Ya know what really stresses me out? I mean really really stresses me out! Wal-Mart!!!!! I think I even have mild panic attacks when I enter. Just looking at the lines and lines of people waiting to check out and I know they'll be waiting for quite a while which means I will have to wait quite a while which means frustration and irritation for me and all others in the line and that means I'm not very nice to the cashier checking me out (ok, I'm nice but I don't want to be) but it doesn't really matter because most of the time they're not very friendly either or they just don't speak the same language that I do and that's ok. And that was a very unnecessarily long run-on sentence. But that's how much stress I feel when embarking on a Wally World adventure. And just the masses of people! Oh my! I feel clausterphobic (sp?).
Today I ended my hiatus. Why? I have no clue! Why do I torture myself? It's been months....really! I think the last time I went to Wal-Mart was about 6 months ago. *sigh* What a grand time I had shopping elsewhere. I love Target. And I love Albertsons, at least the sales. No stress. I can walk in, walk out and be happy. I know Wally World has great prices but sometimes it's just worth it to be able to breathe and get home within an hour of going shopping rather than double that or more.
Oh yes! So why did I go to Wally World today? Because I wanted to price match. Dumb dumb dumb I say! That's just another stress in and of itself. I just saw so many ads with such great prices on such varities of items and thought it was a great idea to head over to Wal-Mart and embark on the adventure. Hello, McFly! (name that movie) Have I mentioned parking as a stress yet? I feel like I have to walk at least half a mile to my car every time I go there. It seems I can never get a spot very close. And as soon as I drove into the parking lot I could feel the tension. How quickly I forget the feelings that emerge from such an adventure.
But fear not! I made it out safe and sound...2 hours later. And I only got about half of what was on my list. The stress was building and I was getting tired of dodging other carts every half second. It was NUTS! So I "made like a bread truck and hauled buns". (name that movie) Know what I mean, Vern? (name that movie)
Just thinking about going back gives me the willies, or would it be the Wallies in this case? At any rate, considering our current situation I think I'll need to make a trip occasionally but it will be modified to some extent. And I think I'll make my husband go with me. Ease my tension a bit. Wish me luck!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Birthday Soup!
Today is my son's birthday. He is the big ONE! I can hardly believe it. Seems like only last week I was high on, what was it, Fentinil?! Obviously I would not make a great doctor. Those darn contractions were coming at me like an angry freight train at full speed. That pitocin makes labor a thousand times worse than natural labor. Now, don't think I did the whole thing natural. OH NO! I'm all about the epidural! I've done it once without (not intentionally), and I don't recommend it to anyone. But that's another post for another day.
Back to this labor, those contractions stunk! And the anesthesiologist was in a c-section and unable to attend to my need for an epidural at the point that I really really wanted one. The nurses told me she'd only be another 20 minutes. 20 minutes, my eye! After a half hour of waiting for the 20 minutes to be over, they asked if I would like Fentinil just to ease the pain until I could get my epidural. Sure! Why not! ANYTHING to help at this point!
NEVER again! Not only did it not ease any of the pain but it made me high as a kite. No joke! I was loopy. Ask anyone in the room. Between contractions I was saying things that made no sense whatsoever while falling asleep at the same time. Not that I had much time for sleeping considering that the contractions were less than a minute apart. At which point, I would yell, "Oh no! Not another one!" They felt just as painful as before. Now I was just incompetent.
Finally, relief! About an hour after waiting for the original 20 minutes to be over, I got my epidural. What a comfort! The anesthesiologist had to pump it all in really fast just to get it to catch up with the pain. It was pretty much go time!
So, I pushed a few times before the doc realized that poor little guy was being strangled by his own cord. He literally had to reach in and break the cord with his hands to get him out. SPLAT! Blood all over the doc! Sorry 'bout that.
When he was finally freed, they laid him on my chest but he wasn't breathing. He kept wincing like he was trying to breathe but never did. My mom, sister, cousin and of course my husband who were all in the room looked like ghosts. They were all very worried. Two whole minutes later, and still not breathing, they whisked him away to resuscitate him. My husband was able to go and be with him during the whole thing. Since there was nothing he could do physically and of course he was scared to death at this point, he threw his hat to the ground and just prayed...the only thing he could think to do at that point. And boy, am I grateful he did!
