Hello All,
Well, Naomi AND Ben are gone. I'm the lone adult in the house! Ben is only gone for today and tomorrow to a conference in Chicago, so not a big deal. But I will miss Naomi so much! It was fabulous to have her here, and it just seems like she fits in to our household perfectly. She knows just what to do without me saying anything, and the boys love her and she was the laundry QUEEN! I barely touched the laundry, she's been doing it all herself. And it's been a REALLY heavy week for laundry for some reason. Well, I was backed up for 2 weeks for one thing, and then it just seemed like ALL the blankets got peed on by various boys so I was changing sheets and blankets practically every day. Anyway, I'm sure Naomi is probably worn out and glad to get back to her apartment with NO LITTLE BOYS. Naomi, thank you so, so, so, so much a million times for coming here. I loved it. You helped me so much, I can't even say.
Yesterday I got my garage organized which I'm so happy about. It has been stressing me out a lot. While Naomi and I were unloading some boxes of tools, she spied this ENORMOUS wolf spider in the bottom of the box. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Anyone who knows me well knows I hate, hate, hate, hate spiders. Especially enormous scary looking spiders at the bottom of a box that I had been reaching into! This thing was minimum 2.5 inches in diameter (I'm NOT exagerrating, Naomi can vouch for that). Naomi and I were incredibly brave, though (well, actually just Naomi), and she pulled the box really fast out to the other side of the driveway where we tipped it over, and got the rest of the stuff out using a rake (the spider was STILL in the box). When Ben came home, we went out there, and the spider was still in the box! So Joseph got to see it, but it scurried away into the leaves JUST before Brigham got to see it. He was crying about it this morning-- that Joseph got to see the spider and he didn't. Anyway, I googled Wolf Spiders, and they are called that because they run and hunt down their prey, just like a wolf. They are also pretty venomous and bites can be very dangerous to little kids. CREEPY. I hope I don't see another of those any time soon.
Naomi took the boys to the park yesterday afternoon while I finished garage stuff at home, and then when Ben got back we went to Rudy's for a goodbye dinner. Rudy's is this strange Texas restaurant that is actually a part of a gas station. Hard to explain. But it is famous in Texas and it has really good brisket. So we enjoyed a "relaxing" dinner with 5 squirrelly kids (we were babysitting Rose and Mae), had to change tables when Brigham spilled his water all over the place (we rescued most of the food), but it was still fun. After dinner we drove up to Lake Travis so Naomi could see it before she left, then drove out to Bee Caves and then back home, trying to get kids asleep. We got Joseph and Mosey asleep, but not Brigham. Brigham develops these plans all day at school of different projects he wants to do, and he was NOT going to fall asleep until he got home to do this project. The project involved getting the keys and locks he has collected, and two chains he acquired from the hammock we set up (did I tell you I bought a hammock and stand for the back deck? It is huge, but fun. Not exactly relaxing, though, because whenever I get on it, 3 little boys also get on it and want to crawl around on it like spiders on a spider web and I feel suspiciously like a trapped fly), and then chain and lock his treasure box so no one could get into it. Funny little boy. So he was up really late and was subsequently quite grouchy this morning. I think I'll do a really early bedtime tonight.
All right, I better fix lunch for Mosey. He's been playing with blocks and cars and talking to himself all morning. He has really funny conversations with himself. "You are a bad boy. No I'm not, I am a good boy!" He also is really into making up words-- he'll describe something as "squivelly," or "bobbling" and it's really funny. But today he has made up a word that pretty much sounds like "b*st*rd" (I'll let you fill in the blanks), which is a word I am SURE he doesn't know for real, and he keeps saying it!! But I'm just going to ignore it in the hopes he'll forget about it and move on to some other made up word.
Ok, loves to everyone!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
March 28, 2007
Hello Everyone,
I feel like I've dwelt on myself and my problems for far too long in these email updates, so today I'm only going to talk about my boys. I haven't been telling enough stories about them, and it is the stories about my boys I will be wanting to read about many years from now, not the boring details of my life!
So, here's an update on my three little guys from the past few weeks.
Joseph's two bottom teeth are coming in very nicely. It is very interesting for him to inspect the little bumps and ridges that those brand-new grownup teeth have. No more loose teeth for now, and I'm glad for that since poor Brigham still hasn't lost any teeth, nor are any of his loose! Last week was sort of hard for Joseph, I'm sure it was the disruption of Spring Break and me being in the hospital, and him getting off his normal schedule, and all that stuff. Joseph really *needs* routine. So we had a few days of him resisting just about everything and having meltdowns and generally feeling miserable. But he is doing amazing now-- we just had probably the best school morning ever! He woke up happy (he's just like me-- NOT a morning person and tends to wake up pretty irritable), got dressed quickly, ate breakfast, put away his PJ's happily, and was buckled up in his carseat by 7:25, which has to be some sort of record. And once to school he jumped out, told me there was someone he wanted to catch up with, grabbed his backpack and was off running across the grass. A good start to the day. Last week-- I think Tuesday or Wednesday, Naomi and I took the boys to the mall to play at the kids place for a while. It was a rainy afternoon and I really needed to get out of the house. Anyway, Joseph was NOT having a good day and was being pretty ornery. He took his shoes off at the kids area, and then when we were ready to go, he didn't want to put them back on. I told him his shoes were his responsibility, and he needed to get them on himself. Well, he didn't want to, so we went into Claire's (Brigham's favorite store in the mall-- full of treasure!) where he had a mini-meltdown about me buying him a $5.50 package of 4 markers-- uh, I don't think so! Anyway, we were ready to leave the mall, and he still hadn't gone to get his shoes. So I told him we would be walking slowly toward the escalator and if he wanted his shoes he needed to get them, otherwise he wouldn't have any shoes for school because I wouldn't be getting him new ones. Well, we got all the way up the escalator and he hadn't gotten his shoes yet. So I started walking slowly down the hall, and I guess he realized I was serious, and he went down the escalator (crying), ran and got his shoes, and then came back up the escalator. I'm sure everyone was looking at this poor little boy-- barefoot and crying, and wondering where in the heck his evil mother was! I was watching him the whole time from upstairs. Anyway, he brings them up and I told him to come to the bench to get them on. Well, when he got to the bench impulse overcame him and he couldn't resist but to throw his shoes over the railing and downstairs again. Thankfully not hitting anyone on the way down. Sigh... So I told him I was sorry he made that choice, but we were still going to be going home, so if he wanted his shoes, he better hurry up! We started on our way down the hall again and once again Joseph, crying harder, raced down the escalator, found his shoes, and came back up. Lots more people looking at him this time. He caught up with us (we were going reeeaaaally slow), and continued to whine and insist that I put on his shoes. I told him I would be happy to help him if he sat down, but I wouldn't put them on him myself. Well, he didn't want to do that, so he pretty much cried the whole way out of the mall. But he didn't throw his shoes at anyone else! So that was probably our low point with Joseph. He has improved every day since and I'm really proud of him. I've been reading these two books about raising "strong-willed" children. I do not believe that Joseph really qualifies as a "strong-willed child," although he has some of those tendencies. Reading these books, I think *I* was certainly a strong-willed child (Mama and Daddy are chuckling to themselves at this point-- in only took me 30 years to figure *that* one out?), but Joseph not really. Anyway, they are both really good, not only for strong-willed children, but for good discipline techniques in general. My favorite one, for those interested is called "The Everything Parent's Guide to the Strong-Willed Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt. I think it is part of a series called "The Everything Parent's Guide to..." which is a little cheesy, but it is full of great stuff!
