Shooting

I'm finally back from vacation and back to blogging. Steven is leaving this weekend for a hunting trip so I should have plenty of time to catch up on the past weeks. So let's get things started with the week of September 16th.

Monday kind of sucked, but what Monday doesn't? I had a dentist appointment at 2 pm in Meridian and no one to watch Avery - when I made the appointment we were still living in Meridian and Steven had Mondays off of work. My amazing mom took a half day at work to watch Avery for me. I dropped Avery off at her work since I live 5 seconds away from her office. I was looking forward to going to the dentist because honestly its the longest stretch of time I get to lay down during the day without a toddler around but this appointment was less than pleasant. I've been pretty sick the past week and because of it my gums have been sensitive. I've been so congested that I had to resort to mouth breathing or risk suffocation and that also has made my gums sensitive. My trip to the dentist was a blood bath, gross I know. Even now as I'm writing this (10 hours since my appointment) my gums are still throbbing :( On a lighter note, the dentist said I have beautiful strong teeth and I've still never had a single cavity.

After my appointment I hung out with my mom for a bit, catching up on our guilty pleasure shows. Avery did not want to leave her Mimi when it was time to go later that day. Lucky for me Avery passed out in the car on the drive home, I sat in the car with her an extra 15 minutes when we got home so she could catch some Zzz because she missed her nap for my appointment.

On Wednesday I updated my iPhone to iOS7, as of right now I really don't like the new update. Steven had to delete 1300 photos off of my phone to do the update, he put them all on his computer - I'm pretty sure at least 1280 of those photos are of Avery haha. We went to Yvette's house after work, she bought us dinner and we all went over to Mike's house to eat it as a family.

I hung out with my mom on Friday after work. We went to Alberston's to get her some salsa supplies then headed to payless to look for shoes for my grandparents' wedding. Avery screamed bloody murder when we tried to put shoes on her, it was ridiculous! My mom tried on several pairs of shoes but didn't find anything she really liked.

Week 17

Yvette wanted Avery that night since she was leaving on Sunday. She came over to get our Durango and took Avery to Mike's house for the night - I was nervous about that because the change of venue was sprung on us last minute and Avery had never stayed at Mike's house before. Shortly after Yvette took Avery my dad invited us over to watch the game, my mom was going to the Meridian High School football game so I went with her instead. The game kind of sucked, Meridian got their butts kicked and we ended up leaving at the end of the 3rd quarter. When we got home there was still a few minutes left in the BSU game, they ended up losing by 1 point!

Even though Steven and I had stayed up until 2 am on Friday night we were up early on Saturday morning. Steven was already dressed and heading out the door when I got out of bed, he was going over to his dad's house to see Avery. Less than an hour later Steven returned home to pick me up for breakfast. Yvette had left her truck at our house the day before when she took our Durango so we drover her truck to breakfast. Steven's parents bought us breakfast at the Black Bear Diner where Steven's little sister works. Steven and I split a plate of food and it was plenty. After breakfast Yvette took her truck home and we took Mike with us to Cabela's. Avery was over-stimulated and over-tired so she was acting like a mental patient in the store - it was hilarious and infuriating at the same time. We dropped Mike off and got Avery home for a nap. It was her first day trying almond milk, she really liked it. While Avery was sleeping I ran a few errands and stopped by Yvette's place to pick up our family photos, they turned out great :)

That evening we took Avery to my mom's house for a sleep over. I was very anxious about being away from Avery for two nights in a row (even though I had spent the day with her) but we're trying to get me comfortable with the idea. Steven and I would like to spend a weekend in McCall for our anniversary this year but I need to have a few practice weekends before I really leave my baby for a whole weekend. To keep my mind busy we went out with Quinn and Ashley, we met them at Big Al's to watch football. Steven and I couldn't afford to eat or do anything but Quinn insisted on buying us dinner. It was such a nice gesture but really made me feel like shit, until I get a job I won't be able to do the same for him :/ After I got over feeling sorry for myself we really enjoyed ourselves. We had gone to Big Al's for the game but didn't watch it because we were all talking so much. After dinner we played a few arcade games while waiting for a bowling lane to open up. We got a lane for timed bowling - basically you buy the lane for an hour and play what you can in that time. The four of us were able to play two games during that time, I won the first game and had the highest score overall for both games :)

Sunday was so much fun. Steven and I got up bright and early to go shooting. We were able to sleep in until right before we had to leave because we didn't have a toddler slowing us down. My father in law, Mike, drove us to the middle of nowhere to go shooting, we met Steven's grandpa out there - the drive took about an hour. Steven, Mike, and his grandpa shot rifles for a while - I shot Steven's rifle once at 100 yards. Steven and Mike moved the target back to 200 yards and shot at it for a while more. I shot Steven's rifles twice this time. When we switched to shooting pistols we moved the target closer. I got to shoot my gun for the first time and ended up sucking - Steven, Mike, and grandpa also fired my gun and did terrible. It took a bit to get a feel for my gun but once I did, I did a lot better, I even shot the center out of a clay pigeon. Grandpa let me fire his Judge and once was enough for me, that thing is crazy. We left around 2 pm and got to my mom's house just before 4 pm. My parents made tacos for dinner and Quinn gave me his coffee when we got home from work, it was my first hot drink from Starbucks. Steven and I were exhausted by the time we finally got home.

