Live, Laugh and Love

Defining love

2012-01-27T05:13:00.000-07:00

Love is a hard thing to define. So many people are quick to tell someone they love them without evening knowing what love is. Those same people are the ones who get upset when the other doesn't say the same. I also believe that one reason why the divorce rate is so high is because they really don't love the person they marry. Yes, they may believe they do but I don't think you fall out of love after a few years of marriage. Can people grow apart, of course they can. When you think you are no longer in love or you are growing apart it's time to take things into your own hands. No one is saying you should erase all the memories you have created but try and go back to the first day you met. Try to remember what you liked about that other person, why you fell in love with them.

I have been given that chance all over again. Being apart from Vincent has been hard, there have been many nights I have cried myself to sleep. But we have now been given the green light to see each other, heck even live together. I know it may sound silly, but it's a chance to get to know each other all over again. Sure we have talked on the phone or via the internet, but it's not the same. Things have changed and we are going to get our life back on track.

See to me that is one thing that love is. It's beating the odds, never never throwing in the towel. As I go forward in our marriage I am always going to remember

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.
I Corinthians 13:4-8

My new addiction

2012-01-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that I am addicted! No it's nothing bad, well not too bad. My addiction comes in the way of pinterest. What is pinterest.com you ask? Well, it is a website were you have as many boards as you like and you find items that you like and pin them to your boards.

Back in the day people would tear magazines apart taking out things they liked. They would save these items on walls or in shoe boxes under such titles as: bathroom redo ideas, wedding ideas, things for baby, etc. Now you have one place on the internet where you can do it all! Pinterest is very simple to use.

First, you create your account. Once you receive your invite you set up your boards. You can have as many boards as you like, and call them whatever you like. I have boards for: food and cooking, kids and family, Sariah, Kyle, home life, fashion and make up, and places that I would like to go. I actually think I missed one or two, but you get the idea.

Once you have your board or boards created the fun starts..the pinning or repinning. You can repin ideas that people have already pinned or when you go to a website (maybe a favorite cooking website) if you have the pin it button on the tool bar you can create a pin. I personally love it! I have come across so many craft ideas, recipes and clothing ideas that I am going insane. It's kinda my virtual shoe box online, and I don't have to worry about losing a recipe or a picture of an idea I liked. It's all right here at my fingertips, so good job you crazy internet people!

House or RV (Travel Trailer)

2012-01-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Over the last year Vincent and I have discussed the idea of living full time in a travel trailer / 5th wheel or an apartment / house. At one point we were seriously thinking about it, even went to look at trailers to get an idea of space. I have my reservations about living in a rv full time vs living in a house or apartment. So I thought I would share my thoughts about both.

RV Living:
Pros:
Your house / home is always with you. So if you need to move it's not like you have a lot of packing to do.
You don't have to worry so much about being foreclosed on or evicted. A lot of rvs are cheap enough that you can pay outright for them. If not most payments are that of a car payment.
You don't have to worry about neighborhoods going bad, or having loud neighbors as you have the freedom to move.
When you travel (unless going out of the country) your house goes with you. You don't have to worry about pesky lines at airports, hotel rooms or eating out. You also don't have to worry about packing up clothes, or toys for kids. The nice thing about having an rv is you can travel on your time. Hey if you can't find a campground to stay at overnight you can always boondock as they say.
If you are choosing to homeschool you can bring History alive simply by going to places you are studying.
Work. If you are living in an area and having a hard time finding work you can always move to a different area. With Vincent's type of work we always know that no matter where we go he should be able to get some jobs.
No yard work! You don't have to worry about keeping your yard looking nice

Cons:
Space. With an RV you don't have a lot of space to move around unless you are willing to spend a lot of money.
You find yourself confined to the same area all the time. There aren't many defined rooms like in an apartment or house.
RV sites have limits on how old your trailer can be, some have to be less then 5-10 years old.
You are limited to the type of vehicle you own.
If you choose to live in two main areas (let's say a summer home and winter home) you have to have more then one doctor. Or if you are going to be traveling you need to know where the local clinics / hospitals are just in case someone get's sick.
There is no real get away for vacation
Cost of gas, car insurance / rv insurance, rental of a campsite.
You have to spend a lot of time outside because of the limited space.

Good news; Bad News

2012-01-25T11:53:00.001-07:00

The good news is I can now legally talk to my husband once again. We no longer have to be fearful that just one conversation, one e-mail, or one sighting can have him arrested! This also means that if we want we can live together once again. These last few months have been difficult to say the least. Yes, I love being around my family but I also miss having my husband around. At night is when I miss him the most, his covering me up and holding me. It's also nice to have help at night when the kids decide that they are going to wake up every few hours.

The bad news is the trial got pushed back. What this means is that our life is still on hold and that really, really sucks. A new trial date hasn't been set and won't be until Jan 30th. Don't they know what they are doing to us? I mean I understand that a man who has been in jail for the last 2 years should come first, but don't you think when scheduling these trials you would have a calendar of events? The good news was I spoke with Tupak today who confirmed everything for me, so there will be no if ands or buts about it.

So the question becomes.....Now What?

Co-Sleeping

2012-01-18T12:27:00.004-07:00

If you are not a parent or have friends and family with small children around you might not have heard about co-sleeping. You could be sitting there scratching your head and asking yourself what is co-sleeping. Well, co-sleeping and also known as bed sharing or "having a family bed" is the practice of having your infant in your bed with you during sleep. As much as I love both of my children and don't mind if they sleep with us once or twice do not promote co-sleeping in my house.

Personally, it's not for me as I have a toddler who just can't lay still. So someone had shared these pictures, and I thought I would share them with you. I have been in many of these positions in the middle of the night with my young son, and let me tell ya they aren't fun.

As I said earlier I personally don't co-sleep, however both my son and daughter have shared the bed with me. Every child has rough nights when they need to be by mommy and daddy, and I will be right there for them.

However, I would like to share some of the benefits of co-sleeping with you:
Why Do Some People Choose to Cosleep?

Encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime breastfeeding more convenient

Makes it easier for a nursing mother to get her sleep cycle in sync with her baby's

Helps babies fall asleep more easily, especially during their first few months and when they wake up in the middle of the night

Helps babies get more nighttime sleep (because they awaken more frequently with shorter duration of feeds, which can add up to a greater amount of sleep throughout the night)

Helps parents who are separated from their babies during the day regain the closeness with their infant that they feel they missed

I think that if you can do it, co-sleeping is a great bonding experience for parents and children. But please don't think that there are no risk involved.

Kyle is growing up

2012-01-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sariah is growing up

2012-01-17T04:13:00.002-07:00

The Holidays

2012-01-03T18:06:00.003-07:00

For me the holidays just aren’t the same. Why you ask? Well, because I am separated from the one I love. If I had my way I would be in his arms right now, doing well adult things with him since the kids are asleep. But alas we can not be together. This is not my doing and I am dreaming of the day we can be together once and for all. Until that time comes I will dream of waking up and falling asleep in his arms, and being a family that will no longer be broken.

Other then not being with my husband Christmas was good. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to give the kids a good christmas, but I did my best. I think Kyle has liked his gifts, Sariah on the other hand was kinda like eh. Until I get a proper card reader in my computer I can only update pictures that I have copied onto my mom's computer.

Here are the pictures from a couple of the Christmas dinners we had.

Job hunt to finally employed

2012-01-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Job Hunting:
In today’s world finding a job is hard, mainly because everyone is competing for the same jobs. You have people that normally wouldn’t be working having to get jobs just to support themselves. It’s really sad when you think about it, I mean you look forward to your retirement only to find out you can’t.

Since moving to Cincinnati I have to find a job. I originally had a job lined up in SLC, but then moved. As much as I would love to work in childcare that just really isn’t an option because I am only going to be here temporarily. I have my hopes set on a job that is hiring for the holiday season, which would be perfect. Guess it’s time to dust off the resume and cover letters and get to job hunting.

Finally Employed:
The one big thing, the one big push for me was when I got back to Cincinnati I needed to get a job. I needed a job so I can have money for diapers and what not, but also to help Vincent back home with rent and other bills. In this economy it’s hard to find a job, even harder if you don’t have a car to get around (I really don’t like the Cincinnati bus system as you can get lost real easily). So when I couldn’t go out looking for a job I would look on craigslist. Now naturally I would have wanted a job in childcare, but since I will only be here for such a short time it would be too much of a hassle. Instead I was looking for call center work, reason being is they have a high turnover rate. Well, on Wednesday (i believe) I received a call from a woman who had gotten my reply about a job. Based on my resume and past call center experience she wanted me to come in for an interview. It was a same day interview and she seemed really excited to meet me. When I first got to the place, because I had failed to catch the name, I was a bit worrisome. I had also gotten there a 1/2 earlier then what I had planned. It seemed to be a rundown warehouse and the first thing that came to mind was this was a scam and I was about to be jumped. When time for my interview came around I called the woman back and she met me out front. I took a tour of the building, the warehouse. There isn’t much to it, but it is a major online company. After the walk through I was told that I would be the only customer service person, that I would be handing the on-line chat as well the the e-mails. That is all well and good…wait did you say the only one?? Okay so maybe I get my own office, but I am the only person to handle the customer service! Yeah me, I expect it to be stressful but luckily it is only for about 8 weeks. Of course they don’t know that yet as I told them I can do it and don’t plan on leaving, oh well. Of course I guess a lot will also depend on how Vincent’s trial goes. Either way I am employed full time, this will be both a change for me and my children. Yup, I know it’s gonna be hard on Kyle because he has become rather clingy lately.

Such a wonderful big brother

2012-01-03T17:45:00.003-07:00

I still remember when I found out I was pregnant for a second time I was concerned about how it would effect my son, especially being so young. People always told me not to worry that they will be the best of friends, but I was concerned that he would feel jaded with a new baby while he is still young. I even thought that once he was old enough to realize that he was between 3-4 months old when I got pregnant again that he would hate me for it.

When my due date got closer I was even more worried as to how he would react. Being an only child and never spending any real time with other children I wasn’t sure how he would take to her or me spending time holding and feeding her.

His reactions were what I expected, he was somewhat jealous of her. He wanted a bottle when she had one or he would try and take hers, he would try and climb in my lap when I was holding her or pull her off me, and really didn’t want much to do with her. I mean really what 1yr old would. I am happy to announce that he is doing much, much better. He still has his jealousy moments, as any kid would, but he has finally truly accepted her into our family. Sometimes he can still be a bit rough with her, but I think that’s because he doesn’t understand how to be gentle. It makes me so happy when she is laying on the couch and he climbs up next to her and lays his head on her tummy, or when he gives her hugs (sometimes a bit to rough), and is now trying to play with her. As I watch him now I know that my little boy is going to be an amazing big brother, and I am already so proud of him.

Overcoming fear

2012-01-03T17:45:00.001-07:00

Fear is something that everyone has to overcome. From birth we are afraid of a lot of different things. One of the first few fears that we overcome is the fear of sitting up, crawling,walking and standing alone. It’s amazing to watch as children learn to overcome those fears, to achieve those goals.

For Kyle he has been somewhat of a late bloomer, he never hit the milestones when a lot of other kids where hitting them. He has really taught me a valuable lesson in patience. Recently we have really been working on his walking (he is getting close to 18 months). He is pretty good about walking when he is pushing something or holding on, but he just isn’t ready to let go. Over the last week he has gotten braver and braver. He has been letting go and standing on his own, although I don’t think he realizes it just yet. He has also been taking small baby steps, like 3 steps at a time. My goal is that he is walking by Christmas, don’t think it’s a lofty goal.

Becoming a big girl so fast

2012-01-03T17:41:00.002-07:00

Every day that passes Sariah gets another day older. Not only does she get older, but she is trying and learning new things. Today was our first day of sippy cup use. Yes, that is right we used a sippy cup. Now baby girl isn’t even 6 months old yet and I wasn’t sure if she was ready, however big brother Kyle thought she was. It was lunch time for Sariah and I had put her in the high chair / booster seat and I guess Kyle thought she might be a bit thirsty. He took his cup (it has a straw) and put it on the tray and she grabbed it and put it to her mouth and tried to suck on it. So I decided while I am trying to get her to poop to give her apple juice and instead of giving it in a bottle I did a sippy cup that Kyle doesn’t use anymore. She had some issues with the juice running out of her mouth, but other then that she did pretty good.

Still have a hard time seeing how fast she is growing up, next thing you know she’ll be sitting up on her own (we are working on that) and crawling around (she has perfected the art of rolling over) and talking (you can always tell from her blah blahs when she is happy or mad).

These are the times to cherish I say.

A lot of updates coming your way!

2012-01-03T17:29:00.002-07:00

So I have been so busy with life that it's been awhile since I have updated my blog, even though I have had the post prepared. So I decided I would throw them all at you once.

We will start with:
This is the Place Heritage Park
The other day I took Kyle and Sariah to This is the Place Heritage Park. I really enjoyed the park and I wish I would have got there earlier, not at closing time. Anyway, here are were some of the pictures of Kyle I was able to get.

Our night and day so far!

2011-11-15T09:26:00.002-07:00

Today is Tuesday Nov 15th, however the troubles started last night. Let me just give you a quick run through of how things have gone down so far.

Last night: Sariah has been having gas/constipation issues (something I am working on trying to fix). Anyway, around 6pm she became rather fussy, usually around this time she takes a short nap after a little bottle. Well, being gassy makes it hard to sleep. So I laid down with her, Kyle laid himself down (such a good boy). So around 8pmish she woke up (and by this time I guess she had relaxed enough to finally poop). Gave her a bottle and she played for a little bit. Well around 9pm (maybe later) Kyle decided that he would wake up and join the party.

Now Kyle hasn't been eating like he used to, for some reason he wants to be fed like a little baby. So knowing that he probably had to be hungry I fed him some baby food. I knew all to well that Kyle wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. Either way I laid Sariah in bed and she went right to sleep.

Kyle was a bit more difficult and didn't want to go back to bed. I took him in my room and let him crawl around on the bed and play (he loves our bed). Well he finally fell back to sleep around 1am and so I moved him back to his own bed.

Well, come 6:30 / 7 am I get a wake up call from Sariah and Kyle. Sariah took a bottle and went right back to sleep. Kinda wish that would work with Kyle, but alas that doesn't anymore. Either way he decided he was awake for good, even though you could tell he was still tired. Heck, I even tried giving him bottle in hopes he would fall back asleep.
Is there anything wrong with giving a 16 month old a bottle of formula? I think not!
Nope, that didn't work. So I warmed him up some mini egos for breakfast and gave him some juice. Do you think he would eat them? No, they ended up being thrown around (which is his new favorite thing to do with food.

So next I decided that I would call my parents around 8am and see where they are. Had some trouble with reception, but all worked out. During this time he decided it would be a good time to stink up the apartment, yuck. Well, I changed his diaper and laid him down. Got some gaming in, even though I need to be packing. It's now 9:30 and he is awake again and has left me a little stinky surprise in his diaper yet again.

Guess it's time to change his diaper again and get to packing, and here is hoping the rest of our day goes well.

(PS: He is going to get the booster to his flu shot today)

Motherhood

2011-11-14T14:22:00.001-07:00

Think this picture sums up what I am feeling right now.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-15T06:20:00.004-06:00

Growing up my family never really celebrated halloween, with understandable reasons. I did get to go to our church's fall festivals which was a lot of fun. There were games, candy and I got to get dressed up. As fun as those were, and now I get to take Kyle and Sariah to our church trunk or treat, I missed out on one big thing. Can you guess what it is? Yeah I know the blog title gives it away...carving a pumpkin!

At this point you are probably saying to yourself, really? Maybe to most people it seems like a small thing, but it's something that I have always wanted to do. Until now my only experience with a pumpkin was last year making pumpkin soup. Talk about some hard work gutting and skinning a pumpkin. The soup was amazing and we plan on making it again this year as well.

Well last night was the last Sugar House Farmer's Market for the year and they were offering pumpkin carving for $1. When I saw that I was so totally excited and I told Vincent that no matter what I wanted to carve a pumpkin with Kyle. So around 7pm we headed up to the farmer's market, along with Maggie. I was hoping they still had pumpkins to carve since it was so close to closing time. I left Kyle with daddy while I went and checked, and sure enough they had one "imperfect" pumpkin left. I say that it's imperfect because it kinda leans, which I guess could sum up my life.

Anyway, I went over and asked Vincent for a $1 and took Kyle over to the table with me. Kyle wasn't a lot of help, but he did pick out the mouth and sorta hold the tools with mommy's help. I can't really ask a lot of a 15 month old, nor give him a pumpkin and say have your way with it. So after about 5-10 minutes our pumpkin was done, and now it perfect.

So now I can finally mark off carving a pumpkin from my list of things to do before I die.

