Testing, testing..

Scott's test schedule at school is {SO} crazy. For example, he had a test last Monday, Friday, one today, and then he has one Wednesday, Thursday and next Monday. This is not uncommon.

And, to give you a little taste of what his tests are like..for his test on Wednesday (or Thursday, it's hard for me to keep track) he has to know the names and locations of 350+ parts of the brain! Plus, they get docked for misspellings. Yikes!


All I can say is... I'm glad it's him and not me!! Good luck, Daddy!
Thanks for working your butt off in school for us!!

A Birthday Surprise

My birthday is coming up and some of my friends decided to plan a little something for me. I was at my friend Jenn's house the other day and she said, "Oh, by the way, we're doing something for your birthday. Be at my house at 4:30 on Friday. I'll have a sitter for the kids." Awesome!

Later Jenn asked if Saturday would work instead of Friday, and I said it would. She still wouldn't tell me anything about it, though. I was, like, "No hints? You're gonna leave me in suspense?! At least tell me what I should wear so I'm not under or over dressed." "Nope. Just wear a pair of jeans and a cute top."

On the big day I was, of course, running late getting to her house, because that's what Jillys do best. After we got the kids settled in with the sitter we were off on our big adventure. We hopped in the car and started driving. Two other friends, Annie & Pam, were already there, wherever we were going.

We arrived at a nail salon to get {pedicures}!! It was so awesome, because I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I had never gone to get a real pedicure. I was so excited! It was such a blast to sit there in the massage chairs, having my feet pampered and chatting with these awesome girls I am {lucky} to call my friends. My feet look the best they have ever looked in my entire life! Bye bye calluses!


So, after we got the Deluxe Package--which included a paraffin wax treatment & yummy smelling salt scrub-- we sat around talking for a long time, then stood outside talking for even longer. It was so awesome to be "girly" and silly, especially after a long week.

Thanks you guys SO much for the awesome surprise. It was so much fun. You guys are seriously awesome. Like Annie said, I am glad to have made such great friends here in Arizona, 'cause with those crazy boys in school all the time (for the next 3 1/2 years) it's good to have some awesome girlfriends.

Check-Up

Today I had to take Katelynn in for a check-up with her pediatric nephrologist. They tested her urine and it showed the amount of protein to be 2+, rather than 3+ like it was on Tuesday. (If you know what that means tell me, 'cause I don't exactly know what that means. Heidi-- Mrs. Lab Woman-- do you?)

So, the doc said she seems to be turning the corner. We have to keep giving her the steroids twice a day, and she has to go in for a check-up once a week until her urine no longer shows traces of protein in it. (Yippee skippy!) We also have to watch for fevers, trouble breathing, increased swelling, white lesions on her tongue (yeast growth caused by the steroids), and anything else suspicious.

Also, we have to be careful that she doesn't come in contact with chicken pox, because prednisone+chicken pox=bad news. When I told the doctor that she hasn't had her chicken pox vaccine, he about peed his pants. I told him that she had a really bad allergic reaction to her last two rounds of vaccines and ended up in the hospital for a week, so we have not done any more vaccinations since then. Guess we have to see about getting a chicken pox vaccine after she's off her prednisone. We'll see. I need to do more research on it. Some doctors don't like this about us, but we are not their typical patients who think everything coming out of their mouths is gospel. We question things, do our own research, challenge their suggestions, etc. So, we may be a pain in the gluteus maximus sometimes, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do! That was a totally random tangent, but oh well.

Katleynn will still be a bit puffy for a while, but that's okay. What I'm not looking forward to is the side affects from the steroids, specifically the moodiness. Last time she was on Prednisone she would have these crazy fits of rage, then 2 seconds later be happy as a little clam, then another 5 seconds after that she would be curled up in a ball with her blanket, talking about how 'her eyes are sad'. I'm not ready to handle teenagers yet! Give me 10 more years, please!

