Owens Hospital Adventure

The day the we moved was busy and stressful, so I did not think it was incredibly odd that Owen was especially whinny that day. But that night we noticed he had a fever. We were not overly concerned about it, kids get sick; Owen's fevers typically last two or three days, then he is back to his regular little self. I stated home from church with him on Sunday. Monday, I went to my moms house to make candy, and poor Owen just sat on the couch moaning the entire day. By Tuesday, I was starting to get concerned, his fever had not broken, he was acting lethargic, I could tell he was getting close to dehydrated, and his tongue broke out with a weird rash; so we took him to the doctor.

I really like our doctor, I think he is a very competent doc, so it made me really nervous that while he was examining Owen he just kept muttering, "Wow, this is one sick kid." After a minute he turned to me and explained that he could see no obvious sign of infection, and with how lethargic and dehydrated he was he thought it was a good chance it could be meningitis. He told me to take him to the hospital immediately because this could easily be a matter of life or death. Of course, I am internally freaking out, but trying to stay calm so Owen does not get scared. The doctor then tells me that I should not accompany Owen to the hospital, because he does not want Maxwell to be exposed to anything. So Tom cancelled the rest of his patients for the afternoon, and off they went to the E.R.

Luckily, my mother-in-law was at my house helping me unpack boxes, so I was able to leave the baby with her, and go visit my little sick guy. He was so cute, when I walked into his room in the E.R. he was so happy to see me. It was the sweetest "Hi Mama!" I had ever heard. The staff was great with him, and they gave him a little wooden car, which he thought was awesome.

After 5 hours of IV and countless tests he had not improved and they had no idea what was going on, so they decided to have him stay over night, and transferred him to the Pediatric floor. I went home to Tal and Max, and Tom stayed with Owen.

The next day, Owen was so sick (they were masking up every time they came in the room), and they had no clue what was wrong, so they decided to play House (the TV show) on him. Because they did not know what it was they started to treat and test for everything: Mersa, pneumonia, mono...seriously everything (they were checking for anything that was not meningitis, trying to avoid having to do a spinal tap). They finally narrowed it down to a disease called Kawasaki Disease, which attacks the heart, and did an ECG. That came back clean, so once again, we were back to square one. They did get a positive test for both mono and pneumonia, but with how sick he was they thought that he had something else, and decided to keep him one more night.

This morning they decided that he just has mono and pneumonia, and the let him come home! Oh, I am so relieved to have him home, and Tal was super excited to see his brother again. The poor guy is still feeling a but under the weather, but at least he is not being poked and tested anymore. And more importantly, HE IS HOME!!!

We are in!

Well, it has been a long week, but we are finally in our house. There was a minute that we thought it might not actually happen, but we made it.

A word of advice: when buying a house, avoid purchasing one that is owned by a relocation company, it can change the whole home buying process from it's typical headache to a complete nightmare (which is just about what happened to us).

Through out this entire process the relocation company continually would come up with completely crazy requests for "required information." I mean, these were so asinine that even our realtor and mortgage agent thought they were a bit crazy. But the doozy of all their craziness came this past week, after we had signed the closing papers. We signed Monday, they papers were then sent to the relocation company, somewhere back east. They were supposed to sign on Tuesday, and we were to receive our keys by 4pm Wednesday. Yep, that did not happen. For some reason, they decided that they needed yet more paperwork and documentation from the listing agent (yes, the realtor they had been working with to sell the house). They did not decide this until Wednesday afternoon. Grrr! For some reason they refused to allow the closing to settle until they received this documentation from their own team. On paper, we were to take possession Wednesday (i.e. Start paying mortgage and utilities), but then they told use they might not close until Monday.

Ok, initial total freak out.... We could not wait to move until Monday, we had to be out of our aparent by Saturday; plus we are hosting Tom's family Christmas party on The 23rd, and I need time to settle in first. Not to mention that we had arranged for the carpet to be replaced on this past Thursday, while the house was empty. Yep, I was in a complete freak out!

