Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Snow Snow Go Away
The kids are officially out of snow days from school! Actually they were out 3 less snow days from today! Luckily today was only a delayed start. Last Thursday, we got about 18 inches of snow! The kids loved it....at first. It is very pretty and fun to take a pictures....in the beginning! Now...I'm so OVER SNOW!!! We are still supposed to get 2-3 more inches tomorrow night as well. YUCK!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Saints vs Seahawks
Today we are having some friends over that are from Seattle! This will be a fun time to be together and watch our 2 football teams in the NFL playoffs. I'm sure Isaac will be a nervous wreck! Erica and Isaac both have on their Saints jerseys so I probably need to find mine and put it on!
We don't have people over a lot, so everyone gets excited when we do. I tend to stress about the house, the dog smell, the dog hair, etc... However, we do work hard to ensure people are comfortable when they come over and we always end up having a great time.
Isaac isn't sure if the Saints will win or not, but I'm hoping for a good, close game!!
We don't have people over a lot, so everyone gets excited when we do. I tend to stress about the house, the dog smell, the dog hair, etc... However, we do work hard to ensure people are comfortable when they come over and we always end up having a great time.
Isaac isn't sure if the Saints will win or not, but I'm hoping for a good, close game!!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
My Family Makes Me Smile...
I was reading quotes from many different sites today and ran across this....
The family.
We are a strange band of characters
trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste
coveting one another’s desserts
hiding shampoo, borrowing money
locking each other out of our rooms,
inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant
laughing, loving, defending
and trying to figure out the common thread
that bound us all together!
The family.
We are a strange band of characters
trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste
coveting one another’s desserts
hiding shampoo, borrowing money
locking each other out of our rooms,
inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant
laughing, loving, defending
and trying to figure out the common thread
that bound us all together!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Completely Overwhelmed!!
Today, when the alarm went off at 4:40, I slowly rolled over and pressed snooze. 10 minutes later, that crazy thing went off again and I managed to get up out of bed! It's normally not that bad....however, as Isaac started asking me what was wrong I quickly realized how overwhelmed I am feeling right now.
Here are a few of the things that are causing me stress:
Love to all!!!
Here are a few of the things that are causing me stress:
- the house is not picked up or clean
- the laundry is not done--it's barely even started
- there has been NO Christmas shopping to speak of
- there are no packing lists made for our trip to Arkansas - leaving Saturday
- the dog needs a bath BEFORE the road trip
- no arrangements are made for the guinea pig yet while we are away
- did i mention no shopping has been done?
- the Christmas cards were ordered and picked up, but nothing has been done with them since
Love to all!!!
Monday, November 4, 2013
My son keeps me humble
You may be wondering how in the world a 15 year old teenager could humble his mother, right?!
Let me start by saying that Isaac and I have always loved the 1.5-2 hours we get each evening when the kids are in bed and we are left in the house, and it's so still and quiet. It is OUR time! He usually rubs my feet, we talk about our days, watch a tv show that was DVR'd, catch some of a football game, sneak out for ice cream, or any number of things!
Recently, we had said our goodnights with the girls and gotten our night night kisses. Jacob said goodnight and love you's as well! About 10 minutes later, I heard something in the office area, someone was typing! So instead of walking around the corner, I yelled, "who is still up?". All I remember is hearing Jacob's voice, not even what he was going to say. I started in on my ranting.... reminding him that he has to be up at 4:55 in the morning and that he needs his sleep, and he better not get sick from not being well rested, and that he still needs to wash his face and brush his teeth.... After about a full minute of my fit... he comes around the corner and proceeds to tell his dad and I how much he loves the story in the book of Luke of the prodigal son. He was typing it up on his Facebook status and was excited to share it with his Seminary class the next morning. I guess something had happened in seminary that morning where their teacher challenged them to read of the prodigal son and would allow 5-10 minutes for sharing the next day. That's pretty cool of her, especially since this year they are in the Book of Mormon for studying.