Avery Quinn - 20 months

Good Bye Mitch

This week we took FAMILY PHOTOS!!! Yvette took our family photos at Kathryn Albertson park. Avery was not as cooperative as I had hoped, she saw a deer and some ducks and naturally wanted to run around.

Near the end of the week I finally caught whatever Steven and Avery had. I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck - my head hurt, my ears hurt, runny nose, constant sneezing, and terrible sinus pressure :( I spent most of the morning staring at the clock waiting for Avery's usual nap time so I could lay down for a few minutes but Avery refused to nap that day. Instead she ran around the house like a crazy person and shattered a glass on the kitchen floor :/ Definitely a sucky Thursday.

My mom came over after work on Friday. We ate my homemade chili which turned out amazing! When Steven was off work we were able to leave Avery with him and go dress shopping at the mall. My mom found a very flattering dress in the first store we looked at :) When I got home from shopping we had guests - Mitch, Mitch's son, and Mitch's girlfriend were over at the house. I was only expecting Mitch so I hadn't bothered to clean the house at all, I was very embarrassed that we had guests in our messy house. We ate chili, chatted, and took the kids to the park.

On Saturday we had lunch at Goldy's and went grocery shopping. Yvette and Mike picked up Avery after her nap for a sleep over because Mitch's going away party was that evening. We met Mitch and his friends at Cafe Ole downtown for dinner - Steven and I split an order of mini chimichangas. After eating the group (probably 15 people or so) walked as a large group to a bar called Opa. I've only been to a bar once before for Kristen's 21st birthday - I was the designated driver for Kristen's birthday and didn't partake in drinking for Mitch's going away party either. I had a great time sitting at the bar and talking to Vanessa, one of Steven's friend's wife. It was so nice to socialize with adults! Steven and I were home by 11 pm but we still had a lot of fun.

Yvette and Mike dropped off Avery the next day, she was ready for a nap almost immediately and slept for 3 hours. We went to Goldy's Corner to get a job application for me, the night before a Goldy's employee that we were out with said he would put in a good word for me. I don't want to work but we're struggling financially :/ Steven's new medical insurance is going to cost us a pretty penny so I'm doing what I have to do even though it sucks. That evening I took Avery to a Halloween store to window shop, she got scared by a fake graveyard and started running out of the store screaming haha. We left the store and went to my parents' house for dinner.

Avery Quinn 20 months

The First Week of September

This week started off pretty nice - Steven had Monday off for Labor Day! We took advantage of the cool weather and took Avery for a nature walk. She had a blast running around, looking at the fish, and inspecting random flowers. On our way back to the car we realized there was a deer RIGHT next to the passenger side. At first we tried not to disturb it but after a minute or so I just walked right past it and got in the car, it didn't even mind me at all. It was a pretty cool way to end our walk.

The deer right next to our car

The next day I had a little issue with our new parking spot neighbors. Since we moved in we've had to deal with a HUGE truck parking extremely close to us, some days Steven would have to pull the car out just so we could get Avery in her car seat. When the big truck disappeared it was AMAZING - that awesome-ness lasted for about 2 weeks before we got a new parking spot neighbor. Our new neighbors have a small van/SUV looking thing but they feel the need to park over the line so that I'm still unable to open Avery's door. I left them a nice note saying that I can't get my kid in her car seat and would hate to scratch up their car trying to do so etc etc. I put the note on their wind shield and went to the store, I returned to find their car actually parked between the lines. It was such a relief to be able to open the doors again.

Day 112 Week 16

That afternoon while checking our finances I was really pleased to find that we had a bunch of money left. We've been really strict about our shopping habits, meal planning, and couponing - I was so happy to see it paying off. My happiness only lasted about 5 seconds before I realized that we had extra money because we had forgotten to pay the rent this month! The 1st was a Sunday and Monday the rental office was closed for Labor Day so rent completely left our minds. I immediately went to the bank and then to pay the rent. Afterwards we were poor again so the universe balanced itself out haha. After work Steven and I took Avery to Owyhee park, it was nice to decompress.

On Wednesday I took Avery to Ann Morrison Park for a play date. About 40 minutes after I had arrived I got a text from Ari saying that she and kids weren't going to make it to our play date, things came up. I was a little bummed out but Avery still had a great time - she played on the swings, play ground, and even played in the fountain. She wanted me to carry her back to the car but I made her soaking wet butt walk haha.

