In no particular order. . .

I have an appointment at 8 a.m. and thanks to 21-month-old stomach virus issues, I'm up too early. That might be the secret to finding time to blog these days.

While Guthrie, Sully, Ainsley and Caelan enjoyed doing this :

Okay, to be honest, Caelan just watched:
Adeline was smack-dab in the middle of doing this:
Of course I had to take a picture of this: (but to seem less strange you should know that I was emailing it to my podiatrist brother-in-law for his profressional opinion. The toenail was later removed completely due to the infection and onychocryptosis. MWAHAHAHAH I only know what that is because I transcribe for a podiatrist. The scarier thing is how fast I just typed that word.)
If you have dry, itchy, burning babies, you should really get some Cetafil cream in the economy size from Costco. I mean, the smaller tub of it might not have been enough to get REALLY good coverage like this:

"YO":
"I'm so pretty":
"HUH?"

And on a cooler note: I'm picking Kyle up at the airport at 4:00 p.m. And I got a REALLY good deal on a hotel room from Priceline.com. *blush/notreallyitjustseemslikeishouldbe*

So much to do. . .

SO LITTLE TIME!

Man, it seems like its been FOREVAH since I last checked my blog. Let's just say we're having a more fun than a barrell of monkeys, as Guthrie likes to say. That's only true if by "fun", you mean trips to the ER and by "monkeys" you mean dental work. :) If that is REALLY what you mean, then I guess I should have said we're having just as much fun as a barrell of monkeys. :)

What I'm trying to say is that a variety of circumstances are plotting to strip me of my sanity. For fun, we'll list the fun that we're so funningly having:
A) Mysterious swollen, red toe on the 21-month-old. Bug bite? NO. Broken bone? NO. Seriously disturbing infection of the oozing,excruciating, hideous variety?? YOU GUESSSED IT!
B) Realization that we are currently insurance-less and this sucker is NOT going away without some medical help. (Note to self: Send thank-you note to Murphy for that fabulous law. Are you healthy right now? Of course you are; YOU have insurance.)
C) URGENT CARE. 'nuff said.
D) Middle of the night, severe reaction to antibiotic in before mentioned 21-month-old.
E) One middle of the night E.R. trip, 1 steroid dose, 8 seriously nice members of the Gilbert Hospital staff (tangent: they really mean it when they say "Door to doc in 31 minutes or less." Thank goodness for small favors.), 1 prescription for new antibiotic, 1/2 bottle of Benadryl, and 1 seriously needed afternoon nap for mom and baby = "fun" (refer to aforementioned definition of this word.)
F) Temperature of 102 degrees for 48 consecutive hours in one 4-year-old female, accompanied by 3 vomit sessions; two of which landed on liquid-permeable surfaces. Also present are 2.5 days of lethargy, sleepless nights and 1/3 bottle of Febreeze. (Oh, the fun just keeps rolling in, doesn't it?)
G) New job requiring more concentration than a sleepless mother, with 2 out of 3 children ill, can muster.

Special thanks to SMASH and my mom for picking up some of the slack these last few days. Last night I was *this close* to throwing in the towel. Apparently, even with all that drama, the only thing I need to revive me is 1 sister-accompanied Gymboree shopping trip (baby sale ends soon - hurry RUN!) and some Paradise Bakery for a late dinner. It really was more fun than a barrell of monkeys - no re-definition necessary on this one.

Pictures coming soon!

I smell the stars and stripes!

1) The flight was actually pain and drama-FREE! The kids were sweet and calm. Sullivan slept for 80% of the flight. I think the secret to flying solo with three kids is booking yourself in the last row. This is in contrast to the normal thinking of the booking agents. Usually when they see I am flying with kids, they offer to move us to the front of the plane for easy boarding and un?boarding. It was nice to be hidden in the back AND the flight attendants were great about letting me stand up in the little clearing near the restrooms so I could sway Sullivan to sleep. (I was still close enough to keep an eye on G and A. . .standing immediately behind my seat.) The worst part was getting my luggage from customs and taking the trek out of the terminal. If you've ever arrived from an international flight into Phoenix, you know what I'm talking about. These seemingly endless walkways with an elevator ride in the middle. Not easy with 2 walking kids, 1 stroller and 2!!! luggage carts. I'm glad the stroller is easy to push and Guth can manage it on his own.

