Sunday, May 23, 2010
Nicknames
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Isn't it beautiful?!
This was part of my Mother's day gift from Benson this year. Isn't it the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?! He mulched the flower garden I've been working on in front. He also got me a beautiful hydrangea plant to add to the garden. He said he was looking for a perennial plant that had smooshable flowers. I love that man. He knows me all too well.
We had an awesome Mother's Day celebration with my AWESOME mom as well. The men all cooked and we had a glorious feast of grilled salmon, burgers, salad, potatoes, fruit and more. It was delicious and tasted even more sweet because I didn't lift a finger for it! :) I felt very loved. I must say, though, that the best gift for Mother's day I already had...
I feel very blessed to have the kids I have. I would not feel complete without them. They are my life.
I do not feel bad that my life revolves around my kids. I wouldn't have it any other way.
They make my life meaningful.
And as if I wasn't lucky enough, I get to share my children, my life and my eternity with the most wonderful man I have ever met.
Benson, I LOVE YOU!
It may be difficult to juggle the schedules of 5 kids, but it is so worth it. Anyone who doesn't think motherhood is worth the sacrifices doesn't know what they are missing. 
:)
'til next time. . .
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Proof!
She's 2 days shy of being a month old! Where does the time go? I'm fairly certain that she's going through a growth spurt at the moment too. Our 3 hour stretches of sleep at night were sadly shortened to every hour and a half last night. *yawn*. The only thing that seems to make that ok is that she started smiling at me yesterday. Not just the adorable little gas smiles that keep you hoping for more, but the eye contact GRINS that just melt your heart. We love this little sweetie!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Look who is TWO! and Pretty in Pink
I can't believe it either! My sweet little Twister has turned 2!!!
With all the craziness of life with a newborn, I nearly forgot his birthday. I hate to admit that, but since I came through in the end, I *think* its ok. 2 years ago, this little boy decided to make his grand entrance into this world 6 weeks before his due date.
After a 9 day stay in the NICU, he came home to a very happy family. We love him to pieces. Even if he is a bit of a twister. :) We celebrated with brownies and presents with just our little family. I think he enjoyed himself.
He has jumped into the role of big brother like a pro. He LOVES his baby sister. He wants to hold her and kiss her all the time. He is fascinated by the way she eats (insert mother's eye roll here) and is a big help getting diapers and wipes when they are needed. He is very gentle with her to my huge relief. :)
Twister, we love you! and happy belated birthday. :)
We also took a few pictures on Sunday of all the girls. Twister was taking a nap at the time or I would've tried to get a family shot in. Oh well, enjoy these!!
After a 9 day stay in the NICU, he came home to a very happy family. We love him to pieces. Even if he is a bit of a twister. :) We celebrated with brownies and presents with just our little family. I think he enjoyed himself.
He has jumped into the role of big brother like a pro. He LOVES his baby sister. He wants to hold her and kiss her all the time. He is fascinated by the way she eats (insert mother's eye roll here) and is a big help getting diapers and wipes when they are needed. He is very gentle with her to my huge relief. :)
We also took a few pictures on Sunday of all the girls. Twister was taking a nap at the time or I would've tried to get a family shot in. Oh well, enjoy these!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Better late than never, she's here!!
Sorry for the delay in posting! Our precious daughter joined our family on March 24, 2010. She was 6lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long. I made it to 38 weeks plus 4 days gestation, by far a new record. :) Most importantly, she is healthy and beautiful!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The latest news
Well, we got the biopsy results and the good news is that it is not the auto-immune disease the doctor suspected. The bad news is that we still don't know what it IS. He said there was evidence of damage to the capillaries in the kidneys, whatever that means. Benson will be following up in a few weeks.
In much much much more exciting news, Benson got a job offer!!!! It couldn't have come at a better time. The restaurant job hours were making every symptom that he had even worse. He has had his last day at Buffalo Wild Wings, and is anticipating the baby coming sooner rather than later so that he can start on March 29th at the new job. He will be working for a company that has an online compliance product that is highly adaptable for any HR need for a company. He will be dealing with the financial tracking of employees stock deals, in monitoring and entering the relevant data so that the company can keep its SEC compliance. (Those were his words, I'm still not completely sure what all that means!) Anyway, he will be working downtown Chicago, regular working hours, and even has the potential to work from home eventually. Money will still be tight, but there is potential for growth as well. We are both very excited.
