Vaccinations really aren't that bad

I have been in a pregnancy and parenting group on Facebook since I got pregnant with Mila.  In lots of ways, it has been super handy.  Any time something came up with baby Mila I could post the question in one place and get numerous comments of advice.  I also like being able to pass on my experience for other new moms.  

Lately, that page has been a source of angst.  For some reason, the hot topic of vaccinating your children has come up a lot recently.  The majority of those women are anti-vaccines and it stresses me out to no end.  I think it is sad that so many children have been infected with measles when it is a completely avoidable situation.

I have worked in vaccine research and development for years now, so I have seen many examples as to why this work is done. Thankfully, one mom recently posted this amazing blog post with link after link after link to various sites promoting vaccinations.  It is a GREAT read and I recommend it if you have children or know anyone with children.  Keeping up with your boosters as an adult are key in preventing unvaccinated infants from becoming infected.

There is no way for me to convince someone to take in the CDC with even a modicum of trust when they have already decided they are corrupt.  But I am heartbroken for their children.  The best I can say is luckily for them they live in a country with great medical abilities, so if their children get avoidable diseases their chance of survival is much higher than those who live in countries without these vaccines.  People in third world countries would give anything to receive the vaccines that are so readily available to us.  It's saddening to think so many people throw this concept in the trash.

More Training

I had more training all last week.  I learned a lot for my job and I think it has made me more confident. This training was local, though it was still rough to plan out.  The training center is 40 minutes north.  Travis was a trooper and helped me with the kids all week.  He drove them south to Galveston before heading to work north of our house every morning.  Since my class started at 7:30, I was able to get back down there at the end of the day to pick them up right before they closed.  I feel really bad that the kids spent so much time at the daycare last week, but it was only for one week.  Well, I guess there was one day I wasn't able to pick up the kids on time.  Thankfully, my friend Linsey was able to get them for me.  She already has a big kid car seat in her car for her son and we leave Mila's car seat at daycare every day.  I felt bad asking her for that help last minute, but Linsey was totally cool with it.  It worked out that I got home right before Linsey got to the house.  

The training itself was pretty interesting.  It focused on chemical handling and disposal, various safety issues, First Aid and CPR.  I swear, CPR rules change every time I get re-certified.  They're either changing the number of compressions, number of breaths, or taking out giving breaths altogether.  Although it looks like they recommend doing that again. 

It was a big week for Mila.  Her second tooth broke through; right next to the other on the bottom front.  She was a little cranky, nothing extraordinary.  So different than Aiden.  She also has taken to sitting up on her own!  If she has to lean over to reach a toy, she usually topples over, so it's not 100%.  I feel like she is growing up so fast!

At this point in our lives, Travis and I have begun to lean towards not having any more children.  We aren't throwing out the idea entirely.  At any rate, if we do have another it won't be until Mila starts Kindergarten.  We plan to move to a different home before then.  That means we would have to store all this baby stuff  for five years and move it to a new house.  Meh.  Not worth it to me.  So now we are storing all the things Mila has outgrown (except for the clothes I've been giving to a friend) in bags marked "Garage Sale".  This will be the first garage sale we've done as adults.  I recall my parents having a few, but I was just a wee one with no responsibility.  Honestly, I find the idea a little daunting.  But it should be worth it.  It can't hurt to earn a little cash back on all these items!

Orlando

Okay, so I didn't go to the gym.  I enjoyed sleeping entirely too much to work out.  I didn't make my step goal two days.  It was hard since I was sitting for 8 hours three days in a row.

The travel itself was SUPER easy.  I checked both of my bags, so all I had to tote around was my small carry-on shoulder bag of entertainment.  A few days before we left, one of my co-workers recommended downloading a movie to my iPad to watch on the plane.  The concept of having to entertain myself had never entered my head.  So on the flight to Orlando, I watched Snow White and the Huntsman.  I thought it was pretty good.  I was worried about it since Kristen Stewart only seems capable of grimacing these days.

I flew on the same flight with 3 of my co-workers, so we all carpooled in a taxi to our hotel.  We stayed at a Hilton, so it was really fancy.  I had a room to myself, so I immediately unpacked everything after checking in.  After my first night there, I was ecstatic when I got back to my room to find the bathroom cleaned up and my bed made.  Housekeeping!  I totally forgot about housekeeping!  That's a luxury I miss most.  

There were many times I think they went overboard with the tidiness.  There were no trash cans in the conference.  There were hotel employees walking around constantly taking people's trash or finished plates.  We had a 15 minute coffee break in the morning and afternoon.  Every time I was at the coffee table, I felt like I was waiting for the employees to finish wiping up a drip of coffee, or grabbing someone's discarded sugar packet.  We're only out for 15 minutes!  This can't wait??

Also funny - they folded all paper products.  The toilet paper was folded into a triangle point.  They must have someone walk through the bathroom every hour or so because every time we had a bathroom break, the toilet rolls were folded again.  The tissue paper dispensers had tissues fluffed to look like a flower on top.  The paper towels were folded neatly.  It was nutso.

The hotel and conference center was on Disney property, so I could see Downtown Disney from my room.

In the evenings I hung out with various members of my group.  The first two nights we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. The third night we stayed at the hotel and had sushi.  The last night, I went with some new friends I made at the New Member Meeting and Opening Session (for the rest of the conference) to Universal City Walk for dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

The landscape was beautiful - this golf course was visible from the foyer where we ate lunch.

