The Joyful Journey

Hot & Shopping

May 31, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

Well, yesterday the a/c decided to stop working! Grr! It was way too hot to stay around here sweating all day so we decided to go to the zoo after all. (C did fine, btw!) It was pretty hot for the zoo, too, but at least we were entertained. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera, so there’s no pictures. But everyone had a good time. We saw a condor with average wingspan of 10ft! A large golden eagle. Various snakes. Giraffes, elephants, flamingos, zebras, tortoises, wallabys, otters, and many other things. The children got to pet & brush some goats. For the first time, everyone went in without anyone being terrified! Wow! I think we’ve hit a milestone! C really loved petting the goats. He was so excited about it and cute!

Then we went to their ‘splash playground’ to cool off. They all had a blast there and it was a really cool playground. If we lived around here –well, I mean if we were staying– I would SO be getting a zoo membership! I think Denver has a zoo. Hopefully it’s decent. I did have to pay $7 for one child’s ticket to get in because you only got two free tickets with the club card. Last time we all got in free because my nanny was with us.

The nanny, by the way, has decided to start a new job on Monday because the woman has to start work and would have to get someone else if my nanny couldn’t do it. I won’t lie, it’s kind of disappointing when I was counting on that last week, but I don’t want her to pass up a good opportunity just to work for me for one extra week! I haven’t told the children yet, though. Maybe she will be willing to come say goodbye to them. I’m sure they’ll be disappointed. When I told them she was sick yesterday E piped up with a look of pity, “Oh dear, poor Miss C!” I thought it was so cute and sweet.

Next week I’m going to have to get an appointment to get the oil changed in our Excursion. Have to get that done before the move.

After coming back on for no good reason yesterday at some point, our a/c again decided to stop working today. We were without it most of the day and when we tried again in the evening it came back on. I’m still not sure what to make of it. Hopefully I can find a mobile repairman who is covered under our warranty to come check it out.

Tonight I had some coupons that expire today so I went out shopping for awhile. I took my two little boys with me. First stop was CVS. I had a couple of coupons ($4 total) that could be used on my total that were expiring so I had to use them. I found a 100 ct package of those small sized paper plates (great for the kids) on clearance for .75. Then there was a deal for Power Bars where if you buy 10 you get $5 back, making them .50 each. Also sunscreen, buy two, get $10 back. However, when I got up to the register neither of my coupons were printing out. (They give you the money back in the form of a coupon to spend on your next purchase.) So after about 15 minutes they finally gave me a CVS giftcard with my $15 on it. Oh well.

Then on to Target. There were some large packs of stuff on clearance. I got a twin-pack box of cereal for $4.66 that had a peelie on the front for a free 1/2 gallon of Silk soy milk, which M likes. I also used some expiring coupons to get four Starbucks frappachinos (bottled) for .74 each. The Target I was at didn’t have one, but I put a hold on one near church that I will pick up tomorrow… a CD player/boombox on clearance for $5.89 marked down from $30! It has Spongebob on it, but I’ll sew a cover for it! 😉 I’ve been wanting one so I can play music in the bedroom without having to use my laptop’s CD drive.

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Frustrated and Disappointed

May 29, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

So today was the long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated trip to spend the day at the zoo. Disappointingly, it has been called off. First my nanny texted me at 7am saying that she had been throwing up for hours. I feel really bad. I hope she didn’t catch it from C! Then C had the runs and it leaked (actually more like poured) from his diaper onto our bed. So I had to strip the bedding, scrub the bed & give him a bath.

This has just all been too much! We’ve all had so much sickness for the past 8 months! One thing after another, things that overlap, etc. I’m getting very frustrated and fed up with it.

Anyways, nothing much happened yesterday, but I did take some pics of the soft shoes I made.

This is the first pair I made. I used dark blue corderoy fabric, and lined it with that as well, which made it too thick.

I like the way these turned out best. I used the corderoy for the soles. They’re so cute!

This is a pair I actually had attempted to make for C, but I ran out of elastic so I was never able to finish it until now.

And here’s a precious little boy who seems to like his new shoes!

