The Sick House

We have been sick at our house for what seems like forever. That is a major part of why I didn't post for so long. Early on the morning of the 14th, I woke up to Joseph's burning hot forehead. His fever was about 102 degrees. I spent that whole day rocking and holding him. He didn't want to do anything. I could tell he felt very sick. I finally called and made an appointment because Tylenol wasn't even really putting a dent in his fever, but they soonest they had was for the next morning. He had no fever the next morning and was feeling much better. He was still a little congested and had a little cough. The doctor said it was probably just because he was cutting 4 teeth. That was on Friday. On Monday, I started to feel stuffy and really exhausted. By Tuesday morning I was definitely sick and Joseph was feeling sick again. We both continued to get more and more sick for the rest of the week. Friday and Saturday were the worst for me. Joseph started running a low fever on Saturday evening. Mitchell woke up Sunday morning with a cough and Joseph was still running a bit of a fever. I was starting to feel better, but we all stayed home from church. Joseph's cough kept getting worse and he continued to run a fever. He also had a lot of trouble sleeping. Mitchell stayed sick, but I got better. I finally called Joseph's doctor again on Tuesday and made an appointment for Wednesday morning. His cold had developed into an ear infection. We got some antibiotics. I'm all better now. Joseph is finally starting to get better. Mitchell was getting worse the past couple days, but he said he's starting to feel a little better now. He's out working in the snow now (the snow will be tomorrow's post), but luckily delivery driving isn't very physically trying. It's been pretty frustrating being sick for so long. It seems like it's been forever even though it's only been 2 weeks. But Joseph and Mitchell are finally on their way to being healthy again.

Fire!

One evening about 2 weeks ago, I unintentionally did something that upset Mitchell. Then he felt like I wasn't sincerely sorry because of something I said. And to top it all off, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep before we had worked things out all the way. The next morning, I put Joseph in his high chair with some food and some bacon in the oven (I think it tastes better that way, plus it's easier to cook). I realized that Mitchell was still really upset. I went into our room to have a very teary talk. The timer for the bacon went off, but I was so upset I didn't notice. After a couple minutes, Joseph started to yell because he wanted more food. Mitchell told me to go finish feeding the baby. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw bright orange flames in my oven and my baby was in his high chair less than 2 feet from the oven. I immediately started to panic. Mitchell came in and took control of the situation, but he was so distracted by my panic that he wasn't even thinking clearly. He grabbed some baby blankets to protect his hands, put a couple sweatshirts on, and pulled the baking sheet with the bacon out of the oven and carried out the front door. Then he poured a big pot full of water on the bacon. Steam and grease shot everywhere, but he was okay. He then remembered that you should never use water to put out a grease fire (it was a few hours later that he remembered that you should use baking soda). He got me calmed down and then we started trying to clean up. the oven was all black with smoke, the cabinet door across from the oven (which for some stupid reason is unfinished wood) soaked up lots of oil and is ruined, smoking hot grease dropped on our carpet and melted little spots into a trail from the kitchen from the door, and my beautiful baking sheet that I took extremely good care of because it was a Christmas gift was scorched and warped. We are going to have to replace the carpet and the cabinet. I have to line my baking sheet with foil everytime I use it. But are very blessed that I found the fire when I did and that no one was hurt. It was a very stressful and exhausting day.

The Best News Ever

A month ago, I posted about how our roommate put our apartment up for rent. I was devastated. I prayed and hoped and brainstormed trying to figure out ways to make things better. We didn't want to move back into my mother-in-law's. It would be very cramped and crowded there. So we started thinking about moving into my stepdad's. His renters were going to be moving out and he would have room. At the beginning of the month, our roommates started packing and moving out. I procrastinated. It drove them crazy, but I just did not want to leave. We kept discussing our options and decided against my stepdad's. It didn't feel right for our family at the time. We decided that we would move into my mother-in-law's and only stay until the apartment was rented out and then find a cheaper one that we could afford on our own. Our roommates moved out completely on the night of the 6th. As Aaron was leaving he made sure we would be out within a week. Mitchell and I stayed up very late discussing our options. And then we thought of an idea. What if I applied at Chick-Fil-A and worked in the mornings before Mitchell went to school? Then after more discussion the idea evolved into Mitchell deciding to go back and ask for his job back. If they hired him back, he'd have to well paying jobs and we'd be able to afford to stay in our apartment. We dragged our mattress into the empty bedroom and slept in our own bedroom for the first time in over a year (it was great!). Mitchell didn't sleep the entire night because he was going over all the possibilities of how the situation would go. Early in the morning, he went to talk to his friend, Cooper, who he'd worked with at Chick-Fil-A. And Cooper said that the managers would probably take him back because they needed someone with his knowledge. Later in the morning we went there and he talked to the manager, Jason. The store owner, Mr. Davis was at a funeral, so a decision couldn't be made immediately, but we'd find out within a couple days. The next 2 days were very nerve-wracking because our future depended on it. Finally, on Saturday, Mitchell went back in and Mr. Davis said he'd love to have Mitchell back and that they'd work him into the schedule as soon as possible! We worked things out with the realtor and got some help from a few family members for a new deposit and rent until Mitchell starts at Chick-Fil-A. We finally have our own place!! It's so amazing. We've been married for nearly 2 years and we've always lived with other people. Living here on our own is one of the greatest things that have happened since we've been married. Joseph finally has his own room and he's starting to learn to sleep on his own. I was able to wean him from nursing at night and we don't have to worry about making noise before noon because our roommates are sleeping. It's just so great and I could keep going about how great it is for hours, so I'm going to stop now. Just know that I'm extremely happy and eternally grateful for the way things have turned out.