Anyway, after my ranting and raving, then him telling us how much he loved reading this passage in Luke, I did apologize to him and he headed up to bed. He has his moments where I am humbled by who he is! Love that boy!
Let me start by saying that Isaac and I have always loved the 1.5-2 hours we get each evening when the kids are in bed and we are left in the house, and it's so still and quiet. It is OUR time! He usually rubs my feet, we talk about our days, watch a tv show that was DVR'd, catch some of a football game, sneak out for ice cream, or any number of things!
Recently, we had said our goodnights with the girls and gotten our night night kisses. Jacob said goodnight and love you's as well! About 10 minutes later, I heard something in the office area, someone was typing! So instead of walking around the corner, I yelled, "who is still up?". All I remember is hearing Jacob's voice, not even what he was going to say. I started in on my ranting.... reminding him that he has to be up at 4:55 in the morning and that he needs his sleep, and he better not get sick from not being well rested, and that he still needs to wash his face and brush his teeth.... After about a full minute of my fit... he comes around the corner and proceeds to tell his dad and I how much he loves the story in the book of Luke of the prodigal son. He was typing it up on his Facebook status and was excited to share it with his Seminary class the next morning. I guess something had happened in seminary that morning where their teacher challenged them to read of the prodigal son and would allow 5-10 minutes for sharing the next day. That's pretty cool of her, especially since this year they are in the Book of Mormon for studying.
Anyway, after my ranting and raving, then him telling us how much he loved reading this passage in Luke, I did apologize to him and he headed up to bed. He has his moments where I am humbled by who he is! Love that boy!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Worst Mom Award!
I forgot to take pictures of my children on actual Halloween night! What is wrong with me?? I cannot believe it really! Jacob got home late from school, due to drama practice. So we were running out the door, got about a mile or two away from our house and I realized I didn't have my phone OR my camera! Isaac had his phone and we did talk about him taking a picture or two, but then we both forgot! I did get a few pics of them during Trunk or Treat and Isaac got some of Mikayla at school, since he went to her school Halloween parade and class party. Anyway...it was a first and NOT one I am happy about. :(
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Halloween...a day to remember
I've always like Halloween, never really had any reason to dislike it! I think it has to do with how much I love to just watch people....and on a day when a lot of people are dressed up in costumes, it's just a fun day for me!
I love looking back at old pictures to see what my kids dressed up as when they were younger. But today I'm especially reminiscent because one year today, I found out that a rare bacteria infection that had set up shop in my abdomen was officially gone.
In June, 2012 I went in for what was deemed as a simple surgery, and what wound up happening was a 2.5 inch open hole was left on my stomach and was given oral antibiotics. My blood work showed that after 10 days of the antibiotics and evidence of high fevers, I was sent to an infectious disease doctor. She explained to me that my rare bacteria had a name, Burkholderia Cepacia. It's a pretty bad bacteria that is really hard for humans to get rid of, since it is mainly found on plants. It really liked me and began to colonize instead of die. So I had a mid-line IV for some IV antibiotics, along with which I was assigned a home health nurse. Mid Lines are for short term use. So my doctor had them remove it after my second surgery which was in August. About 3 weeks later, I found myself in the ER with a high fever and really bad abdominal pains. One of the colonies had hidden and the bacteria was back in full force. This got me a real quick admittance into the hospital. While I was there, I got my PICC line. The IV that threads to just outside your heart and is used for long term use. Luckily I got my same home health nurse, and now i was on the "last resort" antibiotic. After 7 weeks of this treatment and one more surgery, my blood levels finally proved that the infection was gone! Whew!
So Happy Halloween and here's to a another year of healthy living!! : )
I love looking back at old pictures to see what my kids dressed up as when they were younger. But today I'm especially reminiscent because one year today, I found out that a rare bacteria infection that had set up shop in my abdomen was officially gone.