Lucky for us, we have an awesome realtor (Vern Fielding) and a great mortgage agent (Whitney ) who totally went to bat for us, and pushed the relo company and county to get the settlement and recording done by Thursday afternoon! Awesome! Now all we had to do was reschedule the carpet. Sadly, because we could not keep the appointment to the carpet changed Thursday morning, they told us they would not have an open time until next Tuesday. This time I did not freak out, I just start to bawl, bawl like a big baby. I was not thrilled about having to move into a house 3 days befor carpet is changed, that sounds like a logistical headache. Sometimes being emotional can work to your advantage, because they took compassion on the big bawling lady, and decided to change the carpet in just the bedrooms on Thursday night; they are coming back next week to do the stairs and hall.

So, finally we were able to move! We owe a big thanks to my family and Tom's partents, and our new nieghbors for all their help. Thanks everyone! We will forever appriciate you!

First Smiles

I was holding Maxwell, while I was working on my phone, and all of the sudden I saw the cutest thing ever... Max is grinning at me! Yeah for iPhones; I changed to the camera super quick, and caught his first real smiles.

New House! New Baby!

Wow, we have had a crazy past few months.
About a year ago, Tom's boss offered him a partnership. Of course we were super excited, and thought this was a dream come true. So we started the process of securing a business loan, which easier said than done. We have talked to countless banks, but had no success with any of them. Back in September, We started to think that maybe we should consider buying a house; then we could build up a bit of collateral, and perhaps the banks will give Tom a business loan in a couple of years.

We looked at 50 or more houses until we found the ONE. It was weird, when I walked into this house I felt like I was coming home, which was a feeling I had not had at any other house. Tom says he felt the same way. We knew that this house was supposed to be our home.
We put an offer on the house on October 16, went under contract on October 26, had a baby on November 3. After the longest 2 months of our lives, we finally closed TODAY! Sadly we won't get keys until Wednesday, because a relocation company owns currently owns the house, and their is a bunch of red tape when dealing with such a company (honestly, I would not recommend buying a house from a relocation company).
But we are so excited to finally have a little place of our own!!!

5 Weeks Old

I can't believe that little Maxwell is already 5 weeks old. He has already grown so much. I am completely in love with my little Max (or Mac, as Talmage calls him). I've gotta say, he is one cute kid.






Here a a couple of pictures of all my boys:

Silly Tal:
Cute Owen.

I Love my boys! Pictures courtesy of my good friend, Danette Holley.

2012 Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month

Tom and I have been doing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Make Over since last March. It has been really great for us. Thus far, we have payed off a significant amount of money. We are on track to be completely out of consumer debt by the end of 2012, and we hope to have Tom's student loans paid off within the next 8 years (that is 10 year from his graduation).

Even though we are on a great track, it can seem a bit daunting to know know that we are giong to be stuck on Baby Step 2 of the T.M.O. for the next 8 years (most people only have to do the Baby Step 2 for 1 or 2 years before they are out of debt). So I am always looking for money saving ideas, that will allow us to put more money towards our debt, and cut down the life of the loans.
I found this ebook with tips on how and where to cut out grocery expenses. Here is the link to the website:

Maxwell Allan Fullmer - The newest addition

Well, he came. I was convinced that he was going to come on 11/11/11, because my due date was the 9th, and both Owen and Talmage came a couple of days late. I was sure that this time would be the same. I was so set on 11/11/11, that we put an eleven in each of his names Maxwe11 A11an Fu11mer. Awesome, right?

Well, this little man decided to do things on his own schedule. Last Wednesday, I kept telling Tom that I thought we weren't going to make it to the 11th, because I could tell that certain body parts were opening up. I was not having contraction, but I could feel stretching and pulling. That night, I had this feeling that I should probably pack some clothes for my boys to stay at Grandma's for a couple of days. I figured that I still had a while, but I laid some shirts and pants out for them, and went to bed. I randomly woke up at 6:00 am, I laid there wondering what was gong on. First I thought that I had to go to the bathroom, then I remembered I had just gone. Then I thought, that maybe I just had not fallen back asleep from visiting the toilet. Then, I realized that this could have been a contraction. So I laid in bed debating if I was having contractions, or just imagining a full bladder. I woke Tom up at 6:15, after I had had 4 of these mysterious sensations, and told him that I was going to take a bath. But I did not quite make it to the tub before I had another contractions, and I said, "Never mind, I am going to Salt Lake." The next ten minutes as crazy, with me calling my midwife while running around the house trying to pack bags for the boys, baby, and me, and Tom trying to get everything, and everyone out to the car.