Milestones - Comparing my two little ones.

2011-10-13T12:01:00.004-06:00

The joy of have two small children can be overwhelming, it can also be very challenging. If one thing is certain, just because Kyle and Sariah share the same DNA and looks they are two different children. This is proven by the way they are developing.
Milestones are a big deal in a child's life, it's really how we base their development. Granted each child can hit those milestones at different times, some children achieve milestone markers before others, while some are just late bloomers. I used to get hung up on Kyle hitting those milestone markers in his early development and would get disappointed when he didn't hit it the month it was to be expected. If Kyle has ever taught me one thing in life it's this...patience! Kyle is who I would consider a late bloomer if you base his development on a milestone chart, but you know what he is learning at his pace. I am in no rush for him to grow up just yet. Do I wish he could walk, yes I do. Do I wish he could / would say more words, yes. But as long as his doctor isn't worried then I am not going to worry about it. Personally I think he knows how to do these things, he just chooses not to do them. He is a very bright little boy, and I see a lot of potential in him.
Sariah on the other hand seems to be hitting her milestones right on track. I mean it's like night and day between the two. Here is a list of the milestones she has hit already

Motor Development

Opens and shuts his hands. More...
Raises his head and chest while lying on his stomach More...
Stretches her legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back. More...
Supports her upper body with her arms when lying on stomach. More...
Swats at dangling toys placed near him. More...
Mouths objects brought to her face. More...
Reaches and grasps for things with both hands. More...
Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface. More...

Visual Development

Watches faces intently. More...
Turns head toward direction of sound. More...
Follows moving objects with his eyes. More...
Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance. More...

Language Development

Begin to babble. More...

Social/Emotional Development

Reacts when you sing, call his name, or attempt to play. More...
Enjoys playing with other people; may cry when playing stops. More...
Becomes more communicative with face and body. More...
Smiles! Grins! More...
Recognizes familiar faces. More...
Appears joyful often. More...
Laughs out loud. More...

Cognitive Development

Stares at her hands and fingers. More...
Plays with her fingers. More...
Brings his hands to his mouth. More...
Has accustomed to regular eating and sleeping patterns.

It's hard to think that she can do all these things when she is still so little. I am so proud of both of my children and how far they have come already, and I am excited to see how they progress.

Even though Sariah has rolled over more then a few times it seems like she just didn't want to do it today, but she gave her best effort.

Crib or toddler bed?

2011-10-13T09:15:00.003-06:00

So the other day we were on the floor playing with the kids when Vincent piped up about turning Kyle's crib into a toddler bed, and it went sorta like this.
Vincent: "I think we should change Kyle's crib into a toddler bed".
Me:"mmm, okay are you sure about that?"
Vincent: "Yes I am sure,"
Me: "This would mean that he can get up and crawl around in the middle of the night, etc"
Vincent: "I think it would encourage him to start walking"
Me:"Well if you are so sure about it why not, but you can sleep with him tonight to make sure he doesn't get up"

So within a few moments we were in the kid's room taking Kyle's crib apart. It was rather funny since the instruction manual was pictures and no words! Way to go you Sweds (crib was from Ikea). After awhile we had it done, challenge met. Now would come the hard part, getting Kyle to sleep in his new found toddler bed. So far he liked it, but he was unaware of what was to come.

The first night was the hardest of them all, he was up at least 3 different times. ( I went to bed and let Vincent deal with it). I had woken up around 3AM because I needed to go to the bathroom and when I looked Kyle was in the living room playing. I was kinda upset to see my 15 month old son up playing at 3am! Vincent said he was thirsty so he had given him something to drink (little did I know it was kool aid, and yes I can take 90% of the blame for pouring it in the first place). So I took him in my room to lay down, hoping that being in my room would calm him down. Nope I was completely wrong. Vincent came to lay down as well, but Kyle was far to hyper. He played and played on our bed, all the while trying to keep him confined. Finally I had enough, I took him into his own room and laid him on his bed and closed to door. He threw a fit for about 10 minutes, in the process caused himself to throw up and then quieted down. I went in to check on him and had to change his sheets, at this point I just stayed in the room with him.
So we didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but oh well. Nap time was the same, only I just stayed in the room rubbing his head and he fell asleep after about 15 minutes.

So the next night was a bit easier, and he only woke up once. When he woke up I ended up sleeping next to him again, just for comfort.

Last night seemed like a breeze, around 9pm I turned on the tv in his room and watched CSI, around 9:30 I turned it off. After about 30 minutes of playing in the dark he laid down and went to sleep and slept all night! I have come to the realization that I just need to let him play until he is so tired that he is ready to go to bed on his own. I am starting to think now when I used to put him in his crib that he didn't go to sleep right away. I still don't know how naps are gonna go, but at least now I know he can sleep in his bed without waking up and crawling around.

I said I would give it about 3 or 4 days to see how he is doing, and so far he is doing pretty well.

Here are some pictures:

Growing up so fast

2011-10-03T08:17:00.002-06:00

Did you know that kids grow up way to fast? Yeah it's so true. Sariah is 14 weeks old and getting bigger everyday. Watching my little girl hit different milestones is awesome, but saddening. It's the same thing with Kyle, every day he is getting bigger and bigger and more independent. Is it bad of me to want them both to stay small? Sariah is a little talker and mover, I fear that one of these days I am going to look over while we are doing tummy time to see that she has just taken off. She is already trying to get up on her knees, and can sorta push herself while on her tummy. Maybe I got spoiled because Kyle took a long time to crawl and I kinda liked it like that (yes I know that sounds bad). She also reaches for things and holds onto toys, pacis and fingers. My little girl is also no longer just happy with a bottle and wants real food. She loves sitting up so she can look around and see what's going on, and she loves watching football.
As I said before she loves to talk and growl. I am not so sure where the growling came from, but it's kinda cute.
So here is a short video of Sariah talking to her bear.

Again, both of my kids are growing up way to fast for my liking and I wish they would stay small, but it's all part of life.

A working trip

2011-09-27T06:46:00.006-06:00

Some days being self employed has its perks, things like setting your own schedule and taking your family to work with you. Before having kids it was a lot easier accepting service calls out of state and we could both work. Now it has gotten a lot harder to do these types of things. About a week and half ago a were offered a job in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The job was for the McDonald's Insight Go Live project, which is probably one of the easiest jobs I have seen. Here is the scoop on the job, the night before some techs go in to a Mcdonald's location and upgrade the system (they get all new computer equipment basically registers, monitors, etc.)It is then our job to come in at 6am and check to make sure everything is working the way it is suppose to. We have a 3 page check list that we have to mark off, by visually inspecting the equipment. If we find that something isn't working the way it is suppose to then we call in to tech support and try and troubleshoot it, otherwise they open up a ticket for it. 90% of the time everything is working and there are no issues to report, you might do all in all thirty minutes to an hour of work. Now just because you get done at 7am doesn't mean you get to leave, nope you are stuck there till 1pm. This is because you never know what issues may arise. You can't complain much because you are getting paid to sit at McDonalds, you have wifi and food what more is there?

Originally there were 12 sites in all spread across Idaho, we wanted to do all 12. There was 1 issue with doing ALL 12, there is only two of us. Since we could find anyone to go with us and do the other 4 sites we just did 8 (you can only do 1 a day). Now this posed a question as to what we were going to do with the kids, you really can't take two small children with you to work. Our first idea was to find some kind of drop in daycare in the areas that we would be at, but alas we had no luck. In the end I kept the kids with me, thank you Lord for play places. This was one of those trips I was glad to have good babies. For seven hours Kyle was mostly confined to a high chair, I mean sadly I can't let him run around the store. I felt like a bad mom at some points, but I knew that this money would help us out a lot. At each store I would take Kyle outside to the play place for awhile, now he hates the tunnels and will just break down in tears crying. Most of the time the play places were outside and it was kinda cold in the mornings, but at our last store in Idaho Falls it was an indoor play place(and it didn't have a door). So I set up shop in the play place. I let the manager know where I was and if they had any issue where to find me. This also meant that on our last day Kyle was able to crawl around and play, not be confined to a high chair. He loved it, he even got over his fears of the tunnels. All in all it was a good trip even though it was highly stressful. I am glad that God gave us the opportunity to do this work and that I got to see some old friends that gave us a place to sleep for 2 nights.

Now would I do it again, yes but I would try harder to find a babysitter for Kyle and Sariah.

Kyle playing in the tunnels

Playing in the tunnels

Breaking out the toys

Setting up camp in the Play Place

Spent a lot of time in highchairs

Getting ready for a nap

This is what happened when Kyle got bored

Sugar Rush

2011-09-16T08:36:00.003-06:00

I have learned the main reason why you don't give sugar to kids, especially toddlers. I made the mistake of letting Vincent give Kyle a sugary snack (didn't think it had a lot of sugar in it) and about 15-20 minutes later he was "high" He was sitting on our bed and would just throw himself backwards, leap around, and roll around the bed, and he was non-stop laughing. Of course when I got the camera he stopped, oh well he is still a cute and amazing kid.

Also, here are some pictures of my little monster.

Sariah

2011-08-20T12:17:00.003-06:00

So I thought I would just share some pictures and video of Sariah.

Here is my little miss talker. Between her and Kyle I have no idea how I will get a word in edgewise.

Kyle: From this to that

2011-08-09T03:39:00.006-06:00

Kyle: Kyle is now 13 months. He is now a toddler, momma's big boy. He is such an amazing little boy with such personality. Watching him grow up has been such a blessing and I can't believe a year has gone by already! Congrats on making to 1 Kyle. So I thought I would share some pictures and video of my totally awesome little guy.
From this:

To

August

2011-08-09T03:26:00.003-06:00

Wow I can't believe we are two weeks into August already, where has the time gone? My little boy is already 13 months and in a few days Sariah will be 2 months old. These last 8 weeks have just flown by, and I am guessing it's because I am chasing around 2 rugrats instead of 1.

So here is what is upcoming in the month of August.

10th: Family pictures at SugarHouse Park(still trying to think about what we will all wear)

17th:Sariah turns 2 months, has her 2 month check up and shots. Kyle also has his 1 yr check up and will be getting shots. I fear this day will not be a happy one.

22nd: Vincent's birthday. He will be 36, and I think we will be having dinner at whole foods. Can't wait to make the cake (or maybe get one from Cake Walk)

29th-31st: Our free stay at Wendover. Yes the kiddies are gonna come too, unless I can find a babysitter for two nights. Even if they are with us, it will still be nice to get out of the apartment. And since the room is free I am thinking massage.

So that is pretty much the upcoming month, yeah of course there will be pizza / movie night and the Farmer's Market as well.

Deception

2011-08-07T10:12:00.003-06:00

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”
Sir Walter Scott - Marmion

I'm not one to pass judgment upon people(everyone has their reasons for doing what they do), but this young woman is either just poor evil or very disturbed.
To give you a bit of a background:

Young Jerica is a member of several different facebook groups, and she has been claiming to be pregnant, well not any more.

Here is the basic time line of events
(Feb 2nd gave birth to her daughter that passed away a few days later. Now we are giving birth to another little girl 10 + weeks early, which doesn't add up cause she would have already been pregnant when she conceived this one!)

July 23 she was admitted into the hospital for high blood pressure, gonna keep her there till it's safe to deliver (most likely around 32 weeks/ also went from being 24 weeks to 29 weeks due to baby head /belly measurements)

July 24th i had a seizure early this morning. and i'm starting to dilate.

@ 6pm induction started

@ 6:25ish she was 6 cm

@ 8:08pm she posted a picture of Saniya at 25minutes old

@9:27 saniya sharkay lynette smith was born with stats 3lbs 4oz 16inches long

So wait a second she was able to post a picture of her daughter at 8pm when her daughter hadn't been born yet, wow that is so amazing.

@8:55pm she wishes she could hold her baby, but they say it will be a few weeks.

July 25th Held her daughter for the first time. She won't be able to go home till at least 6-8 they will check and see if she is able to breath on her own. And it could be up to 3 or 4 months before she is allowed to come home. Or another update said 6-9 weeks

@9:27 welp my baby girl as officially lived the first two hours of her life :) (again something seems a bit off)

July 27th Saniya will be able to come home when she reaches 5lbs5oz if she does good with feedings (and I assume is off the breathing machines)

She has also gained 3 oz prayers are working, if she keeps this up she'll be home when she reaches the weight they want.

Now they changed the weight to only 4lbs 7oz off breathing machine for a week and able to eat w/o feeding tube for 24hrs

July 29th Still using a feeding tube (which is to be expected)

July 31st 1 week old ( taken off breathing machine?? Based on later post)

August 1st Saniya went in for assessment

August 3rd 3 days down and 4 more days she will have been off the breathing machine for a week

August 4th Possibly, 4 more days and she'll be off a

breathing machine for a week then she'll nearly meet the preemie expectations

August 5th 3 more days!!!!!!! :) cant wait. ♥ the count down begins. Till it has been a week since she was taken off the breathing machines

August 6th Baby is suppose to come home from hospital @ 7am not even 2 weeks old and they are letting the baby come home

I don't remember seeing any updates about being taken off the breathing machines or even the feeding tube being removed, just that how long baby would have been off.

During all of this she has been out getting drunk just about every night, so where are the other kids?

Now Jerica is also the mother to twins, however she always seems to find the time to be out partying, drinking and getting high.

Now we finally outed her on Facebook (I don't think any of her fb friends are real, because they can't be that blind). As seen below Jerica claimed that her daughter was released, and the picture that she used claiming it was her daughter was taken off another website..uh oh Jerica. OF course she claimed this website stole her picture..umm this article was up long before your daughter was released, and how amazing that they were able to steal her picture and right a full length article in just 20 mins.

Once she was outed she deleted her facebook page and made another one. To me wouldn't you challenge what people are saying, especially if you really did have a daughter that was in the NICU.
It worries me to see that this woman has no issue about lying about being pregnant, and giving birth. That deceiving is okay for her and it just seems to come easily.

But those webs of lies are slowly coming apart, and soon she will be left alone.

Warning! & Caution Children at Play (2 post in 1)

2011-07-30T08:13:00.007-06:00

(1st post)

When you come in my home don't expect it to be perfect, because that just isn't going to happen. It's not that I am a dirty person or lazy, it's just I have 2 small kids. I do my best to keep up, but some days it's just too much. So yeah when you walk in the door you will most likely see toys all over the floor, thanks to my 1 yr old son, an empty sippy cup and or bottle laying around. You might find dishes in the sink and cheerios on the floor ( cause I haven't had time to sweep)or even plates on the table. Clean clothes may still be in baskets waiting to be put away, and the beds unmade, with a pair or two of dirty socks gracing my floor. Shelves might be a little dusty and the trash may need to be taken out, but a person can only do so much. So here is the deal, I won't judge you so don't judge me. By the end of the night before I go to bed, toys are put up,clean clothes are folding and put away and the dirty clothes are picked up, floors are swept, trash is taken out, table is cleared and dishes are done. What I can say is when you walk into my home, you know it's a home and that a family lives here.

A poem dedicated to the toys in my home

Toys,toys,toys, everywhere you look.
Toys in the living room,
Toys in my bedroom,
You'll even find special toys in the bathroom!
No matter where you turn,
No matter where you go,
You will always find
Toys,toys,toys, anywhere you look.

Since having kids I have learned that your living space is no longer your living space. For an example: my living room is in no short supply of toys. A matter of fact Kyle has 2 shelves and a crate of toys that grace our living room. Sariah has a corner just set up for her with a couple blankets of the floor and her play mat, plus her swing and her lounge chair. Oh and let's not forget the walker in the living room! If you come into our bedroom you won't find as many toys, but there are a few. Even in the bathroom you will find toys in the tub. Now even with all the toys, he still likes playing with anything he can find, toy or not. So my living space is no longer a living space, but rather a giant indoor play ground.

Things I have learned since becoming a parent

2011-07-18T19:06:00.005-06:00

There are some days I wish that my son or daughter came with an instruction manual, but that would make things far to easy. Nope, no instruction manuals here. However, what you do have are a ton of books on how to raise a child. None of which can really, truly prepare you for your little bundle of joy. Do you know why they can't prepare you? The answer is simple: each child is completely different. Now don't get me wrong these books have amazing tips and advice that you can use. Me personally, I just wouldn't go out and spend hundreds of dollars on these books when you can find the same advice and tips on the internet for free! Okay, so you've got me. I do have some books on how to raise your children: The Happiest Baby on the Block and the Happiest Toddler on the Block. I also read What to Expect When You are Expecting and a couple other maternity books while I was pregnant.

As I said, no book or manual can truly prepare for what is ahead for a first time mom. It's all on the job training, and man is it tough. Sure you can ask your family members or friends who have kids how to handle certain situations, but alas it may not work for you.

