Update

Well, we made some calls this morning and Larry has an appointment with a kidney specialist on Friday, maybe even tomorrow if they can squeeze him in. He also has an appt with an Urologist at the U of Miami on November 15. We're praying. Our meeting on Friday with one Urologist was rather quick, so we are hoping she was just rushed into making a decision. Hopefully, another doctor will have seen this before and will have a better understanding of what we need to do. Thanks everyone for your prayers. It means so much to us!

How to Turn Your Life Upside Down in 24 Hours (in 10 easy steps)

1. Have your spouse wake up with lower back pain.
2. Have the pain be so bad, you take him to the ER.
3. Have the ER give a preliminary diagnosis of kidney stones and run more test.
4. Have two CT scans and an ultrasound run.
5. Have the scans show a strange mass on your spouse's right kidney that they don't know what it is.
6. Spend 12 hours at the ER, then go home with no news really and an appt. with an urologist.
7. Go to the Urologist and have her and her partner tell you that the mass needs to come out.
8. Have them also tell you that in order for the mass to come out, the whole kidney needs to come out.
9. Also, they don't know if it's cancerous or not until the kidney comes out.
10. This all needs to happen in the next 3 weeks.

Of course, we're going to get a second opinion and see a kidney specialist, but we're both terrified.

I just wish it was me instead.

Wise One I May Not Be

Seven miles last night I ran.
Full of blisters my feet are.
Speaking like Yoda I know not why.
All night long it was in my head.

Walking long distances is a strange thing. Before I leave, I'm hyped up and ready to go. The first mile I think what am I doing? This is crazy. Then somewhere in the second mile, the blood starts flowing, you settle in to the pace and your body takes over. After the halfway mark, it's just gravy and as my walking partner says, you have to get back to your car anyway!

I signed up for a 5k on November 11. It's a night run through a holiday lighted park, so it should be fun. I don't think I'm ready since I still get winded when I run for any amount of time, but I'm hoping the adreneline will kick in and I can finish in a decent time. They also have kids races so I'm hoping Peyton will participate in that.

You Smell Stink

Make Up Alley is somewhat of an addiction of mine. I rarely purchase make-up or cleansers without first spending a great deal of time researching my options and getting real life people's reviews on the products. One day I was just looking around and pulled up the most popular just to see what was out there. I reviewed the aspirin mask first, and then I started reading about apple cider vinigar. Of course, I was intriqued and went the next day to Whole Foods to pick up some ACV and jasmine water (my attempt to mask the smell). I've been using this mixture a few times a week for about a month now and honestly, aside from the smell, it's a pretty good toner. I don't think I would recommend it for someone with dry skin, but my skin is slightly oily and when a do get a bump, it dries it up in a couple days. I guess you could even use it just to dab on bumps if need be.

So anyway, I hadn't used it for a few days, and then I put it on last night. The smell dissapates within a couple minutes unless I guess if you get really close to my face, which is what Peyton did. He wrinkled his nose and crinkled his lip then said, "You smell stink!" Personally, I just think I smell like an easter egg.

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Last night after we put Peyton to bed, he was chattering to himself in the usual fashion. I was reading, so I had tuned him out, but then I picked up "36, 37, 38, 39, 40!" Then he enthusiastically said, "Good job!"

A Plethora of Printables

At the suggestion of my online buddy, Bonnie Wren, I registered a domain name for my new venture and Voila, Plethora-of-Printables is born!

Please check out the site. I've added some pages and made it more my own. Pass the web address around too. :)

So in the Dark

The nation's sixth-largest school system lost its leader Tuesday, after a sharply split board voted to fire Superintendent Frank Till.

With Peyton's first day of kindergarden rapidly approaching, I feel I should be more knowledgable about the school board and public school system that he will be attending. I'll be honest with you, public school terrifies me. Mostly the unknown. I attended a small Christian private school all 12 years and have no idea the inner workings of the public school system. The idea of my 5-year old son in a school with over a 1,000 other students stops me in my tracks and makes my heart flutter at an alarming pace.

