AGAIN!?

I have strep throat case # 194,294 .... AUGH!!!

If you have time...

..... watch this video ... the facts this guy brings to the table about energy/oil/our country are amazing. Really brings light to a few topics ... it's an hour long and the guy rambles during the first half, but he starts getting to some very interesting things halfway through. Anyway ... it's worth it to watch ...

New Bike

Yesterday we got Maysen his first bike. As the summer days have clicked by (where has it gone?) we’ve watched Maysen play with other kids in the neighborhood and there is only so fast you can swing those legs around on a trike. He was having a hard time keeping up with the kids and he was ready. So he’s now a full-fledged neighborhood bike rider with the other kids. And he loves it! He has some trouble getting up our drive way and other small inclines around the street, but he’s working that out.

Jenn and Garrett were here on Thursday. We had a lot of fun meeting Garrett and hope we get to see more of him. He lives in Montreal, Canada so we have given him a hard time about moving to the states vs him taking my sister away!! He’ll have Maysen and Fin to answer to! We hung out, played poker and Scrabble (which our ending scores were amazingly close!), and then Friday we went Belknap Springs which was gorgeous! It was Jenn’s last full day with Garrett so we headed home and just as they were leaving it was discovered Jenn’s car was broken. Her belt had fallen off due to an oil leak, so you can imagine how frustrated she was. Thank goodness for small towns! As we were getting her new belt, a couple of guys standing behind us at the parts store offered to come and help. They helped us get the new belt on and at least get Jenn and Garrett back to Portland. It was a fun visit, besides the breakdown.

We picked up those teething biscuits yesterday and Maysen could never tear through one of those. They’re sort of designed to be sucked/chewed on and not just break up. Not only does Griffin tear into them, he breaks them up and chews them like nobody’s business. And MAN are they a mess!!! We’re talking bath time after he eats one of those. He’s pulling up on everything and even using his walker some. I didn’t think he’d be a quick walker like Maysen who walked at 9mo, but I’m starting to think different. He’s not quite 8 mo and he’s pulling up on the couch, pants, chairs, baskets and now even using the walker a tiny bit. So we’ll see!!

I’ll leave you with a photo of Maysen and Jurny playing in the sprinkler. This just solidifies my point that I have a nudist child, who looks like a prancing horse.

Take Note ...

That I have added a "Subscribe to my Posts" link on the bottom of the right hand of your screen under Blog Archives. You are now able to subscribe to my blog and you'll get an email when I update, etc. Feel free to subscribe ... and maybe then I'll call off the strippers I had arranged to show up at your door if you didn't subscribe. Total. Nude. Strippers. Try explaining that one to your spouse (MwwwaaaaHHhaaaaahaaa .... wait, isn't that the 2nd night of scary/insane laugh? Sorry.). No I'm only kidding .... but feel free to get notified when to stop by. Ok. Now I'm officially beating a dead one. Horse, that is .... night!

Commonality

This is Jenn, my sister. One of the things we like to do most in this phase of our lives is go on photo shoots together. This was one was done a few weeks ago when she came up for my birthday. I used to think that to be close and have things in common, that meant that our lives had to have the same things going (husband, kids, house, etc). But, we're sort of at a weird point in our lives where "lives"-wise, we don't have much in common. However, the stronger things that make us sisters is what we have in common - and that is our sense of humor, our hobbies, and what we find AWESOME in movies. Those things will remain no matter what is going on in our lives. I think having a sister is the coolest thing in the world. I have no one else on this planet that I can relate more to -- and that has nothing to do with the fact that we're on different life paths now. It's truly comforting.

I'm excited for her because she has her man (Garrett) here this week from Montreal, Canada. They are going camping and then coming to our house to visit for a night. I'm excited to meet Garrett and let him view the crazies up on this side of the family! MwwwaaHaaaaHaaa!!

I mentioned we went to the beach this weekend to escape the heat. Well, we went from 834 million degrees to 62 and fog on the beach. Yeah, one extreme to the other. I have mentioned before that I am a sick, sick person and actually like the coziness of fog, rain, and cold so it didn't bother me. We had a great outting and before heading home we stopped at to the outlet mall and I totally scored! Who spends $ 57 at Gap and walks away with over 10 items?! Of course that meant today was dedicated to cleaning out closets and getting them rid of too small clothes and the new ones in, which were school/fall clothes for the boys'.

