Casey and Rachel Hall Family

6 months later

2011-04-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 6 months since my last post! #2 is getting sooo big! He loves it when I sings to him. I started singing the song from The Princess and the Frog called When We're Human and he just busts up laughing! I'm going to learn more songs for the little guy. #1 really could care less when I sing to her. E2 has such a sense of humor and he's so ticklish. I wish I could spend more time with him. He's started on solids, but is having a hard time adjusting to them. I'll give him a spoonful and he'll keep it on his tongue and sit there with his mouth open refusing to swallow. If the food slides back towards his throat he'll start gagging. It's funny and stressful.

Works are going good. I work 2 jobs, Scheduling for Pinnacle Security and cashiering for WalMart. Last semester was so stressful for Casey and I. I think Casey has to retake a few of his classes, I was working two jobs, Casey was working and going to school and dealing with a new baby. Yeah, it was stressful. So I am working two jobs while he just concentrates on school and kids. It's working well! We're also looking at moving closer to school this month! We have an apartment all ready to go and everything! It'll be a lot closer to school and one of my jobs. We're going to get the kids in the school daycare this semester. It's so stressful having to deal with babysitters and wondering if they can take the kids. I wish I could stay home with the kidlets but, alas, it's not possible. So, we're doing the next best thing, getting them in a regular daycare. :)

Espen is growing like Crazy too! She loves to run around and jabber. Sometimes she'll say things we understand but most of the time even I can't understand her. She loves to watch Wallace and Grommit with us and will sometimes run around begging us to turn it on for her. "Wallace Grommit?" "Wallace Grommit?" So cute! Her hair is starting to get thicker, she got her first haircut shortly before her birthday. Today I put it in a little tiny bun for church, she looked soo stinkin' cute!

2010-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome baby #2! He was born on 10/7/10 at 7:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs and was 19 inches long! Welcome little one!!!

two weeks left

2010-09-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

*le sigh* I have just over two weeks left of being prego. I'm very happy about that. Now, I know that this baby needs to stay in for as long as possible, but I can't help but pray that he comes early. This pregnancy has been harder than the last one. I think it's been harder because I've been working the two jobs and the second job was cashiering at Wal-Mart. It was hard to stand on my feet for an additional 4-6 hours every evening. My hips, back, legs and feet would be killing me at the end of every night and I wasn't getting very much sleep. I was so exhausted. But, my LOA from Walmart started yesterday, so I am done there for a while. My LOA from Pinnacle starts in 13 days and just a few days after that, I'll be having this baby!

Hey! I got MVP in my department for August! I got a $30 gift card, and apparently I might be getting a jacket too! sweet! This will look good on my resume!

We still can't decide on this baby's middle name. His first name is Ean. We've got a few choices in the air: Conner, Collin, McKay, Christopher....Lots of C's as you can see. I guess we'll figure it out.

Lots of stuff....

2010-07-18T16:07:00.001-07:00

So, lots of stuff has happened since February! Well, the reason the doctor's couldn't do much about the gall bladder attacks except prevent them is because I am preggo! So yeah, I'm sure all those who read this blog already know that so I'll dispense with the details. Long story short, due date Oct. 13th, having a boy, name will be Ean (something) Hall.... WHEEEE!!!!

I'm now working two jobs, I'm still working mornings at Pinnacle in scheduling. I applied for a job as a Field Service Coordinator and I hope that at least I get an interview. I think I'd like the job and I'd do really well at it. :) My other job is cashiering at Walmart. Just in the evenings and part time. I'm really tired quite often but, I gotta do what I gotta do.

Today is Casey's 30th birthday and my 27th is just around the corner. This year I am actually looking forward to it. Last year I DID NOT want to turn 26, it was so unwanted. I mean, it was a turning point for me, I was closer to 30 than 20. But, now that I'm past that I'm ready to have fun this year! I actually took the day of this year and I'm only hoping that I get to sleep in, that is ALL that I want this year. Yay! I made Casey a german chocolate/reeses peanut butter cup cake! And I bought us a couple of steaks and we're having baked potatoes, I think I'll steam some broccoli and maybe a salad. Oh, so yummy! :)

I'm back to watching scrubs again. lol. I got scrubbed out, but an 18 month break has made it all funny again. yay!

The Story of the Gall Bladder

2010-02-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

So, I started having pain in my abdomen about a year ago. I went to the ER but they couldn't diagnose it. I think it's because I was having a hard time breathing and they were more concerned about that. After a CT scan and a few lortab later, I was walked out the door. Well, since then I have had probably anywhere between 10-15 more of these attacks. Ugh, they were awful! The worst one before yesterdays was the day I did Heather's engagement pictures. I was soooooo stinkin' sick. I was throwing up, and just hunched over in pain, but when it came time to do the pictures, I was feeling better and everything went off without a hitch and we got some great shots. At this point, I thought I had a peptic ulcer because I was taking advil regularly because my back was hurting me. Anyways, I was treating it with acid reducers and trying to eat a healthier diet. It seemed to work quite well! I hadn't had an attack for a couple of months! Well, a couple of weeks ago, two weeks exactly actually, I ended up having another one of these attacks. Due to some other incidences w/in the family and discussions with my mom we figured that I was havin gall bladder attacks. Casey took me to the ER and I started describing the pain and the first thing the ER tech asked me was "Do you still have your gall bladder?" I said that I did. Well, they did an ultra sound and lo and behold, I had gall stones. Well, there wasn't much we could do for them right now....so, we decided to try and prevent gall bladder attacks from happening. Now that we knew what I had, it should be that much easier, right? WRONG! Well, Wednesday night, I went home from my mom's in pain and I knew I was having a gall bladder attack, so I just kept waiting for it to subside, as they usually did after a few hours. But, it never did. I called my parents, we went to the ER, they gave me pain killers, which didn't help, and refered me to a surgeon. So the next day, first thing in the morning, we got a surgical consult and the Doc knew, from the first minute he pressed down on my stomach that I had a sick gall bladder. I was getting the surgery the same day. Keep in mind that the pain was still going on, it was not going away. I had been in intense pain, from 8pm wednesday night clear until 2:45pm thursday afternoon. I was in so much pain and so nauseated that I had been throwing up, and I couldn't eat anything. It was awful! So, I had my gall bladder removed. I guess you could say I'm a mutant, I'm one organ short! lol. The Doc told my parents that my gall bladder was sick and it wasn't going to get better, so doing this surgery was the best thing that could have happened.

