So, I went to that appointment with the different doctor this morning. It went fairly well, I suppose. There was some good news: I'm 17 pounds lighter than I was 2 weeks ago!! Woot!!
Other than that, they still don;t really know what the problem is. The doctor suggested that perhaps it's a virus that has stuck around for a long time. The she suggested maybe I should increase my salt and caffeine intake...WOW!! Never heard a doctor suggest THAT one before, LMAO!! Apparently, she thinks that will help raise my blood pressure and as a result decrease the dizziness. I hate salt and all I drink is water really, but I guess a Coke a day won't hurt, and I'll eat some pretzels for the salt. We'll see what happens. She also wants me to do a tilt table test, for real this time, so I put in a call to schedule that and I'm waiting for a return call. I'm off work for at least another week.
After we came home, the doctor called and said that the results of the 24 hour Holter Monitor had just been faxed to her. She said that it looks like there are times where my heart skips a beat, so she referred my to a cardiologist and made an appointment for me - that will be tomorrow. The doctor says she doesn't think this is too serious, but she wants to have me see the cardiologist to make sure. I have to admit, this is scary.
That's all the news for today. I'm tired, so I'm going to lie down and read my book and munch on pretzels. I'll write more tomorrow evening after the appointment.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Welcome to JOKEwood Healthcare Systems....
I had an appointment with my doctor at 4:15 this afternoon. Or so I thought....
We got to the clinic and Jim signed me in while I took a seat (still feeling really dizzy when standing/walking). About 15 minutes later, we heard them call my name. But they weren't calling for me to go back, they were calling so the receptionists could talk to us. They proceeded to inform us that there was no appointment for me in their computer system, and it was the girl who had scheduled the appointment who was telling us this!
Kids in the waiting room were running all over screaming, my head was pounding. Then they say they'll see what they can do to try to get me in. I told them that I need to be seen, it's be over a week since I saw the doctor last, my symptoms are still persisting, I still haven't gotten t test results from my hospital stay on 5-10 through 5-12, and I turned in paperwork to the clinic last Wednesday that they assured me would be filled out by today since it is already past due to my employer. I also mentioned that if I don't have that paperwork turned in t my employer by tomorrow morning, I stand a chance of being fired. Let me see what I can do, the lady says, and then she disappears and never comes back.
Maybe she could tell just how livid I was and she was afraid...several other nurses stopped by before the head nurse finally came and told us that they can schedule me to see a DIFFERENT doctor from the clinic tomorrow morning. I asked how that's supposed to work, since my doctor as been the only one seeing me since 5-3 and she knows what's going on with me. They said, "We'll just have this doctor take fresh look at your case." Really.... Why then, could you not have scheduled me to see this other doctor sooner? Why did I have to wait a full week to see "my" doctor, only to find out no one ever put me in the system and now I have to see someone new anyway?
These people are running a circus in there. I don't think they know their heads from a hole in the ground. All I know for sure is that as soon as that ER doctor I saw at U of M returns from her two week vacation, I'm changing doctors. I'm sick of this, and getting stressed out like this sure isn't helping my situation any.
I also know that I am going to find out who I need to speak to in order to file a complaint, and I might even see about notifying someone at a higher level than just the clinic about this. This is no way to treat a person, especially someone who's been ill for three weeks and still doesn't know what's wrong with her.
I could just scream right now....AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! I think I'm going to need to be committed to an insane asylum.
We got to the clinic and Jim signed me in while I took a seat (still feeling really dizzy when standing/walking). About 15 minutes later, we heard them call my name. But they weren't calling for me to go back, they were calling so the receptionists could talk to us. They proceeded to inform us that there was no appointment for me in their computer system, and it was the girl who had scheduled the appointment who was telling us this!
Kids in the waiting room were running all over screaming, my head was pounding. Then they say they'll see what they can do to try to get me in. I told them that I need to be seen, it's be over a week since I saw the doctor last, my symptoms are still persisting, I still haven't gotten t test results from my hospital stay on 5-10 through 5-12, and I turned in paperwork to the clinic last Wednesday that they assured me would be filled out by today since it is already past due to my employer. I also mentioned that if I don't have that paperwork turned in t my employer by tomorrow morning, I stand a chance of being fired. Let me see what I can do, the lady says, and then she disappears and never comes back.
Maybe she could tell just how livid I was and she was afraid...several other nurses stopped by before the head nurse finally came and told us that they can schedule me to see a DIFFERENT doctor from the clinic tomorrow morning. I asked how that's supposed to work, since my doctor as been the only one seeing me since 5-3 and she knows what's going on with me. They said, "We'll just have this doctor take fresh look at your case." Really.... Why then, could you not have scheduled me to see this other doctor sooner? Why did I have to wait a full week to see "my" doctor, only to find out no one ever put me in the system and now I have to see someone new anyway?
These people are running a circus in there. I don't think they know their heads from a hole in the ground. All I know for sure is that as soon as that ER doctor I saw at U of M returns from her two week vacation, I'm changing doctors. I'm sick of this, and getting stressed out like this sure isn't helping my situation any.
