Where are my contractions?!

We went to the doctor (again) last night. He said I'm a good 3 1/2 almost a 4 and that my cervix is really good. Once I have contractions, I'll do great. He told me I need to get out and do stuff. Problem is, it doesn't work! After doing a lot of work when we went camping, I still haven't had contractions. With Crue, I tried walking (even pushing a stroller with a 18 month old up and down hills on a 3 mile walk), and a bunch of other things. I think we're going to see about a four-wheeler ride this time. That's the only thing we didn't try with Crue that might work. If not, at least I get to have fun trying! :) I'm hoping to wait until Monday anyway. Then it would be June and my awesome neighbor, Jessica, will be working that night in the OB so she could be my nurse! I guess the next update will either be when the baby comes, or after my appointment next Wednesday.

Crue's new ride

My mom found this four-wheeler on clearance at Cal Ranch. It comes with a SWAT guy and a gun. I think the gun got lost in the toy bucket but Crue has fun putting the guy's helmet on. He calls it a "hat". He points at Jared's helmet and calls it a hat too. Yesterday Crue decided to start riding the four-wheeler. It was hilarious! He sat on it and just used his legs to move. I got a video but it was at the end of when he was riding so it wasn't very good but you get the idea. The picture shows how small the four-wheeler is compared to him.
I have a feeling we'll have to be getting him a four-wheeler someday:) He sure loves anything with wheels! (Not much of a shock coming from our family.)

Memorial Day Camping

I was excited to get one more camping trip in before the baby comes. Not that we won't go camping again this summer but it'll be a little harder with two kids (one being fairly new) than it is with one. We went to Oak Grove - my favorite place - and had a lot of fun. Jeremy and Molly and their kids were there the entire time (Jared's brother). Molly's sister, Amanda, and her husband were there but left Saturday. Molly's sister, Erin, left Sunday, and her other sister, Jen, came for Saturday night only. We just hung out Saturday and played a few games or hung out around the fire. It was overcast and cool but it felt good. That night a storm came and it about blew away a screen house (it was staked in but the wind pulled a few stakes out) and it pulled one of our tent stakes out. It rained too - thank goodness for awnings and trees. Jared's parents joined us for dinner Saturday night. Molly's friend joined us on Sunday. A few people went hiking Sunday and for dinner we had Jared's parents, my entire family, Molly's dad, and Jen's husband. Jared and I were in charge (luckily we had lots of help) and we did Jared's famous dutch oven bbq chicken and potatoes and I did two kinds of cobbler. Six dutch ovens at once! We had both camp chefs set up and I used charcoal for the cobblers. It was SO good!
I only got one picture the entire time though - how terrible am I! We had gotten some pallets from my brother-in-law. Jared's brother had talked to the camp host and he remembered us from last year. That was good because he didn't care that we had more cars and people than were allowed per site (he said he remembered us being quiet so we were ok). He said he knows that old pallets need to be burned but he hates the nails that always end up where they shouldn't be so Jared tore the pallets all apart and the kids helped put the nails into soda cans to throw away. On Saturday Crue "helped" Jared take some pallets apart. He was helping to hold a pallet while Jared hammered on it and then later he was sitting on the edge of the cement with the can and helping to put the nails away in it. When I went to get the picture of him sitting on the cement he stood up so I didn't get it but the one below is of him "helping" hold the pallet so Jared can break it apart. I love seeing those two together - it's so cute!

Hard work

Rachael and I decided that it is much better doing a garden together rather than Jared and I doing one, and Tyson and Rachael doing one. Monday night we started working on it. The guys (Jared, Tyson, and Kevin) all helped till the front flower bed so I could plant some seeds I had bought. I had edging that I had bought the first summer we were here and I was finally able to put that up. Rachael, Rachel, and Kevin all helped get the edging in and then Kevin and Rachel went home and Rachael went to help with the backyard while I planted seeds in front. So here's my new flower bed:

Because of the wonderful clay here in Cedar, Jared and Tyson have had a rough job (I bet they're probably glad we're only doing one garden instead of each doing their own too). They tilled the ground for the garden but that stuff is basically rock hard. They got one big area tilled that we are growing tomatoes, onion (green and yellow), carrots, beans, peas, corn, and potatoes in. Then they tilled 8 circles off to the side (and Rachael and I sort of dug out another one) that we planted different kinds of pumpkin in - for carving, decoration, and for eating - along with zucchini, cauliflower, and squash. I think that might be everything. Tyson's mom is going to come down this summer and teach us how to bottle so we can bottle a lot of the food for food storage and just to have in the winter and stuff. I'm really excited. I hope everything grows and grows well! The only things we have left to do are to plant zucchini (I need to get seeds), get more tomato plants and plant them in the garden along with the ones I already have (they are still sitting in pots on our deck), and cut up potatoes and plant them. Other than that, everything is planted and ready to go! I'm so excited!! This is my first garden so I'm really excited to see how it goes.