My son and daughter, only being less then a year apart are completely different.
With Kyle, he was laid back and didn't need a lot of attention. Sariah, not so laid back and likes being held all the time.
Kyle never had an issue with gas. Sariah, man that girl could clear a room with some of her not so little gas bubbles of love.
Kyle wasn't a bottomless pit. Sariah = bottomless pit (no wonder why she has so much gas and poop!)
Anyway, you get the idea. Each child is different.

So here are the things I have learned as a parent:

1) You can expect to be peed on, at least once if not more. This happens more often with boys then girls.
2) You can almost bet that there will be a time or two that as soon as you change the diaper your son or daughter will poop.
3) Bath time can be fun for both you and your child or it can be a dreaded time.
4) "No" will probably become a word that is used often in your house.
5) When it comes to gifts, your young toddler will probably like the wrapping paper or gift bag that it came in more then the actual gift.
6) Teething is no fun
7) Nap times / bedtimes can be some what of a pain in butt, especially if your child is overly tired and doesn't want to lay down.
8) Do not expect privacy in the bathroom anymore.
9) Yes your child will shut themselves in a room, may even lock themselves in that room
10) All children will test your limits just to see how much they can get away with.
11) Your child can sense your mood.
12) Simple / quick trips to the store are not longer simple, quick trips.
13) Your child will fall off your bed or couch at least once, it not more then once. This will lead to bumps and bruises, but don't worry it happens to even the best parents.
14) Sometimes you just have to let them cry it out. This one can be tough, you want to make sure you know the reason why they are crying. Before ignoring the crying make sure they aren't tired, hungry or wet.
15) Everything will go in their mouth, edible or not.
16) Once mobile they want to check out everything. Curiosity is an amazing thing.

You know I could go on and on with my list. But most of all what I have learned is patience and understanding. My son who is now 1 loves to explore the apartment and get into things he isn't suppose to. There are days when I want to pull out my hair or just let him run wild, but you know he truly is a blessing and I am glad that I am here to teach him what is right and wrong and watch him learn.And my daughter, well she may not always be a bundle of joy but I do love her and an exciting to see how she blossoms into a beautiful, well behaved toddler (I kid I kid).

Take care and may you always remember to Live, Laugh and Love.

Talk about double trouble 2 under 1

2011-07-09T22:40:00.002-06:00

People say having 2 under 2 is hard, well try having 2 under the age of 1. Being pregnant while trying to raise an infant was hard, now it's even harder. I love both of my children very much, but they both can be handfuls at times. Even with the help of my parents (thank you very much) it has been difficult.

Kyle just turned 1 and I swear the terrible 2s have hit him already. He is now crawling and pulling himself up so he is into everything. Because he is getting into everything and going places he shouldn't be going he has been hearing the word no and he does not like it very much. When you tell him no he will either bang his head down or try and smack you. I am really hoping that this is just a phase and that he will outgrow it......SOON!

Sariah, I swear is already spoiled and is a bottomless pit.The reason why I say she is spoiled is because she will cry and as soon as you pick her up she stops, and this is after she has been feed, burped and changed. Now when it comes to eating I often wonder where she is putting it all (when she doesn't spit it back up, which has been known to happen when she decides not to burp). Sleeping is another challenge in my house.

Sariah is doing well with night time. She seems to have decided that her bedtime is somewhere between 7 and 8 pm. Then she will wake up usually between 1-2am for a feeding and then go back to sleep. Depending on her last feeding she will wake up anywhere between 4 and 6 am. So we are getting about a 4-6 hour sleep time at night between feedings which is awesome. I am hoping that by 6 weeks that she is sleeping through the night.

I am trying to get Kyle back on a normal sleep schedule for daytime naps and a bedtime routine. If Sariah keeps it up with her going to bed before 8 that is awesome because it will allow me to work on Kyle's bedtime routine. My goal is to have Kyle in bed and asleep by 9pm, 9:30 at the latest. This means that we will start our bedtime routine at 8pm and lay down around 8:45 pm.
Daytime naps are going to be a bit harder, but he seems to get sleepy after meals. So I am gonna start letting him play for about an hour after he wakes up (or until he starts getting fussy for breakfast)then feed him and let him play for a little bit longer. Then from there lay him down for a short morning nap (I am thinking about 45 mins). After lunch is when I want him to take his long nap, because I have noticed that he starts getting fussy/cranky around 4 /5 and wants to take a nap. So if I can get him to take a 2 hour nap around 1 pm that would help me out a lot.

In the end my goal is to have them taking at least 1 nap at the same time so I can rest as well, but we will see.

I know that the next few months, even years will be a challenge, but I am totally up for it.

I have decided that the Happiest Baby on the Block and the Happiest Toddler on the Block books will be a wise investment.

Welcome to the world

2011-07-03T12:56:00.003-06:00

Sariah Rose Gambill joined our family on June 17th @ 9:15 pm via c-section. The last few weeks of my pregnancy seemed to go by slowly and were stressful. Not only was I trying to get everything ready for the arrival of my daughter, I was also busy raising my son (who is less then a year old). I was also dealing with the fears and anxiety of having a c-section. With my son I went natural, no real pain meds. I was hoping to be able to do the same with Sariah but she had other plans. At the 36 week appointment it was discovered that my beautiful little girl was breech, butt first. We had hoped that maybe she would turn on her own, or with doctor help but that never happened. So Vincent and I sat down with our doctor and discussed the scheduling of the c-section. My doctor suggested doing it on June 16th, however we wanted to wait until my parents were in town, so we scheduled it for June 20th (her due date). I think in the back of my mind I was hoping that she would turn before then so I wouldn't have to be cut open. Well Sariah had different plans in mind. On Thursday the 16th I started having contractions, they varied ranging up to 10 mins apart so I wasn't concerned. I knew the signs to look for, water breaking, contractions 3 mins apart with pains, etc. Well I had no signs of those things so I decided it was nothing. Come Friday it was the same thing, only the contractions ranged anywhere from 3 -10 mins but was averaging 5 mins apart and I had some sharp pains. So decided around 5 pm to give my doctor's office a call, you know just to be on the safe side. They told me to come on in and get monitored, and if it was nothing I would go home but if the contractions continued or I was progressing I would most likely be having my baby that night (the 17th).
Funny thing was once I got there the contractions had basically stopped, go figure. However when they did a check I was already at 3cm, so my doctor decided that 17th was the night.
I was a bit nervous, but overall I was okay. The strangest thing for me was not being able to move my legs at all, they felt like a ton of bricks. And then to hear them talking about what they were doing and knowing that they had cut me open and was messing with my insides. Well, within 15 mins of starting the c-section my little girl was born and now it was time to close me up. Once I got back to the room Sariah took nicely to breast feeding (feeding for over an hour!). I still wasn't able to move my feet / and legs and it was so annoying because I wanted to. I was just glad to have my little girl, healthy and happy.

In the end Sariah weighed 7 lbs 3oz and was 19 1/4 in long.
She is now 3 weeks old and weighs between 7 lbs 8oz and 7 lbs 12 oz and 20oz long. Although I am sad to say that due to some personal reasons I was unable to continue with breast feeding and she is solely on formula, but for her first week of life she did get mommy's milk.

Oh my goodness time sure does fly.

2011-06-12T13:58:00.002-06:00

A week is left until my parents and Savannah arrive. A week and one day till Sariah is scheduled to be here. The last few weeks has kinda just flown by and there is still so much to do to get ready for the new addition.

36 Weeks and feeling huge!

2011-05-26T12:51:00.003-06:00

Feeling huge:
So I am officially 36 weeks and I am feeling huge right about now. I have gained a little over 20lbs with this pregnancy verses gaining barely any with Kyle. Finding clothes that I look cute in is hard, and some days I just want to cry. As much as I love this little girl and want her to bake just a little bit longer, I want her to come as well. Doing simple task are becoming harder, like picking up my son, getting out of bed and off the couch or floor. I have even gone from walking to waddling!

Doctor's appointment:
36 weeks doctor's appointments are kinda like a milestone for me, it means that now I am in the finally stretch and go every week. To me it makes the time go by just a little bit faster. I was kinda looking forward to this appointment as I was hoping to be checked for progress. Well we did the group B strep test (which I expected) and then we did an ultrasound. My little girl has decided that she wants to stay upright and try and go feet and butt first! I am so not down with this idea as it may lead to a c-section. So I am doing things at home hoping that she turns on her own, otherwise they may do a version to try and flip her. Either way I have lots of reading to do so I am prepared.

Going on with normal life:
So this week my hard drive crashed and I lost everything. Yup it just stopped spinning and there is no saving it. We thought that maybe it was a heat issue, weren't sure. Well lucky for me I have an extra hard drive floating around the house, but we couldn't find it. Well our favorite site of all time newegg.com is having a sale on just the things I needed. A 2tb hard drive and 650 watt power supply. Well once we got everything order Vincent found my old hard drive and we decided I didn't need the power supply. So yay on that and not so yay cause I was looking forward to a new hard drive. Now it's time to get Vincent's computer up and running (well his decent one anyways.

The world of Kyle

2011-05-21T22:08:00.002-06:00

Here are some recent videos that I have taken of Kyle. Hopefully it will give you a looking into his world.

So Kyle has learned to blow bubbles I guess you can say with his milk or juice, doesn't matter the liquid. Here we are just relaxing while daddy works having more fun playing with my bottle then drinking it.

Our mini pot based garden

2011-05-21T11:17:00.004-06:00

Living in an apartment puts limitations on gardening, but that still isn't going to stop me. I may not be the best gardener there is, but at least I try. I figure one way to cut cost is to grow my own food and herbs, especially tomatoes. Let me tell you this, there is nothing like the smell of fresh basil. This time around I had a little helper named Kyle, okay so maybe he wasn't such a big helper and played in the potting soil but it was fun. I can't wait to see how everything turns out. We planted: tomatoes, zucchini squash, straight neck squash, red leaf lettuce, broccoli, basil and mint, plus red, green and yellow peppers. Kyle has his own little green house things that have eggplant and cucumber.

30 Days and Counting

2011-05-21T08:51:00.004-06:00

So we only have 30 more days before Sariah is suppose to arrive. That is of course if she isn't early or late (I have given her a 30 day eviction notice). I must say that this pregnancy has been a bit tougher then the last, but I guess that is to be expected. I am hoping that labor is just as easy as the last, I mean they say with each one it gets easier...right?

As d-day comes near I do wonder how I am gonna be able to handle it afterwards. I mean 2 kids both in diapers, both needing to eat, sleep, etc. I am still trying my hardest to get Kyle on a schedule, but it is so difficult. I have been noticing that he has been waking up around 7am every morning (or at least that is when he starts to cry). I usually feed him within the hour, it depends on how content he is. I really want to be able to keep him up till at least noon so he takes a long afternoon nap, but that just ain't happening. He is starting to pull himself up, especially when holding on to me, and trying to take a few steps. I do wonder if he is just gonna skip the whole crawling thing (although when he is on a bed he is most definitely mobile). The nesting phase is now here, I don't remember having a nesting phase with Kyle. Yesterday I finished painting the living room in our apartment. There is one spot in a far corner that needs a second coat of paint, but that can wait. I am just happy the living room is all one color now! I will start working on Kyle and Sariah's room either today or tomorrow. When I look around our apartment all I see is clutter and it is driving me up a wall. A lot of the stuff is stuff we need for Vincent's work, but I just wish we had a place to store it. I guess this is one of the downsides of living in a small apartment.

I have also started planting veggies and herbs. Since living in an apartment we are doing the Topsy turvy thing this time, as well as pot planting. We will see how it goes this summer, especially with taking care of 2 kids. There shouldn't be much weeding to be done since its all in pots and hanging, which I think will make it easier.

We are also trying to shift back to a more plant based diet. We loved being vegan / vegetarians and we really want to get back to that. Right now I am still eating some meat, but limited. But once the baby is here and I have built up a milk supply I am gonna go full charging. I think that is one major factor in the difference in my pregnancy. Last year I was eating healthy and exercising, this time I haven't really. I am so hoping to be able to get fit after this baby is born, of course I am thinking with running around chasing 2 little ones it should be pretty easy.

Anyways, time to get out and plant my mini garden with Kyle.

Sometimes they just need to cry.

2011-05-16T16:23:00.004-06:00

Kyle is now 10 months old, hard to believe that in 2 more months he'll be a year old! The last 10 months have brought new challenges that I never expected. Learning to be a parent is hard work, harder then what I had expected it to be. Talk about on the job learning, there is no job with more hands on learning then being a first time parent.

Recently Kyle has become more clingy. Maybe because he teething, maybe because he knows that a little sister is on her way. Whatever the reason it has made life more stressful for me. He has good moments when you can put him on the floor to play and he is fine, other times it's like, "what happened to my sweet angel?" I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I just have to let him cry it out.

That's right world I said it, just let them cry. Working in childcare I have seen parents that run the moment their child lets out the slightest hint of fussiness, and you can't do that. Of course you want to make sure everything is fine first, that they have a clean diaper, food in the tummy, not tired and nothing hurting them. Once you have done that and know that it's just about attention you can't give in. Yes moms I know it's hard to hear that, but giving in does more harm then good. With Kyle I know the difference between something is wrong and I need attention. It has taken a long time to get to that point, but I have learned. It has been hard to say the least and I don't promise that it will be easy, but sometimes you just have to let them cry it out.

Pictures from our Nevada trip.

2011-05-16T16:03:00.002-06:00

Listen to this playlist: Our Music

2011-05-16T08:39:00.001-06:00

A road less traveled

2011-05-14T08:59:00.002-06:00

This past Mother's day weekend I got to see a part of Northern /Central Nevada & Utah that I have never seen before. What started out as being just an overnight trip to Wendover, NV ended up being a whole weekend trip ending in Ely, NV.

When most people hear or think of Nevada they focus on maybe a couple of cities. Reno, Las Vegas, the capital Carson City. You may also think about Mesquite and Wendover depending on where you live, but Ely, Nevada?

You might ask where is Ely, and what makes Ely so cool to you. Ely can be found on US 50, it's also the junction for 50, 6 and 93. If you are just driving through you may not be impressed, in all honesty it isn't much to look at just driving by. It's your typical mining town, and those you can find all around Nevada (including old ghost towns).

Per the opening in Wikipedia:

Ely is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. Ely's mining boom came later than the other towns along US 50, with the discovery of copper in 1906. Though the railroads connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad to the mines in Austin and Eureka have long been removed, the railroad to Ely is preserved as a heritage railway by the Nevada Northern Railway and known as the Ghost Train of Old Ely.

The town of Ely can be consider a tourism spot, home to both the Nevada Northern Railway Museum and the Hotel Nevada. Also nearby you can find such places as: Great Basin National Park, Cave Lake State Park, and Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, and Garnet Hill (a hill where you can spend hours digging away to find yourself some precious gems).

The main reason for our trip to Ely (as spur of the moment as it was) was the Hotel Nevada. And it is also one of Vincent's favorite towns, and now I have two fallen in love with it and it's charm.

Now on to the Hotel Nevada, this was probably the coolest part of our trip. The Hotel Nevada was built in 1929 and was the tallest building in Nevada well into the 1940s, it was also the state's first fireproof building. It was the main stop over for many Hollywood stars and starlights on their way to Star Valley, Idaho. What this means is you can actually stay in some of the same rooms that movie stars stayed in! This time we stayed in the Jimmy Stewart room, and it was pretty neat.

The showers are what give the hotel it's real charm. I don't think I have ever stepped foot into a bathroom that had a warning! Because of how old the piping / building is (and everything is still original) the water temp can go from hot to cold back to hot in a matter of seconds. If given the chance to go back to Ely and explore more, heck yeah! And it is a place that I so totally recommend going to.

(Pictures coming soon)

Digging Deeper into the world of RV living..

2011-04-12T12:02:00.005-06:00

Question 1: What to live in, 5th wheel vs. trailer. Newer or older? Gutted and redone to our liking, or one that is pretty much what we need already to go?

So we are still looking into moving into the 5th wheel / trailer. A couple weeks ago we had a chance to go and look at them (which I think I posted about before). We have decided that a bunk house would be nice and ideal, but it's not a major priority as of right now because the babies are still small. We are even tossing around the idea of buying an older one, fixing it up and making it "OUR SPACE".Could you imagine being able to design your dream house? In a way that is what we would be doing, designing our dream mobile house. We have also discovered that the van can tow up to 5500 lbs, so that means we don't need to get a truck (at least for now), just get the van in tip top shape.

Question 2: Where to live:

If you had the ability to travel across America (the US), where would you go and where would you stay?

