Bye Bye....

So on Wednesday night I started getting this bad stomach ache, I decided that since it was bedtime I should just take some Tums and go to sleep. I was able to get to sleep but kept waking up during the night because my stomach hurt so bad. It just hurt all over so I couldn't tell what the problem was. In the morning I was still convinced that I just had some sort of tummy bug or gas, so I tried Tums again, nothing. I was struggling to take care of Matthew because I was so uncomfortable. So I put him down for a nap, mostly because that was all I could do. Then I tried Pepto-Bismal that did nothing besides taste bad. During this whole time I had no interest in food and that is very strange for me, usually when I have a stomach bug or feel sick I crave chocolate (healthy I know) but I didn't want anything. So I was laying on the couch at about 1:30pm and feeling terribly, and decided that Chris was right and I should call the Doctor, I really wished Chris was home to take me to the Doctor. But then when I called the doctors office to schedule an appointment the nurse asked what was going on and I told her. She told me to find someone to take me to the emergency room at Pullman Regional Hospital, because it was probably my appendix and they wouldn't be able to do anything.  So then I decided that I should call Chris and get him out of class, I called 3 times in a row and he finally answered because he knows if I keep calling that it is something serious. I told him I needed to go to the ER because my stomach was not getting any better and I had noticed the pain locating itself on my right side (which is why I finally called the Dr.). I got Matthew ready and drove to the institute to meet Chris I didn't want to wait all the time it would take for him to ride the bus home (almost an hour). We went to the ER and they did a CT Scan, which showed what they thought was fluid from an ovarian cyst (which I had never had before) but they couldn't clearly see my appendix and they didn't think the cyst would cause the pain that I was having, because it should have been distributed equally through my lower abdomen. So then they call the surgeon in and he looked at the scan and did his own exam and said he was sure it was the appendix, but that they could do another CT Scan to try and confirm, he didn't think it would show anything definitive because it was really hard to see my appendix because of its position.  So I told him that he should just schedule the surgery if he feels strongly that it is the appendix and that the 2nd CT scan wouldn't show anything definitive anyways. So he called in the OR Staff and I was going to go into surgery within 45 minutes (about 7pm). Chris at this point was gone taking care of Matthew and bringing him over to our friends house so that they could watch him for us. So I had to make the decision by myself but I prayed about it and felt comfortable with my decision.  About 10 minutes before they were going to come get me, we got bumped due to an emergency C-Section (babies come first, I hope the baby and mom are okay, I was glad that the OR was staffed and ready to go for her). At this point Chris gave me a priesthood blessing, which I was grateful for. Then the surgeon had us go do the second CT Scan since we were waiting anyways. After the CT scan they came in and said that I was going into surgery in about 15 minutes. We asked about the results of the CT scan and he said it was inconclusive but that he still was sure it was my appendix. So they took me into surgery and when he got in there he checked my ovary and it was okay, apparently the fluid was related to my appendix being swollen and infected. They took the appendix out, cleaned and stitched me up.
Everyone at the hospital was very nice and I was comfortable the whole time. I had a nice sized room, with great doctors and nurses, that was a blessing and made my stay very nice. I am thankful that everything went smoothly. Now I just have to recover from the surgery. They cut through my belly button and let me tell you it is very sore, even the strong pain medications don't cut the pain.
Luckily my Mom is here now and will be helping until I am back to usual and able to take care of my little boy!

Happy 30th Anniversary!

February 20th was my Mom and Dads 30th wedding anniversary. I was looking for a picture of just the two of them and couldn't find one so this will have to do (just ignore me). They were married in Key Center on the evening of the 20th, and spent their honeymoon out at Mason Lake. After that they spent the first 4 years of their marriage in Pullman, where they welcomed their first son (Jason) and my Dad received his BS Degree in construction management. They both worked very hard during those first few years, trying to work and take care of Jason and have my Dad go to school full time. After that they moved to Gig Harbor and built a house and during that transition they welcomed their second child (me), they continued to work hard to take care of the family. After this point my Dad started diving and eventually started his own Geoduck harvesting business that he has been successfully running since. We spent lots of time as a family camping and playing at the lake, among many other activities of course. Then when I was about 8 years old they welcomed their 3rd child (Zachary). We continued to spend lots of fun summers together, and they worked hard to give us every opportunity that they could. Now as they are celebrating their 30 years together I am celebrating also, because they have spent their lives taking care of my brothers and I. Now they have one more year until their youngest son in 18, and I hope that as they enter a new phase in their life they will enjoy spending time together and traveling, and of course loving each other!
Thank you Mom and Dad for a wonderful life, Happy Anniversary! We all love you!

Our little man is 7 months old!

Happy Valentines Day

My Valentines!!

I Love My Boys!

Is it??

Spring yet? I am ready to spend time outside, and to go visit the park, and all things outdoors. We went to our storage unit and moved all the camping gear up to the front so that it is easily accessible! We also got the spring artwork out of storage to put up around the house. I'm ready so now Spring better come soon :)

It Begins...

What begins you may ask? Well Matthew is not crawling officially yet but he has mastered rolling and scooting over to the toy bins, and pulling out the toys. He is working hard to figure out how to crawl, he can get onto his knees and rock back and forth. So now it is just a matter of learning how to coordinate his hands and feet. It is exciting to watch him figure out how to move and play.

a LONG process...

