SHE'S BAACCCKKKK!!!

These photos make me think of the song....." I'm To SEXY for my shirt, to sexy for my shirt..SOOO SEXY YEEEAAA!"

We picked up Salem on Saturday and I immediately started to feel better. It was strange because Saturday AM was the worst I had ever felt, and within 15 minutes of having her, I felt my absolute best. Isn't that crazy? I am still on a liquid diet, but am getting better and better with each passing day.

Upcoming Events for us: Saturday morning, Andrew and Lilly girl, will be heading for Texas; then, on Monday, baby and I will drive to Jacksonville, fly to San Antonio,and Andrew will pick us up there. On Tuesday, he will fly back to Jacksonville, pick up the 4 Runner, work for a few days, and then drive once again to Texas to STAY!!!!! I can't wait to get there... You really have know idea.

I am so overwhelmed with things this week to get done. We have to pack, I have a hair apt., bridge work at the dentist tomorrow, sign 200 pages worth of signatures to close on the house, Salem has a doctors apt and needs shots, Lilly is throwing up blood lately, I have to turn in cable boxes and what not,forward our mail, get our apartment cleaned out and inspected, drive 2 hours just to get on the plane......it feels like it is NEVER ENDING. I still don't feel 100% and I can't talk very well; which makes it even worse.

Andrew finished his IP program up today and is glad it is over with. Now, he will be able to spend a few weeks with us before he heads to SOS.

That's it for now, I will be back with more bitching ASAP!!!!

Day 5 in Hell

Today is the 5th day since my tonsils were taken out, and I feel like I am getting nowhere. I don't feel any better, my throat KILLS, and my ears feel like they are going to burst wide open. It feels like there are weights just hanging from them. I'm fed up with my "milkshake diet" because I can see the pounds accumulating onto my thighs. I have pain meds, but if I'm not eating that much, then they make me vomit. I'm FREAKING because we get Salem back tomorrow and I still feel like shit. I'm hoping that she will make me feel better--I know she will. I need to get feeling better people!!!! I have so much to do next week and can't even imagine how I am going to get it all done feeling like this. Salem has doctor's apt., so do I, hair apt., dentist (imagine that), cleaning lady is coming, Oh, and we're moving next week!!! I'm very excited, but there is so much to do and it SUCKS when you can't talk. The worst part isn't the actual pain, it just feels like it is NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY. Can anyone sympathize?

Under the Knife

Andrew and I went to the Melting Pot for dinner on Saturday--YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, I FINALLY got my tonsils taken out!!! It sounds crazy, but I was actually excited about it. They have given me HELL all the days of my life. I would get strep-throat at least 5 times, if not more, a year. I am surprised that I'm not in more pain than I am. People kept telling me it was going to be THE WORST thing I will ever experience in my life--even worse than child birth. The hardest part about it is not being able to talk....I LOVE TALKING. Now, I have to write all these notes to Andrew asking him to get me this and that, call my mom, dad, friends, to tell them that I'm still alive.

Now, the REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, WORST part about it is being away from Salem. What I would give to hold her in my arms right now. We had her 6 mth. pictures done on Sunday and all I can do is just stare at her as the tears roll down my face.

So, for any of you that were concerned, I'm doing well, missing my baby, and looking forward to getting the hell out of here...just 2 more weeks people!!!!!!

"Getting pictures taken, once again, is stressful guys."

Half Birthday

6 MONTHS AGO TODAY, I pushed my little sweet pea out of my "ba'gina"(that's what I used to call it when I was little). And let me just tell you, SALEM IS FAT--literally people. Yesterday, I decided to pull out all her 12 month clothes that I had stashed away, washed them, tried them on her, AND GUESS WHAT?---THEY DON'T FIT HER!! She is too damn fat. Did any of you ever think she was going to turn out so big? How can she go from, at her skinniest, 4 pounds 10 oz. to over 17 pounds so fast? After I about had a heart attack( by looking at all the clothes I now have to give away because she's too big), I decided to yank out the 18 mth. clothes--AND THEY DO FIT! Don't get me wrong, I ALWAYS wanted a fat baby, but this, this is almost out of control! I love it because I just squeeze and bite her fat rolls all day long.

Sleeping on Daddy!
Sleeping in the hospital the day she was born

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL/HEART DAY!!!!

