Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds but I wanted to record this 'milestone'. Abby has had a cold for going on three weeks now. On Wednesday we thought she was finally getting better but that night we saw the beginnings of a runny nose again. Thursday added in a cough that at times sounded really phlegmy and at other times just a normal cough. Friday was when the big stuff happened. On our drive down to Portland Abby threw up big girl style for the first time. Not to be too descriptive but it wasn't breast milk throw-up but full on chunks of lunch, dinner, and stomach acid. Yeah! Nate did great cleaning up everything while I held and nursed my baby. We made it to Portland without much further incident and soon were off to bed.
When we woke up Saturday morning, though, Abby's cough had developed into a full fledged hacking, phlegmy, gasping for air type of cough. Since Nate had childhood asthma he was very concerned about this being Abby's first dealing with it, too. After discussing Urgent Care vs the ER Nate decided that he would really feel more comfortable with the ER just in case she needed to be admitted for extra help. So it was off to the ER we went.
Once there, and after waiting only 2 hours from start to finish, it was determined that Abby has bronchitis. Thankfully no asthma problems at all! We now have her on antibiotics and hope that this will be the turning point of getting her healthy again. I know that babies get colds but I don't remember what she's like without a slightly runny nose. :-) All in all we are very happy that our first trip to the ER was for an easy fix and not some horrible illness or accident!
January 28, 2012
January 24, 2012
Finding Joy in Serving
Today I got a glimpse of the joy one can get when serving others. Tuesday mornings are the mornings I normally attend a bible study group (which I love!). The morning consists of an hour of large group where we sing worship songs, listen to practicals, and study devotional topics. The second hour is small group where we study a book more deeply. I love this time with God and fellow Moms. The problem was that Abby didn't enjoy her time in childcare. This fall, out of an eight week session, Abby stayed in childcare the entire two hours just once and that was due to a wonderful care taker who held her the entire two hours. Every other time I would get called out of large group and have Abby with me during small group. This made small group very hard to enjoy as I had to wrangle a tired, hungry, and confined child who just wanted to nurse, stretch, and fall asleep in her crib. Finally, Gwen (who is in charge of all the ladies doing childcare) suggested that I become a childcare lead for the Winter Session and help Abby become familiar with being in childcare. I hemmed and hawed for a long time. Mainly I was worried about giving up my once a week guaranteed away from Abby time, but I was also concerned about taking care of 10+ crawlers. Yes, I'd have other support in the room but I'd be the go-to girl. Don't get me wrong I love kids. But I also love being able to hand them back to their moms when I'm done with them. Being a lead would mean that no matter how much one was fussing or all out crying they were not something I could give back.
In the end I decided to sign up to be a Lead because I hoped and prayed that this would give Abby the comfort she needed to be able to do childcare without me for Spring session. I'll admit I dreaded the first day. But having just completed week 3 of 8, I'm realizing that I'm finding joy in serving. It's nice to be able to give other moms a much needed baby break. It's nice that I can honestly say that their child was a joy to have and I look forward to seeing them next week. And while there's always "that moment" where you look at the clock and remind yourself it's only for a little bit longer, I'm enjoying playing with all the kids. I'm so glad I signed up for this as I'm discovering that I'm growing as a person. I feel like I've never really been the giving type so this is a nice reminder that giving gets you something wonderful in return and that I need to do it more often.
In the end I decided to sign up to be a Lead because I hoped and prayed that this would give Abby the comfort she needed to be able to do childcare without me for Spring session. I'll admit I dreaded the first day. But having just completed week 3 of 8, I'm realizing that I'm finding joy in serving. It's nice to be able to give other moms a much needed baby break. It's nice that I can honestly say that their child was a joy to have and I look forward to seeing them next week. And while there's always "that moment" where you look at the clock and remind yourself it's only for a little bit longer, I'm enjoying playing with all the kids. I'm so glad I signed up for this as I'm discovering that I'm growing as a person. I feel like I've never really been the giving type so this is a nice reminder that giving gets you something wonderful in return and that I need to do it more often.
January 18, 2012
Snow Fun!
We woke up to snow this morning! At around 6" or so it was a lot of snow for our area so we had the typical school delays and closures. My niece, Haylee, came over to spend the afternoon with us as her preschool closed early and her Mom and Dad were both at work and unable to pick her up. This is one of the many reasons why I love living in an area with family! Once I got the girls fed lunch/snack we bundled up and headed into the back yard. Haylee had a blast jumping off of rocks, rolling in the snow, and running around like a mad woman. Abby, well, she had fun watching Haylee but with being all bundled up and unable to move her fun was limited. :-) I did catch a smile or two but overall I think the excitement of snow is still a year or so off. Or at least until she's walking. I also enjoyed stomping through the powder and watching the girls explore.
