doctor, doctor. give me the news.

the other day i counted and since Emerson was born we've been to the pediatricians office 7 times. which is a lot considering that he is only 10 weeks old.

the day he was born, he weighed 8lb 5 oz. when we left the hospital he weighed 7 lb 10 oz. which was a whole ordeal that was annoying and made me never want to have babies at a hospital in Idaho again. Did I ever mention that recovering in the hospital was like the worst two days of my life? I'm being dramatic but it was pretty sucky. No rest. No real help with anything. One nurse forced me to drink a can of prune juice. Emerson had a great latch the first couple of days. BUT I was forced to give him a bottle with formula because I was told in the middle of the night he had lost too much weight (now I know it was a normal amount) and it was the ONLY way. which messed up breastfeeding and then instead of getting real solutions to breastfeeding issues I was given temporary solutions which in the end made it where I couldn't exclusively breastfeed and made me totally hate breastfeeding because it was frustrating and exhausting. But anyway, I'm being a real whiner here. I just think it should be required for ALL hospitals to have certified lactation consultants available and not just L&D Nurses who all have different experiences with breast feeding and just give you advice based on their personal experiences and not actual knowledge on the subject. ANYWAY I'LL STOP RANTING.

then we went for his 3 day check up and he was back up to 7 lb 14 oz. So since he was gaining weight I took it upon myself to attempt to exclusively breastfeed again.

when we went in for his 2 week check up he weighed in at 8 lbs 3.5 oz. and I felt proud. "Screw formula!" I thought. But then the doctor said it wasn't good enough and to come back in a week just for a weight check to make sure he was still gaining. SO I kept breastfeeding.

a week later we went in and when I put him on the scale the scale said 8 lb 3.5 oz again. and I was devastated. I wanted to cry right there.  but I waited until we got into the car.  I failed as a mom. The one job I had was to make him grow and I couldn't. they told me to either supplement with formula or increase the number of feedings. I was exhausted and heartbroken. I felt like the only thing I was doing was feeding him non stop. They told me to come back AGAIN in a week.

So to my dismay I started to supplement with formula. In a way it was nice because Taylor could help with middle of the night feedings even if I hadn't pumped enough milk. But I felt so guilty.

A week later I took him and when he got on the scale he weighed 8 lb 14 oz. I was so excited! He had gained 10.5 oz in 7 days! My guilt started to fade when I realized that even though hippy moms all over the world might think I'm a failure as a mom, at least he was growing and back on track.

[In case you haven't been counting we are now up to 4 doctors visits.]

Then we went to GA for Christmas. I'm not sure where it happened but when we got home Emerson was sick. It was the saddest thing in the world. It was most just a stuffy runny nose but when he started coughing I got scared and decided to take him into the doctor even though his 2 month appt was only 4 days away. When I took him to get checked out he weighed 10 lb 10 oz. I was so relieved that he was gaining weight still. But the days following that until his 2 month check up he was spitting up A LOT and OFTEN because of all the mucous he was swallowing (I KNOW TMI but WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? ITS MOM LYFE).

So at his two month check up he weighed 10 lb 5 oz. He had lost 5 oz. I had kind of expected it with all the throwing up. In fact he had thrown up in the car on the way to the appt. but I was bummed out because I knew they were gonna make me come back. Which I'll do anything to ensure that my baby is healthy but A) I kind of hate the pediatric center and B) loading a kid up to be somewhere on time is hard.

SO YESTERDAY we went back to check his weight AGAIN and homeboy weighed in at 11 LBS AND 5 OZ. I WAS STOKED! He had gain a pound in ten days. Putting him in the 15th percentile (he's a little guy, but at least he's on the charts)

This post turned into more of a rant than I had expected. But hopefully he won't need to go back until his 4 month check up. I just wish that *I* could be the one who had such a hard time putting weight on. sheesh.

Luh my baby though.

as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines.