The pool had a lazy river, a giant slide and beach-like access.  Bummed I never had a chance to take a dip.

One of my friends called this the Torture Conference.  There were all these beautiful views outside each window, but I barely got to go out and touch it.  HA.  Maybe I will find more time when I go back for another conference in February.

The pre-conference itself was great. After this trip, I am confident in saying biosafety is where I belong.  I am honestly interested in what this job entails.  I am so glad I found my niche.  I thought the classes were interesting.  The only one that didn't grab me was Fundamentals of Biosafety, but that's only because it was old news to me.  I already knew everything they talked about in that class.  !!!  How fantastic is that?

The whole thing was great for networking.  I met lots of people at facilities we have to deal with frequently.  It was interesting to talk to people who have a similar job position to me, but have a different role based on what their institution specialized in.  The whole thing was a great experience.

The one thing is I missed my family dearly.  I talked to Travis every day, but there were a couple nights I didn't get to talk to Aiden because I wasn't available until after his bedtime.  I was thrilled we got to talk via FaceTime twice (hooray for free wi-fi).  Travis kept the kids alive and the house intact.  In fact, he even got out of the house with them over the weekend.

The spent Saturday morning at Froberg's Farm, a farmer's market.  You can barely see it, but Aiden has a toothpick hanging from his mouth. 

They picked up pumpkins that we are planning to carve this week.

Travis got a lot done really.  He took Friday off and got new tires put on his truck.  Then in the afternoon he had professional cleaners spruce up our carpets.  They look FANTASTIC.  I came home to a clean car and a full gas tank as well!  Travis was even able to find time to purchase a new pair of sneakers for himself.

I had fun, but it's nice to be home.

Conference

I am getting SUPER anxious.  I leave Thursday for my very first work trip.  It is also my very first time to spend a night away from my kids.  I honestly cannot think of a time I have been away from Aiden over night, or even for 24 hours.  I am going to be gone for FOUR nights and FIVE days.  OMG.  I know what it's like to be alone with the kids for an entire weekend.  Travis works so much, that I do this frequently.  Sure, he comes home at night, but during the kids' waking hours, he's gone a lot.  I'm afraid for Travis and the stress he will have to endure alone.  But then again, maybe this will help him appreciate me a little more?  Maybe?

At the very same time I am soooooo excited.  I am going to be childless for five days!  I might be too ambitious here, but maybe I'll do my hair before work!  Or maybe I'll go to the gym.  Lol!  Well, maybe not.  I'm kind of hoping I can find the time to get in there though.  I'm a part of this research study at work and we are supposed to take 7500 steps a day.  During a normal day, that's not hard for me.  I average around 10,000 steps a day.  But I'm going to a conference that requires lots of sitting.  I'm going to have a hard time making my quota.  It wouldn't be a huge deal, except I have a little competition with another girl at work.  I don't want to get TOO far behind.  

Ha.  I'll probably be so excited about not having to get up with the kids that I won't be able to get out of bed to exercise. 

My trip is for a biological safety conference in Orlando, Florida.  I'm flying without kids.  I get my own hotel room.  There's no work that first day, so I may just enjoy a drink on the plane...  There are five other women going from work.  I'm looking forward to spending some time getting to know these ladies.  We will all be busy separately from 8 to 5 every day, but we will have the evenings together.  Evenings filled with meals where I can sit and eat the entire thing without having to get up seven times.  Evenings with uninterrupted adult conversation!  I love my children dearly, and I know I will miss them my first night away, but I cannot wait to see what it's like.  It's been three years and three months since I have been without kids.  So it's been a while.

Pros and cons, people.  Pros and cons.

Too Much

Ugh.  Travis and I are both sick now.  Thankfully neither of us have a fever.  Just pressure filled sinus cavities that require a box of Kleenex per day. 

I feel horrible that my mom's visit has been filled with so much chaos.  She came two weeks ago and stayed with my sister for the first week.  It rained that entire week.  She came over here last Thursday and we went to the hospital Friday.  Now we're sick.  Not the best visit, that's for sure.

Sunday night I hurt my neck in my sleep.  I have no idea what I did.  I'm not sure if it was a muscle spasm/cramp or if something went out when I rolled over.  Either way, the pain woke me up.  I fell back to sleep as soon as it went away.  When I woke Monday morning, I couldn't turn my head to the right at all and there was some pain when I looked to the left.  Thankfully I was able to make it to the chiropractor last night.  I haven't been in over three years.  He thought I'd moved away.  HA.  I said, "No.  I just have kids."  I'm a little sore today from the adjustment, but I feel SO much better.

Today was Mila's 2-month Well Baby visit. The appointment was in the middle of the day so I had to pick her up from daycare and bring her back.  It was also considered her post-hospital-stay check up.  The doctor was pleased with her. 