A cold front is moving in bringing much cooler temperatures, which can only mean one thing when you bring massively hot temps and mix it with rain and cooler weather. THUNDERSTORMS! And that means I'm going to go sit on my porch - at 1:00am - and watch the lightshow for a while....

Ba Bye!

We were going to head to the county fair today, but considering it's going to a million and a half degrees outside, we decided to head to the beach!!! See you on Sunday .....

Foster Lake

Our first official family camping trip is complete. Now, I have talked before about my non-desire to seem homeless in the cold woods eating nuts and berries, so this was my type of camping. We had just bought a huge tent to accommodate 6+ people. We fit our queen sized air mattress (complete with down blankets), our port-a-crib, and Maysen's bedding all in this thing. Dad and Jo were traveling through Oregon on their way to their new job in Southern California, so we met them up at Foster Lake near Sweet Home, Oregon. We fished, swam, had fires, and had a really good time.

Ok, I did have some nuts and berries packed away - but it was in cereal form which was housed in Dad's 40ft 5th wheel complete with shower.

Doesn't he look cozy?

Fin actually slept all night long until about 6:00am. But he'd go back to sleep until 8:00am. The only thing that was not-so-desirable is that there was a Weyerhaeuser (the company Nate works for) right near by and .... they work. All. Night. Long. So, we had blazing lights, trucks blaring, and fire alarms (??) going all night. Besides that, we all slept well.

So, let me back up. Although this was a great, fun trip, it was a rough week. On Wednesday I had another "attack" like I did last month. The pain was different and I immediately ruled out kidney stone. It felt like I was having a charlie horse in my uterus. I knew that I needed to get to GYN. Nate rushed home from work and by then the pain had calmed down but I still wasn't feeling well. Thursday I left for camping feeling better, but really sore. I had a call into my doctor, but she wouldn't be in until Friday. They called me back on Friday while camping and they were setting me up with a pelvic/abdominal ultrasound.

We came home on Saturday. Nate took a different way home, since he had his truck there (he had come up after work and I'd been there all day) and he called me about 5 miles from home that the transmission in his truck had gone out. He had called a tow truck and they were on their way. That'll be a nice $2,000 bill - if not more. He had to ride the bus to work yesterday and will be renting a car through his corporate card until his truck is fixed.

Sunday we went to the coast with dad and Jo - their last day here. It was a gorgeous day on the coast and I regretfully didn't take my camera! There was barely any wind, blue sky, and about 70 on the water. We got home around 4:00pm with intentions on going to dinner, when Jo fell ill and had to immediately leave without saying goodbye.I hear she is feeling better, though which I'm thankful for.

I had my ultrasound yesterday and Dr F called me today to let me know that overall it looked ok. I did have a cyst on my left ovary, but it looked intact (hadn't burst or anything). She feels that I am ovulating through my birth control, which could be causing the painful ovulation (because I'm not supposed to ovulate!) that coupled with the cyst. So! We are going to look at changing my BC so I don't ovulate. I know some of you didn't need to know that, but there you go!

Need to leave, as it's time to pick up Nate. I'm so glad we have 2 vehicles ... just wish they both worked! Until next time....

Charles Manson

As I worked for my old doc last week, I updated him on the latest “happenings” around my house. Specifically the dog/pooping incident described below if you were lucky enough to have missed that particular posting. He informed me that I had incidentally misspelled Maysen’s name, and missed an “N”, for MANSON. The most recent lovely incident with Maysen had not yet happened, which would have solidified his comment. It happened like this:

Papa and Sherrill happened to be over visiting, when Maysen decided he needed to show them his new fishing pole we purchased so he can fish with Grandpa Dave when they come this week. He was gone for an inappropriate amount of time, and when he reappeared into the house, Nathan says, “Maysen! What is that on your face?” You see, he had happened to “pass by” the black spray paint on his way to the fishing pole, pulled the cap off, and the nozzle (thank goodness) happened to be pointed in a weird position. Thankfully, it only got half his head. Yes, he was covered in black spray paint on the right side of his face/head. Papa and Sherrill were here to back up our true testimonials on the livelihood of raising our darling Maysen.