I feel 110% better. I'm in no pain because of it, aside from pain of surgery. I do need to watch my diet for the next couple of weeks, no jumping back into hamburgers and french fries tomorrow! But, I should feel great! Yay! My parents and family and husband have been so helpful through everything. They have provided me with so much support and comfort and help. I love them all so much! C has been a wonderful husband through it all, not freaking out and he's still been able to go to work, with all the help from my mom. I was really worried that C would just be freaking out and so worried that he would be beyong functioning, but he's been really awesome and supportive. My sis in law, B, took our baby for the night, the first night. Oh my gosh, that was so helpful. I was in a lot of pain from the surgery. My sis in law, J, brought our family dinner tonight, which was awesome. Everyone has just been super helpful and I am really grateful to have them in my life. Thank you so much to everyone.

Happy Birthday E!!

2010-02-03T09:00:00.001-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year again! E joined our family one year ago! She has grown so much! Sometimes, it's still hard for me to believe we have a baby! She is sooooo much fun and always so cheerful and funny. She has a sense of humor and I don't think she knows it. She is starting to talk, well make sounds. She started with mama then progressed to dada and baba and more. She's now expanded her repertoire with tete. I remember the first thing she started imitating was Casey blowing raspberries. That was fun at first, then we had to help her UN-learn it. Every once in a while she still does it and it's cute, but I have to remind her that it's not polite. She's walking now! Of course, she still prefers to move by crawling but, she will walk. She likes it when we tickle her sides. She loves to snuggle when she sleeps and she loves when we read to her at bedtime. She is so patient we we read the scriptures to her.

Her birthday was a lot of fun. We took her to California Pizza Kitchen and we had a Shrimp Scampi pizza, she didn't eat any shrimp though. (I'm going to try and imitate that pizza because it was really good.) We told them it was her birthday and they made her a hot fudge sundae, complete with a cherry and birthday candle on top! we sang her happy birthday and gave her her first taste of ice cream and fudge. She loved it, of course! I even gave her bits of cherry and found those bits in her diaper the next day! lol. Then we took her to Build a Bear and we made her a bunny dressed in pink and named it Princess Penelope. Then, because the pizza was so small, we went to walmart and got ingredients for french bread pizza and had more pizza at home. We also bought these little frozen molten lava cakes and man, I really would compare them to molten lava! I accidentally dumped mine off my plate and into my lap and it BURNED like crazy! OUCH! I survived and am no worse for wear. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I'm excited to see what the next year brings!!!!

Bipedal

2010-01-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's true! E is now bipedal! It has been fun! I love that she's starting to tottle around!

Unprivate

2010-01-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

So... I have decided to make my blog un-private.

The reasons to making it private were that my mom suggested it and to protect my family and friends. But really, I don't post anything if it's private and if I use "internet smarts" there is no need to make it private. SO, I am slowly going to go through my blog and edit out names and change them to something else just to protect us. BUT, I'm sure those who know me will know who and where I'm talking about. Maybe somebody else will enjoy the stories too. *shrugs*

FUN FUN FUN

2009-10-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

More fun in the Hall household. I don't know how many of you heard: Casey recently lost his job. But, you know, it's okay. He was getting tired of Applebee's. It was great while it lasted (on good nights he could averaged $23/ hour, on bad nights, $5/ hour). But, it wasn't consistent and his work hours started to diminish for the last month and a half and it was an unreliable source of income. So yes, I'm now the bread winner. Until he finds another job. Please pray for Casey to find another job.

You know, God really does work in mysterious ways. First, we didn't have enough money in checking to cover our last rent check....ugh...the next day, Casey got pulled over. That same day, Casey got a message from his Dad that his Grandpa was sending him a check for $1,000! Then, Casey lost his job. Then, we got our earnest money deposit back, $750. So, it's interesting how things work out. I really do believe that God is watching out for us and answering our prayers. He's given us a cushion to use wisely until Casey finds another job. He was preparing us for our touch financial future. It's a big, BIG blessing. I'm not feeling the stress of Casey not having a job because of our cushion. I just hope we can make the right decisions w/ our limited income. What's great too, is that a few people have approached me recently wanting me to take their pictures, and they're wanting to pay me. If you're reading this and you're one of those people. I really appreciate it and I will give you the best work you've ever seen (hopefully! :) )

Tonight Casey and I went out w/ some of our friends. On the way home, we ran into some really....... uhhhh....hummmmm....to put it nicely, INCONSIDERATE drivers. They were driving very dangerously and very inconsiderately. It was a group of cars, the ones that are all tricked out with spoilers and piped and noisy, you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, there was a group of them spread out over all 5 lanes of traffic on the interstate. First, they would slow down to like 40 mph and wait for traffic to get way ahead of them. Then, they'd race! It was so infuriating and annoying and DANGEROUS! Anyways, Casey called the highway patrol on them. I hope at least one of them got pulled over, it'd be nice if they got a ticket too. That would, hopefully, teach them a lesson! I doubt it though, people like that are too selfish to care. Except for the drive home, we had a great time with our friends!