All right, on to Brigham! Last Saturday afternoon, he was making one of his art projects, cutting some paper, and he was using my super-sharp sewing scissors (bad mommy-- why didn't I put those away?!), and he just snipped right through the corner of the tip of his left index finger. It sliced off the corner tip, through his fingernail. I was at the grocery store, so he ran immediately to Naomi and had her put bandaids on it, but it was bleeding profusely and bled totally through the bandaids by the time I got home. I looked at it and I was pretty horrified. I was on the verge of taking him to urgent care, but I realized there was very little they could do except clean it and bandage it, which I could do well enough at home. So we cleaned it and bandaged it again-- it just wouldn't stop bleeding, so I had to bandage it pretty tight to keep pressure on it. When Ben came home (he was at Fry's with Joseph), he gave him a blessing for it to heal and not cause him pain, and I gave him Tylenol before bed. He still woke up several times during the night, but was able to settle down and sleep again. Naomi slept in his room that night to keep track of him. So I've been rebandaging it every day, and yesterday night it looked much, much better. The day before I was thinking I really needed to take him to the doctor-- maybe they'd have to do some sort of skin graft or something! Probably silly of me, but I just couldn't see how the skin would grow back. It seemed like it had been cut off deeper than the skin layer. But yesterday it looked so much better and I think it will be fine. So that was Brigham's drama for the weekend. It really bothered me, and I had a hard time settling down myself and sleeping Saturday night. I kept thinking how dumb I was to not put those scissors away, and then I realized that we missed a birthday party for Brigham's friend at school at Pump it up, and if I hadn't forgotten, he would have been there and wouldn't have cut himself. And I felt guilty because poor Brigham STILL hasn't been to Pump it up-- what is WRONG with me?? But I think he'll be ok, and he didn't realize about the party which is just as well. His art projects were pretty cool-- on Saturday morning we went to the Texas State Museum and of course had to go to the gift shop. Brigham was looking at these small models of the state capitol, so when he got home he drew his own version of the capitol-- very detailed!, and cut it out. He was also working on a necklace and a ring-- also made of paper which he cut out very precisely and then strung on yarn for the necklace, and then taped in a circle for the ring. He is always busy doing things like that! He finally filled his old treasure box and just couldn't part with any of his treasures, but had no more room for more treasures, so a couple weeks ago we went to Hobby Lobby and got him a new, bigger treasure box. Hobby Lobby had a whole aisle full of really amazing "treasure chests" from small to really big! Brigham would have loved one of those full-sized $100+ treasure chests, but we compromised on a smaller one, and in two weeks, it is already filled up! They discovered this big boulder in our front yard had chunks of crystals that they could break off-- pretty cool, actually! So Brigham has a bunch of those in his treasure box, and then on Sunday Ben took the boys down to the lake where they found a desposit of old bleached out cow bones, which somehow also qualified as "treasure," so a large pile of those were brought home and filled up the rest of Brigham's treasure box! Ah, my funny little boy!
Mosey, Mosey, Mosey. What can I say about him except that he is three!! Full of cuteness and aggravation. He is getting better about bedtime, and I'm very happy about that! I can now read to him and then tuck him into my bed, and leave the room! We haven't had success getting him to go to sleep in the boys' room, he just can't stop talking to and annoying his brothers! But he'll lay in my bed and talk and sing to himself for like an hour or more sometimes, but eventually will fall asleep. It is really funny to listen to him talk to himself. Mosey is such a talker now. Last week my visiting teachers came, one of whom is in the nursery, and she was shocked when Mosey just started talking and talking (like he normally does at home). I guess he's still not talking at nursery, so it came as a surprise to her that he does talk, and quite well! Mosey is also at the age where he can be teased very easily by anything Brigham or Joseph do. To which he will generally yell at them, saying, "You are a BAD BOY Brigham!" Or whoever it is (usually Brigham, though-- Brigham does have his little snickerdoodle side to him and it is hard for him to resist teasing especially when Mosey is so easily provoked). Last week the boys were very interested in the Texas bluebonnets which have been springing up everywhere. So as we drive around town, Brigham and Joseph will point out all the bluebonnets that they see. Well, they thought it was quite funny to start calling each other "bluebonnet" which REALLY bothered Mosey. So one time as we were driving, Brigham was doing something to annoy Mosey and Mosey yells out, "You are a BLUEBONNET Brigham!!!" As if it were the worst insult in the world. Ben and I just cracked up over that one. Mosey has been doing this thing which I'm sure is totally normal for his age, but I just don't understand it. He'll ask me the same thing over and over and over and over again. I'll answer him, but it is as if he doesn't here me, or doesn't accep the answer or something, and he'll just keep asking me. Sometimes it is, "What did you say mom?" And I'll repeat myself, but he'll just keep asking and asking! Finally I just stop answering, but he'll keep on for quite some time. It really bugs Brigham and Joseph when he does this to them, and has been the start of quite a few fights. Couples should have to take courses on being a referree before they can become parents! Mosey can also still be very, very particular about certain things. Often he'll decide that I have to do something for him, and NO ONE else can do it. Whether it is taking him to the bathroom, or pouring him orange juice, it MUST be mom and NO ONE else! Last night Naomi had the audacity to pour him orange juice since I was busy reading scriptures, and Mosey had a fit on the floor for about 5 minutes. He did eventually drink the orange juice, though, so I guess Mosey doesn't quite qualify as a "strong-willed" child either. Thank goodness! Mosey is getting into art work, too, but he just cannot keep the lids on the markers, and just cannot remember that drawing is only for PAPER. Last week when Naomi got here, Mosey was colored quite completely in orange and red marker. So yesterday at Target I got a box of those Color Wonder markers that only show up on the Color Wonder paper. More expensive, but at least marker won't get everywhwere! Of course by last night 2 of the lids and one of the markers is missing, so maybe that idea wasn't such a great one. He just can't keep the lids on the markers! Naomi also observed that Mosey has only one volume level. Loud. No matter what it is he has to say, or how close he is to you, his volume is the same. This is not good at church. I've tried hard to get him to use a whisper voice in church, but he hasn't figured out what that is yet. I think it is a three-year-old law to be loud, though, so it's probably not entirely his fault. He is a good boy, though, and it is a joy to be with him during the day. He always keeps me smiling. He went with me to Target yesterday and we just had a great time talking about everything that he saw.
Ok, that's it for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
I feel like I've dwelt on myself and my problems for far too long in these email updates, so today I'm only going to talk about my boys. I haven't been telling enough stories about them, and it is the stories about my boys I will be wanting to read about many years from now, not the boring details of my life!
So, here's an update on my three little guys from the past few weeks.
Joseph's two bottom teeth are coming in very nicely. It is very interesting for him to inspect the little bumps and ridges that those brand-new grownup teeth have. No more loose teeth for now, and I'm glad for that since poor Brigham still hasn't lost any teeth, nor are any of his loose! Last week was sort of hard for Joseph, I'm sure it was the disruption of Spring Break and me being in the hospital, and him getting off his normal schedule, and all that stuff. Joseph really *needs* routine. So we had a few days of him resisting just about everything and having meltdowns and generally feeling miserable. But he is doing amazing now-- we just had probably the best school morning ever! He woke up happy (he's just like me-- NOT a morning person and tends to wake up pretty irritable), got dressed quickly, ate breakfast, put away his PJ's happily, and was buckled up in his carseat by 7:25, which has to be some sort of record. And once to school he jumped out, told me there was someone he wanted to catch up with, grabbed his backpack and was off running across the grass. A good start to the day. Last week-- I think Tuesday or Wednesday, Naomi and I took the boys to the mall to play at the kids place for a while. It was a rainy afternoon and I really needed to get out of the house. Anyway, Joseph was NOT having a good day and was being pretty ornery. He took his shoes off at the kids area, and then when we were ready to go, he didn't want to put them back on. I told him his shoes were his responsibility, and he needed to get them on himself. Well, he didn't want to, so we went into Claire's (Brigham's favorite store in the mall-- full of treasure!) where he had a mini-meltdown about me buying him a $5.50 package of 4 markers-- uh, I don't think so! Anyway, we were ready to leave the mall, and he still hadn't gone to get his shoes. So I told him we would be walking slowly toward the escalator and if he wanted his shoes he needed to get them, otherwise he wouldn't have any shoes for school because I wouldn't be getting him new ones. Well, we got all the way up the escalator and he hadn't gotten his shoes yet. So I started walking slowly down the hall, and I guess he realized I was serious, and he went down the escalator (crying), ran and got his shoes, and then came back up the escalator. I'm sure everyone was looking at this poor little boy-- barefoot and crying, and wondering where in the heck his evil mother was! I was watching him the whole time from upstairs. Anyway, he brings them up and I told him to come to the bench to get them on. Well, when he got to the bench impulse overcame him and he couldn't resist but to throw his shoes over the railing and downstairs again. Thankfully not hitting anyone on the way down. Sigh... So I told him I was sorry he made that choice, but we were still going to be going home, so if he wanted his shoes, he better hurry up! We started on our way down the hall again and once again Joseph, crying harder, raced down the escalator, found his shoes, and came back up. Lots more people looking at him this time. He caught up with us (we were going reeeaaaally slow), and continued to whine and insist that I put on his shoes. I told him I would be happy to help him if he sat down, but I wouldn't put them on him myself. Well, he didn't want to do that, so he pretty much cried the whole way out of the mall. But he didn't throw his shoes at anyone else! So that was probably our low point with Joseph. He has improved every day since and I'm really proud of him. I've been reading these two books about raising "strong-willed" children. I do not believe that Joseph really qualifies as a "strong-willed child," although he has some of those tendencies. Reading these books, I think *I* was certainly a strong-willed child (Mama and Daddy are chuckling to themselves at this point-- in only took me 30 years to figure *that* one out?), but Joseph not really. Anyway, they are both really good, not only for strong-willed children, but for good discipline techniques in general. My favorite one, for those interested is called "The Everything Parent's Guide to the Strong-Willed Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt. I think it is part of a series called "The Everything Parent's Guide to..." which is a little cheesy, but it is full of great stuff!
