Advice From Mama

Dear Kadence and Shelby,

As you grow up, please have a positive attitude.   I see so many people around me who aren't ever happy with what they have.  If it's not one complaint its another.  Despite your circumstances and your trials keep a positive attitude.  That's what dad and I have always tried to do and it really helps.  If you are constantly feeling bad for yourselves, you WILL miss out.  You will be so down that you won't see the beauty in your life.  I ask you every night when I tuck you in bed what your favorite part of the day was and generally you both tell me "Everything!"  You need to always ask yourself that question before bed.  Although you won't like everything and some days it might even be hard to think of ONE thing you liked about your day, but find something.  There is always something to be grateful for.  You are loved and are very blessed.

Love you always and forever,
Mommy

Confessions...

I'm not calling this Friday Confessions because it's not Friday.

 

 

 

I CONFESS....I am really terrible about keeping a blog.  I want to do it, I just never get around to it.  I want this blog so that I can look back and see the good and bad times.  I also want to have something my girls can look at and get a glimpse into their childhood.  I would have killed for something like this.  So, sporadic or not I will keep blogging.

 

 

I CONFESS....I love my kids more than anything in this world.  I know every parent loves their kids, but I REALLY love them.  I can't imagine life without them.  I love when they tease me, I love the look on their face when I tease them, I love the squeal they get right before they laugh, I love the cuddles, I just LOVE them!  I love that they are two completely different and unique girls.

 

 

I CONFESS....Last Monday on our Anniversary we decided to get Chili's to go.  The girls eat Chili's but we got them Burger Kind instead because they eat that better.  On the way to Burger Kind I decided that I really wanted a cheeseburger.  I figured I would just eat it on the way to Chili's to pick up our food.  Once I said it out loud I realized how ridiculous that sounded.  Basically "I want to get something to eat for the drive to pick up our dinner."  I'm an eater and its somewhat embarrassing.

 

 

I CONFESS....I'm really nervous for school to start.  I will be taking the same math class for the 3rd time and I'm really hoping that I can pass it.  On top of that, I will be returning to a full time schedule.  It has been the plan for quite some time that I would attend full time once the girls were in school all day.  The thing I didn't account for was my health.  I'm still struggling to find energy and get my thyroid functions all back under control.  It has been a long and exhausting process.  I managed to do part time this summer and pull off a 3.1 GPA which for me is fabulous! (My goal is always a 3.0) I'm hoping I can push through the exhaustion, have a great attitude and keep going for Fall semester.  I get very overwhelmed at the thought of getting both girls ready for school in the morning, getting myself ready for school, having Shelby's lunch packed and getting us all out the door around 7:30.  Then to pick everyone up, head home, do the normal parent duties, drive to dance and soccer.....I think I might pass out just thinking of it all.  I'm doing great health wise other than the fact I'm constantly tired regardless of how much sleep I get.  

Devil Dash

David, Jeff and Silly Jeff (AKA Jeff Brady) all decided it would be a super fun idea to pay a ton of money to run through mud and obstacles.  Not my cup of tea, but they were happy about it.  David decided to dress up as....well I'm not sure what.  A hillbilly perhaps? Then Jeff found an AWESOME shirt that had hot dogs all over it.  They decided to go as "Lust" and "Gluttony"

 

 Seriously....

 Jeff Brady joined them and went as "Greed"

 I wanted a picture but I didn't want the girls next to David in those shorts!

 We were lucky and found a way to get close enough to some of the obstacles to get a few pictures.  Here's David rounding the corner to some obstacles.

 David climbing an obstacle

 Jeff B climbing the obstacle

 Jeff coming to the obstacles

 David in the mud!

 Jeff, who happens to be terrified of heights, climbing the obstacle

 The finish line! David finished 44th out of 700+ people.  We were really proud of him

 His eyelashes were caked with mud, it was so gross

 Jeff B coming down an obstacle

 Jeffy got the award for "best splash" getting in the mud in my book

 And for "Best Mud Picture" He had his entire head under the mud!

 Jeffy at the finish line!

 All the boys had a blast, but Kadence's picture below about sums up what the girls thought of it.  :)

This was the first race that the girls and I have gone to of Davids.  They did great and just played and watched the ipad.  I'm very lucky to have two girls that are so easy going.  Overall it was a very fun day!

Graduation!

On May 24th we had a BIG day of celebration.  Shelby graduated preschool, Kadence graduated Kindergarten, David had his last day teaching AND it was my birthday!  WOW!  Both girls were so excited and both picked what dresses they wanted to wear.  Shelby did NOT want to wear a cardigan over her dress so she picked a dress that usually has a shirt go under it.  Silly kid!  Now for the pictures:

 Kadence and the BEST teacher EVER Miss Joy

 Kadence with her class

 Getting her diploma

 Shelby with the best preschool teacher, Miss Jill

 Shelby is hidden on the back row in the center

 Shelby getting her diploma

 Shelby and her fiance Davisson

 Love these kids of mine!

