Random cuteness since our move to California! (OK the ones in the snow definitely weren't taken in California but everything else was!!
Friday, February 24, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
Moved
So on January 29th we moved to Port Hueneme (prounounced WHY-NEE-MEE), California for Tyler to report to CECOS (see-cos.) So far it has been great! The weather has been crummy for California standards, has rained more than half the time that we have been here but it is a far cry better than all the snow that Boise had been having this year! But it rained so much this last week that there were some serious flooding issues in our area, one of the gates onto the military base where we live was even closed because the road flooded.
We live on the base here and that's a really different experience. I really like it. The patriotism is palpable, it seeps from almost everyone you meet. There are loud speakers all over base, in the morning the Star Spangled Banner is played as part of the raising of the flag, and in the evening there is a little horn solo that is played as the flag is being lowered. It is really cool to see people, even in the parking lot of the commissary (like a grocery store for military only), stand at attention as the evening lowering of the flag happens. Or, to see the enlisted soldiers playing football in the field behind our house stop their game and stand at attention in the morning for the entirety of the Star Spangled Banner. I love it, you really see true patriotism living on base. It has been a really neat experience so far.
The place we are living is called the Midway. It is like an extended stay hotel and therefore, being a hotel, we have light houskeeping provided for us. This has been super nice, I don't have to wash or change sheets or towels or vacuum and we don't even have to buy toilet paper or paper towels. It's actually really spacious for being a "hotel": we have a really big full kitchen, good sized dining area, small but perfectly funtional living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom bigger than the two bathrooms in our previous apartment combined, and it even has a nice washer/dryer pair. It even came furnished with basic dishes and pots and pans; everything that you would absolutely need to be able to live for an extended time in this space. It's more like a two bedroom apartment than a hotel but has the amenities of a hotel stay.
Church has been really cool too. Since our congregation in our church is based on living in a certain location, people travel a little bit to come to our ward and the congregation is about half the size of what we are used to. And they are close knit with other Christian denominations in the area, just this last Sunday we were asked to fast for another church in the area so that they could get their new building to meet in built soon. It's really need the way the Christians in this area all stick together, no matter the denomination. It's been a really cool lesson in Christ-like loving of everyone around us, Christian or not, "Mormon" or not. This is really the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to treat others as he would have treated them no matter what and to live our lives as closely to the model that he showed us with his perfect life.
Tyler's school (Civil Engineer Officer School or CECOS) has been going well, keeping him pretty busy so we haven't spent a ton of time with him which has been a bit hard. It's difficult to not know anyone, not be familiar with the area and just feel stuck. We are adjusting and getting used to everything though. I found a gym to go to that has a kids room for Ameilya and Madi to play in while I work out. We have also found the library and the story time program to take the girls to and just this week will be staring Ameilya back up in her gymnastics classes again. We also found some friends from church that do a playgroup every week and will be going to that so that we can make a few friends while we are here.
We live on the base here and that's a really different experience. I really like it. The patriotism is palpable, it seeps from almost everyone you meet. There are loud speakers all over base, in the morning the Star Spangled Banner is played as part of the raising of the flag, and in the evening there is a little horn solo that is played as the flag is being lowered. It is really cool to see people, even in the parking lot of the commissary (like a grocery store for military only), stand at attention as the evening lowering of the flag happens. Or, to see the enlisted soldiers playing football in the field behind our house stop their game and stand at attention in the morning for the entirety of the Star Spangled Banner. I love it, you really see true patriotism living on base. It has been a really neat experience so far.
The place we are living is called the Midway. It is like an extended stay hotel and therefore, being a hotel, we have light houskeeping provided for us. This has been super nice, I don't have to wash or change sheets or towels or vacuum and we don't even have to buy toilet paper or paper towels. It's actually really spacious for being a "hotel": we have a really big full kitchen, good sized dining area, small but perfectly funtional living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom bigger than the two bathrooms in our previous apartment combined, and it even has a nice washer/dryer pair. It even came furnished with basic dishes and pots and pans; everything that you would absolutely need to be able to live for an extended time in this space. It's more like a two bedroom apartment than a hotel but has the amenities of a hotel stay.