I haven’t posted any pictures of Fin’s latest two teeth. He is our “Two-Toothed-Tooter”. Try that one real fast 5 times. He is now crawling warp speed when he sees something he wants, and will pull himself up on your hands if you put them in front of him. He wants to be walking so bad and cranky while crawling as if to say “this is SUCH a waste of time”. Sounds like a grouchy old 80yr old.

After getting our hopes up when a realtor called to do a private showing over this last weekend, we spent 5hrs on Sunday cleaning. When the time came for the realtor to come, he called saying his clients were “no-shows”. Augh!!! Last night we talked with our realtor and agreed to come down $6K. In the meantime, we found a lot we are in love with, and after watching 2 others we loved sell while we’re waiting, we’ve decided to do what we can to just buy it that way it is ours when our house finally goes. We’re required to come up with 20% down cash (OUCH), so we’ve been busy and stressed with that venture. Onward Ho!

We're getting a lot of use out of our Wii. Here is Nate, boxing! Tomorrow we are going camping with my dad. They have left KY and after stopping through Kansas to visit Jo’s family for a few days, they entered Oregon a few hours ago. We are meeting htem at the lake tomorrow and then they’ll follow us home this weekend where they’ll remain until they find new jobs. So nice to have them back.

I think that’s it for now, and Swimming Lessons are calling my name. Until later….

PS: Our thoughts and prayers are with my sister-in-law’s family as they mourn the loss of her grandmother. Drive safe, have a safe trip, and we love you!!

ERROR!?

If anyone is having problems with IE stating "Internet Explorer cannot run site, Operation Aborted" or something to that effect -- the problem lies with Sitemeter and their new migration. Read more about it here. I temporarily deleted my SiteMeter, and it has resolved the issue with me.

Plastic HooHa

Before y'all flag my site for pornographic material, pause and read full post before doing so. CAUTION: Adult discretion is advised!

So, growing up "Camping" to us was the "stay in the RV, make s'mores, shower every night, clean bedding, leave your shoes at the door, come in and watch a movie"-Camping. When I married into the S family, I quickly learned that I was very jaded in my views of what this term really means. I heard the words "no shower, tent, blow up mattress? HA!, nuts and berries for dinner, water filter" .. wait, WHAT?! You mean .... homeless? I soon learned that this was "fun" for the S family and being the new member in, I'd better think this was hunky-dory as well. That was, until I wasn't so fresh in the family and just said what I felt, and that was there was really no cold day in hell I'd be participating to that level.

To show some sportsmanship, we visited REI, which is a really neat/fun store. However, as we're mingling through the $8,388 sleeping bags (which I learned you needed a $2489 fancy cover called a "bivie" to go over this ridiculously expensive zippy blanket), I stumbled across the above "item". Unfortunately Mase was with me and he spotted it just as I had, except in the store, the front of the box actually shows a lady wearing it, in an illustrated form. I heard it. "Momma!! What's that???" ..... beads of sweat start to form as I know what this appears to look like, but there must be a more reasonable explanation. Finally I have to read that it simply is for the "convenience" of women for urination. This way, they don't have to squat in precarious positions to pee. Ohhhhh, I see ..... so jacking the tube out of your zipper as you let 'er flow standing up would sure make me more happy to be a woman. Ahh, the conveniences out there for us ladies these days!! And in a way, I totally get it and there probably are some women who swear by these, but to just stumble onto something that looks like ... well, a makeshift plastic penis, if you will, was quite shocking. I left the store with 3. (kidding).

On another note, Nate told me today that as of next week he has ALL of Friday off now. Up until now he's been working long hours during the week, and only going in for a few hours Friday morning. That's been nice, but with gas $4/gall, the commute time to the office for 3hrs seems silly. So, he's going to work 10hrs all week and then he gets a 3-day weekend every week! I've told work that I'm really free a lot of Fridays, so they've been asking me to do some triage which is fun to get back and dust off the nurse hat.

Today was one of those days I was glad that I "have" to work tomorrow. It entailed a lot of poop: Maysen picking through dog poop, pooping on the floor to watch the dog's reaction (we all know what that was), "wiping" consisted of leaving a 2 ft "extra" of toilet paper, and just as I was picking up Fin I hear "thump-thump-thump", then passing breeze. I turn in time to see toilet paper in mid air whip around the corner as I hear squeals of delight, "I've got a wipe tail!". Thank goodness for my neighbor who relieved me of my duties after hearing my tales of woe. I got a 45min nap. I love Jackie!