Whistler 2 years ago

Having English Tea on Valentine's Day in Victoria, B.C.
(We were on vacation together and our tea plans happened to fall on Valentine's Day...read on)

Oh, the joys of Valentines Day. We don't celebrate Valentines Day--are you shocked? Are we not THE BIGGEST PARTY POOPERS YOU HAVE EVER MET IN YOUR LIVES? To us, it seems like a day that people can make up for the "bad times." The guys that verbally abused their girlfriends the night before, can make up for it with a nice bouquet of flowers. ....And it works, for at least a day or two. We would rather buy each other things randomly, than on a specified day of the year when all others are celebrating. Does anyone else hear me on this one? Plus, it seems like the "ideal" gift is giving flowers, and I hate flowers. Actually, I love them, but can't seem to keep them alive and I feel that these days, they are WAY to over priced. I also hate that horrendous stench when they start dying and get all molded.....Yuck, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Then, they always make a mess all over my floor when I'm trying to throw them in the trash..So really, all in all, their just a pain in my ass. So, instead, I'll just put Salem in her cute Valentine's Day apparel, take her shopping so everyone can "ooohhhh and aaahhhhh" over her festive outfit/shoes, and call it a day. She's my TRUE Valentine!!!

Now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALERIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!!!!!!! We'll do a belated birthday lunch when I get there.

Oh, thank you all for being so sweet/thoughtful/concerned about my tonsils. My surgery is actually this coming Monday. So go ahead and re-post all those messages next week so I will know that people are feeling sorry for me!!!!

This is Val and I WAAAAASSSSTTED a couple weeks ago.....We had sooo much fun!!!
I love how she's standing on her tippy-toes...Too cute, she is!

IHOP HEAVEN

"I just love the dress you got me Lysandra, Val & Andrea!"

"Why in the hell do I have to suffer just because you decided to eat too many damn pancakes, huh?"

"Oh wait, this is funny watching and Mommy and Daddy chasing tennis balls trying to work off breakfast!!"

Oh my God, I believe we ate up all of IHOP and then some today. After 4 days of a liquid diet and my pants just about falling off of me, I was ready to eat up stacks of pancakes....AND I DID!!! I had 6 buttermilk pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, a load of hashbrowns, 3 cups of coffee and a large orange juice. I still feel sick. It won't digest fast enough...If you know what I'm saying!! To add to the oral issues(dirty minds..My teeth..Hello!) , I found out yesterday that I have to have "emergency surgery" on my tonsils next Monday....Whatever that means. If it was such an "emergency", wouldn't it be done right away? The Doc said that my tonsils have basically been infecting my entire body for years. I've had an infection that has never fully gone away. They really are and have always been a complete ass pain. I've tried to get them out as long as I can remember, and I haven't found a doctor that would do it...Until now. So, SURPRISE, SURPRISE--Andrew can't get the time off of work to help me with baby, so once again, Andrews mommy is going to watch her for us while I recuperate. Then, as soon as all of this is over, we'll be packing up to get the hell out of here!!

Back to the breakfast thing real fast. So, I literally ate more than Andrew this morning and afterwards, no shit, my hips hurt from eating so much. It was like all that food went straight to my thighs and I could feel them spreading and growing by the minute...NO, SECONDS!

Did I Mention...............

My BEAUTIFUL BABY!!

................That Salem weighs 17.1 pounds! Yes, you heard me 17.1 pounds.....Holy Heffer! Who ever would have guessed that she would be such a "tank?" I am now in super freak mode because she is less than 1 pound away from growing out of her infant carrier. Oh, and the toddler carseat I want ONLY costs $300. Why in the hell do they make this shit so damn expensive? How in the heck do the "lower class" families afford having children? I'm sitting here sweating, when really, we're not doing that bad. I could "go there" some more, but I won't. Actually, I changed my mind, I will.........................................

SO, today, I decided that Salem is going to be my true ONE AND ONLY. Yes, again, you heard me loud and clear. I'm going to sound VERY selfish with my reasoning, but just hear me out. I think families that have 2, 3, 10, even 12 children is FABULOUS, if that is your thing. If Andrew and I have another child, GREAT. I would love "it", and I KNOW it would bring so much joy to my life. WE, just like to live a certain lifestyle, and having a housefull of children doesn't fit in. We like to have nice things, homes, cars, etc., and we want the same for our daughter. I want to give SALEM the WORLD, and we all know how expensive that can be. We also want to be able to provide a full college education for our children wherever they want to go and forever how long they want to go for. If Salem wants to be a doctor, perfect, then we'll pay for her to do so. On the other hand, if we had 2 who wanted to do so, that would be pushing it for us.