Updates

2009-08-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. I would like to blame my two time crunches...well, three technically. In the most important order. 1. Espen! She has reached so many new mile postes this past month! First, She has learned how to sit up on her own. Not move from the lying down position to sitting, but if I set her on her tush, she can now balance for minutes on end! Second, she has also accomplished rolling over!!!! Not only can she go from her tummy to her back, but she can go from her back to her tummy! She accomplished that feat in a total of like 2 days! YAY! Third, she is now experimenting with all sort of solid foods! She likes pears, squash, applesauce, peas and she's not a big fan of green beans peaches and bananas. And fourth, her biggest accomplishment yet, she is inchworming! Not quite crawling yet, but she's trying so hard! She get up on her hands and knees and she'll rock back and forth, then fall on her face. Lol. She's a good sport, she doesn't cry through any of it. But, alas, no teeth yet. She's still just a gummer!

2. Work! Yes, I got a job. I can't remember if I posted it in my previous entries. I got a job, for now, at Pinnacle Security. Pinnacle security sells home and business alarm systems. I work in their customer service department, taking calls, for customers...dealing with a wide variety of issues. It's an okay job. Nothing of course compared to a dream job, but dream jobs are hard to come by right now and I am SOOOOOOOO happy to just have A JOB! Luckily, Case and I work opposite schedules right now and he's able to be with her (when he's not in class) while I'm at work and I when he's at work!

3. I am a sucker for the sackboy. When I'm not feeding Espen, bathing Espen, playing with Espen or reading a book. I waste my time playing Little Big Planet. Usually, I play in the evenings after Espen has gone to sleep. My friends and I have all discovered the joy of building our own levels and then publishing them for the whole world to play and rate! If you have a PS3 and are looking for a good recommendation for a game. I recommend Little Big Planet. It's so, so silly. And it's probably the best game you could ever find with a "G" rating. Great fun for kids AND adults! So yeah, big time waster! lol

Yes, you heard right, Casey is now in school! I'm so proud of him! School is a big step! He's going to do communications and he want's to be a publicist.

Heather's Bridals

2009-08-07T19:34:00.003-07:00

Here is a sample of Heather's Bridals, since I can't post 'em on facebook. Ya know, so her Fiance Traase won't see them. :D

Ha! I knew it!

2009-07-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, so we had a service call on our oven and guess what!? It really wasn't my fault! The oven's coil on the bottom wasn't working! That would explain every problem I had! Also, our AC was running on half capacity! Our apartment's been so hot but we haven't bothered calling a tech because we're moving soon! But, we couldn't handle it anymore! But, it's fixed now and our apartment is now bearable! yay!

I swear it's not my fault!!!

2009-07-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

So, lately I've had all sorts of problems baking. I normally have no problems at all! I don't know what it is! First, my bread wasn't cooking right. It was golden and delicious on the top and white on the part that was in the pans. Not only that, but the minute I took them out of the pans they sunk and were doughy! I've never had that problem before! I felt bad I ruined a batch of bread but decided next time I would turn the heat up, because obviously they weren't cooked enough, right? Well, I did that and the same thing happened only this time instead of being golden and delicious on top they were really brown...but still doughy inside!!! I can't tell you how frustrating it is to make such delicious bread for so long then have it fail several times in a row. Next I baked brownies......from a box. Same type of problem, crispy on the edges and gooey in the middle. I thought since I baked them in a stone wear dish maybe it just took longer since the pan was thicker. Well, my mom's birthday was on the 16th and I decided I was going to bake and decorate a cake for her. This is my result:

Okay, what's the deal!? I don't think it's me. It's got to be the oven.

Happy

2009-07-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

So, sometimes I get worried about things that don't exist. I was wondering if Espen really is happy and if I'm doing a good job as a mom. Well, I decided to ask her and guess what!? She said yes! Well, okay, she smiled at me and made a sound that sounded like "yesh". I know she'd rather stay up at bedtime and she hates eating with a spoon but, she's happy! lol! Having her smile when I asked her that question was like a small little answer to a prayer. How I love her!

New Job

2009-07-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes. I have a new job. This is all I'm going to say about it. Maybe later I'll post more about it.

I take calls from people who signed up for a promotional kit to earn money at home, or to get information about grants, or whatever. The long and short of it is the website says you'll get the kit for $1.95 BUT in the terms and conditions (which no one I talk to reads) it says you'll be charged for things AFTER your three day trial which starts NOW!

What I've learned and want to share with others:

READ THAT FINE PRINT!!! READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS!!! I CANNOT HELP YOU IF YOU DIDN'T READ THEM! PLEASE DON'T CALL ME!

But, I have a job and it will help us in the long run.

Picture of the cute onesie I bought EL

2009-06-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

It is just so cute! I love the patterns and colors!

Renna's Challenge continued

2009-06-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to those who won "Renna's Challenge"! I have made your prize and I hope you enjoy them! I thought of each and everyone one of you when I designed and made them. Hopefully I can get them in the mail this week! I want one.... Lol!

http://caseyandrachelhallfamily.blogspot.com/2009/02/rennas-challenge.html

Presenting:

2009-06-17T19:19:00.001-07:00

Onesie

2009-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

I bought Espen the cutest onesie! It is a Dr. Suess onesie. It's a light green color and has the fish from The Cat in the Hat book jumping out of water. It's so cute! All the colors are patterned like plaid and flowers! On her behind it says Dr. Suess in pink! So darn cute!!!