I hate not being content with where I am but it's just that Idaho will never compare to Georgia for me.

I miss my in-laws, the warmth, the southern drawls, the humidity, the trees, the seafood, the hospitality, the sounds, the food, and sometimes I even miss the sound of gunshots in the distance, lulling me to sleep. (But maybe I'm just acting desperate.)

I really hope that one day life will take us back to Georgia (OR EVEN TENNESSEE). I want my babies to be little peaches that talk real slow and charm the pants off everyone, but not literally off, just metaphorically, unless they're married. Then it's ok.

just an old sweet song, keeps Georgia on my mind.

land of spuds.

I haven't pre-approved this announcement with my husband but...
we are moving to Idaho Falls, IDAHO.

Next week.

For reals.

It kind of gave me anxiety just to type that. I haaaaaaate the cold and the snow and Idaho. but at least we will be closer to my family and friends I left behind two and a half years ago. I'm going to try and have a good attitude because *supposedly* that helps. Gandhi/Confucius/Marilyn Monroe said so. And plus, at least it's not China. or the midwest.

I'm excited for a new adventure with my husband but what I am most excited about is that I feel as though this job that Taylor got will be much more fulfilling for him. It really bummed me out thinking that he was wasting that genius brain of his at work everyday, so I am glad that he is excited about not only the company but also his position.

I will update you more later because I can't talk about how much I am going to miss the dirty souf without wanting to cry. But in the meantime, pray that we make it to the land of spuds in one piece.

(And it's okay to congratulate Taylor, because it is seriously a blessing that he got a job exactly one month after he got laid off.)

a bee sting, a stupid concert, and the slaying of an armadillo.

I know I haven't blogged in awhile and now that I am about to, I'm going to be complaining. 

you know when you find a recipe you want to make and you have all the right ingredients for it and you're totally excited but somewhere in the process something goes horribly wrong and your souffle (or whatever) turns into basically dinosaur poop? Well that was pretty much how my day went on Saturday.

I can't pin point exactly what went wrong but I know that when we got home in the wee hours of the morn and got into bed I wished I had never gotten out of it.

 Here were the ingredients for my "wonderful" Saturday:

1. Sleep in

2. Receive my make-up stuff I ordered online from Urban Decay

3. Get lunch at Zunzi's

4. Go to City and Colour concert in Charleston, SC

5. Walk around Charleston and get dinner before concert

That sounds awesome, RIGHT?

I guess you could say it all started to go downhill when I got up kind of late and since we were going to eat lunch pretty soon, I decided to skip breakfast. (Chill out health freaks. I know how important breakfast is.) But then we didn't eat lunch quite as soon as I had expected. So naturally, I turned into a monster. Because I am absolutely the opposite of delightful when I am hungry. (FATTY GOTTA EAT!) Zunzi's is a take out place so you walk in, order, pay, and take your food to either sit outside or leave. We decided we were going to stay and I walked outside to the corner to where Taylor was. I had my back turned to the building and Taylor goes, "Hey, watch out." (VERY CALMLY, the kind of tone you would use to say, "hey watch out you're about to step on hundred dollar bill.") and points to the side of me. I turn to see what I am about to step on and right as I look down I see a red wasp and and I get stung on my arm. (Mind you, this is while I am still a hungry monster) I immediately become enraged and obviously put all of the blame on Taylor. Now looking back on this with a clear head, I realized that it wasn't entirely his fault but if he would have just said, "WASP" I would have ran away and probably avoided being stung. So. Kinda his fault.

the victim: my right arm. not pictured: my pouty face.

At this point, my arm was throbbing and I was trying to hold back tears. Have you ever tried to eat while crying or on the verge of crying? It makes food not taste as good. So that was crappy too. Luckily where we parked downtown there was a CVS right across the road so I got some benedryl spray and it helped a lot, even though my sting still hurt a little on and off through out the day.