After a pit stop at Burger King, for breakfast, we set out for our 1.5 hour trek to Murray. Surprisingly, it was not bad at all, even though my contractions were coming every 2 minutes. Finally, we made it to the birthing center, where my mom met us to take Tal and Owen to her house.

I would HIGHLY recommend birthing at a birthing center to any one. It was honestly the best birthing experience I have had yet. Don't get me wrong, I had good experiences with my midwives in the hospitals in Portland, but delivering with Rebecca was by far the best. It was just her, Tom, and me. It was quiet, intimate, and calm. For some reason, when laboring at the hospital I have always felt this feeling of an "emergency" just because I am in the hospital. It has always been a bit unsettling. This time, I never had that feeling. Rebecca was great at keeping me calm and relaxed, and Tom entertained (this was the first birth he did not get bored at).

As we got to the birth center, Tom as curious to know were I was at, so Rebecca checked, and I was at a 6, with a bulging bag of water. She said that labor with and intact bag is usually a lot easier, but pushing is a bit harder. So I decided to not break the water until we got closer to pushing. She was right. This was a super mellow labor. It was not until I was ready to push that it got really hard. I remember asked if she could break my water, and she said that we could but I would have to move from the tub to the bed, and at that point, I was not going to go anywhere. So instead, I told them that I was too tired, and I was ready to quit. Obviously, that did not happen.

Pushing was hard, but it went fast. I only pushed for 19 minutes (19 long hard minutes, that felt like 2 hours). I started out pushing on my hands and knees, which was OK, but I felt like in needed to move to a different position, so I rolled over to a squat (another benefit of water birth, it is super easy to move and change position). I felt the baby move down really far, and then I felt like I needed to move again, so a rolled over to my side, then I had one really good push, and felt this huge bulge come out of me. Yep, it was the top half of the bag, and his head. The bag broke as it came out, and since the head was out, I refused to stop pushing. I just kept going till he was out. The coolest part about it was that as his head came out, I turned over, and was able to catch the rest of the baby. AWESOME!!! Yep, yet another benefit of water birth... easy to move, and easy to catch your baby.

So then he was here 1:31 pm (or 13:31) on 11/3/11. Lots of 1's and 3's. So even though he was supposed to be born on 11/11/11, he was born on Eleven-Three instead, so we figured is was still appropriate for him to have three elevens in his name. He was 8lbs 7 oz, 20.5 inches, in case you were wondering.


Ok, I know this is not the most flattering picture of me, but this is the bed at the birthing center. I think every woman should get to labor is comfy bed like this.

I love water birth; my midwife calls water birth the "Epidural" of natural birth. This is the tub that Maxwell was born in. It is a soft tub, which means the the floor and walls are made out of silicone, and it sits on a bed of sand. It was so comfortable. One day, when I am rich, I am going to have one of this in my house.

Here is a picture of Maxwell and me, just moments after he was born (we are still in the water).

Maxwell and me again, only all dried off this time.

This is Max meeting his brothers for the first time.

Again, not a great picture of me, but this is the first family picture; at least everyone else looks good.

Here is Maxwell with my midwife, Rebecca. She is awesome. If you ever know someone who might want to deliver with her, here is a link to her website:
http://www.greatexpectationsbc.com/

Bunk Beds

Let me brag about my awesome husband....
He made this....Yes, that is right, it is a Toddler Sized Bunk Bed. With the immanent arrival of monkey number three, we relised that three bed in one tiny bedroom is not going to work. So we either needed to move or get a bunk bed. And seeing as we don't foresee a move in the near future, the bunk bed is the only choice. But still, a twin sized bunk bed would be huge in the room, so Tom decided to make a toddler bunk bed.

It turned out awesome. My hubby never cease to amaze me. We got the plans from our brother-in-law who is a complete math whiz, and converted the plans from a twin sized bunk bed he found on Ana-White.com.

Here are some pics of the boys checking out their new bed:

Its a ZIP

The other day Owen discovered that he had a bump on his shoulder. He was incredibly fascinated by it, and showing me, and asking me what it was. I told him it looks like a bug bite, but he did not believe me, so he asked Grammy what she thought it was. She said, "Well Owen, it looks like you've got a little pimple."