I tried to get a shot of the entire thing but I couldn't fit all the holes in the picture from where I was. I'll get better shots when things are growing!

Jared is tilling where the potatoes are going to go - we already had everything else planted except some of the corn that we'll start in a couple of weeks so that we can have two rows of corn ready to be picked at a time instead of 4-6 rows all at once.

Rachael watering the seeds.

Tyson watching the rest of us do all the work! j/k Actually, he was taking a break from tilling while Jared took his turn. These are all pictures from the second night of work. I forgot to get some of the first night with all of us working when Kevin and Rachel were here too. More garden pictures in a couple of weeks with some sprouts hopefully!

Doctor

This appointment was a lot faster than last week. We were home half an hour after my appointment! Things went pretty good. My cervix was off to the side a little bit so that sucked when he was trying to figure out what I was at. He asked what I was at last time and he started to say a 2 but we told him and he said, yeah, you're a 3 - 3 1/2. Apparently my cervix is moving forward meaning he's dropping to get ready. So hopefully that means I'll go into labor on my own. I'm good waiting until June though. They always say something when I'm there about how they feel for me but in all honesty, I am having a great pregnancy and am just fine waiting. They're really nice though and I love going there. It was funny because while we were talking to the doctor when he checked me he told me I need to go garden. We laughed and said I had been doing that the last two nights and it obviously hasn't worked! Speaking of garden, I'd better get pictures of that posted!
Also, the doctor talked to us about an option to help with money. He said as long as I have a good delivery (so basically like Crue's) they can discharge me after 6 hours instead of waiting 24 hours. He already wrote me the prescriptions that I would be getting after the baby is born. If I want to stay in the hospital I can if there's empty rooms and basically pay room and board so that I'm there while the baby is (since they keep him 24 hours for the testing). I guess the only difference is that I have to take my own pain medication rather than the hospital charging $5 a pill every time a nurse has to give me something. I don't know how much it really is but it's a lot cheaper if I do it myself than to have to pay for the hospital to do it. I'm excited for that. My doctor is always trying to think of ways to help save us money and make it so that we are excited for the baby and not so worried about the money part. It's been really nice.

Not so fun weekend....

Friday night we had a fun girl's night out planned. We were going to the What Women Want Expo in St. George and then to dinner and out for ice cream. The expo was really fun. I started getting a little sore during the last couple of rows but figured I'd tough it out since we were almost done. It was also after dinner and I was hungry. We went to Texas Roadhouse after and I was so excited - I have been wanting to go there for a long time. I ended up getting sick and threw up twice while we were there and wasn't able to eat any dinner. We went to a shoe store after and I stayed in the car (Rachael stayed with me). Rachael ended up driving after that because I was getting worse. We stopped at Cold Stone (I stayed in the car) and then headed home. I kept throwing up, even once everything was out of me, until about 3:30 am when I was finally able to go to sleep. I kept Jared up too and he had to be to work at 8 am (and work 16 hours!). I felt bad. I was sore from walking around and trying to throw up half the night. I ended up going to my parents' house so that they could watch Crue and I could sit and relax. I was able to eat a little bit and that was good. I felt a lot better, especially by Sunday, but my stomach still hasn't fully recovered. I still can't eat as much as before and I don't want much sugar which is unusual for me.

Jared felt sick at the first of the week but never threw up. Then in the middle of the week we were at Jared's friend's house getting a helmet that he was giving to Jared and Crue threw up a LOT - and all over me. Luckily his friend was pretty cool about it. Then on my one night of fun, I end up getting it and got it worse than both of my boys! It went progressively worse from one of us to the next. I'm just glad it's all over with now!

