The Waiting Game Begins

I am going to skipping the boring parts and just say, my Dr. has diagnosed me with mild pre-eclampsia.  He also said I am 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  With that diagnosis, he is going to induce me on Monday morning if I haven't gone into labor myself before then.  I had a nice talk with the baby on the way home from the appointment yesterday and told it that if it wanted to choose its birthday that it better get out of there before Monday.  

So here I am, and I just want the baby to come now, when it is more convenient.  Is that so bad? If I wait until Monday I will lose my babysitter for Sam the next day to Girl's camp, as well as the possibility that my sister that is our cameraman will still be at work.  That means I would need to go find replacements.  So on top of waiting, with the pre-eclampsia I am supposed to put my feet up and drink lots of water while taking it slow and not really doing anything.  I am already bored out of my mind, so I keep imagining that I am having contractions, which would mean that I could call William and have him come home from work.  But I can't do that when I am just imagining them out of boredom.  

Then on top of that, I still want to finish cleaning my house but I don't want to overdo it.  My carpet needs vacuumed and then cleaned so my sister can have her carpet cleaner back, the bathrooms need a little TLC and even though I just swept and mopped the kitchen it needs it again due to Sam spilling his wet cereal in little puddles as he walked across to the sink.  I need help but don't have anybody to ask because it wouldn't be appropriate.  And I can't ask William because he works 10 hours a day and how can I ask him when he gets home after 10 hours of working to go and do things around the house? 

Complaining done.  Off to watch Sam destroy the house while I wait, and then wait some more for nothing to happen. :(

Trying to walk this baby out!

By now it is probably not a surprise that I am taking all the opportunities that I can to get out and do something fun that includes walking.  On July 15th Sam and I went to the Zoo with my sister Amanda and her client Louie.

Sam was intrigued most by the monkeys, lions and giraffes.  

The Giraffes

Sam in the Safari Jeep

So then on the 17th William, Sam and I floated down the Boise river in the morning to afternoon.  Then in the evening went to the Twilight Criterium in Down town Boise.  On the way we stopped at Moons Cafe, ate dinner and tried out one of their famous milk shakes.  Blackberry is delicious!  We stayed at the races for a little over an hour and a half before we gave up on Sam because he was being a ridiculous turkey.

Men's Semi-Pro Race

 Then this Saturday the 24th William, Sam and I went to the Boise Music Festival in Ann Morrison Park. We caught a few smaller bands, then Macy Gray, Back Street Boys, and while Sam and I made the slow way all the way back to the car, William watched Bret Michaels. 

Back Street Boys on the Stage! 

Full Blown June and July up to now

Okay, okay. So I am cheating again. The news I wrote up for the family newsletter has everything in it! So I am just going to copy and paste it. Hope you enjoy it!

As a family we have been keeping busy with day to day activities. William has been working full-time at CradlePoint, Erin has been watching Sam, and Sam has been playing and making messes just like he is supposed to. We celebrated Sam's birthday on June 16th with Sam's friends from nursery and a few other friends of the family with basketball cupcakes and popsicles at Ivy Wild Park. We have been keeping busy with traveling on the weekends to several places including Utah for the Tour De Cure in June, several times to Gooding to finish the front porch (which is almost finished!) and to Buhl for the Fun Run on July 3rd which William ran with Mike, Nathan, Karen and Vance. Then on top of those travels we also were in Wendell for the Despain Reunion and then in Glenn's Ferry for the Grover Reunion. It has been a lot of fun traveling but it is also good to take a break for the rest of July and probably a good portion in August. Erin is getting a smidge to close to travel very far with out her feet turning into watermelons. We are all looking forward to meet the baby sometime in the next month, but still have no clue when it will occur, although we are wagering close to the very end of July or early August.