I also know that I am going to find out who I need to speak to in order to file a complaint, and I might even see about notifying someone at a higher level than just the clinic about this. This is no way to treat a person, especially someone who's been ill for three weeks and still doesn't know what's wrong with her.
I could just scream right now....AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! I think I'm going to need to be committed to an insane asylum.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Second Opinion
As you all know, I haven't been getting any answers from my doctors as to what's making me sick. Yesterday I had an appointment with my doctor. I was SOO short of breath I felt like I was going to pass out just from walking about 20 feet. They got me a wheelchair and wheeled me the rest of the way to the examination room. Normally, my breathing slows back down once I'm sitting or laying, but it took a while this time. There were about 5 nurses and 2 doctors swarming around me checking me out, and everything went back to normal eventually.
Sometime after my doctor came in to start talking to me, my face started feeling really numb and tingly - it was scary. She put a wet paper towel on my face and it went back to normal after about 10-15 minutes. She never did say what may have caused that feeling though.
Later that evening I decided that I was fed up with not knowing anything and that I was also growing more concerned about the worsening of my symptoms. So I called Jim and asked him if he would take me to a different ER after he got off work - he agreed that we should go in somewhere else.
When Jim got off work he took me to St. Joe's, the hospital that I wanted to go to, even though he doesn't like it. When I was taken back to see the triage nurse, she was extremely rude with me. She told me, "I can tell you right now that you're making yourself sick breathing that way - you've just got anxiety." And she said it in a very rude manner - I wanted to smack her. When she was done making me feel like I was worthless, I told Jim that I wanted to leave and what she had said.
He and Barb (my best friend, who had come up to the ER to wait with us and be there for me) both said that we should go to U of M instead of just giving up and going home like I was ready to do. So we went to U of M. Erica (my other best friend) was there waiting for us before we even got there. I felt really bad because I knew there was nothing Barb or Erica could do for me and that they couldn't really visit with me in the ER, but at the same time I was thankful to have their love and support.
The ER department at U of M was MUCH better than St. Joe's. They seemed genuinely concerned about my well being. After they finally got all of the records from Oakwood, they reviewed them and came in to talk to me. By this time they had already given me medicine for nausea, so I was pretty much out of it, I could barely hold my eyes open to talk to the doctor. So she talked to Jim instead.
She explained to him that they felt Oakwood had run the same tests that they would have started with and asked that we relay the results of the tests to her after they were received. She also explained that because my vital signs were okay and because Oakwood had already run the preliminary tests needed, they couldn't admit me to the hospital because my insurance wouldn't cover the same tests twice so close together. After this discussion, the released me and Jim took me home.
I don't really remember the trip home at all, but I know it was about 5 am when we left the ER, so it was probably 5:30 when we got home. I slept like a zombie until around 3:30 this afternoon, and I still feel like I could sleep for 4 days straight, but I forced my self to get up for a while.
It's good to know that U of M agrees with the steps that Oakwood has taken...I was starting to think that Oakwood wasn't helping me at all. So it's back to the waiting game. I'll post again when I hear some results from some of the tests that have been run so far.
Sometime after my doctor came in to start talking to me, my face started feeling really numb and tingly - it was scary. She put a wet paper towel on my face and it went back to normal after about 10-15 minutes. She never did say what may have caused that feeling though.
Later that evening I decided that I was fed up with not knowing anything and that I was also growing more concerned about the worsening of my symptoms. So I called Jim and asked him if he would take me to a different ER after he got off work - he agreed that we should go in somewhere else.
When Jim got off work he took me to St. Joe's, the hospital that I wanted to go to, even though he doesn't like it. When I was taken back to see the triage nurse, she was extremely rude with me. She told me, "I can tell you right now that you're making yourself sick breathing that way - you've just got anxiety." And she said it in a very rude manner - I wanted to smack her. When she was done making me feel like I was worthless, I told Jim that I wanted to leave and what she had said.
He and Barb (my best friend, who had come up to the ER to wait with us and be there for me) both said that we should go to U of M instead of just giving up and going home like I was ready to do. So we went to U of M. Erica (my other best friend) was there waiting for us before we even got there. I felt really bad because I knew there was nothing Barb or Erica could do for me and that they couldn't really visit with me in the ER, but at the same time I was thankful to have their love and support.
The ER department at U of M was MUCH better than St. Joe's. They seemed genuinely concerned about my well being. After they finally got all of the records from Oakwood, they reviewed them and came in to talk to me. By this time they had already given me medicine for nausea, so I was pretty much out of it, I could barely hold my eyes open to talk to the doctor. So she talked to Jim instead.
She explained to him that they felt Oakwood had run the same tests that they would have started with and asked that we relay the results of the tests to her after they were received. She also explained that because my vital signs were okay and because Oakwood had already run the preliminary tests needed, they couldn't admit me to the hospital because my insurance wouldn't cover the same tests twice so close together. After this discussion, the released me and Jim took me home.
