Talitha, Cumi: February 2015

Sunday- We woke up to a couple of inches of snow! My parents also came Sunday morning and went to church with us. After church my mom and I went to the new house and got some cleaning done. Also, my man turned 28. 28? That seems crazy to me. He was just 23 when we got married! And didn't we get married like last year?

Monday - my parents had spent the night with us so my mom and I went back to the house and got some more work done. We checked out the stove and dishwasher. It's a gas stove and the gas works, but there's no electricity getting to it. The outlet it's plugged in to works just fine though. The dishwasher at least works, but the inside is corroded and the door is broken. I called the landlord and talked to him about both of the problems. He is going to either fix the stove or get us a working one. The dishwasher he said is a luxury and if we want a new one we can go buy one. I remembered seeing one on a swap shop group on facebook for $50. I got on to see if it was still available and it was!

Tuesday - We went and picked up our new-to-us dishwasher. I couldn't believe how perfectly the Lord worked all of that out. Now, as long as it works, we will be good to go.

Caleb was also feeling pretty crummy the past few days and ended up calling in to work on Tuesday. As the day went on he actually felt a whole lot better (which is why we went and picked up the dishwasher), but he needed that extra day of rest. I had tried getting him into the doctor because he was afraid he was getting a respiratory infection like he got almost this exact same time last year but they didn't have anything available.

Wednesday - we got more snow! Also Caleb was able to see the doctor. They didn't tell him he had an infection but they gave him an antibiotic to keep it from getting infection.

Thursday - I started feeling sick. Boo. I tried my best to fight it off early with essential oils and honey/cinnamon. Liam and I did get two van loads full taken over to the new house. I got the first load packed up while he was napping, then the second loaded while he was eating lunch. As long as he had animal crackers, he gladly sat in the van while I got everything unloaded in to the new house.

Friday - So I think it was Wednesday, I was talking to my sister on the phone while Liam and I were eating dinner and I thought for sure I saw a mouse crawl out from behind the deep freeze and run behind the high chair. I pulled the high chair away from the wall and didn't see anything. I really thought I must have imagined it but if it was for real, it was small and brown. I told Caleb about it that night. Well Friday morning I was sitting watching tv with Liam and realized that I didn't imagine the furry creature. It ran out from behind our dvd cabinet and when it saw me it ran back. I called Caleb because he was at church for office hours and told him about it. And you know what? He didn't want to come home to rescue me. We had a mouse trap already set in the pantry so I found it and snapped it with a broom, then I put peanut butter on it, reset it, and put it on the floor on the other side of the dvd cabinet where Liam couldn't easily get to it. Then on the side that Liam could access, I tried to booby trap it. When Caleb came home he took one look at it and ridiculed my homemade effort. I had even tried spraying peppermint oil down behind the cabinet trying to lure it out into either the death trap or my homemade trap. Nothing worked. I had Caleb's BB gun handy (but out of reach of tiny hands) in case the thing tried attacking me.

This could work, right?

Liam doing his part trying to scare the mouse away. Once he woke up from his nap my trap got destroyed.

Saturday - I started feeling a lot better. I figured one more night of good sleep and I would have this thing kicked. My parents came over again to help us get some more stuff moved. We got a good chunk of stuff moved over to the new house. There's still a lot left to move, but we are at least making good progress.

Remember that mouse? Well I checked the trap Saturday morning and it was still set. I was packing up the dvds and terrified that this critter was going to come leaping out at me because the back of the dvd cabinet has gaps between the boards (it's made that way). I never saw it. Then Liam was napping and my parents and Caleb had gone over to the new house. I was upstairs getting more stuff to take to the new house when I heard something downstairs. I thought it was odd that they would be back so soon. I came downstairs and didn't see anything. I thought maybe it was just the furnace making a noise because it makes crazy loud noises. When they finally did come back, they decided to take the dvd cabinet to the new house. Liam was up from his nap so I was standing there ready to pick up the mouse trap as soon as they moved the cabinet before Liam could get his precious fingers caught in it. The mouse trap was flipped over and tiny mouse feet were sticking out. Yuck and Hallelujah. My knight in shining armor did at least dispose of the mouse for me. I must say, I'm pretty proud of trapping the booger all by myself. :-) I'm pretty sure that's what the mysterious sound downstairs was.

Sunday - I woke up with an awful awful sore throat. I really thought I was getting strep or something like that. Liam and I stayed home from church because I didn't want to be spreading my germies. Caleb offered to take Liam to church so I could rest, but without having someone lined up to be able to watch Liam, I didn't want to send him to church. Caleb has enough responsibilities on Sunday mornings that I didn't want him to have to worry about Liam.

Monday - I woke up feeling even poopier. Caleb offered to stay home from work so he could watch Liam. I told him I wanted him to, but then at last minute sent him to work. I felt bad for having him stay home when he had just called off last week when he was sick. Liam and I made it through the morning, but Liam hardly napped and so I hardly napped. Caleb texted me on his lunch break and asked if I wanted him to come home. I gladly took him up on that offer and spent the afternoon upstairs napping on our futon. (Isn't he the greatest??) I pretty much had exactly what Caleb had the past week and a half and knew of others who had also had this crud. I knew it could take a couple of weeks to clear up, especially when I'm pregnant and basically don't have much of an immune system.