P.S.- Can I just say I have the most awesome friends?! (Yes, I'm talking to you!) Everyone has been calling me & texting me & leaving sweet messages on the blog, asking how they can help and sending prayers our way. I had 2 friends fighting over the honor of bringing me dinner last night (you know who you are!), and another friend watch Emma & Michael for several hours while I took Katelynn to her check-up today. You (if you are reading this blog I'm talking to you, by the way) rock my socks off!!

A Little Scare

Last summer Katelynn spent about 2 months in the hospital. (Click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here for the story, or just go to the "Blog Archive" for June & July 2008) She was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome, which is where her kidneys spill proteins into her urine. She weaned off of her steroids last October and her blood pressure meds in January. Since her first presentation of the syndrome was so severe (kidneys shutting down, lung failure, long hospitalization, etc), we were told that it wasn't a matter of if, but when she relapsed.

At her last check up we were told to watch out for puffiness in the face, especially around the eyes, and that usually the puffiness presents itself in the morning, then goes down during the course of the day as she's on her feet, moving around, etc. Last night we noticed her face was swollen up-- a huge red flag! We thought that maybe she was having an allergic reaction to something, since they were rolling down the hill at the park that evening. We gave her a good bath and put her to bed.

This morning, lo and behold, her face was all swollen up. Crap! So, I started by calling her nephrologist, who is out of town this week (of course), then the pediatrician. We knew that we needed to test her urine for traces of protein, but didn't have any Albustix at home (they are not cheap, my friends). So, Scott was able to get some Mulitstix from the clinic at school to test her urine with. (Yea for having connections!) The test showed that she had a ton of protein in her urine, so we got in to see a pediatrician asap.

I called my visiting teachers to see if one of them could watch Emma & Michael while I took Katelynn to the doc. Luckily Tanya was able to watch them, and her son, who is their age, was happy to have some playmates. Yea!!

I took Katelynn to the pediatrician, and after looking at her and taking a urine sample, they decided to send her to the ER at Phoenix Children's Hospital. So, we drove over there and got our awesomely short ER visit underway. (I'm being sarcastic here, by the way).

Several hours, snacks and a blood draw & urine sample later, we were sent home with a prescription for Prednisolone (steroids), and instructions to follow up with our Pediatric Nephrologist in a couple of days and watch for any more symptoms that would indicate her condition is worsening.

Then we went to pick up Emma & Michael, who had a blast at their 7 1/2 -8 hour playdate. And sweet Tanya had DINNER all made for us to take home. All I had to do was pop it in the microwave for 10 minutes. Wow! I am really grateful, because on the way over there I was thinking, "Now, what am I going to throw together for dinner?! It's almost the kids' bedtime already. I'm so tired!" The Lord truly knows what we need and, often through others, takes care of us.

So, I will keep you all posted on the craziness at our house. Hopefully this will be all you see about it! Because there is NO way we could deal with a kid in the hospital right now, especially with Scott's crazy school schedule.

The Mysterious Ticking Noise

Have you seen this?



Because right now Michael is laying in there singing it instead of going to sleep.

The crazy thing is, he's only seen it a couple of times. Funny, funny boy.

Swimming

On Wednesday we met up with some friends and went {swimming}. It was fun, and a lot less stressful than the last time I took the kids swimming by myself. Thanks for letting us crash your pool, Pam. A good time was had by all.

It looks like we're having a party. Nope, it's just always a party when we get together!


Katelynn, say "Cheese!"


Emma loungin'. And can I just say-- pool floaties are one of the best inventions EVER. Makes it things a lot easier for Mommy.


Michael giving me a smile.


Playing in the hot tub. Don't Emma's legs look SO long in this picture?! These kids are growing like weeds!

St. Patrick's Day?

Am I a bad mother?

Because I TOTALLY FORGOT that today was St. Patrick's Day!!

No green meals.

No pinching.

No cute little green outfits.

No leprechaun hunts or pots of gold coins or four-leaf clovers.

I wore a green shirt today, but it was a complete accident.

