More Noah...

Noah has had a rough few days. He had another seizure on Sunday night. We took him to the Urgent Care, and he has like some strep or staff infection on his face, and then they said he had an ear infection. His fever was high, so we figured it was most likely another febrile seizure. And then in the middle of the night, he had another one. And then 2 more following. We finally took him to the ER. We decided to increase his medicine, and hopefully he will be safe for a while. It was pretty scary. No matter how many times he goes through it, and I see him go through it, I don't get used to it. It's scary every time. He's a trooper though. Monday night he was back to the same Noah...but it was a rough day for everyone! I had been dreading going to the hospital here, I hadn't heard that it was the nicest...but it wasn't that bad. A lot better than the hospital in Palmdale. There wasn't anyone handuffed to a pole, or the nurses station wasn't behind glass...I didn't feel like I was on an episode of ER, it was pretty mellow. They did have to escort a disgruntled person from the waiting room, and a patient ran away, but it wasn't that bad! But, Noah is on an antibiotic, his spots on his face are nearly gone, and he's a happy boy. He doesn't know when he goes through a seizure. He doesn't understand. I don't know if he knows when they are going to happen or what it's like for him. It would be interesting to know. But, hopefully he won't have to go through it again, so he won't have to tell me about it. Noah is a good kid.

We're here!

So, it's been a long three weeks! I haven't had the internet...and with a blogging addiction, that was a pretty hard thing to do! But, we've moved...we're here...we're happy. Santa Maria is a pretty nice place. It's a heck of a lot cooler than Palmdale, that's for sure! It's around 70 all year round...perfect! We're still unpacking all of the boxes. I don't think it will ever end! Eventually, I'm sure, but I can't see that end in sight! Being pregnant and moving with two toddlers isn't my idea of fun! The actually moving day didn't turn out the way I had expected. Adam had been gone for the two weeks previous to the move, so it was really up to me to pack and clean and get everything ready. It was awful. I thought I had a pretty good handle on everything, and it would be a smooth move, we'd load up the truck, clean the last minute stuff, and then be driving out of Palmdale by 1. Okay...we didn't leave until 7:30. It sucked. We pulled into Santa Maria around 11 PM. We had our carpets cleaned on Friday, and one of the movers who helped us on Saturday had grease on their shoes...not good. We had to reclean the carpets by hand, and then as they were moving the fridge out, it took a good chunk of the linoleum with it. That was a chore for Adam to replace a few squares. And then just the random stuff. Is it just me, or does any one else end up with a bunch of random stuff at the end of the move. Stuff that just migrates to the counter because it doesn't have a real home. Like the kids shot records...they were the last left over stuff...but now they are gone. I can not find them anywhere!

Anyway, so Adam moved some stuff in on Saturday night, with the help of a nice neighbor. I mean, he helped a complete stranger move stuff in at 11:30 at night...we have good neighbors. We had planned to use people from the ward to help move the big stuff. But since we didn't get there until late, that wasn't going to happen on Saturday, and the next day was Sunday. And Adam had to be gone for the airport by 4, to be gone to Phoenix for a week again. It was awful. Luckily, some guys came over after the church block to help him move the big stuff. And then it was all either in our garage or the house. I had been going back and forth from the garage and house bringing stuff in, and then I saw it. A mouse. It ran right in front of me. Okay, I haven't ever seen a mouse in a house before. We had one in my house once when I was younger, but I never saw it. Just heard it running around under the sink because we trapped in there to die. And I saw one at Disneyland. Not Mickey...I wished that was the mouse I saw. But there was a little mouse in the shrubbery by the river place when we ate our dinner. Kinda gross. So I was disgusted and totally freaked out about this mouse. I screamed, ran into the house, and locked the door. And haven't been back in there since! We have killed 4 mice with traps so far. Not a good thing. Noah's bedding is out there, and I won't go get it. It's on the work bench, so I think it's safe, but I'm just scared to do it. Adam is a little irritated, but I do not want to see a mouse...dead or alive!

I had posted earlier about how I hate ants. And I thought moving from Palmdale would relieve me from that. Not so much luck. We have ants. Not red ants, like the ones that attacked Macie. But just black ones. But they are fast little buggers. I don't know where they come in. And we don't have as many as before...but they are gross. I hate ants. I can't escape them. They are everywhere. I've sprayed all over, hopefully we don't get anymore!