• She is in the 75th percentile and she has gained sufficient weight (she lost a few ounces since her stay in the hospital - she's at 11 lbs, 14 oz, 23.5 in. long) that the doctor is okay with her feeding on demand throughout the night.  At the moment, we wake her up between 2 and 3 to feed her.  I'm really excited about the prospect of being able to sleep through the night, or at least most of the night.  I'm hoping if we feed her close to 10, before we go to sleep, then she will sleep all the way until my alarm goes off in the morning.  Fingers crossed.
• She received 4 vaccinations, 1 oral and 3 intramuscular.  One of which is for two types of meningitis.  That means if she ever goes into the hospital again, they will be MUCH less likely to do a lumbar puncture like they threatened to do.
• The doctor hypothesized that Mila is sensitive to fevers.  When she was 7 days old, she had an elevated body temperature of 99.6.  That's not considered a fever, but the doctor wanted to see her at the time anyway.  We were told to monitor her and bring her to the ER if it went over 100.4.  Thankfully it never did.  It's so strange because Travis, Aiden and I rarely get fevers.  I get a cold once a year, but that's about the extent of it.  Hopefully it's all just a fluke.
• I got the doctor's approval to take her outside with baby sunscreen on.  Not that we spend much time out in this humid heat, but it's good to know!

When I signed in at the front desk for her appointment, the receptionist said Mila was not listed on my insurance.  I about shit a brick.  She said perhaps the paperwork hadn't gone through yet.  But when we were in the hospital, the nurse said the same thing and I totally forgot about it.  I got really caught up in what they were doing with Mila and it slipped my mind.  I called human resources immediately to see what is up.  They said they never received my paperwork (I sent it via email).  Holy crap I should have checked on that!

Meh.  After some back and forth with HR, I found that they will add her to my insurance immediately and since I already have family insurance, she will be covered from birth.  THANK. GAWD.  Hospital stays are expensive WITH insurance.  I don't even want to think what it would be without it.  The receptionist was hopeful that my insurance would come through, so she did not make me pay for Mila's appointment this morning. 

I'm so exhausted.  Still figuring out how to live life with two kids.  Mila spent the weekend in the hospital.  She still has a stuffed up nose, so she's not sleeping well.  Travis and I are both sick.  Travis is on-call this week (he had to go out on a job last night).  I hurt my neck.  Trouble with insurance.  Aiden fights anything we ask him to do.  On top of it all, we're approaching the end of the fiscal year which means its our one annual chance to make changes to our benefits at work.  I'm working to create a more lucrative retirement plan to my account and a flexible spending account for daycare.  Both will take a chunk out of my paycheck, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

I wonder if anyone would notice if I curled up under my desk for a nap...

39 Weeks, 3 days



39 Weeks, 2 days

 My due date is this Friday, so this is my last week at work.  Wahoo!  It's going to be a hard week.  I totally have senioritis.  I actually have work to be doing, which is going to be hard to keep up with.  My dad is getting in Thursday evening.  So IF we get to strip the membranes on Thursday, he should be here if anything happens.  Otherwise, he'll be around a week early to help out with Aiden while I am gigantically pregnant. 

This weekend was super nice.  Travis ended up working all day Saturday.  He was originally just supposed to work in the office for the morning, but he decided to help out the on-call guy and go out to do a few jobs in the afternoon.  That evening, we went to the Yeager's for dinner.  Turns out it was their 6-year anniversary.  So THEY made US dinner for their special day.  Ha!  I guess the special day caught up with them and they were unable to make plans in advance.  They're going to celebrate this week instead. 

Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was very laid back for me.  Travis made an extra special effort to take care of Aiden and do things around the house.  He made french toast, bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Then, he and Aiden washed the car for me.  I almost forgot my car had a pearl finish!  During Aiden's nap, I relaxed in front of the TV while he mowed the lawn. 

When Aiden woke up, we went to Walmart for a few things.  I had the sudden urge to stock the freezer so my dad has easy meals to feed them while we are in the hospital.  We also grabbed a few things for dinner. On our way home, we stopped at a pet shop to find a couple more fish for my tank.  I only had two fish that swam in the water column, so I've been wanting to add to the tank for a while.  I wanted to get another cichlid or an oscar, but the fish expert recommended Red Tailed Sharks (catfish family) for now.  Since I have a tank of aggressive, territorial fish, he suggested finding some limestone to stack in the tank before we add more cichlids.  If these sharks survive, they can get up to four inches long.  They were still alive this morning, so I have hope!

I am so afraid to eat at a restaurant on Mother's Day.  I absolutely despise waiting for a meal.  I get hungry and then cranky really fast.  If I have to sit in a waiting area, smelling all the delicious foods from the kitchen, the crankiness will only get worse.  This year Travis grilled steaks and asparagus, and made scalloped potatoes.  I did get off my ass to make a salad for dinner.  We ate outside and were a little late getting Aiden to bed, but it was a nice evening.  I went straight to bed after Aiden did and watched Game of Thrones on my phone.  I stayed up too late again, but I wasn't quite ready to fall asleep yet. 

Now it's Monday and the countdown begins.  Five work days to go...

Alexa - Thanks for the photo tip!  It worked!  I've had so much trouble getting photos to rotate properly in Blogger and Alexa found the solution!  If anyone else is having a similar problem, check out this site.

9-16 Days Left

The irritability continues.  My hands and feet have been swelling a lot worse lately, though nothing as horrible as when I was pregnant with Aiden.  That makes my irritation more palpable.  The one thing currently keeping me going through the day is the Jack Johnson station on Pandora.  It helps calm me and there aren't any annoying random songs to give me an eye twitch. 