William has been very blessed to be working full-time hours. When he gets home he gets time to play with Sam before bedtime and occasionally even gets to work out in the garage on his boat rack that he is constructing. He is getting closer to being finished but it may take another day or two depending on the amount of help Sam wants to contribute. With the Tour De Cure (which he rode 100 miles for) and the Buhl Fun Run (which he ran a 5k) done he hasn't had much motivation to get out the door and continue riding or running. He is looking for another event in the near future that he can train for. He has not lost much weight but he is more toned and a slimmer waist line to help with fitting in all of his used to be tight around the waist pants.

Erin spends a majority of the days trying to find something to do other than sitting at the computer, taking naps and chasing Sam. She is still involved in the Relief Society Committee to plan the monthly activities and gets to participate in 2 planning meetings then the event each month. Erin has also finally agreed to turn on the A/C in the house instead of sweating it and

keeping the power bill down. The warmer temperatures has also helped her make the decision to switch to the pick up as her mode of transportation since it is the only vehicle with A/C. Where ever it is coolest is where you will most likely find her. This last week she finally got to use her Mother's day gift of an hour long massage, which has improved her mood and almost completely stopped the groaning from getting up and down and lifting. When we are rich (ha ha) she plans on making it a monthly occurrence.

Sam is now a big 2 years old! With his birthday he has started having a couple of tantrums each week that start off with some small things like taking away deodorant or closing the bathroom door. After 20 minutes he goes back to normal and wants to help clean up toys, kiss mommies tummy or cuddle on the couch. He is still fairly relaxed and stays out of most things that are "naughty" and is a big help and throwing garbage away when asked or when he is finished with his snack. He loves nursery and is always helping with clean up and stacking the chairs in the corner after class, as well as coloring many pictures and participating with play-doh and the lessons. Sam is working on potty training mostly by himself when he wants to sit on the potty he strips off his diaper and sits on his potty. We are not pushing him because we have heard the most kids revert back to diapers after a baby comes and starts taking away mommy and daddy time. A few things he has mastered is opening doors (bedroom, bathroom and the fridge)

Sam enjoying his slice of cheese that he got out of the fridge himself.

as well as saying please (in sign language) thank you, and hi/bye at the appropriate times. He loves visiting family and getting attention from everyone. His favorite past time is throwing rocks, playing in the dirt and watching bugs with an occasion foot stomping to get them to stop moving so fast.

Yesterday as a family we floated the Boise River in a small raft. It was Sam's first time and he seemed to enjoy it and even had a short relaxing nap on Daddy's chest for the last ten minutes. We all made it okay except for Erin who didn't think to put sunscreen on her knees which were sticking up above the raft for a majority of the ride with Sam sitting between her legs. She got very badly burnt and is having a hard time walking, sitting, laying or bending without groaning or making noise.

Life continues to throw us curves, hills and trials that are not easy to face but as we struggle through them as a family we can feel our bonds strengthening. We love all of you and hope that the trials of life will be kept in a perspective of something that can be conquered.

The Highlights of June and the beginning of July

First off I want to say how much I have loved the cooler weather this summer. Being in the high 70's and low 80's through June has helped so much keep the last few weeks of my pregnancy bearable. As a family we have been keeping busy with engagements and events every single day that William has a day off. We have been to Gooding about 3 times to work on the deck and for family reunions/ get togethers. We went to Utah for William's first century bike ride on June 12th. We have even gone fishing twice, once in Boise and honce in Hagerman. William ran his first official 5k in Buhl on July 3rd. And the other days that William has had off have gone toward William working on his boat rack for the truck and running errands getting ready for the baby. Sam has gone swimming in his little swimming pool in the back yard a couple of times when his rash hasn't been to horrible. Sam has had his rash for almost a full month now and the only thing that he has in his diet consistently is his milk. So his pediatrician has put him on a 2 week no dairy restriction to see if it is the dairy causing the reaction... I hope not because that would be so hard to work with when Sam loves his cheese and milk so much.
I have been keeping busy with reunion preparation, doctor appointments, following my boys around and enjoying the free activities in the Boise area. Two weeks ago we went to the Saturday market then over to the Boise Rec Fest. That kept me on my feet for 3 hours! Last night we went to Ann Morrison Park for the fireworks which required a decent walk from our parking spot to a place to set up the blankets and chairs. Then today I went shopping with my cousin Stephanie at 2 stores and spent about 2 and a half hours walking. In short, I think that this has been a much healthier pregnancy then with Sam. And of course on top of it I also chase around my little Sam and carry him quite a bit. I am pretty amazed at how much this body is doing!
William and I both think that this baby is going to be coming before the end of July by itself. So we will keep you updated on when that happens and get some pictures up of our fun adventures when I figure out how to do so!