I don't really remember the trip home at all, but I know it was about 5 am when we left the ER, so it was probably 5:30 when we got home. I slept like a zombie until around 3:30 this afternoon, and I still feel like I could sleep for 4 days straight, but I forced my self to get up for a while.
It's good to know that U of M agrees with the steps that Oakwood has taken...I was starting to think that Oakwood wasn't helping me at all. So it's back to the waiting game. I'll post again when I hear some results from some of the tests that have been run so far.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Heart Monitor
I just got back from the hospital and I have a heart monitor on now that I have to wear for 24 hours.
Man were they mad in the cardiology department.....for one thing, I should have had an appointment rather than the hospital telling me to come in whenever I felt like it Monday. For two, they should have put the monitor on me before I left Saturday instead of telling me there were none available when there were. For three, the EKG tech said they never should have released me with how bad I looked and how I was walking and out of breath. She was SOOO mad. She took down the names of the doctors and nurses that released me Saturday and she said she's going to have it investigated.
Jim says he's calling MCare to have me added to his insurance (we chose mine after the wedding because it's cheaper and I'd never had any problems with the associated doctors before) so he can take me out to U of M and get some additional opinions and hopefully some answers.
This is getting ridiculous.
Man were they mad in the cardiology department.....for one thing, I should have had an appointment rather than the hospital telling me to come in whenever I felt like it Monday. For two, they should have put the monitor on me before I left Saturday instead of telling me there were none available when there were. For three, the EKG tech said they never should have released me with how bad I looked and how I was walking and out of breath. She was SOOO mad. She took down the names of the doctors and nurses that released me Saturday and she said she's going to have it investigated.
Jim says he's calling MCare to have me added to his insurance (we chose mine after the wedding because it's cheaper and I'd never had any problems with the associated doctors before) so he can take me out to U of M and get some additional opinions and hopefully some answers.
This is getting ridiculous.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Well, the doctors still don't have any idea what's wrong with me, but they sent me home yesterday evening anyway. I guess I was just wasting space in their eyes since I'm not critically ill.
Tomorrow I have to go back to the hospital and they're going to put me on a heart monitor to wear at home for 24 hours - they think I may be having irregular heart beats when I stand, causing my blood pressure to change and me to then feel dizzy. After that's done they also want to have me do a Tilt Table test. The doctor asked if I'd ever heard of that before and I said "Yeah, I saw it on House once." She started laughing and said that was probably the worst example possible - it would be nothing like that.
It's nice to be home instead of being in that dumpy hospital room with the mean night nurse who didn't know how to start an IV. Yet at the same time, I'm going stir crazy here at home. There's so much stuff I want to do that I can't. I REALLY want to get outside and plant my flowers for this year, but I can't do that. I get worn out just going out to the backyard to sit on the swing for a while! And today I fell in my bedroom - I didn't get hurt, but it scared Jim pretty badly. He hates going to work at night an leaving me alone. I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful, caring husband!
Okay - I need to get off here. I'll let you know when I know more. Hope all is well with all of you!!
Tomorrow I have to go back to the hospital and they're going to put me on a heart monitor to wear at home for 24 hours - they think I may be having irregular heart beats when I stand, causing my blood pressure to change and me to then feel dizzy. After that's done they also want to have me do a Tilt Table test. The doctor asked if I'd ever heard of that before and I said "Yeah, I saw it on House once." She started laughing and said that was probably the worst example possible - it would be nothing like that.
It's nice to be home instead of being in that dumpy hospital room with the mean night nurse who didn't know how to start an IV. Yet at the same time, I'm going stir crazy here at home. There's so much stuff I want to do that I can't. I REALLY want to get outside and plant my flowers for this year, but I can't do that. I get worn out just going out to the backyard to sit on the swing for a while! And today I fell in my bedroom - I didn't get hurt, but it scared Jim pretty badly. He hates going to work at night an leaving me alone. I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful, caring husband!
Okay - I need to get off here. I'll let you know when I know more. Hope all is well with all of you!!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Hospital
Well, the doctors still don't have any idea what's wrong with me, so today they decided that running the tests would go a lot more quickly if they put me in the hospital.
I just got to my room about an hour and a half ago. The best part is that they have wireless Internet access and I have the laptop with me. So even though I don't feel like doing a lot of typing, I can still check my e-mails and play some games to help pass the time.
Hopefully they'll figure out what's wrong with me soon! My thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers!!
I just got to my room about an hour and a half ago. The best part is that they have wireless Internet access and I have the laptop with me. So even though I don't feel like doing a lot of typing, I can still check my e-mails and play some games to help pass the time.
Hopefully they'll figure out what's wrong with me soon! My thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers!!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Request for more writing
So, Melanie has commented that it's time for me to write some more. I couldn't agree more, I still have a lot left to write about. However, I want to first start by explaining why I haven't been writing.
