Today Brandon and I celebrate 5 wonderful years of marriage :) Not only did I marry the love of my life, but I married my BEST FRIEND! He is always there for me, no matter what. Even if he isn't actually there in person, I can always count on him to listen to my problems and help me find a solution. We've grown a lot in the last five years, thankfully it has been together, and not apart!
Brandon works a lot, as most of you know. But over the years I've realized that he is doing it to better our family. I still have my days (and/or weeks) that it really bothers me. But for the most part, I understand. Someday, his hard work will pay off. We will be able to retire and (maybe) travel together. We wont know until the time comes, but for now, that is what I hope for! It is also much easier when he is away because I have Haley to keep me company.
Happy Anniversary Brandon!! I love you!!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Test
Instead of getting up extra early Wednesday morning for Haley's VCUG test, we ended up spending the night at Grandma & Grandpa Keppers' house. My mom took the day off also to come with us since Brandon was unable to attend.
The test was no fun! First we went into a regular exam type room where they administered the nitrous oxide. That wasn't too bad. They put the catheter in and extracted all the urine she had in her bladder. They left the tube in and put her diaper back on. Then brought her down from the nitrous oxide by giving her pure oxygen. I was a little confused at this point because they weren't quite done yet. Anyway... next, we walked down the hall to the xray room where I had to lay Haley down on a table (she hates any exam table/hospital bed). There were 4 people (including myself and my mother) holding Haley down while a 5th snapped the xrays. First they had to fill her bladder with the dye, then they poured water on her nether region to make her urinate so it would show on the ultra sound if it was coming out or coming out and going up her ureters. It was in fact going back up her ureters. Which means she has Kidney Reflux. Luckily, it is the lowest (stage 1) grade. To treat it, the only thing they can do is prevent infections by putting her on a preventative antibiotic. Hopefully it will work and there will be no break-through infections. I am confident it will work :)
The test was no fun! First we went into a regular exam type room where they administered the nitrous oxide. That wasn't too bad. They put the catheter in and extracted all the urine she had in her bladder. They left the tube in and put her diaper back on. Then brought her down from the nitrous oxide by giving her pure oxygen. I was a little confused at this point because they weren't quite done yet. Anyway... next, we walked down the hall to the xray room where I had to lay Haley down on a table (she hates any exam table/hospital bed). There were 4 people (including myself and my mother) holding Haley down while a 5th snapped the xrays. First they had to fill her bladder with the dye, then they poured water on her nether region to make her urinate so it would show on the ultra sound if it was coming out or coming out and going up her ureters. It was in fact going back up her ureters. Which means she has Kidney Reflux. Luckily, it is the lowest (stage 1) grade. To treat it, the only thing they can do is prevent infections by putting her on a preventative antibiotic. Hopefully it will work and there will be no break-through infections. I am confident it will work :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Our Weekend
Friday morning I went into Haley's room to find she had peed through her night time diaper. Which if you remember, was the first indicator to her last two UTIs. So, I conversed with Brandon and decided to bring her in to be tested. Which was a decision that did not come easy... With all of the pain it causes her... fighting off the nurses when they try to catheterize her. It is sooo traumatizing (as I've mentioned previously). For both Haley and I (and Brandon too, when he is there). Because the nurse I spoke to at the Urologist office told me that she could not have an infection when she has her test on the 25th, we figured we better not wait to see if she develops a fever. I got her in at 3:00pm that day.
We saw Andrea, the same Nurse Practitioner as last time. She was great. I told her all of Haley's symptoms, she examined Haley by pressing on her tummy and looking at her bottom. After doing so she decided not to go through the process of taking a urine sample. She said Haley was definitely constipated, and not to worry about baths so much right now. She said it could very well be hurting her to sit in the water because of the backed up poo' in her. That also could be causing the extra pee at night. So until we get the poo' out, we will sponge bathe. I haven't washed her hair since Thursday night now, so it is getting pretty greasy. I am going to try and wash it in the sink tonight if she will lay still on the counter for me. We will see!