*My take on things with this weird drug in my system*
So while I complain about being high and loopy, it's probably a good thing I had that in my system. At the point that the doctor laid our first born son (fourth child) on my chest, I realized that he wasn't breathing but through all the loopiness, it didn't register as a problem. I remember looking up at my husband expecting the proud papa look to be on his face but was instead greeted with a ghostly white expression. My sister had her hand covering her mouth, my mom just kept rubbing my leg telling me everything would be alright, and my cousin was just standing in the corner crying. I saw all of this going on but it still didn't register that there was a problem. I couldn't understand why no one was excited. My newborn son had just arrived...HELLO! It wasn't until he was whisked away that it started to register. The medicine was also beginning to wear off at that point so it makes sense, right?
All of my husbands praying paid off. But not before a code blue (or some code) was blared over the intercom. But no one came to the rescue until it blared the second time. Then a nurse, who wasn't even supposed to be on the maternity floor, came and finally got him to breathe! Apparently she was very upset that no one from the maternity floor had come to help. I'm sure glad she showed up. The next step they were talking about was cracking his chest (not open).
*Sigh* And one year later...I'm so glad he's here and I'm so happy to have such a stinker on my hands. He sure is a handful. I think each birthday is another right of passage to some new personality trait. Today has been full of tantrums (which is not so new) but this time with the head whipping to go along with it. You know the kind of head whipping that is good for busting your lip open. Or, if not open, at least a good fat lip which I've had a couple of today.
So now I should probably get back to the real reason for this post. Or at least the part that pertains to the title of this post.
My three and five year olds asked if we could have Birthday Soup tonight for dinner in honor of their little brother's birthday. When I asked them what exactly goes into the making of Birthday Soup, the responses were this...
*three year old*
"Oh, it's just a little honey and some salt and some pepper."
*five year old*
"It has onions and pinados (tomatoes), carrots and celery."
Sounds great, right? I know what I'm having on my next birthday.
Back to this labor, those contractions stunk! And the anesthesiologist was in a c-section and unable to attend to my need for an epidural at the point that I really really wanted one. The nurses told me she'd only be another 20 minutes. 20 minutes, my eye! After a half hour of waiting for the 20 minutes to be over, they asked if I would like Fentinil just to ease the pain until I could get my epidural. Sure! Why not! ANYTHING to help at this point!
NEVER again! Not only did it not ease any of the pain but it made me high as a kite. No joke! I was loopy. Ask anyone in the room. Between contractions I was saying things that made no sense whatsoever while falling asleep at the same time. Not that I had much time for sleeping considering that the contractions were less than a minute apart. At which point, I would yell, "Oh no! Not another one!" They felt just as painful as before. Now I was just incompetent.
Finally, relief! About an hour after waiting for the original 20 minutes to be over, I got my epidural. What a comfort! The anesthesiologist had to pump it all in really fast just to get it to catch up with the pain. It was pretty much go time!
So, I pushed a few times before the doc realized that poor little guy was being strangled by his own cord. He literally had to reach in and break the cord with his hands to get him out. SPLAT! Blood all over the doc! Sorry 'bout that.
When he was finally freed, they laid him on my chest but he wasn't breathing. He kept wincing like he was trying to breathe but never did. My mom, sister, cousin and of course my husband who were all in the room looked like ghosts. They were all very worried. Two whole minutes later, and still not breathing, they whisked him away to resuscitate him. My husband was able to go and be with him during the whole thing. Since there was nothing he could do physically and of course he was scared to death at this point, he threw his hat to the ground and just prayed...the only thing he could think to do at that point. And boy, am I grateful he did!
*My take on things with this weird drug in my system*
So while I complain about being high and loopy, it's probably a good thing I had that in my system. At the point that the doctor laid our first born son (fourth child) on my chest, I realized that he wasn't breathing but through all the loopiness, it didn't register as a problem. I remember looking up at my husband expecting the proud papa look to be on his face but was instead greeted with a ghostly white expression. My sister had her hand covering her mouth, my mom just kept rubbing my leg telling me everything would be alright, and my cousin was just standing in the corner crying. I saw all of this going on but it still didn't register that there was a problem. I couldn't understand why no one was excited. My newborn son had just arrived...HELLO! It wasn't until he was whisked away that it started to register. The medicine was also beginning to wear off at that point so it makes sense, right?
