us grow even closer together and rely more on one another, but I am still nervous.

Las Vegas Trip

We went on a family trip to Las Vegas this past weekend! Now why would we go on a family trip there, because there is a lot to do for free really. I have never been to Las Vegas and we wanted to go on a short inexpensive trip and we were able to do just that. The first day we just drove and got into our hotel and drove down the strip and it was so awesome to see all the creative hotels and different buildings, quite a characteristic town. We stayed in the renaissance marriot hotel and got a great deal through priceline!! The next day was Friday so we went to the secret gardens and dolphin habitat and it was mine and Audrey's first time seeing some dolphins, so it was really neat for us. The trainers had the dolphins do a short show for us and it was so awesome to see these amazing creatures in action. We also got to go see some white tigers and lions that were there, along with some Llamas. The tigers were very intriguing and active for the day time, especially two white tiger cubs which were play fighting. I will post a video of that. After this we decided to go for a drive through the city, because both of our kids fell asleep. We ended up going to the Las Vegas Temple and walking around and taking pictures it is nice to know there is a place to go to feel more peace away from the mayhem of that city. The next day was Saturday and we decided to go to the outlets and go shopping which was a lot of fun!! That following night we went to walk around the strip at night and go see a few free things. We went to the M&M factory and that was a blast! It was so fun to see all the different things the M&M factory had to offer and we even saw the Red and Yellow M&M guys that you see in commercials. Audrey thought they were a hoot! Right next to that was the Coca-Cola factory and they had some really neat stuff there as well. Sean bought himself a shirt with a coca-cola bottle and in the middle of it said: Its all about the package. Yeah he thinks he is pretty humourous!! After that we walked over to the Fountains at the Bellagio and let me tell you how gorgeous it was to see those, I must say it is a must see when you go to Vegas!!
The next day was Sunday, so we decided to get away from the city and go to Hoover Dam. We thought since our GPS said it would only take about 45 minutes to get there that we would be there and back in about two to three hours. Well when we got there we sat in traffic for about an hour in a half just to go six miles to see Hoover Dam. Sean told me that Hoover Dam is considered one of the ten biggest engineering projects in the world and is really popular because of how big it is and how much electricity it generates out to the surrrounding areas. It was really neat to see and to think that before it was built all that was there was just a river.... We stayed and walked around for about an hour and then it took us about another hour to drive home, so it literally took us all day to do that and we were spent by the end of the night and ready to sleep. We went home the next day, but had planned on doing so much more. We wanted to go and see the pirate ship show and circus circus which is a free circus and go to museums and the light show that they have in the old downtown street of Las Vegas, but maybe another time. We enjoyed our trip and were happy to spend some time together as a family. I will say that it was amazing the difference between night and day in Las Vegas, literally night and day. During the day it is much more family friendly and a different atmosphere. At night there is a lot more commotion, crowds, ignorant people, but for the most part people were really good watching out for us with our kids strolling around with us. I saw one guy there that was dressed up as Jack Sparrow off of Pirates of the Carribean and that was pretty funny. The one thing I hated about Vegas is that at night there are guys that make a clapping noise and hand out prostitution cards to people with woman on them. Fortunately for us the men did not try to pass out the cards to us and at least had enough common sense that we were there on a family trip. I later learned though that it is illegal for them to pass it out to people that could be minors, so they have to be very careful and seeing that we have young children probably scared them away. I really really wanted to go see the Phantom of the Opera and a Magic Show that they had there, but it would have been to difficult to do those things with our kids. We hope to go back to see the Phantom of the Opera, I have been dying to see it for years. Anyways, thats how our trip went and we enjoyed it. Now to burn off all those calories I got from the road trip down and back. =) Hope you enjoy the pics!!! My computer will not be download anymore pics for some reason to this blog. Maybe it is to long. More pics to come. =)

My silly kids

We are all finally healthy!!! Hooray! Sicknesses please stay away and never come back!! If only, that is how it could be...... My sweet kids are so cute together I had to post a little about it. Audrey is always reaching out to hold Adam' s hand where ever we go in the car, stroller and sitting on the couch. Adam is always smiling at his big sister and his eyes light up when she acknowledges him. On the other hand they still have there corks. Adam will pull Audrey's hair if she gets to close and try and eat it, while she says let go of my hair. Audrey tends to think that she is doing him a favor when she takes away his toy and gives it back to him, which makes him a little mad. In the big picture my kids are the best of friends right now and it is so cute to see them play together. As I type right now, Audrey is hugging and talking to Adam while he giggles at her. I hope they can continue to be such good friends as time passes through out the years.
Adam is now 6 months old and weighs in at 16lbs 7oz. He has only gained about a pound in the last two months, but I am not to worried because he is still a lion compared to what Audrey was as a baby. He is 30% of his height, 40% of his weight and 70% head. Adam's growth rate has slowed down, but he was sick on and off the past two months. He is developing quite well and is at where he should be at six months. He can sit up, eating solids, starting to say vowels like aaaaaa, blows bubbles, rolls from his tummy to his back, reaches and grabs for things really well, bares weight on his legs and is a smiley little guy. He really is such a happy baby it is so nice.
Audrey is still my spunky little girl who is growing up so fast. She loves playing pretend and likes playing puppies, horses, dolls and all sorts of cute stuff like that. She enjoys going to preschool and has developed quite a bit from that and she just started a tumbling class about a month ago and loves jumping on the tramps and into the pit and just running around period. She has so much energy, but is learning to channel it into her play instead of just running around in circles like when she was smaller.

On the road to recovery

I hope it is safe to say that my kids are on the road to recovery health wise at this point. Last week Audrey woke up in the night and literally was screaming all night long, so we took her into the dr. and she had a double ear infection and still had her croupy cough and fever at that time, last Wednesday. The Dr. put her on antibiotics and she is done with those now and seems to be doing a ton better. Well in the meantime, Adam started developing the same symptoms she had with a cough and a fever and seemed very irritable. On Saturday of last week we took him to the dr. office to get checked out because his cough had worsened and was a very wet cough and he seemed like he was having difficulty breathing at sometimes. We just wanted to make sure he did not have RSV. We discovered that he had Brochiolitis. Bronchiolitis is swelling and mucus buildup in the smallest air passages in the lungs (bronchioles), usually due to a viral infection. The Dr. started Adam on Nebulizer treatments and we put a little mask on the little guy about every 4-6 hours and give him albuterol to help the inflammation in his chest. The poor little guy is miserable! At this point we do not want to go anywhere else for the rest of the winter. He will be on these treatments at least for the next week and until his cough clears up and when he does not wheeze while breathing. All the things that have happened in the last week could have been worse, so we are grateful that we have been able to keep Adam home and not have him be hospitalized. We have been to the Dr. office so much lately and want to stay away for as long as possible, but Adam does have his six month appointment coming up at the beginning of March and his follow-up appointment with the Ears, Nose and Throat Dr. Anyways, we are on the road to recovery and hope nothing else comes our way, but when it rains, it pours right.