Tuesday - I didn't think I could feel worse, but I did. Not only was my throat killing me, but then one of my sinus cavities starting giving me a lot of pain. It was painful to the touch and then it was hurting my teeth and my jaw. I have TMJ in my jaw so it's super sensitive to things like that. I could hardly eat, mostly because I could hardly open my mouth because of pain, and then I couldn't sleep either because it hurt too bad. I texted my personal doctor, Karisha, and she told me that I needed to get in to see a doctor because I most likely had an infection and would need to get an antibiotic to clear it up. I called the clinic here in town where I have my primary care doctor, but my doctor has been out for the past two weeks due to a family emergency/death and the only other doctor there couldn't get me in until the next afternoon. I hate hate hate urgent care/walk-in clinics for things like this. I feel like I have wasted too much time and money going to those just to be misdiagnosed and paying money for medicine that doesn't help. My only other option was to call my OB and see if there was anything they could do for me. Without me coming in, she gladly prescribed me a z-pack and said to call back if I don't start feeling any better soon. There are lots of reasons why my OB is basically my best friend and this is just one of them. I'm pretty sure the affections only go one way though.

Wednesday - What a difference 12 hours can make. My throat was completely better and I could tell a huge difference in my sinus cavity. By the end of the day I was feeling pretty good. I had tried my hardest the past few days to use essential oils to try to clear everything up, but when it comes to stuff like this I love modern medicine.

Thursday - My sister and her boyfriend Jim risked the creeping crud at my house and came to visit for the day. We got a van load taken over to the new house and then they babysat the tot while Caleb and I cleaned the church and got some decorations hung up for the upcoming Valentines Day banquet. I came home to a freshly bathed baby. :-) Cleaning the church is a whole lot easier when I have Caleb helping instead of Liam. I mean, they are both adorable and are my favorites, but Caleb is more helpful. And I don't have to stick him in a high chair and feed him crackers while I run through the church trying to empty trash cans as fast as possible. Nor do I have to worry about possible intruders or mysterious voices coming from the second and third floors.

Liam was waiting for his visitors to arrive.

Liam picked out his outfit for the day.

Friday - I had my 20 week appointment and we had an ultrasound! The little guy immediately showed us his gender. I kind of wanted a girl, but it's also nice knowing that really all I need is some more cloth diapers. I have everything else that I could need. And it's also nice knowing that Liam will have a brother to get into shenanigans with. We aren't definite on a name yet but there's a possibility in our minds. :-)

Caleb and Liam have a discussion about little brothers.

Saturday - my parents came over (third weekend in a row!! Aren't they great??) and helped us move a bunch more of our stuff. We ate lunch at the Mexican restaurant for my birthday and then they watched Liam for us while we went to the Valentine's banquet at church. Caleb's parents also tagged along with us to the banquet.

I got a birthday kiss from this precious fella.

He also blew out most of my birthday candles. :-)

I got a super cute new purse for my birthday!

Liam got several Valentines Day presents but for most of the day he was really only interested in his new Curious George tooth brush.

This attractive guy showed up at the Valentines day banquet and sang a song about how much he loves chicken tenders.

When we got home I checked on Liam and found him like this. :-)

Caleb gave me my birthday present. :-)

Liam has learned to say the words "uh oh!". The other morning I heard him wake up and he was in his room singing Mama over and over again. Then all of a sudden on the monitor I hear "Mama! Uh oh!" I freaked out thinking he did something he shouldn't have but I think he is actually trying to make a monkey sound. He sleeps with George in his bed so I think he was just playing with him.

Liam has also started calling Caleb "Dadna" or "Dadney". I'm not sure where the n sound came from. At least a few times every day I hear the conversation going on in my house of
     Caleb - "Say daDA!"
   Liam - "dadNA!"
   Caleb - "daDA!"
     Liam - "dadNA!"

Liam has also started a new thing where when you ask him "Hey do you smell that?" then he sniffs his feet. It's pretty comical.

Here's a video of him sort of doing it. (I promise our house doesn't always look quite this bad, we are in the process of moving)

Some more pictures from the past two weeks:

Figuring out how sound works in his tiny ear holes

He loves sitting at the table now. I think when we move we will move him to a booster seat.

He also loves helping with his diaper laundry.

He likes to "sort" them.

Some before bed snuggles

How he likes to watch tv now. He's also super into Lilo and Stitch. I'm not totally for sure why, but it's a guaranteed hour and a half baby sitter.

Fuzzy head eating a donut.

He got into bed with me after Caleb got up.

I can't wait to have two little boys to snuggle with me in bed. :-D

Sunday
This little chap was all schnazzed up for church.

