I'm not high maintenance, I swear.

I've had a dry cough in my lungs since Tuesday. My chest feels constricted, my breathing isn't normal, and the cough is waking me up at night. I figured it was a freak allergic reaction to something so I took a Benedryl. That didn't help. Finally, last night, Dylan suggested I take Robitussin to help with the coughing. So, like a good paranoid pregnant lady, I called the advice nurse first to ask if I could take it when I'm pregnant. She didn't know so she called Labor & Delivery so I could talk to the doctor there. They weren't sure, and since I was coughing up a lung and gasping for breath while I was on the phone with them, they insisted that I come it. Right now (9pm), to Labor and Delivery.

So, a babysitter was called and Dylan and I went to the hospital. After filling out tons of paperwork I was admitted to triage and hooked up to the fetal monitor, oxygen monitor, and blood pressure cuff. For a cough. (Once again, can I just have some cough syrup?)

Then I mentioned that I had recently been to Mexico. Bad idea. Never mind that there are more cases of Swine Flu in the US than in Mexico. Never mind that I had no flu like symptoms. Just a cough.

2 hours later, enter Dr. First Day on the Job. She listened to my lungs. Asked me all of the same questions; "Have you had a fever?" No. "Have you had any pain?" No. Have you had any muscle aches?" No. "Are you feeling the baby move?" Yes. "Have you noticed any loss of fluids?" Just pee. From coughing. A lot.

So, she called the specialist to ask if I should be tested for Swine Flu. This is the side of the conversation that we hear:
"Should we test her for H1N1?.... A nasal swab?.... How deep? Do I do that or does a nurse?.... No, I've never done that before? I could figure it out though.... Well, I only have a low suspicion that she has it.... Oh, so I don't need to test. Oh good.... Thanks."

I guess I should be thankful that it was her first day on the job and that she didn't feel it necessary to learn how to do a deep nasal swab for a patient with a cough. [This is when Dylan starts having a philosophical discussion with her about some book he read about ethics and medicine].

At 11:30pm, it is determined that my baby is not in distress. Duh. And I don't have Swine Flu. Duh. And that yes, I can take Robitussin for my cough. So Dr. First Day on the Job logs into the pharmacy to order my prescription (which is actually just an over the counter medicine) and has to call the pharmacy to ask how to fill out the order. Because she's never done it before. "It keeps asking me for a decimal number and I just want 1 bottle. What am I supposed to put. Oh, 250 MLs..... what does it mean numerical number. I'm putting a numerical number (aren't all numbers numerical?) Oh just 250. Don't put MLs. Okay. Thanks."

Sooooo, after a 12am trip to the pharmacy to pick up my bottle of non-prescription Robitussin, we made it home..... to discover that the type she ordered for me is formulated for diabetics. Which I'm not. So it's made with fake sugar. Which I despise. Oh well. I gagged it down anyway and slept like a baby.

I Heart Mascota

Well, in case you read our last post about going to Mexico and you've been worried sick about our safety, worry no more. Dylan and I are home safe and we had a wonderful time. Thank you for your prayers!

Here are some of our impressions, thoughts and commentaries about our trip:

1. First of all, we got to fly first class on the way down there because those were the only seats available when we redeemed our miles. It was awesome. Unfortunately, at the end of our trip when we were hot and exhausted, we were stuffed back in coach. Oh well.

2. When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Luz picked us up and we immediately left town and began the journey up the mountain to Mascota. Mascota is about 2 hours east of PV, up in the midst of beautiful mountains. I know, you're probably thinking, "Beautiful mountains in Mexico, yeah right. Mexico is just one big ugly desert with some cool beaches around the edges." Well, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our destination was indeed beautiful; the mountains we drove through were up to 7500 ft elevation and Mascota was nestled into a valley at 4000 ft. 2. When we arrived in Mascota, we realized once again that our stereotypical Mexico experiences just weren't going to repeat themselves on this trip. We'd been to Tijuana and orphanages and seen crime and poverty. Mascota has virtually no homelessness, no shacks, all of the kids go to public schools, there is VERY little crime, the dogs have breeds, there's public water, electricity and sewer systems..... and you're not allowed to barter at the local stores. Yes, I know that we sound like stuck up Americans. Well, we aren't anymore!
4. Siestas are great. So is sleeping in everyday and a great exchange rate. Where else can you get a latte with homemade caramel sauce for like $1.50?

5. Despite the wonder of experiencing rural Mexico, we also experienced why it's not a 1st world country: lack of efficiency. People are NOT in a hurry. Schedules and apointment times are suggestions. And if you go to the butcher to buy meat, you might be told that they don't have any that day. (Then why are you open if you don't have anything to sell?).