We arrived in Charleston, walked around. Had dinner. Went to the show which was at the Music Farm. The Music Farm is a very cool little venue. The show was at 9 and the doors opened at 8. We got there at about 7 45. When we walked in there was this spot about 6 inches higher than the rest of the main floor and there was railing so to me, it was as good as being in the very front because I could actually see and not have to be crowded by people. 

Finally at 9, the opener walked on. He plays the guitar for city and colour but he was doing some solo stuff. MUCH to my dismay, it was country. It was absolutely the most torturous opening act I have ever sat through in my entire life. It wasn't that he wasn't talented in his own right, but good lawd, I HATE HATE HATE country music. And unfortunately, I think it set a really bad precedent for the rest of the show, HOW COULD DALLAS GREEN SUBJECT ME TO THIS FOR AN HOUR? I know I'm getting old when I no longer feel that the musicians I adore can do no wrong. He did me wrong, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive him fully.

So basically we had to stand for about 2 and half hours before City and Colour came on. I was feeling really uncomfortable and a little nauseated so I decided to sit down for just a second. I was sitting there when behind me a really drunk troll like guy, came up to Taylor and was barely coherent and sad something about Taylor being too tall. Then instead of walking behind us and around he decided wanted to climb through the railing where I was sitting so he could get down to the main floor. Then he yelled, "MOVE!" at me and I instantly became furious, I turned around and briefly considered punching him in his knee caps. I shouted at him that I wasn't moving one inch until he asked me like a normal person. Then he leaned down and said very calmly, "You're a person." I rolled my eyes at him and scooted over so he could crawl through the rails. I hate drunk strangers almost as much as I hate country music. 

Almost immediately after that, this girl who had been standing down in front of the railing below us with her boyfriend acting like idiots making out and looking at each other dramatically crouched down through the railing and was like "HEY HEY COME HERE" like all excited and she was like "YOU GOTTA GET UP ITS DALLAS GREEN." I stared at her for few seconds and asked her if it was starting because I was really confused about her motives. She said "No not yet but it's about to, come on get up!" And I was like, "No." and I couldn't totally hear her but all I heard was, "Okay look my boyfriend is standing here so it's awkward." Or something and I was like, "I'm not getting up yet, I was here first." But I wanted to choke her and tried to convey that in my tone to her and I think she picked up on it cause she was like, "okay okay" and backed away and then they left. I was kind of hoping she threw a drink on me after the show so we could scrap like Jersey Shore style cause I was in that kind of mood, but it didn't happen. But just so you guys know, if it did go down like that, I would have won.

They finally came out and after one song I was ready to leave. The people in the audience were some of the most annoying and retarded people I've ever experienced in my life.

Where the idiot couple once stood there was now a girl. She was much more concerned about her instagram and facebook friends knowing that she was at the concert than anything else going on around her. She checked her facebook at least 2000 times, and she was texting her friend about how she had slept with this guy and bought them tickets to the show but he met up with his best friend, talked about other girls in front of her, and ditched her to be alone at the concert. But she kept saying how she liked him. WHAT IS WRONG WITH WOMEN IN THE WORLD? More on that in another blog on another day.

Anyway, it was 1 AM before the show got over and we had a 2 hour drive home. On the way home April was driving and she ran over an armadillo. I didn't see it because I was turned around talking to Tayl in the backseat. But I felt like it was a pretty good way to sum up how I felt about that day.

Oh and to answer the burning question, no not even the concert made it worth it. It was way better in London. 

So. it has come to this.

I think this is funny:

Also, I am depressed.

Not like clinically or forever, but just currently. Remember when we were nearing the end of our time in England and Taylor almost had to go to China without me? But then he ended up not having to go and we got to come home and get settled here in Savannah. 

Well, the time has come for Taylor to go to China for reals. He is leaving on Saturday and he won't be back until March 26th. That's 23 days!