I haven't been AS busy at work lately.  I finally got access to the area I've been doing work in, so I don't have to go when it's convenient for other people.  I can go when it fits into my schedule.  I have to wear special head wear in that area and it's wreaking havoc on my neck.  I have a bad neck anyway.  Add five pounds on top of my head and all hell breaks loose.  (Read: added irritability.)  I'm looking forward to the maternity break from that thing. 

Things have been getting behind at the house lately.  I drank a serious cup of coffee yesterday afternoon and then spent the evening clearing that list.  That means tonight I get to SIT.  Just sit.  I even made a giant casserole yesterday so we can eat leftovers again tonight.  I think it might just be a TV night...

TRYING to Relax

I tried to keep this weekend laid back.  I think I did so-so.  Friday night we took it easy at home.  Travis and Aiden put together Mila's crib.  Aiden was really excited about sharing the space with his baby sister.  I REALLY hope he keeps up that attitude after the crying baby is here.  We'll see.

Saturday morning we needed to go grocery shopping, so Travis went with to help me out. He's not very good about finding the deals like I am. That's why he doesn't usually go by himself.  That evening, we headed over to my boss' house for a crawfish boil.  It was the only day the majority of us were available - not directly related to Cinco de Mayo.  Though Travis did drink Dos Equis in honor of the day.  We have hung out with one of my co-workers a few times now and his kids just happen to go to the same daycare as Aiden.  We got to meet another co-worker's two boys as well.  They all got along pretty well - only a few tifts over the tricycles that some of us brought along. 

The little girl that was there (who is also in his daycare class) brought her pink Dora the Explorer helmet.  She took it off at some point and Aiden put it on.  He was obsessed.  He wouldn't even take it off to go in the house to use the restroom.  It was so cute.  Travis didn't flinch too much at the color. 

Aiden has been asking for a helmet for a few weeks now, I guess ever since we bought his motorcycle.  He noticed a lot of people wearing helmets as they rode their motorcycles on the Interstate, so of course Aiden had to have one.  And hey!  Who am I to inhibit safety??  Last night we stopped at Target and found a Spiderman helmet.

It matches his Spiderman sunglasses and "Spiderman" motorcycle.  It's not actually a Spiderman motorcycle, but Spiderman drives a red motorcycle, so I can see the relation for him. 

The funny thing about Aiden's Spiderman obsession?  He has been talking about how much he wants a Batman birthday.  Not Spiderman.  Batman.  Funny.

Sunday we didn't do anything in the morning except for a few things around the house.  That afternoon we went to see The Avengers with Aiden and a couple girls from my work.  Aiden LOVED it.  He did cover his ears through most of it.  I guess it was too loud for him, but he never took his eyes off the screen.  Before we saw the movie, if you asked him what The Hulk says, he would say, "HULK SMASH" and smash his fists together.  Since he saw the movie, he puts his fists in the air and says, "ARRRRGGGHHH!!!"  Ha!

After the movie we met Ariel and Robert for dinner at a fried shrimp place in Galveston.  I was having a craving and everyone obliged.  We sat on the back patio and Auntie Ariel tickled Aiden almost the entire time.  It's always nice to hang out with other people so they entertain Aiden a bit for me.  Takes some of the pressure off, which I wholeheartedly appreciate. 

We did a lot of things this weekend, but none of it was very stressful.  I'm hoping to relive that this weekend as well.

Nutshell News

It's raining!  Perhaps we'll put a dent in our deficit?  Or maybe not.  We're about 25 inches under average rainfall for the year.  I just read that Lake Conroe (just north of Houston) is 8 feet below normal levels.

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I got a parking spot at work!  I didn't have one for a while because I figured it was a way to save our family $40 a month and it was the only exercise I got.  I had to walk about 5 blocks from my car to my building.  I am thoroughly ecstatic to have that 20 minutes back to my daily commute (10 minutes each way).  I was starting to feel guilty about never driving when we go out for lunch because my car was too far away.  When you have a 60-minute lunch, 20 minutes seems like a lot.

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I have had almost an entire week constipation free!  Get excited, people.  That's a big deal in Nikki's life.  I think it's a combination of not needing the Zofran for a while (let's hear another hoorah!) and incorporating dried apricots into my diet.  Whoever said prunes are good to keep the bowels moving had nothing on dried apricots.  Maybe a combination of both would be good if you're having serious problems. 

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Travis bought me an iPhone for Christmas and gave it to me a week early!  My cell phone is my alarm clock.  My last cell phone decided it was going to start draining the battery instead of charging it at night, leaving me without an alarm clock in the morning.  Since I don't have a car charger, that meant I only had an hour (tops) to charge my phone in the morning.  It would inevitably die before the end of the work day.  My other complaint with that phone was the touch screen didn't work well.  The iPhone has been SUCH an improvement in that department.  TOTALLY worth the cost.  Other perks:

• Apps like Word Feud, Kindle, Facebook and Pandora.
• Voice to text function (can be funny at times)
• Facetime (with Grandma Brenda and Travis)
• Instant weather and radar
• A camera app that is eating up my time, called TiltShift Generator, that takes photos like this:

That Christmas tree used to belong to our Grandma Rose.
Now it sits in Ariel's living room during the holidays.

