For Sale

Bossy 3 year old. Blond. Potty trained. Will drink milk. Can whine on demand. Attitude and brother Sam included.

School Days

(Spencer's first day 2009)

I am officially ready for the boys to start school. We've done parks, beaches, swimming pools, slip 'n slides and RV parks (:). I'm running out of ideas and Sam and Alex are fighting 90% of the day. We're ready!

The Kawasaki Kid

Someone asked me recently how Alex's health was. It's funny that at times I forget Alex had (has) heart disease. The long term affects are still unknown for him. His coronary arteries are damaged but do not limit him in anything right now. Only time will tell how his bout with Kawasaki Disease will affect his adulthood.

The story goes like this:

Alex had had a fever for a few days. The day before he was admitted to Children's Hospital was a Sunday (Stake Conf.) His fever was intense and he was sooo lethargic. That evening Spencer noticed a bump on his head, behind his ear. Then a rash on his body started. The next morning (April 16) I took him immediately to urgent care. The 'bump' had gotten huge and the fever continued. I had all of the boys with me. We were told to go to Children's Hospital....they would be waiting for us....and the drs thought it may be a staff infection. I was pretty upset. I rushed the boys home to St. Michael. Dropped Spencer off at Kindergarten and Sam off at Emily H's. I picked up Ben on the way to the Hospital. Alex was admitted and assigned to a private room incase whatever he had was contagious. (That turned out to be a huge blessing as we didn't have to share a room.)

The first few days they ran test after test and IV after IV. Finally coming to the conclusion that it was Kawasaki Disease. Alex continued with the high fever...even after days of antibiotics. The bump behind his ear was determined to be 1000s of swollen lymph nodes.

The first of two IVIG treatments started on Thursday. He was such a sweet little guy in the hospital. Trying to be comforted with a pacifier and pain meds. We were there for ten days. Friends and Family were amazing.

Kawasaki Disease can cause damage to the coronary arteries and sometimes create aneurysms that could lead to a heart attack. The goal of the IVIG treatment is to keep the disease from affecting the heart/arteries. Alex's arteries looked fine in the hospital. Alex was discharged on blood thinner as a precaution. We met with the pediatric cardiologist 7 days later. I thought it would be a routine check-up and brought Sam with me to the appointment. The dr found that Alex had developed aneurysms in his coronary arteries. We would continue on blood thinner for 7 more days and see if the aneurysms continued to grow. Thankfully they stayed the same for a week and then slowly started to diminish.

It was scary. I worried about him crying and the increase blood flow through those arteries. We had regular cardiologist appts. for a while and the aneurysms had finally shrunk. Although, the shrinking also brought a problem: after being stretched like his were, there is concern that scar tissue can build on the inside of the artery wall. They did not see any of this tissue in the angiogram that was done 9 months later.

And so Alex's health is good. We have check-ups and minor tests for now. Those will increase in his teen years and adulthood. The experience seems like a dream from so long ago.

Waterpark Disappointment

So we were all set to enjoy a fun day at the waterpark. Told the boys this morning we were going and they were thrilled. Then I reminded them (in a really nice way!) that we needed to get our jobs done before we could go. And the story had to end like this: No waterpark today. They chose to have attitudes instead of just doing what they were asked. Parenting is so hard...you always seem to punish yourself just as much as you do the kids when you take privileges away. I'm hoping they learned a small lesson.

Rain Drops on Roses and Wiskers on Kittens....

That is one of my favorite songs and these are a few of my favorite things:

1. Clean windows...I'm enjoying freshly scrubbed screens and windows (inside and out) today. Serenity.
2. McDonalds hot fudge sundae. Blissful.
3. Summer evenings. Wish they were endless.

Garbage Can Tipping

Ben is in AZ this week. Last night he spent the evening at Rich Ruff's home. I have some great memories of Rich, Nick, Charlesworths and the Cottles. Those were fun times.

So...while Ben is off socializing (ha) we continue to be creative in our entertainment. We spent the morning outside washing screens and cleaning the car. The boys eventually ended up in the jeep...pulling the wagon behind it...and tipping over as many garbage cans as they could run into. I probably shouldn't have let them do it but it was hilarious. Each time they ran into a garbage can the laughter coming from them was hysterical!

RV Shopping

Spencer has asked me for the past year if we could sometime go to an RV/Trailer sales lot. The road trip to Utah (many different kinds to see on I-80!) and the tv show on cool RVs I recorded recently made him even more interested. So...yesterday we spent the afternoon touring RVs and Trailers. Very funny. I walked into the show room and told the salesman my boys just wanted to see inside some of the vehicles. He told us to help ourselves....and that most of them were open. Fieldtrip!!! We spent a few hours walking around the lot and talking about where each of us would sleep 'if this was the one we bought'. The entertainment this summer has been classic. :)

It's Friday!

Funny that Fridays are still very exciting to me. Guess I enjoy the change of "scenery".

The boys and I spent the morning at a Nature Reserve. I have now reached a new mothering 'low': Scooping out pond scum in hopes of finding some creepy crawley thing. We were succesful and the boys had fun. I will, however, have nightmares about the 5 ft. bullsnake.

I also had a few 'old' moments today. I was swinging with the boys at a park and felt myself getting motion sick. Pathetic...I tried to look forward, not think about it, and continued to pump. I think I'm still dizzy.

And another moment: Spencer statement today when reminded to do his jobs: "you make my life complicated because of jobs." I responded with "you make my life complicated because of the whining." We are such a happy family! :)

Random Thoughts

I'm thankful to be a member of the church...it puts this life into perspective. I was considering the following while I straightened my hair this morning:

My wants today: a new straightener, a new blender, another vacation, less body fat
My needs today: food, patience, health, peace

Big difference.

Just a suggestion!

I suggested to the boys that sometime this week we go shopping for some school pants. You would have thought I asked them to cut off their arm. Bad idea... Looks like I'll continue to just guess at the size, bring it home, make them try it on, and ultimately return it. I call it the "circle of shopping." That's how it's done at our house.

And a few more Utah pics...

Utah in a few pictures...

So I was trying to have a productive morning and finish some items on my cub scout 'to do' list. However...the printer has a different agenda. Won't work. And I'm definitely not 'techy' enough to do anything about it. So...let's blog instead!

Trip to Utah was fabulous. The boys really are great travelers. A few movies. A dozen jolly ranchers. A bucket of matchbox cars...and just a few hours later (like 24+) we were in Utah! I always regret not taking more pictures. I'm hoping Elise and Melissa email me a few of the fun ones they took. But...until then...here's a few pictures worth a thousand words (and laughs). My favorites: Elise's classroom, Cafe Rio, Wes buying dinner at the Cannon Center, swimming non-stop, watching the kids wait for the "bus", the talent show, cards with Jed, Melissa and Jake, chatting with my sisters, walks with Mom and Dad, cooking with Mom, and the list continues. None of us wanted to come home...it was too short. I love being with my family.

Note: Spencer and I are standing under the wing of a B52 bomber. It was right next to Spencer's favorite: the KC-135. And...yes...I do know my WWII aircraft.