Another Adult Milestone

We are finally living in a house. It is wonderful. I love it. I walk down my stairs everyday and find myself thinking about how I love my house. We are renting, which is kind of a bummer because it is money that isn't building our own equity. Regardless, we're out of apartments. It is wonderful to be able to let Delaney run and jump and not worry about neighbors below us. Our house is 1600 sq feet, 3 bedrooms, and 2.5 bathrooms. It has a two car garage, a small backyard, and a giant kitchen. We have about 4-5 times the amount of counter space compared to what we had in the apartment.

We have a laundry room. What I love about the laundry room is that the light isn't connected to the fan. In our apartment, we couldn't turn on the light without having the loud fan come on. I hated it. We mostly went into the laundry room in the dark because we hated the fan. Our master bedroom has a jack and jill sink set up. We have a large walk-in closet. Our bedroom is massive. Our master bathroom has tub/shower combo. I love the tub because you can fill it up all the way. It is actually deep enough to cover my body! Score for me.




Another thing that is wonderful is all the natural light. There is SO MUCH light! We have tons of windows. I love it. There are narrow windows about our windows that let in more light. I didn't realize how dark our apartment was. It makes a difference to have windows on both sides of the house, not just the one side that we had in the apartment. Delaney loves the little room under the stairs. It is supposed to be a storage room, but we kept it empty to let her play in there. We also have her take naps in the room because it is dark in there.  We need to get black out curtains for her room. Our neighbors that we have met seem really nice.



The movers: Chris Candito, Nate, Mike, and Dave

Our first Sunday in the house Mike played the hero. We heard someone frantically yelling "lisa" outside and we went out to see what was going on. Turns out our neighbor's front porch was on fire. The flames were about four feet high. Our neighbor Allie brought out her fire extinguisher and handed it to Mike. He put out the flames for them. Lisa, the woman's whose house it was, said that she should have unplugged her heating pad when she saw it sparking earlier that day. (Yeah, that is an obvious idea. lol sparks = fire starting). We are in a new ward. We are going to Mike's sister's ward now. Delaney was pumped to go to her new sun beam class. What makes the new ward even better is that it is at 9am. The church is little bit more  true when it starts at 9 am. 1 pm = a little less true. lol

The first weekend in the house brought another present to me. I was covered in hives. I noticed a couple on my armpit Saturday night. By Sunday morning my hands, arms, feet, legs, and other parts of my body were covered in hives. It was painful hives. Moving caused painful itching. I ended up in urgent care Sunday night because it was so bad. I was given a steroid shot in the bum, and then 5 different prescriptions.












Long story short, we have no idea what I am allergic too. The doctor said we probably won't ever know unless it happens again. All we know is that it was something I ingested.

Well, Hello Again!

The last picture of our three part family. 

It has been a while since I have posted. A long while. I am afraid to look at the date of my last post, but I think it is safe to say that it has been over a year. Since our last update we have introduced little Wyatt into the family fold. He is a month old as of January 24th. He made an exciting arrival on the 24th of December. I can safely say that this past Christmas has been the best one of my life.

Can you tell I look so comfortable?
This was me waiting for the epidural. 

Dr. Lewis stripped my membranes on the 21st and so we waited anxiously for labor to start. The 23rd rolled around without much action, just mild cramps. We had been out visiting the atrium at the Bellagio and walking around the casino. I was tired from walking; plus, I was also fighting a sinus infection. Let's just say I was feeling awesome. ;) I finally determined that I was going to put myself on bed rest for the next 48 hours. The morning of the 24th came and I was going the bathroom and had a coughing attack. This wonderful attack happened at the same time my water broke, but I wasn't sure if I peed or if it was my water. It is unfortunate that the water broke at the same time that I happened to be using the bathroom. lol

The Delivery Support Group: Beth, Sarah, me,
Erin, Mike, and Stacy. 

I waited a few minutes and received definite confirmation that it was indeed my water. We headed into the hospital and Delaney went with Grandpa Garrard to hang out. Wyatt was anxious to arrive in time for Christmas, which Grandma Beth LOVED because it coincided with her Christmas Eve vision. lol At the hospital they checked us in and quickly confirmed that I was indeed in labor. Our first nurse was a talker. She talked and talked. Mike loved it. So much. Luckily I had an excuse to be quiet.

I received an epidural when I reached 4 centimeters. My epidural was uneven. My left leg could have been cut off and I wouldn't have know. I had more feeling in the right leg. 4:00 pm rolled around and it was time to start pushing. My sisters-in-law and mother-in-law were there with us for the delivery.

Delaney's first time holding Wyatt. 

Daddy and Wyatt's first moments. 

Dr. Lewis was quite the coach through each push. She would yell and cheer me on to keep pushing. She was very involved. It took two hours pf pushing to get Wyatt out. I was exhausted. I hadn't eaten a lot the previous 24 hours because I was so sick which made me even more tired. We pushed and pushed. Mike described Wyatt's reluctance to come out as prairie dogging. He would poke his head out a little bit and then slip right back in when the contraction was over. (You're welcome for the mental image.) It was finally thanks to the vacuum and two big pushes that he came out. It was two hours of pushing. Wyatt arrived at 5:49 pm. He was 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 inches long. One of my favorite moments was when he was handed back to me after the cleaning and measuring. He was crying but as soon as he was on my skin, he calmed down. It was the most peaceful moment.