Church has been really cool too. Since our congregation in our church is based on living in a certain location, people travel a little bit to come to our ward and the congregation is about half the size of what we are used to. And they are close knit with other Christian denominations in the area, just this last Sunday we were asked to fast for another church in the area so that they could get their new building to meet in built soon. It's really need the way the Christians in this area all stick together, no matter the denomination. It's been a really cool lesson in Christ-like loving of everyone around us, Christian or not, "Mormon" or not. This is really the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to treat others as he would have treated them no matter what and to live our lives as closely to the model that he showed us with his perfect life.
Tyler's school (Civil Engineer Officer School or CECOS) has been going well, keeping him pretty busy so we haven't spent a ton of time with him which has been a bit hard. It's difficult to not know anyone, not be familiar with the area and just feel stuck. We are adjusting and getting used to everything though. I found a gym to go to that has a kids room for Ameilya and Madi to play in while I work out. We have also found the library and the story time program to take the girls to and just this week will be staring Ameilya back up in her gymnastics classes again. We also found some friends from church that do a playgroup every week and will be going to that so that we can make a few friends while we are here.
Surgery
FAIR WARNING: Do not read this if you are squeamish about blood or needles or medical procedures!
Also, lots of words. Sorry, not sorry ;)
So in January just a couple weeks before we moved I had surgery to remove a non cancerous lump in one of my breasts.
A little back story here...
When I was nursing Ameilya I got mastitis several time. No big deal, right? Pretty normal. Well, I had a spot almost under my arm where my milk ducts would get all clogged up every day and it was really painful. Then Madi comes along. I get mastitis a lot, like 5 or more times. Always in that same spot under my arm. Not normal. I had my yearly check up with our family doctor after I stopped nursing and my dr noticed a lump right where I had been having problems so she sends me in to have an ultrasound done of that area. Before the ultrasound they prep you saying things like "most of the time we can just tell you it's not a big deal and send you on your way" and "you're so young that you shouldn't have to have any further testing" so I knew that when they said that the doctor wanted to come in and talk with me about it that something was up. The doctor came in and said that the lump was most likely a non cancerous growth called a fibroadenoma but that they wanted to biopsy it just to be sure.
So right after Thanksgiving (while Tyler was still at OCS) I had the biopsy done. It was terrifying. Of course they numbed me so I couldn't feel anything but I could still SEE everything (they don't put up a screen or anything so that you can't see what's going on). And it lasts a lot longer than you would think it does, like 15 min or more just for the needle part. They do an ultrasound to find the lump and then mark the spot with a permanent marker. Then they numb you and after you are good and numb they insert a large (I'm talking like 1/4 in diameter here people!) needle into the spot. The big needle has a hollow core into which they stick a slightly smaller needle that takes the tissue samples. They don't take just one sample, the number varies per person but with me I think they took 6 samples. So that big, scary needle was stuck in me for a good 15 min or so while they got all the tissue and stuff. After they are done and take out the really big needle they put pressure on the area and then as soon as the bleeding has mostly stopped then they put some sticky, tape like strips called steri strips over the (big!) needle hole, gave me an ice pack and lots of instructions not to lift anything over 15 pounds (like both of my children!) and when and when not to shower/bathe etc. (Remember, at this time I was still single momming it while Tyler was at OCS!) The numbing wore off on me really quickly, it's supposed to last three hours or more but only lasted about an hour and a half for me. The recovery for the biopsy was rougher than I would expect, it was over a week before I didn't need a prescription dose of ibuprofin to make it through the day/night. I couldn't keep my arm to my side as the spot was basically right under my arm. My best friend Rachael came and spent some time over with us so that she could help me not lift the kids and stuff. By two weeks after the procedure I was back to feeling like my usual self and exercising and doing all my normal stuff again.
Anyway, after that was all over with they sent the samples they collected to the lab to be tested for cancer. The doctor said that there's a really good chance because of my age and risk factors that I didn't have cancer but that there wasn't a zero chance and that they just wanted to be sure. So they tested it and the tests came back showing that it was a benign fibroadenoma which did not necessarily HAVE to be removed. This led to a discussion between me and the doctor about the possibility of this lump causing my mastitis. She seemed to think that it was more than likely that this was the source of the problems during nursing and that if I planned on having any more babies then I should at least talk to a surgeon about having it removed.
So off to Dr. Jon Getz I went. He took one look at it and the pathology report and determined that it was most likely a lactating adenoma, which is a lump that grows actually during pregnancy, not lactation as the name would suggest, and told me that it would keep causing me problems for nursing in the future unless removed. So we scheduled surgery for just after Tyler returned home from OCS.
