It is hard having such a gorgeous family :)

It is hard having such a gorgeous family :)

Monday, October 26, 2009

When it rains.... it pours!!!!

It's never just one thing... its usually one thing followed by another and another and so on and on..... and that seems to be just how life is.

Sooo about a month ago I was at the gym.... that infectious Mylie Cyrus song came on.. you know the one.... Party in the USA... so I pick the pace a titch on the treadmill... and that is when it happened.... a little "pop".... and then it was like my knee was grinding with every move I made. The day I woke up and it was swollen to the size of a small Island... and very painful. Great I thought. Mind you I've had seven surgeries combined on my knees so knee pain has always been a friend of mine. Not a best friend, more like a second cousin twice removed...

So I go to the doctor who makes me wait 2 tortuous weeks because he thinks its a torn meniscus but wants to make sure... so I wait the two weeks....come back in and he evalutates me and thinks indeed it is a torn meniscus. Mind you he tells me he is going to be deploying in December so basically he will be out of the office in November.... not to mention the Surgeon is out until after Christmas..... greeat! So he does want me to have an MRI so he puts in a request for one..... so I go to radiology they tell me to wait 24 hours and call back to get a date for my MRI.... basically they tell me on the phone 24 hours later that my torn meniscus MRI isn't really all that important and when I press her on the issue she tells me the earliest they could get me in is on Dec 1st.... mind you my husband deploys in a few weeks and I'll be back in the states by December 1st. It just seems like there is no real help here. Since when did a torn meniscus get treated as casually as a paper cut? A torn meniscus involves real pain and a hard time walking, let alone carrying a 9 month old baby around.

Well as if I wasn't upset enough.... we went to dinner of Friday at the Galaxy Club on Mildenhall Base.... we put her in a high chair of theirs (which we normally don't do) and during the course of our dinner we notice once she is biting on the wooden bar that goes across the high chair. Super. Well the next day she breaks out into what we originally thought was a little baby acne but got worse and worse. It was all these sores around her mouth that looked painful. Not to mention she was refusing her solids..... she wouldn't even open her mouth for her favorite foods!

So we were back into the doctor today and the doctor told us she has Herpangina. Basically it is Foot and Mouth disease minus the foot. She only has the sores around her mouth and more than likely inside her mouth. Herpangina is highly contagious so Keri and I have a high chance of catching it. Suuuper!

Like I said.... when it rains it pours.... it's not a good time around the Christensen household!!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

A reason to be mad at my husband for ....

We all know men and woman and NOT created equal. This idea has been around for centuries... usually its in reference to men being physically better than women, or smarter than women.... well that's not what I'm talking about folks... I'm talking about our weight!!!!!!!

So Keri has been working the night shift lately which means he comes home anywhere from 9pm to 2am. His first question when walking in the door is usually... do you want some ice cream? By ice cream he means going down to the gas station that's still open and getting a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Now I know how my body works... if I stare at a Ben & Jerry's container too long I gain weight. My husband could have 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's and probably a few lbs!! So lately I have been trying to eat better lately and just when I think I have made it through the day without pigging out my husband will come home with that dreaded question and of course ....of course I want ice cream. So the first time he suggested it I was like... what the heck.... bring on the ice cream. But the next night when he suggested it I knew I had to refrain. Here is where I'm getting to the point that we are not created equal.... Keri could truly eat ice cream every night and not gain weight.... if I matched him pint for pint I would be at least 300 lbs.

How is this fair I ask you? One other quick story..... so last night I've had a lien cuisine for dinner.... you know those frozen dinners that are TOO lien cause after eating one I'm still hungry...so I have some fruit and some water and call it good. I've tried to cut back on soda, which lets face it is my best friend.... and so there I was on the couch waiting for Keri to come home and feeling victorious about my eating for the day..... of course the second he comes home he suggest popcorn and before you know it, I'm shoveling greasy, buttery, salty popcorn in my mouth and washing it down with a diet pepsi lol.

