Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! Especially to my mom and to Jan (Geoff's mom). Thank you both for being such wonderful moms (and now grandmas) to us and our kiddos.
I had a slew of pictures I wanted to scan an upload - but the first two are the only ones I could get done before I started having trouble with our scanner. Soo...I don't want to delay this post any more than I already have...here are the few favorite pictures:
My mom:

Jan and Mark with the boys:

We love you!

It sure is looking a lot different around here....

I can't get used to the green...I am so used to the brown. Can't wait to get some TREES!

What we've been UP to.....

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this past weekend and let the boys run amuck at the park...and then hiked through some frisbee golf holes. W was really getting into it. J was perfectly content just to carry his toys but he also threw the frisbee a few times.
Some action shots of frisbee golf:

Some park shots (from the past week):

We have stayed busy with just settling into our house and keeping up with day to day stuff. I am amazed how several days just soar by and I don't feel like I accomplish very much. Is it really May?! We are almost halfway to Christmas already? Moving definitely expedites time.

I did finally take a camera class the past two Saturdays and now know how much I have been missing out on my camera. I should have taken one when I got my camera three years ago! My camera was passed around class as an example of a really dirty lens. Great. The instructor was nice enough to clean it for me. And it wasn't just the lens surface that was dirty...some of my pictures (enlarged on an overhead projector) showcased the SAND that was stuck in my camera. So I am relishing how much clearer my photos look after a good cleaning!

Clean lens:

Here is one of the assignment pictures...I was trying to show the diagonal rule and the leading lines rule in one picture:

A couple of updates...Katy and Bear still smell like skunk but just when you get right next to them. It is amazing how the smell just seeps out of their faces! I never thought I would long for their normal dog smell.

Bear during one of her four baths:

Katy after bath number 5? Or maybe 6?:

And as for my neck, we are still in a wait-and-see mode right now. It feels so much better after taking the oral steroids. And I have been told not to rush into the shot. I am scheduled for the injection on 1 June...just based on my referral. So I will keep it for now...and see if I should cancel or move it as it gets closer. Apparently, the fragment extruded is fairly large...so no telling what the future will hold. Looks like surgery will be in my future...but holding that off as long as possible is the goal for now. Here is one of the MRI images to just show a general view...can you see the fragment?

And finally, for the landscaping. The weekday weather has really delayed the project, BUT looky what arrived today:

SOD! Lots and lots of SOD! Now for the fun stuff. Will post more pictures of the progress soon.

Bye!

Update

We headed to Bend for an appointment with the neurosurgeon on Monday. The doctor was nice but speedy and we left realizing we had a lot more questions.

Here's the bottomline:
After reviewing the MRI, he confirmed that I do have a ruptured disc. And it is pressing right on the nerve. So, the next step will be to see if we can get the inflammation down enough to remove the pressure on the nerve to get the pain to disappear.

It has taken my mind awhile to realize that it is OK to have a herniated disc. I was so hung up on the need to "fix it" - I don't want anything broken in my body. But apparently herniated discs are quite common - YOU could even have one...but it may never come to light if it doesn't cause any pain.

So I started a 7-day oral steroid plan - and am praying that alone will do the job.
If not, I have to visit an anesthesiologist for a big fat shot in my neck. Yes, picture having an epidural in.your.neck. No thank you very much. But I guess if it prevents surgery...I will have to grin and bear it. The doctor also wants me to have some more traction done on my neck in the meantime. And he still wants to see me again in two weeks. And to call their office every few days with updates. And to research our insurance policy view's on artificial discs.

But we'll worry about that later.

The boys...right now.

I haven't given an update of the boys current "happenings" lately so here goes.

They are (big sigh) 3 years and 8 months! Where did the last 8 months go?! It was hard enough in church on Sunday watching them go up front with the "big" kids. I guess it took that to realize that they are one of the "big" kids now. At their doctor appointment about a month ago they weighed exactly the same: 32 lbs (40th percentile at 3 1/2 years) and J is 37 1/2 inches and W is 36 1/2 inches (both 20th percentile). Their eczema is improving as they get older...but we are still dealing with it and food allergies and asthma. J and W are very good about asking "is there eggs in it?" and if there is nuts in something...they say "when I'm older, I can have this?"

A list of favorites:

Foods: Cereal..."what do you want for dinner?" "Cereal." Although they have only had cereal for dinner once or twice mind you...they will ask for cereal anytime you ask them what they would like to eat. They also love fruit, applesauce, crackers, bread, yogurt and of course anytime they have a "special treat" they love it before they even taste it. Lollipops too.

Toys: Trains

Activities: Playing outdooors, going to the park, being chased, doing puzzles, and building elaborate train tracks:

Comfort item:

J-"Pin Pin" (his baby penguin) and his "giraffe blanket". Here is J tucking in "Pin Pin":

W-"Mama" - not me...but Pin Pin's mama. W's stuffed penguin. And his "hole" blankets...W pretending to sleep with Mama and his hole blankets.

Expression to strangers: Spitting sound with lips and saying "poo poo" and bursting out laughing. For example "Bye Bye (pause) POO POO!"

Books: They like all books but especially anything with trains in it.

