Surgeons and Doctors and Nurses...Oh My!

It's been a bit longer than what I was hoping for but I have good reasons! I promise! Over the last few weeks I have been (seemingly) inundated with doctors. The first I told you about: the vet. The next one was for me, about a week and a half ago I came down with SEVERE allergies. They were so intense and so fast that I didn't plan well enough and ended up with double ear infections and a ruptured ear drum. If you have never had an ear infection let me just say it feels like someone is stabbing you in the ear with a long thin sharp object "OUCH!". If you have never had a ruptured ear drum this is how I described it to Clint "It sounded and felt like someone set off a bomb in my ear." It was loud and extremely painful. Currently I'm 10 days from the initial infection and am finishing up my antibiotics but still can't really hear out of my right ear. I ended up at Urgent Care on Saturday around noon when the pain hadn't subsided, I didn't know (for sure) that I'd ruptured an eardrum but when you are draining blood out of your ear it's a pretty good indication. Anyway, he gave me the antibiotics and it took six days for the draining to stop, the blood stopped after about three days.

Then on Monday I went to the surgeon's appointment with Clint's mom, Kathleen, about her gastric bypass surgery that was to take place on Wednesday. All of her tests were okay except her EKG which he didn't like so he has postponed her surgery. She goes to a cardiologist tomorrow (Tuesday) so we will see what happens. That appointment was from 8:00am - 1:00pm...really, really long!

On the following Wednesday Gweny looked at me and whether it was on purpose or accident she swallowed a coin she'd put in her mouth and showed me. Needless to say we went to her pediatrician. It made it past her esophagus and into her stomach and they told me to watch for it in her poo. Gross. I haven't seen it yet but she's had a bit of diarrhea so I wasn't going to go looking for buried treasure in that mess.

So there it is. Surgeons, vets, pediatricians, nurses, waiting rooms, blah! I'm excited to go through a non-doctor stretch for a while, my next follow-up is on May 16, 2010, so we will see how I'm progressing. Hopefully that's the last one for awhile, unless Kathleen gets to have surgery soon. :)

Being a parent doesn't extend to just human kids...

For anyone that knows us even a little bit you realize that Daisy (our dog) is a huge part of our life. I'm pretty sure that some people think we are crazy but that's their problem right? LOL Anyway, we have had Daisy for seven years and figure she is about eight. Anyway, we started feeling lumps on various parts of her body (under her armpits, on her chest (near the 'magic swirl'), her low back, and on her head. They didn't seem to bother her but they seemed to multiply since we didn't notice any about a month-and-a-half to two months ago. We were so worried that she had cancer or something horrible (she's our 'first born' so we were pretty freaked). Well, we took her to the vet and one lump was a bug bite (which we figured), two (under her armpits) are fatty deposits (she's 5 lbs overweight), and the others are because...my puppy is getting old. ::sniff:: I guess it happens to the best of us. The vet said the others are benign so no cancer but that some dogs as they age get these lumps and we are supposed to make sure they don't change in size or color.

It's just weird to think that she is old enough to have this happen to her. Clint is going to start taking her on his runs several times a week so that should help with some of the lumps, although, the vet said that they won't go away completely. I'm just glad she's okay. I love that dog and I'm glad she's okay. Here's to another 7 years! Love that dog.

And the Prodigal Daughter Returns...

Yep, I'm back! A lot has happened and I've decided to renew my efforts at a blog. I've updated the title because the last one didn't really fit. I've decided to celebrate all of the little things that happen in life...and some of the big ones too. Some people don't believe in random happenings and some do. Some call it fate others providence...I think it's just circumstances that happen in our lives. Sometimes it's based on our choices (good and bad) and other times it's Heavenly Father answering our prayers.

A month ago I underwent a huge life change. I had gastric bypass on March 19, 2010 and am almost one month out. My reasons for making this rather drastic change are so multi-faceted but ultimately it was a selfish decision. I could see my life and health spiraling downward and felt that the best solution was to make a HUGE change...so I did. I want to be here a LONG time, to watch Gweny grow up, to have grand kids and to sit on a porch in a rocking chair with my amazing husband. It took awhile to get the insurance stuff together and the support of some pretty amazing people (without whom I wouldn't have been able to have the surgery) but I did it and I have NO regrets. As of today I've lost 34lbs and am feeling great. I ran after Gweny today and wasn't as winded as I normally would have been. It's difficult getting used to little food but I'm feeling better so I'm happy to make that change. I'm looking forward to being more active and I know that Clint will support it.

I attempted to get into Grad school but it didn't happen. It was probably for the best though so that I can concentrate on myself and my current plans. I have officially given up on hearing back from the author of the book I wrote an adaptation (screenplay) for. He has had it since late Sept/ early Oct and I've never heard anything. One thing I did find out was that they are making a movie of the book and he has gone through someone elese...I imaging that this is my feedback from him. I decided that instead of wasting valuable energy on something that didn't work out I would work on my novel. It's going well, I've written almost fifty pages so far and am LOVING where the story is going. Right now it is in the development stage and eventually I'll go back through and add more details etc. I also recently signed up to be a demonstrator with Stampin' Up! and I'm super excited. It is just a fun way to let out another part of my creativity and I am looking forward to really getting that going. Finally, I am still teaching. I am teaching one class this summer and two in the Fall. It is a joy to go and teach and watch the light bulbs go off above their heads. The Spring semester is almost done which means the crunch is here. I also have an editing job I'm finishing up and will probably send it out tomorrow.

Clint is an amazing husband who works three jobs so that I don't have to go full-time. He seems to enjoy them but I know he would like to be home more. Perhaps one of the endeavors I've undertaken will eventually allow that. He is gearing up for the racing season but it's been a bit slow with the sicknesses and surgeries that have been happening. In December he had his shoulder worked on and so far it has healed wonderfully. Hopefully this means that he will be able to do a triathlon and not be worried about the swimming aspect.

Gweny continues to grow and is 27.8lbs (as of two days ago). She has NO fear which keeps me on my toes and is the smartest little 2.5 year-old I've ever met. She speaks in complete sentences, is very courteous (most of the time), dances, sings, does somersaults, draws, and enjoys giving hugs and kisses. She and Daisy are still best friends and are wonderful together. She is content to stay in diapers and hasn't been interested in her big girl panties for several months. Hopefully she will gain an interest soon.

So there it is. My life in a nutshell. I can't complain, life really is great. I feel like I'm finally coming into my own as a mom, wife, and woman. It's about freakin' time!