On a different note... We ended up staying the night at my parent's house that night. We did a bunch of running around after the appointment and were pretty pooped by the time we got back to their house. I had picked up a Power Wheels Barbie Trailrider (4-Wheeler) for Haley at a garage sale earlier in the day, and when I was putting it in the bed of my truck (by myself, no thanks to the seller) I didn't quite clear the tailgate while lifting the toy up it twisted my wrist really hard and I felt something pop. From then on while driving down to Haley's appointment and the rest of the weekend it hurt. I must have sprained it or something. It still snap, crackles and pops if I don't have this wrist wrap on (which I happened to already have). It seems to help quite a bit!
Saturday we hung out at my parents house until about 4pm. They went to a wedding and wanted us to stay so we could feed and let out the dogs so they could hang out at the wedding for a while. Christy stopped by to hang out and get ready for the wedding she was going to later that afternoon. After Haley's nap we fed the dogs and left. Stopped at Kmart to find a battery and charger for the Power Wheels. No luck there so I called the Forest Lake Walmart to see if they had what I needed. The person I spoke to told me they had a combo package with both the battery and the charger. That made me excited! So we ran up there quick and found that it was not the right battery. Boo! Picked up some hot dogs for dinner and a few other things in the new grocery store part of Walmart, and went home without a battery or charger. I did find both items at Batteries Plus, but they wanted $39.99 for each item! No way I was going to spend $80 on a used toy that I am not sure will work even if I get these things! I've done some looking online, and it looks like I will have to order them.
Brandon hired two teenagers from work to come over and work on our yard. One pulled weeds and the other mowed the lawn twice (the grass was super long so Brandon wanted it done the first time at 4" and the second time at 3.5") and pulled the sweeper to pick up the grass clippings. They were there for about 4 hours, but it was so hot they decided to come back and finish either later this week or this coming weekend. Already it is looking good though! I am pretty excited to see the finished product. Our yard has definitely been neglected for the last couple of years with how much Brandon has been working.
Well today's almost done. One more day of work, then I have Wednesday off. But it won't be fun and games! Haley and I will be up extra early. We have to pick up Grandma on the way and be to Children's (United) in Saint Paul by 7:30AM. It is definately nice to split up the week by having Wednesday off, but I am NOT looking forward to it this time. I'd like to just skip this week until 5:00PM Friday, our 5 year Wedding Anniversary!
We saw Andrea, the same Nurse Practitioner as last time. She was great. I told her all of Haley's symptoms, she examined Haley by pressing on her tummy and looking at her bottom. After doing so she decided not to go through the process of taking a urine sample. She said Haley was definitely constipated, and not to worry about baths so much right now. She said it could very well be hurting her to sit in the water because of the backed up poo' in her. That also could be causing the extra pee at night. So until we get the poo' out, we will sponge bathe. I haven't washed her hair since Thursday night now, so it is getting pretty greasy. I am going to try and wash it in the sink tonight if she will lay still on the counter for me. We will see!
On a different note... We ended up staying the night at my parent's house that night. We did a bunch of running around after the appointment and were pretty pooped by the time we got back to their house. I had picked up a Power Wheels Barbie Trailrider (4-Wheeler) for Haley at a garage sale earlier in the day, and when I was putting it in the bed of my truck (by myself, no thanks to the seller) I didn't quite clear the tailgate while lifting the toy up it twisted my wrist really hard and I felt something pop. From then on while driving down to Haley's appointment and the rest of the weekend it hurt. I must have sprained it or something. It still snap, crackles and pops if I don't have this wrist wrap on (which I happened to already have). It seems to help quite a bit!