2) I was able to get my transcription equipment set up on the computer here at my moms and am all caught up with work. The best part? My boss emailed me today and asked me to take on more! YAY! I was hoping it would eventually get to be more work, but figured I would wait a couple of months to "prove" myself first.

3) We're all missing Kyle. He is spending his days at the hospital (Surgery rotation) in a small town outside of Guadalajara. I keep missing him when I call, so we haven't had a chance to talk much. I'm hoping that means he's studying up a storm and getting ready to kick A**;)

4) Guthrie is going to school here now. I feel kind of bad for him because he is definitely behind academically. I was pretty confused because I thought we had him all up to speed for normal kindergarten stuff. The teacher said that they've already completed their K-curriculum and the 2nd half of the school year is all 1st grade work. Yikes. I am pretty glad that we decided to come back at least for this part of the year. He can get caught up, and when we go back to Mexico I will insist that they put him in the next grade up so he doesn't fall behind again. He really loves school and his teacher. Yesterday we were walking by a jewelery store when we went to get valentines. He saw the diamonds and told me that we needed to buy his teacher a present. LOL. Ummm, not today dear.

5) Ashley made a surprise visit to Arizona! She is going to stay for a few weeks which means we are all going to be cramped. BUT - the girls have been playing all morning without a single fight, bicker or whine. I think Ainsley was just what the dr. ordered for Adeline. She was feeling pretty left out without a school to go to.

That's about it. I miss all my friends and moreso my husband. But, we're going to settle into a routine and hopefully the time will pass and life will go back to normal. :)

Farewell to Guadalajara! (for a little while at least.)

I can't believe its my last day with Kyle before I go. Everytime I walk by him (even if he's in the middle of talking, whining, or studying) I have been giving him a hug and kiss. He thinks I've lost my mind, but really I'm just missing him in advance. I remember the last time we were separated for an extended period of time. I believe my exact words were, "Nothing will ever be worth doing that again." And here we are, doing it again. I think I said the same thing about flying solo with three little kids. Everyone has my permission to roll their eyes the next time I make the same type of vow. I guess you just can't underestimate the roller coaster that is foreign medical school.

We had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl. Its actually a funny story. A classmate of Kyle's asked him a week or so ago if we were having a party. Kyle informed him that we weren't really planning on it. This classmate then says, "Well, you should. Otherwise, I won't get to watch it." (He's the bishop of a different ward and they don't have television.) In a 'what the heck, why not?' moment, Kyle agreed to have some people over. A few days later, I was talking to this classmate's wife and asked if they were still planning on coming on Sunday. Her response? "We're still thinking about it. (husband) really wants to come, but you know. . .its Sunday." My response: "Are you serious? It was *his* idea!!!" Wife is shocked. I think she actually said, "(husband) said that Kyle invited us and he felt like we should go." LOL! So then I start to wonder if maybe it really was *Kyle's* idea and the story just got twisted. . .which is possible, but seems unlikely as I usually agree to party-type arrangements so there wouldn't be much of a need to twist it. And unfortunately, we all know my Sunday scruples aren't what they could be. (Hey, here in Mexico, EVERY friend is like family to me. . .and isn't that what Sundays are for? family??)

When I got home, I made Kyle re-tell the story to me. When I related the other side of the story, we got a chuckle. We placed bets on their attendance. I bet they wouldn't come. I underestimated the appeal of the Super Bowl to a former football player. :p It ended up being a really fun party.