My mom came over after work for a visit. I had originally planned to hang out with Kristen but she and the kids were sick :/ With family pictures next week I decided not to risk hanging out. Again, I was pretty bummed out that I didn't get to hang out with any of my friends that day.

Thursday was the most horrifically long day in history. My decision to not hang out with Kristen the day before was a complete waste because Steven woke up with a sore throat and Avery had a runny nose, the same symptoms that Kristen and her kids had. Avery was a little ball of neediness, she wanted to be held every second that day, used me as a human tissue, and whined constantly. I woke up with a really bad headache and by the end of the day I thought my head might explode.

 Friday was better, for me at least. I picked up my mom for a lunch date :) After work we went to Costco to put gas in her car, we walked around Costco eating all the free samples.

Avery pushing me around Costco

I went to my parents' house about an hour later so we could go to the Meridian High School football game. Steven and Avery felt crappy but still went over to his grandparents' house for dinner. I had a really fun night, my dad left the game early but my mom, Jan, and I stayed and made jokes. The other parents seriously lacked team spirit and some looked at us funny when we participated in cheering and yelling "first down" whenever the team got one. It was really good to get out with adults.

Our bricks at the MHS football stadium

Yvette flew into Boise on Saturday - Steven, Avery and I picked her up from the airport. Yvette took us out to breakfast before we dropped her off at Mike's house. Steven wasn't feeling well that day so when Avery went down for a nap I ran to the store for cough drops. Yvette ended up watching Avery for a few hours that evening so Steven could rest and I could cook and freeze a bunch of chicken.
Sunday was the usual. We went to my parents' house for dinner.

Avery Quinn - 20 months!

Aug 26 - Sept 1

I'm about 3 weeks behind. Steven and Avery were sick and now I'm sick so the blogging has been on the back burner - so here's a rough update of Aug 26-Sept 1.

The week started off pretty uneventful. Kristen and the boys came over on Wednesday for a toddler pool party :) The kids surprisingly kept their life vests on the entire time! Even with the toddlers in life vests and the baby in a floatie it was difficult to keep the kids under control. After swimming we managed to get Cassius and Avery down for naps at the same time and Conner laid on the couch quietly, it was awesome.

The next day we went to my parents' house for dinner. I took my dad's bike for a 2 mile ride around Fuller park, it was so relaxing. That day I also ordered an ID bracelet for Avery, she isn't one to wander off but I feel better knowing IF she does get lost she'll have it.

Putting Avery to work

Friday was pretty good. Avery and I went to Kristen's house for a bit, she and our friend Jeca were having a yard sale. Kristen's younger brother was there when I arrived, I haven't seen him in years, he's a Marine now. Kristen and TJ were going out to dinner that evening and invited me :D After hanging out at Kristen's house for a bit I headed to my parents' house. My mom had taken the day off of work to take care of Quinn - he had his wisdom teeth removed that morning. Avery was staying the night with my mom so I borrowed my mom's carpet cleaner to deep clean the carpets while I didn't have a toddler in the house. The carpet in our apartment was DISGUSTING, I went through the whole house at least 3 times.

15 weeks

Kristen and her brother TJ picked me up around 7 pm for dinner. We went to Sushi Joy, I had never been before but it was pretty nice. The three of us had a GREAT time, we shared an order of fried rice and General Tso's chicken and still had half of it to send home with Kristen. Tj was only in town to pick up his car and drive it back to 29 Palms where he's stationed, he is a Marine. Hanging out with TJ and Kris was a lot of fun but also made me kind of sad. TJ lived with Kristen before joining the military so whenever I hung out at Kristen's house he was there too, the three of us always hung out, things have changed so much in such a short amount of time. TJ and Kristen dropped me off at home after dinner, Steven was already home so we watched a movie :)

Halloween 2010 with Kristen, TJ, and baby Conner

My parents dropped off Avery on Saturday afternoon on their way to the lake. Avery told me she wanted a nap so Steven went to his dad's house for a few hours - Avery decided that she didn't actually want to nap at all and didn't go down for one until 4 pm! When she finally went to sleep it was nice to have some alone time, I started watching the second season of Revenge (which is absolutely addicting!). I let Avery nap until 5:30 pm because we were going to a friend's house to watch the BSU game, we picked Steven's dad up on the way over there. I dressed Avery up in a little BSU cheer leader outfit, she looked adorable - she had a blast running around the back yard, chasing the dogs, and socializing. We stayed until 9:30 pm before having Steven drop us off at home. I put Avery to bed and enjoyed some more alone time while Steven went back to our friend's house to finish the game, I'm glad we left early because he didn't get home until after midnight haha.

Sunday was nice and mellow. We went to Shopko for baby clothes, they were 80% off, we got a few things. We also had Sunday dinner at my parents' house. It was a good week.