6. One day, Dylan worked on fixing Luz's washing machine. Yes, this took one whole day. Luz told him that the belt was broken but the man who came to repair it said that it would cost $300 to repair and that she needed a whole new kit (?) and of course he took the belt with him. Soooo, first, we went to a cyber cafe and looked up the model of washing machine to find what size belt we needed. Then we drove to 3 different stores looking for a belt. Several hours later, after the motor was disassembled, the belt put on and everything put back together, Luz mentioned that there was a leak also. Sooo, the inside of the machine was then disassembled in search of the leak. After another trip to the cyber cafe to search for clues, we learned that the model of Maytag was faulty to begin with and a replacement part must be ordered that may or may not fix the problem..... oh, AND they don't sell Maytags or Maytag parts in Mexico.
7. Mascota is a rural farming community and there's not a whole lot to do for entertainment. SO, every Sunday night, the whole town dresses up and flocks to the town square for a 6th grade dance. Well, that's what it feels like anyway! There is a DJ set up in the middle of the square playing music, and men/boys walk in one direction around the square and women/girls walk in the other direction. Everyone checks eachother out. If a guy likes you, he'll ask you to walk with him. Joy and I thought this whole process was hilarious and joined right in. Dylan hated it, thought it was totally awkward, and wanted to stop. So we ordered churros from a local vendor to take his mind off of the awkwardness and continued our walk!

8. Our trip was relaxing and enlightening and we were so blessed to be helpful to Luz. There's nothing quite like leaving your daily schedule to remind you that your lives and problems aren't the only things important in the world! Coming back to reality was rough!

Well, if you made it this far through our report, here's a slide show to enjoy!

And speaking of Leave Country

First of all, Leave Country succombed to the tank of death and died. We are officially done with fish...... for awhile at least.

Secondly, my sister is leaving the country again. She's going to spend a month in Mascota, Jalisico, Mexico with a missionary friend of ours, Luz. She thought it would be a great idea if Dylan and I joined her for a few days. Dylan thought that it was a great idea and jumped right on board, trying to convince me that we should go. I didn't think it was such a great idea in light of the recent swine flu pandemic and the crazy drug and violence situations happening in Mexico. Then I opened the newspaper to see that a kid in Concord just died from swine flu and page after page of headlines about drugs and violence right here in the Bay Area. The only fear of mine that hasn't turned up illogical yet is the fact that planes seem to be dropping like flies out of the sky lately. Hopefully next week I'll post that this too was nothing to worry about!

Sooooo, we cashed in some of our credit card miles and tomorrow morning, Dylan, Joy and I are leaving for Mexico. We're not totally sure what we'll be doing on this trip other than helping Luz wherever she needs help. Dylan is SUPER excited to be going and I'm excited except for when I think about leaving my kids for so long. Emma and Grady will be staying with my parents and probably won't miss us a bit, but man, this is my first time leaving them for more than 2 nights (we'll be gone for 5) and it's hitting me hard!

We'd appreciate prayer for our saftey and also that we could be a blessing to Luz and her ministry in Mascota.

Something Fishy

In the past year since we've had Emma's fish tank, we've gone through A LOT of fish. We've had Henry, 2Henrys, 2HenryPink, 3 or 4 more whose names I forget, Flower, Rainbow, Palmtree, and Pumpkin. Thankfully they only cost about 20 cents a piece or we would be going broke fast.

Since Pumpkin died last week, we discovered another creature thriving in our tank. A snail. We have no clue where it came from or how it managed to live in our tank of death, but alas, it is thriving and lots of fun to watch. The snail doesn't get a name though [according to Emma] because you don't name snails.

Today we drove on down to PetSmart to buy some more fish for our little snail friend to play with. The girl in the fish department convinced us to stay away from the 20 cent feeder fish if we wanted them to survive. She suggested a Betta. They cost $3 but they come with a two week money back guarantee, so we went for it! It's a male Betta that is kinda purplish. In case you don't know what a Betta looks like, Emma describes it as "awkward looking since it has 3 tails." What 4-year-old calls things awkward anyway?

On our way home from the fish store, I asked Emma what she was going to name her fish. I said that it has to be a boy name since it's a boy fish.

So what do you think she named it?

Henry? 4 Henry? Purple Awkward Fish?

Nope. Not even close.

It's name is.....

wait for it....



Leave Country.


Seriously. That's what she named it.

I asked her for some context of where in the WORLD she would have come up with something like that. She had no insight for me, of course. So, if you come on over in the next few weeks (or hopefully for a long while) be sure to stop by the tank and give your regards to Leave Country & the little snail.

Flower Power

Emma is obsessed with flowers. She is constantly talking about them, picking them, putting them in vases (assorted tupperware containers), smelling them, naming them... you get the point. Her favorite clothes have flowers on them. Her favorite shoes are her "flower shoes." So, for her 4th birthday party, the obvious theme was flowers.