While talking to Melanie (HI Melanie :) ) and others at the party, the subject of the licensing problems and 5th pathway came up. [Background: The problem with 5th pathway is that the AMA recently issued a statement basically dissolving their support for the program as an accredited route to a U.S. residency program. They are now requiring us to enter the U.S. as *actual* foreign medical graduates which would require us to complete the 6(!!!!)-year program at UAG. Our other option is to transfer to another school and start again at the beginning of clinicals; in essence, having wasted the time and money$$$ that we've invested in this last year. The AMA initially set a deadline of June 2009 to end their approval. All students who complete the program by the deadline will still be allowed to enter a U.S. residency. We were set to START the 5th pathway program in June 2009; so we're left high and dry.] From Melanie we learned that somehow, the AMA was convinced to extend the deadline by 6 more months, ending the program in December of 2009 instead. This allowed those students who are currently in 7th semester (one semester ahead of us) to pass through the problems, but again we're left out. While this is very good news for 7th semester, I think its pretty bleak for the rest of us. If it was so easy for the AMA to extend the deadline, why wouldn't they have extended it to include the rest of us in the latter half of the program? (This is what the student association is trying to accomplish, but so far it seems the AMA is avoiding any meeting or phone call that could lead to that end.) Yikes. Other than all that, the SuperBowl party was a lot of fun :p

Yesterday, we took the kids' teachers a little present and card. I was able to pick up the rest of their supplies and a letter certifying that Guthrie has been enrolled in school here. I don't know for sure, but I wondered if I would need something like that to enroll him in KinderG in the states.

Today, I've got laundry and packing on my to-do list. I can't believe that by tomorrow afternoon I'll be in Arizona. :o

Ears

Last night was one of *those* truly miserable, endless experiences. Kyle and I went to bed around 11:30. No sooner had we climbed into bed than we heard Adeline wimpering across the hall. She was so tired, but managed to grasp her right ear in agony; so we got the hint.

Kyle grabbed his diagnostic kit and it didn't take long for us to see her ear drum was ruptured. I was pretty surprised, as I thought that normal ear infection pain would be present prior to a rupture and Adeline hadn't said anything about her ears during the day.

My initial thought was just to give her some Tylenol and to call a pediatrician in the morning and ask about localized pain drops for her ear (if that's even advisable for a rupture, I honestly have no clue. I can't WAIT for Kyle to do his pediatrics rotation :p ) Well, around 2:30 a.m., all of my desire to avoid systemic antibiotics flew out the window. Sully has had 2 ear infections and Adeline 1 in the last few years and they were both able to fight them off without abx.

Addie had come into our bed and for several hours she had been writhing in pain. I actually got up, dressed, and was about to put shoes on so I could go to the pharmacy. I suddenly remembered that I had a bottle of abx (the powder you mix into a liquid) in our medicine box. I mixed that and gave her the first dose. Then I crushed up some adult Tylenol and put it in some juice (I gave her the last dose of children's chewables before we went to bed.) It was 5:00 a.m. when she fell asleep. I think it was a mini-coma (she must have been exhausted) because everytime I opened my eyes to peek at her, she was in the exact same position she started in.

Of course, Sullivan woke up at 7:00, so I'm feeling a little zombi-ish. Hopefully its nothing a hot shower and a toothbrush can't fix.

I really hate that her ears are messed up right now. We're getting on a plane in 2 days. :o

16 hours and counting.

I'm pretty sure my last bit of diet coke ran out yesterday afternoon. So, I'm officially in detox mode. I'll be utilizing some EFT to take care of any cravings or withdrawl side-effects. Wish me luck!

Church:
When we first moved to this neighborhood, we were thrilled to be attending the same ward as one of my newfound, amazing friends. Having another American family with kids around our kids' ages made a big difference. About seven months into our church-going experience out here, we happened to volunteer to take the missionaries on a little field-trip for their P-day. The missionaries from our ward live with the missionaries from a neighboring ward; so we ended up all going together. As we were chatting on our way to the ruins (I think I posted pictures of this trip a while back. . .Novemberish?) the unknown missionaries asked where we lived. Upon hearing the name of our community, he immediately informed us that we were attending the wrong ward and should, in fact, be in his ward. "Uh, I don't think so. We checked the ward boundaries with the missionaries a few months before we moved in." (Kyle has a sneaking suspicion that said missionaries had an extrememly outdated map.)