Tonight Tyson and Rachael are coming over to plant a garden in our backyard. They are going to be doing stuff to their backyard so it's not ready for a garden but they don't want to wait any longer so they decided to do it in our backyard. I'm glad because I wanted to do one but don't know what to do and figured it wouldn't get done this year (we're only good at growing weeds). Since they're coming over to do one, we're all going to work on it and do a community one - so I'll add what I want to it and we invited some other friends to come add to it if they want. I'm really excited to learn how to garden. Tyson's mom is going to come teach us how to bottle later this year too so we can bottle some of our stuff. I'm excited to be able to add to our food storage, especially stuff that I've grown and bottled myself! I'll post pictures of the garden and hopefully of us working on it. I also got some flower seeds to put in the flower bed out front so I'm going to get that done tonight with the edging I have to go around it. Hopefully it'll do good and the front of the house will look a little better! I'll get pictures of that too when it's done.

Giveaway

I saw this on my cousin's blog and thought it was so cute.
Now I'm entering so I can win it! Just go here to check out her cute ideas and for info on entering. I'll have to keep checking her blog out for more ideas!

Free Chocolate!

I found this today and got one for me and Jared so I thought I'd let you know so you can try each week to get your free chocolate. Just click here (RealChocolate.com so you don't have to come here every Friday unless you want to:)) and if you're one of the first 500,000 people each Friday, you can get a coupon in the mail for a free Mars candy bar! You have to enter your birthdate and then it'll take you to a page that tells you if you're one of the lucky ones. Hurry and do it before everyone else finds out about it and it's hard to get one without waking up super early! You can click here to learn more about it and why they're doing it. Pretty cool! You have to wait for your coupon to get mailed to you but it would be worth it for free candy!

Appointment

I had another appointment last night (only two more before I'm due!). We had a long wait which was unusual. There was two people that came in after us that got called back before us (they may have been there for the other doctor or the PA) and then we waited for a while before the doctor came in once I was in the room. He checked me and said I was a good 3 1/2 almost a 4 and my cervix is really soft. I'm glad I went back up instead of being smaller. Even though I don't expect to go into labor soon (at least before my due date) I still like to be dilating and have hope that maybe this time I'll go into labor on my own. We'll see. When the doctor came in he apologized for taking so long and said the girls were telling him he needed to come see me because I'd been in there a while and was going to get a paper mache butt from the paper I had around me! I had a good laugh at that one.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Jared's birthday. It was a busy day so I wasn't able to get on here to post. To him, it's just another day. I love birthdays though so I always try to surprise him with a few things. Crue and I got him garments and temple shoes that he knew about, clay pigeons and a clay pigeon thrower. My parents got him a gun case for his 22. When we got home from my parents' house he went and put his gun (plus the clip) in the new case. I surprised him with a cake at my parents' house after dinner. He LOVES ice cream sandwiches so I made him an ice cream sandwich cake that was really good. He asked if we got to take the leftovers home and I told him of course - it's his! Today at lunch I told him not to forget dessert and he said don't worry about that! I'm glad he really liked it.
I just want to tell him thank you for being the best husband and father. He was definitely worth the wait. :) I'm so glad I get to be with him for eternity. He may not be perfect but he's the perfect one for me. Now that we have one child and another one on the way, it's so fun to watch him be a father. I think he's liking it more and more as Crue gets older and they can play together. One day I was in the hall and happened to look towards the living room. All of a sudden I see Crue go running into the living room and Jared following close behind. So cute! He works so hard for our family. I am grateful for him every day.
I love you!!

We made it!

I had another doctor's appointment last night (imagine that, we made it to this week like Jared and I thought:)). He checked me and said I was a 2 - 2 1/2. So either I shrunk or because it's just opinion, today he was saying smaller numbers. Who knows. Oh well. We'll see how next week goes. They said I tested positive for Strep so I'll have to get an antibiotic when I go to deliver.