The surgery happened the Wednesday after Tyler got home, we arrived back home together on a Sunday. The surgery went really well, no complications. They didn't put me completely asleep, just heavy sedation and waking up was a breeze. The incision was about an inch and a half to two inches long and again they stitched the layers of tissue under the skin but on the skin surface they just used the steri strips again like they did for the initial biopsy. Again, they sent the entire lump that they excised into the lab to double check that there wasn't any cancer present. The tests again came back negative for any abnormalities and it was confirmed that it was in fact a lactating fibroadenoma.
The recovery wasn't too bad with having Tyler around to help with things. He did a lot of lifting of the kids for me and a lot of scubbing since it was really hard for me to use my right arm at all. And when I did use my arm more than I should have it really aggravated the incision. The narcotic pain medications that they gave me made me so dizzy and nauseous that I mainly just used ibuprofen and tylenol with the narcotics just at times when I had overdone it and needed a little more relief that I could get from the other medicines alone. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't need to be packing boxes to prepare for our move. There were times that I felt like my body was telling me I needed to take it easy but I had to keep packing anyway. This stretched my recovery out a little more that it otherwise would have but, all in all, my recovery wasn't too bad. By two weeks after the surgery I almost needed no pain medication. Two and half weeks after surgery was moving day and it surprisingly hurt very little.
Since moving it has hurt a bit but not too much. A few days ago I kinda forgot that I had just had surgery and did a bunch of pushups at the gym and boy did that make things hurt (still does). But other than that I'm great! No cancer, thank the Lord, and a fairly speedy recovery. Couldn't ask for much else!
Also, lots of words. Sorry, not sorry ;)
So in January just a couple weeks before we moved I had surgery to remove a non cancerous lump in one of my breasts.
A little back story here...
When I was nursing Ameilya I got mastitis several time. No big deal, right? Pretty normal. Well, I had a spot almost under my arm where my milk ducts would get all clogged up every day and it was really painful. Then Madi comes along. I get mastitis a lot, like 5 or more times. Always in that same spot under my arm. Not normal. I had my yearly check up with our family doctor after I stopped nursing and my dr noticed a lump right where I had been having problems so she sends me in to have an ultrasound done of that area. Before the ultrasound they prep you saying things like "most of the time we can just tell you it's not a big deal and send you on your way" and "you're so young that you shouldn't have to have any further testing" so I knew that when they said that the doctor wanted to come in and talk with me about it that something was up. The doctor came in and said that the lump was most likely a non cancerous growth called a fibroadenoma but that they wanted to biopsy it just to be sure.
So right after Thanksgiving (while Tyler was still at OCS) I had the biopsy done. It was terrifying. Of course they numbed me so I couldn't feel anything but I could still SEE everything (they don't put up a screen or anything so that you can't see what's going on). And it lasts a lot longer than you would think it does, like 15 min or more just for the needle part. They do an ultrasound to find the lump and then mark the spot with a permanent marker. Then they numb you and after you are good and numb they insert a large (I'm talking like 1/4 in diameter here people!) needle into the spot. The big needle has a hollow core into which they stick a slightly smaller needle that takes the tissue samples. They don't take just one sample, the number varies per person but with me I think they took 6 samples. So that big, scary needle was stuck in me for a good 15 min or so while they got all the tissue and stuff. After they are done and take out the really big needle they put pressure on the area and then as soon as the bleeding has mostly stopped then they put some sticky, tape like strips called steri strips over the (big!) needle hole, gave me an ice pack and lots of instructions not to lift anything over 15 pounds (like both of my children!) and when and when not to shower/bathe etc. (Remember, at this time I was still single momming it while Tyler was at OCS!) The numbing wore off on me really quickly, it's supposed to last three hours or more but only lasted about an hour and a half for me. The recovery for the biopsy was rougher than I would expect, it was over a week before I didn't need a prescription dose of ibuprofin to make it through the day/night. I couldn't keep my arm to my side as the spot was basically right under my arm. My best friend Rachael came and spent some time over with us so that she could help me not lift the kids and stuff. By two weeks after the procedure I was back to feeling like my usual self and exercising and doing all my normal stuff again.
