Delayed in the hospital

So Murphy popped up today (Wednesday) and things did not go as planned. Hunter's open wound is not healing as fast as everyone had hoped. Both docs that are managing Hunter's case say we'll be here in the hospital for "another day or two".
That means we will probably be out by friday evening. Which would be a good thing... Friday is Hunter's second birthday and it would suck to celebrate it in the hospital.

Hunter's operation

I haven't been keeping up with the blog the last few days because Hunter was hospitalized to treat him for a Staph infection. About 10 days ago, my mother noticed a lump in his neck that continued to grow. Finally, after several unsuccessful outpatient treatments, Hunter was admitted Saturday to Sierra Vista hospital for IV antiboitics.
At 8 am this (Monday) morning, the Ear, Nose, and throat specialist showed up and determined that they needed to operate to clean out the node and treat it with targeted antibotics. The lump was very large by this time and took up the entire height of his neck. Imagine a softball or baseball-sized lump on an adult. The operation was a success and Hunter is recovering now with a large bandage and some IV pain meds. They are culturing the staph that they pulled out of his neck to find a good treatment for it. We hope that he'll be able to go home on Wednesday.
Thanks for checking in.

Gargling with Cayenne Pepper?

These people swear that Gargling with Cayenne Powder Cures Sore or Strep Throat

We think the best remedy on this page for a sore throat (whether viral, bacterial or strep) is cayenne pepper. You may still need to continue the remedy for 2 - 3 days to see final results, so be patient! This remedy works when antibiotics do not and is excellent for those weird sore throats that don't seem to go away after 4 weeks (the ones that possibly lead to chronic fatigue syndrome). This remedy works so well (and so fast), you will probably grow bored reading all the positive reader feedback below!

I guess I'll give it a try the next time I have a sore throat, but it sounds little fishy to me.
hat tip to My Financial Journey via Digg

Getting Settled

Moving truck - $800
New Mortage - $464000
Hunter running around outside in the back yard without Sarema having to watch him constantly - Priceless
We moved in on Monday and I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to tackle some of the myriad honey-do's that resulted from the move. I even got to spend some more quality time with the floor by crawling around on my hands and knees to moisture-seal 1,000 square feet of grouted tile. yes, it's just as fun as it sounds.
Pictures of the new floor and our layout to follow as soon as I can get our 19-port network installed in the house. we have limited internet connectivity right now and it's killing me.

Baseboard

I have met Satan and he is baseboard/tackstrip removal.
I think each of my fingers has some cut or impact damage from trying to pull up all of that stuff yesterday. I spent the entire day from 9am to 11pm demolishing carpet, padding, vinyl flooring and baseboard/tackstrip. At least I got to use some of the stuff in my combat lifesaver bag when I accidentally pierced my finger with the sharp end of the crowbar.
The tile guys and the painters are in there now. I hope this all works out and that it looks wonderful when we're done.

Eight Weeks to Go

Sarema_32_weeks.jpg
Originally uploaded by Rob Wooldridge.

Here's Sarema in her full big-belly glory. If the baby stays in there unil she's fully baked, we have 8 more weeks to go. Sarema's intuition tells her that the baby'll be early by about 2 weeks, though. After seeing Sarema groan every time she moves, I think that prediction is just wishful thinking.

Home Stretch

kitchen and living room
Originally uploaded by Rob Wooldridge.

We closed on our Morro Bay house on Monday and then closed on our Arroyo Grande house yesterday. It was weird to not be a homeowner for those five days, but everything is going well so far (knock on wood).
This weekend we have painters in the house removing some old wallpaper and then painting bedrooms and bathrooms. I'll be swinging a hammer all weekend building shelves and removing baseboards/carpet so that the tile guys can start laying tile on Monday. We are scheduled to move in the next week on the 12th. Thank goodness that Mom is coming down to help watch Hunter during the that week.
We're very excited about the new house, even though we are waaayyyy over budget for the move. We are tired of being in limbo and just want to get settled before the baby comes along. And no, we haven't settled on a name, yet.