Relief

Little Boo with her "Get Well" bloons (or balloons as us not 2 year olds say) from her cousins. So Friday morning I got a phone call from my doctor saying that they had someone else read her EKG from the ER and that things looked not right. Based on the readings, it looked like she may have an enlarged left ventricle. I begin to ask questions because obviously I have no idea what this means, and I start to panic. I ask for the worst case scenario... heart transplant. Okay, that is not good. So let's try not worst case scenario... medication. That is a little easier to handle. She also said that it is common to get these kind of readings and nothing will be wrong. But in my hypochondriac-of-a-mind, considering the other symptoms, I pretty much assume my kid has a bad heart. When presented with a scenario like this, it's pretty impossible to not let your mind wander to the very bad. Jada then got an appointment to go here on Monday morning...

I was set to endure a very torturous weekend, not knowing what the outcome of the echocardiogram would be. I explored some options on the internet, talked to family and friends, and tried to not go crazy. Let's remember that Jake was still out of the picture. It really is interesting being put in a situation that is completely out of your control, knowing that the outcome could be very bad. Jake and I talked about a lot of things, I thought about a lot of things, and experienced (on a very small scale) what some parents go through who have sick children. Our Relief Society lesson on Sunday just happened to be about adversity, so I had more time to ponder on what it all means and why we face different trials in life.

Monday we were off to the hospital yet again. I was grateful to have Jake be able to come and meet us. Jada and I enjoyed the fishies in the waiting area, looking at the different sized ones and watching the rock eating and spitting. She also got a cute pink kitty from a nice volunteer. Things really went very quickly, and we were in the back about to get the test done by the time Jake got there.

Jada was a complete angel. I was under the impression she would have to be sedated for the test, but due to her good nature, the nurse decided to give it a try without the medication. She was a champ and laid on the bed very still and didn't even try to pull off the "stickers". We waited in the dark a little while she watched "Dragon Tales" until Jake got there, followed pretty quickly by the Echo-man (for lack of a better term). She was as still as ever as he began the test, and eventually she fell asleep! It was amazing. The tech also said he was able to get a very clear picture which was another blessing. The test lasted about 15 minutes. Final results... her heart looks perfect. No enlargements, no holes, everything just as it should be. Talk about relief!!! It's weird because I was totally expecting that not to be the case- I guess you prepare yourself for the worst, and then anything else is good news. I honestly was just hoping for a fixable problem, and we walked away with no heart problem at all. I so appreciate all the prayers, etc. on her behalf. Today really couldn't have gone any better, and that has to be attributed to prayer and us being watched over. So now back to square one with an EEG next Wednesday to test for seizures, and an MRI in August. We still think it's a good idea to explore all these avenues before moving on. It's funny how being presented with such a huge problem can all of a sudden make these other things seem like not as big of a deal. Am I still worried? Yes, a little. Do I still check on her more than I used to? Of course. Will I sleep way better tonight? Most definitely.

High Adventure Survival

The drama continued today with this little thing above, just by way of some new info from the doctors. I won't go into detail now (and if you have no idea what I am talking about, see the previous post) because we don't really know what the outcome of things will be, but we will be back at the hospital on Monday for more fun. I will update when we have our arms around what is really happening. Let's just say it hasn't been the best day ever, but things like this are the stuff life is made of, and we just get to deal one day at a time. Life is just fun like that. Anyways...

We'll move onto other things. So, besides stressing, fretting, worrying, making calls and appointments, and checking on Boo about a million times, I did try and make sort of good use of my time while husbandless. (You know- High Adventure for 8 days. Wakeboarding. He didn't have it too bad besides the beastly heat and bugs, but I don't feel bad for him in the least. He's had too much fun for me to feel bad for him.) I tried to make life fun for the girls and just took it one day at a time. To look at the big 8 day picture was a bit overwhelming, so I would just take it day by day. And here we are- almost at the end. I obviously enjoyed my nights after the kiddos were in bed and did a little of this (above) and this (below)...

I really had grand plans of finishing Jada's scrapbook over this week, but that didn't happen. SYTYCD, Relief Society stuff, laundry, Jon & Kate, blogging, eating ice cream, being tired, etc. just seemed to take precedence. Oh well- I've still got a few weeks before little boy comes.