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| Our first attempt at a Snow Angel. She's not so sure about this. |
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| Haylee dumping snow on Abby. |
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| Abby and Me |
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| "Mama, pick me up!" |
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| The girls enjoying the snow. |
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| Playing in the sandbox. Haylee thought this was so cool that there was SNOW in the SAND box. :-) |
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| Abby and one of the few smiles we got while outside. |
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| Brushing snow off the sandbox. |
I hope all the pretty snow stays, but I'm not too hopeful. They're calling for freezing rain tonight, so I'm thinking tomorrow is going to be an inside the house type of day. It looks like I'll have Haylee over again, too, which will be nice for Abby. She loves playing with Haylee! Here's to a fun snow day!
January 5, 2012
Insurance Frustration
Since marrying Nate in March of 2010 I have switched insurances four times. The first time was when we got married and I switched over to Nate's insurance as it was cheaper and we were contemplating me staying at home with the kids even back then. The second time was when Nate switched from working at Areva to NuScale. The third time was after the NuScale fiasco and Nate began working for NAI. This final insurance switch happened just a bit ago as NAI was bought out by a company called Zachry. If you've noticed three of these insurance changes have happened due to job changes as the US currently ties insurance to your employment.
The most frustrating part about all of this is that each time our insurance changes I've had to go about finding out whether our current doctors/dentists/allergists/etc take our new insurance or not. If they don't (which has happened two out of the four insurance changes) I have to then go about finding new. I'm finding that I don't really care too much about which doctor or dentist I have as I've had many over the course of my life, but this latest change means I have to get a new pediatrician for Abby. It's this that I'm upset about. I really like our current pediatrician (Dr. Frances Dernbach) and am really not looking forward to finding a new one. I know that there are many fabulous doctors out there that will take exceptionally good care of Abby, but it's the fact that I have to that bothers me. I wasn't a fan of the way President Obama reformed our health insurance as it seemed to be only a band-aid to our problems (which will just break years down the road) instead of an overall redoing of the whole system which I was/am in favor of. I believe that a great deal of our economic woes comes from the fact that our employment and health insurance are intertwined. Sever that connection by making insurance part of the free-market and, in situations like when Nate was let go from NuScale due to the business closing, we wouldn't have been in a panic over our loss of health insurance. People who are currently unemployed and paying thousands of dollars to COBRA wouldn't as they would be on their normal health insurance even in times of unemployment.
In the end my frustration truly stems from the inconvenience of it all. Finding out who our new insurance will allow us to see. Determining where I want this pediatrician to be (Pasco vs. Richland) and of what type (family vs. pediatrics). Hopefully this quest will be an easy one and whomever I find will be caring for us for years to come.
The most frustrating part about all of this is that each time our insurance changes I've had to go about finding out whether our current doctors/dentists/allergists/etc take our new insurance or not. If they don't (which has happened two out of the four insurance changes) I have to then go about finding new. I'm finding that I don't really care too much about which doctor or dentist I have as I've had many over the course of my life, but this latest change means I have to get a new pediatrician for Abby. It's this that I'm upset about. I really like our current pediatrician (Dr. Frances Dernbach) and am really not looking forward to finding a new one. I know that there are many fabulous doctors out there that will take exceptionally good care of Abby, but it's the fact that I have to that bothers me. I wasn't a fan of the way President Obama reformed our health insurance as it seemed to be only a band-aid to our problems (which will just break years down the road) instead of an overall redoing of the whole system which I was/am in favor of. I believe that a great deal of our economic woes comes from the fact that our employment and health insurance are intertwined. Sever that connection by making insurance part of the free-market and, in situations like when Nate was let go from NuScale due to the business closing, we wouldn't have been in a panic over our loss of health insurance. People who are currently unemployed and paying thousands of dollars to COBRA wouldn't as they would be on their normal health insurance even in times of unemployment.
In the end my frustration truly stems from the inconvenience of it all. Finding out who our new insurance will allow us to see. Determining where I want this pediatrician to be (Pasco vs. Richland) and of what type (family vs. pediatrics). Hopefully this quest will be an easy one and whomever I find will be caring for us for years to come.