Saturday we hung out at my parents house until about 4pm. They went to a wedding and wanted us to stay so we could feed and let out the dogs so they could hang out at the wedding for a while. Christy stopped by to hang out and get ready for the wedding she was going to later that afternoon. After Haley's nap we fed the dogs and left. Stopped at Kmart to find a battery and charger for the Power Wheels. No luck there so I called the Forest Lake Walmart to see if they had what I needed. The person I spoke to told me they had a combo package with both the battery and the charger. That made me excited! So we ran up there quick and found that it was not the right battery. Boo! Picked up some hot dogs for dinner and a few other things in the new grocery store part of Walmart, and went home without a battery or charger. I did find both items at Batteries Plus, but they wanted $39.99 for each item! No way I was going to spend $80 on a used toy that I am not sure will work even if I get these things! I've done some looking online, and it looks like I will have to order them.
Brandon hired two teenagers from work to come over and work on our yard. One pulled weeds and the other mowed the lawn twice (the grass was super long so Brandon wanted it done the first time at 4" and the second time at 3.5") and pulled the sweeper to pick up the grass clippings. They were there for about 4 hours, but it was so hot they decided to come back and finish either later this week or this coming weekend. Already it is looking good though! I am pretty excited to see the finished product. Our yard has definitely been neglected for the last couple of years with how much Brandon has been working.
Well today's almost done. One more day of work, then I have Wednesday off. But it won't be fun and games! Haley and I will be up extra early. We have to pick up Grandma on the way and be to Children's (United) in Saint Paul by 7:30AM. It is definately nice to split up the week by having Wednesday off, but I am NOT looking forward to it this time. I'd like to just skip this week until 5:00PM Friday, our 5 year Wedding Anniversary!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
And the problem continues...
Ok so it's not exactly the same problem as before, but Haley is having problems again. This time she is constipated. Or so they say. I mean I believe it and everything... It's just strange cause until we started messing with her, she was still actually pooping. If you don't want to read about poop... stop reading here.
Monday she pooped while at daycare. But Michele (our daycare provider) told me it took her a good hour to actually get it out. She said when she finally got it out and Michele changed Haley's diaper, it smelled horrific, and was black as tar. Later I found out Haley had eaten lots of blueberries on Sunday.
Speaking of the weekend, this is when it all began (or shall I say we started noticing something was definitely wrong... we kinda already knew she might be constipated). Haley went to the cabin with my parents for the weekend so I could ride along with Brandon on a Wilton, ND run for work. We haven't seen a lot of each other lately, so it was nice to get to spend some time together, just the two of us. Although it would have been nice if it could have been the three of us, that just doesn't work in a semi-truck. Anywho... Saturday my mom went to give Haley a bath and she immediately told Gramma she had to poop. Gramma then took her out of the tub and held her on the toilet to see if she would go. Haley wasn't having it. Gramma went to try and put her back in the tub when she put her legs out so Gramma couldn't get her into the tub... kind of like a cat might do if you were trying to put them in a bath. Smart little bugger. So Gramma put a diaper on Haley and that was the end of it. She planned on giving her a bath the next morning, but they didn't get to it.
After Haley arrived home on Sunday evening, I fed her and tried the bath. Same thing. I put her in the bath and right away Haley says "Potty, potty, potty" and points at the big-girl potty chair. She didn't even sit down in the bath, so her feet were the only thing wet. I took her out and sat her on the potty. Nothing. She sat there a few minutes then got up and walked to the tub and said "bath" so I tried putting her back in. Like the night before, she stuck her legs out and made it difficult to get her into the tub. Finally I got her in and she just stood there. And of course cried. She wouldn't sit down and kept saying "potty" while pointing at it. I couldn't tell if something was wrong, or she was just simply being a two year old brat. I told her if she didn't sit down, I would just bath her while she stood there. And that, I did. I went to try and wash her but and she immediately clenched her legs together as hard as she could. I took her out of the tub, dried her off and put her on the changing pad. I tried to put a diaper on her, same thing. She clenched her legs together like I was doing something to hurt her. She does the same thing when the doctors try to cath her. And she cries. It is all great fun.