Like I mentioned, I tried to make the time fun for the girls and kept us busy so time would pass quickly. Elle and Mya got to paint Saturday, which ended a bit messy. We also ate out a lot, spending our first night at Red Robin using my free b-day burger coupon. I am either brave or crazy for taking 3 kids alone to a restaurant. My vote is for crazy considering how it goes sometimes.

We of course had some junk food (donuts- a favorite)...

Painted nails with the stuff I bought them in San Fran (I love the varying shades of skin color)...

We decorated "Big Sister" shirts for the day they get to come and see the baby at the hospital...

They went a little crazy with the paint, but really loved it. I had intentions of trying to keep them cute and just use silver paint, but I gave in and let them have fun. Can't wait to see them sporting these beauties at the hospital (the polka dot look came about because of large paint blobs)...

The older girls also finished up their last week of swim lessons. They have done awesome and are great little swimmers. Mya has improved a ton which makes my life at the pool way easier.

Jada still prefers to nap on the floor, usually right by the door. She doesn't have many toys in her room right now due to some redecorating that needs to occur, so she just makes her way to this little nook and goes to sleep, lots of times with her face right by the door. I have to move her at night or else she'd spend the night sleeping their, also.

We've spent many hours getting tan at the pool...

We used part of my b-day Los Cucos gift card and had a fun dinner last night after gymnastics...

I also tried out some new hair-do's on Jada (this one and the two scrunchie ponytails- so cute!)...

We got together with friends for dinner one night and also spent an afternoon doing a craft at a friend's house (the blue picture). Here is one of the two bulletin boards in my laundry room for projects.

The girls went to new gymnastics classes on Thursday, and Jada did not want to change out of the leotard she was wearing. I gave in and let her wear it under her clothes. Well, of course at gymnastics she wanted her shirt and skirt off so she sported this look...

I also signed the girls up for a couple of fun classes put on by some girls from our church. Today was "Macaroni Madness" day...

I really had intentions of cooking tonight, but lacked motivation so we spent the night fine dining at McD's (I got a Wendy's salad because I do not like McD's).

Tonight we had a sleepover with Snickers ice cream bars, a movie, and a bed on my floor for the older girlies.

Tomorrow Jake will return. I am really grateful we made it through the week and am so ready to see him again. The girls made some Father's Day posters last week that we will hang up since we didn't get to celebrate Father's Day together last Sunday.

I also bought him some manly Dad's day presents- the weed eater was necessary, the blower just for fun. Hopefully I picked ones that will work- I'm no Home Depot expert.

This next week will be an interesting one depending on how things play out with Jada, but I am definitely glad Jake will be back. We have had fun, but miss him and need him here. And can't wait to see this beard he is now sporting!

The blue lips drama

I really have been putting off posting about this because I hate rehashing the story. It makes me worry and think about it all over again and causes a lot of stress. So I'll just give the shortened version. Basically Jada threw up last week during the night. The next day she was okay- a little tired, didn't eat much, but for the most part acting normal. Friday morning she woke up fine, but then had this really weird episode where she fell asleep at an abnormal time, started breathing funny (shallow, quick breaths), and had a really distant kind of look in her eyes. Her lips turned a little purple-blue. I was worried that morning when she was acting weird, but then the blue lips pushed it over the edge. And it wasn't just me who noticed- Elle said to me that her lips looked blue. For a six year old to notice, you knew it was serious. After drinking some apple juice and a little time passed, she perked up just fine and has honestly been fine ever since. Her appetite hasn't been perfect (thank goodness she finally ate a lot today), and she's been a little cranky, but she's two so that sort of comes along with the territory.Anyways, so after the blue lips I called the doctors and got an appointment to get her in. They tested her blood- all was normal. They said we needed to go to Texas Children's Hospital downtown to get some more tests run. Apparently blue lips = a ticket to the ER, at least according to one of the ladies at the hospital. I dropped Elle and Mya at a friend's, snagged some food from that friend, and took her downtown. I was looking beautiful due to my lack of showering that day. Things really moved pretty quickly at the hospital. We did have some downtime in our room, but Jada slept for some of it which was a good thing. Jake was able to meet me over at the hospital. They ran an EKG and did a chest x-ray, which all came back for the most part normal (besides a little inflammation in the lungs which they weren't too worried about). I was glad to have Jake there for the x-rays because I obviously couldn't be with her in the room. We got home that night around 7:30.

