A Post from "Italy"

I worked until 2:30pm today and then rushed home only to turn around and leave again to Idaho Falls to see our good friend's adorable baby girl. After that fun visit we were off to "Italy". We started at the Olive Garden in Idaho Falls. We got there and it was a 45 minute wait. I had hardly eaten all day because of work and Eric hadn't eaten a ton either. So he ran over to Wendy's across the street to get us something small to hold us over until they called our name. We sat in a cold car while I attempted to entertain a tired and fussy baby.

Ruby finally fell asleep, only to be woken up as soon as we walked in. So much for a hands free dinner. But the Olive Garden was nice. We left there and tried to quickly grocery shop, plus I still needed to buy the gelato. Of course Ruby again woke up and was fussy AND.....no gelato. I saw it at Broulims the day before but I really didn't want to make another stop tonight. So we settled with Tillamook cookie dough ice cream....close enough to gelato right???

Upon finally returning home at about 9pm....I was grouchy since I had been gone all day. But I got out the gondola ride (a blow up canoe that some friends of ours let us borrow) and blew it up in the living room. Eric gave me his "ticket" to "Italy" which was when I realized we were suppose to be in "France".... oh well.

I played the "Italian Traditional Radio Station" on Pandora and rowed away while Eric and Ruby relaxed in the "gondola" eating "gelato".

(I even wore my black and white shirt. I think I was missing the hat, gold chain, Italian "stache", and curly chest hair though) 

I too got to take my turn relaxing on the "gondola" ride and eating "gelato" 

Overall I would have to say Italy was super fun....but I am looking forward to returning to my roots in Ireland next month :)

Eric's Pinterest Birthday

When you are poor, you have to get creative for holidays and birthdays. This year I found the perfect gift for Eric on Pinterest (okay, maybe it was perfect for me). I love to travel and since Eric hadn't been anywhere out of the country we thought it would be fun to save up and take a trip to Europe. Then we had a little surprise and found out we were having a baby. Two people in school and a baby = no $ for Europe.

So instead of really traveling to all these places, I got Eric a passport to love around the world. It includes a themed date for each month of the year in a different "country".

Yes those are fake airline tickets and a passport...I was so excited while I was making these!

We started off in Thailand, since Eric loves Thai food. 

                                                   

 I had to throw in a Ruby picture.  

She was as excited to go to Thailand as Daddy was! 

We went to Original Thai in Rexburg. 

And our trip was suppose to end with beautiful flying lanterns which I imagined would look like the scene from Tangled, even though we only had two. Eric was too scared to light them off for fear we might catch a building on fire. So we returned home to watch a horrible Thai movie with English subtitles which we ended up turning off.

We are looking forward to February's date in Italy and hoping things go a little smoother! And I found a better place to light off the lanterns so Eric won't be so scared. More posts to come from our trip around the world :)

Boob Stuff Can Make You Cry

I read a lot about giving birth and I was terrified to say the least. But I wasn't super nervous for after giving birth. I loved reading articles like "Ten Things They Don't Tell You About AFTER Giving Birth". Some of my favorites that made the list were from the blog Pregnant Chicken:

1. "You will have a really heavy period"
2. "Your crotch might be a mess"
3. "You're still fat"
4. "You might cry. A. LOT"
5. "Your hair might fall out"
6. "Breastfeeding might be difficult"
7. "You might hate your husband"
8. "You might be hot. No, not good hot. Gross, sweaty, fat man hot"
9. "Hard boobs"
10. "Pooing is scary"

I have discovered number 11 within the last few days...

11. Returning to work sucks because you just want to be at home with your baby and you might have to run into the bathroom at a grocery store while you are suppose to be job shadowing and pump (with a manual pump) while sitting on the toilet because your boobs are so full of milk you could possibly drown....

I have been in the market for an electric pump and thank goodness for my mother-in-law, she suggested to call my insurance and see if pumps are covered. Why yes they are! 100% and no deductible as long as it is in network. They gave me a couple of places that were local to check out. So with an hour before work I darted out the door after Eric got home to find me a pump! I first checked at the hospital. Only the receptionist was there and she had no idea how to bill my insurance for that. So after many phone calls she said that I would most likely have to pay up front and get reimbursed. That is $230 that could go to other things...like rent! She suggested I check out a medical supply company down the road, which my insurance also suggested. So I quickly drove over there. Two men were working....that should be your first clue to get out and run. I told the guy my whole situation and that my insurance said they would pay for it. He said, "What they don't tell you is that you have to have a prescription from a doc or have issues breastfeeding. They won't just pay for it out of convenience."
OH NO HE DIDN'T! Convenience mister....do you think having your boobs fill up so full that if you accidentally run into someone you might spray them in the eye is convenient?? Or sitting on the toilet in a grocery store toilet and pumping like a mad woman, as fast as her little hand can pump, is convenient?
But instead of getting up on his grill I just wanted to cry. Then the other guy working their proceeded to tell me what pump his wife got and how many children it went through...which sparked an idea. "Maybe you could rent one and pump like crazy and just freeze all the milk....how long does milk last in a freezer?"....other stupid guy "Like a whole year...maybe you could pump like crazy and sell your milk...there is a market for that!" I said, "Or I could donate it to some babies in need...there is also a market for that." That shut them both up and I told them thanks for the information and left. I called my insurance and told them that I was instructed that I needed a prescription and that the other place didn't know how to bill. My insurance company was super helpful and willing to talk to them to set them straight. When I tried to call the last place back the guy didn't believe me. So there is that. I returned home and crawled into bed with napping Eric and miss Ruby 10 minutes before work and cried about boob stuff. Eric was SUPER nice to me and kept telling me things were okay and that he was sorry I had to work.

I am super super thankful for this new crazy job of mine. It does have so many perks and it is a great job to have while Eric gets through school....just know that if you have a baby and have to return to work...boob stuff can make you cry (and then laugh about it later which tells you how hormonal you are)