A Great Motivator.

I have always had health problems, it's always been part of my life, and I don't remember a time when I didn't have one thing or another going on.  I have asthma and severe food allergies and have just developed my life around them with the occasional trip to the hospital along the way.  I developed a goiter after I had Ayden, that came with some thyroid issues but that all went away by the time I was done nursing and went to have it checked again.  When I developed another goiter after I had Annette I didn't think much of it and it's been hanging around ever since.  Recently I have noticed it more, either it has grown or with the weight I have lost it is just more noticeable.  Anyways I decided it was time to have it looked at and see what I needed to do about it.  I went to the Doctors in November and  he ran several labs and ordered an Ultrasound of my thyroid.  When the labs came back everything was looking good except I had a high level of  anti-nuclear antibodies and my progesterone is low.  So he sends out referrals to an endocrinologist and a rheumatologist.   I finally get in to see the rheumatologist in early January and he looks me over and says, "Well, you don't have Lupis."  I didn't even know that having Lupis was a possibility!  He goes on to say I have some swelling in some of my joints and to just keep and eye on it, there isn't anything we need to do about it now.  Then I go see the endocrinologist in late January and he looks me over and looks at the ultrasound and then starts talking about tumors, and cancer, and life expectancy.  Honestly as much as I tried to catch everything he was saying most of it was lost after he said cancer and even more was lost when he started talking about life expectancy.  This is why I should use my cell phone to record all Dr.'s appointments in the future.  So he orders more blood work and a Fine needle aspiration (FNA) or biopsy of the two tumors that are in my thyroid.  Really, I hate needles and now I get to look forward to having someone suck pieces of tumors through needles in the front of my neck, joy.  So about a week after meeting with the endocrologist I go and get my FNA done.  It wasn't the worst thing in the world, not as bad as I thought it would be at least, but not great.  Long story short, it's not Cancer!   However, I still have the two tumors in my thyroid and after two weeks of thinking that it could be cancer I have been motivated to put healthier things into my body.  After saying a prayer in the parking lot after hearing the dreaded C word for the the first time, Heavenly Father called me.  Okay not really but he used a good friend of mine to get a message to me.  She called and asked my how I make my lawn mower juice.  Lawn mower juice is the green smoothies that I have been making and drinking.  When she saw me drinking it one day at church out of my classy mason jar she pulled a disgusted face and asked me why I saved the run off from cleaning my lawn mower and why was I drinking it.  She wouldn't even try it and even bought me a solid green water bottle so she wouldn't have to see it when I was drinking it.  So... this question came as a great surprise.  She told me she had just finished watching a movie called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was about juicing, and eating right and getting healthy by giving your body only the good stuff. I went home and watched it on Netflix.  The next day I started a 10 day Juice cleanse/fast.  I went to the local Mexican grocery store (they have really good prices on produce) and bought $50 worth of fruits and veggies and drank nothing but the juice from those veggies for the next 10 days. 

First trip to the store

Second trip to the store

Before juiced

After juiced

 (I had to go the store and buy more halfway through)  It sounds crazy doesn't it?  The movie can explain it much better then I can and the Green Smoothie girl has much more research to back it up then I can give you, but the basis is if we eat what God intended us to eat natural, unprocessed, unrefined foods then our bodies are going to be able to use the nutrients from those foods to thrive.  My goal is to eat 80% raw foods and 20% cooked foods in hopes of getting my body healthy.  I am 30 years old with four children, children that I love very much and want to see grow up.  I want to be a part of their lives and meet and play with my grandchildren.  So going to the Doctors office and have him start talking about cancer and life expectancy was scary and stressful and the best motivator that I have ever had to figure out what I need to do to live. Oh and FYI if you ever juice and decide to use garlic, use it sparingly. 