Anyway, after that was all over with they sent the samples they collected to the lab to be tested for cancer. The doctor said that there's a really good chance because of my age and risk factors that I didn't have cancer but that there wasn't a zero chance and that they just wanted to be sure. So they tested it and the tests came back showing that it was a benign fibroadenoma which did not necessarily HAVE to be removed. This led to a discussion between me and the doctor about the possibility of this lump causing my mastitis. She seemed to think that it was more than likely that this was the source of the problems during nursing and that if I planned on having any more babies then I should at least talk to a surgeon about having it removed.
So off to Dr. Jon Getz I went. He took one look at it and the pathology report and determined that it was most likely a lactating adenoma, which is a lump that grows actually during pregnancy, not lactation as the name would suggest, and told me that it would keep causing me problems for nursing in the future unless removed. So we scheduled surgery for just after Tyler returned home from OCS.
The surgery happened the Wednesday after Tyler got home, we arrived back home together on a Sunday. The surgery went really well, no complications. They didn't put me completely asleep, just heavy sedation and waking up was a breeze. The incision was about an inch and a half to two inches long and again they stitched the layers of tissue under the skin but on the skin surface they just used the steri strips again like they did for the initial biopsy. Again, they sent the entire lump that they excised into the lab to double check that there wasn't any cancer present. The tests again came back negative for any abnormalities and it was confirmed that it was in fact a lactating fibroadenoma.
The recovery wasn't too bad with having Tyler around to help with things. He did a lot of lifting of the kids for me and a lot of scubbing since it was really hard for me to use my right arm at all. And when I did use my arm more than I should have it really aggravated the incision. The narcotic pain medications that they gave me made me so dizzy and nauseous that I mainly just used ibuprofen and tylenol with the narcotics just at times when I had overdone it and needed a little more relief that I could get from the other medicines alone. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't need to be packing boxes to prepare for our move. There were times that I felt like my body was telling me I needed to take it easy but I had to keep packing anyway. This stretched my recovery out a little more that it otherwise would have but, all in all, my recovery wasn't too bad. By two weeks after the surgery I almost needed no pain medication. Two and half weeks after surgery was moving day and it surprisingly hurt very little.
Since moving it has hurt a bit but not too much. A few days ago I kinda forgot that I had just had surgery and did a bunch of pushups at the gym and boy did that make things hurt (still does). But other than that I'm great! No cancer, thank the Lord, and a fairly speedy recovery. Couldn't ask for much else!
Tyler's OCS Graduation
On January 6th Tyler graduated from Officer Candidate School and earned his commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy at the Officer Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island. It was such an impressive ceremony, the military precision of it all was breathtaking. It's really moving to be in a room with so many people that are making a huge sacrifice for the country they love so much. The patriotism was palpable, you could feel it everywhere. Even in the audience, many members of which had sacrificed and supported their loved ones so much so that they could do this great service for their country and it's citizens. One of the main speakers was Rear Admiral Nancy Norton who gave a moving speech with the main points being to be loyal to your family and make meaningful connections with your comrades in the Navy. I was impressed with how much she mentioned the family and to always be loyal and good to them above all. Her speech very much felt like a talk we would have heard at our church but, though from her words I am sure she is a Christian, I'm sure she is not of our faith. Tyler's parents and I were able to be present for the ceremony, I was very grateful to my Grandma Gillette and Rachael who took my kids for me so that I could go without having to worry so much about if they were noisy or upset during the ceremony. They wouldn't have remembered it anyway and it's so expensive to fly the whole family over there. It was a wonderful blessing to be with Tyler for this special occasion.
Pre ceremony:
Marching into the room:
Waiting to be seated:
Taking their oath to defend the Constitution:
Waiting for his name to be read:
Saluting each of the officers after being handed his certificate:
Returning to his seat:
The officers on stage:
OCS Class 04-17B
Tyler and me:
Tyler and his parents:
Tyler and Ensign Yung:
Tyler and Ensign Kyler (who was also one of his hatch-mates (roommates) )
Christmas!
We had a great Christmas! Tyler got to be home with us for a week. His flight was delayed because of a really bad snow storm so we had to purchase another ticket through a different airline to get him home close to the time that he was initially supposed to get home. He missed a connecting flight so he ultimately ended up getting home about a day later than originally planned but we were so happy to have him home! It took a little adjusting to having him around again, as we were really set in our routine with having him away but it was so nice to have a week where we didn't have to worry about anything other than spending time with him.
