Pach's 1st day of Kindergarten

Today is Pach's first day of Kindergarten!! I officially have a child in school. I can hardly believe it! This morning went mostly smoothly. I didn't know how the traffic would be, so tomorrow I will alter the routine to accommodate the 15 mph from our house to the school and the line of traffic that would make a traffic jam on the freeway seem like nothing. OK, so not quite that bad but it took over 10 minutes to get Pach to school. We can normally get there in less than 5. I'm just glad I was turning right at the light and not left!

Here is his picture for the first day of school! I hope he has fun!

His lunchbox and backpack.

All ready for school. He is so excited.
I hope he stays that way!

Oklahoma City

Tim and the boys took off for Oklahoma City on July 3rd, in the afternoon. We had all been planning on going but then I got my kidney stone and didn't feel up to doing anything until right before they left. Bacon and I hung alone for the week they were gone.

The reason for the trip was to see the first niece and cousin on Tim's side of the family. His sister, Sarah, had a little girl on Father's Day, Claudia. Or as the Pach and Pickle call her "Baby Jessie". When we found out Sarah was pregnant, we were watching Toy Story 2. The boys said, "If she has a girl we can call her Jessie. If it's a boy we can call him Buzz." Luckily the baby was a girl but the boys have been calling her baby Jessie since Sarah was 5 months pregnant.

Anyway, they headed out there and had a great time. At least the boys did. I forgot to pack Tim's running shoes in the car, so all he had were his work shoes. He found that out Tuesday night after they checked into the hotel. He wasn't too happy about that and I felt really bad. Luckily he got some shoes on Wednesday and all was good again. Then he was a little under the weather for most of the trip but the amazing man he is, he just toughed it out with the boys.

Below are some of the things they did. The boys really did have a lot of fun. And Tim got to see his whole family.

First up was the Dinosaur Museum. They LOVED that place, especially Dino. He went in as well and got to see his ancestors. He even got some toys too!

Pach, Dino and dino bones.

Pickle and some bones. He's so funny!

They liked this one! They said "That dinosaur
is helping the other one."

Two boys in dinosaur heaven!

Pickle and Grandpa being stepped on by a Wholly Mammoth.

They also went to the Botanical Garden: 

Add caption

A skyscraper. Tim says "It's probably
the highest point in Oklahoma." 

Pach and Grandpa having fun.

Pickle enjoying the water!

Vomit and Kidney Stones

This week started off with a BANG!!! And not in a good way!

Saturday after his party and nap, Bacon threw up not once but twice, all over Tim both times! Tim handled it quite well and we chalked it up to sugar overload from all the festivities.

Saturday night/Sunday morning around 3 am, Pickle crawled in our bed, laid down and said, "My throat hurts." I grabbed him and ran for our bathroom. We made it to the sink just as he puked. He looked better and felt better, so off to bed he went.

Sunday morning dawned early for Tim and later for me. I didn't hear any children wake up, so Tim got up with them. I had my head wrapped in a blanket and was snoring! I guess I was tired but I only remember waking up at 8:45 am, when Tim came in the room. I sat up and he said, "Pickle's thrown up twice since he's been up" and he walked back out.

I slowly headed downstairs, dreading what the day was going to most certainly bring. More puking, fevers and no husband to help. Tim was heading out of town and although he was busy packing he did all he could to help me until he actually left. Pickle seemed better and had made it to the bathroom each time. However, that did not last. After Tim left, he threw up 3 or 4 more times and only made it to the bathroom half those times. On the bright side, little by little my kitchen floor and family room carpet were getting cleaned! As was the furniture.

Sometime that night I called a couple friends over to give Pickle a blessing and to bring a thermometer (ours has dead batteries). He had a whopping 103 fever and all he wanted to do was snuggle! After the blessing, he was able to keep things down (finally)! He ate and kept the medicine down as well. Off to bed we all went, exhausted!

Monday I woke up at 5:15 am with a pain in my side and throwing-up. I was so out of it and of course, panicked a bit since I was by myself, sick and puking, with 3 small children! I called some friends for a blessing and waited downstairs. They came, gave me a blessing and thankfully, took all 3 boys away. I was so worried because I didn't know how I was going to take care of Jake at all. I didn't even know how I was going to get him downstairs I was so weak!

