The holidays

Ok, so you know it's bad when a friend of yours from out of state catches ur mother-in-law in Relief Society, and mentions that you haven't updated ur blog in 5 weeks. Now I feel bad :( Sorry Sarah. I'll try to do a better job. I've been busy working the Christmas season, and have no time on my nights off. With Christmas approaching, the nights at work will get later. I'll be grateful for the New Year to come around so I can go back to shorter shifts and hopefully not lose lots of hours in the process.

Ian and I were able to celebrate Thanksgiving by staying home and having ham slices (bought them pre-sliced), veggie tray, stuffing, orange rolls and mashed potatoes. We had a relaxing day so we could prepare for me being at work the next day early in the morning. I managed to get past that week, and now I'm preparing for Christmas. It seems like just yesterday we moved into our apartment (and that was September).

With the baby coming in June, I'll be busy next year with babysitting, doctor's appts, watching Hunter continue to learn and grow. The time will go by and then we'll be on our way to the move that will hopefully be one of our last for a couple of years. I pray that Sacramento will be the place for us and give us the jobs that we need and the housing to put our family together. I want to have lots of memories and create memories for my in-laws with our kids. I know it will be a good move for us, but something scary as we won't know anyone in that area besides family.

I will try to keep up with the blog as the holiday approaches, and hope to get pictures posted of Hunter on Christmas morning. We are also blessed to be able to know a photographer that will be doing pictures of us and putting it on a CD, so those will be shown both on facebook and on here. Watch for those to come.

Stay tuned for more news from the Fitzgerald household....

Update on Hunter

It has been almost a week since she threw up last, and I'm happy to report that she is almost back to normal. She still has her cuddly days, but she is playing with her cousins again and eating solid foods that have flavoring. We are keeping her away from chocolate and meat (fat), but she is eating toast, waffles, crackers, and chicken nuggets, along with mashed potatoes and other bland foods. She did go out trick or treating on Friday night and had a BLAST. We got a TON of comments on her costume and she even learned how to say "trick or treat", though it doesn't sound like it. Also, I went with my sister-in-law while Ian stayed back at the house with David to hand out candy. Since their kids are still small (under 6), we took the wagon that they had and put the kids in it. After every house, Hunter would jump back in the wagon head first (thank goodness for blankets and plastic made wagons) and then giggle as we went down the sidewalks. I'm excited for next year when she can say more, and to see what other costume we can get for a good deal. Why spend TONS of money on a costume that kids will only wear one night their entire life?

Hunter's Halloween costume

We took pictures of Hunter in her costume inside the apt in case she can't go tomorrow night. If she goes out, we will include more pictures in a later post. Enjoy.

Hunter's hospital visit

Hunter was taken to St Luke's Hospital Monday night (27th) for flu symptoms. She had been vomiting and had diahrrea for the past 36 hours. After waiting 2 hours to get into triage, they diagnosed her as being dehydrated and having the flu. They put her on an iv to give her fluids, and because she hadn't had a wet diaper in 12 hours. At 2:30 in the morning they came and told us that they needed to admit her to watch her, and have her go through 1 more iv bag. They wheeled Hunter and I up to Pediatrics in a wheelchair with her still strapped to the iv from triage, and Ian followed us on foot (as fast as you can walk at 2:30 am). I slept on the bed with her to make sure that she didn't bend her arm while she slept, as that would allow the iv machine to beep. Ian had the choice between a reclining chair and a window seat with a backing on it. Needless to say, he didn't sleep well that morning. We woke up at 8:30 to breakfast and watched tv all day as they monitored her. Once she was keeping food (chicken nuggets and crackers) and liquid down, they released her. Unfortunately, she threw up again that night and threw up this morning at 4:20 am. I have called the doctor to tell them that she isn't getting better, however they're still convinced that it's the flu.

With Halloween coming up, I pray that she will be well enough to go out and have the experience of dressing up and going door to door. Even if she won't eat any of the candy. We ask for your prayers that she will recover soon and be healthy enough for Stake Conference on Sunday. We pray that she will be healthy and return to her normal self soon, without any harm or accidents coming to her.

I have attached a picture of Hunter at the hospital in the infant gown that they have in pediatrics. She looks tired and sick, but she still looks like Hunter.

Ian's life

Ian started working for Sears when we moved here in June. He started working for Buresh Rentals in August, and he likes it. He's been off on Saturdays, and he literally works 8-5 Monday-Friday. It's been nice for him to have a set schedule, and I've been off Saturdays too so we've been able to spend the weekend together.

He says he's been cranky, busy with work, and going more gray. We'll keep you updated on his life as it changes.

Hospital

I ended up in the hospital last Wednesday (8th) after rupturing a cyst on my ovaries. I had just gotten back from taking a co-worker to lunch, and decided to stop in the bathroom before heading home. There was a co-worker who happened to come into the bathroom and found me laying on the bathroom floor in the stall in pain. She asked if I needed help and I said no, but then the pain didn't get any better. I managed to get up off the floor and get Hunter and I (it was my day off from babysitting) to the couch in the lounge area. Another co-worker walked in from Human Resources and asked if I was feeling okay. I told her no, she went and grabbed the hiring manager from HR, who then called Ian (I had the car and Ian was at work) and went to go get him. She had another manager come and stay with me and play with Hunter, until Ian was able to arrive. This helped it so I could rest and not worry about entertaining Hunter. Some other co-workers stopped in as they had heard about me, and came to wish me well.