May as a WHOLE!

So, I typed up the news for our family and sent it off to a family member for it to be compiled with everyone elses and I realized I hadn't updated the blog lately, so I thought, "Would it be cheating to copy and paste the parts I wanted into the blog?" Nah! So, here are the highlights of the month and a few extras... So all the parts that say Erin, is me and I am not changing anything cause it is late and I have been as restful as possible due to it being Sunday.

May has been a good month for all of us. William finished up all of his classes and passed all of them (other than the one he dropped later in the semester). William was also allowed to switch to a full-time employee for the summer until he goes back to school. He works 4 ten hour shifts with Wednesday and the weekends off. The extra income will be a great blessing when school comes around again so that we have quite a bit of savings built up. William also received his father's day gift early as well as part of his Christmas and birthday presents. He bought a 14 foot Aluminum fishing boat and has spent quite a bit of time in the garage finding a way to rig it up for in between uses and making a boat rack for on top of his truck as well as just enjoying time in a place all his own. And despite how much William has wanted to take his new toy out for a test drive the weather hasn't been cooperative, and when the weather has been nice he has decided to go out for a bike ride to train for the 100 mile ride he is doing on June 12th.

Erin has been making their new duplex into a home. There are still a few boxes laying about the house with misc stuff in them that will end up in the garage soon. The walls are still bare, but there may still be movement in the furniture as the rest of the boxes leave the house so no point in hanging anything until we are certain it will be there for the rest of our time here. Erin has also grown quite a bit this month in the middle section as our new addition becomes more apparent and active. Due to the addition she has not minded in the least the cool and wet weather and is hoping it will hold out a bit longer to shorten the amount of suffering that will occur once the sun decides to come out of hiding.

Sam has probably loved the move most out of all of us. He now has a backyard, his very own room (not for long, but still), a new firetruck toddler bed and the park just a 4 minute run through the baseball field out our backyard fence. Sam seems to understand the concept of the baby and loves giving mommy's belly kisses and cuddling with it but we don't think he has grasped the amount of noise and time it will take to get used to once it is here. Sam is turning 2 on June 17th and is very much like a rambunctious 2 year old already. Not to the point of terrible, but still very active. He is getting a larger vocabulary and understands yes or no questions and answers them truthfully most of the time. He also knows when he is doing something wrong, like pulling out DVD's from the shelf, so he hurries and puts them back, points his finger at them and tells them "Stay!" very seriously like they jumped off the shelf by themselves. He is very interested in potty training since he saw one of his friends Gideon go potty like a big boy but still hasn't done anything other than a few dribbles into the potty. But he still loves to sit on his potty anyway.

As a family we have really enjoyed having Grandma Grover staying with us while Grandpa is at Elk's. Sam has grown very close to Grandma and acts like she is just as much a jungle gym as mom and dad. We also enjoyed going to Gooding for Memorial day to help with the deck and house improvements. While Sam played with his cousins, Erin learned how to tile with Faye, and William worked on the deck with Tom. Once the hard part of the deck was done Erin came out and helped go Rambo on the deck toe nailing boards and putting on boards with Tammy while Tom and William worked on silly things like stairs...