 I didn't want to wait for David to start celebrating so Megan and Dave joined us at the mall.  We ate at Chickfila and then Shelby asked to go on the carousel.  We never let them, but this of course was a special day full of what THEY wanted so I let them.

 Then we went and played on the toys in the mall play area

 For dinner we had a McDonalds picnic in the front room.  Yes, I actually ate McDonalds for my birthday dinner.  GAG!  That is love!

 Daddy was able to join in the fun!

After dinner we ended up having a Pajama party and the girls were so happy.  Thank you to Grandma Joy and Curtis for coming to both graduations and supporting the kids.  Poor dad, grandpa and Jeff couldn't get it off of work and had to miss it.  The girls were plenty excited still by the time they all got off work.  They have such a good support system and I am so grateful for that.  I tried really hard to make this their special day and Kadence kept saying "mommy its YOUR day too"  I love them!  Daddy brought home balloons for all of us and flowers for the girls.  It was a perfect little day.

My Kids Are Crazy!

OH MY GOSH! Sometimes I feel like I have the weirdest kids on the planet.  Nobody really gets to see it because its always at bedtime that they say and do the most bizarre things.  To start, we went out to eat tonight with a friend who was in from out of town.  Jeff babysat while we were out.  (Thanks Jeff!) When I walked through the door, Kadence was in tears.  I hate when my kids cry when I'm out because I feel terrible for whomever is watching them.  (Once they start its hard to get them to stop)  I asked why Kadence was crying and this is why:

She started crying because "If there was an earthquake, one of our picture frames would get broken and she didn't want it to get broken......or the train grandpa Green made....or the picture they made me for Mothers Day."  She seriously was SO upset.  It was hard not to laugh.

Not only that, but while we were gone I guess Shelby had a meltdown of her own.  She has come to be obsessed with my friends son, Davisson.  At first she hated being around him and we thought it was pretty hilarious.  If we got together she was rarely in the same room as him because he was a little intense for her liking. Megan (Davissons mom) and I were totally fine watching Dave get rejected every time he tried to hold Shelbys hand because it was funny and we aren't the kind of parents who try to make our kids like each other.  After they started preschool together in the Fall they slowly started liking each other.  A few months ago Davisson gave her a ring because they want to get married.  Today for the first time Shelby said "I love you" and he said "I love you too Shelby"  Its really pretty funny.  Well while we were gone, Shelby burst into tears.  Jeff asked what was wrong and she said "I'm graduating tomorrow and I won't get to see Davisson anymore."  Jeff told her that their mommies are friends and he's sure they would still see each other and she said "but they only go to lunch when we are at preschool and I'm graduating!"  She was so sincerely upset about it.  Earlier I asked her how old she would be when they got married and she said 13.  I asked when she would have a baby....13.  I told her that I want her to graduate first so she can't get married OR have a baby until she's 18. 

Tonight while David was tucking Shelby into bed they were talking about the fact that she would be graduating tomorrow.  She then told David that graduation is long and she might pee in her panties a little.  She didn't want that so she would need to put toilet paper in her panties just in case.  David assured her that graduation would NOT be that long and she said "Ya, I can hold it for car rides.....BUT I think I will still put toilet paper.  There will be a bump, but I don't care because there won't be any pee."  Where the heck would she get that?! That is such a bizarre thing to randomly come up with!

Seriously these kids make me laugh every day and they have got to be the weirdest kids in town!  I still can't help but love them!

Silly Shelby

Recently Shelby has said a few things that just made me chuckle and I want to remember them.

The other day I put toilet cleaner in the toilet to sit for a while. I had completely forgotten about it when Shelby came out and said "I didn't even need to flush because there was a beautiful air freshener in the bathroom!" Oops!

Today in preschool Mrs Jill asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Shelbys response was "I want to be me of course!"

Shelby will be going to the zoo with preschool and Mrs Jill talks about it often to prepare them to leave their parents behind. Parents aren't allowed to go along, but there is a high schooler per child so they are well taken care of. Shelby was telling me that I would have to stay home and I asked what I was going to do all day. She responded by saying "ummm, you can clean the potty."

Shelby will be going to the morning AND afternoon class for preschool next year so that I can be on campus for school and not have to work my classes around drop off/pick ups. I was nervous Mrs Jill wouldn't want her that long, but she said she'd love her. Then she asked Shelby if she would want to stay all day next year. Shelby of course was very excited. When they were getting their coats and backpacks today Shelby said "I don't need mine, I'm staying all day!"

That girl sure does make me laugh and I'm glad that I get to stay home with her so I don't miss all the craziness.

Health Verdict

So I have been waiting for the results from my iodine uptake that I had done at the end of March. I was hoping to hear back from the Dr before my vacation to Disneyland and I was so excited when they called on April 2nd. Unfortunately they just said that my results were in and the Dr wanted to see me as soon as I could and cancel my April 19th appointment. I was pretty freaked out, but called them back to get a new appointment. Since they couldn't squeeze me in on the 3rd and I was leaving on the 4th, we scheduled for the day after I got back. (today) I was so panicked and new that I couldn't enjoy my vacation without a few more details to I called back and left a message asking them to just give me my results. The assistant called and left me a message telling me that the Dr was just worried about how I was feeling and figured we'd just get the ball rolling sooner since there isn't a reason to wait any longer. I tried to tell myself that was it, but deep down I knew it wasn't. The uptake looks for the cause of the hyperthyroidism and nothing the assistant said mentioned a cause. I enjoyed my vacation with my family and then came back to reality when we got back to Utah.

