Oh poo

So yesterday my husband was an E. coli nightmare for the better part of the day.

Two days ago I used the bathroom and then immediately got in the shower. When I got out, I noticed water leaking from the base of the toilet. The bowl was not overflowing, it was leaking from one small spot where the base meets the floor.

I quickly turned off the water, dried the standing water and then left it for like 30 minutes. Turned it back on, flushed with no problem, chalked it up to a clog in the line that dissolved given a little time.

Well the next day, the same thing happened to John. Only the bowl overflowed also. The dirty bowl. Eww.
He also was not as quick in turning off the water. So it took a couple towels to dry it up, and about a foot of carpet outside the door got wet. Then I thought my incident was worth mention. "What? Why didn't you tell me? I think we need a new toilet. It's leaking at the base." (Secret glee on my part.) I detest our current toilet. It's soooo low flow it's crazy. The bowl is constantly dirty. Paper gets stuck to the side requiring multiple flushes. The handle is over on the side. I have lots of reasons I dislike our toilet.

So after a call to his dad he decided that actually it was likely just a bad wax ring seal. Cheap to replace. But you do have to remove the toilet. Welllll, if you're going to have to take the toilet off anyway, maybe we could just replace it.

Que 2 hours later when I'm back from running an errand, and we're off to Lowes to get a new throne. After debate and research, we get the commode. I picked the model with the "Everclean" technology and the "Powerflush".

Two hours after that old john is out and new john is in. Lovely.

Until I took a shower in a our guest bathroom (our bathroom hadn't been decontaminated yet). A few minutes in my husband says- "You have to hurry- your shower is making our toilet back up." Oh I was done in less than a minute.

So we waited for the water to go down, then flushed. It seemed ok, but John knew something had to be wrong, so he called his dad. But first he took a shower in our bathroom to scrub off the excrement water he's built up a thin layer of. Well, that made our toilet bubble. Weird.

So he calls his dad, who tells him there has to be a clog somewhere, and that he can call a plumber for $200 or rent an "electric snake" from Home Depot and DIY it.

By this point it's like 4pm. Did I mention I was hosting the monthly church ladies get-together at my house tonight? My house that until this point was clean and running smoothly... Oh yeah, there's that too.

And then Sophia would not go down for her last nap. She's teething and congested and would scream every time I tried to lay her down, even though she would sleep fine when I held her. And my food need to be put on to warm. And she also probably couldn't sleep with the loud pneumatic sounds of a coil banging around in our plumbing pipes. Disaster was setting in.

I finally put Sophia down and had to just let her scream. It was nearly 6pm. I called Roto-Rooter. I walk in to the bathroom to tell John this and he's sweating and I see literally small waves of sewage flowing out of the hole in our bathroom floor where a commode belongs. "We need a plumber, this is sewage," he says. Grrrreat. Oh, and no one can use the bathrooms.

I call my good friend 4 doors down, panicking. Can I use your toilet, can my guests use your toilet, can my husband take a decon shower in your bathroom????

6:15 arrives and my first guest is here. I go and scoop up my screaming child and hand her off to be adored and entertained. I greet everyone with "If you need to use the restroom give me 5 minutes notice, my friend 4 doors down will let us use her bathroom." The Roto-Rooter truck prepared everyone for problems before they even knocked.

The gracious ladies took it all in stride. No one had to take a long trip to the potty. We visited, I heated my food in the microwave, and we had a good time. All the while John and a plumber are at work. Turns out we had a lot of roots in our pipes. He was surprised it was even flushing. Also we have some low spots in our plumbing. He recommended pouring a 5-gallon bucket of water in our toilet once a week to keep the system flowing. Apparently some of our pipes run straight when they should be angled downward.

So about an hour before everyone left, our plumbing was restored. To the tune of almost 200 bucks. Plus the new toilet. I gladly paid the bill. And at 9pm John finally ate dinner and showered. Apparently while he was trying to be the DIY roto-rooter he was sprayed in the face and just about everywhere else with poop water. Gross.

Today while I was at work John reinstalled the new toilet and coated the bathroom and carpet in a 10% bleach solution. I've actually yet to use the new porcelain god. But if TP sticks in the bowl, I'm gonna cry.

Baby White Week 31

So let me update you on the provider we chose...

Ultimately, we decided to stick with a midwife and switch practices. It was a tough decision and by the time we came to it, I honestly didn't care anymore.