To start with, the first few week days of every month are hogged by my job. This is the time when we close the books, and doing so usually consists of a 50-60 hour work week. So I usually don't feel up to doing anything but going straight to bed during this week.
To top that off, I became ill Wednesday. While I was at work, I started feeling extremely hot, weak and dizzy. I went to the nurses station and she took my temperature - no fever. So why was I so uncontrollably hot??? I wound up leaving work "early", after 9 hours rather than 12, and going to urgent care. A co-worker had to drive me because I was too dizzy.
The doctors at urgent care couldn't figure out what was wrong with me either. They verified that my temperature wasn't elevated, my blood sugar level was good, and my blood pressure wasn't too bad (it was elevated, but most likely a result of my severe discomfort), and I'm not pregnant. So they wrote me a script for an anti-dizziness medicine and told me to stay home from work the next day and follow up with my family doctor.
Stay home from work?!? During month end close?? Are they crazy??? I thought for sure that my boss would have a fit. But he didn't - he told me to do what I needed in order to get myself back to a healthy state. WOW!! That's the first boss I've ever had there who said something humane like that!!!
Thursday I went to my family doctor - again it was determined that my vital signs were normal. She then told me that she wanted to run a battery of blood tests and for me to stay home from work for the next week and follow up with her again next Thursday. So that's what I'm doing.
I'm patiently waiting to hear the results of the blood tests, and if they don't show anything unusual, I'm going to request an MRI. I have plenty of TIME to write now, but I'm not really feeling up to sitting up and writing too much. We rented a bunch of movies and got me some books and a word search magazine to keep me busy. I'm going crazy wanting to go outside, so Jim just went to the store and bought me one of those swing/hammock things to put in the backyard - I think some fresh air will do me some good! But I can't move around too much, I have to hold on to Jim or the furniture or the walls when I walk through the house or I topple over like a new born fawn (ie - Bambi at the beginning of the movie).
Well, there you have it - I'll write more when I'm either feeling better or I know more about why I feel this way!!
To start with, the first few week days of every month are hogged by my job. This is the time when we close the books, and doing so usually consists of a 50-60 hour work week. So I usually don't feel up to doing anything but going straight to bed during this week.
To top that off, I became ill Wednesday. While I was at work, I started feeling extremely hot, weak and dizzy. I went to the nurses station and she took my temperature - no fever. So why was I so uncontrollably hot??? I wound up leaving work "early", after 9 hours rather than 12, and going to urgent care. A co-worker had to drive me because I was too dizzy.
The doctors at urgent care couldn't figure out what was wrong with me either. They verified that my temperature wasn't elevated, my blood sugar level was good, and my blood pressure wasn't too bad (it was elevated, but most likely a result of my severe discomfort), and I'm not pregnant. So they wrote me a script for an anti-dizziness medicine and told me to stay home from work the next day and follow up with my family doctor.
Stay home from work?!? During month end close?? Are they crazy??? I thought for sure that my boss would have a fit. But he didn't - he told me to do what I needed in order to get myself back to a healthy state. WOW!! That's the first boss I've ever had there who said something humane like that!!!
Thursday I went to my family doctor - again it was determined that my vital signs were normal. She then told me that she wanted to run a battery of blood tests and for me to stay home from work for the next week and follow up with her again next Thursday. So that's what I'm doing.
I'm patiently waiting to hear the results of the blood tests, and if they don't show anything unusual, I'm going to request an MRI. I have plenty of TIME to write now, but I'm not really feeling up to sitting up and writing too much. We rented a bunch of movies and got me some books and a word search magazine to keep me busy. I'm going crazy wanting to go outside, so Jim just went to the store and bought me one of those swing/hammock things to put in the backyard - I think some fresh air will do me some good! But I can't move around too much, I have to hold on to Jim or the furniture or the walls when I walk through the house or I topple over like a new born fawn (ie - Bambi at the beginning of the movie).
Well, there you have it - I'll write more when I'm either feeling better or I know more about why I feel this way!!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Talking about Arkansas
Yesterday morning, Kelsey showed her toes to Jim and said, "Look, Daddy - Poppa was right, the red still isn't washing off my toes! That's why he calls me Twinkle Toes." It was so cute to see that after two weeks of being home she's still thinking about the good times we had on our trip to Arkansas!
Then today she got out of the shower and said, "When are we going back to Arkansas?"
Jim said, "You want to go back to Arkansas already? Why?"
Kelsey said, "Because it's my favorite - I want to go there everyday!"
All I could do was smile - hearing her say that just melted my heart!!!
Then today she got out of the shower and said, "When are we going back to Arkansas?"
Jim said, "You want to go back to Arkansas already? Why?"
Kelsey said, "Because it's my favorite - I want to go there everyday!"
All I could do was smile - hearing her say that just melted my heart!!!
Friday, April 27, 2007
JoJo's Boyfriend
Jim called me while I was at work today, and he was teasing me about Tony Stewart being my "other man" - but he didn't say Tony's name at first, and Kelsey got REALLY upset. This was the end of the conversation at home:
Jim: (to me) So, are you going to have your boyfriend stay the night?
