adjusting

That is what we are doing...adjusting.
We are all adjusting to little girl-though we all love her, T most especially, its been an adjustment. We are still adjusting to the heat. Not much to do with a 3 yr old and newborn when its 110^ outside, and when you live in a small two bedroom apt with no english speaking neighbors, no yard, no playground and no ward members within walking distance.poor T hasn't really played with friends since we left salt lake in May...neither have I. Jason has the car at work so we stay here most everyday...which means we are still adjusting to not having internet except on our small cell phones, not having t.v. (which is really hard when T wakes up early or when I'm feeding baby girl or just when I wanna watch the darn news! We like it here...we are just...ADJUSTING...

We are hoping that we will get in to one of the homes we are negotiating on. Which means...neighbors, a yard, more space, more rooms, internet, t.v., and someday another car... but we are still working on the friends thing.
We miss our friends a whole darn lot.

But, we are adjusting...

A family of 4

A friend of mine once told me that when she had her second child she felt like they were a "real family." I now understand what she means! Having a second child makes me feel more complete and instantly more respectable as a mom (haha...true). We are so excited that our little miracle is here. I hate pregnancy and I had a hard time accepting the idea of having another child. I told J even on our way to the hospital that I wasn't ready and I really didn't know if I wanted to do this all over again! But when I looked at my perfect child everything changed.

This baby really is a miracle to us. She was wanted but never expected and she caused me much grief in the womb! Due to my doctor going out of town, trying to find a time for Jason to make it to her birth (because he has been out of town the past month), the fact that I "bake 'em fast", and that I have some TERRIBLE (and nasty) varicose and spider veins in my leg that cause problems my doctor scheduled an induction a few weeks before her actual due date (which ended up being dangerously close to when she would have come on her own!). We arrived at the hospital at 615 in the morning on the 17th. After all the paperwork we got to the room fully expecting to be able to start the pitocin before 7. Well, little miss MJ started causing some concern even before I had any drugs in me (essentially her heart-rate was everywhere it shouldn't be and she was distressed)! So we had to wait for my doctor to come and check me out and discuss the possibility of a C-section and give the go ahead to start the drugs. They started me at 745. My doctor broke my water immediately so he could attach some monitors to her and have fluids continuously flushing through the womb. I had to lay completely on my side the entire time and be on oxygen to get her more air-not comfy. When I was admitted I was at a 3. Two and a half hours later (at 1015) I was at a 4. It was frustrating that it seemed to go so slow! Well, 25 minutes later I was at a 10 and complete. My doc came in and I pushed ONCE and he even had to say "stop." She was born at 1040-less than 3 hours after they started me! (I went from a 4 to a 10 in less than 2 hours with T also and I pushed twice with him).

Someone asked me if I loved her. They asked me this because I had a hard time for the first few months with T. It took me a while to feel bonded to him and really feel like I loved him. This time, as much as I wanted to disassociated myself from the pregnancy,didn't accept it,and wasn't terribly excited about it-at the moment they put her on my chest I instantly loved her. It felt natural. I knew she belonged with us. She just fit.

We love her very much and we are so happy we finally have our little baby MJ. In her short hours of life we have already determined she looks just like her brother, she likes to sleep on her side, she is ALWAYS cold and has terrible circulation in her feet and hands (just like momma), and as terrible and humorous as it is...she is showing signs of having T's gag reflex (many of you know of this little problem...) I have my work cut out for me with these two!

We miss...

Shoreline.

Our friends.

The playgrounds.

Daddy/Hubby.

Running in the hallway.

Our friends.

The ward.

Oh yeah...and our friends.

We miss so many of you so much. T asks for his friends all the time. He has asked me when we are going to go home to his house. Just today he told me he wants "his" nursery back. He is doing well but this change has been hard on all of us. We miss a lot of things and people! We miss all our friends---both toddler and adult!

The Last Post...

Not forever, just in Shoreline.

The moment I have been dreading has arrived. As I sit in our apartment looking around at all the boxes, all of the wrapped furniture, the empty walls, I cant help but get a little teary. I am proud of and excited for Jason to be done with school and start working in the real world-but at what cost!!! I have grown to love so much about where we live-mostly who we live by. I have met some of the most incredible people and I have been blessed to learn from them as friends. I am not looking forward to leaving so many people that have become such a huge part of my life. I have felt loved, accepted, understood. I have learned how to be a better mother and a better friend. T has been accepted and loved by so many friends. J has found people to relate to and talk to about school and "guy" stuff. We have all loved our experiences here.

Thank you for being our friends

Thank you for trusting us with your children-and for being people we trust with our child

Thank you for listening

Thank you for all the girls nights

Thank you for caring

Thank you for the treats

Thank you for dinner

Thank you for my first ever real official all for me SHOWER!!!

Thank you for teaching me

Thank you for loving me!!!

I wish...

I wish I wasn't so stressed to move (in two weeks)

I wish I could sleep in every morning

I wish I didn't have boxes all over my house...both full and empty...

I wish I could go grocery shopping and stock my shelves instead of trying to get rid of what I have and having no fun doing it!

I wish I wasn't moving in two weeks

I wish this parasite inside me would stop moving around and give me some peace.

I wish I wasn't so concerned about the transition of insurance over the next few months

I wish Jason didn't have to leave us for a month

I wish I wasn't moving in 2 weeks

I wish I didn't get heartburn with everything including water

I wish it was sunny outside

I wish we had peace on earth

I wish I was happy to move in two weeks

I wish all my friends could move with me

I wish this parasite would seriously STOP moving for like a minute

I wish I trusted the government

I wish my apartment would pack and clean itself (but not really, I typically like packing except when it means I'm moving AWAY from where I want to be)

Have I mentioned I wish I wasn't moving in two short weeks?

Venting over...

At least he's honest...

Me : T, if you make another bad choice you will not get a treat bag to take in the car on the drive home (from grandma's)

T: Okay.
(bad choice made moments later)

Me: Okay bud..sorry, but no treat bag. You made a bad choice.

(10 minutes later)

Grandma: T, should we go make you a treat bag to take home.

T: Nope, I cannot have one because I made two bad choices...and in a minute, I will make three.


Oh the joys of a three year old. This came a day before he looked at me and said "Mom, Im going to go hide so I can bend this card that I should not bend."

HE DID IT!

Its official. The only thing J has left to do is graduate. He has taken and PASSED his boards and we couldn't be happier! He is very relieved to have it all over. Now its going to be a breeze for him to finish his internship and get recognized as officially receiving his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard, studied so much and slept very little to prepare for his future as a Physical Therapist and he is so excited about it. We all are! Its going to be a whole new experience!

CONGRATS TO J! WE LOVE YOU!!!