And other than our fridge not working right, and our dishwasher being broken and having to do dishes by hand, and the mouse...and the ants, we love it here! We love our house. So much smarter than our last house. We lost a bedroom, but does a young family of 4, almost 5 need 5 bedrooms anyway? So it's alright! We still have plenty of space. And we have a gardener. No more weeding and yardwork. I'll have to take picture and post them later. I still have a lot of catching up to do, and lots of pictures to post, I'll get there. This will suffice for now.

Beautiful

We were in the car today after running a few errands. On our way home there was a train. Out of nowhere, Noah says, "Oh, Mom, it's beautiful! Like snow in Idaho. It's beautiful." And yes, those were the EXACT words out of his mouth. No lying. It was so funny. I was trying so hard not to laugh! Where it came from, I have no idea. I'm glad I have kids for many reasons. But today I'm grateful for the comic relief they give me, even when they aren't trying to be funny!

I complain a lot...

I don't want to complain anymore! I am happy to report, I have nearly completed packing the kitchen. That's quite a task. I only have the random crap left. The stuff that has no real home, it's probably trash anyway, you know the stuff. And I have two happy children downstairs, laughing, and even playing together! I guess I won't go crazy after all.

I hate moving.

Moving is awful. And then when you think it couldn't get any worse, you remember that you have to unpack everything that you've spent so long packing. Jeez. We are finally moving next week. It seems like we have been going to move for the longest time. I officially started packing like 2 weeks ago, and no...I am not done. You'd think that I would be, huh? I mean, two weeks, you can get a lot done in two weeks, right? Um...with my kids, no. Every time I try to start packing or do something productive, they become so needy! What is it with kids? I guess it's called being a mother. Adam was gone last week, and again this week, so it's like I'm doing it all by myself. And it sucks. Luckily he'll be home Friday night so he can load the truck, that will be very helpful. But with being pregnant, it's not the funnest move in the world. (by the way, spell check didn't tell me that funnest wasn't a word...)

This will be out fourth move within 2 years. Yeah, our fourth. And we've had pretty decent moves. We moved to Torrance, CA from Rexburg in September 2006, we loaded everything up in the big huge truck when Macie was 1 week old. We lived in Torrance for 8 months. And then we moved to the neighboring city, Lawndale. I hate even admitting we lived in Lawndale. I always told myself that I wouldn't ever live in a city that was in a TuPac song. Well, Lawndale wasn't in a Tupac song, but we lived only blocks from Inglewood, which Tupac says is always up to no good. And the city of Compton, yeah...within blocks. Oh, Lawndale. Anyway, we only lived there for 6 weeks. And then it was a good 2 hour move to Palmdale. We have been here for a whole year. Can you believe it? A WHOLE year. That's almost a record for us! The bad thing: we have collected SO MUCH STUFF. We have been living in a 3000 square foot home. Yes, we have been in heaven. So nice to have so much room. It isn't ours, but it's still been nice! But along with loving it, we probably tripled how much crap we have. We have a sectional, a piano, a Queen sized guest bed, a side by side fridge (a lot of places don't have them in California, weird, huh?), and just lots of accumulation of stuff. We had the biggest truck when we moved from Rexburg to Torrance, and we had TONS and TONS of extra space. Now, I'm hoping we have enough room for everything! This time we'll be moving 3 hours away.

It will be a good move. I'm super excited about it. It's a heck of a lot cooler. 70s all year round. Right now at 9:03 PM, it's 95 degrees here in Palmdale. Yuck. We have a way nice house in Santa Maria, too. Adam's job he's on will probably last at least 3 years. That will be so nice for us. And so weird. I'm excited about the actual relocation, but not about the moving itself! I hate packing. I hate cleaning. Oh, I just hate it all. It never ends.

I started out having such organization. I got rid of tons of stuff. And everything was labeled nicely. Every thing had a home. And the boxes were all neatly packed. Okay, now, it's a mess. I'm just throwing random things into boxes. Something that I did not want to do. It's awful. We have too much crap. This morning I woke up and it looked like I hadn't done a dang thing. Even though I have been packing for 2 weeks! Jeesh...it'll be over soon. I just have to keep telling myself that. I've complained a lot lately. Sorry. Just a lot of things going on right now. Everything all at once. Pregnancy, Noah and a seizure, Macie teething, moving, being husbandless for a week, man, the list goes on! And then to top it off, Noah has been throwing up for the past hour. No breaks.