Kelsey: DAD! Her don't have a boyfriend! Her only love you!!
Jim: Yes she does have a boyfriend - wanna know his name?
Kelsey: No she doesn't!! (more quietly) What's his name?
Jim: Tony
Kelsey: (gasps) STEWART?!?
Jim: Yep - can JoJo date Tony Stewart?
Kelsey: No! Her only love you!!
Jim: Can Daddy have a girlfriend?
Kelsey: No, you don't need more - you only need one, JoJo.
Jim: (to me) So, are you going to have your boyfriend stay the night?
Kelsey: DAD! Her don't have a boyfriend! Her only love you!!
Jim: Yes she does have a boyfriend - wanna know his name?
Kelsey: No she doesn't!! (more quietly) What's his name?
Jim: Tony
Kelsey: (gasps) STEWART?!?
Jim: Yep - can JoJo date Tony Stewart?
Kelsey: No! Her only love you!!
Jim: Can Daddy have a girlfriend?
Kelsey: No, you don't need more - you only need one, JoJo.
Calling Boyfriends
Okay, I'm not done posting all the stuff from the past few weeks, but I HAVE to share this conversation Kelsey and Jim had tonight!
Kelsey: (Playing with her toy cell phone) I'm calling my boyfriend.
Jim: I'll take that phone away if you're calling boys.
Kelsey: Why?
Jim: Because. Besides, you're not supposed to call boys, they're supposed to call you.
Kelsey: Well, they don't have my phone number. But I have my boyfriend's phone number.
Jim: What are you, Mrs AT&T?
Kelsey: No, I'm just calling my boyfriend.
They went on this way for a while, bantering back and forth. It was cute - but I sense that she's going to be VERY popular when she gets older!
Kelsey: (Playing with her toy cell phone) I'm calling my boyfriend.
Jim: I'll take that phone away if you're calling boys.
Kelsey: Why?
Jim: Because. Besides, you're not supposed to call boys, they're supposed to call you.
Kelsey: Well, they don't have my phone number. But I have my boyfriend's phone number.
Jim: What are you, Mrs AT&T?
Kelsey: No, I'm just calling my boyfriend.
They went on this way for a while, bantering back and forth. It was cute - but I sense that she's going to be VERY popular when she gets older!
Tea Party
One of my fondest memories about trips to Arkansas as a child is having Tea Parties with Grandma and Poppa. We would make sandwiches and cut them up really small, serve Kool-Aid from the little tea pot and eat with little bitty silverware and plates from the tea set too.
Well, we had to host one of these parties for Kelsey too while we were down there - it just wouldn't be an official trip to Grandma and Poppa's without one!
Kelsey absolutely loved it - and so did the adults. It brought back such sweet memories for me, and I'm so glad to be sharing the tradition with Kelsey now!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Easter Sunday
Okay, I know this is REALLY late, but things have been crazy-busy, as you'll see once I get all of the posts I'm behind on posted!
Saturday night we colored Easter Eggs at Grandma and Poppa's house. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:
Saturday night we colored Easter Eggs at Grandma and Poppa's house. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:
Sunday morning Uncle Scott, Jim, Kelsey and I got up early to go to a sunrise service on the river. It was really cold, especially for Arkansas - only 27 degrees that morning! So we bundled up and even put jeans on Kelsey UNDER her pretty Easter dress. She may have looked funny to some, but she was warm and that was the whole point!
Several people gathered at the river and we waited and waited and waited for the preacher to come. FINALLY, someone came by in a car and told all of us that the service had been moved indoors due to the weather. So we all packed up into our vehicles and headed to the church - we got there just in time for the last hymn and the final prayer. At least we had the right INTENTION - being from out of town, we weren't on the "phone fan" the previous night. LOL. Oh well, we got some really great pictures on the river bank and had some time to talk to Kelsey about the real meaning of Easter. The Bible says, "where two or more gather in My name, there is worship" - so we just had our own worship service.
Here are some of the pictures of this:
Several people gathered at the river and we waited and waited and waited for the preacher to come. FINALLY, someone came by in a car and told all of us that the service had been moved indoors due to the weather. So we all packed up into our vehicles and headed to the church - we got there just in time for the last hymn and the final prayer. At least we had the right INTENTION - being from out of town, we weren't on the "phone fan" the previous night. LOL. Oh well, we got some really great pictures on the river bank and had some time to talk to Kelsey about the real meaning of Easter. The Bible says, "where two or more gather in My name, there is worship" - so we just had our own worship service.
Here are some of the pictures of this:
After the service attempt, we had breakfast with Uncle Scott and then headed back home to take a nap before our family festivities. Kelsey hunted for Easter Eggs and we all had a blast with that! Every time she found a plastic one with money in it, she would hunker down over it to hide it as the looked inside and then she would QUICKLY put it in her bucket. She acted like she was afraid we would take her money or something, silly kiddo! Here are some pictures of the hunt:
Poppa, Uncle Scott, and Jason were working on brush-hogging the field. Poppa came in by the house on the tractor and Kelsey was just amazed by it. I told her about how he used to take Jason and me for rides on it - the next thing I knew, she was on his lap riding away, in her Easter dress and all. They were both tickled pink!!