Avery Quinn - 19 months

8/19 - 8/25

Avery's erratic sleeping pattern has been killing me which is why I am a week late posting this - one night she sleeps great and the next night she sleeps an hour because of night terrors :/ It has been a real struggle to get out of bed in the morning.

To make matters worse on Monday evening I realized that Avery had a rash on her chest and belly. We had been on the lookout for chicken pox ever since we found out Steven had Shingles. I called the pediatrician on Tuesday morning, they said it sounded like chicken pox and they didn't want me to bring her in the office because she may infect other children.

I had a doctor appointment on Wednesday so Steven's grandparents watched Avery for me. The appointment was a little hectic - I was there for a simple check up but things kept going wrong. The doctor told me they would need a urine sample so during the Q&A portion of the visit I was chugging water. When it came time for me to use the restroom we were told that all the bathrooms in the office were out of order because of a broken water main. I instantly regretted all the water I drank because I really had to go! I wasn't the only one, several patients were doing the potty dance in the hall way waiting to see if the toilet could be fixed - about 15 minutes later one toilet was functional again.

After that fiasco the nurse was ready to take my vitals, everything went smoothly except for the blood pressure. The nurse took my blood pressure twice, once with the machine and once by hand, before getting the doctor. The doctor tried another three times to get my blood pressure and then ordered an EKG. The EKG was interesting for several reasons, the main one being that I had to be completely topless during the procedure. The nurse stuck several sticky things to my arms, legs, and chest and told me to lay perfectly still. I did as I was told but soon the nurse told me the machine wasn't taking my reading... so I continued to lay there, half naked, while the nurse beat up the machine. After the EKG the doctor said everything looked fine but sent me for blood work to recheck my thyroid, ferritin levels, and see if I was still anemic. I had 3 vials of blood drawn but thankfully I didn't get dizzy or nauseous. When I called Steven's grandma to let her know I was on my way she told me Avery had just fallen asleep and to kill some time, I tried to kill time but I don't know what to even do with free time anymore. When I got to Steven's grandparents' house Avery had just woken up, it was perfect timing.

Wearing dangle ear rings

That evening Avery started acting like her old self again. Yvette came over to get Avery for a sleep over, she bought Avery new clothes and a winter jacket! Yvette took Avery back to Steven's grandparents' house while Steven and I went to the fair so she took our Durango and we took her truck. We had planned to double date with Quinn and Ashley but they went to the fair about an hour and a half before us :/ We ate delicious food, watched little pigs race, and went on two rides :) Steven and I went to a specialty candy and soda shop afterwards. The poor cashier said she has to watch Willy Wonka over 10x a day.... I would gouge my eyes out with a lollipop.

100% how I felt at the fair. Avery will never be allowed out of the house looking so skanky.

From the top of the ferris wheel

The next morning Yvette dropped off Avery and brought me coffee!! It was such a nice gesture since at this point we still though Avery had chicken pox and I couldn't go anywhere because of it. A storm rolled through that day and knocked out our power for 2 hours! Steven went out and got us dinner since we couldn't cook and we had a nice electricity-free meal. The house was getting really hot without the AC so we decided to hang out at Steven's dad's house but just as we were getting ready to leave the power came back on. I went to the gym that night, I ran 1 miles, did 100 lunges, 40 sit up and only managed 10 push ups lol.

Sick baby in our bed

Friday was pretty fun. My mom came over after work so the two of us could go dress shopping for my grandparents' vow renewal in October. I found a cute dress at the first store we went to which NEVER happens so I was very happy. My mom found a few cute items but wasn't 100% sold on them so she decided to wait and look around since we still have a few weeks before the trip. While we were shopping Steven decided to take Avery to the doctor, he didn't think she actually had the chicken pox because her rash wasn't getting any worse. The doctor confirmed that Avery didn't have the chicken pox but instead some kind of virus, she had a low grade fever (which I already knew) and the rash was just a symptom of the viral infection. I was so happy that it wasn't chicken pox because I was going crazy in the house. To celebrate her new found freedom the two of us walked to the gas station :)

Saturday was very relaxing. Steven and I started off our day by exercising our 2nd amendment rights. An anti-gun group was boycotting Starbucks that day because Starbucks allows guns inside their locations. Steven and I went to Starbucks, both open carrying our guns, to support Starbucks - BUT its Idaho so no one even batted an eye lash at us lol. That afternoon we went to Steven's dad's house for dinner. It was a really mellow dinner, just what we needed.

Playing on grandpa's ATV

Steven riding his dad's motorcycle 

We had dinner at my parents' house on Sunday as usual. There was a package waiting for Avery when we got there from Nana. She sent Avery some super cute clothes and a girly tote with Avery's name on it :)

Avery Quinn - 19 months