Theultrasoundwasgood Itsaboy

We got the ultrasound yesterday to determine the baby's gender and overall health. First of all, I've got to say that the poor boy was doubled over and looked really cramped. This isn't to say that Cyndi's womb is anything other than phenomenal, I'd just never realized how cramped the babies actually were.

Everything looks good so far. The spine was present, we saw some things that the nurse assured us were thigh bones, and I was able to pick out that his heart has four chambers, so that's all good.

Cyndi's doing fairly well. Her stomach's still not as stable as it used to be, but she's able to eat things now and she's looking more and more beautiful every day (ask Grandma Durney, she even said so at Thanksgiving).

I'm very lucky to have such a great wife and we're both very excited. The name we're leaning towards right now is Michael Peter Day.

P.S. The title of this blog post is a reference to an old geico commercial.

Edit: He was doing a face plant and refused to roll over, so we couldn't get a shot of his face, but here is how we knew it's a boy (he's basically sitting on the camera):

And here is a really cute one of his feet. I love this picture :)

Cyndi may go to Colorado

Cyndi's little brother, Hezekiah, was just diagnosed with cancer this past weekend. Her family adopted him in May and he's 2 years old now. They took him to the doctor because he was having troubles eating and was fussy. The doctor drew blood and told them he'd call them when he knew what it was.

When they got home, the phone was already ringing with the doctor telling them to take him to the ER. They found out he has a hepatoblastoma, which, as far as I can tell, is fetal cells left in the liver that become a cancerous tumor. It responds well to chemo and surgery, so the outlook is very good all things considered.

We're looking at Cyndi heading to Colorado to stay with her family while Ki goes through chemo. Her dad can only take so much time off of work and travels a lot and all of her sisters are either out of the country right now or going to school, so Cyndi's the only one that can take time to help her mom. We were going to have her quit her job in a few months anyway, so we'd just be moving that timetable up a bit. We'll know more after we spend some time with her family this weekend.

AF Cross Country #8!

AF cross country ran in Portland and took #8, which is a little disappointing since they were ranked #1 in the country beforehand. There was only one other team there that hadn't been to nationals before, so taking #8 was probably better than they could have expected.

Derek, my little brother, moved from #5 on the team to #4 and set a personal record on the course, so his individual contribution was really good. We're proud of him and we're pretty sure he'll get to go next year too.

AF Cross Country #1!

My little brother Derek just got back from Arizona last night after running in the cross country regionals (5 states are in the region, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico). AF was favored to win since they were ranked #2 in the nation beforehand. Derek took 5th place on the team, 28th overall.

The top 5 runners for the team normally determine the team's score, but Albuquerque and AF tied that way, so they had to use the 6th person to determine which team won. AF's 4th best guy had issues with asthma during the race which caused him to come in 7th, so AF wasn't even running as well as it could have. They should do really well on December 5th at nationals.

A quick note about Derek being 5th on the team this past weekend. He started out the season as one of the really good runners, but a stress fracture benched him until just a few weeks ago. As soon as the doctor gave him permission to run in the races, the rest of the team started stepping up their racing because they knew Derek was trying for a spot on varsity again. Derek's done really well after starting the season injured, and we're all excited to see how well he does next year.

Adobe Employee

Jeff is officially an Adobe Employee! I'm so happy and proud that all that hard work and hell he put himself through made him one of the most reliable people on his team and guaranteed him a spot under the new Adobe ownership.

Edit: As an Adobe employee, Jeff does get a significant discount on Adobe products. He can only get a limited number, but let us know if you're interested in anything: http://www.adobe.com/products/

The only bad news is that this might be the last Omniture halloween party. This year, they tried to limit the trick-or-treaters to immediate family. It didn't quite work. We didn't help by bringing my friend from work, Jane, and her niece, Libby.
The different departments are assigned themes to decorate their areas. Jeff's department was given Hanna Barbera cartoons. I forgot my camera, but someone else remembered and posted pictures on the internet. This one is a portion of the Hanna Barbera area: Pepe Le Pew


It was all amazingly done. There was also Scooby Doo, Roadrunner, Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, Flinstones, and (oddly) George of the Jungle. And that was just in that one area. There was also a Peter Pan area where we "flew" over London and visited Never Land. The CEO hallway was Smurf land. Josh James was Papa Smurf and he had hired midgets in blue paint to pass out twinkies and ding dongs. They practically threw them at us as we tried to walk down the hall. It was fantastic.