In June, 2012 I went in for what was deemed as a simple surgery, and what wound up happening was a 2.5 inch open hole was left on my stomach and was given oral antibiotics. My blood work showed that after 10 days of the antibiotics and evidence of high fevers, I was sent to an infectious disease doctor. She explained to me that my rare bacteria had a name, Burkholderia Cepacia. It's a pretty bad bacteria that is really hard for humans to get rid of, since it is mainly found on plants. It really liked me and began to colonize instead of die. So I had a mid-line IV for some IV antibiotics, along with which I was assigned a home health nurse. Mid Lines are for short term use. So my doctor had them remove it after my second surgery which was in August. About 3 weeks later, I found myself in the ER with a high fever and really bad abdominal pains. One of the colonies had hidden and the bacteria was back in full force. This got me a real quick admittance into the hospital. While I was there, I got my PICC line. The IV that threads to just outside your heart and is used for long term use. Luckily I got my same home health nurse, and now i was on the "last resort" antibiotic. After 7 weeks of this treatment and one more surgery, my blood levels finally proved that the infection was gone! Whew!
So Happy Halloween and here's to a another year of healthy living!! : )
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Cycling
Yesterday, Isaac, Mikayla, and I found ourselves at home. Erica was at a DC Children's Choir retreat and Jacob was helping with one of his buddies' Eagle Scout project. So after Mikayla's soccer game, we were all 3 here at home with no particular plans. We decided to go on a bike ride. We went down to the Needwood Park trail a short distance from our house. Mikayla used Erica's bike since that one has gears. We had a good time. We rode for close to 9 miles. That's pretty good, I think. Mikayla was trooper and worked the gears pretty well with it being her first time to use them.
Today I woke up with a "great idea"! With it being General Conference weekend, church was not going to start until later than usual (east coast living). I thought it would be nice for Isaac and I to go on a bike ride again. We went back to Needwood Park, this time with camelpaks on and runkeeper keeping our distance. We rode for 13.6 miles today. It was quite difficult actually. I was thinking it would be pretty easy since i didn't feel too sore from the ride yesterday. So we pressed start on our program and then i hopped up on the bike and as soon as my butt hit the seat.....OH....MY.....GOODNESS!!! I mean, OOUUUCCCHHHH!!! LOL
Today, Isaac let me lead the way. It was awesome. We rode 7 miles down the trail, turned around, and rode 7 miles back. We aren't sure why our program didn't say 14 miles total, but it's fine. Success. I only wanted to quit once, but when you're out in the center of a trail, you have to keep going to get back to your car!
All in all, a great weekend, and a couple sore bottoms! : )
Today I woke up with a "great idea"! With it being General Conference weekend, church was not going to start until later than usual (east coast living). I thought it would be nice for Isaac and I to go on a bike ride again. We went back to Needwood Park, this time with camelpaks on and runkeeper keeping our distance. We rode for 13.6 miles today. It was quite difficult actually. I was thinking it would be pretty easy since i didn't feel too sore from the ride yesterday. So we pressed start on our program and then i hopped up on the bike and as soon as my butt hit the seat.....OH....MY.....GOODNESS!!! I mean, OOUUUCCCHHHH!!! LOL
Today, Isaac let me lead the way. It was awesome. We rode 7 miles down the trail, turned around, and rode 7 miles back. We aren't sure why our program didn't say 14 miles total, but it's fine. Success. I only wanted to quit once, but when you're out in the center of a trail, you have to keep going to get back to your car!
All in all, a great weekend, and a couple sore bottoms! : )
Thursday, October 3, 2013
October 1st, 2013
I was hoping for a normal first day of the month, but it was far from the norm. How shocking to realize that "they" actually went through with it! This day was the beginning of the government shut down...or furlough if you're in mine and Isaac's line of work. Being contractors for the government is a high risk job. We knew that going into it, however, this really stinks. Actually, it isn't as bad as it could be. Isaac is not getting to work right now. However, I am. His building is completely closed for non-emergency personnel. He falls into that category. My contract or funds for my contract had been already been paid, so that is why i can continue working for the time being. It could be short lived, but for now, we are grateful that I am able to log some hours at work. I have faith that our family will be fine and we will pull through. I just hate that this happens so close to the holiday season. I pray the government leaders can come to some sort of resolution quickly.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tooth of Steel
June 5, 2013 -- This day was a normal day. Isaac and I got ready and left for work. The kids got ready and left for school. The workday was progressing nicely and the only thing we had after work/school was piano & guitar lessons for the kiddos.
