Annika slept through the night!!

Oh, and she's the sweetest baby ever, Exhibit A:

 

She is SO gosh darn cute. I love having a little girl!! Everyone is doing well, Randal is off his IV meds and is at his first day back working at the winery as I type. I *LOVE* the big pic of Annika, getting kisseed by her ever-lovin' Daddy- those two are so incredibly sweet together, it's palpable how special they are to each other. They boys are enjoying the warmer weather, although I've got my first patchwork sunburn from playing at the pool with Amber & Gabby yesterday (sorry, no pics of mommy's first bathing suit excursion- I don't care HOW skinny you think I am.... just go riiiight on thinking.) The Health & Harmony Fair is this weekend, you can bet on pictures from that, though! Baby's First HippieFest- you KNOW that one has a spot in the baby book... as soon as I get one. And, you know, a camera. At least my phone is there to capture the moment, even if it's not fully encompassed in all of its asthetic glory.

In other news, we have found a new house and will be moving at the end of the month! Although I paticularly detest moving in general, (I JUST got everything settled at THIS house!) the new house has twice the living space with the 2nd floor and twice the yard space as well with (white picket) fenced front & back yards. It also has four bedrooms- the first time either Randal or I will have lived in a house with adequate bedrooms for each person, something that we both feel really good about. I think it will smooth things out especially in Tobin's world, who will benefit from having his very own space to be responsible for and close the door to when he feels the need.

This also means I get to decorate my very first little GIRL'S room! I'm a bit perplexed, having never done such a thing, but I'm pretty sure it involves lots of fairies, MeMa's (my maternal great grandmother) rocking chair and little tiny things that make people go, "Awwww..." Not too much pink, though. I'm thinking light greens and Mother Goose things- I really like vintage toys and plaques and things, especially for nurseries. We don't have a crib yet but we do have the cradle that their Grandpa Ray made, which was used by their cousin Dominic and Aiden and now Annika, too. Hooray for a place for my ceramic fairies I've accumulated over the years! (actually, Miss GabbyDoodle aquired quite a few of them, but still...)

The master bedroom has dual shower heads, his & hers closets and sinks as well as a 6' soaking tub. HECK YES. The carpet is old and blue, which is much more suited to little children than the white (oh, the horror) that we have now. Our current landlady is thinking of selling the house anyhow, so it seems to work out for the best on everyone's ends. It's closer to the freeway and to KJ for Randal and also closer to Kira's & Amber's houses, which is nice for me. :) To top it off, it's on a court for the boys to ride their bikes in and the rent is $100 less! *ahh*

Things are going well, despite all of the crazy little things that pop up here and there... but that's what life is, you know? The boat is constantly rocking... sometimes it's soothing and rhythmic enough to rock us to sleep, sometimes a storm comes out of nowhere and all we can do is find something to grab onto to keep our feet somewhere near the ground. I hate to take a meatphor and run, but Randal is such a wonderful anchor- I love how all of us in our little family fulfill our individual roles, even the kids and the cats. Our day to day life is so joyful and full of love, I am thankful everyday for them and our extended family, who keep us floating when it gets really crazy. You guys are all such blessings in your own ways- thank you for being a part of this crazy voyage! ...okay, enough sea-baring likenesses. Ahoy!

Quick Update

Randal will be released on IV meds this evening, with homecare (a RN coming to our house to check his blood & give him an IV) for 7-10 dys. Hooray!!

Post- Surgery Update

Putting the pics physically into the entry is the only way I've found to outsmart the counfounded new photo system on this contraption, so here they are over the last two days...

Randal, passed out after surgery- at which point a gave him a manicure and a pedicure (might as well take advantage of his multiple days of bootlessness and unlimited supply of rubber gloves! :) and laminated a sticker of a sunshine on his beautifully filed and buffed good big toe- the other one is so nasty, I figured make the other one pretty! Uh- I mean manly. Fun. Festive... heh heh. ;) I wasn't able to snap a shot of it, since he woke up and said, "What the hell is that star doing on my toe?" to which I lovingly replied, "It's a sun, not a star... what did you expect me to do with you passed out for two hours?" I mean hey- at least I didn't put shaving cream on his hand and tickle his nose or anything!

     

Aiden, having figured out the secret to harnessing the power of the heater vent in the morning...

 

the boys, picking flowers for Gram

Suiting up to visit Biohazard Man

I didn't know it was possible to be without normal human contact, edible food & direct sunlight on a melee of drugs and still look so handsome! 

 

hanging in scrubs...

 

playing Sterile Uno

 

His surgery went well- they just removed all of the skin from the affected area- essentially, there's a 2x3inch area about a 1/2 inch deep around the joint of his left big toe that is an open wound right now- they just had to cut away all the skin, since the inside was simply serving as a breeding ground for the bacteria. Yum. Hopefully, he'll be released Thursday and continue to receive IV antibiotics for about two weeks or so. If that's how to get a paid vacation out of the Coast Guard, so be it! :) I'm sorry he had to hurt, but at least now they have him on pretty strong pain meds, so it's mostly manageable now. He has to stay off of it for at LEAST a week- we'll see how he deals with that! Luckily he's got a thick head of hair, so when he starts ripping it out it won't be *too* noticeable...

We are managing to stay aflout at home, thanks to the help of my wonderful parents who have both helped in so many ways over the past few days so that I could be with Randal in his germ infested incarceration.THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I will try and add more updates when I can- thank you all for your coninual thoughts and blessings.

Randal's Foot Info

I'm nursing and typing one handed, so forgive the shortness. Randal is having surgery to open and clean out the infection in his toe, which seems to be some crazy resistant strain of staph. It has gotten into his tendon and possibly his bone, which would mean complete loss of the use of it. He'll go in at 10:30 and it should take only about 20 minutes or so if all goes well. I have to suit up in a beauteous yellow gown and gloves to visit- everyone around him looks like they're in biohazard suits and he feels a bit like a leper, but hopefully after this morning he'll be on the road to healing, where they won't have to repack his wound two or three times a day. Ouch! Okay, my arm is incredibly sore and I've got to get going, anyhow. Call me or check here for more info- Randal will likely be trying to rest- I never thought I'd have to write THAT in my journal! Please send your thoughts/prayers/well wishes/good vibes/good luck charms/shaamanic visions, etc our way & I'll try and keepb you guys posted. Thank you!

 

Just in case you missed it...

 *shudder*

 

 

AOHell has decided to revamp their pictures and there's nothing I can do about it, except let you know that if you click on the pictures, it should bring you to some sort of non-moving album. These are just a couple of pics from recent days, posted mainly so y'all can see the horror that is Randal's left foot- he has a boil on his toe that got infected and turned into cellulitis and HURTS. He's out of work for almost a week, though, which is good... although keeping him resting is QUITE the chore. Eew, okay, back to the epsom salts. Ugh.

Pictures of my sleeping babies (of various sizes-I had to document it!) and playing boys (also of various sizes :) Someday, I swear, I will write. We had SO much fun last night after discovering a playground with trikes- I haven't laughed so hard in I can't tell you how long! I hope you all are well and enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I did taking them! :)

your new favorite pictures