Jeff and I have fallen pray to another figurine war game. It's called Arcane Legion. In order to build your army, you have to buy booster packs that cost $12 a pop. It's incredibly addicting to open the boxes and find out what new characters we can add to our armies. Jeff has been playing as Romans and I've been enjoying the Hans.
News in the Pregnancy:
I believe I am now 16 weeks along. I know it depends from woman to woman but, from what I understand, the second trimester is supposed to be the "golden" portion of the pregnancy. Apparently, I am one of the lucky women who gets to feel awful throughout the entire process. It's not all awful. Jeff has been nothing but wonderful to me while I complain about stretching pains and nausea. He wakes up early and heats up a rice bag for my side while he fixes me breakfast.
We have another doctor's appointment November 24th where we get to listen to our baby's heartbeat again. We find out what gender it is going to be sometime in December (we could find out on the 24th, but it would cost us $50 and we're not that desperate).

Miscalculations and a Root Canal

Thankfully, the miscalculations and root canal are not related. That sounds painful.

Last Friday, I broke a tooth eating some popcorn. I don't know if any of you have done that before, but one minute I was chewing popcorn and the next minute there were white bits in my mouth that were definitely not my yummy, puffy snack. It didn't hurt, but it felt like a huge chunk had chipped out, so I called my dentist. It was his day off but I left a message and he called me back within the hour. I was apparently okay for the weekend, but he wanted me to come in on Monday (today).

It turns out, the chip was too close to the nerve for them to attempt a filling, so they numbed me up and did a root canal right there. My boss was kind enough to let me come home and let the numbing wear off so I don't slur when I answer phones, but the whole side of my face is sore and I don't really want to go back and have to talk to people when I can barely open my mouth.

In other news, it looks like I was a little off on my progress chart for my pregnancy. When I first saw the doctor, I thought I was only 7 weeks along. Now, calculating backwards from the due date they gave me (May 5th) it looks like I was about 9 weeks. Now, I'm 12 -almost 13 weeks pregnant. That's 2 weeks further than I originally thought, which hopefully gets me that much closer to no more nausea and maybe an easier time sleeping. I can only hope.

Big News!

I know we haven't updated our blog in 2 months. Sorry about that.

We've got really really big news, but let me give the small news first so that it doesn't seem even less important than it really is.

(Over a) Year Anniversary:
We've been in our townhome in Springville for over a year now! It's weird to think so much time has passed. In our post Virtual Tour I gave pictures of a few rooms. I'd give you updated pictures, but the house is a mess. Just imagine those old pictures with furniture all put together and in the right spot.

New Look:
I got a haircut! I donated 8 inches. It's fantastic and I love it.



Jeff's Job:
Omniture is getting bought by Adobe! It's a little scary but Jeff's been working incredibly hard to ensure his position.

Okay, finally, the big news!

I'm pregnant!!!!!

I'm about 7 weeks along and due May 5th. Today, Jeff came to the doctor's with me. We saw the baby on an ultrasound and even heard the heartbeat! It was amazing and makes this whole thing a lot more real. Up until now, I've felt sick and uncomfortable every day, but the only real confirmation I've had was two little lines on a stick. Now I have this:



Yay! We're having a peanut! I think the head is the on the left. It's more round and it's closer to where the heart was. The baby is about 2 cm long right now. We'll hopefully find out the sex in another 7 weeks. Also, my nausea ought to be gone by then. Here's hoping...

And now as a close, here is another video of our cats. They still love trash:





P.S- We're having a BABY!!!!!

June and July

A lot has happened since we posted about our new little brother.

Jeff's grandpa passed away and I got to go to my first viewing and funeral. The funeral was held at the church and so many people came that we ran out of seats in the chapel and the gym. Jeff and I ended up sitting on the stand. Jeff's dad joined us so we wouldn't feel so awkward. It was an amazing experience.