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Constant Craziness

May 28, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

Okay, maybe I should just rename my blog “Constant Craziness”. I never feel like I have a good time to sit down and blog, but I’ve just decided to make the time, because I’m itching to be writing again. Unfortunately, I think my low readership numbers are making me unmotivated. There’s benefits to having a small, personal blog where everyone who reads are your friends and family. But I see blogs on the internet that everyone loves to read and I wish mine were more like that. I don’t know what I’m doing “wrong”.

Anyways, here we are in Phoenix, AZ. We’ve been here since April 15th. We’ll be leaving for Denver next weekend.

This stop has been for M to install an elevator with his new company, so he understands the process. His days have been pretty good, except for the physical labor and heat. He gets up at 5am (and I’ve been getting up to make breakfast for him — go me!!) and works from 6:00am-2:30pm. He’s usually home by 3 or 3:30. So that’s nice. But he has to go to bed pretty early to get up so early.

So we’re not quite sure what his new job will be like, yet. We think he’ll probably have pretty long hours in Denver. We’ll see. He’s going to be an Installation Supervisor for an elevator building company. He’ll travel throughout the state during the day to oversee things going on at different job sites.

I’m starting to get excited about Denver now. We’ve known we were going there since early January, so it’s been six months coming! Now it’s finally almost here. I’m sure I’ll like it. We’re still going back and forth on whether we’ll be able to rent a house there or if we should stay in the trailer. Of course I desperately want a house but I also want what’s best for us in the overall picture and it might be better to stay in the trailer a bit longer. I’ve been looking on craigslist for rental houses and it seems as if there may be some good options. I’ll be able to tell better once we get there. We’re not going to rule anything out until we get there and are able to explore our options.

We have hired a nanny/mother’s helper while we’ve been here. It’s been really great. She comes Mon & Wednesdays 9am-8pm and Fridays 9am-5pm. Mondays and Wednesdays M and I (and J) go out on a date from 5-8pm. It’s been really nice and especially great since M and I were apart for so long. At the time it was a temporary thing while we were here, but M told me he is looking into the possibility of continuing while we’re in Denver. Possibly even more full-time. We’ll see what happens and how that all pans out. It’s totally a matter of priorities. We *can* afford it, but only if we place more of a priority on that than on doing other things, so we have to figure out what we’d rather have more.

Yesterday while she was here I was able to get my sewing maching out and I made two pairs of soft baby shoes (and finished up a pair I had started long ago and was almost done.) It was really fun. The pattern I used is for personal use only, but I’m looking to see if I can find one that is able to be sold. Or I might just get brave enough to make my own. It’s rather simple. My wheels are turning and I’m thinking of things I can use, such as felted wool from sweaters or leather recycled from vests, pants, etc from thrift stores, etc. I’ll post pics of the ones I made soon. They’re very quick to whip up and so fun to make and I love that it only takes a small amount of fabric so you can get cool stuff from the markdown scraps table.

Tomorrow we’re going to the Phoenix Zoo. They’re having a special where if you show the club card from a local grocery store you can get 2 free admissions. The nanny will be going with us, too. They had the same thing last Friday but M had to take our vehicle to work that day because his work truck was running poorly. When he got home in the afternoon we hurriedly went and *ran* through the zoo in about 45 minutes. It seems cool and better than I expected. There’s also a neat “splash playground” that we’re planning on using, too. We’re going to pack a lunch and make a day of it. I’m actually really looking forward to it. I just want a leisurely day to spend enjoying my family. I seem to feel so rushed all the time, every time we go out it seems like we have errands to run in a certain time frame and we can’t just relax and do ‘fun’ stuff. I’ll have pics to post after tomorrow.

Okay, that seems like a pretty decent intro back into blogdom.
JJ

My worthless trip to the dr

March 4, 2009 · Filed under Children

The past couple days MJ & C have started to have a cough again. This morning MJ stayed in bed all morning and wasn’t feeling well. I decided to take them in to the dr so they could hopefully get some antibiotics and get over this. When the Dr. finally came in to see us though he quickly declared it a “virus” and told me to have them take vit C and bring them in in a week if they weren’t over it. Then he was out the door before I had a chance to react or complain. So that ended up being a waste of both time & money! Sheesh.