***

Is it okay if I celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow? The kids wouldn't know the difference...

Last few days..

We haven't been up to a whole heckuva lot the last few days.

On Wednesday we went to look at a couple of houses we are debating between. It's been really hard to decide, because there are pros and cons to each. I told Scott that I wish we would just get a letter from the Man Upstairs that said, "You should buy this house." So, we'll see what happens.

On Thursday I went to girls' night out with the med school wives. It was supposed to be Bunco, but I forgot to bring the game! Oops! We had a lot of fun just chatting, though.

On Friday we, uhm.. I can't think of anything we did on Friday.

On Saturday I went to some garage sales with a couple of girlfriends. I picked up a little set of alphabet blocks with Winnie-the-Pooh character puzzles on them, and a couple of cute bunny figurines for my Easter decor.

On Sunday we (of course) went to church. I had choir practice, and am a little worried because I realized that we only have two more Sundays to practice before Easter Sunday and we are supposed to do 3 numbers. And, we are singing next Sunday as well! But, it will work out. It always does.

On Sunday we also had dinner with Scott's friend from school, Shaun, and his family. The kids had a lot of fun, because they have kids older & younger than our kids, plus they have a trampoline, a play structure, puppies and goats. The kids had a blast.

Today we are just bumming around. We did some "kid school" (I'm teaching the kids preschool, but I'm bad about being consistent. Last week we only had 'school' 2 days, I think), and I was planning to go get the oil changed on the car, but the kids took forever and a day to take their naps, so it kinda squelched that idea.

So, kind of a boring post, but I hate not posting anything since this is supposed to be a journal, of sorts.

I'll end with a few of pics.

Michael likes to do these "tricks". He'll stand on his head, put his feet on the wall, and do different poses. So funny.

Michael & Mommy

Katelynn's crazy hairdo in the tub.


Have a lovely day!

Bedtime Stories

It is a rare {treat} for Daddy to be home for bedtime stories.

It's always so fun when Daddy reads to them.

He is very interactive, and makes the stories come alive. Here are the kids flapping their ears and flying like "Dumbo".

What a sweet scene to watch. My kids are lucky to have such a

{fun Daddy!}

A Little Crush, Perhaps?

If you remember this post, you already know that Katelynn is the one we are going to have to keep a close eye on when she's a teenager. She is the boy-crazyiest three year old I know.

The last few weeks we have been house hunting, and Katelynn has developed a crush on our REALTOR!! She always asks him to pick her up, talks to him and follows him around. Whenever we say we are going to meet him, she gets excited. She says, "He is a big man. He's nice, I think. He's a nice guy, huh Mom. He's my friend. "

A few funny stories:
* One day he was holding her, and I caught her running her fingers through his hair.
* We were standing outside next to his car talking. Katelynn said, "I like your, uh...(looking around) tires."
* I asked her if she liked him, and she said sheepishly, "Yes. Somebody loves him, I think. He is their friend, huh. He is a good boy."

And the icing on the cake...

Katelynn took my camera for a bit while we were looking at a house, and when I retrieved the pictures later, this is what I found:






Whoa! Contain yourself, girl! You know he's married, and way too old for you--right?!

I hope I don't have a future psycho-stalker on my hands.

Ha ha ha!!

Spider!

Remember doing the {spider} on the swings in elementary school?! It still works and it's still fun! It's a great way to make 1 swing work for 2 kids...

...or 1 swing work for 3 kids.


This is one {spider} I am not afraid of!

A Year Ago...

A year ago today my Dad passed away. It has been a very strange and crazy year. I still think about him often. I miss him more some days than others, but it is almost always in the back of my mind somewhere. I know it has been a big adjustment for everyone in my family, especially my sisters who still live at home. It's just strange to think it has been a year already.

For the service I put together a slideshow of pictures of him to present during the service. Because I was/am not technically savvy I put it together in Corel instead of Microsoft, so we were unable to bring it up on the laptop because it didn't have Corel Works or whatever on it.