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My mom and brother Alex are here!  They got in late Sunday night and went straight to Ariel's house.  They are staying with her until Christmas Eve.  Travis, Aiden and I are going over there for breakfast and spending a portion of the day there.  Then Mom and Alex are coming back with us that afternoon/evening.  Ariel and Robert have to work that night, so they won't be coming with us.  =(  But!  They will be over first thing in the morning to see what Santa brought Aiden.  I LOVE this holiday.

Mommy's Nights Out

It's been a busy week.  I feel like I'm running around at work trying to keep up half the time.  Then the other half of the time there is NOTHING to do.  That's typical in a lab though.  Your assays need to incubate for a certain amount of time and there's generally only so many things you can clean or tidy up on during the incubations. 

I think the reason it's getting on my nerves so bad this week is because I have had some headaches from hell.  I talked to my doctor about it.  She said it could be pregnancy, it could be the Zofran, or it could just been from my previous neck problems.  The difficulty is that I'm limited on what medication I can take to treat the headache.  In the past, ibuprofen has always worked will for me.  Sadly, I can only take acetaminophen while pregnant.  It doesn't help.  These headaches just barrel on through my day.  It makes the nausea worse.  So when I turn my head, I feel sick.  Or maybe the nausea is causing the headaches?  Gah, I don't know. 

I've also been pretty busy after work this week.  Monday night I went on an impromptu girl's night out with a friend from work who recently quit to work at another hospital in Houston.  She's been having a rough month and I haven't seen her for a while, so I went out even though I had prior plans for a girl's night out Thursday.  We went to get pedicures, but I forgot my wallet.  So I just sat and chatted while everyone else was pampered.  Then they all went out to dinner and thankfully bought my meal.  I totally owe them!

Last night I went with a few girls to see Breaking Dawn on opening night.  I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.  Didn't want to miss out on the fun.  One of my friends from work has a movie theater membership card so she was offered tickets to see the 8 pm showing.  We got to the theater an hour early, thinking we might not get awesome seats, but I figured we wouldn't get front row.  I thought wrong. 

Lucky for us, no one was in the front row yet, so we were right in the middle!  It was horrible.  I got dizzy during several scenes.  There was one scene with subtitles - I had to turn my head back and forth in order to read it.  I actually didn't finish reading a few of the sentences because I couldn't turn my head quick enough.  Ridiculous.  I stared at Edward and Bella's pores the whole movie. 

I think I liked it.  I know most of the movies are cheesy to a certain point.  And Bella and Edward can be just plain awkward at times, but that's how the characters are in the books.  The difference between the movies and the books is that you get to read about the internal struggle of the characters.  During the movies, you just have to watch it on their faces.

Our biggest joke last night was that Jasper is the constipated vampire.  He always looks like he needs to take a giant crap.  But the books explain that he constantly struggles with the need to drink Bella.  He's struggling with hunger, not digestion.

Overall, it was good.  I would like to see it again from a better seat.  I do plan to buy this movie eventually.  I need to buy the rest of the Harry Potter movies and I think I still need the last Twilight movie that came out.  I'm a little behind on that.  Later, later, later!

I whistle while I work

It's been a little difficult getting used to being so busy at work.  When I worked for my last boss, money was low, which meant work was low.  Eventually I was just let go.  Working for the new boss is a totally different game.  He has LOTS of money, which means job security for at least 3 years.  He will most likely continue to bring in grant funding, so there is hope for many years after that if I choose to stick around. 

I'm still helping out the old boss when he needs it and he is training me in a higher level lab.  So I feel like I'm balancing three separate parts of my professional life: Old boss work (when he needs it), new boss work (learning new assays and techniques) and training for UTMB to be able to do work for the new boss.  It's tiring.  I feel like I've been falling behind on my blogging abilities because of it, but work must come first!!

I do really dig that we listen to music all day in the new lab.  There are a lot of young people in this group, so nobody minds the music.  I've worked in labs in the past where I got yelled at for having music playing so softly from my computer that I couldn't understand that words.  CALM DOWN SCIENCE NERDS.  Anyhoo, I'm learning about lots of new artists that I'd like to download their music.  My iPod's been acting up a lot lately, so I think it's time to get a new, bigger iPod.  ; )

Here are some randoms I forgot about on my camera:

We pulled out the Bumbo for when Skylar and Kenley come to visit.  Sometimes Aiden likes to hang out in the "baby seat".

For his birthday this year, Luke got him this horsie.  When we went to Luke's house for his birthday party, I tried to get Aiden to wear a cowboy hat because of the cowboy theme.  He refused.  I figured I would leave the hat out for him to put on whenever he wants and it seems to have worked!  He calls it his Cowboy Woody hat.  You can see the fallen Woody in the bottom left hand side of the following picture...

I have a YouTube channel saved with videos that Aiden really likes.  Every once in a while, I turn on the channel and it automatically flips through the videos.  He loves it.

For Travis' birthday, I made Pepper Steak for dinner and an ice cream pie that was AMAZING.  It was insanely sweet, but it rocked.  After dinner Aiden helped Daddy open his presents.  He honestly seemed interested in what Travis received.  Here he is studying Daddy's new razor.

After Travis opened up a gift bag with a new shirt and swimming trunks, Aiden proceeded to put the bag on his head.  I'm not really sure what his obsession with putting things on his head is, but sometimes I worry about him.



The other day he ran around the house with a bucket on his head.  The impressive part is he can run from his bedroom in the back of the house all the way to the back door in the kitchen without running into a single wall.  I like to think that makes him talented.