The nurse gave MJ some tylenol because he had a fever & wasn’t feeling well. I figured that should kick in and he would start feeling better and we could run to the grocery store on the way home. First we went to the healthfood store to pick up some supplements. I got some chewable zinc tablets, chewable eccinacia tablets, and some hylands kids flu care tablets. I also got a bottle of C, zinc & eccinacia for myself. And a couple bottles of kefir, since I’m taking antibiotics and need that good bacteria.

After we grabbed that stuff they were saying they were hungry, so rather than fast food I decided we should get some healthy chicken vegetable soup from their deli counter. We ate that at the little eating area. Then when we got out to the car I changed J & C’s diapers. Just as I got them all into the vehicle, MJ threw up his lunch all over himself. After getting him all cleaned up I promised him we’d go straight home and skip the grocery shopping. Maybe someday I’ll actually make it to the store!

J seemed to be having a growth spurt when we got home. He wanted to nurse nearly constantly for the better part of 3 hours. I started getting sleepy so eventually I laid in bed with him and I got to doze a bit. But that kind of put a damper on the housecleaning I had planned. I was able to wash the dishes & take the garbage out.

MJ seemed to start feeling better by this evening, but went to bed early voluntarily. C has already been awake a few times since I put him to bed. I gave him some motrin so hopefully he’ll be okay enough to sleep better. J is awake now and wanting something from me so I should go.

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Laundry, finally!

March 1, 2009 · Filed under Church and Worship, Friends and Family

Today I finally got some of my laundry done! Miss T let me come to her new house and do a few loads. We had fun visiting, eating fantastic salad & drinking french press coffee. (Oh, and peeling apples & frying tortilla chips!) The kids got to burn off a lot of energy in the backyard. Actually, every one of them conked out on the way home. I carried them all in, put them directly in bed and now am enjoying peaceful quiet! I’m always amazed when all four are sleeping simultaneously!

I was invited back to Miss T’s house for dessert after church tomorrow, along with the W family (the ones I stayed with for the birth.) I’ll do a load of sheets tomorrow.

I had a really, really bad headache this morning and when I walked in to T’s house she greeted me with, “You look terrible!” So I took some ibuprofin and when it kicked in it helped a lot. I feel fine now.

Yesterday I promised the kids we’d go to Chuck E. Cheese’s. We’ve been twice before and they’re always asking to go. Mrs. B and two of her kiddos joined us. That was a nice time. It’s the first time we’ve been out to do something ‘fun’. It’s always just been running errands before. After that I did a few errands and ended up at Target where I found a few more tubs and such for organizing. I’ll work on another organizing project on Monday.

I found a Boppy Swing in practically new condition on Craigslist last week. (I think the lady said it had been used 3 times.) I paid $15 for it. It works great and J seems to like it. (And it’s a nice compact size for our small space.) I also have been keeping an eye out for a Boppy Pillow but so far all the ones have been priced in the $20-$25 range. I found one yesterday for $5! I’ve been checking Craigslist multiple times a day lately, looking out for things I’ve been wanting. Next I’d like to get a cheap Bumbo seat, but I have some time before I’ll need that.

Tomorrow is fellowship meal once again! Time flies! This may be the second-to-the-last one I get to be here for! I don’t think anyone would expect me to bring anything this month, and it’s a good thing, too, being that the contents of my refrigerator are quite pitiful. I need to get to the grocery store one of these days. The children don’t eat much and I haven’t had much of an appetite lately either, so I’ve been able to skate by on having hardly any food in the house. But I think it’s about time to go!

I had Miss T pick up huge boxes of diapers and wipes at Costco for me on Thursday. I spent $100! I just hope they last for awhile!!

That’s about all I can think of for now. I need to take my antibiotics before I forget!
JJ

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This week…

February 26, 2009 · Filed under Friends and Family, Hearth and Home

Yesterday I finally went to the doctor. I got sick the day after J was born, that was three weeks ago! The first several days were very rough, and then I started to get better. But after that I seemed to ‘plateau’ and not get any worse or better. Then on Monday & Tuesday I started to get worse again. I looked up ‘walk-in clinic’ on Google and found one. When we got there the receptionist said all the doctors were booked but I could see a nurse and she would determine whether I needed to see a doctor. I figured what I had could probably be diagnosed by a nurse, so I signed in. The waiting room was full of people, tiny, and stuffy. I felt like I was breathing in everyone’s sick germs, icky! It wasn’t very well-ventilated.