This is the next question on our list, "Baby, where do you want to go, what do you want to see?" That is a hard question to answer, I mean there are so many awesome places here, how do you decide? One major deciding factor is work. Since Vincent will be the main bread winner in our family we go where the work is in his field. However, we will still have what you may call home bases or home cities. There are a lot of great RV resorts and Campgrounds, even groups that you can join. Now we have to figure out which one to stay at. Things we are looking at is: cost per month or even if they do month to month, what kind of amenities do they offer, are they close to a major city, resorts rules, etc. It's hard and time consuming planning your future, especially one that moves.

A typical day in my shoes

2011-04-05T10:34:00.003-06:00

Being a mom, wife, and full time employee makes life hard sometimes. My typical day starts when Kyle wakes up sometime between 8-10 am (sometimes earlier). If I am lucky I will wake up earlier and actually have some time to myself. Waking up before Kyle is very rare, but it does happen. When he wakes up I change his diaper and get his breakfast ready. He usually eats about a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of cereal / oatmeal mixed with fruit and then drinks a 4-6oz bottle of formula. Then we kinda hang out and play or watch PBS Kids Sprout or Baby FirstTV. If we have errands to run we do them. I also manage to eat during that time, possibly get some dishes done or the house kinda cleaned up. After about being awake for about an hour or hour and half (depends on how awake he is) he may go back to sleep if I am lucky. Usually he stays awake till just about time for me to leave for work. My work schedule can change weekly, but typically I am scheduled at 12 pm. Because of this I have to leave at around 11:30. I am so happy that Vincent works for himself now, because it allows him to have a flexible schedule and spend time with Kyle. If things are really conflicting we get a babysitter for Kyle, but usually Vincent has him while I am at work.

I typically get home between 8:45-9:00. This because I work till 8:30, and as soon as I walk in that door it's like all my stress melts away. When I get home Kyle is still awake and I get to feed him one last time before he goes to bed. One of my favorite things to do is lay in my bed with Kyle and let him fall asleep in my arms. It makes all the bad of the day go away.

I can't say that I like working full time, actually I miss being at home. But sometimes we have to do things to survive. I am hoping that after Sariah is born that I can get down to part time hours so I have more time at home. I wish all the full time moms and working moms the best of luck, cause I know just how hard it is.

A feeling so helpless (Our first trip to the ER)

2011-04-03T09:08:00.003-06:00

(This took place on March 21, 2011)

I have recently learned what it feels like to be totally helpless.

On Monday morning Kyle woke up screaming(usually he wakes up happy) and had a fever(it was around 102.5). I tried giving him his morning bottle, but he couldn't keep it down :(. I gave him some water down power aid and he drank up that up and kinda calmed down (this was after taking a lukewarm shower to clean ourselves up). I felt so terrible leaving for work, but I knew that Vincent would be taking care of him (even though he himself is sick). During a break / lunch at work I called Vincent to see how both were doing. Kyle still had his fever, wasn't eating or drinking much and had thrown up 2 more times. I called the doctor's office and they had the on call doctor call Vincent back. Basically, they said at this point the main concern was dehydration because of lack of fluids. And that if continued in this way (without urinating) that we should take him to the hospital. So I came home early from work. He looks so miserable that it just tore my heart in two. I tried giving him infant Tylenol to bring down his temp (that had gone up) and more fluids. He fought me on the fluids so much that I was forcing him to drink. Around 5:30ish in the morning Kyle's fever had peaked around 103.7-104, along with that, the not taking fluids and no real wet diaper except one I decided that it was time to go to the hospital. He was such a little trooper at the hospital, but it was harder on me then I thought. They gave him infant Motrin for his fever and zofran for his nausea. They also decided to hook him up to an iv for fluids, as well as take a blood sample and urine sample (via cath). Watching them do all this to my son was so painful and it made me feel so usless. All I could do was lay there next him as he cried and drifted in and out of sleep. Finally, after about 4 1/2 -5 hrs Kyle was able to drink a whole bottle of apple juice and his fever came down. His blood work and urine all came back good, so they released us. Yes, he was dehydrated and the most likely culprit is a viral infection of some kind, and there isn't much you can do it was still a horrible experience. He is still not 100% better with a runny nose and a cough and a slight fever, but this morning he does seem to be in better spirits. I now know what it feels like to not be able to do anything to help my son, but just hold his hand really (well him in his case). I have already made a deal with Kyle...NO MORE TRIPS TO THE ER! I know that this is something that every parent goes through, and it won't be the last time either. I am just glad for the support I had from my family, and even work who let me leave 2 hrs early and change my days off so I could be with my son.

Living Full Time in an RV / Trailer / 5th wheel

2011-04-02T09:21:00.003-06:00

When I first think of an RV I think vacation, not full time living. I also think cramped space, not a lot of room and a lot of hassle if they break down. It never really crossed my mind about living in one full time, and the people that did full time rving were retired with no kids. Over the last week or two Vincent has been pushing this idea (now that we only have a cat). Vincent is the type of person that reads and reads, he keeps telling me that it is doable with 2 kids (especially since they are small). My argument is no there isn't a lot of space and you don't want to raise kids in an rv/trailer/5th wheeler. Well more and more I have been entertaining the idea, especially with the cost difference. Not only are there a lot of FREE campsites, but there are some yearly groups that you can join that get you into amazing places. The other day we went to look at trailers and 5th wheels and I was just amazed at how far they have come along. There is so much more space then I remember, especially now with pull outs. Anyway, I will keep you up to date on what we are planning on doing.

My baby boy: almost 9 months

2011-04-02T08:39:00.003-06:00

I thought I would share some pictures(and I even included a video) of Kyle on here, which I haven't done in awhile.

One of the worse days ever.

2011-04-02T08:31:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life: woke up not feeling well, but had a doctor's appointment (the glucose test). Vincent warned me that I shouldn't do it, but I did it anyway. Got 90 % of the way done with the test and then I got really sick, this means I have to do it again (yuck). Came home dizzy, lightheaded,with nausea and a huge headache. Got to rest for a bit, but then had to go to to work (sick). Had an awesome TL that was able to work some magic and let me go home early. Picked up some medication that my doctor called in (oh yes it was totally awesome) and crashed on the couch.
Finally started feeling better, like I could eat and Vincent goes to Carl's Jr. and orders me a Turkey Burger and Criss Cut fries, but they messed up my order (oh well). When I was finally ready to go to bed, Kyle wasn't. I tried laying him down around 9pm (cause he was acting sleepy) nope. Gave him a 4oz bottle and laid him back down again, nope. Took him in my bedroom and turned on the tv, he watched CSI for about 45 mins and got fussy. Laid him back in his bed again, nope. So I gave him another small bottle and that did the trick (at 11:30 at night).

The Loss of two Best Friends

2011-04-02T08:01:00.002-06:00

Buster: Feb 28th 2011
Buster, my Labrador/Pit Bull Terrier mix, died tonight at 7:40 pm. He was 9 days short of 13 years old.

Buster was abandoned as a puppy, but took to the family quickly. He was the best friend I have ever had, by my side through surgeries, divorces, and foreclosure; living between homes and between jobs, moving between states. He let our cats beat him up but chased away unfamiliar ones, once mercilessly licked a hamster when it got out of its ball; let my daughter ride him like a horse and let my son climb him like a jungle gym with curiosity only. He was too loud, too loving, ate too much, played too hard, never whined even in severe pain, eternally loved everyone who ever loved him, and smiled every single day that I came home to him.

Tigger: March 26th, 2011
Tigger was a border collie / shepherd mix, at least that is what we believe. He was 15 yrs + in age, an old man you man say. For as long as I have knew Tigger he was an amazing dog, one of the best dogs a person could ask for. You could classify tigger as man's best friend, although he preferred female companionship, and a guardian. Tigger was the house protector, always making sure things were alright. He would always keep the cats in line, and even married a cat, and if you took him to the dog park he would keep the bullies of the dog park in check. In his old age he develop tumors, we would take him to the vet to get them checked and they would say no worries they are just fatty. Well now it seems that those fatty tumors turned into cancer. In the last month he became sicker and weaker. He developed a head tilt, which we thought was from an ear infection. Even with his body tilted and unable to walk he would still follow me around (which was hard if I was cleaning). He then developed an infection in his paws. Things got bad and he became weaker. He wanted to stay with us till the end. We tried our hardest to give him antibotics, but it wasn't working. The cancer had made him to weak to fight. Tigger passed while I was at work, but he never gave up fighting in the end. It still amazes me how a dog just months ago was up walking around chasing other dogs around could change so quickly. Looking back Tigger at that point was probably already sufferring, but he would never let you know. He was a proud dog, a tough dog (sometimes stubborn),a guardian, and a best friend.

I don't know what happens to animals after they pass, if there is an animal heaven or not. But I hope that if there is both Tigger and Buster know that they were loved and we did all we could for them.

Rest in Peace our good friends.

The world around us

2011-02-12T09:05:00.002-07:00

I know I haven't posted so much lately, and I am so sorry.

So here are the major highlights:

Jan 27, 2010 - We found out that our little bundle of joy is a girl...Welcome to this world little Sariah Rose
Feb 6, 2011 - The Steelers lost the Super Bowl and Kyle turned 7 months old.
Feb 10,2011 - I got my free directv installed. That is probably the only cool benefit to my job.

Tigger has an inner ear infection right now, so he tilts his head to one side and can't really walk.

Buster is still having the same issues, but he now has doggie diapers (YAY)

Kyle is the little talker (even though he makes no sense) and he can sit up on his own now.

I am 21 almost 22 weeks pregnant, but I think I look like I did when I was 7 /8 months pregnant.

Kyle eats solid food and drinks juice and regular soy milk, he loves his veggies and fruit.

Kyle has moved out of our bedroom and now has his own room.

We went to our first international ski event at Deer Valley Resort. It was awesome, but a little scary taking Kyle on a ski lift.

Well I think that is the low down. Have a great day everyone.

Happenings in the Gambill world

2010-11-14T15:32:00.002-07:00

So a lot has been happening here in the Gambill household and I thought I would fill you in.

A) I started working again. It wasn't something I was really thrilled about, but we need the money and insurance

B)Kyle is getting bigger everyday. He is now 4 months old and is getting closer to being mobile. He also loves watching football and talking (just like his daddy).

C)We are expecting again..yes you heard me! I am 8 weeks 6 days along with baby number 2.

D)We finally got the idle arms and brakes fixed on the van, all thats left is the power steering pump.

So there is everything in a nutshell

Kyle's World

2010-10-03T09:21:00.002-06:00

http://kylegambill.shutterfly.com/

I decided that it was time for Kyle to have his own blog / website. This is a place were I can add pictures and videos, etc. without taking up space on my blog. It's also good for those who just want to check in and see what is going on with Kyle, so stop by and enjoy.

Home and Work Life...can they be balanced?

2010-10-03T08:33:00.002-06:00

Back around the beginning of August Vincent decided that it was time to start up his dispatch based business again. At first it was slow going and I even questioned if this was best, but now we are doing pretty well. There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes from working from home, and it's a real juggling act balancing work and home life. For most part my day is pretty flexible. The main things I have to make sure are done: walk the dogs, make sure Kyle is feed and changed, call and schedule work for Vincent and invoice work orders, sweep and mop floors(with dogs that shed this needs to be done everyday!). Depending on what Vincent has scheduled for the day he helps out with a lot of the things, like cooking and looking for work. Some days are harder then others, it all depends on how well behaved Kyle is. I know that I am blessed to have such a good baby, but some days he wants all the attention. The nice thing about working for ourselves is the fact that we can pick our own schedule. If Vincent wants to take a day off so we can spend it together then he can, we can even schedule work based road trips.

Although some days it's harder than others to remember that I have a job to do and not just play mommy, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Thoughts from a first time mommy.

2010-08-17T09:34:00.004-06:00

Mom...the job
Being a mom is a full time job, and sometimes it's not easy. Matter of fact, I think it's one of the hardest jobs in the world, but the most rewarding as well.
Unlike any other job you don't receive prior training or a handbook with all the answers. Instead what we get as FTM is on the job training and may other sources(books and internet) that we can use in our daily challenges / struggles as a new parent. Wouldn't it be nice if someone said, "Here is _____ Handbook, it has everything you will ever need to know about your son/daughter and his/her specific needs." Maybe in a dream world that could happen, but let's face it this is reality.
Sleep
I have slowly learned that sleep, who once used to be my friend, I rarely see. Yes, sleep is something that is far and in between when dealing with a newborn. Even when I do finally fall asleep, I find that I am not as much a sound sleeper any more. I am sure there will come a time when my baby boy will sleep soundly though the night and I will to again. Until that time comes, my eyes will always pop open when I hear movement and sound coming from his bed. I even find myself checking on him when I don't hear any sounds, but usually he is just fast asleep.
Diapers...what a mess
It's not like I haven't changed a diaper before, and you think by now I would know what to expect. Things I have learned...if changing diaper on cloth (such as a bed or couch) have something under bum that I don't mind getting wet (or poopie). Have both diaper and wipes handy and maybe even some diaper rash cream. Be prepared to be peed on at least just once, or twice,or hey they say third time is a charm ;).
Keep a nose plug handy, cause just because they are small doesn't mean they make small smells.
Feeding time
You always hear that breastfeeding is the natural thing to do, and babies do it instinctively. From my experience, that is so not the case. When I first went to breastfeed in the hospital I was expecting this great bonding experience where my baby just knew what to do. HA! I was tricked. It wasn't this beautiful bonding experience that I thought it would be. Instead I was met with a screaming baby who was doing everything in his power not to latch on. It caused me stress and I wanted to cry because I felt like I was doing something wrong. It is now a little over a month and we have the hang of it now. Although we are now using soy formula and breast milk because my supply is so low.
Keeping busy
Your baby will always keep you busy.When he/she is awake you are spending your time with them (unless you are a lucky one who's baby doesn't need 24/7 attention/holding), and when they are sleeping you are using that time to catch up on cleaning, cooking, etc. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I look at my house and see the laundry piling up, or the floors getting dirty and dishes not being cleaned. I think to myself, "there just isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done." I am happy when Vincent is around to help because I can tell him, "hey can you watch Kyle while I do this or that." But the days it's just me and him, nothing really gets done.

I know that in time things will come naturally for me, and this stressful time of having a newborn will pass. I even know that one day I will look back and even miss it. Having Kyle in my life has been the biggest blessing I have ever been given.

Getting bigger everyday.

2010-08-16T21:15:00.003-06:00

So I know I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks, kinda been busy. Anyway, Kyle is getting bigger everyday and he is becoming more and more alert and spends most of his day awake. So today I decided to take some pictures of my beautiful little boy.

Our 2 week check up

2010-07-21T16:35:00.003-06:00

So Kyle is officially two weeks old, man does time fly! He has already changed so much in the last 2 weeks. I was so worried when I went to the doctor, afraid that he would say that Kyle hasn't gained any weight or that something else was terribly wrong. Well I was wrong, we had a great doctor's appointment. Kyle has now gone past his birth weight, weighing in at 6lbs 4oz and is 21 in long. It makes me happy to know that I am at least doing something right :)

The Weekend, the final part of the visit.

2010-07-21T09:58:00.003-06:00

So my parents plan was to leave on Monday morning, so that left us Saturday and Sunday. Both were pretty uneventful, but here is what we did do....

Saturday: I took my parents to Smiths so they could restock on food for the trip back. And then I took them back down to the Family History Center so they could work on their genealogy. Because it was another hot day outside I took the girls to Liberty Park to the pool.

Yes, Devon tanned, but she did get in the water too!

Playing in the water
Trying to save an ant.

Oh and for lunch was Del Taco!

And then that night my father and I went and saw Iron Man 2 while the girls, my mom and Vincent stayed home with the baby. It was nice to have a daddy & daughter night.

Then Sunday was church and then dinner at Vertical Diner (an all Vegan restaurant).

And then came Monday morning. I am pretty sure it was a rough morning for everyone since they took Vincent to work and it meant they had to leave here by 6:00am. Holy Moley 6 am!

Now my family is gone and it's back to life as normal, only Savannah is still here. I am still adjusting to not having everyone around to help me out, but I am sure things will get better as time goes on.

A very busy first week home (Part 2)

2010-07-21T09:06:00.008-06:00

So as I stated before it was very crowded at the Gambill house, with my parents and two nieces here visiting, plus Savannah and the new baby. Because my family was visiting we also stayed very, very busy.

Monday, wasn't as busy and we didn't really go anywhere. I had to take Vincent to work in the morning and then I had an appointment in the afternoon. However, the girls got to get out of the house. I took them up to the Sugar House main downtown area (better known as the shopping district) and they went and saw a movie and hung out and did some shopping. They did this while my parents stayed home with Kyle and I went to my appointment. We all got back around the same time, and then had dinner and had a relaxing evening at home.