As for baby, still no news. I'm extremely sick of being pregnant at this point. I can't sleep because I'm huge and uncomfortable, AND because I've had contractions EVERY night. Its beginning to really wear down my patience. The contractions seem to always be about 10 minutes apart, and just strong enough to keep me awake. They last for 2-4 hours, then peter out. I like to think it will go fast once it actually starts, but in the mean time... I'm tired.
In much much much more exciting news, Benson got a job offer!!!! It couldn't have come at a better time. The restaurant job hours were making every symptom that he had even worse. He has had his last day at Buffalo Wild Wings, and is anticipating the baby coming sooner rather than later so that he can start on March 29th at the new job. He will be working for a company that has an online compliance product that is highly adaptable for any HR need for a company. He will be dealing with the financial tracking of employees stock deals, in monitoring and entering the relevant data so that the company can keep its SEC compliance. (Those were his words, I'm still not completely sure what all that means!) Anyway, he will be working downtown Chicago, regular working hours, and even has the potential to work from home eventually. Money will still be tight, but there is potential for growth as well. We are both very excited.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thanks for the prayers
but....
you can ease up on the one for keeping this baby in. :) Just kidding. I really am grateful for all prayers uttered in our behalf.
SO... I haven't really been posting about all our medical issues lately. I'm not sure why, probably because we don't really have any answers yet. Everything started about a month and a half ago with Twister and Benson both getting pretty sick. This was around the same time as I had my false labor event, and Goose beat up a pole with his foot. Oh yeah, we like to do things big. LOL. Anyway, Benson missed a week of work and still wasn't feeling good after that. Twister ended up with pneumonia, but recovered fairly easily after getting the right meds. Benson went back to work at that point, but was just not feeling back to himself. He was REALLY easily fatigued.
About a week later, he developed a sharp pain in his kidney area that took him back to the doctor. He had lab tests and a CT scan done that were basically normal. Great, right? But what is the pain? A few days after that the kidney pain got so intense that we went to the ER. They did another CT scan with contrast this time, and since it was normal again, he was sent home with pain meds. I should mention that although various doctors had told us his labs were normal, his kidney function tests kept coming back on the high side of normal, or just slightly high. The ER doctor told us they were fine and that Benson was probably just a bit dehydrated. Anyway, fatigue was becoming a SERIOUS issue for Benson as well as the flank pain.
Then a new symptom developed, right upper abdominal pain. I took Benson back to our primary care doctor. He was awesome. He sat down with us for a good 20 minutes trying to go through every step of the past few weeks. He suggested another set of blood tests, testing for gallbladder issues, a visit to a nephrologist, rheumatologist, and gastroenterologist. It may sound like overkill when listed all at once, but if you know Benson, you know he is not one to lay around sick for a month "just for fun". SOMETHING was wrong. Anyway, the gallbladder ultrasound came back normal, so he then went on to do a HIDA scan. Our primary care doc had suggested that he thought Benson may have a chronic gallbladder issue, rather than something acute like gallbladder stones. Anyway, because he thought that, when the HIDA came back normal, he still suggested a consult with a surgeon.
In the mean time, Benson had finally gotten in to see the rheumatologist and nephrologist (kidney specialist). The nephrologist visit was probably the most helpful visit Benson had. After going over the labs and tests, he said that someone as healthy as Benson (never smoked, drank, young etc...) has absolutely no reason to have slightly high kidney function levels. Combined with his other symptoms, he was really worried about Benson. SO much so, that he scheduled a kidney biopsy to check for an auto-immune problem that he suspects. Benson had THAT test done earlier this week and should get results in 2-3 weeks.
Most recently, Benson had a consult with the surgeon about his gallbladder. THAT appointment was a joke. The doctor completely dismissed all of his symptoms and said that the tests were normal and taking out his gallbladder would be ridiculous. She can have her surgical opinion... that was fine. However, she went on to say that Benson looked perfectly healthy and really was doing overkill by doing all these tests. That was uncalled for. We aren't doing these tests for fun. Thanks anyway.