In addition to trying to keep the four kiddos quiet and still, I had insane forms to fill out! Chalk it up to out-of-whack hormones, if you will, but I really began to find the questions highly offensive and humiliating. Such as, “Are you homeless”, “How many s*xual partners do you have?” “Have you ever smoked crack?” “Do you try to avoid greasy foods in your diet?” I hated being there and being treated as a sub-human. Like someone who had no clue how to take care of their own body. I felt like the clinic was just trying to cover their backside and make sure you were going to pay them. Speaking of which, I was steamed that I was supposed to be paying them for a service and they think they can get away with treating me like that! While I’m going through these forms, a kid came in with some hotwheels and C started screeching and wanting them and I couldn’t get him to be quiet. So after a fruitless hour I finally left. I got everyone in the car and called M up and totally lost it.

After getting myself together, I went to a different clinic and it the difference was like night and day! I was diagnosed with Sinusitis and given a prescription for amoxicillin, flonaise, & sudafed. I so rarely go to the dr, and when I do take meds it’s usually just one, so taking three different things seems weird to me. I just hope it wipes it out! I don’t want to be sick any longer. The dr did say I’m not contagious anymore, so that’s good to know!

I had a headache all day and by the time we were in Walmart getting the prescription I started feeling pretty bad. I just wanted to get home and rest. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Eventually I ended up with a migraine. Thankfully, it was mostly after the kids were in bed and I was able to sleep pretty well. C even slept until 4:30am (instead of his usual 1:30 waking time) and they all slept in a bit this morning. I still had a lingering headache this morning that lasted until mid-morning.

This afternoon we headed out to mail a care package to M and grab some milk from the dairy. I also picked up a nearly new boppy swing from Craigslist for $15. J is sleeping in it right now, it seems very cozy. A friend has said I can come over and do my laundry either tomorrow or Saturday. I’m not sure which yet. My laundry is starting to pile up! This will work much better than trying to do a laundromat with four kiddos! Right as I was heading out the door I realized that none of our electrical outlets were working! I looked at the circuit breaker, tried flipping the gfci’s and nothing worked. I called M and told him about it. He said I would have to hire someone to come out and fix it since I had already done everything he suggested and couldn’t really troubleshoot it over the phone. When I arrived home, happily it was working again. However, I’m not liking that it happened in the first place! We have overhead lights that stopped working a couple months ago, then after several days they suddenly came on again. The lights again stopped working while we were staying at the hotel last month. Mr. T looked at them when he came out the other day but couldn’t get them working. Yesterday when I got home they were on! So I don’t like all these things that inexplicably stop working and then start again for no reason!!

On Monday the T’s came to take care of me! They took the vehicle in to get the oil changed, and bought some of that bubble wrap encased in aluminum foil that comes in a big roll. He cut it out and fitted it to the windows so I can put it in at night and keep the heat in and moisture out. It also has the side effect of darkening the windows, which comes in handy for naps and keeps the kiddos asleep longer in the mornings! They also brought Taco Bell for lunch and tried to fix the light problem. I feel so blessed to have the T’s concern and care.

The S’s came by later that afternoon and brought dinner. They visited for a bit and got to hold J. They brought balloons for the children, which of course were a big hit. While they were here there was a knock on the door and J the owner of the trailer park brought a little outfit for the baby and a stand-up sign that says “Slow, children at play” for the children to use when they’re riding bikes in the street. (I always stay out and supervise them.) They have been asking to ride their bikes today but it didn’t work out and I promised they could very soon. We’ve had their bikes packed up since we were at the hotel.

I’m gonna run along now!
JJ

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Finding my New Groove

February 23, 2009 · Filed under Children, Church and Worship, Friends and Family, Hearth and Home

Welcome back to the blog world! After my hiatus I’m hoping to be regularly blogging again.