All right, on to Brigham! Last Saturday afternoon, he was making one of his art projects, cutting some paper, and he was using my super-sharp sewing scissors (bad mommy-- why didn't I put those away?!), and he just snipped right through the corner of the tip of his left index finger. It sliced off the corner tip, through his fingernail. I was at the grocery store, so he ran immediately to Naomi and had her put bandaids on it, but it was bleeding profusely and bled totally through the bandaids by the time I got home. I looked at it and I was pretty horrified. I was on the verge of taking him to urgent care, but I realized there was very little they could do except clean it and bandage it, which I could do well enough at home. So we cleaned it and bandaged it again-- it just wouldn't stop bleeding, so I had to bandage it pretty tight to keep pressure on it. When Ben came home (he was at Fry's with Joseph), he gave him a blessing for it to heal and not cause him pain, and I gave him Tylenol before bed. He still woke up several times during the night, but was able to settle down and sleep again. Naomi slept in his room that night to keep track of him. So I've been rebandaging it every day, and yesterday night it looked much, much better. The day before I was thinking I really needed to take him to the doctor-- maybe they'd have to do some sort of skin graft or something! Probably silly of me, but I just couldn't see how the skin would grow back. It seemed like it had been cut off deeper than the skin layer. But yesterday it looked so much better and I think it will be fine. So that was Brigham's drama for the weekend. It really bothered me, and I had a hard time settling down myself and sleeping Saturday night. I kept thinking how dumb I was to not put those scissors away, and then I realized that we missed a birthday party for Brigham's friend at school at Pump it up, and if I hadn't forgotten, he would have been there and wouldn't have cut himself. And I felt guilty because poor Brigham STILL hasn't been to Pump it up-- what is WRONG with me?? But I think he'll be ok, and he didn't realize about the party which is just as well. His art projects were pretty cool-- on Saturday morning we went to the Texas State Museum and of course had to go to the gift shop. Brigham was looking at these small models of the state capitol, so when he got home he drew his own version of the capitol-- very detailed!, and cut it out. He was also working on a necklace and a ring-- also made of paper which he cut out very precisely and then strung on yarn for the necklace, and then taped in a circle for the ring. He is always busy doing things like that! He finally filled his old treasure box and just couldn't part with any of his treasures, but had no more room for more treasures, so a couple weeks ago we went to Hobby Lobby and got him a new, bigger treasure box. Hobby Lobby had a whole aisle full of really amazing "treasure chests" from small to really big! Brigham would have loved one of those full-sized $100+ treasure chests, but we compromised on a smaller one, and in two weeks, it is already filled up! They discovered this big boulder in our front yard had chunks of crystals that they could break off-- pretty cool, actually! So Brigham has a bunch of those in his treasure box, and then on Sunday Ben took the boys down to the lake where they found a desposit of old bleached out cow bones, which somehow also qualified as "treasure," so a large pile of those were brought home and filled up the rest of Brigham's treasure box! Ah, my funny little boy!
Mosey, Mosey, Mosey. What can I say about him except that he is three!! Full of cuteness and aggravation. He is getting better about bedtime, and I'm very happy about that! I can now read to him and then tuck him into my bed, and leave the room! We haven't had success getting him to go to sleep in the boys' room, he just can't stop talking to and annoying his brothers! But he'll lay in my bed and talk and sing to himself for like an hour or more sometimes, but eventually will fall asleep. It is really funny to listen to him talk to himself. Mosey is such a talker now. Last week my visiting teachers came, one of whom is in the nursery, and she was shocked when Mosey just started talking and talking (like he normally does at home). I guess he's still not talking at nursery, so it came as a surprise to her that he does talk, and quite well! Mosey is also at the age where he can be teased very easily by anything Brigham or Joseph do. To which he will generally yell at them, saying, "You are a BAD BOY Brigham!" Or whoever it is (usually Brigham, though-- Brigham does have his little snickerdoodle side to him and it is hard for him to resist teasing especially when Mosey is so easily provoked). Last week the boys were very interested in the Texas bluebonnets which have been springing up everywhere. So as we drive around town, Brigham and Joseph will point out all the bluebonnets that they see. Well, they thought it was quite funny to start calling each other "bluebonnet" which REALLY bothered Mosey. So one time as we were driving, Brigham was doing something to annoy Mosey and Mosey yells out, "You are a BLUEBONNET Brigham!!!" As if it were the worst insult in the world. Ben and I just cracked up over that one. Mosey has been doing this thing which I'm sure is totally normal for his age, but I just don't understand it. He'll ask me the same thing over and over and over and over again. I'll answer him, but it is as if he doesn't here me, or doesn't accep the answer or something, and he'll just keep asking me. Sometimes it is, "What did you say mom?" And I'll repeat myself, but he'll just keep asking and asking! Finally I just stop answering, but he'll keep on for quite some time. It really bugs Brigham and Joseph when he does this to them, and has been the start of quite a few fights. Couples should have to take courses on being a referree before they can become parents! Mosey can also still be very, very particular about certain things. Often he'll decide that I have to do something for him, and NO ONE else can do it. Whether it is taking him to the bathroom, or pouring him orange juice, it MUST be mom and NO ONE else! Last night Naomi had the audacity to pour him orange juice since I was busy reading scriptures, and Mosey had a fit on the floor for about 5 minutes. He did eventually drink the orange juice, though, so I guess Mosey doesn't quite qualify as a "strong-willed" child either. Thank goodness! Mosey is getting into art work, too, but he just cannot keep the lids on the markers, and just cannot remember that drawing is only for PAPER. Last week when Naomi got here, Mosey was colored quite completely in orange and red marker. So yesterday at Target I got a box of those Color Wonder markers that only show up on the Color Wonder paper. More expensive, but at least marker won't get everywhwere! Of course by last night 2 of the lids and one of the markers is missing, so maybe that idea wasn't such a great one. He just can't keep the lids on the markers! Naomi also observed that Mosey has only one volume level. Loud. No matter what it is he has to say, or how close he is to you, his volume is the same. This is not good at church. I've tried hard to get him to use a whisper voice in church, but he hasn't figured out what that is yet. I think it is a three-year-old law to be loud, though, so it's probably not entirely his fault. He is a good boy, though, and it is a joy to be with him during the day. He always keeps me smiling. He went with me to Target yesterday and we just had a great time talking about everything that he saw.
Ok, that's it for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
March 26, 2007
Hello Everyone,
First I want to thank each and every one of you who thought about me, prayed for me, and fasted for me this past couple of weeks. I am extremely grateful for all of your effort. I'll quickly just go over what happened for those who don't know, and then tell you how I'm doing! I just have to say that I feel quite uncomfortable being in the center of attention, and I hope that soon someone else can take the spotlight for a while!!
My M.S. had seemed to be fairly stable since around August. Not symptom-free, but stable. Then in late November I started getting some fogginess in my left eye which was new for me, and then in mid-december I noticed stiffness in my legs I hadn't had before. In late-December I was in that car-wreck with Naomi which I think may have triggered the stuff that happened after. After we moved to Austin I started getting additional symptoms one after another. My legs became significantly more numb and stiff. My feet got extremely numb-- in fact most of my toes were "dead" to the touch. My left arm started getting weakness and numbness in the fingers. Then two weeks ago, I was trying to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Not exactly a strenuous job, but by the end I was having a really hard time even staying on my legs, they were so weak. I lay down to rest for an hour and then attempted to clean one of my bathrooms, but found I could not walk or remain standing, so I cleaned it while sitting on the ground! I just sat on the recliner for the rest of the day and on Tuesday I thought I felt a bit better. I was starting to get sick, though-- a cough and fever that my boys had been passing around. As the day went on my left leg got weaker and weaker until I could not actually lift it off the ground and I was dragging it around like some kind of psycho-killer. I had made an appointment the day before with my neurologist for Wednesday, so I knew I would be seeing the doctor the next day.
