What's the deal?

So, I went to the ortho surgeon today for my post-op follow up. The doctor that performed my surgery is "no longer w/ the practice." Whatever that means. I was a little relieved that I could see a different doctor since my first doctor was such a jerk, terrible bed side manner.
I had to go to a different office and waited patiently, the receptionists were nice and people were getting called rather quickly. They called my name, yea! I get to find out how my knee is doing and what I need to do to make it better from a sympathetic ear. The doctor come in...

No, "Hi, how are you," etc. Just "Who was your surgeon? What's the problem?" He was so rude, insulting, and talked down to me. I left the office in tears.

What's the deal? Are doctors now just jerks? Get you in and get you out. They just don;t care at all. Last Monday I wasn't able to walk and he had no explanation for me. All he said was, "give it 6 more months before you decide that the surgery didn't work." Whoa mister! Where did he even get that I was saying that? He saw me for less than 4 min and sent me on my way.
UUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again and I am getting the itch for some spring cleaning. Now that the sun is out longer and seemingly shines brighter, my once thought of clean house is rather filthy. So I started a list (me a list, never). I thought I would share my list with you in hopes of motivating you to do the same. I have picked a couple to do each day. I have found this to be very good for my dieting goal as well! More time cleaning and less time eating; plus it helps burn calories especially if you are carrying a baby around in a Baby Bjorn.
Clean...
Baseboards
Window sills & moldings
Floors
Bathroom doors
kitchen cabinets inside & out
Attach child safety latches
polish silver
stainless steel appliances
Wash silk plants
ceiling fans.

Let me know if you have spring cleaning fever of your own and what is the craziest thing you're going to clean & I'll join in!

Back to School

Eric started back to school this week. He is taking one class at a time for 6-8 weeks each. Right now he is taking a math class which is every Monday and Wednesday nights. These are very long days for both of us. Eric goes to work at 6:30am, after work he goes to the gym, then his class starts at 4:50pm. He doesn't get home until about 8pm. This means I am home alone ALL day w/ Garrett and then he goes to bed before Eric gets home. I am so proud of Eric for being motivated to go back to school, I know how hard it is. Selfishly I am just wishing he could be home so I could have that 1/2 hour break before dinner :)

Milestones, Kisses & Festivals, Oh My!

Last week was a HUGE week developmentally for Garrett.
As you read in the last post, on Sunday he stood up in the crib for the first time; now he is pulling himself up to stand on everything and then gives me his super cheesy smile w/ all those teeth. Speaking of teeth, he got ANOTHER ONE. Now he has 8, 4 top and 4 bottom. This kid keep poppin' 'em out! Then, on Wednesday, he went from a crawling position to a sitting position. I wasn't sure if he would ever sit by himself :)
Then He started giving kisses. On Thursday after his late nap, we were sitting on the couch and he climbed up to give me a kiss, but not just one, 5! He just kept giving them, sooo sweet:)

Yesterday, we went to a Hawaiian Festival in Tempe. It was fun. We got to hang out with some friends and ate some good food. It was pretty hot however and typically I got a sunburn. But, Garrett loved it. He laughed at all the people and just had a great time, I guess he is going to be a social butterfly like his parents :)

So Big!

This morning I woke up to an adorable sound coming from the baby monitor. When Garrett wakes up he likes to play and talk. The sweet noises turned fussy rather quickly, then to a cry.
I go into Garrett's room to get him and there he is, SO BIG... He is standing up in his crib! This is the first time he has ever done this. I yell out to Eric, who is sleeping, "Come in here Garrett is standing up!" He runs in and then says, "leave him there, I'll go get the camera." Meanwhile, Garrett is staring at me not sure why we are so excited and wanting to know why I wont just pick him up and feed him! :) So darn cute this baby!!!

Then, before bed I was giving him a bath and he decided that he would reach out of his baby tub and grab the edge of the real tub and stand up. Now he thinks he's a big boy and can stand up on everything!

I absolutely love being a mom and am so happy that God chose me to be Garrett's mother. He is such a joy and it is so amazing to watch all of these milestones with such excitement.

***Pictures will come soon***

Saving Money

My new year"s resolution was to find creative ways to save our family money. I actually started my quest before the new year, but these past couple months I have made it my "job" to cut $$ from our budget.
I have been doing really well in my opinion. I shop way less. I have saved us $100 a month on groceries. I only buy things if I have a coupon and this is not just for the grocery store, but for all retail. And for Garrett's birthday I have decided to shop on Craigslist and ebay for ultimate savings.

I want to know what are some of your money savers? Anything that could help my family?
Post your comments and I will try them out!

Nutritionist

We took Garrett in for his routine 9 month check up a couple weeks ago. Well... he actually lost weight since his 6 month check up. Needless to say we were a little worried. The doctor has us going back in for a weight check in a couple weeks . So, I have been basically loading the kid up on feed and even sneaking formula into his morning cereal trying to fatten him up!

This morning, we went to go see a nutritionist. I brought in a sample menu of what we feed him and a list of all the foods he has ever had. The nutritionist said that all the foods I am giving him is great. She said not to worry maybe his is just little.

So I am just laying it in God's hands and that's that!

Hallelujah!

Praise God almighty, Hallelujah; the separation anxiety is over!!!

For those of you who don't know, the past 3 month Garrett developed a horrendous case of separation anxiety. He would scream if I walked a foot away from him, let alone be able to use the rest room with out a temper tantrum. The crawling and clawing at my feet was cute for a few days. But when it lasted a week I knew something was just wrong. I talked to everyone I knew about what he was going through. No one seemed to know that it was in fact separation anxiety. My amazing husband, Eric, actually researched it and told me what was going on. Then I was able to find a solution for the problem. It is always easier to accept a situation if you know it has a diagnosis and it is temporary.

Well, last week Garrett realized that he can pull himself up onto his knees and he loves it. Now, he plays independently, yea! He crawls all around the house discovering new things each day, the stairs for example. He crawls to the stairs, pulls himself up to his knees and laughs because he is so proud of himself! He is the sweetest, cutest, most amazing child in the world! (Don't all mothers say this about their kids? Well, mine really is! j/k).

Trying again!

OK, since only 2 people actually read this blog, I got irritated and busy, so I stopped writing it. But I feel like I have a lot to say and our family has been going through so much, that I am going to give it one more try. Hopefully this people will be interested in what the Stromski's are up to and want to read about Garrett's developmental fun!