Ian came shortly and took me to the hospital where they warned me that with the symptoms and early pregnancy, that it might be an ectopic pregnancy. That worried me cuz that means that the baby wouldn't survive. They did an ultrasound with a smaller machine but weren't able to find anything. They put an iv in me to give me some morphine for the pain, then sent me upstairs for a better ultrasound. They checked my appendix and saw fluid around it but not inside of it, and decided to check my uterus. Indeed the heartbeat was there and beating, and that was cool to see. They did some more checking and that's when they discovered the cyst. They discharged me 3-4 hours later and sent me home to rest. I was back babysitting the next morning and went to work that Friday night. I'm doing better since (it's been a week), and hope that the pregnancy will continue to be worry free and free from any problems.

Sorry for the long story, but I haven't written in a while. Thought I would update you on what I've been up to. I'll write another one tomorrow night on how Ian has been doing.

Smokers

Ok, so this weekend was General Conference weekend. We stayed home on Saturday to clean since we were at work all week, and I had a friend coming over. We woke up on Saturday grateful not to have an alarm. I opened up the blinds, changed Hunter's diaper (she woke me up), and started on dishes. After I finished dishes, I started on breakfast. Ian joined me later in the kitchen to help me finish breakfast, then we started cleaning the living room. Since it was a nice day outside, he decided to open up the windows. As soon as we did, we smelt a wave of cigarette smoke. We went to open our apt. door to take trash out, and smelt a wave of marijuana. Either there was someone smoking something illegal in their apt. with the door open (you can't smoke in the hallway or the laundry room), or they were burning incense. With me being pregnant, it annoyed me as ever. Then thinking that the smell would go away soon, we heard people talking outside using colorful language. After about 5 minutes of trying to clean with them talking and yelling outside, I decided to close the windows up and turn on the air.

Now the question is, if we live in such a "strict" complex, why is it that I feel like we're in a scum complex? We haven't even been here a month, and things are already getting to me. We still have another 10 1/2 months left (signed an 11 1/2 month lease instead of a 12 1/2 month lease), and part of that is my pregnancy. I really hope that as the weather cools down, that people will begin to be considerate and keep their doors closed if they're going to be in their apt. Or if they're going to smoke outside, go farther away from the door than the park bench. The most frustrating thing is that it makes Ian and I gag, and it's not good for Hunter's lungs. And, I'm supposed to be bringing a newborn into this complex? Why is it that we have to suffer more from second hand than the people smoking the cigarettes?

Sorry if this is such a downer blog post, but I really don't want it to be like this everytime we're home on the weekend, or it will be a long 10.5 months.

Thursday's Thrills and Chills

So it hasn't really set in yet that I'm pregnant, except that I'm limited until I'm 12 weeks along as to what I can do at work. Last night I was severly limited on the skids that I could pull with the pallets of Christmas boxes on them. The skids already weight a lot empty, and then you add boxes that are 7-12 lbs a piece, and it makes it heavy. I'm still not really telling everyone at work either, I guess that's just cuz I'm waiting to go to the doctor to make sure this is all real. We have a long list of everything that we'll need to get again, so we'll start doing that after the holidays. Not much to say today, just thought I would write down my thoughts.

I'm PREGNANT!!!!!!!!

Yes, as the title says it, I'm pregnant. I found out yesterday morning when I took a test at home, not expecting it to come out positive. We went through 5 tests with Hunter, so this threw me for a loop. Ian and I have both been working so it hasn't really set in for us, but I'm excited to be starting a new addition to our family. Our lease is up in August, which means we'll be moving into a house to create more room for us.

I'll keep a daily blog on how Ian, Hunter and I are doing in our lives, and try to upload pictures along the way. I have a friend that posted a lot of pictures throughout her pregnancy so friends and family that lived far away could be involved. I'm hoping to do something similar.

That's it for now, just wanted to share my big news.

Our new place!!!

So we've moved into our own place, and have lived on our own for 3 weeks now. It feels good and we love the space that we have. Let me introduce you first to "we"....

Ian and I met in 2005 and were engaged February 14, 2006. We were married 6 weeks later on April 6, 2006 in Nauvoo, IL. Oh yeah, did I mention I met him online and I lived in IA while he was in CA? Needless to say we didn't spend much time together. I left my job at Sears to move to CA and be with my husband. We lived on our own for 6 months, then moved in with my in-laws for 1 1/2 years. There were some roller coasters, but we all love each other. Hunter was born February 15, 2007 and she is 19 months old now. She is a blast to be around, and I love being there to watch her discover new things and say new words. I have been fortunate enough to be able to stay home with her, except when we moved from CA to IA where I went back to work at Sears.

So, we now live in a 2 bed, 1 bath apt with 920 sq ft. We have an open kitchen with LOTS of room in it for cupboard space and room to cook. We can even fit our table and chairs in there and STILL have lots of room. Our bedroom is nice and huge, Hunter's room is pretty big too. I love our sunken in tub in our bathroom, and the storage shelves that we have in there for a linen closet. Though we probably won't be in the apt long enough to renew our lease, it will be good to create some memories. It's nice that Hunter has her own room again and we can provide for ourselves.

This is it for now. Still new to this thing, but I have a lot of friends in CA that have blogs, so I thought I would start one. Try to update daily, if not every other day.