All of my husbands praying paid off. But not before a code blue (or some code) was blared over the intercom. But no one came to the rescue until it blared the second time. Then a nurse, who wasn't even supposed to be on the maternity floor, came and finally got him to breathe! Apparently she was very upset that no one from the maternity floor had come to help. I'm sure glad she showed up. The next step they were talking about was cracking his chest (not open).
*Sigh* And one year later...I'm so glad he's here and I'm so happy to have such a stinker on my hands. He sure is a handful. I think each birthday is another right of passage to some new personality trait. Today has been full of tantrums (which is not so new) but this time with the head whipping to go along with it. You know the kind of head whipping that is good for busting your lip open. Or, if not open, at least a good fat lip which I've had a couple of today.
So now I should probably get back to the real reason for this post. Or at least the part that pertains to the title of this post.
My three and five year olds asked if we could have Birthday Soup tonight for dinner in honor of their little brother's birthday. When I asked them what exactly goes into the making of Birthday Soup, the responses were this...
*three year old*
"Oh, it's just a little honey and some salt and some pepper."
*five year old*
"It has onions and pinados (tomatoes), carrots and celery."
Sounds great, right? I know what I'm having on my next birthday.
Friday, March 20, 2009
What's a girl to do?
My kids have been dying to walk up to the canal that is just up the road from us and feed the ducks and yesterday was a perfect day for such an activity. I think the temperature was close to 70 degrees and it felt great to be outside. I have a friend, a very pregnant friend, that is due on the 24th, who came with us. She wants to go into labor so a nice healthy walk pushing her two boys in a double stroller was just the ticket...to TRY anyway. Nothing happened, darn it!
Well, I had my glasses with me that I've been wearing for about 2 years now. I've wanted contacts but haven't had the means to get them so I've just been wearing the glasses. Now mind you, my prescription is not very strong, at all (- .75). Most people that put my glasses on think I'm silly for wearing them because they can either tell no difference at all or just a very slight difference. But let me just tell you, it is illegal for me to drive without contacts or glasses. That's how dependent my eyes have become since my senior year of high school when I first got glasses. When I went to renew my license at the age of 21, I thought I would pass the vision test without the glasses being that they are such a light prescription so I took them off. But alas, my eyes failed me. They made me do it again with the glasses on and VOILA!
Sorry about the tangents. I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled blog story...
Anyway, I had my glasses with me but decided it was too bright and took them off to put on my sunglasses. Not prescription and definitely not the most stylish, but I can see well enough without my regular glasses to take a walk. Just no driving. So we made it to the canal without incident. By incident I mean, my friends water breaking or sudden contraction, that sort of thing. We hoped but it wasn't meant to be.
I remember while we were there, noticing that my glasses looked like they were going to fall out of the cup holder on my stroller. And then, I remember rearranging things for the sole purpose of NOT losing my glasses. Then, when we were all done, and by done I mean the kids were getting so close to the edge that it looked like they would fall in and then 2 of them running away by themselves...AAAAAAHHHHH...we walked back to my house, again without incident. Except when I went to trade my sunglasses for my real glasses they weren't there! CRAP!! Now what? I retraced my path all the way back to the canal while my friend watched all the kids, all the while probably fretting that I wouldn't make it back in time for her to go to her doctors appointment that I was supposed to be watching her kids for. I thought for sure I would find them but they were nowhere to be found.
And doesn't it seem appropriate that something like this would happen now? I mean, it's been way over the year that an eye prescription is considered valid which means I have to get another eye exam....$$cha-ching$$....and we have no income right now other than a few side jobs my husband has managed to pick up. Actually, to be honest, I'm surprised our internet connection hasn't been severed yet....hmmm.
But hey! On the upside, I get contacts again! Because now I have to get an eye exam and disposable contacts are much less expensive than buying glasses again. You'd almost think I did it on purpose considering all the whining I've done recently about my glasses. They just didn't fit right anymore with all the kids getting them and trying them on and the baby yanking them right off my face. The best part will be that I will no longer have glasses in pictures...blech!