In a random box of stuff I found the flash drive I had saved the slideshow on, and was able to find a free trial of Corel to download online. So, today I was able to open up the slideshow and retrieve all the pictures from it and save them as jpg files in Photoshop! Yipee! Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I was able to retrieve.

My Dad when he was a kid. He looks so goofy. You can see he has a fun sense of humor.


This is a picture of my Dad on their honeymoon. They are at the Acropolis in Greece.


This is a picture of my Dad & I at Temple Square when I was little.


Here I am with my Mom & Dad on my wedding day. Won't be getting back into *that* dress anytime soon! Heh heh heh..

We miss you, Dad!!

A Forever Family

On Saturday, March 7th Scott's brother David and his wife Jaime were able to be sealed to their precious daughter, Oakley, that they adopted. We are very happy for them and their {forever family}.


We are so glad that we can all be together for time and all eternity. The Plan of Salvation and the blessings of eternal families are truly wonderful. Oh, happy day!! YEA!!!

Dead Horse

As mentioned in the last post, for Spring Break we went on a camping trip with 5 other families from the Podiatry program. We went to Dead Horse State Park, which is about an hour and a half drive. It was {SO} fun! I'm so glad we went! I thought it might get a little hairy camping with that many kids. (I know my kids alone can be a handful sometimes all the time!) But, it worked out great. All the kids just played together and entertained one another. They loved having buddies to hang out with...and so did Scott & I!!

Michael found a lizard on the wall of the bathroom and Scott caught it for him. He became {OBSESSED} with it. He carried it around the whole trip, except for when we let it 'take a nap' in a water bottle the second day! It even bit his thumb and he still wanted it back. Here he is showing "Black" off:


This is the face he made when we suggested taking it with us to the lake and letting it go swimming.


I must admit, I've become somewhat of a picture fiend...especially since my Dad passed away. I want to get a picture of everyone and everything! When three of the girls (who shall remain nameless for anonymity's sake) were sitting on a bench together I thought it would make a great picture, so I told them to lean together and say cheese. This is what I got.


You girls are all gorgeous. I don't know why you are so afraid of getting your pictures taken! Embrace your hottie-ness!!

On the second day we walked from our campsite over to a little playground and lake they had there. This is how the girls ended up getting back to the campsite after we were done at the lake. Poor Daddy!


The kids were enjoying throwing rocks into the lake. l to r: Scott, Logan, Michael, JJ.


That afternoon we all went in a caravan on a drive to a nearby mining town, Jerome. It was a pretty drive, and I actually got to see some snow up in the mountains. Hooray! Here is a family pic next to the big mine pit. As you can see, it was quite windy!


Chillin' at camp.


"Mommy, I'm trying to relax. Why do you want to take my picture right now?!"


Jenn brought crafty stuff for the kids to do. (Genius, I tell you!) Here are some of the kids working on their foam visors.


Emma, showing off her visor.


Katelynn {loves} to take pictures. She's not too bad at it, either. I let her take a bunch of pictures while we were packing up. She did a pretty good job of chronicling it, too! Here is one she took of me.


One she took of Daddy packing the trunk.


One she took of her friend, Logan.


She is quite the budding photographer, I must say.

It was {so fun} to spend a few days doing something fun and 'outdoorsy' as a family, and it was great getting to know our friends from school a little better. Maybe we can make it an annual tradition, who knows?

Campin' Fever

This week is Spring Break, so we are going CAMPING! We are going to a campground a couple of hours away. It has a lake, some lagoons (they're too small to be lakes, and I guess 'lagoons' sounds more interesting than 'ponds'), and hiking trails. We are really excited.

We are going with 5 other families from the podiatry program, so it should be a {blast}. We did the math, and in our group there will be 11 kids 3 and younger! Ha ha ha!! Wish us luck!

So, if you *gasp* don't see any posts for a few days, that is why. See ya later, alligator!