Spring Cleaning Has Already Begun

I've been wanting to clean clean CLEAN for the longest time. Not just clean, but CLEAN!
With the help of Pinterest, I've found some pretty nifty tips on how to clean with just the normal household items (FREE OF CHEMICALS!!!).

My first project was the sink. gross. For the longest time, I've been meaning to clean it... but... just never had the "time". yeah. It just got so ugly looking that we bought one of those rubbermaid sink covers to cover up the ugliness. I'll once in a while lift up the sink cover and scrub it with the sponge but nothing would budge. Still stained and discolored. but NOT ANY MORE!

I created a paste: 1/2 cup Baking Soda, water (pour until pasty consistency), 1 Tbsp liquid soap, and essential oils. I used Peppermint and OnGuard essential oils, because they're known for their antibacterial properties (and it smells good!).

Baking Soda paste: slab it on the sink and scrub away! I didn't even have to leave it on there to sit or anything.

BEFORE

AFTER (no Photoshop!)

A clean sink is a happy sink!

Happy cleaning ya'll! :)

If you're interested in those oils, go here: http://www.doterra.myvoffice.com/healthylivingwithessentialoils/

Acorn Squash Recipe

I bought an acorn squash WEEKS ago...
and I finally decided to use it.
Surprisingly enough, it was still good! No moldy or squishy spots! amazing. kept it in the fridge.

So I looked up a recipe for roasting them in the oven.

450 degrees for 40 minutes

Afterwards I added my couscous stuffing!
I don't have a recipe for that... I just made it up. Couscous, carrots, celery, sausage, green onions, chicken stock, spices.
I know the picture doesn't look great, but it sure was yummy!!

Swing or No Swing

We bought this baby swing before he was even born.
How many times have we used it since?
3 times.
Only because for the first month or so he was too little...
and the last time we used it, the swing wasn't working.
But we tried it again the other day...
Look for your self:

a success?... I think so.

 So was it worth buying this from Craigslist for $30?... I think so.

Indian Food Sensation

Greg and I love Indian food. SO much. YUM!

I bought this pre-made Tikka Masala sauce from Target... $3?

Added in huge handful of spinach (spinach shrinks!) and thigh pieces of chicken and served over rice....
seriously, the best thing I've ever made. haha Greg agrees too. :)

Try it!

Drum Roll and some Trombone

Greg and his brothers all play the trombone, and they all at some point played in the ASU marching band. Every year, the ASU marching band welcomes back alumni to play at the ASU Homecoming game. $20 to play with them and they give you a shirt.
So us wives were able to get in to the game for $10! :) It was WAY fun!!

Here are some pictures:

The husbands in matching T-shirt, and the wives in matching T-shirt! Brad & Whitney, Greg and I, Dan & Geordan

 

 

 

 

 

Can you spot Brad, Greg, and Dan?

"Where's Waldo?"

We actually were playing a note while taking the picture... hahaha

PS... ASU won.

Recipes Galore!

I LOVE PINTEREST!!!!!

There are so many recipes I want to try! Yum!

I saw this recipe for White Queso, and it looked soooooooooo good. HAD to make it!

It turned out REAL delish! Lots of leftover so we canned it... jarred it.

Here's the recipe!

Queso Blanco

Yields: About 2 cups queso

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup white onion, finely diced

1 large jalapeno, seeds and stem removed; finely diced

12 oz white American cheese, shredded

4 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (don’t use pre-shredded)

1/2 to 1 cup cream, half-and-half, or whole milk

1 – 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced

1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

 

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper until softened and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the cream.  Quickly stir until the cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, and additional cream a little at a time until you reach desired consistency.  Serve immediately with tortilla chips, tortillas, or on tacos, burritos, etc.

 Few nights back, my sister and I made a yummy angel hair pasta, asparagus, and chicken dish!

Few nights before that, I made Baked Apples... YUM!

You core the apples, and stuff it with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar!

We added vanilla ice cream and sprinkled granola~

There are SO many more recipes I want to try!!!! What to DO!?

Wooden Blocks

I wasn't planning on getting my gallbladder out on Friday. My ward's Super Saturday was just yesterday.
I went.
I'm crazy.
Totally turned out cute though!
They're 3.5 x 3.5 wooden blocks with letters on each side.
15 blocks = spells 50+ words and phrases!