Monday
So we are going to have a few moving expenses if we move. (I've been saying IF just in case our new landlord decides to give the house to someone else before he sends us a lease) I was awed Monday by how God seemed to be providing us with extra cash.
     - I came across $10 that I didn't know I had stashed away probably a few years ago.
     - I was going to throw away some old textbooks that I had that Amazon previously wouldn't buy back. I have a "Book Scouter" app on my phone and you can scan in a UPC and it will search all of the book buy back sites and let you know how much they will all give you for that book so you can get the most back. I have about $110 worth of books that would have been headed to the trash otherwise.
     - I later got a call from Neilsen asking if I would fill out a survey for them if they sent me $30. They said it doesn't matter if I watch tv or not, they just need it filled out. Perfect, because we don't get any channels. Send all the surveys you want!
     - Last, I saw a deal on Amazon where if you start a wedding registry and add an item within 24 hours, they will send you a $20 gift card in the next 2 weeks. Guess who is getting married again?? Our wedding date on there is appropriately April 1 and we are registered for a Clifford book.

Just within a matter of a few hours, we potentially have $170 that we didn't have before.

Tuesday
I've tried to start doing some "Spring Cleaning" early that needs to be done regardless of if we move or not. I'm trying to not start packing and doing anything that will have to be undone if we for some reason don't get this new house. My morning consisted of scrubbing a hopeless oven that has had a bunch of crud burned on the bottom since we moved in. I also cleaned out the crud from underneath our kitchen sink that comes out of some pipe that our landlord's plumbing guys didn't think was problem.

Our internet quit working on Monday morning. We couldn't get a tech out here until Tuesday afternoon. Until we moved to Centralia, we have always had AT&T internet. I never saw an AT&T tech the whole time we had them, and now with Charter I have had to have them out here 4-5 times now. Our only other option for internet is about twice as much as what we pay. :-( I know, first world problems.

Tuesday when Caleb got home from work I asked him what he wanted for dinner. Since it was such a nice day out he said that he kind of wanted to make a bonfire but that it probably wouldn't happen. A little bit later he took Liam outside to play. There's not much for them to do outside but they were gone for a long time. Apparently they were both collecting branches and were building a fire. They came in and smelled like smoke. I got some hotdogs and smores ready and we went outside to eat dinner. It was actually a really nice night. I like time with this with my two main men.

Liam also discovered the moon. He was rather intrigued and kept talking to it.

Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby?

Thursday
I got a call from our new landlord saying that our application checked out and we are good to go to rent this new house! I cannot even tell you how excited I am. I've been trying my hardest to be patient during the last 6 days since I mailed the application, but when I'm this excited about something, it's hard for me to be patient. Now we get to start the moving process! At least we don't have to have everything packed up at one time for one huge moving day. We will be able to do a little bit at a time. Here's a picture of the new house from the online listing pictures.

Since I was trying to keep my mind off of moving and not checking my phone every 2 seconds to see if I somehow missed a call, Liam and I went shopping Thursday morning. We got to Target and I was getting Liam out of his carseat and I said "Aren't you so excited to be at Target?!?!" He looked at me and with a worried tone he said "noooo" as he was shaking his head no. We need to work on his Target enthusiasm. I took him to Walmart after (mainly to get Caleb's birthday present) but also to show Liam how superior Target is. And to get a donut.

My happy little guy ready to leave target.

When we were at Target Liam tried shoplifting things in my purse. Fortunately I found them right as we were about to walk out the door. -_-

Friday - Caleb was sick. Boo. He had office hours in the morning and then came home and slept all afternoon. Really, all afternoon. Fortunately Liam also finally took a nap that afternoon so guess who got to take a shower?? This girl.

Saturday -
We went over to our new house to check it out. Before I mailed the lease, there was a section in there that mentioned that we have thoroughly checked out the house and found it to be without flaws. We did another walk through and found a few things that mainly we just needed to ask the landlord about but nothing major. We asked Liam which room he wanted to be his. I think his favorite was the master bedroom because it has a step in it. He better think again.

Later in the afternoon I took Liam over to the new house with me while I tried to get some cleaning done. The kitchen cabinets needed a really good wipe down so I started there. I didn't even get halfway done before Liam was bored. I brought toys for him to play with but of course he only wanted to play with/in whatever drawer/cabinet I was cleaning or he whined because he wanted to go play outside. I'm going to have my work cut out for me during the next month.

Saturday night I gave Caleb his birthday present since his birthday is on a Sunday and Sundays are always busy. I went all out this year. I got him a silicone pot handle cover for his cast iron skillet I got him for Christmas. I even dropped it inside a sock and called it wrapped. I had already told him he wasn't getting much because I agreed to let him purchase a new toy a few weeks ago. Also, we aren't huge gift-giving people so he wasn't disappointed. I don't think he was. He may tell you a different story. I also make him a no-bake cookie cake. I made one for him for the first birthday he had after we were married and he loved it because he doesn't like cake but loves no-bake cookies. He tells me now that that is all he wants me to make him for his birthday. I'm good with that.

Here's some other pictures this week:

Liam has started having a fascination with Caleb's belly button and cleaning lint out of it. They were both on the floor watching tv and I look over and Liam is glued to the tv with his finger stuck in Caleb's belly button.