Monday it was back to the doctors (we got a smoothie afterwards) for some follow-up. We had to schedule an EEG which will be July 8th. This tests the brain waves to make sure there is no seizure activity. She also is scheduled for an MRI to be done downtown again, but unfortunately their soonest opening was August 15th! Ridiculous- not only is it forever away, but I'm having a baby. I was really hoping to be done with all the tests by that time. So we are on a cancellation list, and I may just start being annoying and calling every so often to see if anything pops up. Really, it all sounds a lot worse than it probably is, but I'm not opposed to running all the tests just to cover our bases. So far no one has been able to figure out what caused the episode, but I think that, combined with the whole passing out thing that happened a few months ago, is enough to warrant a few tests.

Like I said before, she really has been fine. I'm the one who is stressing, especially because Jake left the very next day for High Adventure for 8 days. I just felt a lot of stress and burden on me. First off, it is traumatic to witness something like that with your own kid. If you haven't yet, consider yourself lucky because it is awful. Also, the unknown factor in this whole thing has been hard for me. Not knowing what brought it on makes me worried that it will happen again at any second. The first few days after were really bad because I was seriously watching her like a hawk, thinking that at any minute she's going to get that look again and start turning blue. Or that I'll come around the corner and find her passed out somewhere. It is horrible! So, I've tried to lighten up the last couple of days and just not worry as much. There needs to be a balance between being aware and ready to deal with it if it happens again and making yourself sick with obsession and worry. I'm still working on it, but I'm getting better. Last night one of my friends pointed out Jada's blue toes (we painted them), and I said (sort of joking) "Don't say Jada has blue anything!" I might just have a break down. But for now, all is well and we are surviving which is a good thing.

Birthday Recap and Summer Jobs

Jake pulled through on the birthday, making me so happy. I was driving home from my Relief Society meeting feeling kind of sad that my birthday wasn't so exciting and I came into to a table filled with goodies. Flowers, chocolate covered raisins, chips from Los Cucos (and green dip in the fridge), and a Los Cucos dinner gift card. You have to understand that this really was a kind gift- Jake doesn't like eating at Los Cucos but I love it, and so getting me a gift card there was a true sign of affection. He also came home that night (when I finally saw him after 9 p.m.) with my favorite Blue Bell ice cream. Not buying a blow dryer was probably a good move on his part.

To continue with the eating-not-so-healthy and feared weight gaining (on my part) theme that has been in our home throughout the month, my friend Ashley made me this yummy, really cute cake from her cake decorating class. I was so happy to actually have a b-day cake (even a day late)!

On my birthday night, the girls and I had a little present opening party. Jada and I had received a few more gifts to open, which made Jada happy because she loves opening presents!

One can never have too much Minnie Mouse attire!

We both got some fun things including a yummy bundt cake candle from my older sis and a cute yellow shirt (that I saw in San Fran and wanted but didn't buy) from my younger sis.

Don't you feel so special when you have tons of cards on display?

My b-day night ended by finishing watering the grass, putting kids to bed by myself, eating chips and dip and chocolate covered raisins and leftovers for dinner, feeling sick from eating, watching SYTYCD, and cleaning up Jada's barf. I guess I am on official adult now- cleaning up barf on my b-day (well, technically if was after midnight, but you know what I mean). Always a joy.

Onto other things... the girls and I have devised a little routine for the summer, made official by a fun chart! Every weekday they have six things to do, and if they complete them, the job gets checked off and they get a sticker for the day. Once the chart is full, they get these super fun "fortune teller" balls (really just glittery bouncy balls) from Target. It really has been going pretty well thus far. My girls kind of get into these kind of things, and even decided to do all their jobs early on Friday morning, right when they woke up, so they were done for the day (without being asked). Jobs include: make bed (which is easy because they cheat and mostly just sleep on top of their comforters), brush teeth, get dressed, reading time, schoolwork time, and one job that I typically assign.

It has been nice to have a few "routine" things going on to keep us from going crazy so far. Between swim lessons, gymnastics, the job chart, and going to the pool, the days have been flying by. Mya has been doing awesome with sight reading. I really am amazed at how well she has picked up on it- I guess you don't realize how much they really learn by watching an older sibling. Hopefully I can keep them motivated with the charts, and life will be good!