Owen's response, "NO Grammy, its not a pimlo, ITS A ZIP!"

Check it Out!! Deseret News loves Tom's Show

Well, I've told you that you should go see Tom's show, and now I have someone to back me up. The Deseret News gave it a rave review today. Seriously, if you don't go see his show your are going to miss something great. Here is the review: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705375948/Theater-review-Pickleville-Joseph-outstanding-and-fresh.html

And here is the link to the schedule and ticket information:
http://www.picklevilleplayhouse.com/julyschedule.html

Go, Go, Go, See It!!!

Big Update

Well it has been a while since I last posted, and there are some good reasons for that. Life has been busy for us here. Tom is busy with work, and the play (which is now showings, and is really worth seeing and you should totally go to it [CLICK HERE]). I have been busy sewing costumes for the play (which look awesome, and you should go check them out [CLICK HERE]). And I started a new job. I work for a company that does the Public Information for road construction projects in Utah. I am their Northern Utah contact. So I get to be involved with most of the road construction projects up here in the great wild northern section of the state, and do my best to keep the public aware of what is going on. I also get to answer the hotline calls for the projects, which can keep me busy. Luckily, I get to do this all from home.

But probably the most likely reason of why I have taken such a great blogging hiatus is because I have been super tiered as of late due the fact that I am once again going to have a baby. Yep, I am due 11/11/11. AWESOME. I know, I know, you are probably thinking, "Holy cow, she is pretty far along, and is now just telling us!?!" Well if if makes you feel better, I did not really know that I was that far along my self.

Here is the story: Tom and I have been joking for almost a year now how funny it would be to have a baby on 11/11/11. Which meant that we would have to get pregnant in February. Well, February came and went, and so did other monthly things, that would lead one to believe that she is not pregnant. DARN, no 11/11/11 baby. Oh well. A couple of weeks later, I started to fell that yucky constantly hungry/sick feeling, so I took a test, but it was negative, and then I had another one of those monthly things, so I knew that there was no possible way that I could be sick. About 5 weeks after that, Owen comes to me and says, "Mama, my baby sister, named Sarah, is in you belly and she is ready for you to know." Oh really????? So just for kicks and giggles I went and took a test, and sure enough.....

So I figured I was about 5 weeks along, and called my midwife. She had me come in at what we thought would be 7-8 weeks. She has a small ultrasound machine in her office, and decided to take a peek at the baby, and she was bit more than surprised at what she saw. She said, "now how far along do you think you are?" According to my monthly visitor, there was no possible way I could be further than 8 weeks, which is what I told her. She said, "Oh know, you are at least 14 weeks. See this spinal curve, that does not develop until the 14th week gestation, and your baby has it." Unfortunately, her ultrasound machine can only accurately measure the age of the baby prior to the spinal curve developing, so we just settled on saying that was 14 weeks. This is the third time that I have effectively skipped my 1st trimester ( I am really good at that ).
Last week, I had my real ultrasound (we thought I was 19 weeks along). Because of Owen's little prophetic statement plus a couple dreams I had, I was sure that this baby was going to be a girl. Well, we were once again wrong on the gender, and how far along I am. We are in fact having another little boy, and I was actually 20 weeks, 5 days. That was exciting, I have officially cut 12 weeks off of this pregnancy. And look how cute of a little guy I have:

Little profile

Little Foot, and Cord.You might think this looks like a little alien, but really it looks just like Talmage's 3D ultrasound picture.

Tom and the Amazing Techicolor Dream Coat!

I have exciting news.....
Tom has been casted as Ruben in Joseph and the Amazing TechniColored Dream Coat at PickleVille Playhouse in Garden City. This is going to be Tom's 5th season at PickleVille.

If you have never been to a PickleVille play, this is the perfect time to do it. It is one of our family's favorite summer traditions. They always deliver a great show, and everyone will enjoy it; Tal was fascinated during the show last year, and he was only 6 months old. It is totally worth the drive; you will NOT be disappointed.

I would love for you all to come and support Tom if you get a chance! The show runs from June 16- Sept 3 (Tom will not be appearing in the show on June 16, so don't go that night).

Below is a link to the PickleVille site, where you can see the schedule and ticket information. You can do dinner and the Show or just the Show; and there are group discounts.
http://www.picklevilleplayhouse.com/schedule.html

So go, get your tickets soon.