Anyway, I wanted to post a moving picture. But I didn't have one. I'll post more pictures when we move, of our cute house. I think I'm done blogging for a while, I'm ready to pack the computer. But I did find this picture. I had to find one of someone else, I didn' think it would be appropriate if I posted one of myself. And she is wearing exactly what I wear to pack...how strange is that? And I know it's how all of your wish you could pack, too. I mean, shouldn't we all dress like that when we're packing and have a smile on our face?

Can I make it?

Can I tell you how much I HATE molars? Oh my heck, I totally know why they call it the terrible two's...they are getting those stinkin' molars. They don't want to act crabby and throw tantrums ALL of the time, but those teeth are probably killer. Think about it. They don't have a point. They just try to punch their way through the gums. And they take FOREVER. I remember Noah's taking like 6 months to finally all be there and stay there. I thought Noah was bad...and then came Macie.
Macie has always been such a good little girl. Quiet, thoughtful, and usually very shy. We've always thought her to be pretty even tempered, and just a really good girl. We always thought Noah was a terror. Oh no...Noah is an angel. If all girls are like her right now, I'll be fine with more boys! Goodness. Macie is a princess, and she knows it. I baby her more than I ever realized! She's the same age Noah was when she was born. But Noah was walking in stores, holding on the to cart while Macie was in the cart in her carseat, and I guess I expected more out of him at this age. When I thought he was acting up, it was really him just being 2! I wish I would have realized that then. But Macie has started the tantrums. Since I'm pregnant, I can't nurse her anymore. It makes me sicker and light headed and I nearly pass out after nursing her. I know what you're thinking...she's 22 months, why on earth would I still be nursing her. But as I've blogged about before, she is the world's best nurser. If that was seriously a title, she would have it. Withing 5 minutes of birth, she was latched on and nursing. Something that took Noah at least 2 weeks to master. She wouldn't eat anything else. I started her on solids when she was 6 months old, but she hated every bite. Never was much of a baby food eater. I thought she'd like table food. But not so much. People were always so shocked when I told them that she didn't eat much other than nursing, I mean she was a big baby! Thus confirming how good of a nurser she was. She loved it. So, as soon as it was taken away from her, she didn't know what to do. It was like the world was ending. The thing she loved the most was gone. She still gets to nurse at night to go to sleep, but let me tell you, weaning her this much has been the best thing ever. She hasn't ever been a good sleeper. Maybe sleeping 3 hours max. But these days, I nurse her at 8, she's asleep at 9, and she's asleep the rest of the night. It's great. I should have done this a long time ago. But anyway, I stray from my purpose. Macie has started her tantrums. She has developed a very LOUD scream. It causes ear pain. It's loud. She has started laying on the ground and flailing around. Noah didn't do this much. And she does this until she gets what she wants. And if she doesn't, she'll go to sleep. She is a princess. She wants to be treated as such, and if she isn't, we all know it. She is only 22 months old. But yet, she already has opinions as to what to wear for the day. For example, I put a dress on her yesterday for church. It was a patriotic dress. Because I'm cheesy like that. But oh, no...Macie did not want to wear it. She started a tantrum. Screaming, hitting, flailing, the works. After many time outs, she took the dress off. She brought me another dress and said, "This one." So, I gave in. I put the dress on. I know I shouldn't have, but she was naked, she needed something. And so it was time to get her hair done. Which is seemingly impossible these days. I put it in a pony tail. She ripped it out instantly telling me "No!" So I put in a headband. "No!" I put in a little half pony tail, the most boring hairstyle, the one she has everyday. And then she said, "I pretty" gave me a cheesy grin, and was happy. No more tantrum. No more Miss CrabbyPants. When she gives you the grin, it's so hard to resist. It melts you. I thought I had a few more years at least before she cared about fashion. But my material girl does not think that way!