I called the Nurse Practitioner we saw at the Urologist office to talk to her and of course Monday she had the day off. I talked to a nurse and wasn't happy with what she told me so I called back on Tuesday talk to Andrea (the NP). She told me she was certain Haley was constipated. Since I had already tried prune juice (which the first time she loved, and Monday she wouldn't touch it) and that didn't work, I needed to try some glycerin suppositories. :( NO FUN! I waited for Brandon to come home last night to give her another stand up bath (she wouldn't sit in the water again), then we did the suppository. She didn't like it, and neither did we. 30 minutes later it was time for bed. She wasn't having that either. She cried for an hour before finally falling asleep. That was the worst. I wanted so badly to go in and rock her to sleep like I did when she was younger. But Brandon assured me she would fall asleep on her own. The night before we let her sleep in bed with us, which almost NEVER happens. She had cried and cried and cried some more, and we gave in.
Anyway... Hoping for some "poops" for Haley today! Also praying for a friend, Sally, who was induced for labor yesterday afternoon. Have not heard any news as of yet.
Monday she pooped while at daycare. But Michele (our daycare provider) told me it took her a good hour to actually get it out. She said when she finally got it out and Michele changed Haley's diaper, it smelled horrific, and was black as tar. Later I found out Haley had eaten lots of blueberries on Sunday.
Speaking of the weekend, this is when it all began (or shall I say we started noticing something was definitely wrong... we kinda already knew she might be constipated). Haley went to the cabin with my parents for the weekend so I could ride along with Brandon on a Wilton, ND run for work. We haven't seen a lot of each other lately, so it was nice to get to spend some time together, just the two of us. Although it would have been nice if it could have been the three of us, that just doesn't work in a semi-truck. Anywho... Saturday my mom went to give Haley a bath and she immediately told Gramma she had to poop. Gramma then took her out of the tub and held her on the toilet to see if she would go. Haley wasn't having it. Gramma went to try and put her back in the tub when she put her legs out so Gramma couldn't get her into the tub... kind of like a cat might do if you were trying to put them in a bath. Smart little bugger. So Gramma put a diaper on Haley and that was the end of it. She planned on giving her a bath the next morning, but they didn't get to it.
After Haley arrived home on Sunday evening, I fed her and tried the bath. Same thing. I put her in the bath and right away Haley says "Potty, potty, potty" and points at the big-girl potty chair. She didn't even sit down in the bath, so her feet were the only thing wet. I took her out and sat her on the potty. Nothing. She sat there a few minutes then got up and walked to the tub and said "bath" so I tried putting her back in. Like the night before, she stuck her legs out and made it difficult to get her into the tub. Finally I got her in and she just stood there. And of course cried. She wouldn't sit down and kept saying "potty" while pointing at it. I couldn't tell if something was wrong, or she was just simply being a two year old brat. I told her if she didn't sit down, I would just bath her while she stood there. And that, I did. I went to try and wash her but and she immediately clenched her legs together as hard as she could. I took her out of the tub, dried her off and put her on the changing pad. I tried to put a diaper on her, same thing. She clenched her legs together like I was doing something to hurt her. She does the same thing when the doctors try to cath her. And she cries. It is all great fun.
I called the Nurse Practitioner we saw at the Urologist office to talk to her and of course Monday she had the day off. I talked to a nurse and wasn't happy with what she told me so I called back on Tuesday talk to Andrea (the NP). She told me she was certain Haley was constipated. Since I had already tried prune juice (which the first time she loved, and Monday she wouldn't touch it) and that didn't work, I needed to try some glycerin suppositories. :( NO FUN! I waited for Brandon to come home last night to give her another stand up bath (she wouldn't sit in the water again), then we did the suppository. She didn't like it, and neither did we. 30 minutes later it was time for bed. She wasn't having that either. She cried for an hour before finally falling asleep. That was the worst. I wanted so badly to go in and rock her to sleep like I did when she was younger. But Brandon assured me she would fall asleep on her own. The night before we let her sleep in bed with us, which almost NEVER happens. She had cried and cried and cried some more, and we gave in.