I know that's seems like no time at all for a lot of people (especially, like say, military wives). But TO ME, it is long. Taylor and I have not been apart that long since before I moved to Atlanta. And our whole marriage we haven't spent more than 2 days apart.  So to me, this sucks. 

When we found out he was going a couple of weeks ago I was trying to pretend that it wasn't a big deal to me but as each day ends and we get closer to Saturday, I get more and more sad about it. I am getting a little emotional right now just writing about it. I just want to crawl into the bed and sleep the whole month of March away. I love Taylor, he is my best best friend and I love being married (it's really better than anyone ever led me to believe that it would be... and I'm not just saying that to make my life seem cool.) 

I don't think that being away from him is going to be any fun at all. It will be stupid and boring.

PLUS, Lux acts like a real lady bastard when Taylor isn't around in the night time. She sleeps at the foot of the bed (instead of her usual against my back shoving me off the bed) and just growls at EVERY SINGLE thing possible. And I know she's going to be even worse knowing that her father is in a country where people have no problem eating dogs. She'll probably take it personally.

The bright side is that he will be home for our anniversary so we can go back to Maui....

Just kidding, I wish we were going to Maui. 

If anyone wants to come stay with me while he's gone and entertain me that's okay by me.

Ketchup - Roach Hotel

This is the picture I took with my phone right before I walked in the house as it's latest resident. Taylor was still at work and April was on her way to come help us move in, so it was just me. (and Lux) I was so excited I could hardly stand myself. I walked in and I was just staring at everything in awe, "this is where WE live now!"

Okay so maybe I was running around the empty house yelling....

Anyway, after the excitement settled, I realized that was actually, quite dirty. When I went to pick up the keys they said they had it professionally cleaned. I'm not sure what "professional" cleaned this house, but it looked like they hired a one armed 5 year old to do it.

But, no matter, I'd just clean it myself. and I did. I spent about 5 hours or so scrubbing the floors and the baseboards and the outside of the cupboards. But it still wasn't enough.

Anyway, I'm not going to go into too much detail here, cause I could write a novel, but I just wanted to talk about what happened the first couple of days or moving in. When things started to go downhill.

First, it started with the filth. Then, the heat didn't work (still doesn't yet), then we discovered German roaches, and as I continued on doing things in the house I discovered more and more FILTH. The tub wouldn't drain, the floors were in worse shape that than I had noticed when we looked at it, and then finally the washing machine flooded. And that's when I cried a little.

April was a sweet sweet angel. I would have done more than just cried a little if she wasn't there. I would have gone into complete meltdown mode and probably burned down the house. She spent the entire day scrubbing out the nasty kitchen and lining the shelves in the cupboards. It's hard to believe that such tiny kitchen could take so long to clean. But it did.

Once all of our things were in the garage/the house I realized that we actually had even LESS furniture than I thought. [But at least we had a bed. and one dresser..] And I thought to myself, we have NO MONEY how am I going to furnish this place?

And then things started to turn around (and maybe I had a little bit of an attitude adjustment..)

That night, I started to think about how ungrateful I was being. I mean, we HAD a house, we had a place to live. I was getting everything I always wanted, and just because things weren't perfect didn't mean that they weren't gonna be OK.

So I said a little prayer. I apologized for being so ungrateful after being given so much and among other things, I prayed for a way to be able to furnish the apartment to make the place seem more like a home.

And, then of course, my prayers were answered...

When I woke up I checked my bank account and I had a lot more money in there than I should have. It turns out, I got my back end check from the company I worked for this summer. I really wasn't anticipating getting it, at all, because that company sucked hardcore. But I was happy nonetheless!

And so the search for furniture began...

Meanwhile, across the pond.

We have survived until Sunday. This week wasn't the easiest, or the most eventful, but you know what? We are just fine, and we've had a lot of fun.

Tuesday was Taylor's first day of training, which left me to wake up and realize that I was not in Kansas anymore (without my ToTo, too). I forced myself to go exploring out and about but being alone gave me a lot of time to think of things to complain about. 