The Rain

2009-06-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, the rain is really coming down! Now hail too! This is Espen's first REAL thunder storm. She's seen lightening from a distance and quite thunder but this is really close! So, I took her outside (the bottom of our apartment building stairs) and we watched it rain for a few minutes. The first lightening strike happened and I counted to 5 and explained to Espen what it meant. I told her that there was no reason to be scared of it, but that it was dangerous and I would keep her safe. She loved feeling the splashes of the rain blow onto her face, she laughed! After a couple minutes we went inside and watched it from our window. She was very facsinated with it. Now onto my tornado warning story:

I was living in Gillette and working for a photographer there: George Dunlap ((www.dunlapphoto.com) Thought I put that little plug in there for him. lol) Anyways, it was raining outside quite a bit and I had to make a run to the post office. While I was waiting in line it started to hail! The hail grew bigger and bigger! Then while the lady was weighing the mail, I had lots of pieces, the tornado warning sirens went off! I looked at her and her at me and I was thinking "Okay, I'm sure they have a place we can go to be safe." Ha! She looked at me and said "Well, you're going to have to pay for these we have done and leave." In my head I'm thinking she's crazy! I'm supposed to go back out into the rain and hail and find a safe place when you have a place you can go? Well, it's the USPS, of course I couldn't go behind the counters to where ever because that's the way they are! Security is everything!!! LOL!!! Anyways, the hail is bigger around than quarters! And as I was running to my car I'm thinking "What a day to wear a skirt!" and "I hope my car doesn't get dented" and "Well, this would certainly be an interesting way to die...one I never imagined!" So, drive as fast and safely as possible back to my work. I had to park behind the building and run to the front to enter. GAH!!! Stupid hail! I got knocked in the head and back a few times but, still kept running...well, walking fast, I had heels on. Well, I made it inside and down to the basement with my coworkers. And 10 minutes passed while we were listening to the rain and hail hit the roof and windows. We were all really worried about our cars. Lol...not our lives! Well, we lived. And there was a tornado a couple of miles out of town. It didn't do any damage but still, the thought of a tornado is kinda scary. I kinda wish I'd seen it! Our cars survived, though I was a little worried because I've seen what hail can do to a car! My friend, Jill, had her car damaged pretty severely by some hail. There were a few tornado warnings while I lived there but that was the most exciting one.

Espen Is:

2009-06-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

mothers day pics and first swim pics!!!

2009-05-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

She smiled while we were swimming! she likes water!!

My First Mothers Day

2009-05-15T20:52:00.001-07:00

Last Mothers Day Casey didn't want to celebrate it. He thought it was just a absurdity. After all, I wasn't a mother yet! Lol... He went ahead anyways and celebrated it anyways. He did something I can't even remember. lol. Little did we know, we WERE pregnant! I remember telling him, "I could be pregnant! You don't know!!!" He said later that he felt like a real jerk when we found out. That part makes me laugh!!!

So this year he decided to make it good. He did a good job. He made me breakfast in bed: toast, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. (I love hashbrowns!!!) Then he got me two gifts. A PS3 game an a glass blown flower which he helped to make! Yes, that's right! He helped make it! It's awesome, it's purple (my fav. color), white and blue! That's right, you can all be jealous I got a glass blown flower made by my awesome husband! lol! Espen helped him make it...sort of...she went with him to pick it up. Later, we went to my parents and had good food and took pictures. And here they are.

I love my husband!

hummm...well...I can't seem to get the pictures on here.

:(

The Last post...

2009-05-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

was the day before our one year aniversary! Wow! It's been quite a year! Let us sum it up for ya:
Moved to Utah! Yipee!!! Got married to my wonderful husband, Casey! Found out we were expecting our first baby! Moved from my parents to our first apartment together! Got a kitten whom we named Izzy. Welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Espen Love, to the world. And finally, got sealed in the Salt Lake Temple for time AND all eternity exactly one year after our wedding in Alpine! Quite the year indeed!

I had a great first mothers day. See pictures as follows!

The Kitties

2009-04-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, the time has come. We knew this would happen eventually. Our kitties have to go. Our rent will go up unless we get rid of them. So, I'm putting in a call for help! We have two cats. We want them to go to (a) good home(s). They're both really friendly and very gentle. Izzy, my cat, has long black and white hair, is super soft and very gentle. Chica, Casey's cat, is a siamese hemingway cat. That means she has 6 toes on her front paws. She is very gentle, loves attention, will sit on your lap and tolerate every kind of attention. Chica is also declawed on her front paws, so she is an inside cat. Both the cats are good with kids and have never bitten or scratched. Both are fixed and have their shots up-to-date. Izzy, even though he has front claws, has never clawed our furniture. If you're interested in taking them (or one) in, please let me know. All in all, they are very good cats.

USPS

2009-04-13T14:48:00.001-07:00

Oh, how I love you!

I'm being sarcastic, by the way.

So last week we checked our mail and lo and behold, we had another bill. (surprise, surprise, I know!) We opened it and we thought we paid it a year ago! What the!? So, in his frustration, Casey called the dentists office (in Spearfish, SD, not my cousin,) They checked their records and yep it certainly was paid. We examined the bill closer and the date at the top of the invoice said "April 18, 2008" Yes, it took a year to travel to us. I bet that lowly envelope has been on a quite the journey. Either that or it must have gotten stuck in the postman's chair for a year. Poor, poor envelope, being sat on everyday for a year straight has got to suck.

A few things I've learned

2009-03-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when life gets you down, you just gotta remember your blessings.

The saying "Nothing in life worth having is ever easy" is SO SO true. I hope nobody ever thinks otherwise.

Never bite the hand that feeds you.

Holding a grudge is like poison in your veins.

Share your testimony, it'll help it to grow.