New additions

No - our little boy is not here. I forgot to tell about Jared's recent purchases that we're excited about. And the fun he had trying to get them. GM does training all year long and the technicians take tests (and the parts guys) and depending on how well they do (and how early they get their tests done) they get rewarded at the end of the year. Jared earned Platinum this year in his area! It's the highest you can get. Congratulations! I can't remember everything he gets but I know he gets business cards, a certificate, a medallion, a gold ring with a diamond (they add a diamond to the ring each time after this that he gets a Platinum rating again instead of another ring). They usually give them "money" (points) that they can spend in the GM store but this year they let each person decide to get the points for the GM store or take the points in cash. Jared got his in cash and had already decided last year that this year he wanted to get guns with his money. (He was going to just get a gift certificate from the GM store for Sports Authority or another sports store and then go get his guns until they changed and let him just get it in a prepaid card.) Luckily we know lots of people that know a lot about guns. Jared knew he wanted a shotgun and a 10/22. He talked to Max and decided on a Remington 870 Express for the shotgun.
It looks like the one above. He wanted the synthetic instead of the wood look and he got a 12 gauge.
The other gun he got was a Ruger 10/22 like the one in the top of this picture:
The other one in the picture is a stainless steel barrel and they're at least $20 more so he stayed with the black. We had to pay some money out of pocket but it was less than what just the Ruger would have cost if we had just gone in there and bought it. And we got a gun cleaning kit, ammo for both, and a 50 round clip for the 22. So we were pretty excited to not have to pay much.
Poor Jared sure had a hard time getting them though. We had gone into stores looking at what they had and the prices to decide where to get them. We decided that Walmart had the best price on the shotgun and Cal Ranch had the best price (and the only place with a black barrel) on the 10/22. His prepaid card finally came in the mail and we went to Walmart on a Thursday night to get the shotgun. The guy that was there is actually our neighbor's dad. He asked for Jared's license and asked if it had his current address on it. It's the same license he got when he turned 16 so of course it was old and had the wrong address. He said it has to have your current address on your license. Of course with it being a Thursday the DMV was closed on Friday so Jared went before work Monday morning to get it. Then Monday night we went to Walmart thinking we were good to go. They call in to get his background check and they end up sending it to research. That means no gun until they call back and say he's good to go. They call back Thursday I think and say he's good to go and we can go get the gun whenever. We end up going Friday night and finally get the shotgun. We leave Walmart and head straight to Cal Ranch for the 10/22. (It was cheaper to pay for two background checks than to get the guns at the same place and pay for one check because of the difference in prices on the guns.) They call in for his background and it's sent to research. You've got to be kidding me! He was just cleared the day before! The guy gave us a number that we could call and they tell us once someone is cleared or denied their information is shredded so they didn't have a record showing he was cleared. And all she said was if we could see what she saw then we would know why they send it to research but she couldn't tell us what she saw. So we leave empty handed. If we had known that, we would have gone there after Walmart so they could do both background checks at the same time. They called Monday saying he's cleared so we go back to get the gun and clip. I swipe Jared's GM card saying we were putting part of it on that and the guy had to cancel it because he has to put in the amount being charged to the card. So he does that and then I swipe it again and another guy takes over and for some reason he canceled it again or did something and it denied the card. What?! It's prepaid and we know exactly how much is on it. We even tried a few dollars less and we still got denied. Jared called the number on the card and found out the first time we did it (after the first cancelation and when the second guy came in) it had gone through so it was good to go. But for some reason Cal Ranch was showing that they weren't paid. The lady Jared talked to when he called about the card said they might not have Cal Ranch's merchant ID number so she gave him a number and said they could call them with it and have it go through. We were ready to pay the rest with another card but then it wouldn't let us because according to the computer Cal Ranch still hadn't been paid. After quite a while trying to figure it out they finally just put that we paid the first part in cash and then the rest we paid for with another card. They took the number the lady gave us and Jared's number in case something didn't work out and let us go ahead and take the gun. They said they would call if there's any problems. So far no call so we're good to go! What a mess. It was so nice to have the guns now.

On Wednesday night Max called and we went out shooting with Max and Jenny (Max had bought a Remington 870 shotgun with the wood look with his money from GM). It was really fun. We shot clay pigeons and I felt better after not hitting any when even Max and Jenny (who hunt and have other guns that they've taken shooting before) only hit 2 out of 5 (Jared hit the same). I guess I need more practice so we'll have to go shooting more often:) My dad has guns but we didn't go out much so that's why I'm not the best. Crue did really well being around the guns. I was worried because I had never been shooting when I was pregnant with him and I thought maybe the shots would scare him but they didn't bother him one bit! Maybe in a few more years he can shoot the 22. :) It'll be fun to take them camping (depending on where we go) and just go out shooting with family and friends.