Around 1:30 pm or so, I panicked again. The pain in my side was worse and I was alone and didn't know what to do. I was hoping I would get better but that wasn't happening and I had kids at other people's houses. My mom called and said I needed to go to the hospital. I gave her a couple numbers and she did all the calling for me. A wonderful lady came and whisked me away to the hospital. I did have a lucid moment in there when Tim called and I finally told him what was going on. I hadn't wanted to bother him or worry him since there was nothing he could do. He knew something was up anyway. He knows me all too well. I didn't answer his texts because I was too tired. That's how he knew.

At the hospital I sat waiting, going in and out the back for a couple things and puking while waiting for a room. The ER was packed and I found out Monday's are the worst day time wise. People wait out the weekend to see their doctor and then end up in the ER anyway. We arrived at 3:15 pm and finally I got back to a room around 7:30 pm. I was still in pain and threw up more. I was severely dehydrated because I couldn't keep anything down. The only positive aspect was the doctor arrived around 10 minutes after I got to my room.

Finally at 8 or so I got the pain medication. I was set up on a saline IV drip (which helped so much) and given a shot of morphine and some anit-nausea medicine. The morphine was absolutely fabulous! Tim called at 9 pm, just after I headed for my CT scan saying he was on his way to the hospital. He had flown from Spokane, WA to Tucson while I was in the waiting room at the ER.

The CT scan showed I had a kidney stone in my left kidney about to enter my bladder, hence, the pain. I also have a cyst on my liver. Tim and I sat around the hospital until 2:15 am waiting. The doctor wanted to see how my pain was doing before I left. I was fine but exhausted and completely out of it.

As part of the discharge the nurse gave me a strainer to pee in, so I could catch the stone to take to a doctor and have analyzed to find out what caused it. Well, all I have to say is: When a patient has been in pain for over 12 hours and is given a shot of morphine, a clearer explanation is called for. I was given a prescription for pain medication. I haven't been using the strainer because I figured if I needed pain meds, it was going to hurt to pee the stone out so I would know when to use the strainer. Oh, not so!

Today I went to my regular doctor so she could order an ultrasound for a more comprehensive look at the cyst on my liver. And what do I find out?????? Many people pee out the stone and don't even know it! It doesn't hurt!! So now I have no idea if I passed the stone or not! Tim just laughed and said, "I heard them say for you to strain your pee!" I replied, "I was in pain and hyped up on drugs! Do you think I really knew what was going on?" And I also found out I have a stone in my right kidney. Guess when I get that excruciating pain I'll know what to do.

So now I am home. I don't know if the stone in my left kidney is still in my bladder or not. I have one in my right kidney that may or may not cause me problems. And I have a cyst on my liver but don't know if it's benign or not. I hate the waiting game. And my body still hurts and is tired. My front torso is still tight and sore from all the puking. My right arm is still sore from the IV. And when the nurse today took my blood pressure I realized my left bicep is still sore from the blood pressure machine at the hospital! And to top it off, Zach threw up last night!

Luckily though, Tim is home and that makes everything all better!

Bacon's 1 year Party

My little Bacon turned 1 last week and we had his birthday party today. It was a lot of fun and he even stayed awake through the whole thing. It went pretty smoothly. He had help from his brothers opening a their presents to him. Then he opened a few presents on his own. The first one he got hung up on a piece of tape. He kept trying to rip it off. Finally Tim ripped it off and he moved on to opening the present. It still took him a minute. The last present he opened though, he ripped that paper off in 10 seconds!

The cake was fun. We had a hard time coming up with something for him because he doesn't have anything he really likes and is attached too, like the other boys did. Since he does really like water and loves to splash in anything with water, Tim made a bathtub cake. He did an amazing job! And it was probably easier than the vacuum, which we joke is Bacon's best friend because he likes that so much too!

Below are pictures from the even (mostly). The wagon walker he got a little early from grandparents, so those are from before.

The wagon walker, to help him walk.

How it's normally used.

His personal birthday cake. He LOVES water
and LOVES to splash in the tub.

The cake for everyone else. It was lemon!