January 1, 2012
Happy New Years!
Good-bye, 2011! Hello, 2012!
This past year has been filled with many exciting things. Abby was born, Nate changed jobs, I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom, Nate took his Professional Engineer (PE) exam, Nate's company was bought out by another, and we took a fun family vacation to Florida. My gosh did we pack activities in to this year. Looking back over the past year Nate and I realize how much our lives have changed (for the better!) and how much we're looking forward to being less busy and more homebodyish (yep, that's a made up word) with working on house projects. Some of our house projects include repainting the inside and outside, putting in new carpet and linoleum, tearing out the sea grass plants, planting a dogwood (pink, please!) tree, fixing the broken gate, maybe replacing the old wooden fence with a new vinyl one, and redoing the side yard to allow for a shed. What did I say about being less busy this year? :-)
As for resolutions, well, I'll admit that getting back into shape is at the top. Nate and I are making it a goal to lose the baby weight that we put on. We're looking into joining a gym again (we both miss this) as well as focusing on eating healthier. A second resolution of mine is that I want to read my Bible more regularly. More regularly and with more focused intent. I currently read on my iPhone while Abby is nursing but I find that at times I speed read through the verses so that I can check them all off to say that my Bible reading is done. I'm reading a few different reading plans that have you read just a few verses to maybe a chapter or so a day and I want to really focus on their message rather than just skimming them. A third resolution is to do better with my meal planning and grocery shopping. This is the one area of my job that I have such a hard time with and I don't know why. I think it's a mental block now more than a physical or time one. So I resolve to sit down once a week, write out what we're going to eat for meals and snacks, then grocery shop for it. This should help with the losing weight resolution, too! My final resolution is to spend more play time with Abby. She plays so well on her own that I find that sometimes I sit with her for a few minutes here and there throughout the day but then I go back to cleaning, laundry, surfing the web, or whatever else it is that I'm focusing on. It's never a session where we play/read together for an extended period of time. I know that this time in her life is so short and if I don't capture what I can I'm going to miss it so much.
So there you have it. My four New Year's Resolutions are:
1. Lose weight and get healthier
2. Read my bible more and with greater focus
3. Weekly meal planning
4. Better playtime with Abby
Hope your New Year's resolutions (if you make them) are successful! Happy New Year!
This past year has been filled with many exciting things. Abby was born, Nate changed jobs, I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom, Nate took his Professional Engineer (PE) exam, Nate's company was bought out by another, and we took a fun family vacation to Florida. My gosh did we pack activities in to this year. Looking back over the past year Nate and I realize how much our lives have changed (for the better!) and how much we're looking forward to being less busy and more homebodyish (yep, that's a made up word) with working on house projects. Some of our house projects include repainting the inside and outside, putting in new carpet and linoleum, tearing out the sea grass plants, planting a dogwood (pink, please!) tree, fixing the broken gate, maybe replacing the old wooden fence with a new vinyl one, and redoing the side yard to allow for a shed. What did I say about being less busy this year? :-)
As for resolutions, well, I'll admit that getting back into shape is at the top. Nate and I are making it a goal to lose the baby weight that we put on. We're looking into joining a gym again (we both miss this) as well as focusing on eating healthier. A second resolution of mine is that I want to read my Bible more regularly. More regularly and with more focused intent. I currently read on my iPhone while Abby is nursing but I find that at times I speed read through the verses so that I can check them all off to say that my Bible reading is done. I'm reading a few different reading plans that have you read just a few verses to maybe a chapter or so a day and I want to really focus on their message rather than just skimming them. A third resolution is to do better with my meal planning and grocery shopping. This is the one area of my job that I have such a hard time with and I don't know why. I think it's a mental block now more than a physical or time one. So I resolve to sit down once a week, write out what we're going to eat for meals and snacks, then grocery shop for it. This should help with the losing weight resolution, too! My final resolution is to spend more play time with Abby. She plays so well on her own that I find that sometimes I sit with her for a few minutes here and there throughout the day but then I go back to cleaning, laundry, surfing the web, or whatever else it is that I'm focusing on. It's never a session where we play/read together for an extended period of time. I know that this time in her life is so short and if I don't capture what I can I'm going to miss it so much.
So there you have it. My four New Year's Resolutions are:
1. Lose weight and get healthier
2. Read my bible more and with greater focus
3. Weekly meal planning
4. Better playtime with Abby
Hope your New Year's resolutions (if you make them) are successful! Happy New Year!
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