 

"Happy Fall"

While I was Away

Thank you doctors and nurses (and CJ, my personal anesthesiologist) for taking care of me at the hospital. Banner Gateway is the way to go! :)
On Friday night, I got my gallbladder taken out. They found at least 25 stones... yuck.
Apparently, (if you read my last blog) there WEREN'T any gallstones in the duct. But whatever they did, I was feeling better. My numbers were going down (which is a good thing). I was looking jaundice for a while...

I will forever have theses awesome war wounds, and my belly button will never be the same again.

Thank you to Grandma Rowley, Grandma Billings and Kristie for watching Sawyer while I was away. I am so grateful to have loving support and help from both sides of the family~ :)
I was only away from Sawyer for couple of days... but I SWEAR he grew INCHES and put on some more POUNDS! He definitely cannot fit into newborn outfits any longer. He's wearing 3-6 month clothing now!! This morning, Greg picked up Sawyer from Grandma Billings' house, and he was sound asleep... and so was I. I woke up to his cry... but it didn't sound like his cry! Even his cry has changed over this past few days! Crazy!!!

I just can't believe how much he is growing... sniff sniff.

Today, Sawyer is 8 weeks old... TWO MONTHS!

Happy Birthday to Sawyer, and Happy Recovery to me.

Too Late

Well it's too late for me to do the "Gallstone Flush" because I am in the ER again... getting it taken out. I came back in the second day because that night (1st time = TUE and came home to make appt with my PCP; 2nd time = WED night) I started having excruciating pains yet again and sobbing all over again. We dropped off Sawyer with Greg's parents and off to the ER... again.
We find out this time that one of the gallstones had moved along the bile duct and had lodged itself in there, blocking the pancreas from draining. Here's a better explanation:

1. Gallstone in the gallbladder

2. Gallstone traveling through the Cystic Duct

3. Gallstone traveling through the Common Bile Duct

4. Gallstone stuck right below the Pancreatic Duct

Because the Pancreas is unable to drain, it is inflamed and is irritated (Pancreatitis). 

Yesterday about 3pm they put me to sleep and went in to do a procedure called ERCP (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography). Basically shoving a tube with camera down my throat through the pancreatic duct. They put in a stent to open up the duct to hopefully pass the gallstone(s). My throat is soar but other than that I'm doing ok. I'm now on a NO food/liquid diet (since midnight).

Next step: We are waiting for the surgeon to take out the gallbladder.

Until next time...

Only 25 and Already Falling Apart

It's one thing after another!
So I went to the ER today and found out I now have gallstones...
Excruciating pain under the sternum and right rib cage. I woke up sobbing this morning.
Vomiting, nauseousness, sweating, diarrhea. yeay...
Taking meds, but I wonder if a "Gallstone Flush" will work? Anyone?

6 Weeks and Counting

I cannot BELIEVE it's already been 6 weeks since the birth of our precious son, Sawyer.
It's amazing how much he has grown and developed; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
He now knows how to:

1. smile
2. make cute noises while smiling (the gaaaa of the goo-goo gaa-gaa)
3. lift his head for a very brief moment
4. and follow objects and faces with his eyes.

To celebrate these wonderful milestones, enjoy the following photo...

 

Breastfeeding Shmeastfeeding

Yeah, so this whole Breastfeeding business...
I was so fortunate to have a pleasant pregnancy... My stay at the hospital (6 days) wasn't so bad... I have nothing to complain about my C-section... My recovery has been great... Birthed a beautiful baby...

Now that I've been home for 3+ weeks, I've battled with my breasts. Yes. My breasts. They've given me grief.

Since the first week of being home, I have had Mastitis (Breast Infection). Had it on my left side, then the right side. I was on antibiotics for a week... didn't cure it. Then came back on the left side. Went on new antibiotics. Took it for a week. Cured.
Since Day 1 of being a mom, I have breastfed. And because of breastfeeding, I have had cracked/chapped/sore nipples. Took about 2 weeks to heal...
On top of all this, I haven't been able to produce enough milk for Sawyer. An 1/2 an ounce on the left and an ounce or two on the right. I have tried it all... Fenugreek (herbal capsule), Marshmallow Root (herbal capsule), Fennel Oil (oil capsule), drinking plenty of water, eating right, not being stressed so much, pumping with my expensive electric pump, hot compress directly on the breast...

How are my breasts doing now? No Mastitis. Still no milk.