If you're ever faced with temptation, just turn away.

If you convince yourself that bad things will happen, bad things will happen. Likewise if you convince yourself good things will happen, good things will happen.

Your attitude effects everything. EVERYTHING!!!

The list goes on, but so does life!

pictures!

2009-03-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a small sampling of our family pictures! My friend Melissa took them, she did such a good job!!! her website is www.thestudiophotographersslc.com.

Bills, Bills, Bills!

2009-02-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Whoever guesses correctly the amount of mine and E's medical bills gets a virtual pat on the back! (Amount before insurance billing.) Let's just say it was quite a hefty sum. Maybe this breakdown will help you sum up:
4 hours monitoring before delivery for mommy
Oxygen for mommy
epidural for mommy
local anesthesia for epidural
more anesthesia for C Section
several IV pokes for mommy (And vein finder)
IV fluid for several days
Emergency C Section for mommy
which includes: anesthesiologist, Doctor, many nurses
4 days stay for mommy after delivery
percocet every 6 hours for mommy
ibuprophen every 8 hours for mommy
antibiotics for 4 days for mommy
nurses checking vitals and stuff every 2-6 hours for 4 days for mommy
nurses for E after delivery
Cpap for E
Oxygen for E
9 days IV fluid for E
9 days time of nurses for E
9 days antibiotics for E
9 days formula for E
9 days diapers, wipes, blankets, etc for E
pic line for delivery of antibiotics

Should I keep going?

Let's just say it was a lot.

Renna's challenge!

2009-02-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me.It will be my choice what I send to you.But...there is a catch...ready?
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (But I hope you do!)
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year!
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5-The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog! (then come here and post, that you put it on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a homemade gift by me! Anyone up to the challenge?

2009-02-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

E L H made her grand apperance on Sunday, Feb 1st 2009 at 1:52pm. She weighed 6lbs. 3oz. and 19 inches long. And I'm totally gonna brag: SHE IS GORGEOUS! Never before in the history of mankind has a more beautiful baby been produced by two people. But, what can I say, I'm a little biased.

So. You all want to know the scary story? Well, I guess I went into labor on Saturday afternoon around 3 o'clock. I wasn't really having contractions but, when I went to the restroom I noticed I started bleeding! Casey was at work, so I called my mom and she and my dad took me to the hospital. Well, I was dialated to about 3.5, so they sent me home. We all knew that I was going to be coming back. They sent me home with a percocet for the pain. I woke up that night at about 2 am having regular contractions but, it really felt like really hard period cramps, so I took some tylenol and went back to sleep. Well, not sleep, more like fitful awakeness. Around 8 am Casey and I decided it was time to go to the hospital so we started getting ready. I knew the day was going to be long and (lol) laborious so I decided to take a shower and have breakfast (which was a good choice btw). We called my parents to let them know I was going to the hospital and they met us there. We also called my bro. Todd because lol, he's been really anxious about E and I didn't want him to worry or have to call us like every two minutes. lol. Anyways, I was admitted and hooked up and monitored.

I was admitted to the hospital and hooked up to all these monitors and they checked me again and I was dialated to a good 4-5 (if I remember correctly). When you're in labor, you're hooked up to two monitors, 1 measures the baby's heart rate and 1 measures mommy's contractions. I was having regular contractions about 2-4 minutes apart. With every contraction I had E's heart rate would drop significantly and between contractions it wouldn't rise back very quickly. Poor little E was under a lot of stress. The doctors were really concerned about that. The nurses gave me an IV and while they were watching it to make sure it was in correctly and good enough, my arm started to swell around the injection site. The IV was no good. two nurses, an anesthesiologist, and yet ANOTHER nurse tried all the places they could find in my arms to administer an IV and they all FAILED! lol! Every vein they tried it was a blowout (I think that's the term they used). They even had this cool devise called a vein finder to find veins and they still didn't find them. So, I got an IV in my left foot! The funny thing is, the anesthesiologist who correctly administered my Epidural was the same one who couldn't get an IV in me. kind of ironic. lol. After about 3 and a half hours of monitoring E and I, my Doc decided that the only way to safely have my baby was to have an emergency C Section. So, they prepped me for surgery and I watched Casey get ready to come with me. I got the shakes SOOOOO bad. I couldn't hold still at all. I was shaking from my shoulders up uncontrollably. I was so scared! I would try to calm my breathing but, it only worked for a second or two. After a few minutes of prepping me in the OR, Casey was allowed in, but not allowed to look over the curtain between my head and tummy. He was so great, I couldn't have asked for anyone better. He held my hand and spoke to me calmly and stroked my forhead and kissed my cheeks. He also acted so brave and didn't pace or anything the whole time. I was so scared! When the c section was underway I heard the Doctors talking and they told Casey and I that I had a uterine infection. WHAT!? E was having a hard time breathing. WHAT!? She had pooped meconium in her amnionic fluid and was really sick. What?! When she was out I heard a couple of whimpers and about a minute later, she started crying. Oh my word, I'll never forget that sound in my whole life. It was the most glorious sound I've ever heard! My baby was alive and okay. Casey and I were bawling our eyes out.

I was so scared for my baby. How did I get a uterine infection? What did I do? Is she going to be okay? What happens now? I had so many questions. They wrapped her up and I got to see her for all of 15 seconds before she was taken away. I wanted my baby! Why couldn't I hold her? I felt terrible! They took me to a room where I was to recover and I could get some rest. Doctors and nurses kept coming and going as they always do, collecting blood, urine, blah blah blah. In the end, The docs are stumped, they have no idea what the infection was caused by. I was in the hospital for 4 days. E has been in the NICU since Sunday and we hope to take her home on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. Pray for E and all the little babies in the NICU. They're all really sick and need your prayers.