A few days later, Jeff turned 25. We celebrated the night before with a porch swing I put together with only a little help from a good friend. I was really proud of myself, so it was very embarrassing when we discovered the frame was crooked. Jeff propped it up with some phone books and it only looks a little white trashy...

Jeff's friends came over to party, got Jeff to go to the store, and decorated the front of our townhome with chalk and ribbon while he was gone. It was perfect even if Jeff liked it a lot less than I did.

Then one of our best friends moved away. We miss you, Ben.

For the 4th of July, we had a barbecue with Jeff's family, set off fountains in the street, and walked to the high school to sit on bleachers and watch a big display of fireworks. Lots of fun and excellent food!

Just this last weekend, my family had a reunion in Spokane, WA, my cousin got married, and I turned 24 years old.

Jeff and I drove up to WA using the scenic route through Yellowstone and with a quick stop at our favorite restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, in Montana. We both really love road trips together, especially because I enjoy driving during the day and Jeff loves driving at night. It works out beautifully. The trip was uneventful except for too many deer near the road for my comfort. At the hotel, my parents let us stay in one of their two suites with two of my little sisters. My parents were able to bring adorable baby Tess along, so we were able to see a lot of her and our new brother, Ki.

Brandon and Rachel, my cousin, were married July 11th at the Spokane Temple. She looked gorgeous in her wedding dress and everything was perfect. Brandon seems like a really nice guy, even if he did cheat in our Biggest Loser contest (just kidding, but he did kick everyone's butt by a least 500 points... it sounds fishy to me). Jeff came in second place and got us another fantastic quilt made by my grandmother. It was nice to spend so much time with all of my family. My uncle James brought one of our favorite games with him, Bang!, and we played it into the wee hours of the morning almost every night.

The next day, July 12th, I turned 24. 9 times out of 10, my birthday occurs during our family reunion. I actually really enjoy it because all of my family is there to celebrate with me.

When we had to leave on Monday, Jeff, the Veronins, and I drove to James and Anne's house in Boise to spend a day with them. There, we were introduced to a new game: Arkham Horror. It takes about a half hour to just set up, and at least another 4 hours to play. It was one of the coolest games I've ever played. We played the night we got there and again the next day after everyone had finally woken up. Tuesday was my uncle James's birthday. Thankfully, he seemed to enjoy playing with us as part of his birthday celebration. We're also very thankful that my aunt Anne was okay with us stealing her husband the entire time we were there.

When we finally came back home, the Veronins and Tess came with us and visited for a day. We played games and watched Ki dance. I also got in some good mom time when she took me shopping as my birthday present.

We finally got some excellent footage of Ki dancing that we can share with everyone:



Jeff knows that I love birthdays, and he's done amazing job of making this birthday last a long time. Before we even left on vacation, he started giving me gifts and torturing me with hints about gifts to come. When we were finally alone again, he cooked me two fantastic steak dinners and even had sunflowers delivered to my work.

They are beautiful. I still can't believe how lucky I got when I married Jeff.

We love you, family! Thank you all for a wonderful vacation and for fantastic birthdays!

Best. Book. Ever.

I know a lot of people that read this blog share similar tastes in literature, so I wanted to give them a heads up on what might, in fact, be the best fantasy book ever: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. It's complex, exciting, and gripping the entire time. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre, you owe it to yourself to pick this book up and read it.

It's a Boy!

At the end of May, Jeff and I drove to CO for the adoption of my new little brother, Hezekiah Christopher Veronin.




The visit was great. Katie was the only sick person, and her cold was thankfully not spread to anyone else.

My parent's also have a new baby in their home. She is Ki's half-sister and is quite possibly the cutest baby I have ever seen. She was right at the stage where she was getting the hang of supporting her own head, and she would open her eyes really wide to look at everything. I wish I could post a picture, but I can't do that unless she joins our family too.

Now we're back to work and normal life. Jeff's birthday is coming up next week (June 17th). I think I'm more excited about it than he is but, then again, he doesn't know what he's getting...

A final note: I highly recommend the restaurant Joe Banditos to anyone in the area. If you come visit UT and enjoy fantastic mexican food, we need to take you there.

Updates, etc

So, a few quick updates to bring people up to speed.