But I am just tired of taking so many pills. Yeah they're herbal and it's not like I'm popping 10 capsules of Tylenol or something, but still...
I was taking my 1 Prenatal vitamin, 1 antibiotic for a while, 1 probiotic for a while, 2 Ibuprofen, 2 stool softener (another story all on its own), 2 Fenugreek, 2 Marshmallow Root, 1 Fennel Oil.
I sound like a drug addict.
Blah. Done.

My feeding ritual was just ridiculous too... I would feed him on the left, then on the right. That took about 20 - 30 min. Then I would make a bottle (because he probably only drank an ounce or two at most and he is eating well over 4 oz now). He takes about 10 - 15 min to drink a bottle. So really, feeding him some times took up to an hour. THEN had to burp him (and he does NOT burp... shouldn't all babies have this automatic burping reflex?! Sawyer doesn't. He struggles so much.......). Burping him seriously could take anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 minutes. And sometimes he doesn't burp until hours after. sigh. THEN we change his diaper.

So by the time I feed him, burp him, change him... it's back to square one. Tiring I know...

So I've decided to cut down on the feeding time by doing away with breastfeeding.
I've been PRO breastfeeding up until this very moment. Breast milk is WAY healthier... cheaper... and I would've lost WEIGHT feeding him that way. Everything about Breastfeeding is great. "yeah... if only I could produce milk". Aren't all mothers built the same to produce the same? Isn't milk suppose to be squirting out like an automatic fountain? Aren't I suppose to produce enough milk to feed a third-world country?!
and I admit... I was excited to have my breasts bigger. sigh.

Enough said. So that's that.

P.S. So the expensive electric pump, 3 expensive nursing bras, 6 nursing garment top, nursing pads, nipple cream, nipple shield... all going in a box for the next kid.

I Am a Child of God

To-do List

There is so much to be done...

Switch Pediatricians...

Tongue-tie surgery done for Sawyer...

Add Sawyer to our insurance...

Decorate for FALL...

Finish making those burp-cloths...

Contact ASU about Student Teaching next semester...

Update vaccinations (apparently Pertussis)...

Increase my milk supply with Fenugreek and Marshmallow Root!...

Deep clean the bathroom and... the whole house...

Be a mother and a wife...

ps. next post will feature the photo shoot pics of Sawyer

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Do I still get my POINT?

Points... yes, read the last post.

I was not [still not] feeling well yesterday... Mastitis is back on my left breast... sigh... I've got the worst of luck when it comes to breast feeding... :( So didn't have time at all to "write in my journal" yesterday. Please excuse me.

I finally got 3 hour nap yesterday when Greg came home in the afternoon, then another 4 hours from 10pm to 2am. yesssss... then I fed Sawyer, changed his diaper then HE fell asleep... for another 4 hours! I definitely got my rest, but I've definitely needed the rest after battling Mastitis for over a week now, WHICH is a whole nother different story.

So here's the whole nother story:
I've had Mastitis since last Tuesday... started on my left breast, and couple days later transferred over to my right breast while the left was still in pain. I've been taking antibiotics, but gosh... doesn't feel like it's doing anything. A week later (today) I go in to see my doctor for the 2 week check-up. I explain to her the Mastitis came back on the left breast on a different spot... "why would it come back if I'm taking antibiotics!?" Yeah, so much for THOSE antibiotics. into the trash. The doc gave me new antibiotics, and told me to take probiotics too. With that, she had a "home remedy" suggestion that worked for her: take a small enough piece of flannel (soft cloth) just big enough to cover the affected area, soak the cloth in caster oil, put it on the affected area, then put saran wrap over the cloth, then a heating pad over that. I guess we'll see if it works.

Hopefully my 102 degree fevers and body aches will simmer down...

More Fit for the Kingdom

So The Billings Family started this challenge a month or so ago, "More Fit for the Kingdom", which encompasses physical and spiritual challenges, including eating healthy, exercising, reading scriptures, saying prayers, attending temple, etc. Everything we do, we get points for. Every week, there's a special challenge, and this week is to "write in your journal everyday". I'm counting my blog as my journal. :)

How have I survived the first two weeks of being a mommy? With much patience and pain meds.
It's been a challenge in figuring out Sawyer's sleep schedule... he mostly sleeps during the afternoons... grrr... and mommy is up with him folding laundry @ 4am.

Other than that, let's see... Mastitis has plagued me... Sawyer got circumcised... and daddy is still getting his sleep. And really, I don't mind. I've woken Greg up a couple of times when I'm at my wit's end, but I try to let him sleep. Greg has full-time school and is out by 7am. He comes home from school and rescues me so I can get a little shut-eye. So it's working out just fine. I'm just glad that he has 12 weeks paternity leave [paid!]...