So that's our excitement for now. Jared had a hard time finding 22 shells (ever since Obama was put in nobody can keep them in stock) but he finally found some at a pawn shop. So we are good to go now. Next year Jared is going to get a 30-06 with his money so we'll have a full size rifle, a fun smaller rifle, and a shotgun. Maybe someday we'll get to go hunting!! (I'd better learn to shoot better first!:))

A good laugh

Jared and I went to my doctors appointment yesterday. It was the first time he checked me to see if I was dilating. Sure enough, I was a 3 and 50% effaced. He said the baby has dropped and my cervix was soft and getting ready and said I would probably go soon. He told me to go ahead and schedule an appointment for next week but I probably wouldn't make it that long. Normally someone being told all that would be getting really excited and would probably pack for the hospital as soon as they got home. Jared and I just laughed and told him we'd see him next week. I did the same thing with Crue. Four weeks before I was due I was a 3 and 70%. Between that point and when I went in to be started (I went two weeks over) I went to a 5 and I want to say around 80% effaced. I had my membranes stripped at one point. Never had a contraction. Never went into labor. Jared and I were both expecting to be told that I was dilating again this time and are both expecting not to go early. So it was pretty funny. We'll see what happens. The doctor did tell me I was measuring a little small which kind of surprised me because I got a pretty big belly with Crue. I'm guessing it's because instead of a desk job like with Crue, I'm watching a bunch of kids and definitely get my exercise in. Or maybe I'll just have a smaller boy this time. Or both. Who knows.
I really do hope I make it to my due date for a few reasons. The first is because 3 of the kids I watch have parents that work at a school or are going to school and will be done in 3 weeks. It would be nice to be able to finish up the school year and then they don't have to worry about finding someone else (and I don't have to worry about calling so many people). Another is because there are so many birthdays in May that I want him to have a June birthday (there's 3 family members with April birthdays and 4 with May birthdays). The only relatives with June birthdays are my dad's brother and cousin that share the same birthday. So no immediate family. And the last and biggest reason is because I'm taking two months off from watching kids after he's born. If I have him at the beginning of June, then I will get June and July off and then start back in August, which is right about when the kids with parents working at/going to school will be ready to start. And I would have the two main months of the summer off so I can take the boys to the park and go do other things with them. We'll see what happens though. You never know - I could go early, on time, or late. I really hope I go on my own this time (rather than being started - it wasn't bad, I just want to go on my own). I'll keep you updated with how things are going. Sorry for such a long post!

Easter

I didn't get any pictures this year for Easter but I figured I'd write about it for journal purposes. The day before Easter Jared's grandma has all the great grandkids over for an egg hunt in her back yard. Everyone brings a sandwich for themselves and something to share with everyone. They also do egg wars where you take your hard boiled egg and hit them against everyone else's and whoever has the egg that doesn't break, wins. Jared found out Wednesday he would have to work Saturday so we were both really disappointed about that. Crue and I went to St. George by ourselves to have some fun with the Easter activities and to pick up a bed we were getting from Jared's grandma. There ended up only being two of grandma's actual great grandkids and the rest of the kids were Jared's cousin's husband's nieces and nephews (did you follow that?).

Jared's cousin and her husband had set up games for the kids - they had a fish pond, cake walk, and a duck pond (if the shape on the bottom of the duck matched the shape they drew, you won a prize). Crue got a thing of bubbles from the pond and Jared's mom blew bubbles for Crue. He was laughing so hard while he attacked the bubbles! It was hilarious. He was the first to win at the cake walk (a cupcake). He won a ball from the duck pond game. He just wanted to keep playing with the water from the pond. It was close to his naptime too so he was getting pretty ornery, especially when he didn't get what he wanted. After the games they did the egg hunt. Since Crue was Sandra's only grandchild there, she took his hand and walked with him around the yard while I carried his bucket. We'd go to an egg and tell him to get it and put it in the bucket. He didn't quite get it or care about the eggs too much (although he did like the candy in them later). We only got a few and then we couldn't find anymore. We were about done anyway since he was having more fun with a little soccer ball in the yard than looking for eggs. After that I decided not to worry about doing an egg hunt at our house for him. I was going to do a few eggs and figured he might like the noise when he shook the eggs with candy but then I decided he probably wouldn't care too much after Saturday.

Sunday we went to my parent's house after church and had a big meal. I had made strawberry jello with bananas in it (my dad's favorite that he always asks for) and a bunny shaped veggie dip bread bowl. I think my sister got pictures of that so I'll have to add them when I get them. It turned out pretty cute and it was really easy to do. My mom had Easter baskets for us (thank you!) and Crue loved his little toys. I think my mom has too much fun shopping for him. :)

It was a pretty fun weekend but I think Crue was pretty clueless about what was going on. Next year I'm sure I won't have any trouble when it comes time to look for eggs! And hopefully we can start teaching him what Easter is really about.