We met with the MD at our current practice. She was super nice. We liked her personality a lot. She was polite, calm and patient-centered. She's pretty natural minded for an MD. She has a 15 month old girl herself and had an unmedicated natural birth. If there wasn't a midwife in town, she would be my first choice for a doctor.

Immediately after that we met with the midwife at the other practice. She was also natural and patient-centered. She is pretty forthright and speaks overly loud. Her personality is alright, but not as pleasant. However, she is even more naturally minded than the doctor. She is ok with extending pregnancy one week more than the doc. And of course she has a great reputation in this area. A lot of my friends have used her.

Overall, John and I felt that a midwife is what we went into pregnancy wanting, so that's what we would keep. I also like the office practices better at the midwife's office. I realize I only have one experience to base it off of, but at the other office we waited about 5 minutes in the waiting room and about five or ten minutes in the consultation room. Our current practice runs at least 30 minutes behind at all times. Or at least all the times I have been there. I honestly don't mind if there's a wait, but I do want to be informed when I sign in. Our current office never does this. If my appointment is going to be delayed 30-60 minutes, I think it's only courteous to let me know when I arrive. I understand the doctors have emergencies or blips in their schedule. But I should get to make the decision if I want to wait that long, or reschedule.

And of course you know I was upset with the way they handled informing us that our midwife was gone. I feel her patients should have been contacted immediately. A letter, a phone call, something. If I had not called 2 days before my scheduled appointment to ask why my reminder phone call listed another provider, I would not have been told until I showed up. That meant several weeks lost that I could have been looking for another provider or deciding whether to stay. I also loathe their phone system. I don't want a busy signal 3-5 times before getting through. I don't want to call during my lunch (when most people have time to make personal calls) to find out that you don't answer your phones for 90+ minutes a day because you are on lunch. Eat in shifts. Getting a voicemail box. The only options shouldn't be no answer or leaving a message with the emergency service.

Actually, the practice manager called me yesterday. I was expecting it. The hospital that owns the practice has a Facebook page, and I went on their and posted a bit of a complaint. They still have my midwife listed on their website, in several places. I told them that was false advertisement and that I was upset with the way her leaving was handled. It would have been much better service to let her deliver her current patients (not take on any new ones) and then let her go. So I will probably call the practice manager and let her know my concerns, at least about the phone system and informing people of delays.

So now that I'm on the two week appointment schedule, I'll be headed back to the midwife on the 24th. I hope all will go well.

I also staged the nursery this week for a photo shoot. Now you can all see the completed look!

Of course the bassinet will move out to our room once she's here

I found an older hardback copy of "Little Women" at a yard sale. I love the book and the cover is very feminine.

We'll be holding onto this Bumbo seat since it may be hard to get one anymore! All because of silly people who can't follow instructions!

The print on the left says "Love you to the moon and back" The photo on the right is of our dogs :)

Pink tub to hold hairbows and headbands :) The pink blanket in the middle is the "make do" changing pad for now.

Dad's guitar is waiting for him to play lullabies :)

A nice soft glow from the lamp next to the swing

Comfy seat for lots of rocking. Along with a monogrammed pillow.

This week our city had a "Mom to Mom" resale event. It's like a huge temporary consignment store. The organizers take in your stuff and label and display it and handle all the sales. We weren't going to stop in since John is really not wanting us to buy anything else until after our showers, but he said we could pop in if I wanted to. I did :)

It was a mad house in there! Today some items were half off. But I did really good, since I took the hall monitor (John) with me. Can I just say that bringing your husband shopping is somewhat like eating dinner with your personal trainer at like, McDonalds or something. What was I thinking? I had about 10-15 dollars worth of stuff when we went to get in the checkout line, which went halfway around the building. Probably a 20-30 minute wait. That's when the hall monitor decided we should only get in line if I "really wanted that stuff". I gave up in exasperation. It was already clear he was not enjoying this like I do. He tried to backpedal with the "if you want it, we can wait," but for me all the joy was gone. So I put down the pile of a few hooded towels, bibs, burp cloths and a shopping cart cover and headed home.

I sure hope they'll be plenty of yard sales and that I'll feel up to going to them in October. I am sure we'll get lots of nice things from our family and friends, but I don't expect people to spend boocoos of money on us. I couldn't do that for someone else.