Anyway... Hoping for some "poops" for Haley today! Also praying for a friend, Sally, who was induced for labor yesterday afternoon. Have not heard any news as of yet.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
TGI... T
Glad that it is Thursday, but I wish it were Friday. I am definitely ready for the weekend. A weekend of nothing but hanging around the house. Maybe I can get some cleaning done!! No weddings, no parties, no helping Brandon at work. Nothing. Oh there is one thing.... Brooke asked if I wanted to go to a baby sale in Forest Lake, I said sure! But its not far from the house, so I won't worry too much.
My house is seriously a pigsty. If you know me, (which i am sure you do) you know this isn't completely unusual. Being the "sometimes single mother" that I am, I just don't have the energy (or ambition) to clean it/keep it clean during the week. Then the weekend comes and if we are busy with stuff, chances are I am either not home enough to get it clean or I am not home one whole day and need the next day to recover. Well now I am putting it in writing "I WILL CLEAN MY HOUSE THIS WEEKEND!" I do really enjoy when it is clean. I REALLY do. But it is hard when you get home from work, make dinner, eat, then get Haley down from the chair and she wants to hang out with Mommy... She doesn't like it when I try to do the dishes, she typically hangs on my leg crying and whining until I give up. By the time I put her to bed, I am wanting to go to bed myself. So this weekend, I WILL clean.
ON a different note.... It is only the beginning of August and I've already started thinking about what to dress Haley as for Halloween. Of course I could go with the Princess or Ballerina, but I am thinking something more cutesy. You know like a fuzzy animal. She won't want to do those when she is older, I am sure she will pick a princess every year til she is 10, so I figure I can wait til then for that. Any ideas? I wish I was crafty enough to make one myself, cause all of the really cute ones are $40- $50! And well that's just too much.
I've also started thinking about Haley's 2nd Birthday Party. It's not just her 2nd birthday... it is also her GOLDEN Birthday! What kind of a theme should I go with?? Big Bird? He's yellow, yellow is sometimes referred to as gold...? I really have no idea. But again, I am open to suggestions.
My house is seriously a pigsty. If you know me, (which i am sure you do) you know this isn't completely unusual. Being the "sometimes single mother" that I am, I just don't have the energy (or ambition) to clean it/keep it clean during the week. Then the weekend comes and if we are busy with stuff, chances are I am either not home enough to get it clean or I am not home one whole day and need the next day to recover. Well now I am putting it in writing "I WILL CLEAN MY HOUSE THIS WEEKEND!" I do really enjoy when it is clean. I REALLY do. But it is hard when you get home from work, make dinner, eat, then get Haley down from the chair and she wants to hang out with Mommy... She doesn't like it when I try to do the dishes, she typically hangs on my leg crying and whining until I give up. By the time I put her to bed, I am wanting to go to bed myself. So this weekend, I WILL clean.
ON a different note.... It is only the beginning of August and I've already started thinking about what to dress Haley as for Halloween. Of course I could go with the Princess or Ballerina, but I am thinking something more cutesy. You know like a fuzzy animal. She won't want to do those when she is older, I am sure she will pick a princess every year til she is 10, so I figure I can wait til then for that. Any ideas? I wish I was crafty enough to make one myself, cause all of the really cute ones are $40- $50! And well that's just too much.
I've also started thinking about Haley's 2nd Birthday Party. It's not just her 2nd birthday... it is also her GOLDEN Birthday! What kind of a theme should I go with?? Big Bird? He's yellow, yellow is sometimes referred to as gold...? I really have no idea. But again, I am open to suggestions.
Monday, August 9, 2010
HOT HOT HOT
Dang! It is hot out there! They are talking heat index of 103° today. An excessive heat advisory is in effect. or is it affect? Anyway... we are under an excessive heat advisory. It's days like today that I worry about Brandon and my Dad. Them being outside all day long. Are they drinking enough water? Are they over doing it? Brandon gets mad at me when I ask these sorts of questions, says he's a "big boy that can take care of himself." This doesn't make me worry any less though.