On Wednesday I woke up and hadn't improved at all. It took me several minutes to get *into* the tub and then honestly about 15 minutes to get *out*. I just couldn't bear weight on my legs at all. I somehow managed to drive down to Ben's work so he could watch the boys during my appointment, but it was scary. I had Ben drive when I got to his office. He decided to come with me to my doctor's appointment and had his friend Eddie come along to watch the boys.
Ben helped me get into the hospital, there is no way I could have walked on my own. When I saw the doctor he thought I should be admitted for IV-steroids. Ben asked him lots of questions and I sort of sat there in shock. The big question was whether he thought I might have primary-progressive MS rather than recurring-remitting. PP MS is less frequent, and often occurs in individuals diagnosed at an older age than I was, but the pattern of symptoms are more similar to what I've experienced-- very very short periods of time between the appearance of new symptoms (for me the longest has been 6 weeks), and then sort of gradual appearance of symptoms instead of sudden and really obvious. Also the clustering of MS in my family is more characteristic of PP MS than RR MS. Although in my family I don't have siblings with MS but instead cousins and aunts and second-cousins.
Anyway, the doctor said that most patients with RR or PP MS will respond to IV steroid treatment, but with PP MS, the symptoms will gradually return over several weeks whereas with RR MS, the flareup will end and the symptoms will not return. So the next several weeks will be interesting, to say the least.
After I was admitted I was sent down for 2 hours of MRI's. The MRI machine actually seems to kind of send me into a trance which made it seem like less than 2 hours which was good. The next day the doctor told me that the MRI scans showed very few lesions in my brain (good), but a lot more on my spinal cord (bad). I'm glad because I dont' want my brain affected-- I like my brain! But that pattern is also more characteristic of PP MS, so that's not good.
I had 5 courses (1 a day) of the IV steroids which I tolerated just fine. My blood sugars did get pretty high (up to like 250 which is REALLY HIGH I thought), but I guess not dangerously high, and pretty normal for steroids. I also was able to work with an occupational and physical therapist who were able to help me figure out how to walk around with a high-stylin' four-pronged cane and how to do things around my house easier. Ben came each day with the boys and wheeled me down to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had several visitors from the ward, and friends who came to see me, so I was not lonely. By the last day I was much steadier on my feet and feeling a lot stronger. I was discharged on Sunday, and the good news is that if I need this treatment again, I should not have to be hospitalized. I will be able to just go in on an out-patient basis which will be much easier!
I hope I will not need this treatment again, though, because for me the really bad part is after the treatment is over. I've experienced this the other times I was on steroids (the oral kind), but it was much worse this time. I think the sudden withdrawal of the steroids just makes my brain kind of go crazy and I found myself in a really bad depression. Like, worse than the post-partum hormone craziness. I was feeling really, really horrible from Monday-Wednesday, and then felt somewhat better on Thursday, even better on Friday, and then back to my "normal" self on Saturday. So it didn't last too long, but for me that whole experience is really frightening. I was so glad that Naomi came on Tuesday. Not only was she able to help me quite a bit with the boys and the house, but it was really good for me to have her there to help me out mentally and emotionally.
Anyway, the steroids DID help me tremendously physically, the mental stuff notwithstanding, and I've noticed quite a few improvements. I feel stronger in my legs than I have in several weeks. I've gotten some feeling back in my feet-- although my 2nd and 3rd toes are still "dead." One of the nice improvements is that my feet no longer feel freezing all the time. That was one thing that has been really bugging me for a few weeks-- my feet felt cold ALWAYS, even in shoes and socks, even in a hot bath! So not having freezing cold feet has been very nice. I haven't had the spasticity in my legs that has made getting up from laying down or sitting down very dangerous! Whenever I would get up, my legs would lock up for several seconds, preventing me from walking until they loosened up. This has been the cause of a number of falls recently, so that has also been a great improvement.
On Saturday we went down to Barton Springs, and I was able to go on quite a long walk and enjoy the sunshine-- the only day of sun we've had for 2 weeks! Yesterday it was back to clouds and rain. I had bought a single-point cane last week (I'm just not ready for the 4-pronged cane yet! And I don't think I need it), and that helped me a lot, too.
So anyway, I'm very pleased with how things are going, and I'm feeling much, much more optimistic than I was before. I know that my symptoms might still come back, and the PP MS diagnosis is still possible, but I'm just not feeling like that is going to happen. I really do feel like I am going to continue to improve, and maybe I won't ever be 100% again, but I think I'm going to get back enough function that I can take care of my kids and my house and be active and do most of the things I want to do with my kids, and that will be a huge blessing.
So, that is the news from Austin, TX.
No stories about my boys right now, but in my next letter I'll give you some. I just wanted to update everyone on my health situation.
Again, thank you all sooooo much for your prayers and fasting. I know that that and the priesthood blessing Ben was able to give me has made a big difference.
First I want to thank each and every one of you who thought about me, prayed for me, and fasted for me this past couple of weeks. I am extremely grateful for all of your effort. I'll quickly just go over what happened for those who don't know, and then tell you how I'm doing! I just have to say that I feel quite uncomfortable being in the center of attention, and I hope that soon someone else can take the spotlight for a while!!
My M.S. had seemed to be fairly stable since around August. Not symptom-free, but stable. Then in late November I started getting some fogginess in my left eye which was new for me, and then in mid-december I noticed stiffness in my legs I hadn't had before. In late-December I was in that car-wreck with Naomi which I think may have triggered the stuff that happened after. After we moved to Austin I started getting additional symptoms one after another. My legs became significantly more numb and stiff. My feet got extremely numb-- in fact most of my toes were "dead" to the touch. My left arm started getting weakness and numbness in the fingers. Then two weeks ago, I was trying to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Not exactly a strenuous job, but by the end I was having a really hard time even staying on my legs, they were so weak. I lay down to rest for an hour and then attempted to clean one of my bathrooms, but found I could not walk or remain standing, so I cleaned it while sitting on the ground! I just sat on the recliner for the rest of the day and on Tuesday I thought I felt a bit better. I was starting to get sick, though-- a cough and fever that my boys had been passing around. As the day went on my left leg got weaker and weaker until I could not actually lift it off the ground and I was dragging it around like some kind of psycho-killer. I had made an appointment the day before with my neurologist for Wednesday, so I knew I would be seeing the doctor the next day.
On Wednesday I woke up and hadn't improved at all. It took me several minutes to get *into* the tub and then honestly about 15 minutes to get *out*. I just couldn't bear weight on my legs at all. I somehow managed to drive down to Ben's work so he could watch the boys during my appointment, but it was scary. I had Ben drive when I got to his office. He decided to come with me to my doctor's appointment and had his friend Eddie come along to watch the boys.
Ben helped me get into the hospital, there is no way I could have walked on my own. When I saw the doctor he thought I should be admitted for IV-steroids. Ben asked him lots of questions and I sort of sat there in shock. The big question was whether he thought I might have primary-progressive MS rather than recurring-remitting. PP MS is less frequent, and often occurs in individuals diagnosed at an older age than I was, but the pattern of symptoms are more similar to what I've experienced-- very very short periods of time between the appearance of new symptoms (for me the longest has been 6 weeks), and then sort of gradual appearance of symptoms instead of sudden and really obvious. Also the clustering of MS in my family is more characteristic of PP MS than RR MS. Although in my family I don't have siblings with MS but instead cousins and aunts and second-cousins.
Anyway, the doctor said that most patients with RR or PP MS will respond to IV steroid treatment, but with PP MS, the symptoms will gradually return over several weeks whereas with RR MS, the flareup will end and the symptoms will not return. So the next several weeks will be interesting, to say the least.
After I was admitted I was sent down for 2 hours of MRI's. The MRI machine actually seems to kind of send me into a trance which made it seem like less than 2 hours which was good. The next day the doctor told me that the MRI scans showed very few lesions in my brain (good), but a lot more on my spinal cord (bad). I'm glad because I dont' want my brain affected-- I like my brain! But that pattern is also more characteristic of PP MS, so that's not good.