With that, I must prepare for work, as it is 1am. Until next time ....

PS: Happy Birthday, Jess!! This is really what I got you for your birthday. Oh, and can I borrow it, too?? Do the pee-swap. That is, unless you want to constantly wear it? Hehehe, ok. I'm losing it now. Love ya birthday girl. Hope you had a good one!

Keep 'em going!

Maysen ended Session 1 of swimming this summer and starts his second session of swimming lessons tomorrow. When he first started, any feat he conquered was made known by the “thumbs up”. He LOVES lessons and although he plays the rebel by not wanting to stay on the steps (even being made to get out of the pool – how humiliating!), he does really really well. This coming week is the first week of the new time and he’ll go M/W afternoons now.

That’s good because I have enrolled him into karate, which are on Thursday evenings so that pretty much has him doing something every day of the week except Tues/Fri. Those can be recoup days. I know, I know … he’s only 3. But you don’t understand this kid. He is soooo wound up that he goes BONKERS inside the house. It’s been rather warm so not a lot of kids to play with outside and if I let him in the back, he destroys things when he’s alone. He doesn’t mean to, but “I think I’ll get out the hose and chase the dog …. Which means she’ll blow through all mom’s flower beds and rip up the grass” … or “think I’ll play train with the hose and drive it along mom’s trenches which happen to be filled with flowers …. Well, were”. Things like that. Bushes knocked down, missing fence boards. *sigh*. We even just recently bought a Wii. I don’t know who likes it more, me or him. The games are so fun, and very addicting. Boxing rocks my arms, girls! So … try it. Your husband will love you for it, and you can shape those arms while he’s gone. I’m also hoping karate will be a success.

Remember my bummer of a post about my dad and Jo leaving California and moving to Kentucky. In a weird twist of events, they are no longer there, and are taking a few weeks off for a needed vacation and are heading their way (slowly) back here for some visiting. They are working toward getting their old jobs back down in California, but that could be a few weeks out, so they’re taking this time to see family and just relax while driving their big beast back up here. It’s a brand new 5th wheel that unfortunately there have been a few mild set backs to them just busting out of KY, but hopefully it’ll be fixed tomorrow and they can start heading our way.

I hope I hear from the realtor tomorrow! Not getting my hopes up, but we had a real prospective buyer so I’m hoping we hear something this week (tomorrow would be great!).

So, I need to get my tires rotated. You’d think that would be simple. Well, not only is the task complicated by having 2 children aboard staring at you like ‘ahhhh c’mon mom! Lets go!!” I find out as I’m made my best attempt to take care of this problem that “they” can’t do it for me, because apparently my van is equipped with sensors on my tires that notify me if my airpressure is low in one of them. Therefore, that requires me to go somewhere else who has a sensor re-calibrator for post-rotation. HUH?! This is too damn complicated …

Longwinded, no point post as always … and it’s 130am. Gee…. oh, and PS; Fin is 7mo old today. Updated baby blog complete.

Dentist

This week has been a long one. Nathan was back in Denver for some leadership training. He and his supervisor went, and while there, his supervisor asked him if he'd like to lead a group of contractors. When Nathan first got out of college he got hired on at W as a 1yr contractor because they were doing some huge massive project. He was one of 20 that were hired for the year. He left after his year and they tracked him down when they were able to hire him fulltime/permanent. Now they've been approved for another huge project, and now Nate's been sorta asked to lead a group of contractors. Huge promotion if that's the case, so that was nice.

While it was great he had a successful time there, that meant that I was home alone with both boys. Needless to say, I have great respect for single mommies. It was an exhausting and trying week. In the middle of it, Maysen had his first "real" dentist appointment. Last week he met Dr Page, but this appointment he actually had a cleaning. The above picture is him having his flouride treatment. He absolutely LOVED it!!! He can't wait to go back!

Another great adventure while Nate was gone, is that Fin's 2 bottom teeth were born. FINALLY. He's been drooling for 2 months so that's finally over with for now.

My birthday was great, by the way. Nate and I snuck away for the afternoon and watched Get Smart (FUN-EEE!), then ate spaghetti. It was short, sweet, and to the point -- I think it has to be that way with 2 kids!