Last night we got out and walked around downtown for Gallery Night. So you're going to ignore that I'm wearing the same shirt from last Friday. It's my new favorite and the weather was cool enough for me to be comfortable in it. :)

Nothing out of the ordinary symptom wise. I think my feet and legs are starting to swell a little. I can't tell you how hard it was to get those boots on! Thankfully they came off easily.
My poor bladder is really being compressed these days. It feels full quite a lot, sometimes even when it's barely got anything in it at all :) I'm getting bigger and more awkward all the time :) But that's ok for now. Too bad it isn't ok for women to always be this round in the middle and still be considered "cute". Lol

Next week is my "big" shower, and I'm excited! I'm getting a mani pedi the morning of it too! Can't wait to share with you!

And she shall be called

Bacon.

I had a little conversation with my sweet boy dog Enrie the other day. Daddy was telling him that he was going to have a sister and what her name would be. Ernie decided that "kibble" would be a good name, because he loves food, including kibble, and he was going to love his sister. I asked him why, if he was going to name his sister after food, he would name her kibble. Why not some really great food- like steak?

At first he thought that was a great idea. But then he told me he was concerned someone would eat her if she was named steak. So maybe she should be called something still good, but a little less tempting. Like imitation bacon, IB for short. Ernie says he loves imitation bacon. But it's not something people would be as likely to gobble up.

I then pointed out that "bacon" was cute because indeed his sister is "bakin'" in my tummy. He then got on a rave about bacon and how good it is, and decided just plain "bacon" would do. I asked him if he was concerned that people might still be tempted to eat her because there are a LOT of bacon fans out there.
He was not concerned. Why?

Because steak was left on the table.

That's right folks, this is all a conversation with my dog.

My dogs, their voice actor my hubby, and little Bacon all wish you a good night.

Happy First Anniversary to my only love

Babe, I am posting this because I want everyone to know what you mean to me. They can endure enjoy the mushiness right along with you :)

It's hard to express in words how wonderful our life together has been so far. Many times I can only express it in tears. Thanks for always asking what my tears are for.

At bible study last Tuesday, Pastor Don reiterated the verse that speaks about how God knew us before we were formed in the womb. That everything was known before we took fleshly form. He knows our beginning from our end, and every detail between. For many years I wondered about the detail of who my husband would be. Thanks for ending the wondering and starting the wonder. The wonder of marriage is great. My heart has opened to a whole new kind of love, and it's because of the Lord blessing me with you. 

Some people told us "the first year of marriage is the best and the worst". They told us it would be tough, a big adjustment, and a lot of work. All of that has been true at times, but for me, it has been much more joy than pain. The best year, not the best and worst year. Thank you for being flexible and making it that way.

Thank you for helping me to understand God's love better. Marriage has made me feel a love greater than I've ever known. When I ponder that God's love for us is infinitely greater in comparison to this, my human mind cannot compute it. If my love for you brings me to tears, then what does his love bring Him to? To sending His son to die for us. Too great for words.

Thank you for opening your heart. I know before that you were not so inclined to be "mushy." To say "I Love You", even to family. I feel proud that I have brought that out in you. I love that you have increased it in me. I can't say for sure, but I don't think many other couples say "I Love You" as much as we do. And they all tell us we kiss too much :) Is there such a thing?

Thank you for providing. As a team, we've been able to accomplish goals I never could have accomplished so quickly alone. God has certainly blessed our efforts. Thank you for being wise with our money. I know our situation is still not exactly what we want, but I know you and I are taking steps towards that changing. I have faith that in God's timing it will. I respect your plans.

Thank you for growing. I know your desire to be a mature, Godly leader of our home. I know your heart has opened to becoming a father someday. I will be beaming when that day comes. Thank you for reading God's word and being in a men's small group. Thank you for your desire to be involved in a young marrieds group.

Thank you for smiling and laughing. Your genuine smile is one of the best things I can see. Your laughter does me good like a medicine. Your soft full lips are my delight. We wouldn't be "us" if we didn't smile and laugh together often. How would we make it through the sad, tough or awkward times? :)

When I think about even the possibility of being without you, I'm often brought to tears. I know we've discussed that God can get us through anything and we can only trust Him for everyday, but I also know it would be the hardest thing of my life if tragedy should strike. I thank God for our health. I thank you for working towards better health. I love to share walks and bike rides with you. I love the conversation we have as we stroll along at twilight.