A very recent update on the news from today is that Sam can officially open up his bedroom door. He doesn't seem compelled to try any others out for now, but he has a reason to escape his bedroom when he doesn't want to take a nap. Not so much of a purpose to break into the bathroom yet.

The funniest update is that William has joined the elite bicycle riders of the world. In order to prepare for his first century on the 12th I taught him how to shave his legs. Lets just say, his legs are smoother than mine and I can't stop rubbing them because it makes me giggle. And I probably won't get in trouble for writing that for a while because William doesn't ever read what I put on here. I will be taking pictures on Saturday and I will make sure to get one of his sexy bike lets with all the muscles toned and defined as he petals himself to exhaustion.

Hello Wyoming!

I would say at this point that we are officially moved. Our old apartment on Colorado got the last bits of cleaning done on the 4th, I locked the door and turned in the keys that afternoon. Since then I have been working on unpacking what boxes I could lift here on Wyoming. At this point there are only a few more boxes sitting in the dining room with text books and kitchen stuff that need to be unloaded, but for the most part I would say that we are done with all of the important unpacking.

This week William finished up his year as a Junior at BSU in the IEEE program, which is considered to be the hardest year by both the students and the professors. So as a gift for getting through this horrendous year and on behalf of Father's Day, I let William get himself a "new" toy. Actually William found a 14' Aluminum fishing boat with oars, life jackets, a fish finder and a motor on Craigslist for quite the deal and I told him we could take the money out of savings for it if he could find a spot to put the thing in his new garage. He immediately went to work out in the garage and cleaned out an entire half and showed me where he could hang it on the wall. So now we have a boat in our garage which he is going to take out on the water tomorrow to start his first real break since starting school back in 2006!

Since William finished his semester, it seems about once a day when we are all in the same place at our new place I get this feeling that life is just SO Wonderful! On Wednesday evening we sat out on the porch in the back yard in our camping chairs watching a city league baseball game going on in the park and Sam playing with some of his toys while waiting for dinner to get out of the oven. It was so simple! William was smiling, Sam was giggling while running after his ball, the baby was kicking softly, the smell of chicken nuggets was coming through the screen door, the cheers from the team members playing baseball was floating back to us. It was surreal! The coolest part is that I have been experiencing that feeling everyday this week!

I love our new home, I love the way that my family is growing and so happy no matter how many trials we go through! I love my little Sam and my wonderful husband William for everything they do to make my days filled with laughter and work that I don't mind doing for them because of how much I really do love them! My Dad always used to tell me that when he was in school with a wife and 3 kids that life was hard, but after he looked back that it was some of the best times in his life. I see that almost everyday in our life. That despite the tight budget, the seemingly endless diapers and tantrums, the homework that takes over the hours after William gets home from work and school, that despite all of it that we are having the best time of our lives and that it is truly in a period of our life that will never be able to be relived once it is over.

So, Goodbye Colorado! Hello Wyoming! I can't wait to see all of the adventures we have as we keep pressing forward into our crazy existence!

Update on packing and the whole moving adventure!

We are getting so close to having everything ready to go for the big move on Saturday! The kitchen is packed and mostly clean, the table has been taken down to make room for more boxes, and most of the storage from Sam's room is in the living room. All that is really left are some larger items from the kitchen, towels, both of our closets and a few clutter spots in the house.

After one of my friends showed me what she could do with a Magic Eraser I went crazy on the kitchen cleaning all of the cabinets and scrubbing the front door. It even took dried permanent marker right off of Sam's hands. I would buy stock in just that one product alone if I could. Can you tell I was impressed?

Tomorrow will be a great day on the list! William has 2 classes in the morning then we are going to sign the lease and get the keys to the new place! William will move a few things including this beauty I am sitting at to make room for everything else that he wants to bring down from upstairs to making moving on Saturday easier. Then he is off to work for 3 hours and back so we can start getting some of the easy stuff done.