How are any wives suppose to stay trim with husbands who can eat virtually anything they want and not gain weight? Keri's best friends are Baskin Robbins and the double stack at Burger King. Life just isn't fair and men and women are differently not created equal!!!!!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Big screams and small acts of kindess!

So there I was... inside the house on a tuesday morning with a crying baby. She ate, she napped, she screamed!!! Patience I thought to myself... just have patience... meanwhile I'm frantically trying to think of anything to help sooth her... and the only thing I found is that she wanted me to hold her... so after about 15 minutes I thought to myself I can't do this all day so I put her down.... and thus the screaming started up again. So I put on my flip flops, strapped baby into the stroller and we were off...

The base we live on is relatively small so you can walk just about anywhere in about 10 minutes. Lucky for me the BX is like a 3 mile walk. As we walked she calmed down and I thought about what a genius mom I was. So we got into the BX and I was just about to get my shop on when.....*waaaaah waaaaaah* the crying started up again. You've got to be kidding me. Crying in the house is one thing, but the fit she was throwing in the store with everyone looking was quite another. I started to sweat.... I sweat when I get all panicked.....so I'm trying to calm her down while spying a cute shirt out of the corner of my eye when my small miracle came over named Vickie Wilkins...

Vickie Wilkins is just about the nicest, sweetest, most caring, sincerely awesomest person I've ever met. She is a mother of nine and has amazing patience. I've never seen her raise her voice or get flustered at all. She is, in my mind, the very model of what a mother should be. She happened to be shopping with her kids and must have heard Cambree's cries. Vickie came right over and took Cambree out of her stroller and the second Cambree hit her arms she started smiling and all the tears were gone. It was magic I tell you. Vickie kept saying she would take Cambree while I finished shopping and I kept saying... no... but eventually said yes. Ahhh Vickie took Cambree for probably 20 minutes and I was able to collect myself, and shop around in silence.

Now I know this story must seem like not a big deal... but to anyone who is the mother of a screaming child, this was god sent. A small act of kindness from Vickie really helped calm me down and have a little time to myself. Turns out Cambree was a complete saint the whole time they had her. It was a nice break for the both of us. Sincerely nice people are rare to find these days and it makes me want to be a nicer person myself. Maybe one day when I'm shopping and I come across a screaming child of someone I know I can return the small act of kindess.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

A week of being brave...

As if conquering Cambridge wasn't enough.... next came Friday night. My friend Miranda and her husband wanted us to join them for a night out! She had mentioned going to see GI Joe and having dinner... at a Thai restaurant. Oh goodie I thought.... Thai food. I might just be the worlds pickiest eater (well next to my siblings lol) .. I mean I'm the type to get a hamburger ketchup only... I don't ever go out of my way to try something daring ... and I'll usually pick the most plain and boring thing on the menu. So for me to agree to Thai food.... well lets just say I wasn't exactly thrilled but decided I could branch out and try something new. I know I know... how big of me! Besides I could wash just about anything down with a diet coke right??

So Miranda and her husband were running late and we missed the movie and head straight into Mildenhall Village for dinner. We rolled up on the Thai restaurant and I took a deep breath and walked through the glass doors. Then I heard the most beautiful words ever...... they were all booked up and we couldn't eat there! Hurray!! I was saved!! Bring on the normal food.... or not..... darn that Miranda... her and Geoff had other ideas..... the other idea was....... INDIAN FOOD!

Indian food?!?! And I thought Thai sounded bad.... Thai sounded like heaven on earth compared to Indian food. That movie Along Came Polly came to my mind when they said Indian food. You know the part where Ben Stiller is sweating uncontrollable and then had to head to the bathroom. I mean.... I have an irritable bowel to start with.... is adding Indian food into that equation really a good idea? But... I didn't want to be a party pooper.... so I agreed....