Crochet Flower Scrubby

Materials:  Cotton Crochet Thread
                 Size J Crochet Hook
                 Nylon Dish Scrubby

Pattern: 

Row 1~ Ch 3 join with a sl st

Row 2~ 11 hdc in circle, close with a sl st

Row 3~ Ch 1 (1 hdc in the next 2 sts 2 hdc in the next st) repeat pattern ending with 1 hdc in last 2 sts then  

              sl st to join circle

Row 4~ Repeat row 3

Row 5~ Repeat row 3

Row 6~ Lay circle on scrubby and join together with single corchets aroun the edge.

Row 7~ Ch 3 6 tc in the same st skip the next st sl st in the next st, repeat.  End with sl st.

My Tower...

Today my husband decided the tower of laundry baskets in our room and the mountain of laundry needed to be taken care of.  After tripping on said laundry for a couple of weeks now I don't blame him at all.  It is one of those things that I have been meaning to "get to" but since no one that comes over ever sees our room it is always the last thing on my list, after all the clothes are clean and they rotate.  Who says that clothes have to be folded before you wear them, right?  So my husband did the wonderful thing and took the kids downstairs so I could be left to my tower of laundry.  It took me most of the day, and my favorite part when Andrew stood downstairs yelling, "Mommmmmy, oh Mommmmmy let down your hair."  So we now have a clean room, with no laundry baskets stacked haphazardly on top of each other.  I even got the sheets washed and put back on the bed.  I'm wondering though if my husband is going to wake up in the morning and not know where he is though. Anyways, I'm happy to say that the laundry and the ironing (all of the ironing) is done and put away...at least until tomorrow.

Coming home...

I recently went to Arizona to visit my husbands cousin and to have some dental work completed. I found an amazingly cheap flight through Aligent and because of this decided to leave the majority of the kids at home with the husband and only took the baby with me.  The only time I have ever left Andrew and Annette overnight has been to have a baby so I was nervous but figured everyone would survive. 

Day 1: 
Andrew shoved his balloon up into the ceiling fan and got the string wrapped up in the motor.  Luckily it didn't break, quick fix.  Even though I look up now two weeks later and the string was never fully removed.  Dad managed to get Annette to ballet not only on time but early, but forgot the library book tp return.

Day 2:  

Very uneventful day, or at least no events were reported, Ayden made it to Cub Scouts and the book found its way home to the library.

Day 3: 

Phone call from Ayden's school about something that happened on Day 2, since he didn't have a parent sign his think sheet they had to check and see if we knew what happened. Annette decided she was tired of her bangs and some of her hair cut it off while at grandmas house.

Day 4: 

Get up at 3 am to finish packing, load up drive an hour to the airport where I argue with the silly secuirty people about taking off my baby wrap, I swear next time I'm not going to wear a shirt under it so they can't make me take it off. Loose an hour on the flight because of the time change and get shown Grandma how to latch the funky car seat.  Get in the van, drop grandma off, stopped by the hair salon (not open yet), go home and fix the seedlings that have grown like crazy in the past three days and water them.  Happily only we only had a few casulaties in my abscence, folded three loads of laundry that sat so patiently waiting for me to come home... I thought I called the laundry fairy before I left but I guess the message got lost. Did some ironing, then went back to the salon to get Annette's hair fixed.  While I was there I realized I hadn't had my hair cut since I found out I was pregnant with Adrianne and she's almost 8 months old, the ladies there seemed really nice and they weren't busy sooo.... I get in the chair while nursing Adrianne as Annette and Andrew roam around the shop seeing what they can get away with.  Annette decides she has to go to the bathroom the nice beauticians point the way.  Andrew then decides he needs to go too, disappears into the bathroom with Annette.  After about ummmm 7 minutes or so I ask the nice lady who isn't cuting my hair to see if everyone is still alive.  Andrew had taken off his daiper thrown it away and went to the bathroom,

Annette was washing her hands and coming out.  Andrew then comes struting out of the bathroom (Similar to the Urkel walk) with this funny smirk on his face as I realize he has pulled up his pants and is comando. The beautician comes out and asks if I have a diaper for him which I don't because we are literally around the corner from my house and this was just supposed to be a quick trip, but oh wait I keep some in the van!  She takes my keys gets the diaper and rediapers my kid as I am getting my hair cut.  Wow I love these ladies and gave them a very nice tip, and am glad I'm not due for another haircut for 16 months.  Ok, back home decide I should make some pretzels that I learned to make while I was gone, why I'm not quite sure. Took Ayden to piano lessons, where I fell asleep on their couch, oops.  Then off to Ayden's soccer practice, back home to make dinner and kids in bed. 