The argument I get from others is that, You never know what the future will hold. I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to rely on winning the lottery to get me places in life. I was also told this evening that, "Noel, you might just have to work harder to support 2 children." Well guess what, I don't want to work harder. Working for one child is and will be hard enough for me. I also want to enjoy my life by doing things that I love, going places I haven't seen before, trips with my family and letting Salem bring her friends along. I'm by no means saying that life ends after having children, or more than one; I'm simply stating what will and will not work for us. I take that back, we could always "make it work", but I would be stressed as ALL HELL. I buy stuff now for Salem and think to myself "Holy shit, we don't have the $ to be buying stuff like this right now with the house and all and blah, blah, blah." I CAN'T IMAGINE doubling that anxiety. Plus, Andrew and I LOVE being TOGETHER and we don't want to have to split our time between to kiddos. Meaning..."You take Salem to her volleyball game, I'll take Trevin to his soccer practice, and I'll meet you for some nookie later tonight!"

Again, I am ONLY speaking for the QUINN household. Andrew is on the fence with the situation, and I am the one saying how it is. I think he would like another, but I say no. So basically, if I do get pregnant in the future, just throw this back in my face!

Salem's "new thing" is playing with her tongue...She thinks it's funny!

What I would give for a CRACKER

I would do ANYTHING for a FLIPPIN' CRACKER at this point. Yesterday, I believe, I spent a day in hell. Salem had to go the doctor....Oh, but Moody couldn't see her because guess what, they only have 1 DOCTOR ON STAFF. That's like saying there's one doctor in all of Valdosta people...It doesn't work. So, the Major bitched about how they couldn't get Salem in to see her and their advice was that she didn't have an infection (she has been pulling on her ears for 3 days, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, etc.). Yes, I think I know when my daughter is and isn't sick... Thank you, Major Bitch! She informed me that she wanted to know the outcome of Salem illness because like I said, she didn't think she was sick enough to be seen and was pissed that I asked for a referral to take her downtown; that she ended up granting.

So, wouldn't you know, Salem has a DOUBLE ear infection, an upper respiratory infection, and I have to give her nausea medicine up her booty. Poor thing.

Then, after that was all said and done, I, myself, had to go to the dentist to get a tooth PULLED. OH MY GOD! It sucked. It didn't hurt, I was just emotionally and financially traumatized by the time I walked out of there. They also thought it was going to be a simple extraction(is there such a thing?) , but of course, it turned into a surgical one that included removing part of my bone and cutting my mouth open. FOR REAL. I walked out of there with 45 stitches in my mouth. To top it all off, I started taking my pain killers, only to find out that I am allergic to hydrcodone. So, I hugged the toilet from last night until mid-afternoon today. I also have been having to take care of Salem the entire time because they wouldn't let Andrew take any time off of work. Can you imagine what I'm going through? She's sick, I'm sick.....No fun. They also told me that I have to stay on a STRICT liquid diet for 4 days. I feel like I'm being punished. I love food and can't survive without some form of a solid intake. Andrew came home for lunch today and I literally drooled over his crackers.....What I would give for just one bite!

Victory

29-17

Nothing else needs to be said about that!

SUPER BOWL XLI

GO PEYTON MANNING AND THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS!!!!
( I have LOVED him all the days of his life; well, since his college days and he deserves to win!!)

Andrew, on the other hand, is rooting for THE BEARS....Boooooooo!
Rex Grossman used to be The Gators Q-back.............Whatever, he still sucks!

GO HOTTIE PEYTON!!!

Who's your pick for the day?

Doctor's Note

They both have a head cold; better rush them to the doctor!

Yesterday, one of my girlfriends here kept her son home from school because he didn't feel good. So, I had a phone conversation with her in the afternoon, and she said she needed to take her son to the doctor to get a note so he could return to school the next day. WHAT? Apparently, in Georgia, your child can only have 5 un-excused absences until CPS gets a hold of you to take you before a judge. I for real thought she was shitting me, but it's the truth. What ever happened to the "good old days" when you kept your child home for a day just because you wanted to spend time with your kid? My Mom kept me home a couple times a year just so we could go shoe shopping (aaahhh, I miss those days Mommy! :) I do think there needs to be some sort of guidelines to be followed, but isn't this a bit excessive? What a pain in the ass that is for her to have to get a doctors note just because her child has the common cold. Between Andrea's toilet paper issue and this BS, home schooling sounds better and better with each passing day.......Well, maybe not.