Free Clock Giveaway!

My cousin, Staci, makes amazing clocks and she's doing a giveaway to help spread the word. Check her blog out here.
Here is the clock you can win:


Check out her blog to find out how you can have a chance to win. She is also offering a deal for Mother's Day.

Check out her blog - she's got some really cute clocks! And she can do pretty much anything you want.

18 Months!

I forgot to post about Crue's doctors appointment. It went better this time. He let the doctor look at him (except his mouth) and he did ok for his first shot but HATED his second one. Poor little boy. I do love the cuddling I get after though (since I don't get it as much anymore). He is definitely a big boy. I think he's the cutest thing ever! Here's his stats from the doctor:

28 lbs 4 oz 78%
33 in 69%
20 1/2 in (head) 99%

He is definitely all boy and you can tell what kind of family we are. "Ut" means truck and he does a vroom vroom sound for any motorcycle (or four-wheeler or even Jared's pedal bike on the side of the house) that he sees or hears. He LOVES to play in the drivers seat in cars. Sometimes he'll do his vroom vroom while he's playing with the steering wheel. He will give us kisses and loves (hugs) and Jared recently taught him squeezes (an actual hug where he puts his arms around you and squeezes). He says mama and dada and says bapa for grandpa. I watch a little baby and he's good to help with her (he'll "help" burp her or "help" hold her bottle) so I'm excited for ours to come because he'll be a great big brother. When you ask him where the baby is he points to my belly (usually) and excitedly says "baby!" It's so cute. Crue has been a wonderful blessing in our lives. I'm so grateful for him. He is such a good boy - we are really lucky!

We love you Crue!

Here's some pictures that my cousin took when we were in AZ for Thanksgiving.

Here's some more recent pictures of him.

Wearing daddy's hat and shoes.

Playing in the bubbles at G & G Little's.

Blood, blood everywhere

This morning while I was getting ready I could hear Crue starting to wake up. After a little while Jared comes in and says "We have a problem". He has Crue who is COVERED with blood all over his nose (mixed with snot so it was thick) and all over his face and hand. Jared said there was also a pool of blood in his bed. I was worried that something bad had happened since there was so much and asked about taking him to the doctor. Last night he had woken up and Jared had sucked stuff out of his nose so he could breathe and go back to sleep so I was worried that something had happened from that since he fights so bad while we do it. Crue seemed fine so Jared just cleaned him up. Then Jared got Crue's bedding to wash and when I went in the room I noticed it had soaked through to the pads my mom had given us and a little bit on the mattress pad. I went in the laundry room a little bit later to help Jared and he had the bumper pad as well. Crue had gotten it on pretty much everything except his pajamas. It bled a little more today but not anything to worry about. I'm glad he's all better, at least from that. After his nap today he woke up and it sounded like his airways were restricted a little. He's woken up like that once before, at G & G Peterson's, so I don't know what it is. He was kind of sick (like the cold and stuff) after that for about a week or two so maybe that's what he has again. Or an allergy. Who knows. I'm just glad he's not acting sick and seems to be feeling ok.

Nursery!

Since I play the piano for Primary, Jared gets to take Crue every week to Sunday School and Priesthood. Recently he got a calling to teach the 16-17 year old Sunday School class so Tyson and Rachael have been taking him during Sunday School (thank you!!!) and then Jared and Tyson take him to Priesthood. Jared, Tyson, and Rachael finally got their break this Sunday - Crue went to Nursery! I wasn't too worried about him because he's used to playing with kids all day at home so it would just be different toys and kids. I walked in and he wanted me to put him down. I did and he went straight for the toys. I told one of the guys who he was and then left. Before I left I watched Crue pick up a little basketball and try to put it in the hoop they had. It was just barely taller than him and the ball fell out of his hands and behind him before he made it in. It was cute. He must have done great because they didn't say anything when we picked him up. I had walked in and a short time later Jared walked in. He saw Jared first (we walked in different sides) and ran for him. We'll see how he does each week. Hopefully they're all this good!

Break time?

It's been a while since I've posted so I figured I'd do a little update. (By the time I got done typing it was long - just a warning!) Things have been pretty crazy around here. I am now watching 8 kids plus Crue (luckily most of them are part time so I don't have 9 kids from 8-5 every day) and it seems like by the end of the day, I'm so worn out. When I was pregnant with Crue I felt great and was never this tired but I also had a desk job - not chasing a bunch of kids around, including one that is almost a year old and another that is a couple of months old. I'm glad I get to stay home though and not have to send Crue to day care.