Well, I'm off to more training!!

The New Stuff

Day 3 in the new lab. I'm still doing work for the old boss and I'm still doing training, so there's been a lot of running around. It's going to take a little getting used to this new building. And I think I need to get a new parking spot. It takes me 15 minutes to get to my car from here! I know half of that is just trying to get out of the building, but it's just too much. 30 minutes of my daily commute is WALKING. It's silly.

I'm also really digging this new car. I love that I don't have to get grossed out about finding someone else's dirt in the car. That always freaked me out. My biggest struggle with the car is the lack of space in the back seat. It's so cramped when I try to get Aiden in and out. He is completely capable of getting in and out on his own, but he's a stubborn, hard-headed child. Reverse psychology works wonders on him. As long as he thinks it's his idea, he'll do just about anything we ask of him.

My dad said Callaway is doing really well in Illinois. He was more clingy than normal in the beginning, but apparently he's gotten better. He has had trouble dealing with the thunderstorms. I guess they upset him as much as the pellet gun next door bothered him here. My dad is learning all of Callaway's idiosyncrasies. Like you can't leave him tied up to anything with a cloth leash. He WILL chew his way out of that. And he always has to be in the same room as everyone else. He will whine for hours if he is locked in a different room or outside. My poor dad. HA.

Travis and I got more stucco done on the wall Monday night. We developed a system where I mix the stucco and he applies it. Pretty much by the time I'm mixing one bucket, he's ready for another. Travis thinks we have four more nights of work. I'm not sure that I feel the same way. I have a feeling that moving the cyclone fence is going to be a pain in the fanny. I do, however, feel that we are in the home stretch!

The spacing in this post is driving me mad

We bought the car! They finally agreed to it Friday night. Travis went up after work to sign his life away. Again. Why does it feel like we're always signing our life away? I guess that's what happens when you buy stuff on credit. Eh.

We had to put $500 down to get the Mazda. It wasn't hard for us since we had that money set aside for the Murano payment anyway. The great news is that we have a brand new car with no current problems. If any problems do arise, hopefully one of our warranties will cover it. Here's a list of all the things I can forget about having to fix now that we don't have the Murano:

• 
  
  Replace windshield - there was one giant crack and 5 holes threatening to spiderweb.


• 
  
  Replace 4 bald tires - that's something we probably would have had to do again in 3 years since the alignment is so bad in that vehicle.


• 
  
  Fix the A/C - it only works when the car is in motion.


• 
  
  Power steering flush - recommended every so many miles. We had reached those miles.

Not only do I not need to worry about spending that money, but I also don't need to worry about taking the vehicle in and being without a car. If anything goes wrong with the Mazda and they need to keep it over night, they will give us a loaner car. AWESOME.

After Travis got home Friday night with our new vehicle, I left with it. Ha! I met a few of the girls from work for drinks at the new rum bar in Galveston. I've been wanting to go since they opened up. Travis did all the electrical in there, so I had heard about some of the decorative details in that place. I drive by it all the time and it looks like so much fun. I was right! I stayed until 1 in the morning without even realizing it was so late. I'm sure it helped that I downed a coffee right before leaving the house.

The point of the get-together was to commemorate my time at that lab. But the new lab I'll be working in is in a different building - the building where most of my friends work. So I'll actually be seeing all of them more often now. SCORE.

This photo cracks me up. The brunette in army green is Ariel The tall blond in black is my co-worker Ashley. She is a foot taller than Ariel. I know Ashley is tall, but it always surprises me when she stands up.

Since we were at the Rum Shack, we all ordered drinks containing rum. Nadya's sister surprised her with a drink in a melon decorated with fruit to look like a monkey! Although, they forgot about the ears...

On the Fence

As of right now, I still don't know if we are going to get that Mazda. Although, we should know by tonight. Travis went up to talk money last night and we weren't too happy with their offers. They are offering $2000 less than the NADA recommends for a lower quality Murano. I am aware we've had some problems with the Murano in the past, but as far as I know, there's nothing currently wrong with it aside from the fact that it needs new tires. And those don't cost $2000.

We still have the Mazda, so Travis is taking it up there tonight with a counter-offer. If they don't accept, then we're going to decline. If that's the case, then we'll probably wait until we get our tax refund next year to put down on a new car. I'm in no hurry at this point, so it's not a big deal.

I really like the Mazda though. My biggest problem with their offer is that it would put us under for even longer. I like this car, but I would like a bigger vehicle in a few years. We wouldn't be able to get out of this car for 5 years and that's too long for me. If we wait until next year, then I might aim at getting the CX-9. It's pretty much identical to the CX-7, but it has third row seating.

My foot is doing much better today. There is only a bit of swelling right around the bite.

Things are moving fairly swiftly for me at work. I start in the new lab on Monday, but I will be coming back periodically to do work for my "old" boss, aka The Boss Man. I've been busy with training and getting signatures approving my training and that will continue for the next year probably. I'm only making the first steps now. I'm looking forward to a change of venue and daily tasks, but I will miss my old lab. I really get along with The Boss Man and I know how this lab works. The new boss seems really nice, so hopefully that lab will be just as awesome.