Shopping with the "In Laws"

2009-01-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone this is Casey I normally don't do this blog stuff but tonight the funniest thing happened that I just have to let everyone know. I had the pleasure of baby shopping with Gaylen and Leona tonight at target. They were forced to get out of their pajamas to go to target because we were going shopping and we have a coupon for 10% off everything on our registry for the day. I had the wonder ideal of getting the scanner gun from customer service so we can add everything we were buying the the registry so we could save a little more. The in laws showed up about 20 min and a hundred dollars into our little shopping trip. Leona had me scanning everything left and right.

Once we finished I returned the scanner to customer service and printed off the new registry. Much to my surprise my wife and her mother were not done shopping I had to go back and get the scanner once again to scan 3 baby outfits. This is were the story get to be a little funny Gaylen was in need of some new socks you guessed it folks Leona made me add grown man's socks to our baby registry so they could get 10% off on socks. Leona looked at me as I was scanning the baby outfits and said "Don't forget the socks" so I added the socks to our registry laughing the whole time.

In their defense they did help us out a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just thought you guys might enjoy this little funny story

Week in review

2009-01-16T09:55:00.001-08:00

This past week has been eventful and yet uneventful all at once. First it started out on monday at about 6 am. I had bad heartburn and was hungry so I got up and had a bowl of fruitie tooties (ie. malt o meal fruit loops...lol...we're cheap.) then about a half and hour later I was worshipping the porceline god. WHAT!? That never happens! Yes, I still get morning sickness but usually my tummy settles after a snack and I never lose it half an hour later! I kept thinking that was odd. So, I get a piece of bread and eat about half of that and what do you know, I lost that one to the sewer system too! That morning I had a Dr.'s appointment so I called him and asked him if he still wanted me to come in and he did, so I went to my appointment with a bucket close by and I did utilize the bucket on the way to the Dr.'s. Poor Casey, he thought he would have to pull over. Well, I threw up about 4 times in four hours. not good. Doc checks me out and YAY! I'm starting to dialate! I was a whopping 1 at the appointment. It's exciting to me 'cause I've never done this before. And Espen's head is where it's supposed to be, down, and my cervix is softening and I'm starting to dialate! Woot! This baby's getting ready to come and play!!! (To me that's the most exciting event this week.) Anyways, I've got the flu real bad and I'm at the Doc's and I had to throw up in his sink. I feel bad about that. Well, he prescribed me an anti neausea medication but, I'd take it and I couldn't keep it down. I'd drink about a half cup of water or juice and then I'd be in the bathroom. And anything that was already in me, well, let's just say, it didn't stay there either. I was quickly becoming dehydrated and I was scared for little Espie. So, the Doc said to go to the ER and when I got there, they took me right up to Labor and Delivery! Wow! My own personal little tour! I got an IV and some anti neausea medicine in the iv and even with that I had to throw up. Well, at the hospital was the last time, thank goodness. I was so scared for Espen. All these what if's were going through my head, every worst case scenerio was playing through my mind. Casey and I prayed a lot and I had my hometeachers come give me a blessing. And we made it through. Espen is just fine, I'm fully recovered and I feel great! In fact, I've felt great the last 3 days! My boss was generous enough to give me this week off. Which really REALLY sucks paycheck wise but, has been nice cause I feel a lot better. I feel bad because I took this week off, put them in a bind and knowing how things usually go for me, I'll go to work on monday and go into labor at work and put them in a bind again. lol. It's kinda funny that way, that's how things usually work out for me.

OH! Yeah, I can't rememver if I mentioned that we lost another frog a while ago. Well, it was sometime before christmas we had another anphibious escapee. Well, we never found him and wouldn't you know. He never stunk so we COULDN'T find him. Well, I found it this morning. Poor little froggie, he's very crispified. So, we are down to one froggie and we have a lid now for our fish tank AND we invested in one fish. It's a black Ghost knife. it's about 5 inches long, has a small electric shock so we know the frog won't eat this fish! lol! It's quite a pretty fish. Too bad he likes to hide, we don't get to gaze upon his beautifulness very much. http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Knife,%20Black%20Ghost.htm Oh well. Here's a link to see what it looks like. Stay tuned for more updates! More on monday for sure cause I'm going in weekly now!

If....

2008-12-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

If Espen Love Hall pops and we discover she's really a he, we've agreed on a boy name. lol. Can you imagine the comotion in the delivery room? "What!? You're kidding right?" lol. That would be hilarious. Anyways, we've decided, JUST IN CASE.... that we'd name him Payson Christopher Hall. We're pretty darn sure it's a girl. But, it does happen occasionally. lol! I'd be sending Casey to the store to buy some boy stuff. I would not send my baby boy home from the hospital in girls clothes. lol!

Word

2008-12-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner! And a New Year! Holy SMOKES! Where did it go?

Casey and I put up our christmas tree! With a little help from my parents. We can't afford to get a tree so we borrowed one of their decorative trees and spruced it up with a bunch of decorations and lights and now our home is very festive! We got stockings hung up and a nativity set up. We even made gingerbread houses with the parents! I love homemade gingerbread. There is nothing so festive and mood setting than gingerbread. It's just so cozy. The only thing that would make this holiday even better was if Espen was here. *le sigh* but alas, she'll have her first Christmas next year. "You hear that Espen? This christmas would be too early for you!"