Well, I had my glasses with me that I've been wearing for about 2 years now. I've wanted contacts but haven't had the means to get them so I've just been wearing the glasses. Now mind you, my prescription is not very strong, at all (- .75). Most people that put my glasses on think I'm silly for wearing them because they can either tell no difference at all or just a very slight difference. But let me just tell you, it is illegal for me to drive without contacts or glasses. That's how dependent my eyes have become since my senior year of high school when I first got glasses. When I went to renew my license at the age of 21, I thought I would pass the vision test without the glasses being that they are such a light prescription so I took them off. But alas, my eyes failed me. They made me do it again with the glasses on and VOILA!
Sorry about the tangents. I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled blog story...
Anyway, I had my glasses with me but decided it was too bright and took them off to put on my sunglasses. Not prescription and definitely not the most stylish, but I can see well enough without my regular glasses to take a walk. Just no driving. So we made it to the canal without incident. By incident I mean, my friends water breaking or sudden contraction, that sort of thing. We hoped but it wasn't meant to be.
I remember while we were there, noticing that my glasses looked like they were going to fall out of the cup holder on my stroller. And then, I remember rearranging things for the sole purpose of NOT losing my glasses. Then, when we were all done, and by done I mean the kids were getting so close to the edge that it looked like they would fall in and then 2 of them running away by themselves...AAAAAAHHHHH...we walked back to my house, again without incident. Except when I went to trade my sunglasses for my real glasses they weren't there! CRAP!! Now what? I retraced my path all the way back to the canal while my friend watched all the kids, all the while probably fretting that I wouldn't make it back in time for her to go to her doctors appointment that I was supposed to be watching her kids for. I thought for sure I would find them but they were nowhere to be found.
And doesn't it seem appropriate that something like this would happen now? I mean, it's been way over the year that an eye prescription is considered valid which means I have to get another eye exam....$$cha-ching$$....and we have no income right now other than a few side jobs my husband has managed to pick up. Actually, to be honest, I'm surprised our internet connection hasn't been severed yet....hmmm.
But hey! On the upside, I get contacts again! Because now I have to get an eye exam and disposable contacts are much less expensive than buying glasses again. You'd almost think I did it on purpose considering all the whining I've done recently about my glasses. They just didn't fit right anymore with all the kids getting them and trying them on and the baby yanking them right off my face. The best part will be that I will no longer have glasses in pictures...blech!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thanks Patrick Day
My kids are so excited that "Thanks Patrick" Day is coming up on the 17th. I'm not even sure what we're going to Thank him for. But apparently, we need to thank Patrick for, whatever it is that he's done. So this is a shout out to Patrick! "THANKS PATRICK!!"
And who can forget the "apricons". I mean, they're a HUGE part of "Thanks Patrick" Day. You know, the little guys that are "just like regular people but they wear green all the time and they're shorter than us". Good ol' Apricons!!
But seriously, my kids really are excited about St. Patricks Day. They love being able to wear green of all shades that look hideous together just to let everyone know that they can't be pinched. But watch out, if they see you without green you're in for it. They're relentless! I think on those days, THEY are the Apricons.
I've always wanted to have the leprechauns come and leave the kids a treat of some kind. Never have done it because I always think about it too late. It's just not one of those holidays that I remember until it's upon me. Hopefully this year, I'll be a little more prepared. I found a cute little site that has fun coloring pages and such here.
HAPPY THANK PATRICK DAY!!
And who can forget the "apricons". I mean, they're a HUGE part of "Thanks Patrick" Day. You know, the little guys that are "just like regular people but they wear green all the time and they're shorter than us". Good ol' Apricons!!
But seriously, my kids really are excited about St. Patricks Day. They love being able to wear green of all shades that look hideous together just to let everyone know that they can't be pinched. But watch out, if they see you without green you're in for it. They're relentless! I think on those days, THEY are the Apricons.
I've always wanted to have the leprechauns come and leave the kids a treat of some kind. Never have done it because I always think about it too late. It's just not one of those holidays that I remember until it's upon me. Hopefully this year, I'll be a little more prepared. I found a cute little site that has fun coloring pages and such here.
HAPPY THANK PATRICK DAY!!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
I'm a terrible blogger
I know, it's been a while. And I have so much to babble about. But the first thing I want to catch up on here is something that has been on my mind quite often lately. I don't know about you but food storage was not something that I grew up with. My parents never had a room stocked with essential things we would need in case of an "emergency"; food, toiletries, etc. Never had those ever important 72-hour kits, car kits, heck I don't even know if we had a First-Aid Kit. Sure, we had bandaids and neosporin and that kind of thing if we needed them but never a whole kit. At least not to my knowledge.