So there's a little update for you~

p.s. Sawyer is now 2 weeks old!

The Stork Flew-in Earlier Than We Expected

It was a regular Thursday afternoon, on my way to the OB for a 38-week ultrasound check-up.
The ultrasound indicated that I had no amniotic fluid...ZERO. The Amniotic fluid is what Sawyer was suppose to be floating around in...
The doctor then told me to go straight to the hospital and that they were going to induce me that night...
WHAT?! I'M GOING TO HAVE MY BABY TONIGHT!?!?!?!?! [good thing I already had my hospital bag packed]
This... was only the beginning of my adventure.

So I get to the hospital [exactly 2 weeks prior to the due date] and they start hooking me up the the IV fluids to get some fluid in me (painful!). Then over to the so-called "Japanese Soaking Tub"... for TWO hours. I don't know if it was relaxation or torture sitting in that tub. I was still hooked up to the IV and your bum just starts to get soar after a while... Nonetheless, it needed to be done. By Thursday late LATE night, they had me getting a different kind of ultrasound [one that took a video recoding to examine how much fluid I had in me now after the earlier treatments].
The test result came back... I went from a ZERO to a THREE. Happy news right?... RIGHT? Well apparently it wasn't good enough. A normal pregnant woman should be between 7 and 15. So I STILL didn't have enough fluid...
They then started me on Cervidil to ripen my cervix... that was a 12 hour process. 1:00am til 1:00pm the next day.
So now it's Friday and cervix hadn't changed a bit. I was still at a 1.
They then start me on Pitocin to induce labor. They had me on 2 ml then upped it 2ml each half hour for 4 hours. Results? Still nothing changed. I was still at a 1.
I was on Pitocin throughout the night... by 7 pm I was now at a 2! ["maybe" the nurse said. They were all hopeful...]
They now put me on a cervix gel to ripen the cervix again... 12 hour process.
Saturday at noon... Japanese Soaking Tub... again.
I think by this time, I had gone through 5-6 bags of IV fluids...
2pm back on Pitocin... 10pm off of Pitocin... [and Pitocin meant NO FOOOOOOD. only clear liquids... yeay for jello and cranapple juice!]
11:30 pm BACK on the gel for another 12 hours... 2:30pm and finally at a FOUR! Back on the gel at 3:30pm.

you see the pattern here? My body did NOT want to give up Sawyer! or Sawyer was just shy...

Now it's Sunday: off the gel at 6:30am... Doctor came in and "broke" my water. [Did she really break it? I don't know... nothing came out.] Went back on the Pitocin. gah.

11:00am... REAL cramps start...
11:30am Breathing.......
12:00pm Called for Epidural
12:30pm EPIDURAL IN! [lots of pressure is right... gah.]
5:30pm I am now at a 5!!! [again with the "maybe"]

6:30pm - HOUR 74 - The doctor comes into the room and says "After all that we have done, the baby has not moved down one bit... the only option now is for a C-Section".

I cried. I was scared of the pain... I never imagined myself having one... it was as if C-Section was never an option for me. I read baby magazines and books, and whenever C-Section was mentioned, I skipped it. "That's never going to be me"... and now I was at a point where this WAS the only option to get Sawyer out.

8:00pm I go in to be prepped for surgery.

8:17 pm - Sawyer was born!

9:00pm I come out of surgery and was taken to the Recovery Room for 2 hours, along with Sawyer [he needed to be cleaned up!]. We were both monitored for those 2 hours [waiting for Epidural to wear-off to ensure no adverse reactions to drugs].

Night 1 of being parents = stressful, clueless, painful... yet overjoyed, relaxed, and plenty of sweet tender moments.

At first, I was only looking at the negative side to my whole week experience at the hospital: tired of the bed, tired of the wait, tired of the food, tired of the nurses coming in wee hours of the morning, tired of everything.

"Why did I have to go through all of that, and I still end of having a C-section?!"

But you know, there's a reason for everything. I truly believe in that. My body had to under-go all of that SO the doctor can come to a conclusion of performing C-section on me.

It's all about the attitude. From then on, I tried to have a positive out-look on the rest of my stay at the hospital.