I found out that I couldn't watch my favorite TV shows because of copyright reasons, I found out that they like to put slices of lemon in glasses of Coke, I found out that some movies haven't been released here that I saw weeks ago, and I found out that the Chinese food here is sub par. Unfortunately I am always resistant to change at first. But fortunately, I get over it pretty quick.

I woke up the next day feeling a lot better. I went into town to grab some lunch and run some errands. There was a sandwich bar that I was dying to try (because I LOVE ME A GOOD SAMMICH!) So I slipped inside and ordered what I thought would be good and to my dismay, it was not a normal tukey cheese mayo kinda sandwich. It was like a chicken currry salad. I was mad. But I ate a few bites for nourishment. Then Taylor got home and we deicded to for a 32 mile walk, so we did. Then we ate McDonalds to celebrate. the true fat american way. But I won't lie, McDonald's fries were a tender mercy.

Friday & Saturday were a blur. We had to find another place to stay just for Saturday because the room we were staying in was booked awhile ago. We finally found somewhere called the premier inn, which was pathetic. There was no cable, no free wifi, no A/C, a 9 inch TV, no electronic keys, no pool, no free breakfast, and a crappy double bed (we've got white people problems). we were mad, because we paid 95 pounds for this plus an extra 12 for breakfast. I was exhausted, so after complaining for a minute I crawled in the bed to accept my fate of being warped back into 1976. (Seriously, the crappiest 30 dollar hotel in south Carolina, was not this crappy). I was almost asleep when Taylor burst through the door informing me that he had made arrangements at the hotel he stayed at before and the cab was on it's way. Also he brought me a sandwich. I fell a little more in love with him.

We went to Oxford a couple of times (Fri & Sat night), we didn't get much time there, no more than a couple of hours. But I look forward to spending more time there (and getting some pictures) We found this cute little Ice Cream Shop called G&D's Ice Cream Cafe and the Bananarama ice cream is DELICIOUS. 

While we were walking around Oxford last night some dudes were playing soccer in the street ( in hackey sack manner) So Taylor got in on the action while I stood there awkwardly in a dress and heels. [I make big sacrifices for him, I know.] After that we met up with some of his work mates at some bar called Copa for a party for some of the other trainees who are leaving. I hate bars, and I hate drunk people. I don't hate people who drink, but trying to meet a new person, while they're drunk and have a conversation with them yelling over the loud music, is probably my least favorite thing to do. 

Then a couple (a cute Italian girl and her british-asian boyfriend--both work with Tay) offered to give us a lift back to our hotel. On the way there I was in the back with the Italian girl and another girl who was from India. I love people who are fascinated with America, and I love being the person that gets to answer questions about it.  They were asking me all kind of questions and told me how clear my accent was and how they loved that they could understand what I was saying. It was a pretty big ego trip for me.

Today (Sunday) we had to pay 40 dollars to take a cab to make it to the last 45 minutes of church. I hadn't been so desperate to get to church in all my life. After the homesickness I had been feeling I knew that church would make me feel a lot better, and I was right. The second we sat down in the chapel I almost started crying because I was so happy to be there, and I was so happy to know that no matter where I go, the church is always the same. Everyone in the ward was so friendly, so hopefully we'll make some friends. 

Also, if you are reading this, and you are single, you should probably come visit me ASAP, because there are a lot of attractive young singles (male and female) in the ward.

After church we had Sunday roast at the pub. And went for a walk around Abingdon and took pictures. So I'll shut up now and let you look at some pictures, and I will try to post more often so I don't have such long winded posts. But it makes me feel good to think that our lives are exciting enough to write long blogs about. (I even left some stuff out.)

St. Helens Church

I think cemeteries are cool.

Thames River

River Walk

me and my pal, kickin it.

SUP

Oh we opened a Nail Salon (Wateva u lyke we do 4 u)

"I love a good pair of knockers." - Taylor Giddens

strangers in love.