I had 5 courses (1 a day) of the IV steroids which I tolerated just fine. My blood sugars did get pretty high (up to like 250 which is REALLY HIGH I thought), but I guess not dangerously high, and pretty normal for steroids. I also was able to work with an occupational and physical therapist who were able to help me figure out how to walk around with a high-stylin' four-pronged cane and how to do things around my house easier. Ben came each day with the boys and wheeled me down to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had several visitors from the ward, and friends who came to see me, so I was not lonely. By the last day I was much steadier on my feet and feeling a lot stronger. I was discharged on Sunday, and the good news is that if I need this treatment again, I should not have to be hospitalized. I will be able to just go in on an out-patient basis which will be much easier!
I hope I will not need this treatment again, though, because for me the really bad part is after the treatment is over. I've experienced this the other times I was on steroids (the oral kind), but it was much worse this time. I think the sudden withdrawal of the steroids just makes my brain kind of go crazy and I found myself in a really bad depression. Like, worse than the post-partum hormone craziness. I was feeling really, really horrible from Monday-Wednesday, and then felt somewhat better on Thursday, even better on Friday, and then back to my "normal" self on Saturday. So it didn't last too long, but for me that whole experience is really frightening. I was so glad that Naomi came on Tuesday. Not only was she able to help me quite a bit with the boys and the house, but it was really good for me to have her there to help me out mentally and emotionally.
Anyway, the steroids DID help me tremendously physically, the mental stuff notwithstanding, and I've noticed quite a few improvements. I feel stronger in my legs than I have in several weeks. I've gotten some feeling back in my feet-- although my 2nd and 3rd toes are still "dead." One of the nice improvements is that my feet no longer feel freezing all the time. That was one thing that has been really bugging me for a few weeks-- my feet felt cold ALWAYS, even in shoes and socks, even in a hot bath! So not having freezing cold feet has been very nice. I haven't had the spasticity in my legs that has made getting up from laying down or sitting down very dangerous! Whenever I would get up, my legs would lock up for several seconds, preventing me from walking until they loosened up. This has been the cause of a number of falls recently, so that has also been a great improvement.
On Saturday we went down to Barton Springs, and I was able to go on quite a long walk and enjoy the sunshine-- the only day of sun we've had for 2 weeks! Yesterday it was back to clouds and rain. I had bought a single-point cane last week (I'm just not ready for the 4-pronged cane yet! And I don't think I need it), and that helped me a lot, too.
So anyway, I'm very pleased with how things are going, and I'm feeling much, much more optimistic than I was before. I know that my symptoms might still come back, and the PP MS diagnosis is still possible, but I'm just not feeling like that is going to happen. I really do feel like I am going to continue to improve, and maybe I won't ever be 100% again, but I think I'm going to get back enough function that I can take care of my kids and my house and be active and do most of the things I want to do with my kids, and that will be a huge blessing.
So, that is the news from Austin, TX.
No stories about my boys right now, but in my next letter I'll give you some. I just wanted to update everyone on my health situation.
Again, thank you all sooooo much for your prayers and fasting. I know that that and the priesthood blessing Ben was able to give me has made a big difference.
March 11, 2007
Dear Everyone,
A quick note for a thunderstorming Sunday evening. Did your alarm clock feel extra-early this morning? It sure did to us. We were a little late for church as a result, but made it in time for Sacrament, so that was good. Joseph is sick today. Actually it started yesterday with a fever and a cough-- I'm sure the same thing Brigham had a week and a half ago. He probably should have stayed home from church, but Ben and I both had to teach, so he just came in his PJ's and brought his pillow and blanket and just stayed with me the whole time.
I decided to play the piano for Young Women opening exercises today, which was pathetic, really. I'm supposed to call girls each week to play the opening song, so I figured I would do it myself to show them that I'm not above doing it myself, and also I knew how bad I'd be so I figured it would make them feel better. I actually practiced a lot last night, and chose the easiest song I could find (Keep the Commandments), and got it down ok. The introduction was fine, but when the girls started singing, if I missed a note I couldnt' correct it, I had to keep on going and it was really hard! I ended up pretty confused and only playing the left hand for a measure, then the right hand, and the last chord was totally wrong. Ack! To my defense, it was my first time EVER accompanying. Ben was pretty shocked I'd never accompanied before, but I told him that Rosalynde was always much better than I was, so at home she was the one accompanying, and at church Missy Thatcher was way better at accompanying, so she was the one who did it there. But my sneaky scheme worked and when I passed around my piano-playing sign-up sheet, it got filled all the way through May. I told them if I could do it, anyone could, and that whoever accompanied would get a Symphony bar as a reward for her service.
I also substituted for the MiaMaid advisor and taught a lesson on being a peacemaker in the home. Joseph was with me during all of this and on the way home when I asked him how I did on the piano, he said, "Bad," and then when I asked how I did on my lesson, he said, "Good," so it must have gone over pretty well. I think of all the age levels, I feel the most comfortable and satisfied teaching the Young Women.
This afternoon we just had a quiet day inside. It started to rain and Joseph was sick and I was tired, so we watched a movie (Saints and Soldiers), and then I took a nap. It was nice. Well, the movie wasn't exactly "nice," it was fairly violent and sad, but it also was really really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tonight Ben took Brigham to a missionary fairwell open house and Mosey and Joseph and I stayed home and watched Extreme Home Makeover. And now Mosey is asleep, Joseph's passed out on the couch, and Ben is finishing getting Brigham in bed, so all is well. I have 30 minutes to waste on the computer and then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the start of the boys' spring break, so we'll have to come up with something fun to do, if Joseph is feeling any better
A quick note for a thunderstorming Sunday evening. Did your alarm clock feel extra-early this morning? It sure did to us. We were a little late for church as a result, but made it in time for Sacrament, so that was good. Joseph is sick today. Actually it started yesterday with a fever and a cough-- I'm sure the same thing Brigham had a week and a half ago. He probably should have stayed home from church, but Ben and I both had to teach, so he just came in his PJ's and brought his pillow and blanket and just stayed with me the whole time.
I decided to play the piano for Young Women opening exercises today, which was pathetic, really. I'm supposed to call girls each week to play the opening song, so I figured I would do it myself to show them that I'm not above doing it myself, and also I knew how bad I'd be so I figured it would make them feel better. I actually practiced a lot last night, and chose the easiest song I could find (Keep the Commandments), and got it down ok. The introduction was fine, but when the girls started singing, if I missed a note I couldnt' correct it, I had to keep on going and it was really hard! I ended up pretty confused and only playing the left hand for a measure, then the right hand, and the last chord was totally wrong. Ack! To my defense, it was my first time EVER accompanying. Ben was pretty shocked I'd never accompanied before, but I told him that Rosalynde was always much better than I was, so at home she was the one accompanying, and at church Missy Thatcher was way better at accompanying, so she was the one who did it there. But my sneaky scheme worked and when I passed around my piano-playing sign-up sheet, it got filled all the way through May. I told them if I could do it, anyone could, and that whoever accompanied would get a Symphony bar as a reward for her service.
I also substituted for the MiaMaid advisor and taught a lesson on being a peacemaker in the home. Joseph was with me during all of this and on the way home when I asked him how I did on the piano, he said, "Bad," and then when I asked how I did on my lesson, he said, "Good," so it must have gone over pretty well. I think of all the age levels, I feel the most comfortable and satisfied teaching the Young Women.
This afternoon we just had a quiet day inside. It started to rain and Joseph was sick and I was tired, so we watched a movie (Saints and Soldiers), and then I took a nap. It was nice. Well, the movie wasn't exactly "nice," it was fairly violent and sad, but it also was really really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tonight Ben took Brigham to a missionary fairwell open house and Mosey and Joseph and I stayed home and watched Extreme Home Makeover. And now Mosey is asleep, Joseph's passed out on the couch, and Ben is finishing getting Brigham in bed, so all is well. I have 30 minutes to waste on the computer and then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the start of the boys' spring break, so we'll have to come up with something fun to do, if Joseph is feeling any better
March 11, 2007
I got to watch Rose and Mae last week for a couple of hours and got to practice taking pictures of little girls!! What a novelty. Aren't they just so pretty?
Rose on our front porch.
And here's little sister Mae-- she's 10 months old and thinking about walking. Not yet, though!
Fun with blankie.
Beautiful window light.
Love this one in color.
On a chair. 2 seconds after this shot she about toppled off, so that was the only one I got. Good one though!
Rose on our front porch.
And here's little sister Mae-- she's 10 months old and thinking about walking. Not yet, though!
Fun with blankie.
Beautiful window light.
Love this one in color.
On a chair. 2 seconds after this shot she about toppled off, so that was the only one I got. Good one though!
March 10, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I've been so bad at emails. I don't know why. Just tired, I guess.