We had a very excruciating month of waiting. We felt like our lives were on hold while we waited endlessly for certain things. We waited to hear news about the job, then we were waiting for the baby, who took his merry old time to make his appearance! Thankfully all that is in the past now! It was quite stressful & took it’s toll on us, especially my pregnant nerves!

So, in a brief recap…

M was supposed to start his job training on January 26th. Baby’s due date was Jan 15th, but he still wasn’t coming so M reluctantly called and requested to start a week later, Feb 2nd. As February 2nd approached, however, baby J was still not wanting to come out. So with sadness we prepared for the possibility of having to have this baby while M was gone. We usually have “unassisted” home waterbirths, so I started the process of finding a midwife who would take me on so late. (42 weeks!) Thankfully I was able to find one and we arranged for her services in the case of M’s absence.

Unfortunately, M did have to leave early Monday (Feb 2nd) and J still hadn’t been born. The W family generously offered to have me come and stay with them and use their house to birth in. While we were on our way up there to get settled in, the midwife called to ask about coming up to make sure she’d be able to find the place when it was time. (The W’s live about 30 minutes from town in a rural area.) When the midwife got there she decided to check my dialation and surprisingly she said I was at 7cm and thin & stretchy. She was able to easily get me to a 9cm!! I wasn’t even in labor yet!! (And on Friday I had been only 3cm and “thick”.) So she realized she wouldn’t be going home! Everyone suddenly got in a panic to get the birth stuff set up! I was incredulous and a bit in shock!

Anyways, I will write up a full birth story later, but baby J was born at 9:06pm weighing in at a hefty 9lbs, 14.5oz, 18 days past his due date!

On Tuesday I got ill. E had already been sick and C came down with it, too. MJ ended up getting it to a lesser extent later in the week, and we unfortunately infected the whole W family to varying degrees, too. I was actually feeling pretty well from the birth itself, but I was nasty sick for about a week. The help I received both for my own recovery and with the children was invaluable! I couldn’t have done it on my own, that’s for sure.

On Thursday morning, (Feb 12th) I packed up and drove to the airport to pick up M, who had been flown home by the company to spend the weekend with us. We had a wonderful time together, and it was very nice to be able to make the transition to being back at the trailer with M home instead of all by myself. We took him back to the airport on Sunday morning. He had been in Denver, CO for the two weeks, just getting some basic job orientation. He flew to IL to begin his job training on Sunday. He has four weeks there, then another four weeks in Texas. (During this time he will get two flights back over the weekend.) After he graduates from his training he will be in Phoenix, AZ for another 4-6 weeks. If we are able to work it out, we are hoping to take the trailer and go be with him during that time. Then we will all be together in Denver for 8-12 months, and then we’ll be in our ‘permanent’ location, which is TBD, but we’ve heard either Seattle, WA or Portland, OR. Whew!! Lots of moving around, huh? This year is shaping up to be quite the adventure!

Meanwhile, here at home I’m trying to find my new groove, having a newborn, having four children, being alone. Of course, I have a wonderful church family here who are looking out for me. But it’s still lonesome without M around, especially in the evenings. Also, please pray that C starts sleeping better. He was sleeping horribly at the W’s house because he was sick. At home he had been doing better, but the past couple nights have been rough. Having a needy 20 month old who is crying and threatening to wake the whole trailer park, and having a hungry newborn at 1:30am is not a fun experience.

Today the T’s are helping me out, they took my vehicle to get the oil change it needed, so I wouldn’t have to go out. The S’s are coming later this afternoon to bring me a meal. I am very blessed and feel SO loved!

Yesterday was the first time I was able to go to church in two weeks. It always seems like forever! It was great to see everyone again and show off my baby. After church I went to the thrift store and was able to find a few articles of clothing, I desperately need a new wardrobe, none of my clothes fit now! Then I decided we should do something fun so I stopped by a RedBox and picked up Kung Fu Panda and got a Little Caesar’s pizza. The evening didn’t go quite how I had expected, though, I thought we would all watch as a family but I instead decided to get some cleaning done. I’m happy with the progress I made, though. I’ve been working on some organizational projects and getting rid of clutter. It’s coming along quite well.

Well, I must tend to baby J now, so I’m going to finish this up now. I’ll post some pics soon!
JJ

Finally getting a bit of job-related news!