I've always heard the prophets and apostles talk about needing to get our houses in order and maintaining at least a years supply of food in case we were to ever have an emergency. I always thought that meant if we were to have an earthquake or some other type of natural disaster. Not that there are many here in Utah that can occur. Although, I do remember a time not too long ago that tornados were unheard of here in Utah. But that all changed in, let's see, was it 2000? The times they are a changin'. But that's what I always thought of. Why would we need a years supply of food when the chances of needing it were not that great?
So then I got married, had 4 kids and things are changing all the time. These tough economic times are really hitting so many of us so hard. My family included. It's not been easy recently, that's for sure. Things have been kind of rough for about 2 years now for my little family and we'd also had a few rough spots earlier in our marriage. Not marriage problems, financial problems. Just to clarify. We've definitely not lived it up in the lap of luxury. But I know we're not alone in this and I know that things will probably get worse before they get better. Not for everyone, but as a whole. I still have peace and I know things are going to be okay for my family. But this whole situation has really been a wake up call for us.
We now realize, even though we'd heard it a gazillion times before, that food storage isn't for the natural disasters. I know it would be useful in those situations as well but it's for hard times. Times like this! When we're unemployed or just under-employed.
Food storage has really become my top priority lately. I joined this website called http://dealstomeals.com/
It has been such a help to me. They charge a very low monthly fee and show you all the deals at the 5 major grocery stores here in Utah and tell you how good of a deal it is in comparison to the LDS Cannery and Costco. How cool is that? The best part for me is NO COUPONS! She doesn't do the coupon thing. Hey, if you're into coupons that's GREAT! I just happen to hate trying to match all the coupons to all the sales and having to find them in the right booklet, etc.
She also has a blog at http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com that has recipes and lots more. I think it's still in transition from the old site so I don't know how much is on the blog yet. But check them out. It's great to know where all the deals are and save so much money. Right now you can sign up for 2 weeks FREE! Can't beat that, right? Not on the blog, on the actual site. Make sense?
OH! She even has an option to do meal plans. It's so great! And the recipes are good. Check it out!
I've always heard the prophets and apostles talk about needing to get our houses in order and maintaining at least a years supply of food in case we were to ever have an emergency. I always thought that meant if we were to have an earthquake or some other type of natural disaster. Not that there are many here in Utah that can occur. Although, I do remember a time not too long ago that tornados were unheard of here in Utah. But that all changed in, let's see, was it 2000? The times they are a changin'. But that's what I always thought of. Why would we need a years supply of food when the chances of needing it were not that great?
So then I got married, had 4 kids and things are changing all the time. These tough economic times are really hitting so many of us so hard. My family included. It's not been easy recently, that's for sure. Things have been kind of rough for about 2 years now for my little family and we'd also had a few rough spots earlier in our marriage. Not marriage problems, financial problems. Just to clarify. We've definitely not lived it up in the lap of luxury. But I know we're not alone in this and I know that things will probably get worse before they get better. Not for everyone, but as a whole. I still have peace and I know things are going to be okay for my family. But this whole situation has really been a wake up call for us.
We now realize, even though we'd heard it a gazillion times before, that food storage isn't for the natural disasters. I know it would be useful in those situations as well but it's for hard times. Times like this! When we're unemployed or just under-employed.
Food storage has really become my top priority lately. I joined this website called http://dealstomeals.com/
It has been such a help to me. They charge a very low monthly fee and show you all the deals at the 5 major grocery stores here in Utah and tell you how good of a deal it is in comparison to the LDS Cannery and Costco. How cool is that? The best part for me is NO COUPONS! She doesn't do the coupon thing. Hey, if you're into coupons that's GREAT! I just happen to hate trying to match all the coupons to all the sales and having to find them in the right booklet, etc.
She also has a blog at http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com that has recipes and lots more. I think it's still in transition from the old site so I don't know how much is on the blog yet. But check them out. It's great to know where all the deals are and save so much money. Right now you can sign up for 2 weeks FREE! Can't beat that, right? Not on the blog, on the actual site. Make sense?
OH! She even has an option to do meal plans. It's so great! And the recipes are good. Check it out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)