I've read reviews and articles about the elementary he is zoned for and I'm pretty confident that the school is a good one, but I'm worried how this firing of the superintendent will disrupt the whole system. Also, the vote was almost split, which is indicative of a troubled board as well.

If anyone has any good ideas on where to begin my search for more knowledge, please let me know.

New Web Based Business

Ok guys, here's my new venture. I'm sure I will play around with the website some, but I didn't want it to be overwhelming. What do you think.

Inspiration Station

Project in the Works

I'm working on a new project that would involve a web based type of business to bring in some extra cash (hopefully). I'm excited because it's something different and the products aren't expensive, so it shouldn't be hard to sell. Also, the business is just starting up, which is cool.

Sooooo, if anyone knows anything about making a webpage, or a good hosting site, let me know. I'll post as soon as everything is up and running.

Stepping it Up

A co-worker is training for the Disney marathon that takes place in January. There are a group of women walking the marathon with her and they meet throughout the week to train together. Yesterday, she asked me to join her as Wednesday is a shorter distance night and I agreed. We walked 4 miles in an hour. I feel pretty good today except for some stiffness and a couple of blisters on the lower part of my heel where it meets my Achilles tendon, a weird, weird place for a blister. I've read up this morning on blisters and now know I need to lube up my feet before going out. I also need to buy a couple more pairs of good running socks. I'm pretty much in awe of myself. I know it's not a huge distance, but it's more than I've ever done.

Next week, they are doing 6 miles and I'm actually kinda looking forward to it.

Claiming my Blog

Technorati Profile

Help, Anyone . . .

For the past couple of months, Shey has been getting up sometime between 2 and 4 am. It doesn't happen every night, but more often than not. I thought when we reliquished the pacifier that it might get better. I should have know though, he never cried because he didn't have his pacie, he just cried. Most the time I go in there, calm him down, then leave the room. He still cries, but he goes to sleep after a couple of minutes. This, though, is getting exhausting, very fast. Last night he woke up at 2:30 and I did that, then he kept crying, "daddy, daddy, daddy." This almost bothers me more than the moaning, "maaaammmaaa" It now bothers Larry too and last night he was going to go in there and just lie down on the guest bed, but I said, "no, he needs to go to sleep." and he did, eventually. But then at 5:30, he was up again, so I ended up on the guest bed in an effort to get another hour or so of sleep.

I'm thinking about just sleeping in the guest bed tonight so we can all sleep. What is up with our children and their avoidance of sleep?!?!

Things to Remember

Peyton and Shey have been doing so many cute little things lately that I just wanted to write some of them down to remember.

Shey has this teddy bear he received when he was born that plays the ABC's when you squeeze the block he's holding. The other night, I squeezed it for Shey, and he started singing along with the bear. He didn't know all the letters, but he had the tune down pretty well and would interject a letter here or there. We must have squeezed that block 10 times to watch him bop up and down to the ABC's.

When I picked Peyton up from Sunday school yesterday, his teacher was letting all the parents know that all the boys had prayed in class. My heart swelled up and it was all I could do not to cry walking down the hall to get Shey. When we got to the car, I asked hom about it and what he prayed for. He said, all my friends mommies and daddies, grandma and grandpa and poppy and grandmommie. Then I had to try not to cry again.

Shey has been talking up a storm lately. His latest is to ask me what things are,

"what's this?"
"lotion"
"oh."

"What's this?"
"shower"
"oh"

"What's this?"
"lotion"
"oh"

(That wasn't a typo, he asked me what the lotion was like 500 times.)

Yesterday, our friends came over with their new baby twin girls (awwwwwwwww) and they brought pastries over to snack on. Larry shared his with Shey, who promptly said, "hmmmmmm, good!"

Peyton's rule for bedtime, (meaning the one he came up with) is that if he wakes up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache he can come to our bed. We repeat this rule out loud every night before he goes to bed.