I keep meaning to take a photo of the wall progress, but I haven't yet. We need to buy a gallon of primer paint, which I am planning to get tonight. Travis has stucco up on about a third of the wall. I think he's getting pretty good at it!

Lazy Time

I've been feeling a little drained from this whole flip-flop job situation, so I haven't been up for much. As of today, my salary is covered through August. Whenever September comes around, the highest bidder wins as far as I'm concerned. I really prefer to be in control of my life and this whole not-knowing-who-or-where-I'll-be-working-next-month thing is taking it's toll. Looks like it'll be another month of not knowing.

Due to my lack of enthusiasm at the moment, I spent a lot of time watching movies this weekend. Sunday, we left Aiden with the sitter and met Ariel and Robert for dinner at Chili's. After dinner we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I'm a huge Potter fan, so of course I recommend it.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, I watched movies when I had time. Those films include: Eat Pray Love, Prince of Persia and Did You Hear About The Morgans? I was not disappointed with a single one of them. So I guess I recommend them as well!

I watched a portion of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie with Aiden on Monday. He really liked it. I'm hoping this will be our segue into potty training. We have a pirates potty book and corresponding stickers. It would be nice if we could find some way to get him excited about this whole using the potty thing. He's such a stubborn kid. I have a feeling he will fight it all the way to the end. I still haven't pulled the potty back out of the closet, but he has finally started showing some of the signs that he's ready. SOME. He knows when he's got a poopy diaper. Sometimes he'll get me a clean diaper, the wipes and the baby powder. He doesn't claim to be very aware of peeing though.

Maybe I'll pull the potty out again in a couple weeks. We can decorate it with stickers and make a big deal out of it.

A Few Changes

My dad left Wednesday night after we had all gotten home from work. He wanted to drive through the night (less traffic, means better time) so he took a couple naps throughout the day to prepare himself. Ariel, Travis, Aiden and I all waved goodbye as he and Callaway drove off that evening. Aiden started screaming crying as soon as Callaway and Gpa climbed into the car. Callaway sat in the back seat and just stared at us with his tongue lolling out to the side. Travis was upset to see him go, so of course Ariel and I started crying as well. It was all very horrible. ON my birthday. Ugh.

We ordered pizza for dinner and tried to forget about it. In the long run, I know it will be good for us. Hell, it's good for me in the short run. Most of the times when I think about Callaway are the times I had to take care of him: feeding him, him waking me up first thing in the morning to be let out, him knocking Aiden over trying to get in the back door when we get home at night. I also think of him when I see his race tracks in the yard and the dog bombs he's left behind, or when I see the trellis he tore out from under the house, or when I see the crappy flower pots I'm using because he broke our nice ones.

I'm sure this all makes me sound like a complete asshat, but that's the relationship I had with Callaway. Travis is the one who had anything more than that and it makes me sad to think he won't have that. I do get a little sad when Aiden opens the door to the garage when we get home and yells for Callaway. Or when we drive away from the house, Aiden still says, "Bye, Callaway!" Oh that one breaks my heart the most.

I think Callaway will be better off with my dad. As much as Travis loved Callaway, he didn't have much time to spend with him. My dad works from home most days and when he has to go to a job site, he just takes Callaway with him. My brother his home from college for the summer, but when he goes back to school, my dad won't be alone now. He'll have Callaway to take care of, and that makes me feel so much better for the both of them.

The other big thing going on in my life at the moment is my job. My future changes every other day. One day I'm moving to another lab, the next day I'm going to take an administrative position. As of today, I'm staying with my current boss, but getting paid from a different group, meaning my work might change a little. The reason things have been changing so frequently is because everyone has to arrange for funding me, and sometimes it doesn't work out. With less than two weeks until my pay ceases, I am getting more and more anxious about my status. I have confidence that I will have a position here at UTMB come August 1. I just don't know where I'll be.

Travis has spent every other day working on the wall. Most days he doesn't need my help because he can do the stuff himself faster than he can tell me how to do it. I plan to help tonight though, since we'll be putting the plywood up on the other side of the wall. I can always hold up a board without being told how. Travis ran electrical through the wall so we can eventually put up lighting and outlets.

The wall looks great so far. I think our biggest test will be with the finishing touches. If we do a bad job putting on the stucco, then we'll have to stare at it for as long as we live in this house. I really hope this looks as amazing in real life as it does in my head!

Apocalypse Now

I feel like there is mass chaos in my world right now. Here's a quick run down:

• 
  
  We are in the middle of a drought, which means there are burn bans.



• 
  
  Multiple power outages at the power plants in Texas City resulted in a shelter-in-place. That means there is so much pollution in the air that you are asked to stay in your house with the windows and doors closed, air off.



• 
  
  The main line of fresh water to the island has a leak. That has resulted in a water shortage for the island. No watering your yard, no washing your car and several of the labs at work had to close down due to low water pressure.



• 
  
  Yesterday, there was a water leak in the AC system at work. There was nothing but hot, humid air blowing through the buildings across campus. UTMB let us go home early because the condensation was building up on everything, resulting in a fall risk. It is much cooler today, but it's still a little humid.



• 
  
  Also yesterday, when I left work early, there was a collapse at a hotel they are currently taking down (with plans to rebuild). Hopefully the worker that was caught underneath the debris gets well.



• 
  
  There have been electrical outages across the island for the past day. Today, Aiden's daycare does not have electricity, so I have to take off from work and go get him. Travis has been struggling at work since they have limitations when the power is out.

