Bad Words on Sesame Street!

Adult humor, but no actual bad words are used.

What day is it again?

This week has gone by so quickly. Jon came down with the flu that I had had two weeks ago on Sunday night. Only now is he feeling back to normal and able to eat solid foods. I am just thankful that Gavin seemed to brush over with only minor symptoms and was healthy within 24 hrs. Tomorrow is my 24 week check up, and I'm a bit nervous since I know I'm gaining too much weight. I can tell just by looking at my chubby cheeks. I only have one more visit (28 wks) before our health insurance drops, so that also makes me worried. Hopefully I will get a letter from Medi-Cal saying that I'm covered within the next few weeks.

No luck still on the job hunt. Jon contacted a recruiter from his Company and asked if they had any out of State job openings, so we're crossing our fingers that a good opportunity will arise. I wouldn't mind moving as a temporary means (maybe a couple of years?) if it meant we had a good job with benefits, and could afford a larger home. In San Diego I just don't see us ever affording a home. In Utah, or West Virgina I have looked up housing and it is SO MUCH cheaper! I really hope something pulls through, whether at home or abroad.

I put Gavin in his Halloween pumpkin sack. He didn't want to stay in it for very long, but I got a good picture before he tore it off. I found it on EBay, used for 10 dollars (that included shipping). Yay for used costumes!

Jim's Birthday

Last Tuesday night (I know I am way late at posting), we went out to celebrate my Father In Law's Birthday. I haven't been out, without Gavin, for a nice dinner in at least a year. It's been so long that I can't remember. Anyway Jon, his parents, his older brother Josh and his Fiance went too. Great-Grandma and Grandpa on my side of the family, came over and watched Gavin for the night. Thank goodness for relatives that don't mind baby-sitting. :) They took Gavin to Chick-fil -A for about an hour jumping in the bouncy jump and having a blast. Every Tuesday night Chick-fil-A has a free bouncy jump and a person dressed in a cow costume for kids. If you purchase an adult meal you get the children's meal free and they even have an art table inside with some activities for the older children. This is our second Tuesday going and I plan on making it a regular event. He can spend hours jumping and still not be worn out.

While he was have a merry old time, we went to a local restaurant called Saskas. It was quiet and dark, and smelled like yummy garlic bread. Mmm... just remembering the food makes my stomach growl. I ordered halibut and mashed potatoes, with a crab soup. Rarely do I get to enjoy good seafood since my husband HATES it. He and the other men all ordered large slabs of steak, while we ladies ordered fish and salads. My FIL also ordered calamari, oysters, and fried zucchini. By the time we were all done eating you had to practically roll us home. I snuck away and found the waitress to ask for a slice of mud pie to surprise him.

It was a great night. I only wish we could do it more often. Maybe I'll get lucky and get to go out for my Birthday this Friday.

Sparklers

Daddy decided to show Gavin what sparklers are a few nights ago. We had gotten quite a few sparklers and fireworks in July when we were in Utah, so we pulled a few out and had a fun night. Gavin has been a real fire bug the past few months. He LOVES to blow out candles so we have gotten in a routine of lighting a few small scented candles before bed and sitting in the dark starring at them. After a few minutes Gavin blows one out and then waits a few minutes to blow out the next one (he has learned not to blow them out too quickly since that means bedtime). We are very clear about how the flame is hot and you have to be very careful around them... so far so good. My husband recalls all the little GI Joe's and household items he burned when he was a kid, I guess it's in their blood.

Sunday

It's been a long time since I've written anything so I'm way behind. Gavin may wake up any minute so I will try to keep this short. Haven't heard anything back from Medi-Cal, usually takes weeks to get any sort of response from the County. No responses from any jobs that Jon has applied for- sign that things are really bad. One more month of health care and pay checks and then we're all on our own.

In the past few weeks I have known 3 people that have gotten laid off (one of which was my husband). The reality really set in at how bad our economy is getting and how many people are looking for work. He may be forced to work at Target or some other retail type job until he can find a good job with benefits. Money is money where ever it comes from... but retail jobs really stink! (I know since I have worked them before).

I have actually asked my husband to look into relocating through his Company. I don't know if it will pan out, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to see if their are open positions paying well in other States. It would really scare me to have to move away from both our families, but if the offer was good enough, we would seriously consider it. San Diego is just so expensive when it comes to housing, food, gas..., just about everything, lol. I'm trying not to panic, but it really scares me to not have a future plan. What if Gavin gets sick and we don't have health insurance? What if another couple of months role by and we don't have money for rent or food? I know we won't really suffer since we do have the support of our families, but it's just not fun to think about.