And so, the screaming and the tantrums bring us today, and really the purpose of my post. Macie is getting her two year molars. I can feel one trying to push its way through, and the others are swollen. She eats lots and lots of otter pops, loves drinking ice cold water, and chews on EVERYTHING. I can only imagine the pain she is going through. The problem is, she won't take any medicine. She just spits it out, and if she doesn't get it spit out, she forces herself to throw it up. Yes, my little bulimic daughter. She hates medicine. She hasn't really had much in her lifetime. She had her first does of an antibiotic just last week. So she's not as used to it as, sadly, Noah is. She won't let me use teething tablets, she spits them out. She won't let me rub orajel on her gums. She won't let me swab them with orajel swabs. She's very stubborn. So she screams. We didn't even attempt to take her nursery yesterday. We didn't want to put them through that! Oh my goodness it's been an awful few days with her. And we're trying to pack and move. Oy. Adam left this morning for Phoenix for the week, and I'm already counting down until he gets home! I had to go to Wal-Mart for packing tape and a few things. And as soon as we walked in the door, it starts. The screaming, the wailing, the swatting. The works. She won't sit in the cart. She won't walk. She wants me to hold her. I can't hold her. I'm having a heck of a time with this baby. Already I'm short of breath and my back kills. I'm not even half way done! So, I buckle her in, oh, she does not like that. She screamed even louder. I had just a few things to get. I HAD To have them, or we would have just left the cart and gotten out of the store. People were staring. Others lauhging. It was awful. I was crying, not knowing how we'd make it through! And Noah, he just ran alongside the cart, being the best boy ever. We finally exited the store, and then the carseat trauma started. Why don't kids like their carseats? It was then that I came up with a wonderful idea. If I put Macie up for rent for a little while as she's teething, and then when the teeth come in, the lease will expire and she could come back, we wouldn't have to worry about her screams! Does any one want to rent a very cute 22 month old girl?

No, I'm only kidding. I wouldn't trade her for anything. I wouldn't give her up for anything either. There isn't a price tag I could put on her. Even though she's going through a rough time, I know she's such a good girl. When she does give me that grin, and says, "I Yuv You." It makes it all worth it. Getting to snuggle with her at night is the best. And her kisses. Oh they are the greatest. She puckers her little lips and gives you a kiss, followed my a wonderful hug, pats on the back and all. She really is so cute, and I love her so much. We may be going through a terrible phase, but we'll make it through. I just have to remember, she's teething, who on earth would want to go through that anyway? So, for now, I'll just hope for the best. Hope that I can finish moving without going crazy. Noah's become quite the helper. He's my baseboard cleaner! It's great. I give him a wipe and he just goes around the house cleaning the baseboards. It makes him so happy! And that makes me so happy! Hopefully these tantrums will subside soon. Raising a girl is so much different than a bou. Who knew it would start so soon? Jeesh. So, if any of you get a surprise package on your doorstep from the Christensens, I'd suggest you open in QUICKLY, you never know what could be inside. I'll give you one hint...she is very cute.

Fourth of July

(I wrote this big long blog. It was so well written and long, but I did it through Picasa, and Noah turned the computer off as I was typing the last sentence...the last word even, so I'll have to start over. Hopefully it will be just as perfect! :-) )