Tuesday: I decided on Tuesday that we would go swimming in the Great Salt Lake (okay so where the Bear River meets up with the Salt Lake, better known as Willard Bay) and go to the Air force Museum. But before we could do all that we had to run some errands, my mom needed to go to Micheals and Racheal needed to get a left shoe (she picked up two right shoes). On the way back we stopped and got some Little Ceaser Pizza for lunch and then headed out. The plan was that we would go to the Air Force Museum then drive up and get Vincent from work and then go on to Willard Bay.

Here are some Tuesday Pics: Air Force Museum

Kyle got a little hungry while we were at the Museum.

And then he decided to take a nap!

Next on to the beach!
Having fun in the water, and it sure did feel good!

There were a ton of seagulls hanging around, reminded me of the attack of the birds.
Kyle's getting ready to test the waters.

And in he goes, and no he didn't care for it too much

Resting in his little bed thingy.
Now on to Wednesday!
Again, not much happened on Wednesday, but Vincent my dad and the girls went out for a night at Nickel Mania. (It's an arcade were all games are 5 cents!). Oh yeah I had another appointment that morning.

Thursday:
If I remember correctly Thursday was our Temple Square day, and it was a hot day too!
We parked a few blocks away (as I didn't want to try and find parking downtown, especially in a van that has no power steering)and rode traxs, that was a fun experience with a stroller.
Here are some pics for our trip down to Temple Square....

Such a beautiful Temple, I am still amazed every time I see it

I finally got to eat at the Lion House and man it was good. Roasted Bell Pepper Soup, Rice, Veggies and some kind of Custard for dessert...yummy!!

Maybe some day Savannah can see what it's like to really pull a handcart.

Inside the Tabernacle. (Flat Savannah had been there so we needed to get a pic of the real Savannah)

Inside the Beehive House

Walking around Temple Square

And more walking

And Friday was a pretty relaxing, stay home day cause it was so hot outside!

A very busy first week home (Part one, just the weekend)

2010-07-16T08:19:00.006-06:00

Since we have been home (was released last Wednesday) we have had a very busy week. First, on Thursday Savannah flew in, of course she didn't get here till almost 9:30. Kyle didn't seem to mind so much, and slept through the long wait at the airport.

After we picked her up we drove around downtown and some other parts of town. It was cool because the Twilight Concert Series was going on, so there was a ton of people. After we showed her Temple Square at night we then made our way to Del Taco!

Anyone who knows us, well Vincent, understand that Del Taco is his favorite taco place. So if you plan on coming to visit with us for an extended period of time, expect a trip to Del Taco at least once. After a late, late dinner at Del Taco we headed home.

Friday, was another semi busy day. After waking Savannah up we had to clean up the house some because my parents were coming into town. And then I had to take Kyle to the doctor for another check up (we had a little jaundice at birth but nothing to be really concerned about). So I took Savannah with me and we walked up to the doctor's office (not as if it is a far walk, but for Savannah I think she was gonna pass out). This was Kyle's first official walk in his new stroller, thanks pawpaw and Vickie. When we got back to the house it was just about time for my parents to arrive and for us to start cooking dinner, if I remember correctly we made stir-fry and it was yummy. As we were cooking and waiting for my parents to arrive we got a wonderful call from the doctor saying that everything was looking good for Kyle and he only needed to sleep on his lighted bed one more night. And then my parents arrived with my nieces, yay they made it safely. That night was one of just relaxing and going through gifts that were brought for Kyle. We like to thank Aunt Amy for the wonderful blanket that she made Kyle (who has been sleeping with it every night) and also Mildred from my parents church for the quilt she made for Kyle. We enjoy them both and they have both gotten lots of use already.

Sis. Bowman from my parent's church also got Kyle some much needed baby essentials and some clothes, so again, Thank you.

We also got lots of gifts from grandma and grandpa, included an awesome bassinet, some little work boots, clothes, bath stuff, my blanket from when I was a baby that my mom had made and my baby book.

Saturday morning started out with a nice home cook breakfast. Apple Flax pancakes and a tofu scramble. We then headed over to the Farmer's Market, and spent some time there and then we just did some driving around.

Sunday was Kyle's first day at church, I couldn't really tell what his reaction was cause he slept through most of it.

After church we had a picnic lunch at Alta Ski Resort up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Devon, Racheal and Savannah had fun playing in the snow that hadn't melted yet. I kept Kyle in the van with me cause it was kinda cool and windy outside. From there we went back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

And that is the end of the weekend.

Kyle Jounni Gambill is here!

2010-07-06T08:59:00.004-06:00

So it all started Monday morning around 9:00 am MDT. I went to the bathroom and I noticed a bit more watery discharge, it wasn't what I would consider my normal discharge. I debated if I should call my doctor or not because it was a slow leak, not like a gush of water. Well, I finally decided to call my doctor (well the on-call doctor) and see what they wanted me to do. He told me that it sounded like my water had ruptured, but since I wasn't having any contractions he told me to hold off on coming in till after 3 unless I started having contractions. So I kept busy cleaning the house, and I went for a walk. We also watched the movie "UP" which I recommend to anyone and had a salad.

Finally, I told Vincent that we needed to get up to the hospital so I could be checked. We got to the hospital about 5:30ish and they checked to make sure what I was leaking was the fluid, and yup my water had ruptured and I was being admitted. I got back into my room between 6:00 and 6:30 and they started my iv, pictocin, and antibotics. When I got there and checked I was 2 cm and tight and 90% effaced, but the pictocin started doing it's magic and I was having contractions every 2-3mins around 7pm. Till about 11:30 I was hanging at 3 cm and then all of a sudden I was at 9 cm. At this point it was to late to get the epi cause by the time it would have kicked in he would have been here. So this meant going natural, which I was scared to do. I have to admit that the pain wasn't that bad, although it had it it's moments.

At midnight it was time to push, after about an hour of pushing little Kyle made his enterance into the world, with a little help. We did have some difficulty getting past the pubic bone, and thus needed the forceps to pull him out. That was the most painful experience I have ever had, but it was well worth it once I had my little boy in my arms.

Kyle Jouni Gambill entered the world at 1:08am after 5 hours of active labor and 1 hr of pushing, weighing in at 6lbs1oz and 19in long, and he looks so much like me and my family :).

About 10 mins old
Proud daddy and son

Only 7 days left till the big day!

2010-07-03T21:37:00.002-06:00

I can't, I just can't believe it! I only have 7 days left till my little boy is due. Now this doesn't mean that he will actually be here on the 10th, but I can wish. Things have been rather exciting around here, and I have been busy cleaning. Things can get messy with 2 dogs, a cat and room mates, oh and not to mention a sick husband.

Yes, Vincent has been a bit under the weather lately and even missed some work. I could go into a list of things that has been going on, but that could take forever! The 2 1/2 hr trip to the doctor's office was not really worth it, although I have been able to pick on Vincent about getting his blood drawn (who knew that men can be such babies when it comes to things like that ;)...love you baby). Well the doctor wasn't able to tell us much, but he did give Vincent some prescriptions that he thinks might help....let me say this again "MIGHT" help. Not only did they give us these prescriptions but they told him to come back in a week. I guess one good thing did come of this, Vincent now has a PCP here in Salt Lake City.

Enough with Vincent, back to me. Friday was suppose to be my last day of work, however I think Wednesday was. Basically, I wasn't really needed Thursday or Friday (just not enough kids) so I got 2 days at home with Vincent. This allowed me to clean the house and mow the lawn. Yes, I am still cutting the grass at 38 / 39 weeks pregnant. I was also able to get some laundry done as it was starting to pile up.

I fear this upcoming week is gonna be chaos, but in a good way. I will finish getting everything ready for Kyle (putting car seat in van, packing our hospital bag, etc.) Making sure the house is nice and clean, but I am not gonna be one of those complete neat freaks. Getting meal plans ready for the upcoming week / weeks. A trip to my ob on Wednesday, Vincent's doctor on Thursday. Picking up Savannah from the airport on Thursday night and waiting for my parents arrival. I am hoping that with all the moving around that I will be doing that it will help encourage Kyle to come either a bit early or right on time.

The one thing I am dreading is going to the doctor's office and being told that I lost even more weight. It's getting depressing for me to hear that I lost 1lb +. I mean I am trying to gain weight it's just not happening. I gain it then the following week I have lost it. I am also hoping that I have made more progress then just a 1/2 cm, with all the contractions that I have been having.

Well I wanna get going, there are fireworks outside and I love them so very much.

38 Weeks...Let's start the countdown

2010-06-26T19:30:00.003-06:00

So as of today I am 38 weeks pregnant. July 10th seems so close yet so far away, sometimes I feel as if it will never, ever come. Last Wednesday I took a tour of the hospital (labor and delivery), the delivery rooms were totally awesome, they were pretty big. The rooms on the other side, you know the ones by the nursery weren't as big, but they will do. The cool thing is they loan out netbooks and have wifi so you can surf the internet, update blogs, email, etc. I was happy to hear that because that is one less thing that I have to pack.

So here is what is going on with the baby at 38 weeks...

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold him hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

So here is how I am feeling right now...

Braxton Hicks, oh my goodness. I am not a big fan of false contractions even though I know they are there to help get my body ready for the big day.

I am having some back ache, and it makes it harder for me to sleep at night.

I am not sure if I have effaced or dilated anymore, I won't find out until Monday (I'm hoping).

I am tired all the time, no matter how much sleep I get at night. Come middle of the day I want a nap.

Kyle is moving around a lot, and his movements sometimes hurt. I know he is low cause he likes to play with my girly parts sometimes.

I have been trying so hard to put on weight, it goes up and down, up and down. I do know that Kyle is somewhere between 5-6lbs, so here's hoping that he has put on some more weight.

I pretty much have everything I need. I am sure that I will need more clothes, but I am also waiting to see how big he is.

The only major thing I need is a breast pump, so this would allow others to feed Kyle.

I am trying not to waddle around, but sometimes I see it happening.

What is going on with our life....

Vincent is done working overtime, and is now on his regular schedule of 7-3pm. This means that he will be home around 3:45.

My boss has finally hired someone to kinda replace me. My hours have been cut back to about 4 1/2 hours a day. This also means that after I get up with Vincent and help him out the door (trust me he needs it) I can crawl back into bed and sleep some more.

The garden is coming along, today I planted some more tomatoes, squash, eggplant, broccoli, spinach, radishes, and beets. Later in the week I plan on planting flowers in one section of the garden to attract some pretty birds / butterflies. So as of now my garden consist of: peppers (red / green & jalapeño) Tomatoes, chives, mint. I will also be planting some basil in the next few days.

I am kinda tired and it's getting late, so I am gonna get off here. I will update everyone on my pregnancy come Monday.

So the latest news on the pregnancy front, and other things.

2010-06-20T17:21:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday(6/12) I hit 36 weeks, which means I only have 4 weeks left and that I am in the homestretch. I have been more and more exhausted lately and just want to sleep as much as I can. I have also been spending more time in the bathroom again, which kinda sucks when I am at work. Getting up and down, especially out of bed has been a hassle too, but oh well. On Monday I had my 36 week check up, we did our normal blood pressure check and weight(which I lost 4 lbs!) and then we did the strep b test and listened to the heart beat and measured the fundal height. I must say listening to Kyle's heartbeat is one of my favorite things to do. Well also with the 36 week appointment I got to be checked for dilation and effacement, we also did a quick ultrasound just to make sure Kyle was growing the way he should since I haven't gained a lot of weight and lost 4lbs. I am still confused on how I lost weight, considering I have been trying to eat more food. Anyway, Dr. Holmes told me that Kyle was down low (didn't tell me the station) and was head down and weighing in around 5-6lbs. She also told me that I was 70% effaced and 1 cm dilated!! I asked her what the odds are of Kyle coming early, one reason cause I am so active still (although I have taken to relaxing more). She didn't really give me any odds, just that if he was born now everything would be alright.

Well, all this week I have been having braxton hicks contractions, and some have been rather painful. I have noticed they seem to happen when I am doing a lot of walking or work. Oh yeah, walking has become rather bothersome too. I guess cause I get so tired and Kyle is so low already. I have another appointment tomorrow, so I will find out if anything else has changed. I do have my bag packed for the most part and am ready to go if needs be. But Vincent has made it clear that Kyle needs to wait another 2 weeks before he makes his appearance into the world(but it's not up to Vincent).

On to other news...

Yesterday we made a trip out the the Salt Lake at sunset. Even though the area we picked was smelly, the sunset was beautiful. I was in complete awe in the beauty all around me, mountains to my east and west and this giant lake in the middle.

Of course today is Father's Day, so for lunch we went to Taco Bell...not so exciting huh. I wish I could do more for him, but he was happy.

We have decided that the basement room is gonna go unrented for the month of July, since we have family coming out to visit. This will also allow for Savannah to have her own room while she is here, instead of sleeping in our room (with the baby) or on the couch. This will also give us more time to finish all the minor details that need to be taken care of. I still need to put a second coat of paint of the ceiling and there is a spot that I missed on one wall. Also, the two light fixtures aren't working, so we need to figure out whats going on with those.

On the work front....

Vincent is just about done with his training / nesting period. A matter of fact it's over after this week. (One reason why Vincent said Kyle has to wait) After training his new hours will be 7-3 with no lunch break (but two 15 min breaks). This means that he will be home around 3:45 everyday instead of the 4:30-5:00 that he gets home now. Of course this still means 5:30 wake ups.

For me my boss did interviews on Friday and found 2 people that she really liked. I am hoping that they work out cause I really want to start cutting my hours back. Working 9:30-5:30ish has been rough on me, especially when I am not sleeping well and waking up early with Vincent. I am hoping that this week will be my last full week of work (not that 30 hours a week is bad) and that I can catch up on things at home too.

Well, that's all for now. I am gonna go work on my scrapbook for Kyle.

Vegan Brownies

2010-06-13T16:31:00.002-06:00

So the last two days I have had a craving for brownies, but I wanted to make them from scratch. Well, I decided that I would go online and find a recipe and I have. Now I will attempt to make these awesome sounding brownies, and I promise I will share the end results with you.

Of course here is the recipe if you would like to take a go at it...

Brownies
Submitted by Isa

prep time: 20 minutes plus waiting | cooking time: 35-40 minutes | makes 12

These are incredibly rich, somewhere between fudgy and cake-y brownies. They are always a hit with vegans-and non vegans alike. They take a little work, but no one said the perfect vegan brownie would be easy. You will need a 9x13 baking pan and a blender. (I can't edit the equipments field in the database so I'm mentioning that here. Ok, go! Make brownies!)

Equipment:

Ingredients
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup cold water
12 oz extra firm silken tofu (the vacuum packed kind, like Mori-Nu)

1 cup semi-sweet chocloate chips (I use Ghiradelli)

1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Droste)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder

Directions
In a blender puree the tofu, flour and water until smooth. Pour it into a sauce pan, and wisk constantly over low heat until it thickens (it should not boil, if it starts to turn the heat down). This takes about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, salt, vanilla and sugar. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 350.

When mixture is cool enough mix in the oil. (It can take about 20-30 minutes to cool, give it a stir once in awhileand stick it in the fridge to make it cool faster).

Sift the 1 1/2 cups of flour, the cocoa and the baking powder together. Fold in the tofu mixture until well combined and smooth.

Spread evenly in a greased baking pan for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=161

Where did the month of May go?

2010-06-02T06:23:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe that it is now June 2, 2010, time is just flying by. I guess because May has been a really crazy and I do mean crazy month. I would tell you everything, but it's a long story so here is the short version.

Back around the end of April / beginning of May we were told that we have 30 days to find another place to live. Due to a massive freak out and the long story. Either way I didn't want to have to move again. After a long battle we were able to save the place that we are at now, only issue is that we have to find room mates. We have our first room mate / tenant already, so yay on that.

Buster has been having mini seizures lately, and what kinda sucks is that we can't help him. Right now we have medication and it helps some but that won't last. When he isn't having his seizures he is the greatest dog ever and plays and plays.

Work has been kinda stressful. They are in the middle of construction which has really made a mess of things. We have no kitchen, the bathroom has no sinks and is a total mess and the main preschool room is chaos. The kids have picked up the on the stress and seem to feed on it which makes things even worse.

Because of the stress (I blame the stress), I had a massive nosebleed. It lasted almost 4 hours and this was the 3rd one in 24 hours (the other two only last about 30-45 mins). I called my OB and they told me to go to Instacare and have them check it out. So I did that and I got a tube stuck up my nose. I had to keep this tube in for 2 days, and those 2 days I was miserable. One side was stopped up and the other was always running. They still don't know what caused it, as they were never able to find the source of the bleed.