We walked into the restaurant called Ghandi by the way..... and took a deep breath in. *Sniff sniff*..... what is that smell...... *another sniff*.... surely this can't be a good sign if the smell of this place makes me want to vomit. It's like walking into a nail salon where the smell is just like horribly awful but the longer you are there the less you notice it. Well that happened.... we sat and the longer we sat the less I noticed the smell... was that a good sign or a bad sign?

We were given the menu and I'm frantically looking for something I could stomach. The menu might as well been in French..... I mean I had no idea what the heck Curry was..... is that sad? When he came to take our orders.... I simply pointed at something that had chicken in it and hoped for the best. I told Miranda and Geoff I could probably go on Fear Factor after this experience....

Well turns out... the food wasn't that bad. Infact I didn't hate it. It wasn't even scary. That movie Along Came Polly exaggerates I think lol. I mean it probably wouldn't be a place I would ever suggest eating at.... but if I was starving and that was the only option I had......I guess I would go there. So there you go... the girl who doesn't try new things often tried one of the most craziest restaurants and lived. Maybe I'll order something different with my hamburger next time..... spice it up a little...... than again... probably not!!


Cambridge or bust....

Since I moved to England its just been easier to let Keri do all the driving when we go out. Infact at first I refused to drive at all. Then I realized I was only hurting myself by being too scared of driving in England. Slowly but surely I started driving short distances. First it was to Mildenhall, then it was to Feltwell (on what is certain to be the bumpiest road known to mankind.) The more I drove around, the more I found I liked it and felt comfortable. Then I did the bravest thing of all, I decided to go into Cambridge by myself..... *cue the scary music*

So I strapped Cambree in tight, took a sip of my diet coke and stepped on the gas. England has what is called a National Speed Limit here and it is 60 miles per hour. Now on those wide roads in America 60 miles per hour seems nothing special... infact why go 60 when you can go 80... but on these tinsy british roads barely big enough for one car, let alone two... 60 miles an hour feels like certain death. So as I was saying I took a sip, took a deep breath and stepped on the gas. The worst part of the trip is the 5 point roundabout. Let me try to set the scene. It is a huge roundabout that has 5 different exits and entrances.... so cars are going around and around and you have to sit there and determine when you should enter without getting plowed over. As you are entering the roundabout so are other people... its like a never ending circle of madness. In these cases it is best just to go and think later. My heart beats fast everytime I get to the 5 point roundabout and I always cross my fingers that I will make it out alive. On this day.... the heavens were with me and I made it just fine.

When I made it onto the motor way is when I turned up the music.. a titch.. and started to relax. I felt confident even. Then it came time to exit and head into Cambridge. Mind you this is about a 30 minute drive to get to Cambridge from my house, if something were to go wrong, I'd be waiting a while for Keri to come help me lol. Of course I push that thought out of my mind because it just makes my heart race again. Next comes two more sets of roundabouts and of course the tinsy roads of Cambridge. Cambridge is unique in that most of the people are on bikes not in cars. So if the cars weren't bad enough, you have to watch out for annoying bicyclists. Well I maneuvered through the roundabouts and before I knew it I was actually at my destination. A series of shops along a few blocks. I parked in the car (again in the worlds tinsiest parking stalls... seriously my parking in regular sized stalls isn't stellar ...) and got out of the car!!

I had done it... conquered the mean streets of England and actually drove to Cambridge by myself. I know this sounds silly... but truly driving my british car around can be quite scary. I learned one thing out of this experience, that I can't let fear hold me back any longer. Next stop: Norwich!!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Mysterious Stonehenge...

Keri, Cambree, and I took a trip to Stonehenge a few months ago...
It was pretty crazy to see the stones and hear the tale....
Keri and Cambree.. it was veeery rainy.... added to the mystery of the rocks...
Cambree was all bundled up..
The sheep were my favorite part of Stonehenge...seriously!
Keri got in on the sheep action...
Shot from afar...
Two birds were catching a ride with the sheep!! What lazy birds!!

Sheep at Stonehenge!

Welcome to the Fabulous life of The Christensens

England or Bust..

The Fabulous Christensens