Thank you for affirming me. I know you try hard to let me know that you find me beautiful even when I'm not happy with myself. I'm sorry sometimes it doesn't sink in. I'm grateful you accept me even now, a year after our wedding and several pounds later. I'm glad I'm still "your favorite."

I love that you are quick to help if I ask. I am learning that I do need to ask. I'm so fortunate that you like to cook, and that you're good at it. I know many women have all the responsibility of making meals. I appreciate your willingness to help with house work when I need it. I know it's not your favorite :) I especially enjoy only having to take out the garbage on rare occasions :)

I am touched and filled with pride when you are gracious. During your surgery and recovery you were so truly thankful to all the staff and nurses. You told me many times what good care I was giving you. It was my pleasure.

Thank you for waking up without complaint to kiss me goodbye each morning, and to call out again "I love you" as I walk out the door. It kinda makes it hard for me to leave the house, especially with you and our dogs snuggled up so sweetly. But don't stop.

Our life is not a fairy-tale. The toilet doesn't clean itself. Personal chefs don't cook our dinners. We don't vacation 4 times a year. But our life is still great, way better than most. We share a love and friendship that not everyone is so fortunate to have. In this world today, I feel so favored to have that. As so many are struggling, we are thriving. As so many are separating, our journey is just beginning. As so many feel hopeless, we look forward to our future.

A future that I am so privileged to share with you. May I always show you the love and respect that you deserve and that God commands me to. I will try to always remember that you are my husband second, and His child first.

To many more years together, with all my love.

Sarah

Weekend Update in Pictures

The DH had outpatient shoulder surgery

After

In his gigantic immobilizer sling

He's spent a lot of time in drug induced sleep. Thank the Lord!

The kiddos have been keeping him company some

I'm watchin' you dad

Gettin ready to take off the dressing

Bye bye pain pump. Pills only now.

Such teeny tiny incisions!

A bit pasty after that ordeal. Came close to puking.

 So Friday was a big day for us. We had to be up by 4:45 in order to give John his 2nd special antiseptic shower and be to the hospital for 6am. Poor DH was more than a bit nervous. He has never been under general anesthesia and is very needle-phobic. However, his nurse Roxanne was really great. She's an old pro and kept chatting and sharing to keep his mind off what was coming. They gave him a Valium for the nervousness, but all it really did was make him sleepy. So after a lot of questions and paperwork, it was time for the IV. Just in time, the surgeon came in to visit. So John had to talk to him while the IV was being done, which helped. The Lidocaine numbing and the great skills of our nurse also helped.

John was so pitifully sweet during the whole ordeal. He kept asking all of the staff's names and telling them thank you. Genuine thank you's. I know they do not get this a lot and I was so proud of him. His surgeon is also a Christian, so John asked him to pray with us before he was taken in. During the prayer my poor DH shed a few tears. That was very emotional and hard to see. I knew this surgery was very routine and low-risk, but in that moment I could not help but feel a little anxious too. As they wheeled him out of the room I got a little misty myself.

But, about 30 minutes after I had been in the waiting room they let me know the surgery had started and all was going well. So I walked over to the cafeteria and had a delicious hot breakfast including some wonderful cheese grits.

After several shows on Food Network, some texting, facebook updates and phone calls, the surgeon finally walked through the doors. Everything went fine. In fact, his shoulder was only torn in 2 places instead of 3 as they thought. They removed a "wad" of scar tissue that was probably causing all the aches.

Then about 90 minutes later I was able to see him again. He did well in recovery, he's done pretty well at home (pain is expected, but he's dealing well), and he's even done well out and about. However, I am very sad about returning to work tomorrow. There's a lot of things I prefer to help my one-armed man with that he'll have to handle alone. Like cutting food. And getting his sling on and off. And hooking up his ice pack. And scratching all the places that are itchy that he can't reach. And giving him all the kisses he's been asking for. Oh how can I leave him?

Anyway, I guess we will have to see how it goes. I may have to take some more time off, for my own mental comfort.

And my mom adopted a dog! To go with her new house that's being built :) Welcome 3yo mini Schnauzer "Graycie"

Le Day of Love 2011

So this year was my first married Valentine's Day. I lurrrved it!

I kinda started on the weekend, by giving John cards Saturday night- Monday night. I like to stretch out every holiday : )

Monday morning started earlier for hubby- as he agreed to get up and eat the breakfast I made.