The past few months I have been really thinking hard about making changes in my life, mainly habits surrounding food and exercise. I know those are two very large parts of life, but they are two parts of my life that I have been consistently falling short of my goals. I want to improve my diet and exercise regularly but I have not done much about it, at least not much consistently.
Then last night I went to a relief society activity where they had a few classes, I went to a nutrition and exercise class, and a massage class. Much of what we talked about regarding exercise I already knew, and I learned a lot of that information in high school while running cross country. As far as nutrition goes I feel a little more informed but still feel like I am reaching in the dark as I try to figure out how to help myself and my family make better food choices.
I went home feeling like I CAN make the next step, like it was time to stop thinking and talking and to just DO. I can talk about it forever and just continue feeling like crap, or I can make the changes that I want to make and start feeling better. This is not going to be easy, I am going to have to train myself to get up in the morning and go exercise (I did this morning!), and I am going to have to re-train myself and my eating habits. I was thinking about nutrition and last night it was said that "food is functional" and that phrase is really important to remember. Food has a purpose and it is to fuel your body. If you think about a computer, when you buy software, most people are not going to go out and buy software that makes their computer run terrible. You are going to shop around and find the best software that you can get for your computer to keep in running properly. That is how I need to think about food. A treat now and then is okay, even fats and sugars play a role in the human body functioning properly. It is about balance and moderation, and I think bigger than that is planning. Sitting out and looking at the schedule for the week and planning a menu, and scheduling in exercise ect.  
This is my new goal, I am going to take action so that I can feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am going to start taking care of myself, I need to take care of myself, so I can take better care of my family and my new business. I am posting this so that I will be held accountable for my plan, I am going to design a blog where I will post my menu, and exercise journal. I am in the worst shape I have ever been in, and I am going to fix that!

We are OPEN!

  Now Enrolling!

                           

Stay ‘n’ Play Preschool and Home Daycare

 Offering quality affordable childcare and preschool for children 6 weeks to 12 years of age

• Offering childcare from 6:30-9:30 pm select evenings during the month (Date Nights)

• Full time, part time, and drop in care available

• Preschool curriculum for children 3-5 years

• Large outdoor play area

• Healthy meals

• Small group size with lots of one on one attention

Feel free to check out our website: staynplaypreschool.webs.com

Or call Stephanie for more information at:

(509)332-5328

Sleep, will we see you again?

This week we have said goodbye to the days of swaddling Matthew and having him fall asleep quietly on his back. This is the picture of the first time he got out of his swaddle this week. I love that he is cuddling with his glow seahorse, we just had to get a picture of him!
This new found freedom of his is not so good for Chris and I, our good nights of sleep seem like a distant memory. I must say I was really enjoying them. Oh well they will be back and I will be here to welcome them back with open arms.
Matthews sixth month has been an adventure, our little guy is moving all over. It is so much fun to watch him roll and scoot around the floor. It is also fun to hear him laugh, and play with us and his toys. He has become a food hog, he loves to eat every food we have offered him. He really is a fun kid, and soon he will learn to sleep soundly with out being swaddled... Very very soon (I hope)..

Busy Busy Busy

Matthew and Santa December 2010 (5 months)

Matthew Christmas 2010 opening his Christmas present with the help of his cousins

Matthew had fun in the Cozy Coupe for the daycare

It has been awhile since I last posted. We had a wonderful Christmas, we were able to spend it in Nevada and California with Chris' family. It was great to see everyone and to have Matthew meet the rest of his family. For the first part of our trip we drove down to Carson City and spent a week with Linda, while we were there we were able to spend a day in Reno and get Matthews picture taken with Santa, and we also drove over to see Matthews great grandparents and great great grandpa in California.
The day after Christmas we drove down to Sacramento California to Jeremy and Heathers house and we had a big family Christmas celebration there. It was a full house, but very nice to see everyone. We opened presents that night, however Matthew slept through present time so he opened his the next morning.
Then we drove up to Susanville, California and spent the rest of our trip with John and Diana, Dan, Mandy and her kids.
We are not able to make it to the area very often and it was nice to be able to spend a long time visiting with family. We had a great Christmas!

During the trip I was also fighting a loosing battle with Mastitis- yuck. I went through about 4 rounds of antibiotics including a shot of antibiotic from a urgent care clinic. Nothing seemed to help. When we got back and had another round of antibiotics not help, I went for an ultrasound to see if there was anything else going on. Luckily there was no absess or anything like that, however they did want a follow up ultrasound in a few months and that required me to stop breastfeeding and switch Matthew to formula.
I was sad to have to switch him but at the same time I was really ready for the constant pain to go away. Matthew handled the switch really well, I think there are times when he still misses nursing but he seems happy for the most part. I also am not in pain anymore which is very nice.
Before we left for our trip we also found Cooper a new home with a very nice family. He is doing really well, and has kids, cats, and another dog to play with. I saw him yesterday and he is doing really well and I am glad that we were able to find him a nice home!
We also are very excited because we are now licensed to run our home daycare! This has been something that I have been planning for so long and now I am finally able to start advertising, and hopefully caring for some children.
That is what we have been up to, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to 2011!