First of all, we just paid off our last credit card at the beginning of this month. That means we're officially down to the mortgage and one car payment. We're going to start putting a lot of money towards that car now and, by my calculations, will have it paid off around this time next year. We could have it paid off sooner, but instead we're going to start building our savings to make sure that we can survive many rainy days. As it is, we're in a much better position now than we were in when I was laid off almost a year ago. I don't think we're at the level we should be at yet, but we're getting there and it feels good.

Second, we're heading out at the end of the month to attend the adoption of Cyndi's soon-to-be brother, Ki. He's a cute little boy and we already love him like he's one of the family. When the adoption's done and Cyndi's mom can legally give us permission to post pictures/videos of him, we'll do so.

Third, I've been doing well getting into better shape. Believe it or not, I've been unable to keep my girlish physique from high school. I've cut down on what I've eaten, joined an exercise group at work that requires us to work out 3 hours a week or we pay $10, started playing basketball at lunch for about 1.5 hours every day the weather's good enough, and started keeping a food journal. I feel better, I look better (at least to myself), and I've had to punch a new hole in my belt. It's awesome.

Finally, Cyndi and I will be going on a cruise early next year to celebrate our two year anniversary. We love spending time together in tiny rooms and going to restaurants together, so this seemed the perfect thing for us. It's looks like we'll be doing the western caribbean and driving to Texas to catch the boat. We're both really excited to spend so much time together.

That's all I can think of for now. As can be seen, Cyndi and I are doing really well. Our marriage is still going strong, our financial situation is very good, and we're just generally happy with life right now. We love both of our families very much and don't spend nearly enough time with either (and when it comes to my family, there's absolutely no excuse). We love you all and hope your lives are going just as well if not better.

Entertainment For All

A while ago, Jeff and I invested in a tabletop miniature wargame called Warhammer 40K. We each bought armies off of ebay so we could play against each other. We have other friends with armies, but it's hard to schedule games when they take hours to complete.

Jeff and I picked different races for our armies. I have Necrons (skeleton looking robots):

and Jeff has the Imperial Guard (humans):




There are also Orks, Tau, Eldar, Tyranids, and Chaos. The game is set up on a 4x6 area. Each race has their own rules and advantages, and your army is set up using a point limit (each character is worth a certain amount of points, so you build the strongest army you can). It is a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of recent battles:




Jeff beats me more often than not, but it's still enjoyable. His units are cheaper than mine are, so he is able to field a lot more miniatures. They look really intimidating when he sets up. Plus, he gets tanks. My necrons, though, have incredible saves, making them really hard to kill, and are very dangerous in close combat.

A part of the fun of this game is the personalized pieces. If you buy a miniature new, you have to glue its pieces together (which can take a while if it has a lot of small pieces) and paint it (which takes a lot longer). Since we bought our armies used, they came already put together and somewhat painted. Mine were awful. I'm working on repainting them so I can have a better looking army. Jeff's army has so many figurines that the previous owner just primed most of the pieces and played with them gray. It is going to take a long time for his to paint them all.

Meanwhile, while Jeff and I enjoy our game, our cats entertain themselves another way- by bringing more mice into the house.



It doesn't help that they keep losing the mice under the couch or the piano. Stupid cats.

My Mother Taught Me

I wanted to post this because I want to show off what my mother taught me long ago.

I don't sew often, and I'm not very good at it, but I absolutely love that I know how to do it when the occasion arises. One such occasion came up when my friend invited me to an anime convention down in St George. We get a little crazy when we're around each other and both decided to dress up, finalizing our plans the morning before leaving. That gave us a little less than 24 hours to put together our outfits.

I decided to go as Katara, from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
(This is just someone's picture of her, but it's the best one I could find with the costume I copied):


I'm actually very proud of what I was able to accomplish since I also had to work that day. I went to the DI after work and picked up a blue dress, boots, a white long sleeve shirt and a blue long sleeve shirt.

After 5 hours of sewing (and an all nighter), I came up with this:



Like I said, I was pretty proud. I used my old scrubs for the pants and didn't end up using the blue shirt (I was going to make gloves out of it). I didn't really measure much since I was in a huge hurry, and the neck was a little more open than I meant it to be. In the end, though, I just needed to wear a tank top underneath and it was fine.