January 8, 2009 · Filed under Friends and Family

We had been told by the hiring company that the elevator company would make their hiring decision on Wednesday. M and I both interpreted that to mean that they would be calling us. However, as the hours wore on, the anticipation became greater than I could bear. I was having a very hard time holding it together. I was falling apart at the seams. Chronic waiting seemed to encompass every area of my life, giving me no closure on anything.

By evening I was starting to feel sheepishly ashamed for being so out-of-sorts all day. I decided to make a better effort to not let it affect me so much anymore.

Just before 7:30am this morning, the phone finally rang. It was the hiring company, telling us that a job offer should be forthcoming from the company.

We were told the salary range, (more than he made at the last job!) that the job includes a company vehicle for personal use (another huge bonus!), and that there is also the possibility (likelyhood?) that we will start out for the first 12 to 18 months in Denver, CO while he thoroughly learns the job. I believe this would be after/in addition to the 7 weeks of training in IL and 2-4 weeks in TX. After Denver, maybe we’d be placed in Seattle, WA? They said the job offer call may come today or tomorrow.

There are still questions to be answered, but the main one, “Will he get a job offer?” seems to be answered. Now it’s just a matter of ironing out the details…. WHEN? Where? Can the family accompany him on the training trips?

I am very relieved to finally hear something. I’m still awaiting the answers to several of my concerns, but hopefully I can wait more patiently now.

I’ll of course update again as soon as we hear anything more.
JJ

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Welcome to 2009!

January 1, 2009 · Filed under Children, Friends and Family

It’s quite hard to believe that it’s already 2009! It will take some getting used to!

I’ve felt like my life has been on hold for awhile now. I’ve been hormonal and pretty cranky/grouchy so I haven’t felt much like blogging. Hopefully I can stay on top of it for awhile now!

I’m just going to give a general overview of what’s been going on because I don’t have the time or inclination to be wordy about it.

M was laid off from his job at Pardee Homes on November 19th. We’ve been enjoying the ‘time off’ and he’s getting some much needed R&R. His job was very stressful and taking a toll on his health.

He attended a hiring conference in San Diego at the beginning of December. He may have a shot at a couple of those jobs. He also did a phone interview for an elevator company, and they flew him up to San Fransisco for a 2nd/final interview. That went well and the guys he interviewed with said they would recommend him for a position. We were supposed to hear, “The week of the 29th/before New Year’s” but haven’t heard anything yet and probably won’t until next week now. But it does seem promising, his background is really good as far as his experience being ideal for the job. I think he is very optimistic about getting it.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, honestly. I know that most likely we’ll have to move away from my friends and church. But I just don’t want to! So I’m kinda dragging my feet about being excited at all. Also, this job will most likely take us to Seattle, which I didn’t realize before, but it’s a pretty liberal area. And it gets lots of rain. We’ve been having lots of rain here for a couple weeks and it makes us all go crazy inside the trailer. I can’t imagine 260+ days a year of rain! So I’m hoping if we do end up there, we’ll be able to rent a house, at least.

Also, there is a lot of training for this job, and I’m not sure if we’d have to be separated for it. There’s 2-4 weeks on-the-job training, then 7 weeks in Illinois, and 2 or 4 weeks in Texas. If we could tag along with him it wouldn’t be so bad, but if I have to be on my own somewhere new starting over without M and with a newborn, that is going to be hard! On top of all that, we’re not even sure exactly when this job starts. If it’s before the baby comes, that will be tricky, too! So, you can see that I’ve been kind of stressed and having to try very hard to just trust the Lord and not worry about it.

Today I am 38 weeks pregnant. At 35 weeks I had an evening/morning of lots of braxton hicks contractions. Last night I was also having lots of contractions. I was even starting to wonder if it would lead to real labor, but nothing’s happened much since 4am. I have a feeling I’m not going to make it all the way to the 15th this time, though.

To help pass the time and keep my mind off of potentially stressful things, I decided to make THIS last night.

I feel like I’m in a state of limbo here, it’s really wearing on me! I want to hear job news and waiting to go into labor! I can’t wait to meet my newest little boy!!

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