SO, that is where we stand. We are waiting for the biopsy results and a few more blood test results. Hopefully they will give some answers. He also has the appointment with the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks. That one is more of a follow up on some chronic stomach issues than anything else though. If the gallbladder pain doesn't ease up in the next few weeks while we wait for other answers, we will get a second opinion on that. Joy, joy joy. . . . gotta love medical issues. I'm just glad that we haven't added a premature baby to our list of medical issues. So far, she seems very content to stay right where she is. I had all those contractions for weeks, and this past week, they've been few and far between. Guess she found her "happy place". :) I'll be 37 weeks on Saturday and she is welcome to join the family ANYDAY. In fact, tonight would be fine. :)
you can ease up on the one for keeping this baby in. :) Just kidding. I really am grateful for all prayers uttered in our behalf.
SO... I haven't really been posting about all our medical issues lately. I'm not sure why, probably because we don't really have any answers yet. Everything started about a month and a half ago with Twister and Benson both getting pretty sick. This was around the same time as I had my false labor event, and Goose beat up a pole with his foot. Oh yeah, we like to do things big. LOL. Anyway, Benson missed a week of work and still wasn't feeling good after that. Twister ended up with pneumonia, but recovered fairly easily after getting the right meds. Benson went back to work at that point, but was just not feeling back to himself. He was REALLY easily fatigued.
About a week later, he developed a sharp pain in his kidney area that took him back to the doctor. He had lab tests and a CT scan done that were basically normal. Great, right? But what is the pain? A few days after that the kidney pain got so intense that we went to the ER. They did another CT scan with contrast this time, and since it was normal again, he was sent home with pain meds. I should mention that although various doctors had told us his labs were normal, his kidney function tests kept coming back on the high side of normal, or just slightly high. The ER doctor told us they were fine and that Benson was probably just a bit dehydrated. Anyway, fatigue was becoming a SERIOUS issue for Benson as well as the flank pain.
Then a new symptom developed, right upper abdominal pain. I took Benson back to our primary care doctor. He was awesome. He sat down with us for a good 20 minutes trying to go through every step of the past few weeks. He suggested another set of blood tests, testing for gallbladder issues, a visit to a nephrologist, rheumatologist, and gastroenterologist. It may sound like overkill when listed all at once, but if you know Benson, you know he is not one to lay around sick for a month "just for fun". SOMETHING was wrong. Anyway, the gallbladder ultrasound came back normal, so he then went on to do a HIDA scan. Our primary care doc had suggested that he thought Benson may have a chronic gallbladder issue, rather than something acute like gallbladder stones. Anyway, because he thought that, when the HIDA came back normal, he still suggested a consult with a surgeon.
In the mean time, Benson had finally gotten in to see the rheumatologist and nephrologist (kidney specialist). The nephrologist visit was probably the most helpful visit Benson had. After going over the labs and tests, he said that someone as healthy as Benson (never smoked, drank, young etc...) has absolutely no reason to have slightly high kidney function levels. Combined with his other symptoms, he was really worried about Benson. SO much so, that he scheduled a kidney biopsy to check for an auto-immune problem that he suspects. Benson had THAT test done earlier this week and should get results in 2-3 weeks.
Most recently, Benson had a consult with the surgeon about his gallbladder. THAT appointment was a joke. The doctor completely dismissed all of his symptoms and said that the tests were normal and taking out his gallbladder would be ridiculous. She can have her surgical opinion... that was fine. However, she went on to say that Benson looked perfectly healthy and really was doing overkill by doing all these tests. That was uncalled for. We aren't doing these tests for fun. Thanks anyway.
SO, that is where we stand. We are waiting for the biopsy results and a few more blood test results. Hopefully they will give some answers. He also has the appointment with the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks. That one is more of a follow up on some chronic stomach issues than anything else though. If the gallbladder pain doesn't ease up in the next few weeks while we wait for other answers, we will get a second opinion on that. Joy, joy joy. . . . gotta love medical issues. I'm just glad that we haven't added a premature baby to our list of medical issues. So far, she seems very content to stay right where she is. I had all those contractions for weeks, and this past week, they've been few and far between. Guess she found her "happy place". :) I'll be 37 weeks on Saturday and she is welcome to join the family ANYDAY. In fact, tonight would be fine. :)
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