I don't have pictures of myself in the costume, but I thought I would share this before I re-donated everything.

I love my mother and I'm so glad she took the time to teach me such a useful skill and she always makes sure my sewing machine is working properly.

Update/bragging

Cyndi and I are doing really, really well with debt right now, thanks in large part to Cyndi's uncle Jeremy lending us a book by Dave Ramsey that talked about budgets and managing money. We started doing a budget in December by taking all our financial statements from the past two months and adding up all the transactions into their different categories. We came to find out that:

1. We were spending nearly 4x the amount on travel than we thought we were with a high guess


2. We were spending more on large, "one-time" buys that were happening on a fairly regular basis (ie "once we get that bookshelf/console/computer part, we won't need to buy another, so it's okay just this one time!")


3. We were growing our credit card debt by a much larger amount than we thought we were.


4. Most of the things that were sucking up our money were things that we could largely do without or cut back on

Here we are, 4.5 months later and we're one month away from our only debt being one car loan and our mortgage. I thought it would take until July or August to pay off this last credit card, but with some tricky accounting we're on track to pay off the last one in mid-May. We have a savings account with a small emergency fund, we both have personal money to spend which is more than we really need anyway, and we're a lot happier with money. After some quick calculations I figure we'll have paid off half of our car loan by the time that next December comes around.

I'm very luck to have Cyndi helping me out with the budget. Even though I do most of the actual number crunching, she's the one who's been able to take the cutbacks in stride so that we (or at least I) haven't even noticed a drop in our quality of life. Also, she's found a way of making chicken alfredo that will send me to an early grave a very happy, heart disease riddled man.

Not much

Not a whole lot has been happening. We're going to hold off on the house and garden improvements. We want to pay more debts off first. We've already paid off a few credit cards and the Rio (we own one of our cars!). Now we're working on paying off the Discover card, the Honda, and our house. Speaking of our house, Jeff and I just refinanced at 5%. We'll be saving almost $200 a month on our mortgage payment!

Since nothing else is going on, here's a video of my cats when they were kittens and (more) entertained by trash (don't bother with sound- I'm on the phone with my little sister):





Oh! One more piece of news! I got a 50 cent raise at work!

An Amazing Man

I forgot to mention with my last post that when I moved the oven out to try to find the mouse, I broke it. I'm still not exactly sure what happened even though Jeff explained it to me, but my handyman fixed it. He had to pull out the oven and take off the back paneling to do it, but that also gave me an opportunity to clean the floor where the oven normally sits (where what looked like a dog's rawhide chew had been hiding from before we moved in).

My husband is, in short, amazing. He is so patient with my shortcomings and gives me attention when I need it even if he's barely gotten any time to himself. He is incredibly handy around the house- fixing things (see above) and soon he is going to install ceiling fans and dimmers and we're going to start a garden! Also, he handles things that I know I would not be able to competently take care of (the budget). That's a lot of responsibility and stress, but Jeff handles it wonderfully. I know I mess up, but he's always willing to forgive me and then he tries to make things easier for me.

Best Husband Ever! I love you, Jeff!

Mus musculus

There was a mouse in my house.

Technically, it was mouse number three. The first two had made a home in our shed out back, but Taffy and Sadie found them and killed them. Then they left them on our stairs as gifts. Such sweet cats.

The third mouse was first discovered by Taffy. I saw her playing with something underneath the kitchen table but I thought it was only a dead leaf stuck under the table leg. A minute later, the small brown "leaf" sprinted away from the table with Taffy hot on its heels. It escaped behind some boxes (which belong to a friend! I've unpacked all of mine!) next to our couch. Both Sadie and Taffy prowled around the couch for the rest of the night.

When I got home from work the next day, both cats were crouched in front of my oven. I tried to move the oven to scare the mouse out from under it, but no luck. I got bored way before the cats did and left them to their stalking so I could cook dinner. Hearing a noise in the oven drawer, I opened it for Sadie and she lept into the drawer to triumphantly remove the mouse from under a grill.