New Blog Title

First of all, it's been FOREVER since I posted. So much for trying to post every day. There have been many, many things that have kept me from posting. And prepare yourselves because I'm going to catch up. I've decided to do lots of smaller posts when I get the chance instead of one really long post. Maybe it will be easier to read that way.

Now, as to why I renamed my blog. I have been doing so well with my new medication that I hardly even remember that I have depression. I haven't felt this happy and normal in years. It's great!

And I will explain the title now. Mitchell has grown up here in Virginia Beach. His family has been living in the same house for some 20+ years (except for a few years in California, but his oldest brother stayed here). His family has been in the Virginia Beach Stake for 20+ years and in the Kempsville Ward since it was formed. Everyone knows the Ellis family. Frequently, I'm "Mitchell's Wife" or we are "Ellen's Kids". We had a few confusing times when they would say something about Sis. Ellis and we wouldn't know which one. So as a joke, Mitchell started referring to us as Ellis Major and the rest of his family as Ellis Minor. It's kinda funny, so I stole it.

Dumpster Diver

I have become a dumpster diver.

The first time was the week after Halloween. I went to take out the trash and sitting right on top of everything in the dumpster was a pack of unused orange votive candles. I took them.

The second time was today. I was taking out a dirty diaper of Joseph's (you really needed to know that part...) and sitting on top of everything was this beautiful, glass vase. I brought it in, showed Mitchell, and washed it out. I really like it a lot.

I've been learning how to cook a lot lately. I never really learned much because I always had my mom or Samantha or Mitchell's mom to cook for me. But here, I have to do the cooking. And I'm learning to love it. Today I made a Spinach Quiche for dinner and it was really good. It could have cooked for a few more minutes, there wasn't enough cheese, and I forgot the salt and pepper, but compared to some of my other trys, it was great. I'm pretty proud of myself for everything that I'm learning.

Our new time for church is 3-6 PM. I'm not very happy about this. It's a horrible time for Joseph because it's right during naptime and dinner time and right before bedtime. And all of the kids in the Nursery are probably going to be cranky, too. Mitchell has to work tomorrow, too, so he won't be there to help me out. I'm not excited...

Sleep Troubles

I posted about this a while back.

Joseph doesn't know how to fall asleep on his own. I didn't feel like I could follow Carianne's method because we share a room with Joseph and we have to walk through the bedroom to get to the bathroom and other things; it's an area of heavy traffic.

Tonight I decided to try again. I followed his normal bedtime routine and then at exactly 8 PM I put him in his crib. He screamed. 5 minutes later I went in and rocked him until he calmed down. I put his "sleep song" on my iPod and then started it on repeat in the bedroom. I put him in bed. He immediately started trying to get out. I left him in there for almost 10 minutes. Then I rocked him some more. It took a long time for him to calm down. And then I couldn't bring myself to put him back in there. I felt like I was punishing him and he wasn't even being bad. So I rocked him some more and then he fell asleep. Now he's asleep in his crib.

I don't know what to do. I don't mind putting him to bed as much as I mind the multiple night time wakings. Last night, we went to bed really late (3:30 AM). Just as we were both falling asleep Joseph woke up. It took us until 4:30 AM to get him back to sleep. He still wants to nurse 3-4 times during the night. And he's a year old now! I'm just to soft, I guess...

On a good note, today was a pretty great day. Especially considering that I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep. So far the new year is going pretty well.