I believe he said "Are you kidding me?"

Yum Yum. Bacon, cheese eggs, banana muffins and Ovaltine

Then at work these lovelies arrived for me. So pretty.

Took the pic at home though

That afternoon I got off work a couple hours early so I could have time to primp, and so we could beat the mad rush to the restaurant. I used hot rollers for my hair- but my hair is going through curl rebellion lately- so it quickly fell out to this:

Shows the highlights hubby helped me do quite well though

Underneath I had on a red cotton dress and black boots

We had a wonderfully yummy dinner at a restaurant right on the beach. It's fairly new and we hadn't tried it yet. We got there about 5:45 and still had to wait about 20-30 minutes. But there were pretty views to be had while we waited.

Sunset as we drove to dinner

Ready for yummy!

View from the outside bar area

Waiting for our table

Smoochie smoochie

Inside

View from the other side of the restaurant

They were serving a Valentine's special that night. It sounded pretty good except the lobster macaroni, which could kill John : ) So we opted for something off the regular menu. You should have seen how huge my dish was in person!

Crispy pork shank with braised cabbage

John's Cowgirl Ribeye

I got a little bored while we waited for dinner. We were seated facing a floor-to-ceiling window looking out over the water. But unfortunately it was dark so you could not really see out. I wondered if the cute reflection we could see of ourselves would show up on camera. Guess what, it does!

How sweet is love!

Here's the results of our cards. We like to do more than one : )

The ones on the left are to John from me. The ones on the right are the reverse : ) John even included a card from the kids to me (the puppy one).
The card he sent with the flowers read: You will always be my Valentine. I love you more then ever. Misspell included on purpose. That's how I know it's from my adorable yet spelling impaired husband : )

John Moment: The Homer Simpson card was slid under the bathroom door as I was getting ready. It's somewhat of an inside joke. You see, my manly husband has an *intense* dislike of even the thought of anyone knowing what he's doing in the bathroom. And he doesn't want to even hear me tinkle either. If I need toilet paper, he opens the door the tiniest amount possible and shoves his hand in with his eyes closed. He would like to pretend that no one potties : ) Although he doesn't mind talking about his bathroom habits. Anyway. The Homer card talks about when people are together long enough, they get comfortable. On the inside is a view of Homer's backside (clothed) standing just inside a door. It has sound and says "I'm wizzin' with the door open, and I'm lovin' it" Lol. John wrote "Not this year, but maybe next!" Too funny that man!

So here's to hoping everyone else had a lovely Love Day too!

What we did this weekend: 01-21-11

So folks- I am taking my phone to a friend this afternoon to be looked at and have my contact list replaced.

In other better news- we went this weekend to my dad's house in Baton Rouge for a late Christmas visit. Hard to fit in 4 sets of parents in 2 holidays :) Thankfully my dad was ok with being last :)

Poor John was not feeling well, but went along anyway. Friday we toured the city's capital and old state capitol.

 Inside the current capitol's legislature's meeting hall

Going up to the top, 27 floors. It's actually 30 floors total and is the tallest state capitol.

My dad, me and my step-mom on the top

They were filming a movie near by. HUGE green screen.

Overlooking the Mississippi from the top.

The current state capitol

In front of the old state capitol

The center of the building is a grand spiral staircase with a stained glass dome

Old state capitol from the outside

Intricate detailing

Me waiting at the end of the Huey P. Long exhibit. (Statue in background). He was a governor and then senator for the state in the 30's. His reign was quite sensational. He was assassinated in the current capitol building in the 30's.

Then Friday afternoon we got a chance to use John's Christmas present:

Taking aim at an unsuspecting Robin : ) It survived : )

My manly hubby

Dad

Watch out! I'm a pretty decent shot!

You cant tell in this pic he's starting to feel bad. He's usually not this ashen

Late Christmas

And then Saturday we did nothing. Really. John slept a lot. We watched TV. We ate. John found a love for King Cake with blueberry filling. Then I drove us home, and John slept some more.

Sunday poor hubby was so sick we stayed home from church. He watched the playoffs. That about covers it.

Hope you all had a fun, healthy weekend! The crud/cough/flu is running rampant around here! But I've yet to succumb!

John Moment: (Hope he doesn't kill me). Well there was a really funny one here. But the hubs found it and asked me to take it down. : (