Around 12:15 or so my work phone rang and it was Isaac telling me to log out and he was on his way to get me. I asked why since we didn't have our 8 hours in yet. He quickly said the school (Mill Creek Towne Elementary) had just called him and said that Mikayla was being taken to the hospital by ambulance and we should meet her there. I hung up with him and called the school myself. As soon as I heard a voice on the other end, I quickly announced who I was and before I knew it there was a different voice on the phone who introduced himself as the paramedic. He was very nice and calm. He explained that 2 children were going, one with a head injury and one with a mouth injury and that my daughter was the mouth injury. He must've known that I was about to say there was no reason to go to the hospital, when he said "the hospital has great plastic surgeons that work well with children"....or something to affect. I can only truly recall hearing "plastic surgeon" and before I knew it, I was crying and thanked him and quickly got off the phone (after ensuring he take her to the hospital of my choice--you know, the one that accepts our insurance).
Isaac is a great driver. I let him drive us there and I never once complained about squealing tires or quick turns, because I was sidetracked with making arrangements for Erica and Jacob after school. Since i didn't know what happened, I had to ensure they were taken care of after school....but possibly through the night. I quickly called a sister I visit teach who helped me calm down by letting me know that someone will ride with Mikayla in the ambulance and she is not alone. I hung up with her and called my own visiting teacher (who thankfully has a son in Mikayla's class), so I told her that Bryce would have a great story when she picked him up from school. As I was explaining, she was telling me that she would just pick up Erica and go to my house and pick up Jacob and take them both to her house. So that was taken care of and we were pulling into the hospital.
So Isaac dropped me off (did I mention I was only 2.5 weeks out from having knee surgery at the same hospital) to quickly go in (notice I didn't say "run" in)! I didn't even have to stop walking. As I was walking in, I was announcing my name and that my daughter was brought by ambulance, so they pointed me to a door that they automatically opened for me where I was greeted by a desk of nurses. I was walking toward them announcing who i was and that my daughter was brought in and a nice nurse said "oh room 6" so I never stopped. I think she was attempting to show me to the room, but there was no need, I was already in the room by the time she stood up.
I was so happy to see Mikayla's classroom teacher, Mrs. Glossup, whom she adores! Mikayla was laying with a huge gauze over the left side of her face. The nurse explained to me that she was not allowed to talk. So there she lay staring at me with her wide blue eyes and didn't say a word. I bent down to kiss her on the forehead and then the doctor asked to speak to me in the hall. Perfect timing on Isaac's part, who rounded the corner just as the doctor started. The doctor was a pediatric surgeon who was waiting on us to arrive so she could begin the stitching up of the lip. She explained that everyone would need to stay seated while she numbed and stitched the lip. She said it could take her up to an hour to complete. She said we would need to leave the hospital when she finished and take Mikayla to the dentist to have her teeth checked and she recommended the plastic surgeon that we needed to see.
Then we went in and she pulled back the gauze and i was the one sitting on the bed beside Mikayla. As the doctor pulled the gauze back, Mikayla was watching my face. This is where my high school days of being in drama came in handy. I sat there and just kept talking to her and smiling and telling her it was going to be fine.....all the while my heart was racing and my hands started shaking. There's something about seeing a section of your 8 year old's top lip hanging below her bottom lip that suddenly had me scared. No wonder the doctor said we had to stay seated. But my face never would've shown to Mikayla how my heart was feeling.
The lidocaine hurts and burns so much. I knew it was hurting her. My heart was breaking for her, but i just kept my voice as calm as possible and she remained very still as tears streaked down toward her ears. The doctor was right, it took her about 52 minutes to complete the stitches. She made one complete top lip again. It was swollen, but we left there and headed for the dentist.
