Blood in the Urine

So, I don't really want to talk about what is going on with me usually because my children are already SO interesting. But I know I'd be sad if I didn't talk about my experience today. About 3 weeks ago I went to the doctor to have a regular physical, and as you all know, that's a sucky experience in itself. But for me, it was a little different. The doctor told me I had excess blood in my urine. This was news to me! I've been peeing fine recently thank you and did not see ANY blood. He said it could be a number of things and to come in for another UA (urinalysis) to see if the bleeding was gone. 10 days later I came in again.... aaand there was still excess blood in my urine (hematuria). They scheduled me to see a urologist and after another week I went to my pee doctor. Peed in a cup again and was told yet again I had hematuria. He ordered a CT.

And I had a date with this guy.

After lots of paperwork, waiting/napping in the waiting room, I was finally called back. They made me dress in this crap.

oooh good times. I mean who doesn't love walking around a hospital with no bra on and an open back gown. 

They brought me into the room. Had me lie down and then just told me to listen to the machine. They put this really warm blanket on me and I have to admit it was rather nice. I was pulled through the CT about 3 times as it told me to "breath in" and "hold your breath". Inside the donut you can see dark band in the photo. Inside there they have something that spins around. It makes you feel like you're in a dryer, either that or you're going to be transported to the dinosaur era in nothing but some hospital garb and no bra!

The first round of this was to check for kidney stones. I had none that were apparent. She told me that meant I get to have the contrast dye injected into my veins to look at my organs.

This is the best most basic picture I could find. 

She started me on a IV and then told me she would pump the first half into my arm and then after 10 minutes she'd pump the 2nd half so that my entire insides would be lit up. No- this is not something you can just obviously see. But I could feel it. First I could feel my vein pulsing as the dye was being inserted, then my entire body got really warm. It felt like I had to pee. Very odd. And then came the nasty taste in my mouth that I couldn't really taste for long. For whatever reason, my insertion site hurt like crazy. The catheter inside was causing all sorts of hell. I just dealt with it rather than get another IV inserted. IVs feel like a bee sting to me, except once the bee sting feeling is gone, it feel like the bee has lodged itself under my skin at the IV site. I suck at getting poked with needles.

After the second round with the CT machine I was able to get up, get dressed, and wait for the results. And it was nothing.... they couldn't find anything. All scans were negative. Don't get me wrong! I'm glad for this, but this also means I just went through all that crap for NOTHING. Oh and of course this means I have to have a cystoscopy on Thursday. I'm looking less forward to this than I was for the CT.

What they're basically going to do is feed a little  camera up my urethra. . . ew. So, thank you excessice hematuria- you suck.

My kids at weddings

Sad news. It looks like I've finally filled up my quota of picture space on here. So until I rectify this annoying issue. There won't be pictures. Which hopefully won't last long, because I like pictures! Luckily, what I wanted to share this time didn't have any pictures to go with it anyway.

Aunt C just got married this last Thursday and it was a beautiful wedding. I love going to other couples' weddings and sealings. It reminds me of my own sealing and how special it was. For those of you wondering what a sealing is, it's a bond that as Latter Day Saints, we believe goes beyond this life. We believe that when we are married, that we are sealed to each other for time and all eternity and we get to do this in the temple. Of course, if you have more questions, please find your local LDS missionaries and I know they will love to explain it further to you! LDS.org is also useful for questions!

We had a very long day with the family and loved every minute of it. My kids of course were little studs. Everyone was raving about how cute they were and of course since they're my children, they just ate all the attention up!

After the sealing, the pictures, the little break in between and the luncheon, we finally made it to the reception! A couple things happened here that I won't and don't want to forget:

• As Aunt C and new Uncle J began their first dance of the night as the new married couple, my kids decided to get a bit of attention. E began by dancing along with them at the corner of the dance floor so no one really saw him. He wasn't exactly dancing properly to Beauty and the Beast- he was really breaking it down. As soon as he got tired, he flopped on the ground like a starfish and started to roll himself out closer to Aunt C and Uncle J. By this time people are beginning to notice the 2 year old splayed out on the floor at the happy couples feet. Luckily no one seemed too annoyed except of course Es brother. Are you even surprised? haha. A took his brotherly duties very seriously and went out to retrieve his starfish brother off the floor. A bent down, grabbed Es arm- E didn't move a muscle- and A proceeded to drag his little brother off the floor. I could hear people everywhere laughing at the spectacle my kids were making. Way to ruin the moment guys! You two are just lucky that C and J are good sports and didn't get ticked off at you! I mean, in reality, there's no way you could be mad. It was just too cute!
• Second thing I won't forget was E breaking it down after the slow dances were done and everyone was allowed to dance. He ran his two year old bum out there and started hopping around, throwing his arms everywhere and kicking his feet as fast as he could. The people who actually wanted to dance were so thrilled with their little dance partner that a circle actually formed around him and everyone clapped as he got his groove on! E was so encouraged by this that he maintained his awesomeness for the entire song. A was not to be beat though, he found the circle too and decided to break dance for us. I am not even kidding when I say break dance. He must have seen someone from other wedding busting some moves and he tried to copy them. He was better than me! .... which really isn't saying much.... but still! 