When we came back inside, it was time to look at what the Easter Bunny had brought for us. We ALL got spoiled by that nice Bunny :-) Kelsey had two baskets and a tub full of stuff - she was really excited! Here are some pictures of this part of our day:
Of course, after this we were all getting hungry, so we finished cooking dinner and then we sat down to eat. We had ham, Swiss steak ( my FAVORITE), mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, salad - I'm sure there was even more on the table, but you get the drift. It was a WONDERFUL meal! Thanks, Grandma, for all your hard work in the kitchen - and for teaching me the recipe for the Swiss Steak, I need to try making it soon. It was so nice having everyone gathered around for dinner. The guest list was as follows: Grandma, Poppa, Mom, Jay, Uncle Scott, Jason, Jim, Kelsey, and me.
Let me just note that my Grandma is VERY particular about her table settings - they're always immaculate, and she has different dishes for ever occasion imaginable too. Well, for Easter, she even had bunny shaped salt and pepper shakers - that's how detailed she is. We had Oreo pie for dessert, and someone made a comment about the bunny shakers and what would she do if they left droppings behind (yeah, we're a crazy bunch). SOOOOO....then some Oreo crumbs were strategically placed around the back side of the shakers - it was so funny (even though it's gross), that I had to take a picture:
After dinner, Jim, Mom and I did the dishes. We all visited a little more after that, but it was early to bed in the long run - it was a big day for everyone. A big wonderful day!!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Heading to Arkansas
Okay, the following entry was WRITTEN on our way to Arkansas Friday, April 6, 2007 - but I didn't get a chance to play online while we were there. We're actually on our way home now, stopped over at a hotel before we visit Mammoth Cave National Park in the morning. I have a lot more to post, but the entry I wrote on the way down south is all that's ready right now. Enjoy!
Well, we’re almost to our destination in Arkansas! We’re headed down to visit my mom, grandparents and uncle for Easter. It’s been 2 years since I’ve seen my grandparents, and I haven’t seen my mom or my uncle since my wedding back in September. Kelsey has never even met my grandparents. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, we’re very excited to be making this trip! My brother is even with us - it’s going to be great to have the whole family together for the holiday!!!
Kelsey has been so good on the trip. When we first got on the road she played with her LeapPad contentedly until she fell asleep. Then she slept until we stopped for gas. After we got gas, she played with her LeapPad some more - she went through all 5 of her books and started to go through them again. We had forgotten her colored pencils, so I was afraid she was going to get burnt out on the whole LeapPad thing.
As much as I’ve always been against DVD players for kids on trips, I gave in to Jim’s idea and we brought the laptop and several DVDs, so I put a movie in for her. She loved it, and it wasn’t a bad thing - I’m not even really sure why I’ve always been against the idea actually...I suppose we’re just creatures of habit. When I was growing up, we made this 16-18 hour drive on a regular basis. Of course, there weren’t even DVDs back then, let alone portable DVD players or laptop computers. So my brother and I would color, read, play little travel board games (like Trouble and Connect Four) as well as the verbal travel games (like the ABC game, the License Plate game, I Spy, etc). When we weren’t doing one of those things, we slept. I suppose I just always figured that if we could occupy ourselves on a trip like this, my children could too. But oh well, times have changed and we have to adapt.
Anyway, it’s almost 3am Michigan time and I’m exhausted. I’m going to stop writing, and I’ll post this as soon as I find a wi-fi hotspot. I can’t believe how many we’ve come across at travel stops on this trip! (I fell asleep before I got a chance to follow through with that...)
Once we get there, I’ll try to post special stories and pictures as the week goes by. But just in case we stay too busy, I want to wish you all a very Happy Easter!!
Well, we’re almost to our destination in Arkansas! We’re headed down to visit my mom, grandparents and uncle for Easter. It’s been 2 years since I’ve seen my grandparents, and I haven’t seen my mom or my uncle since my wedding back in September. Kelsey has never even met my grandparents. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, we’re very excited to be making this trip! My brother is even with us - it’s going to be great to have the whole family together for the holiday!!!
Kelsey has been so good on the trip. When we first got on the road she played with her LeapPad contentedly until she fell asleep. Then she slept until we stopped for gas. After we got gas, she played with her LeapPad some more - she went through all 5 of her books and started to go through them again. We had forgotten her colored pencils, so I was afraid she was going to get burnt out on the whole LeapPad thing.