Did it work? Well of course it did. The day after the surgery, I could walk around in the hallway, get myself out of bed [with a bit of help of course], I wasn't bleeding as much [ahem... down there], pain meds every several hours instead of the usual ... I was in high-spirits and the nurses could see that in me. "You are doing so much better than most C-Section patients!"
They said I had high tolerance for pain... HA... I don't think so. But I made it through it all.

Sawyer is healthy... I'm healthy... and Greg is healthy :)
Couldn't have asked for a better experience~

[I did not feel ANYTHING during the surgery, and even after for about 24 hours]

Shall I say lucky? Or that Heavenly Father is really looking after for me... :)

I am so grateful for all the nurses who helped me: Jenn, Tara, Dorthy, Renee, Sarah, Heather, Christa and Amber, Julia, Anna, Julia, Shauna, Anna... and of course for Dr. Brass in stepping in for my Dr. Bullaro-Anderer. She did a marvelous job on the surgery. The surgical team was awesome too! I was awake the whole time and they kept the mood of the room quite enjoyable with joking around... I am recovery well.
Dr. Brass said if we would've waited until Sawyer's actual due date, he would've easily been a 10 lb. baby... so C-Section anyways.
Greg was grinning from ear to ear as he was able to watch the surgery... yes, the whole thing. Once Sawyer came out, he had to leave though.

So that's that... I've said enough. Hope it wasn't too blah!
More updates of Sawyer is soon to come...

Sleepless in Seattle... er Mesa

ah... the joy of being pregnant: many sleepless nights wandering around the house, looking for something to do, but in all making sure to make as little noise as possible because there's a really tired husband - who works so hard both at school and job - in bed... snoring away.

Well, so far tonight, I've read the grocery ads twice over, studied my "Stir-Fry" cookbook (half temping to cook something from it RIGHT NOW), cleaned and scrubbed the kitchen stove vent (dripping with oil... what!?), made lunch for tomorrow, commented on people's blogs, stalked people on Facebook. What a productive night, right? It's only 5am still... (I've even been tempted several times to start reading the Harry Potter series... wow.)

I suppose I could write a bit about my thoughts thus far...

Our little baby Sawyer is due exactly TWO WEEKS from today... and he definitely is getting feisty about letting me know he's still in my tummy. "Oh don't worry Sawyer... I KNOW you're still in here" [as I pat my stomach]. My doctor today asked me what the game plan was, meaning do I have plans to be induced, a certain day I wanted to "deliver", did I care to be early/late? I told her there's been few discussions made about the day of Sawyer's arrival - mostly because my sister-in-law is getting married just 5 days before the due date (relatives, especially the great-grandparents will be in town). I've just accepted the fact that I can't please everyone, and that Sawyer will come when he wants to come. I'm not irritated, and most certainly not angry, for those who have made suggestions to when I SHOULD have Sawyer, but I firmly believe in letting my body "go through its course".
I've been reading (or actually finished it) a book called "YOU: having a baby" (yes, by Dr. Oz himself) and I've learned quite a bit about the human body, mostly of pregnant women of course, and it is just amazing to me how our bodies are programmed in AUTO mode. Heavenly Father, you are AMAZING. So many details that you just wonder, "how in the world does the body know to do THAT? it's just CRAZY!" Anyways, my body will "know" when to introduce Sawyer to us. :)

 My first pregnancy picture... yeay! [taken 07/2011]

 

There's that bump... [taken 07/2011]

 

Hurrah for LOVE [taken 07/2011] 

As far as preparing for the baby, I've got my hospital bag packed, the car is "baby ready", our house is decked out with cute baby supplies and decorations, and ASU professors have been notified that if Greg for some reason runs out of the classroom all frantic holding a phone in his hand, it's because Sawyer is more than ready. What more could I do? You tell me. Nesting has been my full-time job for the past few months.

Speaking of jobs, I've started back up again at my old job creating wedding invitations. I'm only there Tuesdays and Thursdays... I will see them couple more times (maybe) then out comes Sawyer! Then couple (few?) weeks of recovery time, then back to work few hours a week. I will only be working til mid December latest. I have STUDENT TEACHING starting Spring 2012. Grrrrrrraaaaaarh. Good and bad.

Good = only 2 semesters of Student Teaching and then I graduate!
Bad = 2 semesters of Student Teaching. period.

back to work... it'll be good to be bringing in income... enough to pay the month's rent and tithing. :) that is... only for two months. ha

Have I blabbed long enough? I THINK NOT!
the end.
["Trouble Sleeping" just came on my playlist... thank you Corrine Bailey Rae... ya think?!]