The following Sunday, we were greeted by the bishop from the OTHER ward and it was confirmed that we were, truly, in the wrong ward. OH SADNESS!!

So, for the last few months we've been attending a new ward. I use the term "attending" loosely. Its just so hard to go be the only Americans again. We spent most of the first two years here in Mexico as the only Americans going to our ward. We went through some periods of inactivity, followed by a determination to make it work (despite no nursery.) So, I guess we're back to that. (I originally typed out a long, whiny rant. Even I got sick of hearing me complain :p )

The good news is (I guess you could call it good.) that I won't be dealing with it for long. I booked plane tickets for the kids and I to come back to Arizona and stay with my mom for a while. I'm going to work for a few months, let G go to Kindergarten, and hopefully give Kyle time to study. I'd love to come back to find that the AMA has fixed all the drama with their licensing issue, Kyle's all done with major tests and has lots of free time, and maybe find that Sullivan is potty-trained. :) I won't hold my breath on the last one.

On the subject of Sully milestones; he's having a little verbal boom. He says so many words now.

Night night
bye bye
want drink/ball/bite/five/up/down/tv/elmo/book/hello (this means phone.)/buckle (car seat)
taint choo (thank you ;) )
uh oh
diaper
stinky
ewwwww-y
and my favorite wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow (kind of to the tune from "Wow Wow Wubzy".)

He has also changed from "mama" and "dada" to "mommy" and "daddy", which is pretty much the cutest thing ever. "Mommeeeeeee, want bite!" "Oh, taint choo."

G and A are at school now. I need to talk to the principal and break the news that we'll be leaving and won't be back until next school year.

I guess this was a pretty disjointed post. Mostly I'm doing it because Serin is sick of reading about my diet coke addiction. :p

This sucks.

I know you've got to be growing weary of my Diet Coke blog posts, so skip this if you'd like.

I was recently pondering all the terrible things about Diet Coke in *another* effort to get myself to hate it so much that I'll give it up.

My admittedly weak list:
1. Stains teeth
2. SUPER TOXIC aspartame is found in copious amounts
3. Caffeine-withdrawl headaches stink.
4. Kids see it and want it because I always have it.

Well, there's nothing I can do about the toxic aspartame (other than quit and I promise I'm working up to that.), the solution to the caffeine-withdrawl headaches is to just never stop drinking it and therefore never withdraw, and to keep the kids from wanting it, I have now resorted to drinking it in private while locked in the bathroom leaning out the window so they can't smell the fumes. (run-on sentence, anyone?) So, the only other problem is that drinking dark drinks stains your teeth. To solve this, I broke out the bendy straws. The downside to the straw??? It has significantly increased my consumption rate.

To quote my husband, "You're !@#$ing me! You drank 2 liters in 1 day!!!"
My response, "Well, if you'll run and grab another bottle, I'll get started on 2 more!"

And *that* my friends is why I MUST STOP! . . . as soon as I finish this 2-liter.

Fevers and Fun!

Poor li'l Sullivan isn't feeling well. I got him out of his bed yesterday morning and even though he wasn't warm enough for me to call it a fever, he just felt. . .off. I watched him during the day and saw him making some funny mouth movements that got me thinking sore throat(??). Sure enough, after his nap he had a definite fever. (Score 1 for mommy's intuition.) He was happy enough, so I figured I'd let the fever kick the illness'.

After school, the kids wanted to go to the park and for some reason Kyle actually agreed to go with us. We spent over an hour letting them all swing, slide, and ride bikes and scooters. I was hesitant to go because last time the playground equipment was tattered and there were spiders all over it. (Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE spiders?) We were pretty happy to see that the HOA fee has been put to good use. The toys had new canopies over them, had been refinished, and were completely bug-free. Sullivan was able to climb up the cargo net and slide down the slide all by himself, which meant that he did so at least 20 times in a row.

We came home and I made biscuits and gravy while Kyle fried some eggs. It was a lazy dinner, but it was fast and did the job.