I want to stress how much friends have helped with what I have gotten done so far... I have had 5 wonderful people come over to help pack, clean and give encouragement. We still don't know how much help we will have on Saturday, but hopefully it will be enough to get the whole house cleared out by 2 so that the final cleaning can take place. However much pain and work this move has and will take, I am sure it will be worth it so that we will be able to have a less crowded and more livable place to be a family in.

Packing, packing and what do you know, more packing!

I have taken it easy the last 2 days. I don't recall packing one little thing either Sunday or Monday. So today I started to get my fanny in gear. I have packed up under the entertainment center which included the Wii and Nintendo 64 and all of their games, plus 3 whole boxes of board games from in the entertainment center and up in the towel closet. I have also done dishes in preparation for packing up the kitchen which is coming as soon as I finish this post.

Another "fun" part of moving is the address changes that we have to make at every place that we have service for. So in the last 5 days I have changed it at Primary Health, the Bank and Idaho Power. Soon to follow is our insurance companies (life, car, rental, etc), Netflix and whoever else I have forgotten.

The best part of today was when I woke up, got Sam breakfast and a nice young man from my family ward came over and packed all of our food storage which was meant to be the pain in my side for hours, but Michael accomplished it in just over an hour! Miracle! Let me tell you! My can rotater can be lifted and moved, 2 whole shelves of cereal, cake mixes, Helpers, and miscellaneous canned food all put away into boxes.

Time to end this joyful break and sitting on my rump just to head to the kitchen and pack up all of my Tupperware, pots, pans, knifes, measuring cups, plates, glasses and so forth. Then the excitement of eating whatever I can prepare in the microwave or fryer until Saturday. I think the novelty of Frozen Chicken Pot pies and tater tots will wear off really quickly. One, Two, Three... Take off. Wish us luck!

5 YEARS!

William and I recognized yesterday as being married for 5 years. There was no big events or special meals, but I made breakfast and William made lunch. Then William went to work, I made cookies and went to help set up for our monthly relief society meeting. I came home to a dozen white roses. Since I had dinner at Relief Society William found something for dinner, I went up to bed for the night and William studied for a test that he had this morning. Not eventful, but it was a regular day with roses. Now off to dinner at Texas Roadhouse for some fried goodness and those hot rolls with cinnamon butter. Nothing like a late celebration that represents five years of happiness and struggles between 2 people who amazingly enough still love each other despite all of their shortcomings and imperfections.

Moving!!!

William and I decided in the middle of the month to move. I personally think it is a miracle and a blessing, while William I am sure is just happy to be getting a garage with space for himself including a workbench! We are staying in the same ward boundaries and we will have the park right off of our backyard. We are currently in a 2 story town home with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. We are moving into a one level, 2 bedroom, 2 bath duplex only 4 blocks away and it has a backyard, a garage, a separated living room and dining room! The only downside is we won't have a pool right outside our door that we can access for free. We will just have to walk back to the one here and get in with our friends! It is an ideal situation! The only hard part is the actually packing and moving everything then getting the apartment cleaned top to bottom. It will be so worth it though! Sam can have a room to play in! His room can be actually played in, where as now he can sleep in it and no playing because of the food storage and other storage. William can put all of his projects out in the garage and be able to work on them whenever he wants to versus not being able to because his drilling will wake up Sam!

I kind of want to go on and on about how great this is, but I don't want to bore anyone. I also don't want people to have expectations of something grander than it really is. Because in reality, it is just another rental, with hideous siding, and probably new neighbors to have to get to know and try to be understanding, but it is a move up for us, and the next time we move will be into our very own house with a mortgage. Now I am getting really dreamy, but I am sure that I get the point across. The big move is going to be on May 1st and my only hope is to get through it alive and without any trips to the emergency room.

Warnings!