Our big project going on right now is putting a room in the basement. My sister, Loni, is going to move in with us for a while so we decided to build a room in the basement. We had some supplies from my parents and stuff that was left when we bought the house and figured the rest would be fairly cheap. We were just going to put up framing (only one wall needed to be done) and put drywall on the two sides that weren't cement so it would be closed off. My parents had a door they let us use so it would be an actual room. A friend of ours has been helping us. What was going to be a basic room has turned into a room with a closet, insulation along the ceiling and cement walls (the other two walls have unfinished space/rooms on the other side and we'll finish those walls when we finish the other rooms) and drywall on everything. Then the other night they decided to go ahead and do the tape and texture on the walls and paint so that we don't have to take off all the outlet covers, switches, and light to do them. The only thing the room will need when it's done is flooring. We got some free carpet and pad from someone a long time ago so we're just going to cut that to fit in the room so it won't be cement but it won't be permanent. We'll just lay it out. They are going to be doing the taping tonight so hopefully the room will be done by next week. We started working on it on last Monday (March 9) and she was going to be able to move in this week but now it's looking like next week. It looks like a room now though so that's good! I'm glad we've had supplies donated by my parents and supplies and labor by our friends. It's been a huge help. It'll be nice to have Loni here so she can start doing all the cooking and cleaning and watching Crue. Just kidding Loni! I'll be glad to have the room done because Crue loves to go downstairs and play in there while they're working (he likes to be with daddy too) so I'm spending most of my time down there making sure he stays out of the way and not getting stuff he shouldn't (like the knife for the drywall). I haven't been able to get anything done upstairs so now my messy house is REALLY messy and driving me crazy. We're going to St. George this weekend so I won't be getting anything done until next week. And I feel so worn out all the time that it's hard to get motivated to do anything when I do have a little break. Hopefully I can get things clean, and feel good in my home again! And then the room will be done, the house will be clean, and we can have a break for a little while and get to bed at a decent time every night!

Crue will be 18 months old on the 26th of this month. He'll get to go to Nursery! Of course, I haven't been the one taking him each week since I play the piano in primary and can't really watch him and play at the same time. So it's not as big of a deal for me but I'm still excited for him to be able to go play with the other kids and all the toys. Jared takes him every week and when he has to teach Sunday School (he teaches the 16-17 year olds with another guy in the ward) our good friends, Tyson and Rachael, take him for us. They moved in just around the corner last year so we hang out with them almost every week. And we sit together in church and Rachael and I go to the Enrichment stuff together (it's so nice to have someone to go with!). And they're also willing to watch Crue when we go to my doctor appointments which makes it nice because we pass their house on the way to the doctor's office or the hospital for lab work.

We talked to my doctor about a week ago at my last appointment. We have been worried because we don't know how we're going to pay for the baby. It was already a worry and then Jared ended up having surgery and his deductible is $1500 (luckily the insurance pays 100% after that). A friend had told us about a midwife doing a home birth only costing $2000 (vs. approximately $8000 for my doctor at the hospital). Neither of us really wanted to do that but the cost was a huge factor in considering it. Rachael told me about the financial assistance at the hospital. We can't really do payments, or they can't be very much, but she told me sometimes they'll write some of it off so you don't have to worry about it. She has been VERY helpful in getting me forms, telling me who to talk to, telling me how they do things (she does billing for some physicians and knows some of how the hospital works). When Jared had his surgery she talked to her boss to find out what I needed to do for help even with Jared's deductible. She brought over a form when we were at the hospital and told me what I needed to do and who to talk to. The lady at the hospital said she won't know what they can do until they get the bill from the hospital so as far as delivering there, I could do it and hope that things worked out or I could do the midwife and have a lot less cost. We decided to do it at the hospital (we really like the people there and it's nice to be able to relax and have them watch the baby the first night). Jared and I both really like my doctor so we decided we'd better talk to him as well before we change doctors (and go to the one at the hospital so that he can do the same financial assistance as the hospital) to see if he'd do anything for us. We didn't want to call and talk to the girls and be just another patient. We were both nervous but while we were in there my doctor mentioned that we were waiting on insurance or something. I told him we had been waiting on Medicaid but that I had been denied so we wanted to talk to him to see if there was anything that could be done. He told us not to worry, that we'd figure something out. Since he owns his office, he's in charge of what gets billed, etc. compared to the doctors that work for the hospital who have no control over any of that. He asked Jared about doing some trade work for some of it. My doctor and his sons have some motorcycles so depending on what needs to be done (Jared doesn't know everything about motorcycles since they're different than cars in some areas - he takes his bike to get worked on for certain things that he can't do). I told him we can't do big payments and he was very reassuring and said not to worry about anything. He said we'll get things figured out so that I can still go to him but not have to worry so much about the financial part of it. I was so glad! Jared and I both felt much better after talking to him. He's a great doctor and I plan on staying with him for all my kids so I didn't want to have to go to someone else just this one time.