As much as I’ve always been against DVD players for kids on trips, I gave in to Jim’s idea and we brought the laptop and several DVDs, so I put a movie in for her. She loved it, and it wasn’t a bad thing - I’m not even really sure why I’ve always been against the idea actually...I suppose we’re just creatures of habit. When I was growing up, we made this 16-18 hour drive on a regular basis. Of course, there weren’t even DVDs back then, let alone portable DVD players or laptop computers. So my brother and I would color, read, play little travel board games (like Trouble and Connect Four) as well as the verbal travel games (like the ABC game, the License Plate game, I Spy, etc). When we weren’t doing one of those things, we slept. I suppose I just always figured that if we could occupy ourselves on a trip like this, my children could too. But oh well, times have changed and we have to adapt.
Anyway, it’s almost 3am Michigan time and I’m exhausted. I’m going to stop writing, and I’ll post this as soon as I find a wi-fi hotspot. I can’t believe how many we’ve come across at travel stops on this trip! (I fell asleep before I got a chance to follow through with that...)
Once we get there, I’ll try to post special stories and pictures as the week goes by. But just in case we stay too busy, I want to wish you all a very Happy Easter!!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
More Birthday Celebrating
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Happy Birthday, Jordan!
Today we went to Jordan's Birthday Party. It was at this really cool place called Pump It Up where they have giant inflatable things for the kids to play on. This was fun even for the adults, because unlike the traditional play places for kids, this place lets the big kids play too!
Just imagine, Erica, Barb and me all together in a place filled with kids and play equipment - you know we made the most of it!
Here are some pictures of the festivities:
The Birthday Girl!
Kelsey and a new friend coming down the slide.
Mariah and Kelsey getting ready to go through the obstacle course.
Inside the Bouncer - see? Barb and Erica are having just as much fun as the kids (and so was I, even though I'm behind the camera!)
At one point in the Bouncer, things became a little dangerous...Kelsey and I collided and her very loose top tooth became even more loose. She grinned at me after we both stood up, and her mouth was full of blood. I got her out of the Bouncer and we went looking for Daddy. Jim successfully removed the tooth, and we got Kelsey to the point where she was excited that the Tooth Fairy will be coming, then we had to take a picture of her new toothless grin in front of the Pump It Up sign. It turned out to be a very exciting day!Great party, Erica - thanks so much for inviting us!!
Saturday Evening
This weekend was really busy, in case you haven't noticed yet!
Saturday evening we drove down to see Joe and Spring. Kelsey was really excited to go see Aunt Spring, Uncle Clown (that's really what she calls him!) and the babies, as were Jim and I. We always have a good time with them!
Our original plans were to take Kelsey to a local mall to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. After Spring called us, we all decided to go to a mall in Toledo for the evening and do the pictures there. We got to their house and then I rode with Spring and the twins and Jim, Joe & Kelsey rode in our car to the mall. It was so nice to be able to sit and talk to Spring - with our busy schedules, we don't get that chance often enough!
Once we got to the mall, Spring told us that she and Joe wanted to take Kelsey to Build-a-Bear and let her make her own bear for her birthday present (they are too sweet!). So Spring and I took Kelsey through the steps of building a bear and the guys walked the twins around the mall while they waited patiently for us.
Kelsey chose a really pretty, soft pink and white teddy bear. When we got to the Stuffing Station, she was allowed to pick out a heart to put in the bear. Once she picked out the heart, she did the following Heart Preparation Ritual: Tap it really hard for a strong heart beat, give it a kiss for lots of love, rub it on your forehead so it's smart, rub it on your ear so it's a good listener, rub it on your cheek for lots of laughs, rub it on your belly so it will never go hungry, spin in a circle so it will always find its way home, jump up and down 5 times for lots of energy. It was so precious, and so neat to watch her do this!
Kelsey decided to name her bear "Princess" because that's what her Daddy calls her (Spring helped her develop that idea, she's so sweet!). Then Aunt Spring helped Kelsey register her bear on the computer and Kelsey got a Birth Certificate for the newest member of our family!
Thank you so much, Aunt Spring and Uncle Clown for this special Birthday Present!
After this we walked to the other end of the mall to see the Easter Bunny! Kelsey took a really good picture (also to be posted later due to technical difficulties), and so did the twins. Here's a picture of the twins that we snapped with our camera:
See those Bunny Ears on Kelsey? I thought they were so cute that I insisted all the adults have a picture with them on too! I'll spare everyone else and only post the picture of me doing this...
Everyone had a really good time - we need to do stuff like this more often!
Saturday evening we drove down to see Joe and Spring. Kelsey was really excited to go see Aunt Spring, Uncle Clown (that's really what she calls him!) and the babies, as were Jim and I. We always have a good time with them!
Our original plans were to take Kelsey to a local mall to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. After Spring called us, we all decided to go to a mall in Toledo for the evening and do the pictures there. We got to their house and then I rode with Spring and the twins and Jim, Joe & Kelsey rode in our car to the mall. It was so nice to be able to sit and talk to Spring - with our busy schedules, we don't get that chance often enough!
Once we got to the mall, Spring told us that she and Joe wanted to take Kelsey to Build-a-Bear and let her make her own bear for her birthday present (they are too sweet!). So Spring and I took Kelsey through the steps of building a bear and the guys walked the twins around the mall while they waited patiently for us.