We had a very interesting Fourth of July holiday. The started out nice. We went to our ward pancake breakfast. And the kids got to play really hard. It's Palmdale, so even at 8, it was nearly 90 degrees, so it was pretty hot. It was nice to hang out with people in our ward since we'll be moving next weekend. Noah and Macie just ran around the entire time. And TOTALLY loved it. We were there for a good hour and half. We had made plans with our friends in Costa Mesa to come down to their house and celebrate the holiday the Orange County way...and go to the beach. So, we stopped at home to get our things and then a quick stop at the store, and we were off. We got on the freeway to head down south. Palmdale has like 5 exits, and the last exit southbound gets to our house. We were at that last exit, and decided we weren't going to go. We got off the exit in the nick of time and just headed home. Some friends in the ward had invited us to a barbecue, so we thought we'd just kick it at home and relax here for our last weekend in Palmdale. When we got home the kids were so worn out. Noah just sort of laid there and just looked exhausted. Macie went to sleep pretty quick. She went to bed with a little fever, but was fine by morning, but she was starting to feel warm again, so she was out. Noah was watching a cartoon on the couch. And then it happened. I looked up from what I was doing to see Noah having a seizure. His lips were blue, his hands and feet were blue, and he was convulsing. It scared me to death. I screamed for Adam, who came running downstairs and put him in the bathtub to get his temperature down a bit to help stop the seizure. It worked. But I had no idea how long the seizure was, since I just happened to look up and see it. But I was scared to death. No matter how many times you see it, it never gets better. Who wants to see their baby like that? It's not a normal thing, so it's never a normal reaction. I always freak out. I tried to stay more calm, since I didn't want Macie to get scared of the situation, or of Noah. So I tried to stay as positive as I could, but I was tearing up inside. It was awful. I hadn't seen one in so long. Not since July 2006, so it's been 2 years, I had hoped I never would see one again. But no such luck. He's on a really good medicine which stops epileptic seizures, but we're pretty positive this was febrile, or fever related. He had a tempertaure of 102 after he stopped convulsing. He just slept forever. We tried getting him to say his name, but he couldn't. He wasn't all there yet. We called a friend in the ward to come over and help Adam administer a blessing. It was a very good blessing, and the spirit was very strong. I knew that he was going to be okay. He slept for another hour or so, and finally came to, and started saying his name and wanted to watch the movie he didn't get to finish. So I knew he was getting better. His temperature started to decrease and he didn't feel near as hot. Within a few more hours he was running around, jumping up and down and acting like the Noah we all know! We didn't go to the barbecue, we just hung out together, it was an exhausting day. Later in the evening, he was feeling pretty good. So we decided we would go to the firework show here in town. We drove to the Stake Center, since they light them at the high school across the street, it was perfect. We got there at like 8:50, and they started at 9. But we found a parking spot and sat on an open grass patch. We didn't know exactly where they would shoot off from, but when they started, our seats were perfect, right in front of us were the fireworks. Noah loved it. Macie on the otherhand, HATED it. Every minute of it. She hated the loud noise. She hated the bright lights. She just hated everything about it. After they were over and we got the kids in the car, they were out withint 2 minutes of being in the car. It was nice we were able to go and Noah loved it, which made it totally worth it. After such a crappy day, we were able to end it a lot better. I really like the fourth of July when we get to reflect on our country...and to celebrate Cory's birthday! But it always good to think of our freedoms and why we get to enjoy what we do. I'm grateful to live in this country and have what I have. And I'm grateful for everyone who makes it possible for me to do so. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

He's 18!

I can't believe my baby brother is 18! And he sadly has to work on his birthday! Welcome to the adult world, Cory! At least you'll never go to school on your birthday! I hope that you have a great day. Noah was excited when I said it was Cory's birthday. But he wasn't as excited as Alison's birthday. Wall-E didn't came out today! But WE wish you a very happy birthday! Have lots of fun at the fireworks. Eat lots of cake. But, don't get sick this time! And, you're legal...go buy some cigarettes, a lottery ticket, and make your parents proud! HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the Christensens!

You've had a birthday, Shout HOORAY!

 

I know, I'm such a slacker, AGAIN! But, Happy late birthday, Alison! The big 29! This is the last year that you have to admit to getting any older! Alison is great. It's so sad that I don't live closer to be able to shop and just hang out with her anymore! I'm sorry that I haven't sent off your present yet, either. I'm working on it, don't worry. I hate moving, and that's going to be my excuse for everything! I hope that you had a good day! And that your cake was good.

Ayúdeme!

Why every kid loves Dora and Diego, is beyond me! But they do love it. It makes me laugh because they will say something in English, but then say it in Spanish. It's almost annoying. But Noah and Macie don't seem to care so much. And Noah has been saying lots of things in Spanish. Since we live in Palmdale, CA and are definately a minority, it may be a good thing that he knows a little Spanish. They even have elementary schools here that Spanish is just another subject for all of the kids. Anyway, Noah was playing in the bathtub. There wasn't any water, he was just playing. He decided that it was snow. Which is pretty clever, it is white. And he was jumping in the snow. He told us he was going to Idaho to play in the snow. He said his goodbyes and then jumped in. But, when he jumped in, he was "in trouble." He did a fake scream, and said, "Help Me!" "Ayudeme!" I've fallen in. It was so funny. He wasn't playing Diego, but they say it so much that he just thinks that when you say help me, you should say ayudeme, too. Cartoons are funny these days. Now we're learning Chinese, too. I'm going to have trilingual kids soon, just you wait!