Tomorrow is another Open House. I'm a tad disappointed in our realtor, only because I feel like I have to contact him always. I understand I am a very hard person to work for. I expect a lot, often too much, when I'm paying you for a service. I expect you to call when you say you'll call. I expect you to be 3 steps ahead at all times. For example; "Not this sunday, but next Sunday we'll do another Open House. I'll call you about Wednesday next week to go over details." No call. So finally I email last night. By noon, still nothing (and here it is FRIDAY). So I call, twice, and finally 3pm he returns my call and the open house is TOMORROW. So, things like that. We are in a contract with him until October and if it hasn't sold by then, we'll probably take the house off the market until next spring. I certainly hope it sells, but not holding my breath. There were two lots we wanted to build on, if our house sold .... and one of them is gone. Luckily it was the lesser of our favorite, so the one we would like is still for sale. That was a month ago we found them, so I doubt it'll be around much longer. Torture! The last open house didn't go so hot, so Mike has sent out post cards with our housing information on it to the public (not sure his formula as to who got a card?), and he said he usually gets a good turn out with that. We'll have to see ... One thing is for sure. I'm tired of living in a 'staged' house. It sort of has to be, because realtors can call/come at last moment's notice. But when we pile all our stuff away, it's amazing what I've lost.

Will let you know how tomorrow goes.

Slip-n-Slide Day

Today was a hot summer day and we celebrated by getting a new slip-n-slide before swimming lessons. After our quiet time we put it out front and the whole neighborhood came by!

We had watermellon and took turns with the Super Soakers and water balloons. This is one of the many perks of living here; it's one big family. It was great fun!!

I'm not sure if I killed by grass or not, but you can sure tell where the slide was!!

Tomorrow is my birthday, the big 2-8. Nate is getting off work early and we're heading to Portland to have dinner at one of my favorites . We'll probably go to a movie afterward, but we're playing it by ear. The boys are staying here with Nate's mom...so it'll be a date day for Nate and I.

Maysen had his first dentist appointment on Tuesday. He did great! He was actually excited and when Dr P asked how his summer was, he went on and on about birthday parties, pools, swimming lessons, his favorite toy ... it was great. They counted his teeth (10 in all!), showed him all the tools, let him wear gloves. Next week we actually do the cleaning, but we've prepared with multiple dental books, including the Berenstein Bears Go to the Dentist. So, we'll see how it goes!

I could save myself a lot of breath during the day if I only recorded the following and played it all.day.long. It would sound something like this:

"Maysen stop, please get down, don't touch his face, put that down, I said STOP, MAYSEN, ONE.....TWO....., I said no, go pick that up, STOP, calm down, inside voice please, stop-don't, listen to me, look at me, plea-- oh great it's broken...ONE....TWO...........................Time out!"

There are other versions available but I think you get the point.

I will end on this note: Maysen went to give me a raspberry on my Xd-old non-shaved leg (I'm not admitting anything on the X amount). All I hear is, "OUCHHHHHHHHHHHH. Your leg bit me!" Ha! That'll teach him.

Happy 5th birthday to our nephew, Jonas!! We love you!!

Winner is ...

... AMY, who guessed that it was renal/kidney involved. My doc believes it was more than likely a kidney stone that I either passed that day (did I strain my urine ... NO!), or if it did revert back into my kidney I'll get to do this all again some day and hope to pass it then, or have lithotripsy and have it broken up. We didn't do any formal testing because there really isn't any reason. I'm telling you, if that goes down again, though, I'm heading it to the ER! (mainly for the good drugs ... hehe).

I love this picture taken above. Mainly because my Grandma Harbaugh, who passed away in November, made it for me when she was visiting my dad and Jo in Florida. She was so worried I wouldn't like it ... and in fact I absolutely love it! It's made out of PVC piping if you can believe that! I think of her everytime I see it sitting on my front covered porch.

Luckily I've felt better over the last couple of days. Until about mid-week I was still feeling really worn out and just icky from Sunday's ordeal. Today was dedicated to getting the house/yard ready for Remax's Open House which is tomorrow from 1-4. Today was just the yard part. So tomorrow we'll have to rush to get all the house clean and "kidfree" by noon, which is when we have to be out of here. Then we're on to Albany for my nephew's 5th birthday party.