Around 12:15 or so my work phone rang and it was Isaac telling me to log out and he was on his way to get me. I asked why since we didn't have our 8 hours in yet. He quickly said the school (Mill Creek Towne Elementary) had just called him and said that Mikayla was being taken to the hospital by ambulance and we should meet her there. I hung up with him and called the school myself. As soon as I heard a voice on the other end, I quickly announced who I was and before I knew it there was a different voice on the phone who introduced himself as the paramedic. He was very nice and calm. He explained that 2 children were going, one with a head injury and one with a mouth injury and that my daughter was the mouth injury. He must've known that I was about to say there was no reason to go to the hospital, when he said "the hospital has great plastic surgeons that work well with children"....or something to affect. I can only truly recall hearing "plastic surgeon" and before I knew it, I was crying and thanked him and quickly got off the phone (after ensuring he take her to the hospital of my choice--you know, the one that accepts our insurance).
Isaac is a great driver. I let him drive us there and I never once complained about squealing tires or quick turns, because I was sidetracked with making arrangements for Erica and Jacob after school. Since i didn't know what happened, I had to ensure they were taken care of after school....but possibly through the night. I quickly called a sister I visit teach who helped me calm down by letting me know that someone will ride with Mikayla in the ambulance and she is not alone. I hung up with her and called my own visiting teacher (who thankfully has a son in Mikayla's class), so I told her that Bryce would have a great story when she picked him up from school. As I was explaining, she was telling me that she would just pick up Erica and go to my house and pick up Jacob and take them both to her house. So that was taken care of and we were pulling into the hospital.
So Isaac dropped me off (did I mention I was only 2.5 weeks out from having knee surgery at the same hospital) to quickly go in (notice I didn't say "run" in)! I didn't even have to stop walking. As I was walking in, I was announcing my name and that my daughter was brought by ambulance, so they pointed me to a door that they automatically opened for me where I was greeted by a desk of nurses. I was walking toward them announcing who i was and that my daughter was brought in and a nice nurse said "oh room 6" so I never stopped. I think she was attempting to show me to the room, but there was no need, I was already in the room by the time she stood up.
I was so happy to see Mikayla's classroom teacher, Mrs. Glossup, whom she adores! Mikayla was laying with a huge gauze over the left side of her face. The nurse explained to me that she was not allowed to talk. So there she lay staring at me with her wide blue eyes and didn't say a word. I bent down to kiss her on the forehead and then the doctor asked to speak to me in the hall. Perfect timing on Isaac's part, who rounded the corner just as the doctor started. The doctor was a pediatric surgeon who was waiting on us to arrive so she could begin the stitching up of the lip. She explained that everyone would need to stay seated while she numbed and stitched the lip. She said it could take her up to an hour to complete. She said we would need to leave the hospital when she finished and take Mikayla to the dentist to have her teeth checked and she recommended the plastic surgeon that we needed to see.
Then we went in and she pulled back the gauze and i was the one sitting on the bed beside Mikayla. As the doctor pulled the gauze back, Mikayla was watching my face. This is where my high school days of being in drama came in handy. I sat there and just kept talking to her and smiling and telling her it was going to be fine.....all the while my heart was racing and my hands started shaking. There's something about seeing a section of your 8 year old's top lip hanging below her bottom lip that suddenly had me scared. No wonder the doctor said we had to stay seated. But my face never would've shown to Mikayla how my heart was feeling.
The lidocaine hurts and burns so much. I knew it was hurting her. My heart was breaking for her, but i just kept my voice as calm as possible and she remained very still as tears streaked down toward her ears. The doctor was right, it took her about 52 minutes to complete the stitches. She made one complete top lip again. It was swollen, but we left there and headed for the dentist.
So I started this post several weeks ago....the plastic surgeon re stitched the lip a week later and then a week later, removed them! We keep sunscreen on the scar and go back in a few months to see him so he can check the healing!!
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