We actually had a lot of fun planning for the party. Emma and I collected leftover flower pots from people at our church and went to the home depot and picked out flowers to plant in them. We decorated the back yard with the potted flowers. We also asked people to bring some flowers picked from their gardens so we had several bouquets of fresh flowers to decorate our tables. My sister helped me blow up 150 balloons and tie them into flower shapes to hang from the trees.
150 balloons, tied into flower shapes, awaiting their destiny

Some of the flower balloons (nice arbor Dyl!)

Emma chillin' with her bug catcher and sporting the birthday crown they made her in preschool

Who needs to plan games? These kids just climbed around on the hill and collected bugs!

Not a single stone was left unturned. Seriously. Dylan has his work cut out for him rebuilding the retaining wall!

A not so great picture of the brownie & ice cream cupcakes adorned with leftover Easter candy corn!

The aftermath of the cupcakes!

Our 4 Year Old

Emma Joy just turned 4! Yippeeeeeee!

Here are some recent milestones that she's reached:

1. She can say her R's, so now when she's telling people about the presents that Rhonda brought her, they won't respond with "Oh, how nice of Wanda to bring you something!" Hopefully this will help keep her from yelling at people when they don't understand.

2. She has finally reached a 15% B.M.I. No more 5th percentile or below for her..... she's on the charts!

3. She has FINALLY started feeding herself. [Yes, she just turned 4 and her 20 month old brother manages to feed himself] She normally gets distracted halfway through the meal and it will take another hour or so for her to finish unless we feed her. We told her that when she turned 4 she had to start feeding herself. So far, so good!


On a given day, you'll probably find her doing one of the following:

1. Flowers. She wants to pick them, plant them, talk about them, name them, and smell them ALL the time.

2. Climbing on her play structure. (Some 4 year-olds might call it a swing set)

3. Singing. She has been a singer most of her life and she hasn't slowed down a bit. She LOVES to sing.

4. Collecting bugs. We recently bought some bug catching kits at the dollar store. She likes to collect bugs and put them in the container and wear it around her neck and show everyone she sees. The sales clerk at Michael's was a bit nervous to have a container of rolly polys brought into her store. Not as nervous as I was when she brought a container of snails and spiders into our house.

5. Making cards for people. She loves to pick a color of paper, fold it in half and decorate it and send it in the mail to her friends. It is a very specific process that we are not welcome to help with- except for the mailing part.

6. Changing outfits. Several times per day. Never into one that matches.

A Blissful Escape to Lake Taco

Don't get me wrong. I love my family. My children are a delight. My husband is great. But when my grandpa gave my sister a two night voucher at a resort in Lake Tahoe that had to be used this weekend (Mother's Day), I just couldn't pass it up. So, on Friday, after grocery shopping, cleaning, writing lots of reminder notes for my husband and preparing my family for any disaster that may come their way, I hopped into my cousin's Toyota Sequoia along with my sister and one of my sister-in-laws and hit the road.

It was bliss. We took our time getting there and relished in the fact that there was no one in the backseat asking for more cheerios or dropping their sippy cup or just yelling for no good reason at all. When we arrived at our suite, we found awesome accommodations and sleep number beds in each room. So after watching a movie that didn't include cartoons or children singing Bible songs, we climbed into bed, figured out our sleep numbers and entered into blissful, uninterrupted slumber. Until 5am when my body decided to wake up. Yup, 5 A.M. On one of the only two days ever that I was allowed to sleep in for as long as I wanted without interruption or guilt. Ugggh.

Later that morning, after playing a few rounds of speed Scrabble, we headed into town with no particular agenda and absolutely no time constraints. We got lattes, bagels, and pedicures. We walked through the casinos inhaling second hand smoke, and wasting money playing the 25 cent Wheel of Fortune slots. We finished the day with ice cream, hot tubbing, pizza, hot chocolate, Ticket to Ride, a movie and some Sweet Affair brownies.

I awoke on Mother's Day and enjoyed peace and quiet. I didn't have to rush to make breakfast or get the kids ready for church or prepare anything for lunch with the Fam. I didn't have to do dishes or start laundry. I just had to lay there in my perfect sleep number and enjoy the peace and quiet. After some more Ticket to Ride, breakfast at Red Hut and coffee and speed Scrabble at Rude Bros, we moseyed on home.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Emma's balloon flew away, and they didn't take naps, and Dylan let them eat WAY more junk than I would normally allow. But, the kids survived the weekend without their mother and Dylan even managed to do some dishes AND build me an arbor across the garage as a mother's day gift! Seriously, a whole arbor! I guess this means that I am not needed as much as everyone seems to think I am ;) or at least that girl's weekends away should happen more often!