I think the kids and I are going to enjoy a little getaway during Nate's next business trip to Denver, which is in a few weeks. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do, but I think it would be grea to get away while he's gone. Who knows ... maybe we'll fly to Denver to be with him there ... spend a few days after his conference. That's a thought!

Ok, 1am is approaching. Chat later ...

Alright ... $20 to the person who guesses right to my diagnosis:

a) kidney infection
b) kidney stone
c) ectopic pregnancy
d) uterine fibroid/cyst post C Section
e) "just a bug"
f) gallbladder/pancreas?
g) flu

.... and that's all I got. Remember the symptoms, my nurse friends: vague peri-umbilical abdominal pain/nausea radiating to lower/mid back during 'attack', which was severe pain with sitting/standing relieved with lying. Continued spotting x 5mo. Post attack is continued intermittent nausea x 2mo, fatigue, headache, and inner irritation to R flank area. Temperature chronically runs around 99.8 (as in, forever now). No vomiting. Weird new factor: engorged grapefruit-sized rash to abdomen with raised borders - swelling to standing 1/4" off abdomen.

There. Diagnose that! (That'll cost me about $450, huh?)

Oh, and as if that wasn't enough: I slipped and fell in my shower today. Nice 5" bruise across my left butt cheek/hip that hurts when I walk ... because all of my fat is bruised and I landed full weight on the bathtub ledge. What is going on!? I swear I've had more crap go on with me in the last 4 months than I have in the last 5 years!! Wish me luck!

Independence Day Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Some of these photos are courtesy of Jenn, who came on Friday morning in time for Creswell's annual Independence Day parade. The weather was perfect, as the clouds lingered in the morning making the parade cool-weathered. Every year they have a great airplane show and a F15 fighter plane even flies overhead, so the clouds made the airplanes easier to see this year as the sun wasn't blinding everyone.

Papa and Sherrill met us at the parade and so we got to enjoy it with them, which was nice. They were in town for just a short trip as they were attending a wedding Saturday. After the parade we went to the park for picnic, booths, and patriotic music entertainment. The sun was out by this point, so we only stayed a short while. Griffin was a bit overexposed to stimuli and was ready for a quiet nap.

Nate marinated chicken and veggies, and together we all put skewers together for Friday nights' BBQ. The neighbors came over, as did my sister in law and my neices. We had a great time BBQ'ing and chatting. Laughing and joking always make its way into our house so there was lots of that going on as well. The kids played and had a really great time. By nightfall it was time to start lighting off our fireworks, just in time for Papa and Sherrill to show up for fireworks. All the neighbors were home this holiday so the cul-de-sac was filled with multiple fireworks and families. It was fun. My house is centered perfectly for the community fireworks that are lit off in the highschool field. It is located right behind my neighbors' backyard so we all sit in our front yards in our neighborhood as we have the best seats in town. Griffin, thankfully, was in bed by 7:30 and slept through all the fireworks. Bailey was just as freaked out this year, despite tranquilizers. (Side note: Thursday night while shopping for fireworks, she was in the backyard when someone lit off some loud ones, she tore the gate down and high-tailed it down our street before some neighbors rounded her up).

Saturday Jenn and I had a nice lunch in town and then headed to a movie. The Strangers is the scariest movie I have ever seen. What makes it terrifying is the pure suspense that is tied into this movie. Just thinking of being trapped in a house while people were trying to get at me is horrifying. But to see it ... well. And even though it's a movie, it's still scary!

Jenn took this picture, as Maysen wanted "New ears". Well ... doesn't he look like something out of Lord of the Rings? It amazes me everytime my sister comes, what an electric relationship she has with Maysen. He will talk about her until blue in the face, and when she comes it's the best thing in the world. He'll drag her all over the backyard, eats with her, wants to pee with her, and God forbid we try and leave. Melt Down City! Jenn has to make promises to that kid so that he'll calm down and it usually involves swinging, chase, and other varieties of crap Nate and I are tired of. She loves it, he loves it, so we're all good to go. When she left, he came home and said, "AUUUNNTTTIIIEEEE, where ARRREEEEE YOUUUUUU?" I had to inform him that she went home. He looked sad, then a new hope overcame him when he saw the new lotion I had just bought. "Mom," he says, "You're just teasing .... this is Auntie's lotion!!!". That was yet, another let down. She'll see him in just a few more weeks when she comes to town for my bday!!!