It's really crazy the difference in the boy's heights. We've noticed that Peyton has looked taller lately, especially in comparison to Shey, who doesn't appear to be growing at all (in fact, he's compact and can fit in most oversized compartments (inside laugh at home)). When I took Peyton to the doctor last Monday for a rash, they measured him and he's 44 inches tall, 2 inches taller than he was for his 4 year check up in May. He's going to be taller than both of us before he's 10 probably. Shey on the other hand, is growing mentally, but he's still so little, and it's just so cute. I just want to be able to remember them at these ages.

Teachin' 'em Early

Imagine my surprise when Peyton brought home his "homework" exercise yesterday and it was a photo of a keg. Imagine my greater surprise when I glanced at the bottom and noticed the publisher: Pensacola Christian College.

No Excuses

I went at lunch to the running store nearby and was fitted for walking/running shoes. Now I have absolutely no excuse to get my ass out of the house and move. It's a really nice couple who run the store and the wife let me know of a runner's club who exercise together really close to my house 3 days a week, so I'm going to look into that as well. I figure even if I get out there for one of the sessions and then meet with a friend a couple other times a week I should be good.

Let's get physical, physical.

On a Roll

Two days in a row I've gotten up to do my Denise Austin Fat Blasting Indoor Walking DVD. Woohoo. ha ha Actually the plan is to that this week to get back in the swing of things (it's only 15 minutes) then next week, a friend and I are going to start walk/running a couple nights a week. Also, my co-worker is signing up for a half marathon in December and she's trying to convince me to walk it with her, which I may. That would give me some good motivation. I would like to lose about 10 more pounds, so that means I have to really buckle down. Larry was talking about fasting next week, which I've been wanted to do again too, so that would be nice to do it together.

We're obsessed, obsessed, I tell you. That or certifiable.

A Wee Bit Peeved

Tonight, we celebrate Yom Kippur as all good Jewish folk should do. The thing is, Larry's family are not practicing Jews. This fact alone normally would not bother me as I know there are many a people who celebrate holidays even though they're aren't "strict" with their faith/beliefs/whatever at other times. What bothers me is we are "breaking the fast" at Larry's aunt house and she is serving fish, bagels and egg salad, as apparently, we are allowed dairy products, but not meat. This still doesn't bother me, I can eat fish, whatever, no big deal. Here's what bothers me, she's not "allowing" us to bring food the boys will like, ie. chicken nuggets, ham sandwich, etc. I still wouldn't have a problem with this if they went to synagogue or actually meant any of the celebration. I daresay their refrigerator will have meat in it somewhere whether we are eating it tonight or not, and their kitchen definitely is not kosher.

Larry's mom offered to feed the boys at her house (which is next door) before we went, but then what am I going to do with the boys while I eat in this kid unfriendly house? Instead, I plan on taking Peyton some shrimp (which isn't Kosher! but isn't meat) and Shey a PB&J. Oy Vey.

Crikey!

Barbara Walters interview with Terri Irwin last night was simply heartbreaking. Larry and I were lying in bed watching it, and the tears just rolled down my cheek. The viewers could hear the love in her voice and her determination to continue her husband's work at the zoo and to encourage everyone to be "Wildlife Warriors." They also showed footage of their daughter Bindi and her speech at her dad's memorial. Poor Terri couldn't even speak and was in tears the whole time.

Bob, their son, worries me the most though. He's not old enough to have strong memories of his father, and he will be bombarded the rest of his life with footage and people telling him how great his dad was. I can just see him being so pissed that he never was able to have a relationship with his dad and shunning the whole animal community. I sincerely hope and pray that he will have someone to help him work through that kind of emotion. What a huge void in his little life already.

When Barbara Walters asked Terri what she would miss the most, she tearfully said, "Steve was fun. He didn't sweat the small stuff." I often say that about Larry, "He makes me laugh." I feel as long as you love one another and can laugh together, you can survive anything. I hope Terri Irwin is able to find the laughter again soon.

