Babysitting in Monroe

Hi everyone!

Wow it's been a while since i posted. Just to quickly update everyone, Camryn is 3 and is done potty training. She is going to start preschool in Sept. She is very excited. Jordyn is 10 months old. She is very mobile. She is always all over the apartment.

From Feb 18th to March 7th, the girls and i are in Monroe while i take care of their friends, Madison and Emmalee Fields. Their parents are on a cruise with their whole family. Lucky Lucky people. lol I have decided to start blogging again so Jaime and Zak can read what we're up to.

On Friday Feb 19th, I packed up all the kids and we went to Duvall. I had another babysitting job watching 2yr old triplets. So i had 7 kids total all under the age of 4. Most of the day went pretty good. The older kids played and I was able to get the babies down for a nap. When it was time to leave that is when things got crazy. Emma and Jordyn both wanted to be held but i wanted to get everyone's shoes and jackets on.

Sat Feb 20th. It was nice to be able to not have to rush out the house early in the morning. We took the day slow. Got the babies down for a nap and then I got the big kids ready for a birthday party. After the babies got up, we all headed to the party in our party dresses. It was nice because the party was only 4 mins away. I was Serenity's 3rd birthday. She is my cousin Kylie's niece. Their family is so nice and so welcoming. It was a lot of fun. They had snacks and cupcakes. After playing for a while they brought out the pinatas. I don't think Camryn had any idea of what was going on. But she wanted a turn. lol She loved wacking the pinata with a stick. Maddie had a blast too. It took a while to brake it open since most of the kids were so young but towards the end they brought out a couple bigger kids.

By the time we were done with the pinatas it was 5:30 so it was time to head home. Both big kids said they loved the bday party. Maddie said it was the best bday party ever! lol We got home just in time to feed Jordyn dinner get her to bed. Feed Emma dinner and get her to bed. Then feed Camryn and Maddie and get them to bed. Then comes my favorite part of the day, time for me to eat dinner and get to lay in bed and relax.

Feb 21st. Lazy Sunday. Today we have no plans so we are just hanging around the house in our pjs. I have been doing some light cleaning and the kids are playing. Jordyn is napping and it really helps the noise level. :) When Jordyn wakes up it will be time for Emma to go down. :)

After naps Erin came and we all went out to dinner at Red Robin. I usually wouldn't want to go out to a restaurant with 4 kids but Red Robin is such a kid friendly place. Camryn and Maddie were thrilled as usual to get balloons. It was a delicious dinner and then we went back to the house to play some games.

Jaime and Zak: I really hope you guys are having fun and please don't worry about your kids. They are happy and having fun with their friends. They definitely can't wait to see you but i am doing my best of making it fun while you're gone.

Potty training

I know I've already told everyone but I am so excited. Camryn is kicking butt at potty training. I was changing her diaper this morning and decided to put her in underwear and try to potty train her. She is doing so good. She has been peeing in her potty all day. She still has dry underwear. I think she is really enjoying using the potty. She tells me she has to go pee and then she runs to the potty. She even wipes herself and pours the pee into the toilet and flushes all by herself. The idea of not having to buy her any more diapers makes me so happy.

Solid foods

I am very excited to start Jordyn on solid foods. I am hoping that she will be fuller and will sleep better at night. Today I decided since she is almost 6 months old, I will start her on rice cereal. I really like feeding babies with a spoon. I think they look so cute with it all over their faces. After we returned to Kirkland from a birthday party in Marysville, I went to the store and bought a big box of rice cereal. We sat her in my mom's high chair and I made a small portion of rice cereal. She didn't seem to like it at first. She would stick her tongue out so I couldn't put the spoon in her mouth and if I did get the spoon in, she would use her tongue to push the rice cereal out. I kept trying and then gave her some bottle. After a little bottle I tried again. This time she started eating it. :)She finished the whole small portion.

After her nap I made another bowl and this time she seemed excited. She ate all of it and seemed to want a little more. I am hoping she sleeps better tonight. Here are some pics that Kim took.





She also took a couple of Camryn. She is holding cat nail clippers. She really wanted to cut one of Kim's cat's nails. lol Surprisingly Kim said no.





My mom and Camryn were playing in the backyard. Camryn's old little swingset is back there and we put Jordyn in the swing to see if she likes it. She seemed nervous at first but she loves Camryn and when Camryn started pushing her she had a big grin on her face.

Puyallup Fair

Today my mom, Kim, Erin and I went to the Puyallup Fair. I haven't been in several years so I was excited. The only thing I wasn't excited about was the fair food temptation. They have really yummy unhealthy food and I am trying to eat as healthy as possible. We arrived right when they opened at 10am. We first went to see the cows which were big and smelly. I didn't breathe through my nose the whole time we were in the cow building. Then we saw the horses. Those weren't as smelly. I am just wondering why they make it where we only see the animal's butts. I would much rather see their faces. As we were looking at the last of the horses one of them, Nick, let out a nice big fart. After that I was done looking at the big animals.

We walked around a little bit then decided to get some lunch. I brought my lunch but I saw on the menu a 100% whole wheat wrap so I got that. I did also eat most of what I brought which was a banana, a special K bar and a slice of cheese. I thought I made a good decision. After lunch we went to see something called "Mutton Bustin." It is bull riding with sheep and kids under the age of 6. My mom has seen it before and says it is hilarious. Before the competition started, there was a person dressed in a sheep costume entertaining the people in the stands. He was dancing to music and doing tricks. He was pretty funny. I had a gut feeling before it started that I wouldn't like it and I was right. I only stayed to watch the first 2 kids. It was too hard for me to watch for some reason. I know the kids aren't forced to do it but they look so sad holding onto the sheep.