He says that he will actually be home early tonight. Early to him is a normal time to me. Meaning around 5pm. I won't count on it though. It seems when he says something like this he actually means 3+ hours later. I am used to it I guess. Although some days it bothers me more than others.
Went to a the wedding of Brandon's Grandpa Joe and "New" Grandma Mary on Saturday this weekend. We got there at 9AM, as requested, for pictures. Haley was rather shy at first, clinging to my leg and wanting me to hold/carry her. After a while, I couldn't get her to stay near me. She was running around pressing her face up against the glass doors/windows, climbing on chairs across the room, just didn't want to be anywhere near me and Brandon. Finally when the ceremony began, we sat in the chapel for about 5 minutes before she started speaking loudly. So we brought her out into the lobby area, were we could still hear and see what was happening. So she ran around and did her own thing. Which was fine until someone came towards the end of the service and sat out in the lobby also. Then we wanted her to stay by us. She wasn't having it. Finally we took her out to the truck and she and I stayed out there. Brandon went back inside to finish his Usher duties. He did so hung out until he was able to congratulate his Grandpa Joe and Mary in the receiving line. He informed them our daughter was misbehaving and we would be leaving because of it, and he had to go into work. Neither of them seemed very happy, but what can you do.
We left and on the way home we stopped at Mc Donnalds. I had the first cheese burger I've had since last September. For those of you who don't know, I've not been eating ground beef because last September all of a sudden it started making me feel really sick. I didn't actually get sick, but felt as if I was going to be. It had happened 3 times in one week. After that, I kind of swore it off. Well I had a Big and Tasty, and OMG it was soooooo good! But an hour after eating it, I was sorry. I did get sick this time. :( Maybe I should ask my doctor about it? I dunno. May as well since we hit our insurance deductible this year!
I guess that's about it for today... it is 4:45 so I need to start closing up shop!
He says that he will actually be home early tonight. Early to him is a normal time to me. Meaning around 5pm. I won't count on it though. It seems when he says something like this he actually means 3+ hours later. I am used to it I guess. Although some days it bothers me more than others.
Went to a the wedding of Brandon's Grandpa Joe and "New" Grandma Mary on Saturday this weekend. We got there at 9AM, as requested, for pictures. Haley was rather shy at first, clinging to my leg and wanting me to hold/carry her. After a while, I couldn't get her to stay near me. She was running around pressing her face up against the glass doors/windows, climbing on chairs across the room, just didn't want to be anywhere near me and Brandon. Finally when the ceremony began, we sat in the chapel for about 5 minutes before she started speaking loudly. So we brought her out into the lobby area, were we could still hear and see what was happening. So she ran around and did her own thing. Which was fine until someone came towards the end of the service and sat out in the lobby also. Then we wanted her to stay by us. She wasn't having it. Finally we took her out to the truck and she and I stayed out there. Brandon went back inside to finish his Usher duties. He did so hung out until he was able to congratulate his Grandpa Joe and Mary in the receiving line. He informed them our daughter was misbehaving and we would be leaving because of it, and he had to go into work. Neither of them seemed very happy, but what can you do.
We left and on the way home we stopped at Mc Donnalds. I had the first cheese burger I've had since last September. For those of you who don't know, I've not been eating ground beef because last September all of a sudden it started making me feel really sick. I didn't actually get sick, but felt as if I was going to be. It had happened 3 times in one week. After that, I kind of swore it off. Well I had a Big and Tasty, and OMG it was soooooo good! But an hour after eating it, I was sorry. I did get sick this time. :( Maybe I should ask my doctor about it? I dunno. May as well since we hit our insurance deductible this year!
I guess that's about it for today... it is 4:45 so I need to start closing up shop!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)