Does anyone find it interesting that we as parents do so many things to warn our children of dangers or hurts? For instance, when William or I put dinner into Sam's bowl and put it in front of him, if we were blowing on it to cool it down, Sam picks up that it is hot and does his little blow too, I don't know if it actually accomplishes anything but he then knows, that he should be more careful to prevent being burned. Many of the same things happen when Sam is in the bathtub, or running toward the street, and when Sam starts approaching a dog that we aren't familiar with. It is a constant, "Be careful!" or "Watch Out!". And however much Sam doesn't want to do the splits in the tub as he is playing he only listens to me after he has slipped and hurt himself. Then of course the tears come and I give him a hug and explain why he hurt himself.

The same warnings were given to me as a child. And now, later in life, I can see that we receive even more warnings from the world that weren't as apparent when I was a child and immature. I also receive warnings not from the world... ones that can be attributed to Heavenly Father as well as from the Evil One. I feel as though I respond to those in order to protect myself and my family. I remember that my Mom would use these feelings, "Motherly Intuition" when giving me an answer to a question. I was 15 and my friend and his Christian church group was going up to Bogus and my friend, a boy invited me to go along. I wanted to go so bad and when I approached my mother and got a negative response I asked why due to the fact that it would have of course been a blast to go up skiing, get to know new people and such. She replied that she just didn't have a good feeling about it. Now looking back on this experience, now that I know more, and now that I can have some sort of recognition for what she was feeling because I have had those feelings when making decisions for my family, that that was a warning. A warning of what? I don't know, but whatever would have happened didn't because I didn't go. I may have broken my leg or many other possibilities that have since run through my mind.

I hope that I will be able to continue to recognize these impressions, "warnings" as my children grow up so that I can protect them in times when they are to young and immature to do it for themselves.

Abating the Exhaustion

Two nights ago just before bed, Sam was down and all of a sudden I felt like I should do something. So I did a quick pickup of our bedroom and put away some (okay a lot) of things that Sam pulled out of the closet. William then walked into the bedroom from just brushing his teeth and didn't say anything about seeing a lot more of the floor. Then last night William walked into the bedroom and asked if I had cleaned up that day. However much I wish I could have said yes, I couldn't because yesterday I was so tired I basically had gotten the dishes done and that was it.
So I have been hoping that a burst of energy would just hop right out of me again like it did 2 days ago, but it just isn't happening. I set a goal to vacuum our bedroom and organize our dresser today and I am so pooped I will probably just let William eat leftovers while I have Relief Society tonight. Ce la vie. I just need the energy to get Sam and I ready to go, where it will come from???? Maybe I should go eat some sugar?

Cravings and Dinner Disappointment

Disappointment is heavy. Pepperoni Spinach Quiche has been running through my brain all day, because I was POSITIVE I had everything to complete it for dinner. After digging through 22 cubic feet of freezer space, I have found Zero amounts of frozen spinach. If you have all the ingredients it is super easy to make as well as super tasty. Give it a try if you have the ingredients, because for now, I will just have to run to the store later and make it for dinner tomorrow night. Ugh!

Ingredients

• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 large sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Crisco® Pure Olive Oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Dash pepper

Directions

• Separate crescent dough into eight triangles; place in an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom with points toward the center. Press onto the bottom and up the sides to form a crust; seal seams. Set aside.
• In a small skillet, saute red pepper in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. In another small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in red pepper mixture. Pour into crust.
• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals 235 calories, 15 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 145 mg cholesterol, 417 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein.

Pepperoni Spinach Quiche published in Taste of Home August/September 2008, p37

Why am I doing this?.... Oh, that's right!

I, Erin Grover, have decided to start a blog. There probably will be no method to the madness here. My goal is to write once a week. And if I can't handle that, then I will at least try bi-weekly. Although there is nothing completely THRILLING happening in daily life it would be nice for me just to see what happens over the course of a year. So this will almost be considered a memory book/ journal used to remind me what happened and when.