2 and 28

I love a June birthday. I didn't necessarily like having a baby in June (because nursing=hot all the time, and two other little kiddos were trapped in the house with me and the new babe) but I love having a birthday in June. My birthday always fell right around the end of the school year which is a fun time anyway. And now, not only does Jada get to share her b-day with Flag Day (lucky little girl- I know you are all jealous), she also gets the benefits of a June b-day. Here's what is good about it- enough time has passed since Christmas that you are ready for presents again. It is also the perfect time to get fun things for the summer. My January babies are a bit gypped if you ask me. Anyways, we decided to continue Jada's b-day tradition and go the beach. I don't think anyone will find it surprising that I love the beach, but beaches in the South take some getting used to. It is so hot- definitely not the nice cool breezy weather you find at the beach in Cali. The water in Galveston is also not super clear and is a bit warm for my liking, but ask a 6, 4, and 2 year old if that matters to them.. not in the least. They had a blast. We bought some chocolate muffins from Costco for the b-day weekend breakfasts (yummy and I don't have to cook- awesome).

I thought it would be fun to take a little look at Jada during the three June's she has been here. So, June of '07...

June of '08 (last year's beach trip)...

And June of '09 (wearing her new b-day swim suit from my mom)...

They grow up and become such little girls so quickly! At first she was a little hesitant about the sand and water, but quickly got over it and had a blast. The other girls love it, too. Jake, Elle, and Mya unfortunately had a brush with a jellyfish (another fun thing about Southern beaches). Mya got the worst of it and ended up with a pretty big welt on her leg. She is still the ultimate trooper.

It was fun to watch the girls play in the sand and water- amazing how much it entertains them. Mya sat, by herself, for a really long time just playing in the sand. If only I could find her something to do at home that she enjoyed that much!

You know you are all jealous of this awesome beach belly! Jada's not lying when she keeps telling me "You have big tummy."

I love that my girls have each other to play with. I also love that Elle is old enough to be a really good helper with Jada when needed.

Jake's mom and sister were driving out to Utah to drop Esther off at school and came to stay with us for a few days. We got some yummy BBQ that night with them and Jake's other sis Eliza.

We put Jada's traditional balloons in her room while she slept Saturday night.

On her real b-day we dined with Mickey-ware and had some delicious "Barbie-cute".

Jada also brought some cookies to her nursery class to celebrate (thanks to Jake's mom and sisters for getting these done).

Her cake was a recreation of something I found in Parents magazine- just using chocolate instead of white frosting. It didn't look exactly the same, but pretty close. It uses plain, peanut butter, and mini M&M's (which took multiple stores to find).

It was pretty easy to do and really turned out cute. It did develop a large crack due to my inability to correctly stack cake, but oh well. A little Grand Canyon in a cake never hurt anyone, and it still tasted good!

What's a b-day without presents?!

My mom had gotten Jada this cute dress for her birthday that she wore to church.

Little Boo sitting "in grass" as she calls it (for whatever reason, she sometimes refers to sitting on the ground, or maybe the rug, as sitting in the grass).

I thought my grandparents would want to see her with her little monkey...

A wading pool for the summer from Jake's parents...

And her new floaty toy- "my crab" (which she loves, but says it more like c-r-a-p than crab, just FYI in case you hear her talk about it).

Jada loves Mickey (as in "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse") and so my sister's present of a Minnie nightgown, flip flops, and stuffed doll were perfect.

Elle and Mya made her lots of cards. It was cute to hear Mya talk about the cake she drew and to hear her say that she just did the best she could.

As for me and my #28, really it's just another day. But before you feel too bad for me, remember that I just recently returned from San Francisco, got to shop, and see "Wicked". I also had a sort of kid-free day on Monday (Jake's mom and sister took the kids to visit Eliza) where I got a pedicure...

Jada and I have also received lots of good mail this week, I went with some friends last night to BJ's, and nice friends have already given me a muffin and a Jamba Juice today. So despite the fact that my b-day has been spent at swim lessons and taking care of kids thus far, and we will spend the afternoon at the pool and the night at a Relief Society meeting, and that I won't see Jake until probably 9 p.m. tonight (High Adventure parent's meeting), it has been a pretty good birthday month. I do wonder if Jake will bring home anything- I told him not to get me anything because, for 1- San Francisco, and for 2- we want to buy some furniture really soon so I don't really need anything. I just got a pedicure and don't really need any more clothes with my current body state. He told me he texted my sister to see what he should get me, and she told him the only thing she knows I want is a new blow dryer but I think she told him that is a horrible present and he better not get that for me. So maybe he'll just settle for flowers or ice cream. Or a new blow dryer. We'll see. And lastly, a video of the newest 2 year old just being cute...