I REALLY really really hope we get an interview or call backs this next week. There has to be some light at the end of the tunnel. :) Besides that we've been a happy little family. Gavin has now learned to say "RRR" like a pirate. We ask him what a pirate says and in a very low guttural voice he says "RRR". Funny how he gets a kick out of saying sounds like "Moo, and Boo!", but still doesn't say words (besides Momma and Dadda). I know he's heard the word "Hi" and "Bye" a million times, but he just doesn't try to say them. Sometimes I think he just doesn't want to talk. Hopefully with his little brother on the way, he will be forced into talking out of competition for our attention. The speech therapist seems to think that will be the case.

Better end this now before Gavin runs in and attacks me.

Happy Labor Day everyone! Friday is my Birthday (and my Dad's Birthday) so I'm counting down the days for CAKE! I can't believe tomorrow is September! Where did this month go?

Medi-Cal

Why oh why do I get so stressed out just saying the word Medi-cal? Well let me tell you why... I had an appointment at 7am this morning so I end up waking up at 5:30am and can't seem to get back to sleep. Gavin is still sound asleep so I creep around and get ready. I end up arriving at the County Services Office just before 6:30am and wait around in my car for about 15 minutes before realizing that people are starting to form a line in front of the place. The security guard opens the doors not too long after that and has us all go through a metal detector and show her our bags. We form another line and wait about 10 minutes for someone to start checking us in for our appointments. I am the third or fourth person in line.. not bad for arriving a half an hour early.

Then the real waiting begins... more and more families start showing up and the seats start filling up around me. I start watching the children's movie they have playing since it's the only thing to look at while I wait (The Fox and The Hound). When I checked in the woman at the front desk had given me a small packet to fill out and had told me to hold onto it when I was done and wait for my name to be called. I filled it out and waited. It wasn't until after 7:35 that the first few people were called, but I wasn't one of them (strange how we all had 7am appointments). The time continued to tick away, as my stress level rose up and up. I knew my husband was dealing with Gavin and would start to wonder where I was within the hour. As 8am rolled around I decided to double check at the front desk why my 7am appointment still hadn't been called. Now a man is at the desk and shuffles through some papers, "Oh, you weren't marked off that you were here." I was like WTF?! So I had been waiting an hour because no one knew I was there!?

Right after he types my name into the computer my name gets called. I run to the door and the worker right away asks why I am an hour late. I tell her I was waiting there since 6:30 this morning and that someone had screwed up and not checked me in. She accepts my apology and goes to her computer. Well, wouldn't you know her computer won't start up. She swears it was just working and starts to reboot it and unplug it, etc etc.. then calls someone in to try and fix why it won't show a screen. At this point I am so upset. Finally after 10 minutes she decides we need to switch rooms and find a computer that works. THANK GOD!

Now comes the paperwork. I tried to be prepared as best as I could and pull out all the IDs and pay roll, and medical paper work before she even asks for it. Then she ask for me, my husband, and Gavin's birth certificates, Social Security Cards, my Marriage Certificate, and my husbands CA ID. I was like WHAT? I am just trying to get insurance to cover my pregnancy, nothing else. Not only this but Gavin was born on Medi-Cal and I know that they had all this paper work on file from just less than two years ago. She even showed that I was on Medi-Cal back in 2007 on her computer! I tell her I didn't bring all our birth certificates or ID cards because I thought it was just for me, and that I had already done this just a year ago. She basically says, "I told you on the phone to bring EVERYTHING. Also I don't have your old file here, but if I find it then I can double check what you have... BUT until then I need to see ALL your paperwork." Immediately she pulls out the dreaded pink form and starts to list off all the things I didn't bring with me, and tells me she can't process or start my file until she receives these items... AND I only have 10 days to get them to her. On top of that she wants my husbands last pay stub, which of course I don't have yet, and PROOF OF PREGNANCY! I mean I am obviously showing as I waddled by ass in there, but she has to have a letter from my Dr. saying that I am pregnant? I am so frustrated by the end of our hour long process that as soon as I get to my car I start crying. I end up getting home by 9:30 (3 HOURS LATER!), and get to deal with my husband who is wondering where the hell I have been for so long. He doesn't like that he had to get up at 6:30am and take care of our son all morning..although after he heard the crap I went through he apologized.

Oh another random thing that upset me was before I had my appointment I was sitting watching other people going through the security check point. I noticed the security guard let a pregnant woman go around the x-ray machine and warned her not to go through it. I immediately think, what the hell? She made me go through the machine, is it something that can hurt the baby? I should have said something, but at the time I just sat there and quietly and just let it go.

Am I over reacting? I know in the end it's just their job (even though my entire family was born in San Diego, and I know they can easily see from my past file all the papers she's requiring), but it really stressed me out. My husband thinks I should complain but I wouldn't even know who to complain to. I just hope I can get all the required papers mailed ASAP and get the ball rolling.