Kelsey chose a really pretty, soft pink and white teddy bear. When we got to the Stuffing Station, she was allowed to pick out a heart to put in the bear. Once she picked out the heart, she did the following Heart Preparation Ritual: Tap it really hard for a strong heart beat, give it a kiss for lots of love, rub it on your forehead so it's smart, rub it on your ear so it's a good listener, rub it on your cheek for lots of laughs, rub it on your belly so it will never go hungry, spin in a circle so it will always find its way home, jump up and down 5 times for lots of energy. It was so precious, and so neat to watch her do this!
Kelsey decided to name her bear "Princess" because that's what her Daddy calls her (Spring helped her develop that idea, she's so sweet!). Then Aunt Spring helped Kelsey register her bear on the computer and Kelsey got a Birth Certificate for the newest member of our family!
Thank you so much, Aunt Spring and Uncle Clown for this special Birthday Present!
After this we walked to the other end of the mall to see the Easter Bunny! Kelsey took a really good picture (also to be posted later due to technical difficulties), and so did the twins. Here's a picture of the twins that we snapped with our camera:
There was a typical mall fountain near the Bunny's station, and this quickly caught the attention of all three kids after pictures were done. They very much enjoyed reaching down and touching the water as well as throwing coins into the fountain for "good luck". Here are some pictures of this:
See those Bunny Ears on Kelsey? I thought they were so cute that I insisted all the adults have a picture with them on too! I'll spare everyone else and only post the picture of me doing this...Everyone had a really good time - we need to do stuff like this more often!
Birthday Surprise
After Kelsey's pictures, we went to lunch at Dario's to celebrate my birthday. My actual b-day isn't until Wednesday, but it's monthend week at work, so we know we won't be able to go out that day. Well, I thought it was just going to be the three of us going to lunch - I wasn't expecting anything special.
Isn't that so sweet? *Smiles*
Well, then I found out that my dad was coming too, which I thought was really nice. THEN, we walk into the resteraunt and I see Barb and Mariah at a big huge table, complete with a balloon bouquet. They totally surprised me!!
I have a wonderful husband and great friends, I am so thankful for them!
Here's a picture of the cake:
Isn't that so sweet? *Smiles*Saturday, March 31, 2007
Dance Pictures
We enrolled Kelsey in dance classes back in the fall. She really looks forward to going to class each Saturday morning! Her recital is coming up toward the end of April, so we go her costume this week and picture day was this morning. I can't get over how CUTE she and her friends are in their costumes!!
I'm posting some pictures that I took this morning - hope you enjoy them!!
Note: It was highly recommended by her dance teachers that we put make up on her for the pictures because some of them were taken in black and white and the make up apparently makes those types of pictures look better. Also, the make up will be mandatory for the recital, so it was good practice for me - it's hard putting makeup on such little eyes!
Getting ready to leave hte house. She had to wear a robe over the costume, and the ruffles make her look like she has a ghetto booty! LMAO
Strike a pose, cutie pie!
Kelsey (middle) practicing her dance with some of her classmates - aren't they beautiful???
Playing Dress Up
Kelsey's really been getting into playing dress up lately. For the past few weeks, everytime she goes up to her room to play, she comes back downstairs looking something like this:
She is such a character!!!Spring is Coming!
This really should have been posted last weekend, but things have been busy, so I'm running a little late.
Here's Jim airing up Kelsey's tires - you can see my new car in the background! 
Last weekend the weather was beautiful! We took Kelsey for a bike ride and I tried to teach her how to use the jump rope she got for her birthday. Here are some pictures from our activities:
Here's Jim airing up Kelsey's tires - you can see my new car in the background! Kelsey on her bike withe her babydoll on back.
Luke just chillin' in the yard - he loves being outside when it's warm.
Jumping Rope
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Riverdance
Today we took Kelsey to see a live performance of Riverdance, a show of traditional Irish stepdancing, instrumental and vocal music. I was awestruck by the whole show.
I've always found Irish music to be very pleasing to listen to, but I never imagined what it would be like to see the traditional dancing that accompanies that music!! I can't believe the way the dancers move their feet so rapidly - the the movement of their tap shoes against the floor makes the most amazing rhythms.
Kelsey loved it too - just like she's said every other time we've taken her to a show with music and dancing, she looked at me and said, "I want to dance like THAT someday!" It's good to have high ambitions. :-)
If you ever have a chance to see Riverdance, I highly suggest you go - it was amazing!!
I've always found Irish music to be very pleasing to listen to, but I never imagined what it would be like to see the traditional dancing that accompanies that music!! I can't believe the way the dancers move their feet so rapidly - the the movement of their tap shoes against the floor makes the most amazing rhythms.
Kelsey loved it too - just like she's said every other time we've taken her to a show with music and dancing, she looked at me and said, "I want to dance like THAT someday!" It's good to have high ambitions. :-)
If you ever have a chance to see Riverdance, I highly suggest you go - it was amazing!!
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