As for dislikes, they do not like the idea of taking naps. But they are in good napping phase now. I feel as if I can write a book on the stages and phases of naptime. You know what I mean! Getting them to sleep in first place, getting them to take one without you, going from three naps to two, and two naps to one...and taking one at all! And taking one at the same time as the other kiddos. We are on the every-other-day-nap phase. I don't even try to put them down every day. Every other day one sleeps in our bed and the other in their bed downstairs. Here is W sleeping in our bed (please notice that "Mama" and a train book are close by:

And two days later, here is J sleeping in our bed:

At the new church we tried, the teacher did a bible study and the class did a craft. When I went to pick them up after church...everyone was working on their craft and wearing their crowns...except J and W. They were both on the floor playing with trucks. At least J had a crown. I could tell that the teach wrote his name on it and drew a couple of shapes to encourage him...and that was about it. W didn't even have a crown. He told me that he told her "I don't want to make a crown. I just want to play with trucks." And when I asked them what the bible story was about J said “She didn’t read the butterfly book. She talked about God. And a giant. And God had a rubberband and threw a rock at the giant.”
Wyatt later said the same story but added…. “and then the giant turned into a princess.”

They are not so into crafts and coloring quite yet. It is funny ho w everything we try to make turns into trains.

I gave them colored pencils and crayons to color with the other day...and they got on the floor and lined up the pencils and crayons to make a train:

But here is a rare glimpse at their artistic side (take a good look, for there are trains and trucks nearby so it won't last long):

They are both such energetic, animated, creative, sweet and such loveable (my favorite) boys--throughout the day I will ask them for hugs and they run over and give me a big cuddle. And several days J will just walk up and squeeze me leg and kiss it. Or just tell me he wants a kiss and a hug. Those are the moments that make being their mommy SO worthwhile. That, and of course, seeing them sleep! I think every parent loves to look at their kiddos sleeping. When they can REALLY look at them. I think that is why I have so many pictures of them sleeping.

On a different note...if I can just get through the book "I'll Love You Forever" once without crying...I have attempted reading that book aloud to the boys probably three times. Once every six months or so...and of course the boys dug it out this afternoon for me to read. And by page three I was a crying boo hooing mess. And I try to look at the funny cat on each page as a distraction and to compose myself and the boys scream "Read it mommy!" and I just can't. I told them I couldn't and we started the next book. And J said "The book makes you sad?" And I couldn't even explain to him why bc I was crying so much. Then they started laughing at me. Such such boys.

What Time Is It?

Time to get new jeans.

I got dressed this morning and Geoff dressed the boys. And I realized pretty quickly that we all had holes in the knees of our jeans!

Pain in the Neck

A couple of weeks ago I was healthy and finally getting back into my regular workout routine. Then two Thursdays ago I woke up with a stiff neck...just as if I slept on it wrong. But it quickly transitioned from a stiff neck to a nerve-type pain in my upper back/neck and shoulder. The next day it was worse. No matter how I sat, laid down, or stood I couldn't get in any position to relieve the pain.

I took 800 mg Motrin (gasp-I never take anything unless I have to) and was getting zero relief. Because I couldn't get in to our doctor until Monday, I headed to the ER. The doctor was nice but I could tell he just thought I had really tight muscles in my neck and blaimed it on that. He had a PT paged who came and tried to stretch my neck out a bit and gave me some tips on stretching and getting up and down from a laying down position, then the doctor gave me some painkillers and sent me on my way.

The narcotic and muscle relaxer did not help at all and the pain in my arm was waking me up every three hours at night through the weekend. So I knew something more was wrong. I kept the Monday appointment with the Family Practice doctor and I am so glad I did! He listened to me explain my symptoms, he asked me a few questions and said "I think you have a herniated disk between C5 and C6 and you need an MRI." He wrote me a presciption for Tramadol (a stronger pain med) and I went home. A week later I had the MRI and the the doctor called me and said "Well, your doctor was right. You have a herniated disk between C5 and C6 and you need to go to a neurologist and have surgery." WHAT?! I was in total shock. I remember asking him "I have to have surgery?" And he said that I didn't have to, but then I would just continue to be in pain.

I found online that 90% of herniated disks can be resolved with physical therapy. And that only 10% of herniated disks happen in the cervical spine. So I wanted to talk to the doc in person to see why surgery was necessary and why didn't he refer me to a PT first. I had to see another doctor bc my doctor was out of the office for several days...and she read thought the MRI with me.

The specifics:

"C5-C6: 3.4 mm irregular diffuse posterior disk herniation at this level. There is a 4.5 mm right lateral extrusion. Moderate to severe impingement upon the right neural foramen." Apparently the "extrusion" part is bad. My friend Michelle (a PT) told me that an extrusion is level 3 out of 4 levels.

I was googling "extrusion" last night and reading about what I have was making me nauseous.

This shows what extrusion looks like:

Ewww. Too much information. Apparently the first two are an incomplete herniation and the last two are a complete herniation. I just don't understand how I can feel great one day and have a complete herniation the next.

In the meantime, I found that if I sleep in an upright position vs. laying down it relieves the pain tremendously and I don't wake up as much during the night.

Will post more when we get to the neurologist (could take days or weeks).