The moment he came out was full of shock and peace and love. Shock that he was real and in my arms. Peace because of the special spirit that he brought into the room with him. Love because he was and is mine. Talking about a baby coming for 9 months is exciting, but it doesn't become real until the baby is actually in your arms. It was the same way with Delaney. Just shock, peace, and love.

Mike was face timing with my family as soon as Wyatt was out. I just relaxed in the bed and let everyone else do the work after he arrived.

Wyatt and Delaney, both just minutes after they were born. 

One of the best decisions I made was to formula feed Wyatt. I had postpartum depression after Delaney was born and I feel very strongly that breast feeding made my depression more severe. With bottle feeding, it has been a completely different experience.

Christmas was spent in the hospital, but I loved it. I was able to relax and bond with Wyatt, Mike, and Delaney. Santa delivered Delaney's Christmas presents at the hospital. We opened presents together in the hospital. I was able to have quiet and peace. It was a pretty good gift from Wyatt. Mike spent the first night with me and Wyatt in the hospital. Delaney met Wyatt on Christmas Eve. She was so sweet when she met him.

Day 1

I am grateful that I live only a mile away from work. I am grateful for the hours I do get the sleep. 

Some Updates on the Family

Mike and I have reached adulthood by achieving a huge milestone in our adult journey. We became members of Sam's Club. Yes. It does make me feel more like an adult. I would have loved to have joined Costco but with Sam's Club 2 blocks down the street it was hard to justify buying Costco over Sam's. For the record, I still think Costco is the better of the two.

Delaney has been assessed and diagnosed with a slight speech delay. She talks her Delaney language 24/7 but really hasn't been saying much in English. I liken it to Joey learning French on the show Friends. We say the word and then a completely different sound emerges from that cute mouth. She will be getting speech therapy.

Mike is reffing volleyball everyday of the week pretty much. Financially, we were unprepared for the lack of Mike reffing during the summer. It put us in a pinch but we have learned our lesson and are now stowing money away. Buying the Civic had a larger impact on our finances than we had thought it would.

I am teaching away. I start my masters, a program on technology and eLearning, on October 5th. I have already received some of my books for class and started reading them. I am an information junky and I have come to realize that reading is kind of an obsession.

My program will take one year. I chose this degree because it will help me find a job teaching online and I also want to learn how to incorporate more technology in my classroom. Each class lasts 5 weeks. I have only 2 weeks off during that year, Christmas and spring break.

It all happened quick. I decided to get my degree, looked at programs, requested program information, received a call from a admissions specialist, applied, and was accepted into the program within a week and a half. It was quick but I am thrilled and excited. I love learning. I can't wait to be a student again.

My OK

I am currently teaching my sophomores about Spoken Word poetry. I love it. They love it. There are some amazing poets in this word. I had my students write their own poem. A philosophy I have in my classroom is that I don't give assignments to my students that I wouldn't do myself. It cuts down on the busy work and I think it helps my students to know that I do the work too.

A lot of spoken word poems are about emotional events and memories in the writers life. I wrote my poem about my miscarriage. I read it to them which was hard but I do the same things my students do.

This poem is about the moments when I see a baby or receive a bill in the mail for my D and C. This isn't an all the time emotion. It's a strike at the heart for a few minutes emotion.

So here it is:

My OK
by Emily Garrard

It’s not OK.

That is what the Doctor said.

IT’S NOT OK.

You’re right.

It’s not.

It aches.

It throbs. I

t disappears for a time.

But then an infant fills my eyes,

and that spasm tackles from the corner.

My baby.

Dead.

Reminded.

Again.

It’s not OK.

Absence makes love grow fonder.

Right.

Vacancy creates questions.

Questions and questions and uncertainty.

My baby. Dead. Vacant. Unseeable.

Anger grows then fades.

Tears never drop.

Only uncertainty rolls through the vitality.

Don’t say it. That is their request.

I say it because it’s real.

Because it can’t be contained.

Because it is NOT OK.

My Ok is not yours.

It creeps in infinitesimally.

It is space that attacks.

My baby was mine.

Gone. Ethereal. Intangible.

OK. Mine. 

A Student with Honor

Recently I caught three students cheating  on a reading quiz. One of the students, we will call her Sarah, shocked me with cheating. It was extremely out of character for her. There are some kids I see around school and they seem to have a different countenance that screams "I have integrity and I value it." Sarah is one of those students. I had her sister in class last year and she had this same countenance. Well, I went through the day and almost forgot about it when Sarah comes into my room after school. She explained what had happened and how a classmate had seen her put down the wrong answer and wrote the right one on his page for her to see. She didn't realize what he was doing until I came and took away the papers. She kept apologizing and was crying. It was a moment that touched me because she was one of the many students caught cheating who had ever apologized and was upset about what happened. I gave her a hug and thanked her for the apology. The grade is still a zero but she maintained trust with me. I loved that she valued her integrity so much. I called her mother and thanked her for raising such wonderful young women with strong integrity and honor. If it wasn't for the Prozac I probably would have been crying with Sarah. There are good kids and there is hope for our future.

Strange Addiction

I have come to a realization that I have a weird addiction. I can't stop giving my kids assignments. The reason why this is so strange is because ultimately I am killing myself with loads of grading. I guess I might subconsciously love grading and the stress it brings. Either way, something has got to give. So now my solution is to only give assignments that are pre-planned. Let's see how this goes.