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.

We'll Miss you Grandpa Joy!

This morning we lost one of the best guys I know. I didn't think I would have such a hard time because we knew it was coming and I kept thinking it would be easier because it wasn't "MY" grandpa. Well, I was wrong. I did consider him to be MY grandpa all the same. I found a few poems that I was going to be putting on Facebook, but I didn't want to overload with the status updates. I can put all the poems on here that I want. :)

The Day God Called You Home

Anonymous

God looked around His garden,

And He found an empty place.

He then looked down upon this Earth,

And saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you,

And lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful,

He always takes the best.

He knew you were suffering.

He knew you were in pain.

he knew that you would never,

Get well on Earth again.

He saw that the road was getting rough,

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids

And whispered, "Peace be Thine."

It broke our hearts to lose you,

But you didn't go alone.

For part of us went with you,

The day God called you home.

The Party Had Begun

Anonymous

I'm sorry for the emptiness you feel in your heart today,

but it's hard for the inner child when her dad must go away.

Although she's safe in Jesus care, it's the little girl inside

who still cries a lonely tear and asks Jesus why he died.

Our Father loves you so much, but the party had begun.

Without the guest of honor there, it wouldn't be any fun.

God sent him here to raise his kids and to touch so many hearts.

Then He let you keep his memory near so you'd never be apart.

In time God will unite you and although he had to go,

I'll bet he saves a piece of cake if he's like the dad's I know.

Memories Live Forever

Anonymous

It's hard to say good-bye to someone that you love,

although you now the're safe

with Jesus up above.

It doesn't make a difference if they're in their later years.

It only means more memories

to carry through the tears.

Don't let your selves forget, we each have numbered days.

For reasons that we do not know

God wanted it this way.

Tears wash away the pain, but it can't remove the love.

The memories live forever safe

in God's hands above.

I sure do love Grandpa Joy and will miss him dearly. Family functions won't be the same without him, but I'm sure we'll continue to share memories and laugh as though he was with us.

On a side note: This morning as I was telling Kadence that she would have a substitute because Grandpa Joy died (which meant Barb wouldn't go since it is her dad) she looked up at me with the most devastated face and two single tears fell down her cheeks. It was so heartbreaking. But he was honestly loved by all who knew him.

Crazy Hair Day

A few weeks ago it was Spirit Week at Kadence's school. I try really hard to make sure the kids participate so they aren't disappointed when they are the few who didn't participate. I kind of forgot about crazy hair day until the morning of so I didn't get too crazy. I put in a few pony tails and found some remnant red hair spray from Halloween. Kadence was super excited when she left for school. When she got home her hair was still in perfect shape....WHAT?! She always comes home looking like I let her roll out of bed and head to school. Her hair is a constant mess and the one time its supposed to be silly, its in perfect shape. Go figure. I asked if people liked her hair and she said, "Mom, someone told me my hair was beautiful." She was pretty upset about it. I'm sure she just hasn't learned sarcasm yet. :)

More Health Update

Ok, we got the results of my echo cardiogram and there wasn't anything wrong besides what we already knew. AWESOME!

Also, I was able to go see the endocrinologist. He was very thorough and asked a lot of questions. I told him my TSH level was at 0 and he didn't really seem too bothered by it. I was confused because that had my family dr pretty concerned. I figured he was the specialist so he knew better. After molesting my throat he found that my thyroid was about 50-60% and was firm. Because of this he is thinking that I might have Graves disease. Graves disease isn't curable, but you can treat the different symptoms. It can cause skin problems, eye problems, thyroid problems, and has also been known to cause mental problems. The only way to know is to do an iodine uptake scan. Also, in order to treat the thyroid problem I have 3 options. I can take medicine, I can do iodine radiation to kill the thyroid and then take thyroid hormone pills, or I can have my thyroid removed and take thyroid hormone pills. There are downs to all of them. The medicine makes me super sick, after the iodine radiation I can't go near any children, pregnant women, or breastfeeding woman. I can't even use the same bathroom. So that has its obvious downs considering I would be banished to the basement for up to a week. And then surgery has its normal risks. In order to do the iodine treatment or surgery, my dr wants an iodine uptake test done which is great since he wanted one anyways. The downfall to this is that we can't treat the thyroid with any option until its complete. We didn't schedule the uptake, just took blood.

Today the Dr office called and the lady seemed a little panicky and like it was urgent on her VM message. When I called back she told me that I "was quite hyperthyroid" and that I would need to start a medicine to lower my heart rate immediately. (That's what I was expecting when I went in, but I guess they needed the lab results before they believed me) They also scheduled my iodine uptake which means I get to go on a super fun diet that is low in iodine. Basically no milk, eggs, soy, most salt, red dye #3 and low on the meats and grains. I won't have to continue this long, just a week. I am happy that I can drink soda and also eat skittles. :) I'll keep everyone posted on my results and also which treatment I choose.