First the all-important weather report. Spring is definitely here and the weather has been warm and really nice. The only bad thing is that apparently spring is when all the live oaks lose their leaves around here! So our yard is a mess, as are all the yards around here. Ben worked with the boys for hours and hours today raking up leaves. First he tried to burn them, but soon our house was filled with smoke from the fire in the fire pit out back, and from the fire in the fireplace. So then I went to Lowes and bought 25 of those 30 gallon leaf bags, and 16 of them are filled! And we're not really even very close to finishing the leaves already in our yard, and there are still lots of leaves in the trees. I hope the shedding and leaf-regrowing will be over by the time my family comes out for their Spring break.
So, let's see what else there is to report. I went to a card-making activity on Tuesday night (one of the Relief Society small groups). I found out that the lady who hosts this activity, Kelly, is the cousin to the lead singer of Green Day. Isn't that funny? No, the singer is not LDS, nor has he every been. Kelly's mom (Green Day singer's maternal aunt) joined the church, and her children are LDS, but not the rest of the family. Although apparently he did hire an LDS nanny for his kids. So that is my brush with celebrity.
The boys had a dance and music performance at school on Friday. The kindergartners were divided in two groups, and one group did their dance first and the other did the singing first, and then they switched. Naturally my boys were in different groups, so I couldn't see both of them do both performances. I decided to watch their dance, and forego the singing, since I'd heard them talking more about the dancing, so I figured that was more important to them. The whole event was a Texas theme, so the dancing was 5 square dances. They were so cute!!! Totally cute. At this age the kids are not self conscious at all about dancing, or about dancing with the opposite sex, so all the boys were paired with girls, and it was adorable. I have to say Joseph was probably the better dancer, a slightly better sense of rhythm, and he was also paying more attention. But Brigham was so cute because every time he came around the circle he looked at me with this funny smile. After the performance, the parents were invited to stay for lunch, so I paid $2.50 for each of the boys and me to get an overdone hamburger, chocolate milk, and an ice cream cup, and we ate at the park adjacent to the school. It was fun. Right after I dropped them off at school I went over to Walmart and bought them both wrangler western shirts to wear. They had brought cowboy hats for themselves and a few of their friends (extras from our Florida goodbye party). Now they just need some cowboy boots and they'll be true Texans.
Ok, I'm going to really try and do better at emails more often because my mind is totally blank on anything else interesting to report. On Tuesday after school I took the boys to Inflatable Wonderland at the mall for their reward for getting good reports at school and church. That is a great place! I just sat there and read a book and the boys went nuts and had a great time. It is full of a bunch of different inflatable bounce houses, slides, and other stuff. There are attendants there to watch the kids and interact with them-- mostly teenage girls, and they did a good job. And on Tuesdays it is 1/2 off, so only $5 per child for as long as they want to stay. We probably stayed for about 3 hours. We came home to discover our dog had escaped and camped outside of one of our neighbors houses and barked at their 3 dogs all afternoon. Argh! We have discoverd that Mister can OPEN the lever-doorknobs in our house. So if I forget to deadbolt one of the doors (or one of the boys opens the door and forgets to re-lock it), he can escape. For a dumb dog, Mister is amazingly good at figuring out escape routes. He clearly needs walks more often, and I need to figure out how he can get them. The big boys are big enough to take him on walks, but then Mosey wants to go, and he's not old enough to be walking outside alone, and I really cannot do walks anymore. At least not as long or as fast as what Mister needs. We need to train him to run on the treadmill maybe!
Ok, I'll close and leave you with a couple of pictures of the spring blossoms and the boys' dance.
"Bow to your partner!"
"And do-si-do!"
Brigham do-si-do-ing with his partner.
Oh, so serious during the Promenade!
There's a smile!
I've been so bad at emails. I don't know why. Just tired, I guess.
First the all-important weather report. Spring is definitely here and the weather has been warm and really nice. The only bad thing is that apparently spring is when all the live oaks lose their leaves around here! So our yard is a mess, as are all the yards around here. Ben worked with the boys for hours and hours today raking up leaves. First he tried to burn them, but soon our house was filled with smoke from the fire in the fire pit out back, and from the fire in the fireplace. So then I went to Lowes and bought 25 of those 30 gallon leaf bags, and 16 of them are filled! And we're not really even very close to finishing the leaves already in our yard, and there are still lots of leaves in the trees. I hope the shedding and leaf-regrowing will be over by the time my family comes out for their Spring break.
So, let's see what else there is to report. I went to a card-making activity on Tuesday night (one of the Relief Society small groups). I found out that the lady who hosts this activity, Kelly, is the cousin to the lead singer of Green Day. Isn't that funny? No, the singer is not LDS, nor has he every been. Kelly's mom (Green Day singer's maternal aunt) joined the church, and her children are LDS, but not the rest of the family. Although apparently he did hire an LDS nanny for his kids. So that is my brush with celebrity.
The boys had a dance and music performance at school on Friday. The kindergartners were divided in two groups, and one group did their dance first and the other did the singing first, and then they switched. Naturally my boys were in different groups, so I couldn't see both of them do both performances. I decided to watch their dance, and forego the singing, since I'd heard them talking more about the dancing, so I figured that was more important to them. The whole event was a Texas theme, so the dancing was 5 square dances. They were so cute!!! Totally cute. At this age the kids are not self conscious at all about dancing, or about dancing with the opposite sex, so all the boys were paired with girls, and it was adorable. I have to say Joseph was probably the better dancer, a slightly better sense of rhythm, and he was also paying more attention. But Brigham was so cute because every time he came around the circle he looked at me with this funny smile. After the performance, the parents were invited to stay for lunch, so I paid $2.50 for each of the boys and me to get an overdone hamburger, chocolate milk, and an ice cream cup, and we ate at the park adjacent to the school. It was fun. Right after I dropped them off at school I went over to Walmart and bought them both wrangler western shirts to wear. They had brought cowboy hats for themselves and a few of their friends (extras from our Florida goodbye party). Now they just need some cowboy boots and they'll be true Texans.
Ok, I'm going to really try and do better at emails more often because my mind is totally blank on anything else interesting to report. On Tuesday after school I took the boys to Inflatable Wonderland at the mall for their reward for getting good reports at school and church. That is a great place! I just sat there and read a book and the boys went nuts and had a great time. It is full of a bunch of different inflatable bounce houses, slides, and other stuff. There are attendants there to watch the kids and interact with them-- mostly teenage girls, and they did a good job. And on Tuesdays it is 1/2 off, so only $5 per child for as long as they want to stay. We probably stayed for about 3 hours. We came home to discover our dog had escaped and camped outside of one of our neighbors houses and barked at their 3 dogs all afternoon. Argh! We have discoverd that Mister can OPEN the lever-doorknobs in our house. So if I forget to deadbolt one of the doors (or one of the boys opens the door and forgets to re-lock it), he can escape. For a dumb dog, Mister is amazingly good at figuring out escape routes. He clearly needs walks more often, and I need to figure out how he can get them. The big boys are big enough to take him on walks, but then Mosey wants to go, and he's not old enough to be walking outside alone, and I really cannot do walks anymore. At least not as long or as fast as what Mister needs. We need to train him to run on the treadmill maybe!
Ok, I'll close and leave you with a couple of pictures of the spring blossoms and the boys' dance.
Joseph waiting for the dance to begin. Yes, I know the sombrero isn't exactly a Texas cowboy hat, but the cowboy hat *did* evolve from the sombrero, and Texas *did* belong to Mexico once, so it's still ok, right?
"Bow to your partner!"
"And do-si-do!"
"Head couples come together!"
Brigham do-si-do-ing with his partner.
Oh, so serious during the Promenade!
There's a smile!
Sneaking a look at mom.
March 8, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I owe a longer update, which I'll do probably later today, but I thought I'd send some pictures I took in Dallas last week.
The first is a mural painted on the side of the parking garage for the Music Center. The text reads:
"The Artist must be
Sacrificed to the Art.
Like the Bees, they must
Put their lives into
The sting they give."
The 2nd and third are just some cool buildings, and the rest are from the Dallas World Aquarium.
In this pic and the next, you can't really tell but these are HUGE fish in a floor-to-ceiling freshwater aquarium. This one is probably 5-6 feet long.
One of 2 cool aquarium "tunnels"
My favorite little fish, but he was FAST and hard to snap a good picture of. His colors IRL were incredibly vibrant.
For a while this guy was backed up against the coral and he was almost impossible to see until he swam out a little-- great camoflage.