When I walked away I went to the nearby booths. One was selling purses and one was selling hats and sunglasses. I started looking at the hats and found one I really like. I'm not normally a hat person but I figured it would be good if I don't feel like doing my hair. :) Next we walked around looking at the different booths. We found one in the arts building that had glass nail files. They are really cool. They have 3 different sizes and the big one also works on the bottom of your feet. My mom bought the pack of 3. She took the middle size and I got the small one and the big one. I also got a nail buffer that keeps your nails shiny for 6 days. I started buffing my nails as soon as I got into the car.

I was a fun day. I got some exercise walking around and got to spend some time with my family.

New apt

Last Monday Erin, Camryn, Jordyn, Macy(her cat), and myself moved into a new apt in Bothell. I am so happy to be all moved in. I hate having boxes around. I love our apt. It is smaller than I am used to and I don't have my own bedroom, but i think it looks great. Here are some pics. I want to give shout outs to Cori and Alex for helping us unpack. I also want to thank Destiny for making us curtains and a tablecloth. They look great!

Follow up appt

I had my week after surgery follow up appt today. Of course me and the girls left our house late and was rushing to my mom's house to drop off the kids with Erin. She offered to watch them for me while I went to my appt. :) I am glad I called ahead to find out exactly where to go. I was dropping them off right about the time I was supposed to be arriving at my appt, so I got there right before my scheduled time. The receptionist looks at me and asks, "Do you have your paperwork with you?" NOOOOO!!!!! I totally forgot that when I made the appt she asked me to print out the paperwork online and fill them out before I come. I have so much going on these days with moving and my divorce that I totally forgot. I felt horrible. I told her I didn't fill them out and she got on the phone and told someone that I didn't fill out my paperwork. Feeling even worse now. She said that someone was getting ready to go into surgery and it would take me atleast 20 mins to fill out the paperwork. They said I would have to wait about 45 mins before I could be seen. I said that's fine. I'm not going to complain when I was my fault anyways.

Turns out I only had to wait 5 mins after I was finished with my paperwork to be called back. The doctor looked at me and said that I am healing nicely. :) He said it's common to be sore and it will feel less and less sore until it's all better. I went back to my mom's house after my appt. I went to check my mail that was on the diningroom table and guess what was there. The dr office sent me the paperwork. lol If only I had seen it before my appt.

The girls and I spent the rest of the day at my mom's house. We watched some tv, played on Erin's computer and went to Target. After everyone got off of work, we celebrated Erin's bday with a yummy dinner, cake and then presents.

Gallbladder no more.

It's been an unexpected week. I was supposed to have a nice relaxing Monday up in Anacortes but instead i was sitting in a hospital bed awaiting my surgery the following day. It all started about a month ago. It was about 10pm, I was getting ready for bed. All of a sudden I had this horrible pain in my stomach and about a min later the pain went to my entire back. I was in tears from the pain. The kids were sleeping so I tried to control how loud I was. I called my mom and she told me to either call 911 or Denise, my MIL. Luckily Denise lives 2 mins away so she was able to come over. The pain was pretty much gone by the time she got there but she brought me a heating pad and helped me get into bed.

I thought it was a one time thing since I hadn't had any more attacks until this last Sunday. Kim and Pedro got back from Peru, they were gone for 3 weeks. So i packed up the kids and I went down to my mom's house to see them. Everything was going well. I was sitting on the futon feeding Jordyn and i got the pain again in my stomach. I got very nervous. Soon after the pain went to my back again. It got so bad I couldn't hold Jordyn anymore. I tried to find a position that would be ok until the pain went away. But no position helped. Laying on my back made it worse. I just tried to deal with it praying it would go away. When i had the first attack the pain lasted about 30 mins.

My mom suggested Kim take me to the ER. I knew something had to be wrong for the pain to come back but I had no idea what was wrong. My mom said she thought it was my gallbladder. So after about 25 mins, Kim and I left for the ER. I left Camryn and Jordyn with my mom. I was hoping she would be ok. Her ribs still hurt. When we got to the ER i was relieved that there was only one other person ahead of me. I was screaming in pain. I couldn't lay down on my side or my back and I couldn't stand. I was dizzy and worn out from being in pain. It felt like forever but i think about after 40 mins they took me back. Luckily the pain was better by now.

After several hours, they took me back for an ultrasound. Soon after I got back to my room, Cori arrived. Kim had left before i went in for my ultrasound to get dinner and make sure everything was ok with the kids. Cori knew i was alone so she offered to come keep me company. I really appreciated that. Erin was up in Anacortes so she was too far away. After about an hour the doctor came in and said i have lots of gallstones. I needed to have my gallbladder taken out. For some reason i never thought that would happen. I knew something was wrong, but i didn't think i needed surgery. I got a little emotional when i heard that. Surgery is scary.

They admitted me that evening. She said that my gallbladder was inflamed so they wanted to give me antibiotics and wait until either Monday or Tues. I would find out from the surgeon the next morning. My surgery was at 1:30 on Tues. I got my pain meds and got discharged that night. I was ready to go to my mom's house to rest for a couple days. I am feeling really tired, sore and dizzy but I am just happy to have no more attacks.

I am so blessed to have amazing family and friends. I have no idea what i would have done without the help of Cori, Erin, my mom and Kim. Cori: Thank you soooo much for keeping me company in the ER and the hospital. You really cheered me up and it helped to have someone to talk to and walk with. Also thank you for taking care of my kids for a couple days. I never worried once knowing they were with you. Erin: Thank you for taking over and watching the kids for a couple days as well. There is no way i could go straight home after leaving the hospital. I really appreciate all the help.