Oh and Travis blew out a tire yesterday, so he's going to need at least one new tire. We'll probably get two though.

My mom said they have been dealing with nearly constant severe storms and tornadoes in Illinois. We've decided to meet on the coast in the case of an apocalypse. I'm getting the boat.

Annoyed

I do work on a timeline. If I start something at work on a Friday, I have to follow up on Monday. If I do it Thursday, then that means I have to come in over the weekend, which I would prefer NOT to do.

This wintry mix is putting me in quite the pickle. We are supposed to start something big at work tomorrow morning. BUT, Aiden's daycare just called to inform me they are closing early this afternoon and will also be closed all day tomorrow.

Taking this afternoon off, should not be difficult. I will get all my work done this morning so I can get out of here early. Tomorrow will be more of a problem. I'm going to see if Ariel will watch Aiden. But, what if the weather really is so bad that I shouldn't be on the roads? I have to drive over the causeway to get to the island, which is a really large bridge. Bridges usually form ice in this type of weather.

Ugh. Stupid pickle.

This area is not equipped for such weather. We don't have snow plows or salt trucks to deal with snow and ice. Also, all the plumbing at our house is exposed underneath in our "crawl space". That means pipes are easily frozen. I left the faucets dripping last night and also when I left the house this morning. I didn't do that the night before and nothing horrible happened, so hopefully we'll be okay.

Two of my friends had their pipes freeze Tuesday night. Then when I was walking out to my car I came across a house with water pouring out from underneath. When I looked under the house, it was a lake. No one was home when I knocked on the door, so I called Public Works to report the burst pipes. It was stopped when I walked by this morning.

Stay warm my friends! And enjoy this video.

Is it Friday yet?

Do you remember when you were a kid, that feeling that you got right before school let out for the summer? The anticipation of running through corn fields, climbing trees and chasing your friends around town on bikes?

Well, I have that right now.

While I won't actually be doing any of the aforementioned activities, I do have many other things to look forward to. My mom, dad and brother are supposed to get into town on Friday night. We have my holiday work party Friday night, sans child. Friday is my last day of work until the New Year.

I DON'T WANT TO WRITE IN MY DANG LAB NOTEBOOK!!!

August 2002

Eight years ago, Travis and I moved to Texas. I was set to start at Texas A&M, Galveston (TAMUG) in September. Travis planned to move with me, work a job for a while, then start at the local community college. That summer, I made plans to come visit Galveston with my mom and search for an apartment. The week before we were set to leave, I received a letter from TAMUG stating that I must live in the dorms for my first year at the school. I called to make sure that was the case, since I was coming in as a Sophomore. I was furious because that put a serious damper on Travis being able to afford to move down with me.

The school ensured me that no matter the age, I had to apply to stay in the dorms my first year there. I sent in my form and left for my visit to Galveston the following week. My mom and I took the chance to see what there was to do on the island and had a little vacation. A couple weeks after I got back, I got a letter from TAMUG that said the dorms were full and there was no room for me.

Seriously?!?!?

I kicked myself for not looking at apartments just in case. I honestly hadn't even seen it as an option. I quickly got online and searched for a place to live. I was crazy worried because the apartments get to choose what you see, but it was my only choice. Since the apartment option was back on the table, Travis decided to move to Texas with me.

We packed up three cars, one truck and a U-Haul trailer and started the trip down. Unfortunately, the trailer could only go max of 55 mph. Travis dad, who was pulling the trailer behind his truck, told us to go on, since we had to make it to the apartment complex before closing to sign the papers and get our key. The trip took us 18 hours (the trailer took 21), but we made it just in time. That night, we sat on the carpeted floor of our very first living room with our family.

The apartment complex was not that bad. Definitely not top of the totem pole, but it was better than I expected it to be for shopping over the Internet and phone. We spent the next few days unpacking and Travis went to apply at the local Quizno's. He had been working at the one back home for a year, so he figured it would be easy to get a job there right away. He was right.

That was the start of my third year in college. Several of my classes didn't transfer, so I had to "repeat" my Sophomore year. Being that this was my first year at a major university, I was worried about how well I would be able to keep up with the school work, so I decided to take the first semester off from working a job. To help jump-start our search for friends, I joined the Sailing Club at A&M.

Travis worked at that Quizno's for a few months before he found a job working at a plant in Houston doing odd jobs. It was horrible. He worked there my entire first semester of school. It was a two hour drive each way and he was working 10-hour shifts. I never saw him. Eventually, I convinced him to look for a job somewhere close. After talking with our new friend Kai, he started to work for him building a house.

Towards the end of my first semester, I felt confident about working again. I found a job working as a receptionist at a vet clinic (where we still take our pets). I made even more friends there and stayed at that clinic until I graduated from A&M in August 2005.

Travis finished building that house with Kai and then got a job working for a general contractor who had done some work on that house. He worked for him for a year or so before deciding to specialize in electrical and started working for an electrician that the contractor worked with frequently. That company trained him on most everything he knows.

That next semester in the spring, Travis started at the community college part time. It took him several years of going to school in the evening to get his degree. He stopped there, since he wanted to focus on the electrical trade.

Add a few more jobs, a few more apartments, a roomate, a house and a kid and you're all caught up. ;)