On Saturday I reached the 34 week mark, this leaves only 6 more weeks before little Kyle joins the world. Vincent swears that he is gonna be early, because at the gender ultrasound he was measuring a few days ahead and I am pretty active still. There are just a few items that I still need, and I will be getting those shortly. I am happy that I the stroller / car seat was ordered and that should arrive in the next couple of days. I have another doctor's appointment today, which I am sure will only last about 10-15 mins at the most. I do plan on bringing up the nose bleeds though.

On Monday Vincent and I went up to Solitude in CottonWood Canyon. Talk about a beautiful drive. He was making me a promise that come this winter I would have a ski pass to either Solitude, Snowbird or Alta, which would be totally awesome.

Here are some pictures I took while we were there...

This is me at 34 weeks I had no idea my tummy was hanging out.

Time is flying by!

2010-05-25T06:34:00.003-06:00

(I promise I was just really tired, this was taken at like 6:30 am)

Your pregnancy: 33 weeks or 8 months pregnant

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

It's amazing to think about how much this little boy has changed in just a few short months. When I hear the term 33 weeks I don't think of it as 8 months. When I look at it in terms of months it seems longer. I feel blessed to have this little boy coming into my life, as does Vincent. We can't wait to meet our little Lacrosse star (and soccer too). I will be happy when he isn't beating up on my insides, man some of those movements really hurt.

This summer is gonna be a really busy and stressful time, but I know in the end it will all be worth it.

32 Weeks Pregnant

2010-05-16T16:56:00.001-06:00

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How your life's changing:

To accommodate you and your baby's growing needs, your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. To help relieve your discomfort, try sleeping propped up with pillows and eating smaller meals more often.

You may have lower-back pain as your pregnancy advances. If you do, let your caregiver know right away, particularly if you haven't had back pain before, since it can be a sign of preterm labor.

Assuming it's not preterm labor that's ailing you, you can probably blame your growing uterus and hormonal changes for your aching back. Your expanding uterus shifts your center of gravity and stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, changing your posture and putting a strain on your back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This can make you feel less stable and cause pain when you walk, stand, sit for long periods, roll over in bed, get out of a low chair or the tub, bend, or lift things.

(Via babycenter.com)

A stressful time.

2010-05-11T19:48:00.003-06:00

I have noticed that stress will always be a part of life, and thus you need to have good coping skills. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones or not, but I find myself not myself lately. I find myself randomly wanting to sit down and just cry because things are so crazy right now.

So let me fill you in on what is making my life so crazy right now.

1) Work is getting kinda stressful. I do love my job, but some of the kids are just getting to me. Yesterday I had kids 2 cut their shirts with safety scissors, this still baffles me when I am unable to cut paper with them and they can cut fabric. There has been a lot of construction going on at our center. I know that everything is gonna look awesome when it's done, however this has caused a lot of chaos and disruption in the classroom. Also, we are only down to 2 teachers. One of the teachers is on maternity leave and the other who is about 22 weeks is on bed rest. Lucky for us the numbers have been low enough that we have been able to cope, but again it causes some chaos.

2)Not that this is really crazy, but I feel like a punching bag. Kyle has been beating up on my insides, and this usually happens when I am ready to go to bed. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that my little boy is moving around but come on let mommy rest. I guess he feels that he needs to get me ready for when he is here, but I need all the rest I can get now! I think being sleep deprived is also making my hormones go crazy, in which makes me more emotional.
2.2)Braxton Hicks...although they haven't been painful they are uncomfortable. I know it's my body's way to get ready for labor.
2.3)I am always worried about Kyle. For the last 3 months almost I hadn't put on anyway weight. And I had only gained a total of 7 lbs. My doctors aren't really worried right now because the fundal height is right on track, however if that changes then they will do another ultrasound to check. I am just worried that I am gonna have a really small baby. And don't get me wrong I am always eating! I also need to find a doctor for Kyle, but I am not sure where to start.

3)Buster...A few weeks ago Buster had a seizure after going for a walk. We rushed him to the emergency vet, but there wasn't much they could tell us without getting like $500.00 from us. He has still been having issues, even had another major seizure last night. He is also losing bladder control, what this means is I am always having to clean up after him. It usually happens when he gets excited, and leaves trail behind. Yeah I know TMI.
This is really stressing out Vincent. Buster is his best friend, and he can't live knowing he didn't give it his all. There is a chance that if we can get him to Cincinnati that he has a chance at a longer life. This means meeting Vincent's ex-wife at a 1/2 way point and dropping of the dog. She works for a really good vet who said that they would do a ct scan for free and all services after that would be 1/2 off. My fear is that he won't survive the trip out there because of all the stress it would be causing, and also the money issue.

4)My cat has gone missing! Yes little Gaston has gone missing. Last night he got out of the house and hasn't been seen since. When I came home from work I saw some tuffs of fur by the back door. This is a tall tale sign that he was in some kind of fight, and he may be injured. We also live next to a very busy road and I am hoping he didn't cross the street, and that he is okay

Well it's getting late and I need to get ready for bed, I have to be up at 5:00 to take Vincent to work 45 mins away.

29 Weeks Down...11 more to go

2010-04-24T10:43:00.000-06:00

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

How momma is doing:
So far all is pretty good, I really can't complain. I have only gained 7lbs so far this pregnancy, but I still have 2 months to go. Nice thing is I know that it is all baby weight.

Vincent and I are really excited to meet little Kyle. I have the pleasure of feeling him all day long, but it will be nice to be able to hold him.

I have finally registered with the hospital, and I plan on taking a tour in the next week or so. Everyone has told me that this is the best hospital to give birth at. From what I have seen the rooms are really nice and it's only about 10 minutes from my house.

Some people may disagree with me, but I have opted not to take birthing classes. I have talked with several different recent mothers and 1/2 say they helped the other 1/2 say that at the time of labor it was hard trying to remember what was taught and not really worth it.
If the classes were free I would so totally be for it, but they are not and they last for weeks. Plus Vincent wouldn't be able to attend them with me because of work.

In the next coming weeks I really need to start finalizing my birthing plan, maternity leave, and get the rest of the items together that I need for Kyle. It doesn't seem like much, but it really is a lot to do in 11 weeks. I really should say anywhere from 9-11 weeks because he could come as early as 2 weeks before my edd. At my last ultrasound he was measuring 3-4 days ahead, so you never know.

Not only that Savannah is coming out this summer, so we have to plan that. The question is who is she gonna visit first, us or pawpaw. I would much prefer her flying here first, cause I don't want to have to take a trip to Vegas to pick her up. Plus Vincent will be going through his 7 week training or just finishing up and we can't afford to take the time off.

So much to do and so little time, how will it all come together. And the next question becomes how will I handle it all after Kyle is here and I am working?

The happenings in the Gambill house

2010-04-17T11:44:00.000-06:00

March and April have been very busy months for Vincent and I, here is just a little list of things that have been going on with us.

I now have a new job about a mile and half away from were we are living. I had it within days of moving to SLC.

Vincent has a job with Convergys in Ogden on the Microsoft project, but that doesn't start until May 15th. So until then he is working 4 10hr days in Logan and spending Fri night - Tue morning here with me in SLC. This will allow us to keep our insurance in tact.

I celebrated my 29th birthday on April 11th, well actually on the 10th. Vincent took me out to dinner and then to a movie. It was a lot of fun.

Today I am 28 weeks prego, which means I am in my 3rd trimester. I hope time doesn't slow down.
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dcwtoaIyDD4/S9Mn5vdYBII/AAAAAAAAA84/f4mSz28iz0I/s1600/looking+down+on+my+belly.jpg">

At my last appointment Kyle was doing well, everything measured right on track. I have only really gained a total of 10 lbs so far.

We have the crib and it is all put together, yay for me. I am a little sad that Kyle won't have his own room and will be sleeping in our room for now, but oh well.

Spring has finally sprung here and we are in the process of tilling the ground and planting seeds, I can't wait till this summer when we can harvest the plants.

Vincent and I went to the Muse concert here in SLC and it was amazing. The seats were perfect and Kyle really liked the music.

Well that is all for now.

Letter to all NON-pregnant people

2010-03-19T13:27:00.000-06:00

This was a e-mail that I received. I kinda found it funny and I am sorry if anyone takes offense to this, that it's not the intent.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.

1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an &*@!!!

2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby".

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it.

4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!".

6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes.

7) There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents.

8) Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Thanks!

The ups and downs of pregnancy

2010-03-18T17:05:00.000-06:00

Being pregnant is a wonderful thing but it can also drive those around you and yourself insane. I am just about 6 months pregnant and here is some of the things I have gone through while being pregnant.

1) Waking up fully energized and ready to tackle the day, two hours later your ready for a nap. So where did all that energy go when you didn't really do much?

2) Ordering your favorite meal, only to find out when it gets to you that you no longer want that and it makes you sick.

3) Going to your closet to get dressed and realizing your favorite jeans don't fit anymore, and it's just the start. But the plus side is that you can buy new clothing.

4) Being in a great mood, happy as a clam and then the next minute you are ready to tear someone's head off.

5) Being in the mood for special mommy and daddy time and then deciding that you aren't in the mood or it hurts, or the baby kills the mood.

6) Going to the doctor and getting weighed, looking at the scale you break down and cry. But you know that it's all baby weight and after he or she is out you are gonna shed that weight.

7) Feeling the baby kick and kick when you are trying to go to sleep. But it's still the greatest feeling in the world.

8) Having the urge to pee, but when you get there nothing comes out. Or you think you are done and baby starts using your bladder as a punching bag and more comes out.

9) Your boobs keep growing and you are wondering if they are ever gonna stop, and you wonder where do you buy Triple E or F bras at.

10) One minute you are loving your partner the next you can't stand the sight of them.

Driving 101

2010-03-18T16:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) Vincent and I were on our way back from Salt Lake City and things were going pretty well, that was until the dreaded sign from above....."I-15 closed at exit 364? Major Accident" Usually we have a road map in the car for times just like this, but not this time. So we moved slowly along with the other traffic as everyone was trying to crowd into 2 lanes. Now being pregnant I also have the urge to pee more, and well Kyle decided that he would join in the fun and had his way kicking at my bladder. I am telling you that it seemed like forever until the next exit, I was just happy to have decent music to listen to. We finally get to the exit and I make a major mistake, I didn't realize that if you went right off the exit you were turning into Hill AFB. Lucky for me there is the visitor center so you can get your pass, etc. I knew that they had a bathroom, so I ran inside and released my bladder and boy did it feel good! However, this added more time to our driving. I had to turn around and go the other way, I had to wait for a semi who made the same mistake that I did to make a u-turn. When I finally got to the light I was excited, hoping traffic passed these two lights moved a bit quicker. Well I got stuck at the light only because some women in a truck decided to block the two lanes. Being a good driver means that you pay attention to your surroundings, the lane next to here (the one I was going to) was open. All she had to do was pull into that lane instead of waiting to go to the furthest lane, and she wouldn't have hindered the flow of traffic. Needless to say I was heated as she was blocking traffic (while I had the green light) I was slowly creeping up on her, hoping she would get the drift. Nope, she just sat there, and then my light turned RED and now I was stuck in the intersection (but I wasn't blocking traffic!) I was grateful for the two semis that came down the off ramp at the same time and let me grow through, but I was still on edge. I think I was complaining for a good 5-10 mins about this Idaho woman driver. However, I did have a happy ending. We finally had caught up to them and looked over and her husband (I assume) had made her move to the passenger seat and he was now driving, and neither one of them looked to happy, but that put a grin on my face!

So please be a good driver and pay attention to the road and other drivers around you.

Such a cute video

2010-03-17T19:33:00.000-06:00

I love this video by Weezer.

2010-03-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

A mini vacation...... Monday and Tuesday

2010-03-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

Even when times are tough everyone needs a break. Well thanks to Vincent working so much over the Christmas holiday he had a lot of Paid Time Off available, saved up. He was going to save this and use it when the baby was born, but the company put out a notice that any pto from last year needed to be used by the end of March or you would lose it. Vincent had a little under 40 hours of pto available and it needed to be used, why let it go to waste. We talked to another couple about possibly taking a small and cheap road trip somewhere, the question then became...where? Then they remembered that they had a free 2 night stay at a resort at Bryce Canyon, UT which needed to be used by the end of March as well. So the wheels starting turning at this point and a trip was in motion!

On Monday we headed out of Logan, stopping by Ikea for a quick lunch. From there we headed to Bryce Canyon. It was a long but beautiful drive down HWY 89. When we got to Bryce we checked into the room and hit the pool and crashed that night. It was nice to be out of the car and I think we were all a bit tired.

The next day we headed out into the canyon, we stop at the Visitor Center where Vincent and I got our new NP Passport(his last one had over 60+ stamps) and our first stamp in the book. And then we were asked if we would like to go on a free snowshoe hike. I had never been snowshoeing before so this would be interesting. We signed up and was told to meet at a certain point at 2pm. This gave us some time to go to the over looks and actually see Bryce Canyon. I must say it was amazing and I would recommend that if you ever get a chance to go to Bryce Canyon that you go. So after viewing the canyon we headed the the meeting area for the snowshoe hike. I was kinda nervous because it was my first time and I have never really hiked in the snow before, plus it was a little over a mile hike. I really surprised myself at how well I did, and I didn't even get out of breath or tired. Thanks to the hike we got to see some amazing views that we wouldn't have been able to see because the roads were closed for the winter. After all that we went into the wonderful town of Tropic to see what they had to offer food wise, not much. So we went back to the hotel and the other couple went to the restaurant and Vincent and I ate some of the food we had packed, however we did go down to the restaurant for a little extra snack to give the couple some time alone. And that ended our second day on the trip and here are some pictures for you to see.

The Big Anatomy Scan

2010-02-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

So on Feb 22, 2010 Vincent and I went in for our baby's 20 week anatomy scan I woke up early that morning and filled my bladder with water, per doctor's orders. When we got there I really had to go (and I had already went like twice that morning). We didn't have to wait long before we were back in the ultrasound room. We stared with the head and moved our way down the body, taking measurements along the way.Everything looked great and our little peanut is right on schedule, actually a couple days ahead. It was funny when we got down to the "goods" the tech asked if we knew what we were looking at. I knew right away what I was staring at, but it took Vincent a minute to catch on. There it was right there on the monitor and there is no deny it. Almost everyone's prediction was right, we are expecting a little boy. I knew deep in my gut that it was probably a boy, but I was really hoping for a little girl. When I would be at the store I would spend more time looking at little girly clothes than boys, not now. It's been almost a week now and I am finally getting used to the idea of having a little boy instead of a girl, now I just need to study up on boys. I can't wait to meet little Kyle J. Gambill in July, he will be such a blessing in our life.

My little thinker

For some reason he liked having his hand right by his face, but that looks like a foot to me.

Here's the goods

Vegan Desserts with Tofu

2010-02-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

When you hear the word "tofu", delicious doesn't always come to mind. To be blunt tofu itself is very bland and flavorless, kinda yucky to eat on its own. Because it has no flavor of its own it's great to cook with. Tofu acts like a sponge, soaking up any spices/juices that you cook it in. For me I love adding tofu to my stir-fry, that is how I was first introduced to tofu.

Tofu can be used in just about any meal that you would make, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

In this post I am focusing on desserts. I have been very impressed with the silken tofu and the desserts that I have made with it. I recommend you try it for yourself and see what I mean....

Recipe:

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Servings: 6

Ingredients

( T ) = Tablespoon ( t ) = Teaspoon ( C ) = Cup

1 (16-ounce) package Nasoya or Azumaya Silken Tofu

12 oz. good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces

2 to 4 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar if desired

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 (9-inch) ready-to-use chocolate crumb crust

1 Whipped cream or non-dairy whipped topping Chocolate shavings or curls

Preparation Method:

1. Microwave chocolate in microwavable bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (50%) for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. 2. Puree tofu in food processor add melted chocolate and sugar process until completely blended, scraping sides down. Add vanilla blend well. 3. Turn mixture into crust. 4. Chill 1 hour or until set. Garnish with whipped cream and shavings. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

Tofu Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 (16-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar or sucanat (or 1/2 cup maple syrup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice, optional

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional

2-3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling

1 package (10-12 ounces) silken/soft tofu

1 9-in unbaked vegan pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Blend the pumpkin and sugar. Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu, mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 60 minutes. Chill and serve. Don't use the low fat tofu, then the pie tastes like it was made with tofu. This pie is soooo yummy, it will fool almost anyone. I made it last Thanksgiving for my whole family, I am the only one, and everyone asked for seconds. They begged me to make another one for Christmas dinner. Top with non dairy topping and it will fool any pumpkin pie lover.