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Today is my dear sweet Mother-in-law's birthday. On Friday night we had a big ol' birthday bash for her. It was so much fun. The food was delicious, the decorations beautiful, there was a lovely slide show. When the Fullmer women get together, we really know how to put a party together!

Here are some pictures:




Here is a cute picture of Talmage and Grammy looking at the memory book we made for her.

Tal pooped in the potty

I have been reading this book called "Potty train by 18 Months." Everyone I tell this too seems to think that it is impossible, or that if it works I will be the one who is trained, and not Talmage. Well, I think that everyone is wrong. I think it is working, and Talmage is the one who is learning.

Today, Tal pooped on the potty. I am sure not everyone wants to read about how my baby used the potty, but that is just it! MY BABY USED THE POTTY! He is only 15 months old.

We have been practicing sitting on the potty, only we have been keeping the diaper on. Today when he went to sit on the potty, I took the diaper off, and next thing I know he had left a little deposit. Hooray, the end of diapers is in sight.

Forts and Rock n' Roll

Our cousin Liam came over today. When Owen and Liam get together, they always think up the silliest things to do. Today started off with building a fort, in which they insisted on eating lunch within the safety of its walls.

Unfortunately, the fort fell to an attack from the enemy, the Big Bad Monster (aka Daddy/Uncle Tommy).

So with the fort gone, the boys decided to move onward, and upward. Discovering the box of musical instraments, they quickly formed a rock band, and started to preform. It was definitely the most exciting concert I have been to in a long while.

Happy Birthday Owen

Owen turned 3 last week. I know, I know, I am a total slacker in blogging about it. We actually had his birthday party this past Saturday, because more family could come then. It was a lot of fun. We had Owen's favorite meal of Hot Dogs and Chips. And he got an Elmo cake.

Grandma and Grandpa, and Grammy and Papa came, and so did Cousin Liam, and Kendell and Lucy. It was quite a full house, but we had lots of fun.

My Cool Sister-in-law

I just want to brag that I have the coolest sisters-in-law. I love them all. They all amaze me.

My sister-in-law Kristen is a dietitian at Primary Children's Hospital. She was recently interviewed about teen's and energy drinks. She did a great job. Here is her interview:



She is awesome.

Tal's first word!

For the past couple of weeks Talmage has been making leaps and bounds in communication. His signing vocabulary has increased, and he has been pointing and jabbering quite a bit lately, which has made it significantly easier to figure out what he wants or needs.

Today, my neighbor and her son brought over a little Valentine treat. Laura and I stood at my front door chatting and the boys ran out to play. After a couple of minutes Owen and Sam decided to come in to play because it was so cold. I picked up Tal, invited Laura in, and shut the door. Talmage immediately started to point toward the kitchen sink, or counter, or window. I offered him so food that was on the counter, but that is not what he wanted. I could not figure it out. After a few minutes, poor Talmage was crying inconsolably. Then he started pointing at the coat hooks, and said, "ACKET!"

"Oh," I said, "you want to were your jacket? Do you want to play outside?" Then Talmage nodded his head and smiled.

I kid you not. You can ask Laura, she also witness it. I don't know if it is unusual for kids use words at 14 months, but he did. I guess it is not that crazy of a thought; he has a huge signing vocabulary, why can't he start building his vocal vocab?

See How They Grow!

Kids grow too fast. I swear you can lay them down in bed at night, and the next day they look taller. Because we live in an apartment, and who knows when we will buy a house, I decided
to make a Grow Stick, so I can mark their height, and not have to worry about leaving the marks behind when we move.

I am really proud of it, it turned out super cute.

Cache Valley Fun Park

Tom's brother, Bill, invited us to go and play with his family at the Cache Valley Fun Park. The last time I had been there was on a date during my college years; some guy (NOT Tom) took me roller skating.

Owen and Talmage had a blast at this place. There is a huge indoor Play ground, equipped with crawling tubes, and tons of slides, there is a bowling room, and roller rink, and and arcade, which due to our recent Vegas trip my boys were very excited about.

Here is Owen and His cousin trying out a couple of arcade games

Tom and Owen, whacking weasels.
Tal-Tal playing in the play ground.