With Maysen we waited until he was 1yr before giving sugars. That's all a hoax. Griffin had ice cream for the first time this past week. I thought he'd wonder what in the heck this stuff was, but he ate it like he had eaten it his whole life, and none too happy when we took it away. In reality all we did was let him suck a little off Nate's cone.

Saturday night we had a fire with Jenn and cooked s'mores. Something about campfire, s'mores, and being blasted in the face with firesmoke no matter how many times you move is just great! It was a blast. Reminded me of home and times at the lake.

Sunday night around 1am I started having some abdominal pain. Nate had made plans for the day Sunday so gracefully the boys went elsewhere so I could rest for the day. And it was a good thing. By 2pm Sunday I was in so much pain I was fearful I would have to find someone to take me to the ER. My abdominal pain had radiated into my back and although I have never been in labor (thanks to Drive-Thru C-sections) I could have sworn I was in labor. After 800mg of Ibuprofen, a hot bath, and a 3hr nap, I felt better when I woke up. I was nauseated but at least the pain was gone. As of today, I'm all better with the exception of a massive headache. I see my doctor on Wednesday to f/u with my plantar fasciitis so I'll be talking with her about this then. Of course between now and then, Nurse Leslie has a laundry list of self-diagnoses from 1) just a bug to 48985) gall/kidney stones?

And with that, it's bathtime. I think this is enough to digest for now.

This weekend past weekend while everyone was sweating out the near 100F weather, we escaped to the coast. When we arrived it seemed like it might be actually chilly as it was only 62F inland, which usually means it’ll be 5 degrees cooler on the beach. Forgetting jackets, we ran to FM to grab some on clearance, just in case.

Once we hiked down to the water (on the Oregon coast, you actually HAVE to hike to it) it was gorgeous! The boys were just in swimming trunks and that was it! We kept Griffin under the umbrella and he had a good time on his tummy just digging his fingers in the sand.
After being on the beach for a for a couple hours, Griffin had enough and fell asleep in the car seat. He slept there comfortably for about an hour. We built sand castles, blew bubbles, played squirt guns, and just had fun. By 6pm Maysen had enough and we headed up to our hotel room, which ended up being a 900 sq ft room with a tub (or private swimming pool, per Maysen) in the room. It had 2 TVs per room section, so after we ordered room service we ordered a movie for us and a movie for Maysen. Griffin did great, sleeping away right on schedule. The coastal fog had rolled in so we cozied up with the fireplace on and just had a good time.


Sunday morning was a good morning Nate and Mase went down to the water to fly their kites. Maysen kept yelling things up to me that sounded something like, "Hey MOM ... UGHI*EKAI GKWOKNGI KJSIWHAI". I just smiled and waved.

We made it home to discover Bailey had hurdled the couch and was stuck behind there, stuck between the couch and bay window. Apparently the previous night we had a thunderstorm and I can only imagine she leapt there for cover. I need to order her tranquilizers from the vet tomorrow. It’s funny because while living in Kansas she was so used to storms, and now she’s so intolerant of noise.

Nate has a 4-day weekend this weekend for Independence Day. He’ll get to see Maysen at swimming lessons Thursday and I’ll run in and work Thursday afternoon on the Triage desk. Gives me an outing and gives Nate some private time with the boys. Works out.

No moves yet on our house. It’s a slow market right now, so we just keep waiting patiently. If any of you are keeping tabs on the Olympic Trials, just know you’re looking at my city when you watch the track and field. This year the Track & Field Olympic try-outs are in Eugene at Hayward field. It’s been a big time for Eugene, but I try and avoid going to town these days. It’s neat sitting in my house watching it, knowing it’s just miles away from my house. It’s just weird …

Finish Line

Ta Da! Our little boy has been sitting up now for a bit, but just got pics recently. And he loves it!! You pick him up and he arches his back like 'I can do this, thank you!" He certainly is growing up and what a handsome little fella he's turning into!!

And with that, I'll close with the fact that tonight was his last dose of phenobarb. It's been a long long road with that junk and I'm glad it's over. I ponder over if he even notices, as his 1cc he's been getting over the last week is merely a swig. The last couple of nights he hasn't even finished his big honkin bottle which is what I mix it in, so I don't think there will be any big changes tomorrow at nigh-night time. We'll see. I'm just glad it's over ....