I think this is the same kind of fish as in Finding Nemo-- the old guy in the Dentist's tank, and the only one also from the ocean. Know the one I mean?
Lion fish. These are awesome.
Hammerhead shark. I tried and tried to get a better shot where you could see the "hammer" part of his head better, but this was about the best I could do. These are strange looking sharks! And not as big as I thought-- there were 2 in this tank, and probably only 5 feet long.
2 huge manatees in the fresh-water tank.
Manta-ray shark-- I believe the same type that killed Steve Irwin. We're still sad about that around here, and the boys continue to pray for his family in *every* single prayer.
Rabbit that hopped over to take a look at us.
And of course the highlight of the trip-- the Great White Shark. Scary!
I owe a longer update, which I'll do probably later today, but I thought I'd send some pictures I took in Dallas last week.
The first is a mural painted on the side of the parking garage for the Music Center. The text reads:
"The Artist must be
Sacrificed to the Art.
Like the Bees, they must
Put their lives into
The sting they give."
The 2nd and third are just some cool buildings, and the rest are from the Dallas World Aquarium.
In this pic and the next, you can't really tell but these are HUGE fish in a floor-to-ceiling freshwater aquarium. This one is probably 5-6 feet long.
One of 2 cool aquarium "tunnels"
My favorite little fish, but he was FAST and hard to snap a good picture of. His colors IRL were incredibly vibrant.
My favorite guy again
For a while this guy was backed up against the coral and he was almost impossible to see until he swam out a little-- great camoflage.
I think this is the same kind of fish as in Finding Nemo-- the old guy in the Dentist's tank, and the only one also from the ocean. Know the one I mean?
Lion fish. These are awesome.
Hammerhead shark. I tried and tried to get a better shot where you could see the "hammer" part of his head better, but this was about the best I could do. These are strange looking sharks! And not as big as I thought-- there were 2 in this tank, and probably only 5 feet long.
Awesome jellyfish.
2 huge manatees in the fresh-water tank.
Manta-ray shark-- I believe the same type that killed Steve Irwin. We're still sad about that around here, and the boys continue to pray for his family in *every* single prayer.
Rabbit that hopped over to take a look at us.
Seahorse. One of the things I like best about these is that the females lay the eggs, and then the males take over, protecting the eggs and the young until they're old enough to fend for themselves. Cool, huh?
And of course the highlight of the trip-- the Great White Shark. Scary!
February 28, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Spring has finally arrived in Central Texas. Last week and this week have been beautiful. I have the windows open in my front room right now and it is lovely.
I'm not sure when I wrote last, but I think it has been a shamefully long time. So I will briefly go over what's been going on here!
Last week Rosalynde came out to visit us. It was so great! She flew into Dallas (about half the price of flying in and out of Austin at short notice), so last Wednesday morning Mosey and I woke up before dawn and drove up to Dallas. I was up just in time to catch the Dallas morning rush-hour, so Rosalynde had to wait quite a while for us. Plus I got lost in the airport. Dallas airport is the MOST confusing airport I've ever navigated. But I think I now have a good handle on Terminal A. :-) Mosey was perfect on the way up and down. It is about a 3 hour drive, barring traffic and accidents, both of which we encountered on our trips, but it doesn't really matter when you have a sister to talk to the whole time. On the way up Mosey and I listened to the first part of an Audio book called "The Starcatchers" (I think), narrated by the same guy who narrates the Harry Potter book.
So I tried to show Rosalynde a little bit of Austin while she was here. We went down to the State Capitol building, mostly because Brigham lost his crystals he bought last time at school, and he earned money to buy more, and then drove the scenic route through some of the old Austin hill country to a Barbecue place on Lake Austin. We went to the park on afternoon, and then to Lake Travis on another, drizzly, afternoon. Rosalynde helped me out SO much, doing chores, cooking dinner for us one night (Ratatoullie-- I'm sure I spelled that entirely wrong, but it was entirely delicious), getting the kids in and out of the car (funny how doing little things like that is SUCH a pain with my bum legs), taking Mosey out on a long walk to the grocery store so I could have some uninterrupted time to pay bills and clean off my desk. On Saturday morning we drove back up to Dallas, hoping to be able to catch a Temple session before Rosalynde's flight left that evening. But we got a late start (had to figure out what to do with our dog), and then got caught in quite a fierce wind storm whipping across the open plains north of Austin. When we finally arrived in Dallas the cloudless sky was a dark brown/grey with dust. It was very strange. We walked around the Temple for a short while, but we didn't have time for a session before Rosalynde's flight, and the weather was no good for the kids to hang out at a park. So we went to our Hotel, and I drove Rosalynde to the airport. I should have realized there would be problems with all the wind, plus I should have noticed the lack of any planes taking off or landing, but we were blissfully ignorant until Rosalynde got into the airport and discovered that all flights were grounded. She was in line for a VERY long time, I think 3 hours. American Airlines was so overburdened, their phone system was just hanging up on everyone. But she managed to get her flight changed to the next day, which I'm sure was more than a little distressing since she was expecting to be seeing her little ones in just a couple of hours. We met some friends from Florida who moved up to Dallas last summer at the Galleria mall downtown and ate pizza and watched the kids play in the play area for a while before going back to the hotel.
On Sunday Rosalynde got up with the boys and took them on a walk through the hotel, and got some hot chocolate from the lobby. Then we got up and ready for Church, and I took Rosalynde to the airport. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the airport was open and running smoothly. She had been upgraded to first class, so she got right through the check-in line and security and was finally on her way home.
We then went to church, only to find out it was stake conference-- actually a large regional/area conference-- Oklahome, New Mexico, and Texas. We only made the last hour, since we thought it was regular church that started at 11:00. But we were able to hear Elder Haight and President Hinkley, so it was well worth it. After church we drove through the downtown, up through the Highland area north of Downtown (beautiful old mansions, gorgeous parks along the river-- we walked along the river for a bit and let the boys play on these enormous sculptures of, of all things, teddy bears), and then up through Plano. Plano is where we would have relocated if Ben had stayed with American Southwest. We then drove down through Rowlett (where we might have moved if Ben had accepted another job he was looking at last year), and to Forney where our friends from Florida live. They are out in the country, and it is very beautiful farmland, but VERY different from South Florida. It has been an adjustment for them! We ate dinner and then back to the hotel by which time all 3 boys had fallen asleep. Phew!
Monday I drove Ben to where he was working for the day (he had to meet with the underwriters in the Dallas office), and the boys and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was amazing. You should all go if you go to Dallas. Joseph saw 2 displays of bats, flying around and hanging upside down. There was a great shark tank with a large plexiglass tunnel going right underneath it, so we could see the sharks swimming around and above us. There was a huge freshwater aquarium with a viewing area from floor to ceiling with enormous fresh water fish and 2 rescued mannatees. After that we ate a late lunch at Wendy's, drove over to Ben's office, and fed the ducks in the neighboring lake until Ben was done. Then we left just in time to get caught in a terrible traffic jam due to an accident, and THEN just in time to get stuck in the Ft. Worth rush hour. Oh well, we made it home in time to watch 24, which was the important thing anyway. :-)
Yesterday Brigham was not feeling well (actually he wasn't feeling so hot the whole weekend), and I was exhausted and Joseph was whining that HE was sick too (he wasn't) and couldn't go to school, and I just couldn't get the energy to get Joseph up and ready, so I had both boys stay home. It was a long day. Mosey has gotten accustomed to my undivided attention (or at least his undivided right to play with any/all the toys he wants), and was acting up all day long and earned several time outs. He dumped out the cat's litter box and scattered it pretty much all over the bedroom floor during one of these time outs. Ben was a hero and cleaned up the whole house when he got home. It was a mess. When Ben got home he said, "It looks like a 3 year old went on a rampage around here," which was pretty much what happened! LOL
Today was back to business as usual. Brigham and Joseph went to school without a problem, and Mosey and I did chores and errands. We were planning on going to the park this afternoon, but when I picked up the boys from school, Brigham was clearly not feeling well again. So he is napping and Mosey and Joseph are watching "Carebears" and building lincoln log creations.