These were the things I won't forget about my kids, I know I also won't forget how beautiful Aunt C looked. There's just something about being a bride that makes you glow and she absolutely had that glow. She was stunning in her wedding dress, she was stunning in her luncheon dress- because I mean seriously, who wants to eat in their wedding dress and chance getting it dirty. Uncle J looked pretty happy too; these two were meant for each other and I don't say things like that lightly. 

It was a beautiful day, full of beautiful happy people, and it was wonderfully perfect! We'll just forget that my feet were crying by the end of the night, because genius here didn't bring flats and had to wear high heels from 9am-9pm. 

p.s. You'll have to forgive me for the crappy writing. It's 1am, I can't sleep and my writing skills are sub par this late or early in the day, whichever way you look at it. Oh yeah- one last thing! I can't forget that I had lots of compliments on how nice I looked too! I love getting compliments since believe it or not, I actually do have a fragile ego. 

It's Going Around

I finally have something to share! Unfortunately it's kind of sad news. A has been sick since last Thursday. We finally took him to the doctor's this morning and found out that both of his ears are infected. That was a shocker since he hasn't been complaining at all about his ear! He has a fever of 100 still. I'm just glad that it's not 103 like it was a few days ago!

There's been a lot of sleeping, crying, cool baths, medicine, pediasure, pedialyte, coughing and loooong nights for everyone.

Pediasure Goatee!

E has felt a bit left out since A has been sick. He's made up for this in extra teasing of his brother who can't defend himself properly.

 E stalking his prey.... a.k.a his sick brother.

Going for the kill!

A was clearly not impressed with this.

 So E and Mommy decided to go out and play for a while so A could rest. We decided to go to Kangaroo Zoo!

First, E had to get his sexy on.

 And then we went to have some fun!

 Jumping!

 Running!

 Yelling at the camera like a celebrity yells at the paparazzi!

 Scaling Mount Everest!

 And sliding down her at rocket speed!

 And then of course, pretending to be a half a caterpillar!

Needless to say, once we got home it was time to sleep. . . Or maybe not. 

Slowing down does not exist yet in Es vocabulary. At least we gave the sick boy some time to rest. Hopefully he'll be better soon. It's not fun to have your kid get sick, especially when they cough in your face and then try to kiss you with slobbery little lips. 

Stubborn!

Please! Anyone!! Tell me how to deal with a 3 1/2 year old who thinks he is the boss! HelP me! I cannot stand watching him try to take matters into his own hands any longer! It's making me crazy! Within the last 5 minutes I've had to send A to his room for taking cereal from his little brother and telling him he's, "Not allowed to eat this, E. You hafta eat your dinner!" And then after his first incarceration and a few minutes of freedom, he decides to take some garbage from his brother because he's, "Not allowed to play with trash! Put it in the garbage." Where he once again puts the item above his head and runs around with it, so his brother can follow behind him screaming in protest. AND he doesn't even put this trash in the GARBAGE himself. Bah!

It's soooo annoying. What a simple concept. Don't tell your brother what to do, quite bossing him around and your life will be easier. The weight of trying to be mommy will be lifted off your 3 1/2 year old shoulders and you can go back to being a kid. I'll stop putting you in timeout and I'll stop imprisoning you in your room.... oh, and I'll stop stealing your toys as punishment as well.

Seriously, does anyone out there have tactics that work with a bossy know it all child? No, I don't want to know about books I can read. Lets be honest here, I'll have the good intention to read it, but between all the kiddy fights I have to stop and my own things getting in the way, I'll not read a book.

E versus the butt cream. Part II

Do you remember this?? yeah? Well... it happened again. I'm not sure what E's obsession is with butt cream, but he just can't seem to get enough of it!

I mean, really?! REALLY????     Uuuuuuughhh! 

Do any of you have ANY idea how long it takes for this stuff to get out of their hair! I'd rather he had lice! Or bubble gum in his hair over this stuff!

I made a video that I can't put on here (not by choice. It just won't let me), but he has the cutest most mournful 'sorry' face you've EVER seen! On a positive note, for all of you hair gel obsessed out there. This is by far, the most fantastical stuff you could use to keep your hair in literally any position you wished. Your head will look white, it will take days and days of showering to get it out and you'll smell like a baby's bum! BUT hehe, that might be worth it to you.

 I couldn't decide if Daddy M was going to put me in the picture or not. So I just smiled and leaned away. :)

 A wanted to get in on some of the fun. He'll never pass up a moment to smile for the camera.

 They're lucky they're so cute sometimes! Because if anyone else did this. I would not be thrilled in the least. I mean, I wasn't in this situation, but it made it a lot less horrible when I had E's cute little sad face looking up at me. Just check out the first picture and tell me how you can be angry with that.

 Goodnight everyone! I hope your evening was a lot less cream filled than ours was... unless it's edible cream.... like from a donut!