I think that's about everything for us. Sorry that it's so long. Some of it is for me to have a record of things and other stuff was just an update for everyone. I'll post about Crue's checkup when we go (speaking of which, I'd better call to make an appointment along with other calls I still need to make) and get some pictures up of Loni's room when it's done. Maybe even a few of it in stages, depending on what pictures I have.

Happy Valentines Day turned into crazy week

For Valentine's Day Loni volunteered to watch Crue so Jared and I could have a night to ourselves. We went to Pizza Factory for dinner (I LOVE their breadsticks dipped in honey butter) and then Jared surprised me and took me to Maggie Moos for dessert (they just opened two days before). It was SO good! Then we went to our house to hang out with just the two of us for a while. It was nice to be able to just be with Jared for a night and not have to chase around a little boy. (Thank you Loni and Mom!)

After a wonderful night our crazy week began. The Saturday before Valentine's Day Jared kept saying his gut hurt but it wasn't like an upset stomach or anything. He couldn't describe it. It went on for a few days and then it was gone. Saturday it came back but in a more specific location. Sunday he looked online to try to figure out what he might have and said it might be appendicitis from the location of the pain. Sunday night he was in so much pain. He asked me if I remembered when they asked me at the hospital when I had Crue to rate my pain a 1-10 (10 being the worst). He said it was a 10. Rather than going to the ER and having the added expense, he decided to wait until Monday morning to go to the doctor. His doctor was on call so he wasn't in the office that day. The office told him to go to the emergency room. He called the InstaCare but they were closed so we finally went to the emergency room around 9:30 on Monday morning (the biggest thing that made him go - he didn't want another night like Sunday night). I took Crue to our friends' house because they wouldn't let him in the room in the ER area with all the sickness. After blood tests and a CT scan they said he had appendicitis. They took him to another part of the hospital where we waited for a while and then they finally got him ready for surgery. They took him in at 2:15 pm. I went home to eat something because the last thing I ate was breakfast before we went to the hospital. I came back an hour and a half later (surgery was supposed to take an hour) and he was in the recovery room but they hadn't brought him back to the room he had been in before yet. While I was sitting there one of the nurses said he was in the operating recovery room and when they brought him out I could walk with them to another room. We ended up going from the er at one end of the hospital, to surgery in the middle, to patient rooms at the other end. The doctor stopped and talked to me before they brought Jared out and said the appendix had perforated (luckily it didn't rupture) and had leaked some fluid into him. He said he can't lift more than 30 lbs for two weeks and he can't go back to work for 2 weeks. He said if he was feeling really energetic and wanted to go back to work he could on Monday but only part time (and of course he'd only be able to lift 30 lbs). He also said his appendix was really sick so it's a good thing he came in. So then they brought him by and he was still waking up. I followed them to his room. Because of the perforation he had a drainage cord coming out of him that led to a bottle thing (the shape of a grenade). It was to pull out any of the fluid that had leaked. Also because of the perforation he had to stay in the hospital overnight so we didn't get home until Tuesday night around 7 pm. I ended up not watching kids Tuesday or Wednesday (luckily Monday was a holiday). Thanks to Tyson and Rachael for taking Crue all day (literally) Monday and Tuesday night and to Jenny for watching him Tuesday! I did take Crue to see Jared but he just wanted to go run around in the hall and not sit there in the room with Jared so it was nice to have friends that took him so I could be there with Jared. Then my awesome cousin Tamara brought us dinner on Wednesday night. Tyson's parents had taken Tyson, Rachael, and Crue to dinner Tuesday night so they got some for us and brought it home (it was Jared's first solid food since Sunday night). Thank you to everyone for your help and support.