Makes: 8 servings, Preparation time: about 1 hour + chilling time, Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Pie Shell

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 2/3 cups un-bleached all purpose flour

3/4 of a teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening or soy margrine

3 tablespoons ice water

1/4 cup soy milk (or equivlant)

3 tablespoons ice water

Directions:

To make the pie shell, place all ingredients in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour. Then in a bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the the shortening or margrine, mix and then ice water and soy milk small amounts at a time and keep stiring to comes togeher. Transfer on to a lightly floured surface and roll it out to about 11 inches wide and 1/8 inches thick.

Preparation time: 15 min

Meet your meat

2010-02-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I realized how cruel people can be to the animals that are used for our food. I don't think we give enough credit to the animals, we assume they are dumb animals that are here for our consumption.

I don't expect to change your mind, but I would like to challenge you to be a vegetarian / vegan for 30 days.

You can make that pledge here https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2055

This video is not for the faint of heart.....

My decision to go Vegan / Vegetarian had very little to do with factory animals, but more to do with health reason. However, in watching these types of videos it really has me thinking, and I will never go back again.

I can proudly say that I will be a parent of a vegan baby, and I will never introduce my child to meat, as it's not needed for survival. I am doing my part to stop cruelty to animals and make a difference in the world, and I feel great about it.

Now, when I walk by the meat in the grocery store it disturbs me. Those animals that we don't give credit to are smarter we think, don't they deserve the best life possible? If you have to eat meat I would beg you to buy range feed meats.

20 Weeks Down 140 More Days To Go

2010-02-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today marks the halfway point in my pregnancy, can you believe it? I have a hard time thinking that 20 weeks have already past, and I only have 20 more to go(give or take a few weeks). Momma and baby are doing well, actually the little peanut has been moving around. It's nice to feel my peanut moving, it helps to ease the worrying that I have. I won't be calling the baby peanut much longer (it's no longer that size anyway), but since Monday we find out the gender I will be calling him or her by their name. Speaking of names we have the girl name down it will be Sariah Rose, that was an easy decision. For a boy we have yet to decide on a middle name, Kyle is still going to be the first name. The middle names we have picked out are Theodore, Christopher or Eugene. What do you like best? Anyway it's an exciting upcoming two weeks. I also found out that Vincent has to use 29.9 hours of PTO before the end of March. So the beginning on March we are taking a mini vacation with another couple. I think it has been decided that we will be going to Bryce Canyon and then to Paige, AZ. I am kinda excited because we haven't taken a vacation in awhile, and it's going to be with another pregnant couple. Anyway, I need to go and check on my tofu pumpkin pie.

Salsa and chips

2010-02-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today Vincent asked me to make some salsa. At first I was like, "well if I feel like it." Being pregnant is a very tiring thing, I don't need to do much and by early evening I am ready to crash.

Well I looked online for some different types of salsa. I needed to use things in the fridge, and I just happened to have a mango, couple avocados, cilantro and tomatoes. So I looked up recipes that used these items and this is what I came up with.

Avocado, Tomato and Mango Salsa

Ingredients

* 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
* 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
* 4 medium tomatoes, diced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1/4 cup chopped red onion
* 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and olive oil. To blend the flavors, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

And if you really want to go all out you can make the chips yourself. (Thanks Sarah Hales for this recipe)

Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe

* 2 cups of white flour
* 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 tsp. vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.

Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.

The dough will be sticky.

Kneading The Dough

Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough.

Kneading is done by pushing the dough with the heals and palms

of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Just repeat the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky.

If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading.

Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Rolling The Tortillas

Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. You really can't beat cast iron pans for even heat distribution and their ability to withstand high heat without warping.

Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife.

I like their irregular homemade looking shape. No one can mistake these for store bought, especially when you taste them.

Don't be surprised if your kids take this flour tortilla recipe to new heights by making shapes out of the dough. Their creative little minds will be making homemade star shaped quesadillas!

Cooking The Tortillas

Back to the flour tortilla recipe...

Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.

Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

Sadly tonight I didn't feel like going all out (and I had just cleaned up the kitchen, don't really need flour getting everywhere). Instead I bought a bag of Don Pablo White Corn Chips for $.99.

Happy feasting my friends.

2010-02-13T15:51:00.001-07:00

10 days to go

2010-02-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Only ten more days to go until we get to find out the gender of the baby, and needless to say I am super excited. Personally I want a little girl while Vincent wants a boy, either way we just want a happy and healthy baby. One fear that I have is that if it's not what I want that I will be disappointed, is it wrong to want a little girl? I know either way that I am going to love this little baby, no matter what. One thing that is driving me crazy is that on whattoexpect.com boards there are women who aren't nearly as far along as I am finding out the gender......grrrrrrrr!!

So how did it turn out??

2010-02-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I blogged about making a tofu and seitan turkey. I am sure you are all eager to find out how it came out. I sit here proudly knowing that it passed the test!

Me:****
Vincent:*****

Vincent didn't get to try any until he got home around 10:30, so it wasn't really hot anymore. Needless to say I wowed him! That doesn't happen often around here as he is more of the cook, and makes the wow dishes. It didn't take the full 3 1/2 hours to cook like I thought it would, and I had to take it out cause I was out of the basting sauce and I didn't want it to get dried out. I thought for sure I had ruined it because I had mistakenly ate the end piece which was kinda tough and not so good.

Vincent couldn't stop telling me just how awesome my "turkey" was and how it was far better than tofurkey that you buy in the store. This did start to annoy me so I told him to please just shut up about it, I didn't want to get a big head.

I now know that cooking with seitan isn't as scary as I thought it would be. It was as simple as 1...2..3.
How I made a turkey!
Step 1: Get everything together (dry ingredients and wet)
Step 2: Throw into bread machine on dough setting to mix, otherwise it's really hard to work with
Step 3: Take out of bread machine, shape into whatever baste and cook in oven
And finally: EAT YOUR HEART OUT!
Here is my turkey before cooking

And here is the after picture

No More Meat!

2010-02-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today, Vincent and I finally finished off the last little bit of meat (turkey bacon) that was in our house. You can now consider our house as "meat free". What this means is if you are coming by for dinner don't expect to eat anything that comes from a pig, cow, chicken/turkey, or fish. What you can expect is a meal made with one of the following: tofu, seitan, TVP, tempeh or some kind of bean or pasta dish. I have some links here, so if you are unaware of what vegetarian/ vegan food is like you can take a look, along with a great recipe site.

When you first hear the that someone is a vegetarian, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it was "California hippies who have no idea how good meat is and they're insane for living on veggies and tofu." I also just assumed they were the super skinny and undernourished, but I quickly found out that isn't true. It's never a good idea to pass judgment on someone or a lifestyle/belief without actually knowing anything about it, because when you really find out the truth you might look kinda dumb. Yes, there are still the undernourished vegans and vegetarians, not because of the food they are eating, but rather poor diet choices and not getting enough vitamins, etc.

Just because someone is a vegetarian / vegan doesn't mean they just eat veggies or bland crap. There are a wide variety of meat substitutes as I mentioned before. These things can be flavored or even made to taste like a lot of your "meats". Right now in the oven I have a tofu & seitan turkey cooking, yes I know it's not really a turkey. Let me tell you this much, it wasn't that difficult to make and it smells awesome. Here is the link for the turkey if you want to take a go at it... Later tonight for dessert I am gonna be making some peanut butter and applesauce chocolate chip cookies, it's a vegan sub for using eggs, etc. The first time I made them I was a little worried about how they would taste, but they passed the taste test with flying colors.

Now, had you asked me a few months ago what I thought about going vegetarian leaning vegan I would have laughed at you, and said, "yeah right!". Even though we had mostly cut out all the meat we still didn't go full vegetarian, mostly because I put up quite a fight. I have always been a meat and potatoes kinda girl, and to me giving up something I had lived with for 20+ years was gonna be hard. Actually, it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be with all the meat-like proteins out there, it's no biggie.

I think what actually changed my mind was when Vincent made me country fried steak out of seitan, and it was really good. I was really concerned because a vegan / vegetarian lifestyle can be rather costly, really eating healthy in general is costly. However, most of the meat substitutes that you see in the store you can make yourself or if you don't want to deal with the hassle look for bargains and the prices have been lower than what I expected. Yesterday at the store we were able to get 5 things of tofu and spent only $4.86 because of a buy one get one free and then one is getting ready to expire. Tofu on average costs about anywhere form $1.80 - $3.00 for a 12-14 oz block. The nice thing about tofu is it can be frozen and you don't have to worry about it turning green in the freezer if it's there too long. We also got a 1/2 gallon of "fresh off the truck" almond milk for $1.50 because the package was damaged! Now we are taking on the challenge of making all of this at home. Yes, you read right. We are going to be making our own soy milk, tofu, tempeh (we already make seitan) at home. Soy milk, tofu and tempeh are all made from one thing...soy beans! And we can get a 50 lb bag of soy beans for about $33. That may seem like a lot of money, but that makes 150 lbs of protein and in the long run it saves us a lot more.

I am looking forward to our new "lifestyle", because honestly that is what it is. I don't expect it to always be easy, but it will be a fun and hopefully tasty learning experience.

Baby update

2010-02-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Feb 4, 2010
Well today was another doctor's appointment. I was really hoping to get an ultrasound to find out the sex, but oh well. I am happy to report that mommy and baby are doing well, despite the fact that I have lost a few pounds, even though to look at my stomach and swear I have gained like 10-20 lbs. Baby Gambill had a nice strong heartbeat of 156, and we got to even listen longer cause I didn't laugh. I did laugh at one point because Vincent thought he heard what sounded like a horse galloping...what am I having again?
I must say that my wait until the next doctor's appointment isn't as long, as I go back on Feb 22, 2010. I am hoping that our little peanut gives us a little peek at, well you know what. And how time is flying, only 5 months and 5 days until we meet the little peanut.

Finally feeling pregnant

2010-01-29T19:50:00.001-07:00

I always had wondered when I first found out I was pregnant just how long it would take me to show. In reading most women say with your first you might not show until the 5/6 month. For the last 16weeks I have kept looking at my stomach and hoping to see something that would actually look like a baby bump and not that I just over ate.

Well I am happy to announce that I finally am starting to look pregnant, and my stomach is harder than it was before. Yes I can still fit into most of my jeans, but I do have some maternity pants and tops (thrift stores are awesome).With some clothes that I have you still can't tell I am pregnant, but if I am wearing form fitting clothes my bump is noticeable. I am loving the fact that I am looking more and more pregnant everyday, but I guess with that also comes the dreaded unwanted belly touches and advice from strangers. It also makes me happy when my husband tells me I look pregnant and beautiful, even when I don't feel that way.

A winter wonderland

2010-01-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

It really hasn't gotten warm enough for the snow to melt, and when it does it refreezes that night. I have to say it does make for a beautiful winter wonderland. There is one thing that Vincent and I find beautiful, this is only the second time it's happened since I have been here. What happens is when it is very foggy outside, it actually freezes and makes for some awesome views. Anyway, here are some pictures. (It looked better this morning, but by the time I got outside to take picture it had started to melt).

The last one is my favorite, it's our rose bush (and look I think those are rose hips). I just love the red with the white, so pretty.

29 Tips to Go Green- Going Green is Easy

2010-01-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Change to Fluorescent Bulbs - If every house in the United States changed all of the light bulbs in their house, that would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the streets.
Don't Rinse - Skip rinsing your plates before putting them into the dishwasher. In average you will save 15 gallons of water per load. Plus, you will save time.
Hang Outside to Dry - Get a cloths line or rack to dry your cloths. Your cloths will last longer and you will save money
Turn off computers at night - don't just put them to sleep. You will save an average of 4 cents a day which ads up to $14.60 a year.
Use Both Sides of Paper - if you have a printer with a double sided print option use it. You will save half of the amount of paper you would have normally used.

Then when your done bring it to the recycle bin.
Get rid of baths - Don't take baths, take showers. You will in average save about half the amount of water that you would if you were taking a bath.
Don't get bottled water - Instead of bottled water get a reusable container to carry water. Also you can get a filter to make your home tap taste more like bottled water. It is definitely more cost efficient.
Turn the water off when you brush - Your parents have said this before, now I say it. You will save 4 gallons of water doing this alone.
Shorten your shower - Every minute you cut from your shower is roughly 5 gallons of water. The less time your shower takes, the lower your impact on the environment.
Recycle Glass - If you do not recycle this, it will take a million years to decompose.
Don't Pre-Heat the Oven - unless needed, just turn the oven on after you put the dish in it. Also, to see if it's finished just look through the glass instead of opening it.
Use Warm or Cold Setting on Washer - instead of the hot cycle use the warm or cold setting. This will save a lot of energy a year.
Turn Down your Thermostat - Every degree lower in the winter or higher in the summer you put it is a 10% decrease on your energy bill.
Turn off your lights - An easy one. Turn off your lights when you are not using them. The benefits are obvious.
Get rid of junk mail - There are many services that can help you get rid of junk mail. That will lead to a lot less trees being cut down to take up room in your mailbox.
Use Matches instead of lighters - Lighters are usually considered disposable so they will most likely end up in land fills. You can use the cardboard matches which are much more eco-friendly because they are made of recycled material.
Don't get a paper phone book - Instead of getting a paper phone book. Use a online directory instead.
Give things away - Take things that you are not going to wear or use and give it to a charity or someone who will use it.
Go to a car wash - Going to a car wash is a lot more water efficient then washing your car at home.
Stop paper bank statements - Why waste paper getting your bank statement mailed to you when you can just check it out online.
Buy Rechargeable Batteries - Even though it will take a good investment to buy these you will find yourself gaining it back in no time.
Pay your Bills Online - If every house in the US did this then we would save 18 million trees every year.
Get a reusable bag - You can't recycle plastic bags, instead get yourself a reusable bag so that you won't have to worry about carrying your necessities.
Do Errands in Bulk - Make a list of the things you have to do, and see if you can fit a couple of those things together in one ride.
Inflate your Tires - If your tires are inflated at all times your car will run more miles on less gas.
Wrap Presents Creatively - Without going out to get wrapping paper you can use newspaper, an old map, or anything else. It would look a whole lot more creative.
Plant a Tree - It's good for the air, can keep you cool, and can increase your property value.
Buy Local Produce - Consider how much energy it takes for produce from china or any other country to come here. If you have the option to buy local, do it.
Walk or Ride Your Bike When you can - If you have to go somewhere close consider riding your bike or walking there instead of your car. It's better on the environment and healthier.

A Heartbeat is a wonderful sound

2010-01-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I worry and think, am I still pregnant? I think it's a common fear among women, especially first timers like myself. My last appointment was back in Nov, that is when I found out I was only 6 weeks along. Because of that my doctor decided to wait another 6 weeks before my next appointment. I think that was the longest wait I have ever had to endure. Well this appointment put some of my worries at ease. Sadly, I didn't get another ultrasound like I would have liked, but I got to hear something so amazing and mind blowing. I got to hear my little peanut's heart beating away. I've heard my heart beat before, wasn't that impressed. I even heard a friend's twin baby's heart beats, but it never really sunk in. It's such a wonderful sound and it confirms that everything is going well. Actually, that was the only thing we did at the doctor's office. He did ask me how I was feeling and if I had any questions, but I was fine and had no questions. Now I have to wait another 4 weeks till my next appointment, ugh.

Are you serious!

2009-12-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

So far I have had a pretty simple non complicated pregnancy. When I read what other women at my stage are going through all I can say is, "Thank you peanut for being nice to mommy". For the first few weeks all I felt was really tired, like I hadn't slept at all the night before even if I had gotten like 10hrs of sleep and I was peeing just a bit more than usual. I have also had some light abdominal cramps, but nothing really serious. Well for the last 2 maybe 3 weeks I have been starving all the time. Like right now, I just had this huge breakfast of pancakes, turkey bacon and oranges less than 45mins ago and now I feel like I haven't ate all day. Plus it seems like all I want is junk food anymore. Like yesterday I had a little debbie cosmic brownie (I love those) and my mom said becareful of what you eat because what you put on you have to work to take back off. Come on, lay off the pregnant chick. She was pregnant once (3 times actually) so she should know how it feels. I can't say that I have had any real cravings, well there are somedays when there is something I want and I will do anything for it. The other day my husband and I were out and I falafel and that was all that sounded good.
Lately I have been unable to sleep the whole night. Before I would wake up to run to the bathroom, but now I am just waking up or I am starving. I am tossing in turning in my sleep and can't seem to get comfortable anymore, although it could be that I am not sleeping in my bed, we will see when I get back to Logan if things change. I have also found myself to be a bit more moody, I think my husband would agree. If you didn't know I was pregnant you may think I am bi-polar because my moods change so rapidly. One minute I am a ball of joy, just happy as a calm and the next...I am either crying my eyes out or I am just mad about something. Sadly, when my husband is home he gets the worse of it, but I am glad he loves me and understands. I know it's also getting harder for him to pick on me, something we used to do. I find myself either getting mad about it or so upset that I start crying. And then yesterday I got teary eyed at the show, "I didn't know I was pregnant." I also get teary eyed when I look at my boobs and think they are getting bigger and bigger, again not that my husband has an issue with that. Then a few Sundays ago I decided not to go to church because I felt fat in everything I tried on, nothing looked right and I broke down in tears again.
Please tell me that this gets better. I guess I would much rather deal with the moodiness, sleepless nights and hunger than morning(all day) sickness.