We showered G & A while Sullivan played around the house. We all went into Adeline's room to get the kids' pajamas on. Sullivan started whining to get on the bed and as soon as he was up, he pulled the covers up to his waist, laid down on the pillow, and said "teetee." (This is baby-talk for TV). I thought it was hilarious, so I turned on the little TV that we put in Addie's room and let him "watch" it while we finished PJ's. (He doesn't really watch it, but at least he thinks he's cool.) We left the 3 kids playing and I went downstairs to chat w/ Kyle while he did some schoolwork.

About 15 minutes later (7:00 pm), Adeline came down and wanted to lay on the couch with me. I tucked her into a blanket next to me and channels-surfed. I ended up watching some of "Tombstone", and suddenly realized that the whole house was pretty quiet. I looked down and Adeline was snoozing in my arms (AWESOME!). I also realized that I hadn't heard a peep from Sullivan for the last 10 minutes. Kyle carried Adeline up to her bed and sure enough, Sullivan was fast asleep. I officially deemed this our easiest bedtime EVER.

I moved Sully to his crib, we tucked Adeline in, and laid G in bed.

I worked for a couple hours (did I ever mention that I found a job doing medical transcribing from home??? YAY ME!!!), did the elliptical, and then tried to unwind myself to fall asleep. I don't know if it was caffeine, working out too late, or just the endless night-wakings from my sick little Sullivan; but it felt like one of those nights where I never really sunk into a deep sleep.

Despite the lack of sleep, we managed to get ready this morning and have the kids to school right on time. I managed to clean up the upstairs and have laundry going. Now, if I could just find the motivation to shower and get dressed. . . :)

I am thankful for. . .

Just to help things along.

I am thankful for. . .

* A husband who is a wonderful father, partner, and friend. I wouldn't be happy with anybody else.
* Kids who are full of personality, wit, and spunk. I would be bored with anything less.
* Health. Oh MAN, I am thankful for health. For kids with functional immune systems and energetic little bodies.
* Moms who give good advice and make big problems suddenly appear a lot smaller.
* Not being pregnant at times when a brownie and Diet Coke will make everything feel better. At least its only hurting me, right? :p
* The future. Its kind of exciting not knowing what will happen. I'll just concentrate on the fact that it will ALL be okay. No matter what.

Chain-breaking.

I actually broke down last night from the stress of all this school crap for Kyle. Its not that we don't have a lot of options, its just that each option has so many potential bumps in the road and its nearly impossible for us to make a decision right now without worrying that its the WRONG decision. We're in that 'hurry up and wait' phase of life drama.

Of course, talking to my mom makes me realize that EVERYONE is having trouble with something (parents, sibs,extended fam, etc.) This makes me feel not alone, but doesn't really make me feel BETTER. I've never been the 'misery loves company' type. Knowing that other people are struggling mostly just makes me feel worse because now I'll lose sleep over them too.

So anyway, I woke up this morning feeling kind of down, but also determined to not have the day be a total bust. So, imagine my surprise when my mom called me laughing to say that my little brother won a 60-second run through Best Buy. (Basically, everything he could load onto his cart in 60-seconds is his to keep for free.) He did it this morning and walked away with a 50-inch flat screen TV, a new digital camera, a PS2 and a laptop. I decided this must be good news for the rest of us, because if one person gets so much positive energy coming their way, SURELY it will trickle down to the rest of us. Laughing, I called my brother to congratulate him and while I'm on the phone with him I hear a voice over a microphone in the background call out his name. I hear him say (to someone else), "I just won WHAT?" and then CLICK. He hung up!

A minute later he called back to say that he won an additional raffle for a Nintendo Wii. This sealed the deal in my mind. Good things are coming my way too :p Lucky for Heavenly Father, I don't need TV's, cameras, or Wii's. But, I would LOVE some guidance, certainty, and encouragement. So - I placed my order and will be waiting patiently to get it.

I'd like to thank my bro, Gavin, for breaking the negative chain that has been holding us all down. Way to "make it rain!"

Hope you are all having a GREAT day!