Mosey and I went to Hancock Fabrics to get some flannel for the newborn blankets we're making for enrichment tomorrow night (to be sent to Africa in newborn kits), and the ladies cutting the fabric were thoroughly impressed with him. He was discussing what they were doing-- "Mom, what is she doinog?" "She's measuring the material." "How is she measuring the material?" "With the ruler over on her side of the table." "Oh, like this ruler here?" "Yes, just like that one." "Is she going to cut the material?" "Yes, when she's done measuring it." "Where are her scissors?" "In her pocket." "Oh, now she's cutting the yellow material!" "Now she's folding the material into a square!" Etc., etc. He is really cute how he talks with his very high pitched voice and sweet little inflections, and one of the ladies said I need to for sure record his voice. I think Mosey had both of the ladies wrapped around his finger by the time we left. So now I have 18 yards of flannel that I just washed and dried, but still need to iron and cut before Enrichment tomorrow night.
Ok, I'm leaving you with some pictures I took of the boys at the park last Monday-- the first warm day in FOREVER. Also some of Mosey in the tub with his crazy hair before I gave him a long-needed haircut. All of my boys were pretty shaggy that day. I finally cut Brigham and Joseph's hair last night and they don't look like little ragamuffins anymore!
Silly boys making faces at each other
Yeah, 30mm is too wide angle a lens for an extreme closeup, but I still love this one.
But I love this one more!! Backlighting is tricky, though.
Crazy Mosey hair!!!
That's a rock in his hand. He wouldn't give it up but I was happy to get this shot anyway.
I love how "little boy" Mosey looks here.
Spring has finally arrived in Central Texas. Last week and this week have been beautiful. I have the windows open in my front room right now and it is lovely.
I'm not sure when I wrote last, but I think it has been a shamefully long time. So I will briefly go over what's been going on here!
Last week Rosalynde came out to visit us. It was so great! She flew into Dallas (about half the price of flying in and out of Austin at short notice), so last Wednesday morning Mosey and I woke up before dawn and drove up to Dallas. I was up just in time to catch the Dallas morning rush-hour, so Rosalynde had to wait quite a while for us. Plus I got lost in the airport. Dallas airport is the MOST confusing airport I've ever navigated. But I think I now have a good handle on Terminal A. :-) Mosey was perfect on the way up and down. It is about a 3 hour drive, barring traffic and accidents, both of which we encountered on our trips, but it doesn't really matter when you have a sister to talk to the whole time. On the way up Mosey and I listened to the first part of an Audio book called "The Starcatchers" (I think), narrated by the same guy who narrates the Harry Potter book.
So I tried to show Rosalynde a little bit of Austin while she was here. We went down to the State Capitol building, mostly because Brigham lost his crystals he bought last time at school, and he earned money to buy more, and then drove the scenic route through some of the old Austin hill country to a Barbecue place on Lake Austin. We went to the park on afternoon, and then to Lake Travis on another, drizzly, afternoon. Rosalynde helped me out SO much, doing chores, cooking dinner for us one night (Ratatoullie-- I'm sure I spelled that entirely wrong, but it was entirely delicious), getting the kids in and out of the car (funny how doing little things like that is SUCH a pain with my bum legs), taking Mosey out on a long walk to the grocery store so I could have some uninterrupted time to pay bills and clean off my desk. On Saturday morning we drove back up to Dallas, hoping to be able to catch a Temple session before Rosalynde's flight left that evening. But we got a late start (had to figure out what to do with our dog), and then got caught in quite a fierce wind storm whipping across the open plains north of Austin. When we finally arrived in Dallas the cloudless sky was a dark brown/grey with dust. It was very strange. We walked around the Temple for a short while, but we didn't have time for a session before Rosalynde's flight, and the weather was no good for the kids to hang out at a park. So we went to our Hotel, and I drove Rosalynde to the airport. I should have realized there would be problems with all the wind, plus I should have noticed the lack of any planes taking off or landing, but we were blissfully ignorant until Rosalynde got into the airport and discovered that all flights were grounded. She was in line for a VERY long time, I think 3 hours. American Airlines was so overburdened, their phone system was just hanging up on everyone. But she managed to get her flight changed to the next day, which I'm sure was more than a little distressing since she was expecting to be seeing her little ones in just a couple of hours. We met some friends from Florida who moved up to Dallas last summer at the Galleria mall downtown and ate pizza and watched the kids play in the play area for a while before going back to the hotel.
On Sunday Rosalynde got up with the boys and took them on a walk through the hotel, and got some hot chocolate from the lobby. Then we got up and ready for Church, and I took Rosalynde to the airport. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the airport was open and running smoothly. She had been upgraded to first class, so she got right through the check-in line and security and was finally on her way home.
We then went to church, only to find out it was stake conference-- actually a large regional/area conference-- Oklahome, New Mexico, and Texas. We only made the last hour, since we thought it was regular church that started at 11:00. But we were able to hear Elder Haight and President Hinkley, so it was well worth it. After church we drove through the downtown, up through the Highland area north of Downtown (beautiful old mansions, gorgeous parks along the river-- we walked along the river for a bit and let the boys play on these enormous sculptures of, of all things, teddy bears), and then up through Plano. Plano is where we would have relocated if Ben had stayed with American Southwest. We then drove down through Rowlett (where we might have moved if Ben had accepted another job he was looking at last year), and to Forney where our friends from Florida live. They are out in the country, and it is very beautiful farmland, but VERY different from South Florida. It has been an adjustment for them! We ate dinner and then back to the hotel by which time all 3 boys had fallen asleep. Phew!
Monday I drove Ben to where he was working for the day (he had to meet with the underwriters in the Dallas office), and the boys and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was amazing. You should all go if you go to Dallas. Joseph saw 2 displays of bats, flying around and hanging upside down. There was a great shark tank with a large plexiglass tunnel going right underneath it, so we could see the sharks swimming around and above us. There was a huge freshwater aquarium with a viewing area from floor to ceiling with enormous fresh water fish and 2 rescued mannatees. After that we ate a late lunch at Wendy's, drove over to Ben's office, and fed the ducks in the neighboring lake until Ben was done. Then we left just in time to get caught in a terrible traffic jam due to an accident, and THEN just in time to get stuck in the Ft. Worth rush hour. Oh well, we made it home in time to watch 24, which was the important thing anyway. :-)
Yesterday Brigham was not feeling well (actually he wasn't feeling so hot the whole weekend), and I was exhausted and Joseph was whining that HE was sick too (he wasn't) and couldn't go to school, and I just couldn't get the energy to get Joseph up and ready, so I had both boys stay home. It was a long day. Mosey has gotten accustomed to my undivided attention (or at least his undivided right to play with any/all the toys he wants), and was acting up all day long and earned several time outs. He dumped out the cat's litter box and scattered it pretty much all over the bedroom floor during one of these time outs. Ben was a hero and cleaned up the whole house when he got home. It was a mess. When Ben got home he said, "It looks like a 3 year old went on a rampage around here," which was pretty much what happened! LOL
Today was back to business as usual. Brigham and Joseph went to school without a problem, and Mosey and I did chores and errands. We were planning on going to the park this afternoon, but when I picked up the boys from school, Brigham was clearly not feeling well again. So he is napping and Mosey and Joseph are watching "Carebears" and building lincoln log creations.
Mosey and I went to Hancock Fabrics to get some flannel for the newborn blankets we're making for enrichment tomorrow night (to be sent to Africa in newborn kits), and the ladies cutting the fabric were thoroughly impressed with him. He was discussing what they were doing-- "Mom, what is she doinog?" "She's measuring the material." "How is she measuring the material?" "With the ruler over on her side of the table." "Oh, like this ruler here?" "Yes, just like that one." "Is she going to cut the material?" "Yes, when she's done measuring it." "Where are her scissors?" "In her pocket." "Oh, now she's cutting the yellow material!" "Now she's folding the material into a square!" Etc., etc. He is really cute how he talks with his very high pitched voice and sweet little inflections, and one of the ladies said I need to for sure record his voice. I think Mosey had both of the ladies wrapped around his finger by the time we left. So now I have 18 yards of flannel that I just washed and dried, but still need to iron and cut before Enrichment tomorrow night.
Ok, I'm leaving you with some pictures I took of the boys at the park last Monday-- the first warm day in FOREVER. Also some of Mosey in the tub with his crazy hair before I gave him a long-needed haircut. All of my boys were pretty shaggy that day. I finally cut Brigham and Joseph's hair last night and they don't look like little ragamuffins anymore!
Silly boys making faces at each other
*Love* this one of Brigham
Yeah, 30mm is too wide angle a lens for an extreme closeup, but I still love this one.
But I love this one more!! Backlighting is tricky, though.
Crazy Mosey hair!!!
That's a rock in his hand. He wouldn't give it up but I was happy to get this shot anyway.
I love how "little boy" Mosey looks here.
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