Flying, not so simple anymore

2009-12-28T05:54:00.001-07:00

So on Monday December 21, 2009 I boarded a delta plan in Salt Lake city on my way to Cincinnati.
Even though my plan didn't leave the airport till 9:45 I still wanted to get there nice and early. So I had my friend Ben drop me off around 6:30 in the morning. Looking back I could have probably slept in just a tad bit longer. I have realized that flying has now become a bit of a pain.
First off, I went through the self check in. I was all proud of myself because it went pretty quick and was easy (the line for the actual counter was really long). When I got up to check in my bags he told me that my ticket didn't show any checked bags...AHHHHHH...time to head back to the machine. With a little help they added the bag, so back to the counter I went again.
Now my suitcase wasn't that big, if I had wanted to I could have taken it as my carry on luggage, but noooooo. Instead I had to pay the price of $20 for my bag. Gone are the days when you can take luggage for free.

Next it was time to head through security. Gone are the days when all you had to do was walk through the metal detectors, nope not any more.
I should have known better than to wear boots that needed to be laced up, since now you have to take off your shoes, and I was wearing a light sweater jacket over my shirt and I had to remove that as well. I mean come on people what's next, full on strip search? And then not only that when I got home and opened my luggage I had a note on the inside from the TSA, talking about how my luggage had been inspected.
Do I look like a terrorist? I don't think so, just somebody wanting to get home for the holidays.

I finally got to the gate, but I still had a good two hours before take off. The Burger King I had just bought was no longer appealing to me, and I had lost my appetite. I sat there listening to my i-pod, reading my "What to expect when expecting" book and watching the travelers go by. I also watched as the seating area at our gate became standing room only, this kinda worried me as when checking it there was a little note that popped up that said, "Your flight has been overbooked, talk to a agent about switching flights". There was no way in the world after getting there at 6:30 in the morning was I going to change my flight! But as I looked around I started thinking, "maybe taking a later flight isn't such a bad idea" but I quickly got that notion out of my head. I also looked around at the many parents traveling with young babies and children and I realized that if Vincent and I ever flew again that would be us.
Around 9:15 they started boarding the plane, and that is when I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, twice! Lucky for me I was in zone 4 and the bathroom was right there. I finally made it to my seat and got all buckled in and then waited for take off. It was a pretty smooth flight, my only complaint was the guy behind me was so tall that his knees were in the back of my chair and when I wanted to lay back and go to sleep, I couldn't =( . And not only that, I only made one trip to the bathroom on a 3 1/2 hour flight, which for me right now is kinda good for me.
We got into Atlanta right on time, and it gave me just a little over an hour to get to my next gate. Now last time I was at the Atlanta airport the trains had broken down and my mom and I almost missed our flight. So thanks to that I was a bit worried, what happens if I miss my flight...standby? I had no issue getting to my next gate, well I did have one. They moved the gate on me. Instead of looking at the screens to see what gates the plans were taking off, I was going by my boarding pass. So when I got to the gate my boarding pass said, it said flight**** Seattle Washington....SEATTLE!! That isn't where I wanted to go, so I checked the screen and noticed that I had even walked right past the new gate and didn't even notice. Well went back to the correct gate, waited about 30mins then boarded the plane and had a safe, smooth flight to Dayton. After it was all said and done I was very happy to be done with the airports, and be heading back to my parents house.

A Day At Temple Square...Salt Lake City.

2009-12-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Utah Vincent and I haven't had much time to explore the state or nearby cities. Well we decided to change that and take a trip to the "big city". It was quite an adventure in itself getting to SLC. Vincent arranged a ride to Brigham City where we would catch the Ogden bus. Now the Ogden bus runs every hour, because of this we missed the 8am bus and had to wait around for the 9:00 bus. Since the bus stop was right outside 7Elven it wasn't that bad. Our breakfast consisted of chili cheese dogs (mine didn't have the chili and cheese) and a Gatorade. After waiting around 45mins we were finally able to board the bus. Now the only problem that we now faced was the front runner leaves the station at 9:46, and what time does our bus pull in but 9:46!! We asked the bus driver what we should do, she dropped us off kinda at the corner and all we had to do was run for it. I tried running, even though my shoes weren't meant for running and I was freezing cold and carrying a backpack full of stuff. We missed the train by 15secs!
But I was able to get this awesome picture.

After about 15/20 mins we were able to catch the next train to SLC and we were back on our way.

Our next leg of the trip was to take the traxs to Temple Square, lucky for me we didn't need to run to catch that. Before you knew there we were, at Temple Square. It was amazing to look up and see that beautiful temple and remember what the saints went through to get to Utah. We started at the south visitor's center, greeted by wonderful sister missionaries. From there we went across the street to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Inside was beautiful, of course it was filled with the smell of the Nauvoo Cafe.

From there we headed out towards the church head quaters, I got a chance to snap some awesome pictures of the Temple.

Inside the church head quarters we came across the amazing painting, that took up a whole wall. We saw where the church archives are, it's amazing to know that all the church records are held right there behind those doors.

After that we made our way to the Lion House Pantry. Being on a budget and saving ourselves for a later meal we had a roll and a drink. I do plan on going back for a real meal. From there we made our way back towards the Tabernacle and the north visitor center.

Our last two stops were across the street. The Family History Center (which took our breath away) and the Church History Museum

It was a great day, cold, but a totally awesome day. I recommend it as one of those places you just have to go.

A Joyous Season...

2009-12-13T16:48:00.001-07:00

I came across this short video and it brought a tear to my eye as I watched it. I would ask that before I go one with my "rant" that you please watch the video.

The Christmas Spirit

In this video there are three things going on.

First, you have the parents discussing their financial situation. Talking about how this Christmas will have to be scaled back some.

Secondly, you have the two older children discussing what they want for Christmas, and making their list.

Thirdly, you have the young girl going back and forth trying to find things that she can use. You're not quite sure as to what she is up to, but finally the catches the attention of her family. As they follow her down the hallway you can see Christmas decorations all over the floor, and then a box lights plugged in and a string leading into her room. The little girl leads them to the garage, where she can be seen reaching under the shelving for something. Not sure what she is trying to get the father helps her. The father is successful and hands the little girl the item, and her face lights up as she says "thank you" and walks away.
The family then follows the little girl into her room where she has set up a small nativity scene. It was in her room that they are reminded of what Christmas is about.

Sadly, this is not uncommon. Families get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, that they forget the reason why we celebrate. This Christmas season I urge you as you go about your holiday traditions, shopping and traveling that you remember the reason for this holiday season.

9w1d = 7 more months to go...pregnancy as seen through my eys.

2009-12-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Feelings and thoughts on my pregnancy:

When I think that I have 7 months to go....HOLY COW! I wonder to myself how am I going to do it, it seems so long. But I am sure that they time will fly, and that July 10, 2010 will be here sooner than I think.

Who knew that in just a little over 9 weeks, that I could become so attached to someone that I hadn't even met yet.

It has taken some time to realize that my body is no longer mine, but belongs to the little bitty baby inside me. What this means is that I can't beat my body up the way I used to. No more skipping meals, eating crap junk food, or not taking my vitamins. It also means I that I need to be more aware of what I am putting into my body, my surroundings, and how I maintain my body.

I find that now when I am shopping I spend more time looking at baby clothes and such, and less at clothes for me. I suspect that in the very near future when my clothes don't fit right, that will change.

Concerns that I have, unfounded or not:

I do worry that I may do something to lose my baby. Or that I am not taking care of myself the way I should be, which in turn may hurt my baby.

Will I be a good mom and will I be able to handle the 3am feedings, the crying, etc.

Will my child love me and Vincent (even when we tell them no)

What if I have a boy and I want a girl or vice versa, will I be able to handle that

Symptoms my little one has blessed me with to remind me of his/her presence

Tiredness...no matter how much sleep I get, it never feels like enough

Hunger...I find myself more hungry throughout the day, then I used to be. And I have the biggest urge to grab the closet snack, healthy or not, and eat and eat. And then there is the waking up in the middle of the night starving.

Using the bathroom more... Sometimes that can be rather annoying, cause I may not be able to get to the bathroom right away.

Nausea...Can't say that it has been bad, or that I have actually thrown anything up. It's just some smells make me sick to my stomach.

Breast tenderness...I swear they have grown already (and Vincent agrees to it). I look down and think, "NO PLEASE NO". Not to mention they feel a bit heavier than normal, and I can't lay certain ways cause it's uncomfortable.

So there you have my little rant, my thoughts, my concerns, and my symptoms.Hope you enjoyed.

Winter is Here!

2009-12-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

After several days of having temperatures below zero (-9 one morning: yes, Fahrenheit), we received our first semi-significant snowfall of the year to date. 3" has fallen so far, coating everything. However there is no "OMG THE WHITE DEATH!!! GET MILK!!!!" hysteria here: it is merely a dusting to Logan residents. Schools are open, buses running: it's very refreshing. Looking forward to a few feet of snow to do some sledding and skiing!

Message of Salvation during Saturday Football: by Vincent

2009-12-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about working at Comcast is that we have access to TVs interspersed between every 2nd row of cubicles. I am blessed to be seated right next to the one showing the Florida-Alabama SEC Championship. During a closeup of Tim Tebow in a losing effort, I noticed that he had used a fine point Sharpie or paint pen to scrawl John 16:33 into the black anti-glare strips underneath his eyes.

While Tim Tebow will be remembered as one of the greatest collegiate quarterbacks of this generation, he will equally be remembered as an unabashed emissary of Jesus Christ and his plan of happiness. In press conferences, in his daily life, in living by example, even in a miniscule set of lettering in an eye smudge: How many of the faithful make that kind of effort on a daily basis? How many seek to be emissaries and not just advertisers, broken record players pointing toward generalities of faith without application? It took a 21-year old college kid to remind me of such a simple message that can relieve so many:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

A baby on the way!!

2009-11-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

So today was my first doctor's appointment. Despite being a bit nervous and not sure what to expect, all is well. Matter of fact, we did the first ultrasound. Now, if you were going by my lmp I would be around 11-12 weeks, but boy did I have the doctor fooled. The ultrasound showed that I am only 6 1/2 weeks along, which is what I suspected. So far, things have been good health wise. I haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood), the only thing is that I am more tired and spending more time in the bathroom than I would like.

Tis the season...

2009-11-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Out with the Halloween decor and in with the Christmas decor. It's hard to believe that it's already November, where has 2009 gone? It's like this year has been a blur, but I am excited for what 2010 will bring us. Even though this year is almost gone, we still have 2 more months. These are probably my two favorite holidays, they go almost hand in hand with each other. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, and well Christmas is about the birth of Christ, the greatest gift that has ever been given. I am grateful to have these two holidays, because they both make me sit back and give thanks for the blessings I have received. So I challenge you this holiday season, if you haven't before take note of the blessings you have received this year and gives thanks for them.

Tigger no more

2009-11-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

So Buster and Tigger have been a part of the Gambill family for over 10 years, and well they are an important part of this family. Well, sadly I must say Tigger is no more. In the eye's of the City of Logan, Tigger doesn't exist. No, he's still alive, but the city decided to change his name!Tigger is now known as Tiggel.
Now the story as to how this has happened.....

Last Thursday I had asked Vincent to walk with me up to the bus stop. In his decision to come, he decided to bring the dogs as well. Now in the rush to get out the door we only had time to grab one leash. Of course that leash is for Tigger, since he doesn't like to listen (of course that can also be that he is partial deaf). Well, only having one leash didn't stop Vincent. He decided Buster could walk up to the bus stop without being on a leash. Now granted the bus stop is less than 1/2 a block away and Buster listens really well, I told him it wasn't a good idea. You ask why it's not a good idea?? Here in Logan, animal control is always out and Thursday was no exception. So as we started to walk up, who did we see turning a corner, you guessed it.....Animal Control. So Vincent quickly put the leash on both dogs, but it was too late. The bus finally arrived and AC had not come back around, so I kissed Vincent goodbye and got on the bus,somewhat relived. It wasn't until I got home from work that I was informed that animal control did stop Vincent. Now since moving here, we hadn't gotten the dog's licensed. Lucky for us they didn't impound the dogs or charge us a fine. Instead, they told Vincent that he had till Tuesday (that would be today) to get the dog's licensed, otherwise they would be impounded and we would be fine $100.00.
So on Monday we took the dogs down to Cache County Humane Society and got the dogs rabies shots. Now when the lady filled out the paperwork she made her rlook like al. I hadn't noticed this at all, why would I? So I then went to the police department and gave them the slips to get the license. After about 10 mins and $12.00 later the woman handed me two pieces of paper with a blue star tag on it. When I got home I went to put the tags on the dogs. Tigger was first, when I looked at his paper I noticed one important detail, he wasn't TIGGER anymore. My puppy, the police department had changed his name to Tiggel. So for the next year, in the eye's of Logan police Tigger is no more.

A Day at the Lake

2009-08-21T19:51:00.000-06:00

So in our effort to do things that were free, Vincent, Savannah, and I went down to Hyrum beach. It's about a 15-20 min drive away, and it's an awesome place. I love laying on the beach looking up at the surrounding mountains. We took lots of water, water related toys, and flotation devices.

What was I thinking...

2009-08-11T20:20:00.000-06:00

So this whole time we have been trying to think of free things to do with Savannah. And of course the first thing that comes to mind is tubing! All over Logan there are these canals that come off the river, and well we are lucky enough be close by one. We had started out our morning telling Savannah that we would go to the lake and then camping, but that fell through. So today I had walked Savannah back from the library and we crossed over a canal. I made mention that kids float down the canal on tubes, and of course she said she wanted to do it.Earlier today the water was cold, near freezing, but that didn't register with the 10 yr old. So as the day went on, and the idea of going swimming at the lake became a distance thought, Savannah pursued the idea of tubing. So we headed on our quest to find some cheap floating devices. With no luck after checking 3 stores, we headed back home. Then Vincent said to go to BIG O tires, because a few weeks back they had the tubes for $10.00. Well when I got there, they were all out. So I drove around to more stores to find floating devices. As I was about to give up hope I stopped at K-Mart...K-Mart didn't let me down, and I came back with 3 rafts! So the time had come to get wet. I remembered how cold the water was earlier and I tried my hardest to not go, but she wouldn't let me. So off we went, yes the water was cold, yes I was complaining the whole time, but it was totally awesome and I can't wait to do it again when the water is warmer.

Tours by Savannah

2009-08-11T10:37:00.000-06:00

So this is what happens when you give a 10 yr old a camera and let them do a guided self tour...

Savannah wanted to make a video of our house to show her mom, of course we redid it and made a better video.

Guess who is here..............Savannah!

2009-08-11T09:54:00.000-06:00

So it has been quite the battle to get Savannah out here to Logan, but it has finally happened. Even though we wanted her earlier in the summer and for a longer period, we are grateful that she is here now. Of course we didn't fly her into SLC first, instead we sent her down to Vegas to she her pawpaw (Vincent's dad) for a couple of days. Then on Friday, Vincent and I drove down to Vegas to pick her up. We spent the night in Saint George that night, then Saturday morning we headed over to the Temple.

From there we headed on down to Vegas. There was lots of cool stuff to see on the way down, and take pictures of...but of course we didn't :(
When we got into Vegas we couldn't head straight to pawpaws, so we had to drive around. Vincent had to take me down memory lane..
First stop..the place he was going to build a house, I like our place much better.
Second stop...Western High School- this is the place our wild teenager went to school(we spent almost an hour trying to find a way into the school, but alas that failed)
Third stop..Girlfriend lane-Vincent wanted to show me the general area in which his highschool gf's lived.
Fourth stop...Red Rock Canyon - and the route that Vincent biked everyday for training http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/

From there is was on to see a Savannah, Mick and Vickie. Vincent was so happy to see his little girl...so much that he had to tickle her and play with her in the yard.

From then it was another walk down memory lane with all the things that Vincent did as a child....

That night the entire family went out to eat, then we just hung out, and fell asleep. The next morning we got everything packed and started our way back to Logan, UT. With one small detour on the way, Lake Mead. On our way we stopped and hiked up a small mountain.

And from then on it was a long, long drive home...with a stop for Del Taco for dinner.