*Get your mind out of the gutter!*

They are smarter than we think they are

A few days ago, I had the spectacular chance to actually get out of the house! I know, it's a miracle. The boys and I went to. . . wait for it. . . the Karl's Junior play place! It's right by our house and whaddaya know, it's free!! Being the great person that I am though, I did buy some fries to pay for their services. I learned something new that day about E.

He's devious in ways I did not even know. He's come to new levels of deviousness! He's the master at teasing and quite frankly, with the parent's he has, I'm not all that surprised.

We came in to the restaurant. Ordered some fries and a milkshake and proceeded to the play place. I have this creeping feeling that half you mothers reading this are grimacing at the fact that I even let my kids play on such a dirty thing. BUT I really don't care. I played on them as a child. I loved it. I was happy. I do not have any negative life altering moments that regard play places. And I don't see the point of sheltering my kids from germs to protect them, call me evil, but I feel like building their immune system and having fun while doing it, is a productive day! oh yeah.... if you're grossed out by the fact that I let them play in a play place, you might not want to read on, because its gets nastier.

A ran in and started to play first! E was more interested in the food that had just been delivered to us. He sat and ate with me for a little while until he saw his brother playing with some new friends he made and decided he wanted to join. E is just a bit too small to actually climb up the play set "stairs" that they have, so he had a bit of help from me. I had chosen the best seat in the area- or the only seats really. It gave me the perfect view of my kids while they were up there playing. After about 20 minutes of play time, I look up to see E sitting contentedly above my head drinking something. . . Shocked I stood up and like a good mother I looked up and yelled at him. "E! Put that down!! What are you doing!? Put it down, that's yucky! Gross!" He looks down at me with the curious expression on his face, pulls the straw out of his mouth and then slowly raises it back up while staring me down. "E! Right now! Put it down! Gross!!" He stops again, looks at 'his' drink and then back at me, tilting his head slightly to the side he replies in his high pitched innocent tone, "No. Nooooo, " while slowly shaking his head back and forth.

I tried to keep my composure, but it was just too funny! I had to look down and then try to act serious again. I looked up at him again, trying my best to look stern, and again told him, "Put it down." Before I even started to say the words I was laughing. *Not a good idea if you're really trying to get your child to stop drinking some mysterious liquid in someone else's cup and you really don't want to climb up to retrieve him.*

Encouraged by my stifled laughter, E repeats his little "No. Nooo." charade for me again and starts guzzling--through a straw-- the rest of the drink. By now I am so grossed out and aware that he knows I am not going to climb up there to get him, that I just sit down and watch him drink the rest of it while he stares at me in evil two year old triumph. And of course to rub it in a little, he takes the lid off the drink and eats the ice chips! WHICH I am fairly certain some slipped out of his hands a few times before they made it to his mouth.

I am going to blame this personality trait on his Dad. Because I was an obedient child and would never have done something so heinous! That was my sister, M.

"Your Blackberry or Your Wife"

This is something I am fairly certain that every family has to deal with in our world, er, America today; technology. It's is literally everywhere! Unless of course you live in the backwoods of Oregon in a shanty hut and use candles for light. Ironically, I am using my technology to remind some of you that we need to take a breather. We need to step back and get away from all of our gadgets. I found an article this morning that I found intriguing. Especially this part.

10 Signs Your Devices Are Hurting Your Relationships: 1. You can't get through a meal without emailing, texting or talking on the phone. 2. You look at more than one screen at a time, checking email while watching television, for example.  *I do that... usually a little game while I watch a show* 3. You regularly email or text, other than for something urgent, while your partner or another family member is with you. 4. You sleep with your phone near you, and you check your email or texts while in bed. 5. You log onto your computer while in bed. *guilty yet again.* 6. You have had an argument with a loved one about your use of technology. *oh boy...* 7. You text or email while driving. I don't do this, it's against the law... 8. You no longer go outside for fun. 9. You never turn off your phone. 10. When you spend time with your family -- a meal, a drive, hanging out -- each person is looking at a different screen. well it looks like I need to make some technology changes. What about you? And now, onto the more fun part of blog posts. The pictures!

Sorry, I don't have cooler pictures. We're not up to much around here. We all have cabin fever and are going a bit crazy. I really do hate the snow sometimes. I don't mind it in small doses. Or maybe I wouldn't mind it, if it didn't make me feel trapped in my own home- that could also be because of the one car that we have and my NON desire to WALK to get to places. Either way, life is going on. A is in primary now, which is SO exciting! For those of you completely confused by what primary is: it's a church program for children 3-12. Each Sunday A will now go to primary, while poor E stays in nursery (18mo-3) class. Actually, I'm not feeling all that bad for E, seeing as he gets to play for two hours during church! 


Daddy M has started school, he's taking one class this semester while I am home, studying for my CNA state exams! And then it's job hunting for me. I am so thrilled to be working again, but some days I am struck with this panicked feeling of worry about doing my job right, worrying about the hours, and worrying about how my mood might change by working again. I need to stop over thinking things! 


Now, you, whoever you are. Turn off your computer, your TV, give me your iPod, and go read a book!