Passing on the Pacifier

Monday morning on the way to school I decided, Today is the day to give up the pacifier. Well, for Shey, not me. I find it best to just jump in, make a split decision, and go for it when it comes to things like this. Thankfully, both my children have been pretty accepting to my mad, mad methods of weaning them off various items.

So Monday, I dropped him off at school without the pacifier, and off we went. I guess I should preface this by saying, it seems the last few weeks, Shey has become really attached to this little plastic device that has become parked in his mouth so much that we would rather suck on it than eat the fine meals I provide. It also seems his teachers have been giving into his demands as well, when in the past he would go all day without it. This was especially evident when Larry picked the boys up on Monday afternoon and his teacher commented, "You forgot to leave a pacifier this morning. We had a difficult time at nap." Oops, guess I should have clued them in on the change.

Surprisingly, Monday evening, Shey was more cheerful than he's been in a while, which continued up until his bedtime, at which time, he screamed for about 15 minutes. Which really, isn't horrible. Peyton used to do that on a nightly basis. Shey woke up about 3:45, I gave him some juice and did break down and offer the pacifier then, so I could sleep. When he woke up again at 7:30, I made him leave it in the bed, which he was not happy about, but we survived.

Tuesday he slept at naptime and last night, he went down without a fuss. He did wake up at 6 this morning, but I just got him some juice and brought him to bed with us. He was pissed! He beat Larry's ass for a good 10 minutes before he calmed down and asked for cartoons. It was so early, but at least he made it through the night without it. I'm giving him a few more days before I throw them all away.

Now, if only potty training goes this smoothly.

RIP Cyst

We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 and after getting Peyton registered and all, he was finally called back for prep at about 10:45. We entertained him by playing UNO, which is the champion of the world, and reading a new dinosaur book we bought him. He was such a big boy. They made him walk back to the OR without us or any sedative, then had him lay down on the table and gave him the mask to put him to sleep before they started the IV. The nurse told us afterwards, he did great.

The procedure itself only took 16 minutes, and we were back in the recovery room with him just after he woke up. That was really the only time he was upset, and understandably so. He looked so little curled up on his side with the hospital blankets pulled up around him. After 15 minutes or so, he had calmed down, and the nurse brought him a popsicle. After that, we played more UNO waiting for him to finish the bag of fluids.

They finally took him back to the original waiting area about an hour after the surgery, and the nurse removed all the heart monitors and IV (which he did, with Peyton watching and Peyton didn't even feel it.) After that, Peyton wanted to get dressed and he hopped off the bed and grabbed a puzzle to play with. I thought he would be groggy for most the day, but apparently, he has energy to spare. We had to work to keep him somewhat calm that afternoon and he never really complained of any pain.

We go back next Tuesday so they can look over it and remove the butterfly band-aid, and then he will be good as new. No outer stiches to remove, so hopefully not too bad a scar.

Thanks for all your comments and prayers! I'm so glad this is over. :)

Proceeding with the Procedure

When Peyton was born oh so many moons ago, he had a small cyst in the hollow of his throat. It looked like a little pimple one could pop quite easily. However, the peditrician told me to leave it alone for fear of infection. Last year, we had scheduled him to have it removed, but the day of the surgery, while we were waiting on the doctor, Peyton had the greatest coughing spell known to man and they promptly (after 2 hours of waiting) cancelled it. We finally got our shit together enough to reschedule it and tomorrow is the big day.

I'm not nervous so much about the actual procedure itself. It's really quite simple, and an adult would have the cyst removed with local anethesia, however, a four year old runs the great chance of moving, and as such, they knock them out. And this is the part that bothers me. That slight, slight chance that something may happen with the anesthesia. I've never even been under, I hate for Peyton to be.

Thankfully, the procedure really shouldn't take that long, I'm guessing 30 minutes tops, so we won't have terribly long to worry. Send up your prayers for my little guy, please.