The first present he got to open
by himself.

  

He went right for the rubber ducky and ate that first.

He didn't eat much at this point, mostly just made a mess.

  

He likes forks a lot. He's stabbing a piece of frosting.

Now he's actually eating the cake and
enjoying himself even more.

All gone.

Playing with his friend Dan. No one could
believe he sat still enough for  Dan to
stack those rings on his head.

1 YEAR OLD!!!

My "little" baby Bacon turned 1 last week. As I was going through all my boys pictures to see what I am going to put him for his 1 year picture tomorrow, I decided I would post a picture of each boy at age 1. There are some definite similarities and definite differences.  Enjoy!

Pachman: July 2008

Pickle: January 2010

Bacon: June 2012

Pach's Joy School Graduation

Pach officially is done with Joy School (co-op pre-school). He graduated on May 24th and did an OK job. He stood in front of everyone and during one of the songs he even waved the little pep flag he had. I think school will be great for him. Hopefully it'll bring him out of his shell a little bit.

Although he is difficult for me when I host Joy School, I have seen him grow. He knows and can even write some of his numbers and alphabet. He colors better and is a great drawer, especially if he is drawing monsters. He interacts much better with the other kids and does talk more. He colors better, glues better and can still cut paper like nobody's business! He loves that he has his own "zachapack". That's what he calls his backpack. And he LOVES LOVES LOVES his pink crayon box. 

This year the kids all made their own "I AM UNIQUE" book and he did a great job. He even decided when he grew up he wants to be a "bomb maker and blow things up." I think it's more "blow things up" than "bomb maker". He has many engineery habits and I can see him becoming a demolition expert. I don't know that he'll actually end up doing that but I think he would be good at it and enjoy it. Last year he didn't want to be anything when he grew up. I thought actually picking something was a huge improvement.

Here are some pictures from his graduation, including the cake that I made. Tim was supposed to make it but dates got changed and he had a concert to go to, so I made it. I think it turned out alright. The frosting was homemade strawberry cream cheese so at least it tasted good.

Pach and his graduation cake.

In his cap and gown, with
his hands showing.

In his cap and gown, without his hands showing.
He really wanted me to take this picture.

His Joy School class. He's in the back row,
3 one from the left. Such a cutie!! 

Getting his award:
The Best Monster Drawer

Pach and his diploma.

Organization 101: Bathroom Closet

Our bathroom closet was pretty organized but still a little cluttered. I had everything grouped together and some stuff in boxes but it still lacked the "WOW" factor or the "it's so beautiful it makes me cry" factor. While at a friends house a few weeks ago, she showed me her newly organized bathroom closet and I LOVED IT!!! So, I copied her. Thanks Debbie for the idea!

Here are a few pictures.

This is the before picture. Not too bad.

In the middle of organization.

Done! How it looks now!!

This is what I got rid of. The left is the recycling. The garbage can is full
from the closet but the charmin bag is only part full with stuff .

Most of the stuff I got rid of was expired medicine. I think the best thing was taking stuff out of weird shaped or bulky boxes and putting them in containers, which cut down on wasted space. And all the small stuff piled around on the shelves work much better in a container too.

This was the following conversation between Tim and myself when I was done:

Me: "How do you like our bathroom closet?"
Tim: "I don't."
Me: "Really? Look at it."
Tim: "I don't li......(he finally looked) I like it!"

Me: "It does look nice doesn't it."
Tim (sarcastically): "It's so beautiful it brings a tear to my eye!" (then seriously) he said, "I mean look at the labels, the containers. Ahhh, beautiful!"

Me: "This is how Debbie organized her closet. I loved it, so I copied her."
Tim: "This is how I organized the shed! Just like this! Labels, containers and everything! Have you not 

         looked at the shed?"  

Me: "Well, that's the shed. The house is a totally different thing, so I didn't think about how you organized 

        the shed when I did this."

Tim: (silently gave me an exasperated look) and then said, "I'd like to do that to the whole house! Especially   

        the kitchen!"
Me: "Ya, I don't know if it would work in the kitchen...... Anyway, glad you like it."

I didn't get much else done today but I'll say it was worth it. I love our new bathroom closet!!