Sweet Home Florida....

Doesn't have quite the same ring as Sweet Home Alabama, but that song is in my head today. We have a home again! After a long search we were rewarded with exactly what we were looking for! A great swimming pool, 24 hour fitness center, nice sidewalks for walking, and beautiful scenery! Our place is new, comfy and spacious. It is nice to be together as a family again.

We are settling into a routine (which I have been yearning for) and Gavin seems to be adjusting well. It took a couple days, but I think I have finally mastered the technique of walking both Gavin in the stroller and Sasha on her leash. She loves the lizards that dart across the sidewalk. Speaking of lizards, there is SO much wildlife around here. Toads, lizards, insects....and these cool tree frogs come out at night when it rains. I am not as freaked out about the lizards as I was in Cayman. I guess I am getting used to 'em.

Moving to Florida Day 4

There are not enough hours in the day! We have literally been running around like chickens with their heads cut off! John started his rotations at Florida Hospital. He seems really happy and comes home excited about all he is getting to do. The afternoons have been spent exploring the area and trying to find a place to live. The rental market here is amazing. There are hundreds of properties to choose from in every area in and around Orlando. I get to be a little bit picky about the things that I want in a place! Finally I think we have found a place to call home. It is a beautiful property in a brand new area that has tons of shopping and restaurants. The place itself has a neat pool area, 24 hour fitness center, a lake, and a movie theatre! We have a full size washer and dryer which is my number one requirement now that we have Gavin around!

I will be glad to get out of this hotel room! They are remodeling the rooms around us and it has become really noisy. The workers literally stand outside our window to smoke cigarettes and stare in at me like I can’t see them. I finally waved at one guy to let him know I could see him staring at me and he waved back like it was totally normal for him to be staring into the room.

Today the sun is shining, which is nice after rain for the past few days. Today the goal is to sign a lease and start moving into our new “home”.

Moving to Florida Day 3

Changed hotels. Could not survive without Internet. We rely on it too much to research apartments and other information we need to learn about a new city. New room seems smaller, but it is clean so that is all I care about!

We're busy trying to find an apartment. We found a place we like, but it seems a bit pricey. The search continues! The weather is a bit cooler, so we are not dripping in sweat each time we stroll into a leasing office.

Floriday Day 2

Move to Orlando Day 2

So…we headed out this morning to search for our new home. John driving, Sasha front seat passenger, and me in the back seat with the baby. Gavin looked at me like I had to be kidding when I put him back into the car seat after that 24 hour drive from St. Louis. We filled up with gas and John grabbed an apartment guide. Florida has its act together when it comes to apartment guides…very organized and it saved our life (considering we don’t have access to the Internet at our motel). Anyway…so we looked at some very nice properties taking notes of things we liked and didn’t like. We were on a mission and nothing was going to stop us! The apartment people probably thought we were insane. We barged in each office dripping with sweat… a panting dog in tow and a half-dressed baby. An hour into our trip Gavin had a major blowout and got poop all over his outfit and car seat.

At our final stop (8 hours into our search), we parked in front of a rental office and John headed in for information. As I pulled Gavin out of his car seat I realized that he had pooped AGAIN and it was everywhere. I had poop all over me by the time I realized how much of a blowout it was, and knew that I needed some assistance. So, I carried Mr. Poopers into the office and asked John to come out and help me. For the second time we turned the back of the jeep into a changing table. There was poop everywhere. John held his legs while I carefully removed his soiled outfit. Gavin ended up completely upside down and naked being held by his feet. We were so preoccupied with not getting poop on his face that we did not realize that Gavin had picked up the “used” baby wipes and had them in his mouth. He was giggling in delight since he was upside down and out of the car seat. We scrambled to get the wipes away from him and get him dressed in a new outfit. This whole time we did not realize that there were all kinds of people walking past.

And we're off....

We are moving on.....to Florida! Yay! John is all ready to start his rotations at Florida Hospital. Things are crazy as we pack up and get ready to go. So much to do, so little time. It will be an experience, I'm sure.....making the long drive down with Sasha and Gavin...with a Uhaul trailer attached to the jeep.

Baby Benjamin

Congratulations to Sharon and her hubby on the birth of baby Benjamin. Isn't he adorable? I am so excited for her! I had to laugh when I heard that her water broke on LABOR DAY. I am sure that this holiday has taken on a whole new meaning for her!

Sugar Pills

After a semester off school, I am ready to tackle the online world of learning again. My classes start this week: Health psychology and Social Change.

One of my favorite areas of health psychology is the placebo effect. I find it fascinating that the mind has so much control in contributing to one's perseverence or fall. The placebo effect is related to the power of suggestion. Research studies often divide people into groups: one gets the real medication, the other gets a sugar pill. Surprisingly, it is common for people to report getting better simply from the belief that they are taking a certain medication.

Tonight I was reading about how the type of treatment a patient receives plays a factor in how potent the placebo effect can be. It was interesting to learn that big pills work better than small pills. And, colored pills are better than white pills. Capsules are more beneficial than tablets. Studies have gone as far as demonstrating that people who receive a "fake" knee surgery (the surgeon cuts open someone's knee and sews 'em back up without doing any procedure) will report significant reduction in pain years after the surgery. Fascinating to me.

"Wish we were at the bar you guys..."

This is my favorite quote of the day. After a rush of crisis line calls, my friend Lori blurted out (in her true valley girl fashion), "I wish we were at the bar you guys." She followed this up with, "you know....drinking beer and stuff". It was hilarious for so many reasons. And, I totally agreed with her.

Working lots of hours this weekend. Working the holidays in the mental health field always presents unique experiences no matter how seasoned the professional.

My favorite word of the night: Esculate. This is apparently what some people do when they get angry. They esculate.

Courtney's Shower

Another successful cousin shower! We had Courtney's bridal shower this past weekend. Isn't she beautiful? I cannot believe that she is going to be married soon! We have the bachelorette party to look forward to this next weekend! A full day and night of drinking- yikes!