Yes, yes. I talk to my belly. Well, I talk to Espen. I usually tell her things like "Time to stop sitting on my bladder!" and "Stop hurting mommy!" Casey talks to her too. He usually tells her that he can't wait for her to come out and play with him. Then he'll blow a raspberry on my tummy and she'll do flips for him. She's starting to get big! She can't really twist and turn like she used to. Her turns are slower now, not so erratic and quick. I swear one day she was just doing summersaults over and over again! lol! Now it just seems like she's pushing on my stomach to make it bigger. lol! I'll tell you one thing, when she comes, I'll be very ready for her! No more heartburn and morning sickness! We're just moving on to the next phase! Complete and utter exhaustion! lol!

Thanksgiving was great!

2008-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was so much fun! Everyone put in so much hard work for everything and it turned out so great! I am most thankful for my family! We care so much for each other! I love them very much!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season to be NICE! HO HO HO

1. Wrapping Paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper. I love watching the paper go wild on christmas morning! Kids are so cute!
2. Real Tree or Artificial? Either one. We'll be lucky if we get a tree this year.
3. When do you put up the tree? ummm....When and if we get one!

4. When do you take the tree down? that depends
5. Do you like eggnog? love, love, love it!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Gosh, I dunno. Hummm.... I remember when I got a bike! I practiced riding it so much so I could take the training wheels off.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes I do!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Cards in the mail! It's more personal!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Lol, Christmas Story! the one with the red rider b-b-gun!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I know of. Pretty sure I kept and destroyed all the gifts I received as a kid.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge. I love homemade fudge and caramels!
16. Lights on the tree? Yep.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Uhhh...whatever happens happens!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen. (Only a real Christmas guru knows that it's Donder, not Donner.) <--that's from Alyson...? I don't know if it's true or not. But let's not forget RUDOLPH!!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas day! I would never ruin Christmas by opening presents the day before!! Casey's family opens one on Christmas eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? busy stores/traffic

23. Favorite ornament theme and color? Traditional Christmas colors, red, green, gold and silver

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I love turkey on christmas day.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Ummm....Really, I want baby stuff! (we're registered at Target.com) If you insist on getting me something, I want Stephens hot chocolate in French Vanilla or those spiced apple cider packets made by alpine. Yep, that's what I want.

Christmas is a Season. Christmas is a feeling. Christmas is kindness and love. Christmas is the highlight of every year that I always look forward to!

Bored....out.....of.....my......brains.......

2008-11-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

My brains are turning to mush....I need a new book to read. Does anybody have any suggestions?

I had something to say a few days ago but now I can't think of what it is...hummmm....

Well, Working in the lab at work has it's good side and it's bad side. The good thing is, I'm now doing something that I want to. I get to retouch pictures and design stuff. With my latest project done ( Banners for the South Towne Mall). I am just left with retouching pictures. I am working full time, more if I'd get paid for it, and working nearly with out a break. Seriously, my boss would have me there day and night if he could. I fell a little behind in my work but overall I'm staying on top of things. The bad side is I can't get a moment's peace to FINISH my work. There are like 3-4 things daily that pop up must be done NOW! When I worked the front desk, I very very very rarely made the lab do last minute projects. Now, I'm getting them frequently. What's the deal? Oh well, I guess it's just job security, right? I'm happy about it! :D

Espen is growing up a storm! I swear she was running a marathone earlier today and she was dancing this evening. I can hardly wait to meet her! Sure, I've been carrying her for 29 (almost 30) weeks now, but I still know nothing about her! Like, does she like hot chocolate as much as I do? Does she like our kitten? Is she allergic to them? How does she feel about our frogs eating our fish? Does she like my singing voice, or would she rather me put on a CD of lullaby's? Oh well, 10 1/2 weeks to go and I can start discovering those things. In the mean time, I'll do things I enjoy and hopefully, she'll love them too!

Being preggers is interesting. First of all, I never thought I'd get pregnant. (I was going to adopt...pht! just kidding...lol) My tummy is starting to get bigger, I can't even suck it in anymore. I cause traffic jams in the hallways at work! I'm hungry all the time, thirsty all the time and I'm getting regular heart burn (which I heard means she's going to have tons of hair!XD) Even though I'm nearing the finish line and I'm ready to turn this oven off, I'm still getting sick regularly. At least 2 times a week I need stay within close proximity to the bathroom in case I have to be sick. It's mostly interesting how my thoughts have changed. I've gone from wondering what movies are coming out to wondering if I really got what it takes to go into labor and have a baby. I keep thinking perhaps I can just ignore the fact that I'm growing large with baby and maybe she'll just suddenly appear one day in my arms without all the pushing and pain and episiotomies.... I also wish I had someone close to me pregnant as well. Like a sister-in-law or close friend. Nope, it's just me. I can talk about being pregnant all the time but, nobody is experiencing it with me. Casey comes close but, I work all day and he works late and Espen's usually quieted down when he gets home. He's lucky if he even gets to feel her move.

I'm really excited for Thanksgiving this year. It's going to be with my mom's side of the family so that means there's going to be a lot of people there. There is going to be tons of food! Kids! Games! We're holding an auction to raise money to buy a pig for a family in a 3rd world country! Casey and I have decided we're going to auction off his Albino Clawed Frogs. The only requirement is that they have an aquarium with an air pump. We're ready to change our tank from a frog tank to a fish tank! That and they keep eating the fish we buy for it! We've gone through 3 neon tetras and 2 mixed fruit fish! So, hopefully, somebody wants some frogs, some kid will beg their mom or dad to let them get the frog!!!

Last week we switched them to our bigger aquarium with out a lid. We went to the grandparents and came home to discover we had only 2 frogs! One of them had disappeared! We looked all over and decided it had jumped out and then got drug off by a cat. Later that evening Casey found it, Izzy had been playing with it. Poor, poor froggie. Sure, we wanted to get rid of them but that's not how! We'd rather them go the way of the earth but... meh. Sadness.