Holding her prize high in her mouth, Sadie trotted to the living room to play with it. I suppose she got overconfident and released it too close to the couch. Needless to say, the mouse escaped. Once again, the cats lurked around the couch the entire night.

Today, they were (finally) victorious and caught the pest. They left it on my kitchen floor instead of my stairs. My carpet thanks them. While I do not approve of the gift giving method, I am very proud of my hunters and I gave them both treats for their hard work.

My mousers:

The Truth About The Elderly

Working at an eye doctor's, I see a lot of older people every day and I've experienced a side of the adorable elderly that most people haven't seen: the klepto side.

At the front desk, we have cans of pens for patients to use while filling out their paperwork. We've tried to make it obvious that the pens belong to the office by wrapping colored duct tape around the top of the pen, making it impossible to pull the cap off. Sometimes people will accidentally put one of our pens into their purse when their finished. It's understandable. I've accidentally stolen pens before. But sweet, little, old ladies will see the pens and their colorful duct tape, and intentionally slide them into their bags.

I once had an elderly woman come in to pay a bill. She gave me cash. When I turned around to pick up her receipt from the printer, I noticed her pull a pen out of the can and admire the purple duct tape on it. When I handed her the receipt, she thanked me and left -still holding the pen. She didn't even try to hide it.

I had another woman notice the taped pens, take one, and start writing with it. Disappointed that the ink color didn't match the tape color, she put it back muttering, "I don't need another black one".

Earlier this week, I also found out that someone had stolen our soap dispenser from the bathroom. Someone loved the smell of our soap so much, that they took it. I suspect a woman, probably elderly. 1. They have purses to hide it in 2. The soap was a very feminine scent 3. Old ladies are our biggest thieves. My coworker replaced the soap with a much bigger dispenser in the hopes it will keep anyone from sliding it into their bag.

My job is so very entertaining!

Dangeresque 2

Jeff and I flew to Colorado for my mom's birthday this last weekend. I think it's just plain dangerous for us to ever go back to my family's house again. Last time we went there, everyone attending ended up with a miserable cold. This time, a majority of family members ended up hunched over the toilet praising the porcelain goddess, calling europe, blowing chunks, ralphing, and whatever other colorful ways there are to say "throwing up". Poor Jeff, with his kidney stone, was in that majority. My sisters Mary and Katie ended up on the couch for the last day of our visit with a puke bucket and occasional sprints to the bathroom.

Now Jeff and I are afraid to go back. The small cold that was spread before escalated in such an extreme manner that we're pretty certain someone is going to die next time. Possibly from a sudden spreading of the bubonic plague.

Of course we're kidding.

To be on the safe side, however, I plan on packing a hazmat suit for our next trip out there.

P.S.~ Does anyone know if the groundhog saw it's shadow or not? Feb 2nd is my mom's birthday and not much else at the time. :)

Stone watch: over?

I think we might have to call it as of last night at 7pm. What happened then, you might ask? The missionaries gave me a blessing. I have no idea when the stone actually passed (or if it has passed -- it might have just stopped hurting and I don't have concrete proof yet), but we'll go ahead and (tentatively) call it then. Now it just feels like I've been kicked in the back twice, once in each kidney. I think it's because I clenched those muscles for 5 days straight. Either way, it looks like it's over and the stone is in my bladder.

Stone watch, day 5 and 3/4

10 tonight will mark the start of the sixth day of my kidney stone. Yay! To mark the occasion, my stomach decided that it was tired of holding food and only moving it one way, so I had a celebratory vomit. Edi's turkey tasted amazing, retaining much of its succulence on the way out. The orange juice and mashed potatoes didn't keep so well unfortunately. My stomach was so excited that I would have this kidney stone into a sixth day that it dry heaved four or five times after it was empty. Unfortunately I flushed the toilet before Cyndi could get a picture for our scrapbook.

If I sound bitter it's because I am. The doctors told me it would almost certainly pass within 2 days. I've already missed three days of work and ruined a vacation over this thing. I had to go to an urgent care here in Colorado Springs to get a refill of percocet. The nurse gave me a prescription of Flomax just in case it would help. That's right, I'm taking a medication that's for old men with enlarged prostates who have trouble peeing. This is what I've been reduced to.

Other than that, Colorado's been great.