I had David come with me to the Dr appointment because I was so nervous there was more to the story. I was right. The Dr started by going over my blood work. I guess it is consistent with Graves Disease and two auto immune problems. One of them is Hoshimoto thyroiditis and I can't remember the other one to save my life. He told me that I was "lucky" sarcastically. :) Then he started in on the uptake results. With the uptake they give me radioactive iodine and then do a scan at 4 hours and 24 hours. After 4 hours the normal range would be 5-15%....mine was at 69%. After 24 hours the normal range would be 15-30%....mine was at 86%. He said that this shows that I have the worst case of Graves disease he's ever seen. (I think he should have given me a trophy!) So with all that great news we started talking about treatment. He wanted to start immediately because as he described it, "my body is working in overdrive and functioning as if I had an epipen injection constantly." This isn't good on the muscles and definitely not great on the heart. I told him that I can't do radioactive treatment until summer because David will be at work and I need the help with the kids. With the treatment I am not allowed to be anywhere near my children or even use the same bathroom. This doesn't seem too likely until the end of the school year. He understood my concerns and said that he would consult with the other Dr to see what he thought. I could tell he was hesitant to wait. He called me tonight and left a message and said that he has come up with another option after speaking with the other Dr. I will call him back tomorrow to try and figure out what the other option is. I'm hoping its a fantastic one because it seems as if it's that or doing the radioactive treatment right now without waiting. I have a great support system of friends and family and I know that my girls would be well cared for, but I hate to depend on others and would prefer to avoid it if possible. The doctor also explained what the next 8-9 months would be like for me. Basically I will become even more hyperthyroid as my thyroid dies, then I will go hypothyroid and with that will come weight gain, fatigue and he said all my muscles will hurt. Then they will balance it back to normal with thyroid hormones and I will be good from there on out. It sounds tricky, and not too much fun, but it is what it is. I am taking it all pretty well and with a positive attitude and I'm hoping to be able to find a treatment that works well for me and for my family. If not, I thank you all in advance for the outpouring of support, prayers, love and help with my girls. I truly appreciate it and have the best family and friends I could ask for.

Catch Up!

I'm going to be playing a little catch up before we leave for Disneyland on Wednesday. I'm hoping to get mostly caught up so that when I come home I can post a ton of pictures of the trip. I know everything seems a bit out of order but I just want to get it on the blog so that I can look back in a few years and remember the fun times! (And some not so fun of course.)

St Patricks Day

I am someone who loves a reason to celebrate. Last year I didn't do much for St Patricks day and I didn't really plan on it this year either. BUT Kadence was so excited. She has talked about it at school and she really wanted to catch a leprechaun and make it dance a jig. (She makes me laugh) I had a family member in town from out of state and kind of forgot all about the holiday until the girls were in bed the night before. I sent David on a hunt for gold chocolate coins and green themed candy/drinks. What a great daddy he is! While I was waiting for him to get home, I dyed the milk green and thought that I should make leprechaun footprints to show that he came in our house and left them a treat.

He walked up our steps, jumped on our table and then to the fridge to play a little trick. The girls had a blast and were so excited. Kadence was a little upset that she didn't get to see a Leprechaun jig, but she was easily distracted by a trip to the zoo with my family. Maybe next year. :)

Dr Seuss Day!

Last year we started celebrating Dr Seuss Day...or his Birthday...or Read Across America Day. It was a lot of fun to do a few silly things so I knew I wanted to make it a tradition. The night before Jeff came over and we helped him cut yarn for truffula trees that his 4th grade class would make. We made a few for the girls as well and they LOVED them. Shelby even had to take it to school for show and tell.

I also saw a cute treat that was super easy. You just melt some white chocolate and stick M&M's in them for the yolk. the girls really enjoyed this.

I buy the girls a Dr Seuss shirt for school. I didn't get a picture of Shelby but she had a Lorax one.We made green eggs and 'ham hash' which is something we make sometimes but not with green eggs. I actually have a hard time eating food that isn't the right color, but I managed to stay strong in front of the girls.I also made 1 fish 2 fish red fish blue fish jello cups. I have to admit that the fish were soggy because I put them in a few hours before we ate them. I wouldn't recommend putting the fish in until you are ready to eat them.We ended the night by going to see the movie The Lorax. The girls, David and I have been dying to go see it and we tried to keep it a surprise. We told the girls that it would be a while before we could see it so that they would be surprised. They were so happy and loved the movie too. Kadence kept saying "I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees." It made me laugh. We ended the night with a Dr Seuss bedtime story. I think I will do something every year even if it's just letting them go buy a new book.