Belmont Park

Sunday night my MIL, Gavin, and myself went to Belmont Park. You would think after living in Mission Beach for 4 years that I would know to avoid tourist trap areas on the weekend (especially during the summer months), BUT we still went. Gavin pulled along his radio flyer wagon and we walked to the Roller Coaster (less than a mile from or house). Grandma bought Gavin a ticket for the Carousel, and the two of them rode around a few times. Then after the ride was over they went and played at the arcade. I luckily was able to find a bench and sit with the wagon while she chased him around. He LOVES arcades! I think it has something to do with all the lights and noises and balls being thrown around, he gets so excited. Usually I just let him run around and pretend to do the race car games, but this time Grandma actually bought some tokens and let him play some games. His favorite by far is throwing the hard (almost like pool table balls, but larger) up a small incline, into the pockets. Every time you get it into a larger number you get a ticket. He didn't have the strength to actually get the balls into the holes, but he had a blast throwing them around, and almost killing the people who were playing next to us. After about a half an hour of games he had enough tickets to get a few pieces of candy and a hot dog toy.

We ended the night by stopping at a local pizzeria and taking home some pizza and chicken strips. The food and rides are over priced, and were crowded with tourists, but it was a special night. Hopefully Gavin won't think that he'll get to do all that every time we go to Belmont Park, at least not unless Grandma is paying. :)

Guinea Pig

Well two days ago I woke up and went to feed the Guinea pig... but it was dead. We have only had it since last Christmas, so it didn't last very long. It started having seizures and loosing it's hair a few months ago, but it seemed that he had started getting better on his own. We're not the type of people that can afford or who would spend lots of money on taking a small pet to the Vet, so we felt we would just continue feeding him like normal and give him vitamins in his water. I guess since we only had him for 9 months that may explain why I don't feel too attached to the little guy. I feel sorry for his death, but honestly I am glad he is no longer in pain, and it's one less mouth to feed. With another baby on the way we just wouldn't have the time to give him love and attention.

Vanilla (Nilla) will be missed. RIP.

Recap

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I've been having a very good week considering the bad news from Monday. Jon has been home so we've gotten a lot of housework done and had some great family moments. It's like he's on vacation! The bad part of course is that in a few weeks if he's still on "vacation" then we will be really stressing out and I will probably be ready to hit him over the head with a frying pan. It's funny how you can love being around someone but after a few weeks you really start wanting your space again, but for right now we're happy to be constantly attached. He cooked dinner the other night and has been washing the dishes and playing a lot with Gavin. I am going to miss his extra help when he does get a new job.

I have been sending his resume out to a few jobs a day and crossing my fingers that someone will call us back for an interview. I don't want to jinx it but we have gotten VERY lucky and had the nicest person on MTSD send in his resume to her company. She has done so much to help us find a job that I can't say enough good things about her. The only problem is the job doesn't open up until next month and Jon still had to go to an interview and qualify for the position, so just because they have his resume doesn't mean he'll get the job. By the way this job is AWESOME, so it's really hard to not put all our hopes into him getting it.

Tuesday we went and signed up for WIC, and next Tuesday I get to go to the Medical office and fill out forms to try and get Medical for the new baby that is due in December. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night stressing about healthcare and about the baby, and then have trouble getting back to sleep. I know deep down that everything will work out, but it's so hard not to worry about the unknown.

So, basically we are still living like Jon has a job, since he technically has his job for 60 more days... but as the days slowly tick away we'll have to get more urgent about things. At least there is always unemployment if he still doesn't have work by then...

Next time I write I'll try and post something about Gavin and our wonderful adventures! Bye!

Layed Off

Well I woke up this morning and saw a pile of paperwork on my husband's desk. I thought it was work related but as I read I discovered that it was lay-off papers telling him that he no longer was needed at work. The company let off 70 people and he was one of the newer hires so he had to go too (some people he knew had worked there for over 15 years and got layed off as well). I am really in shock right now.
He has 60 days of benifits but starting October 8th we will have no medical insurance... and I am due December with a baby. I am so scared and not sure what to do. I know he is taking it harder than I am, and feels depressed about it. We have time to look for new jobs and get unemployment but I just don't see him finding anything as good as what he had. Also it was the first job we had medical insurance so I doubt he'll get a job with those benifits again (he doesn't have a college degree which makes it all the harder). I guess I just have to suck it up and go to Medi-Cal and WIC and get free services. I am so upset because that means I am forced to see random Doctor's and my entire birth plan is destroyed, I won't be able to have the baby at Mary Birch.... phew. I am in shock.I know all that matters is having a healthy baby but I went through so much crap when I had Gavin on Medi-Cal that this time around I was so excited to be able to do things better and on my own terms. I had a terrible infection and had to spend hours every week at Logan, and hours for appointments. I guess I just have to get over it since I don't have any other choice. We can't afford to pay out of pocket costs and we just got slammed with my breast surgery bills so we've got those to worry about at the moment.I don't know why I am telling you all this. I need to just get it off my chest. How do I stay happy around Gavin when I am so upset, and how do I support and make my husband feel better?