Anyways, I hope all is well with whoever reads this!

a month later...

2008-11-04T23:25:00.000-08:00

lol. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted! Well, here's the updates: We're finally starting to get settled in! Our front room, kitchen and bathroom are now pretty much organized and clean! Whee!!! Espen's room is still our storage unit but it's slowly emptying and being turned into a nursery. We got Casey's hand-me-down lazy boy in there, for late night nursing and stuff. The compy is in there too, I hope to move it to the front room. ..it may stay here though.

Halloween was pretty easy going for us. Casey had to work and I went to Todd and Brooke's for a Halloween Party. He claimed it wasn't a birthday party, but we all sang and wished him happy birthday anyways. Casey spray painted a pumpking and put a face on it for his pumpkin painting contest at work. We call it Krylon, 'cause of the paint! We got another pumpkin from the community garden by my parents house and it was decorative until a couple nights ago. We cut it up, roasted the seed and steamed the pumpkin! Last night, I made a pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin!!! I highly recommomend it!

I'm FINALLY starting to get a baby bump! It only took 27 weeks to get there. I'm quite proud of my bump. If Espen is kicking hard enough, you can see my tummy move too! Casey is finally able to feel her move too. He loves feeling her kick. It's like this thing that we've been told has been growing in me is ACTUALLY there!!! Most of the time I don't "feel" pregnant, aside from being sick. Although, it's getting harder to bend over and I'm eating like a horse! I guess I must be preggers! lol. Tomorrow I have to do the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. My blood sugar was too high after the one hour test, so now I have to do the three hour test. I'm not looking forward to it. I have to fast from midnight till the next morning. Normally, that's not a problem. This pregnancy, however, has made fasting impossible for me. I get really sick in the mornings if I don't have anything to eat right away. oh well, I'll do anything for this little wormie. I love her.

Work is progressing. I've moved from being the receptionist to the Graphic Artist/Retoucher. FINALLY! I was really getting weary of my job. But, the wait was worth it. I really do like retouching and designing stuff. I'm hoping to keep the job after Espen is born too. It'll be great!

The MOVE!

2008-09-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's finally happening! We are moving into our own place tomorrow! We have been so busy getting things ready for the move. We've been packing, cleaning and shopping for supplies. Luckily, because we've both lived on our own, we have some necessities already. Yesterday was so busy! First, we went to the apartment, picked up some paperwork we needed to fill out. Called the Gas company and set that up to start tomorrow, then the electric company to set that up. We went to the city hall to pay the deposit on the electric. Then we registered to vote in our new city. Then we went to the bank and deposited a couple checks and went to deseret book outlet store and I bought the 3rd Leven Thumps book for just $1.99! (Sweet deal!) Then we went to Ikea, TWICE! We bought so much stuff for so little. Things like, dish towels, broom and dust pan, oven mits, and a mid beam for our bed and a few others. There were a few other errands stuffed in there somewhere....

I got a kitten! It's so cute! When we first got it, we thought it was a girl so I named it Isabella. Well, it turns out it's a boy! lol. So, I've changed it's name to Izzy. It's darling. He's a black and white cat and it's about 8-10 weeks old. Oh, so cute!!!

So yay! New place TOMORROW!!! WOOT!

Meet Espen Love

2008-09-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

We've been married now for what...21 weeks? that's about 5 months? Wow! Time sure flies! What has happened, you ask? We got married, honeymooned in Vegas for 4 days, came home and made our selves comfy with my parents. 5 weeks after our marriage, I noticed that things weren't running on schedule with my body. So, I took a test and it came back positive. Yep, I was pregnant! HOLY SMOKES!!! I did a double take! The chances of getting a false positive are well...umpossible. Impossible to the 10th degree. We both want kids, so we'll accept it and have fun and learn a grown!

Today we found out we have an Espen Love. Thank goodness it's an Espen. We couldn't agree on any boy names. We've tossed a few out here and there but either I liked them and he didn't or He liked em and I didn't. I never thought naming a baby would be quite a challenge. But, a name means a lot. Or, in our case, it should. Casey loves sports, right? Well, he watches ESPN all the time....and well, they had a competition...or rather a bet to see if anyone would name the kid after the sports network. Well, people did and the name Espen was born. Well, I like the sound of it so we're using it. Espen was or will be born out of love but that's not the meaning behind her middle name. Love is a family name on Casey's mothers side. Tammy's (casey's mom) Father's name is Ernest Love, so we're using for our daughter. Espen Love Hall, has a good ring to it, doesn't it? Espen has been a blessing in our lives. Even though she is small and been around only a short time, she has impacted our lives. Our love has grown immeasurably. And we've learned the sacred art of compromise!

Daily updates: We're looking for an apartment and we think we found one! It's close to the freeway, my parents, my work, Casey's work. Just an all around good location! It's a newer place and they don't all ANY smoking! Chica Magenta is allowed there too! Casey's been working hard refinishing a table that was given to us by some of my brother's relatives. It's going to look nice when it's finished! I learned how to cook Casey's favorite dish: Chicken A La King. It's very simple and delicious, if you want the recipe just ask. My mom and I are working on getting a dress finished for our friend Eliza's wedding. We've had to alter the pattern, which has been a challenge but, hopefully, it will look good when we're finished. Casey's working on putting together an internet TV show. I hope it works for him because it will be a good outlet for a lot of pent up energy. I've been working on starting my own photography business. Right now I've been doing a lot of pictures for free to just build up a portfolio. I need recent work. The good news is, I haven't lost my photography eye! I can still take good pictures! Yay! Anyways, it's late and chica's whining to go to bed. (Not really, she's just whining.) Good night yall!