So I'm not sure if I should never leave again or leave more often. 

Coming Home

I just got back from Arizona!  I went down to visit and get some dental work done, it's so nice when you have a dentist you can trust.  I love going to visit Jeff & Krishawn they are such a nice family and I always feel so welcome. 
Well I left the three older kids at home for this trip with the hubby since I flew.  I missed them and from the fact that Annette and Andrew wouldn't let me out of their sight when I got home I think they missed me too.   It's always nice coming home when you have been away, but yesterday I had to jump right back into it.  I got up at 3:15am to get packed up and to the airport by 5 am, for the flight to take off around 6am.  I got a nap on the plan, I probably snored, and landed at 8:30 ish.  Now that would have been an awesome nap if was really that long but I lost an hour in the time change once I went over the AZ border and I was holding a sleeping baby sitting up in seats that didn't recline at all so, not a great nap.  Got picked up and got the kids, I got home around 9am.  Once home I folded the 3 loads of laundry that were so patiently waiting for me, ironed some, but not even 1/4 of the basket that needs done, staked the plants for the garden that grew like crazy while I was gone, went and got Annette's hair cut/fixed because she took scissors to it while I was away, while I was there decided I needed a trim since it has been almost 2 years since I have had one, came fed the kids, made pretzels, took Ayden to piano lessons, where I forgot to put my shoes on when I left the house and fell asleep on her couch while waiting, went home to grab soccer stuff went to Aydens soccer practice, ended up walking around with a crying baby in the stroller, came home made dinner got in the shower with Andrew & Annette, who still wouldn't let me out of their sight, put the kids to bed layed down watched Grey's Anatomy and fell asleep.  If it was up to me I'd still be sleeping.

Time to Catch Up!

Alright... I figure it is time to try this again. I get on here from time to time, I look at a couple blogs, think that it's time to post something and then give up and turn off the computer. It had now been over two years and so much has changed so if I don't start now... I won't.

Lets see... when we left off we had Ayden

and Annette

Now we have Ayden, Annette, Andrew, and Adrianne.

Needless to say our house is a very busy and very very full!

Ayden just took first place in school boy wrestling. We are very proud of him, it was one of his toughest opponents yet. He has been in six wrestling tournaments and taking first in 5 of them. The other one he took 2nd.

Annette had the chance to go see Disney Princesses on Ice last week with Nana and had a blast! She is excited for her up coming Ballet recital in a couple of weeks and loves to tell every one that she is 4 now.

Andrew has entered the world of a 2 year old and has learned many ways to say "No" I think his favorite right now in "In a minute".

Adrianne has started to crawl all over and is growing to fast for me. I can't believe she is almost 8 months already.

Mark has been busy at work and taking care of our growing family, and I have been busy with the kids an various projects that I get myself into.( More about those later)

I think that catches us up... kind of. I'll have to add some more interesting stories and Mommy moments like "Adventures in Potty Training" and "The Three Year Old Bride". Have I mentioned that there is rarely a dull day around here?

Christmas Blessings

So I'm learning how to create this whole page and decided it's about time I posted something on it! I figured what better news to start with then our Christmas Blessings. Mark is going to be baptizing and confirming Ayden this Sunday after church, the following weekend Mark is set to go be endowded and then the week of Christmas sometime we will be sealed as a faimly in the Denver temple. The kids are doing wonderful, Annette and I got the icky stomach bug that was going around which was no fun but everyone is healthy now. Our newest little boy is still scheduled to be here around January 16th, one of these days we'll decided on a name, hopefully before he is born. Mark liked the name Angus, but due to my objections has since given it up. Now he likes Malcolm and I like the name Andrew so who knows.