We did our Christmas a day early. He had to report back to OCS on the 26th and therefore had to fly out on the morning of the 25th since it takes so long to get from the west to the east coast, which was a bummer. But we cooked a fun Christmas dinner with all the trimmings: turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and even two pies. It was a great meal! With kids as young as ours the present opening drags on all day: open a present and play with it for an hour and repeat until all the presents are gone ;) Sure makes it seem like Christmas lasts longer that way though, I really enjoyed it and our kids had fun too!
When Tyler first got home
Hanging out with Madi
The "snowman" that Ameilya and Tyler made together
Opening the Christmas gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Gillette
Making gingerbread houses, or in Ameilya's case a gingerbread choo choo train
Mommy's gingerbread house:
Tyler's gingerbread house (made with help from Ameilya):
Ameilya wanted a picture with the snowman at the mall :)
Ameilya's wooden cookie making set from her Grandpa and Grandma McClellan:
Matching dresses: (these were actually from Tyler's brother Wes' wedding in November but are great for Christmas and will fit them for a while! All the little girls at the wedding wore these matching dresses, it was precious)
We were sure to have Daddy leave again but we made a paper chain to help the kids not be so sad about him leaving again so soon and to be happy that it would just be a short time before they got to see him again :)
We did our Christmas a day early. He had to report back to OCS on the 26th and therefore had to fly out on the morning of the 25th since it takes so long to get from the west to the east coast, which was a bummer. But we cooked a fun Christmas dinner with all the trimmings: turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and even two pies. It was a great meal! With kids as young as ours the present opening drags on all day: open a present and play with it for an hour and repeat until all the presents are gone ;) Sure makes it seem like Christmas lasts longer that way though, I really enjoyed it and our kids had fun too!
When Tyler first got home
Hanging out with Madi
The "snowman" that Ameilya and Tyler made together
Opening the Christmas gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Gillette
Making gingerbread houses, or in Ameilya's case a gingerbread choo choo train
Tyler's gingerbread house (made with help from Ameilya):
Ameilya's finished gingerbread choo choo train, complete with train track :)
Ameilya wanted a picture with the snowman at the mall :)
Ameilya's wooden cookie making set from her Grandpa and Grandma McClellan:
Matching dresses: (these were actually from Tyler's brother Wes' wedding in November but are great for Christmas and will fit them for a while! All the little girls at the wedding wore these matching dresses, it was precious)
We were sure to have Daddy leave again but we made a paper chain to help the kids not be so sad about him leaving again so soon and to be happy that it would just be a short time before they got to see him again :)
Friday, February 17, 2017
Long Time No See!
Hello there!
It's been WAY too long since I last posted. We have had a ton happen in the last two months since my last post. Here is a bullet list of all that has happened for us: (I will have a post on each of these bullets coming :) )
A highlight of our stay in California will be the Seabee Ball where we get to dress up all fancy and go have an evening away from our kids eating and dancing and having a grand old time :) The Seabee Ball is a week from tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it and getting to know a few more people around here :)
I'll keep the posts coming but I hear suspicious sounds in the bathroom so this will have to be all for now :)
It's been WAY too long since I last posted. We have had a ton happen in the last two months since my last post. Here is a bullet list of all that has happened for us: (I will have a post on each of these bullets coming :) )
- Christmas- we had a great one! Tyler was able to come home for a week and it was so great!
- Tyler graduated from Officer Candidate School and earned his commission as an officer in the Navy. It's official now! I got to go out and witness his graduation, thanks to my best friend in the whole world Rachael and my wonderful Grandma Gillette I was able to go solo! Tyler came home immediately following his graduation.
- I had surgery to remove a non-cancerous growth, not a big deal :)
- We packed everything up and moved to Port Hueneme (prounounced WHY-NEE-MEE) California for Tyler to report to CECOS (think see-cos, the military and their acronyms! sheesh!). We moved on January 29th.
- We have had a few adventures since moving here, I'll need to post about all of those. We have had some good times!
A highlight of our stay in California will be the Seabee Ball where we get to dress up all fancy and go have an evening away from our kids eating and dancing and having a grand old time :) The Seabee Ball is a week from tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it and getting to know a few more people around here :)
I'll keep the posts coming but I hear suspicious sounds in the bathroom so this will have to be all for now :)
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