Edit: that's the first real vomit I've had in many, many years. Sad day.

Kidney Stone

Apparently tooth problems weren't enough, so I went ahead and got a kidney stone. It felt like I'd been kicked in the crotch on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning it felt like someone had kicked me a few more times. Then I went to the instacare in north Orem and the pain really started.

The doctor gave me a shot of an anti-inflammatory medication, and when the pain kept up he gave me a shot of morphine as well. When the pain still didn't let up, Cyndi drove me to the ER and they gave me some stronger narcotics that took away the pain. On a happier note, I'll never get addicted to Morphine since I'm not a fan of the way it makes my whole body burn.

I was there from around 9am to 2 pm and slept through most of it. They gave me a cat scan and saw that it was 3mm and half an inch from passing, so they discharged me. Cyndi drove me home where I slept through the rest of the day, right up until 2am this morning, when the ridiculous pain in my side let me know that the stone hadn't passed. When 800 mg of ibuprofen and 2 percosets didn't knock out the pain, Cyndi (that awesome, awesome wife of mine without whom I couldn't have gone through this) drove me into the ER again. They let me stay there for an hour and a half and then discharged me again on the assumption that, since it was no longer hurting it had passed.

At 11am today, the pain told me (again) that it hadn't. For those of you watching at home, that's 37 hours from beginning to the last time I was sure it hadn't passed. This time the ibuprofen and percosets worked, though. It hurt for 15 minutes and then it stopped. I'm afraid it just stopped moving again and won't believe otherwise until that strainer has a stone in it.

Fun trivia: if it lasts for another 32 hours, I'll have to go through a plane ride with a kidney stone. Fun times!

Dental Work

Well, it's that time of year again, when I spend more money than I made in the first 18 years of my life to fix my teeth. This years round up: 1 crown, 1 filling, and 2 more crowns if the insurance company will agree that slowly chipping away at my front teeth is a bad thing. The secretaries don't think it's likely.

I just came back from getting the first crown and the filling done, and I have to say that I absolutely love my dentist, Dr. Richards. Love with a capital :D. He's the only dentist that I come away from the experience and don't wish that I had gone to another dentist. Also, he's funny. Also, he's fast and willing to work with you on money and with emergencies (both of which I've had to take advantage of in the past, unfortunately). Also, the assistants usually give me enough of the laughing gas that it works.

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

For Christmas this year, we went to Colorado to hang out with the Veronin clan. I absolutely love Christmas, and I'm really happy that Jeff was able to experience one with my family. On Christmas Eve, my dad reads us Luke chapter 2. We use to act it out with dress ups and everything, but I think we're all a little too old for that. Then we all open one gift (youngest to oldest). It was especially fun this year because Isis and Ki got to participate. Isis loved the attention as we all watched her open her gift. Ki was more interested in exploring the living room (that he's never allowed into) than his gift. It was really cute.

On Christmas morning, we all trooped up the basement stairs (once again youngest to oldest) including the cats, Timmy and Tommy, who are allowed upstairs for a few hours just for this holiday. They were more scared of the unfamiliar than honored with the prospect of joining us for this magical day. We started in the family room for stockings and then moved into the living room for presents.

Everything was perfect. I think watching a child enjoy Christmas helps bring a little of the magic back into it for us grown-up children, and Isis was having a great time with it all. My dad spent a lot of Christmas Eve putting together a mini, singing trampoline for her. It was a big hit. Ki is pretty attached to it too. He tries to climb on while Isis is jumping. She's very good to share her new toy with him and bounces softly while Ki grins and claps.

When Sunday night rolled around, Jeff and I were ready to go home and get back to our lives. I love that we had enough time this vacation to be ready to go instead of having to drag ourselves back home. I didn't feel overwhelmed the next day at work, although I did kind of lose my voice after a week of relaxing. It's amazing how much I'm required to talk at my job.

Thank you, Mom and Dad for making Christmas so much fun, and for making it so easy to come home anytime. :)

New Years Eve was spent with friends at our house. We played Rock Band all night and missed the ball drop. It was really funny and a lot of fun. When we realized what time it was, we laughed, the couples kissed, and we went back to playing Rock Band.