Tag--I'm it!

An oldie but a goody. Riding the train at the zoo with the twinnies. Fall of '05.

Rebecca A. tagged me :) Here it goes...

10 years ago:


Working on the DirecTV project for Convergys (lamest job ever--except that I did meet Kevin and Shikay there), dating Spencer (dreamy sigh), living with my grandparents (sniff…miss you guys!), and going to the University of Utah.


5 years ago:


Hoping to get pregnant again (sense a pattern here? LOL), living with Spencer’s brother Josh, still working at Convergy but now with Aislinn and Erica, and attending nursing school (with Tiffany's husband Codey) at Westminster College.


5 months ago:


Wishing it was summer I guess!


5 things on my to-do list:


1. work out


2. buy PB at Whole Foods


3. check out the doesn't-look-too-skeevy-but-then-why-is-it-only-open-2-days-a-week décor store just west of Old Town


4. study (BIG TIRED SIGH)


5. ride my bike to work


5 snacks i enjoy:


1. Pink Lady apples


2. anything with PB


3. cottage cheese with fruit


4. yogurt with fruit


5. microwave popcorn


5 things i would do if i had a billion dollars:


1. pay it all off baby


2. homes for all of my fam

3. educations for all of the kids in my fam


4. travel, travel


5. donate, donate


5 of my bad habits:


1. staying up too late


2. trying to cram too much into one day

3. worrying about stuff over which I have no control


4. second-guessing myself


5. popping my gum


5 places i have lived:


1. Fort Collins, CO


2. West Jordan, UT


3. Sugarhouse, UT


4. East Carbon, UT


5. Price, UT


5 jobs i have had:


1. Registered Nurse


2. Nanny


3. Preschool Teacher

4. Mommy Extraordinaire


5. checkout clerk at K-mart (can I get a holla Amy?)


5 things people don't know about me:


1. I looooove good pickles (not the gross gray-green ones)

2. I despise black licorice


3. I have 5-10 “gotta read this next” books at my bedside at any given time


4. I hate fish but try it at least once a year to make sure that I still hate it


5. I have had a piece of pencil graphite stuck in my ankle since I was 10ish.


People that i tag:


1. Kristin A.


2. Rebecca W.


3. Lisa

Water Parties

Milo's pH and impedence study has FINALLY been scheduled. It's on Wednesday, July 2nd. We've opted to stay overnight this time--hoping to avoid the fiasco that happened the last time we had a pH and impedence study. Milo is pretty anxious about any possibility of having to sleep at the hospital again. Poor baby. :( We're hoping that new jammies and a new stuffed panda bear (his current most favorite animal) we'll help with the anxiety. Water parties are a hot activity around our place right now. The kids got a $4 tea set from Ikea for Christmas and it's gotten about $400 worth of use. We have hot chocolate parties, Gatorade parties, and water parties. Today, we had a water party with some of our BFFs, Maycee and Spencer. It's so fun for the kids to have kids their age living right next door (and even funner that we like their mom and dad so much too!).
Isabel in her current puffy dress and her "backup" glasses (we're waiting on a replacement pair). She tells me "Mom, these glasses are just kinda junky!" about 3 times a day.
Maycee in one of Issy's former puffy dresses. Good she's a puffy dress kind of girl too. They have so much fun playing dressup.
Milo used to drink out of his sippy cups with no hands. It was so funny to watch--he would multitask. Drink with no hands while walking along the couch etc.. This picture reminds me of that. :)

Spencer in one of our costume hats. He has all of the kids calling it "the Indiana Jones hat". Nevermind that none of them have seen Indiana Jones...or even know who he is! So cute.

Family Rule #127

Me with Isabel in May 2006. She always seems to find a way to get dirtier, wetter, and messier than anyone else--and to have way more fun doing it I think!

Family Rule #127 We never, ever, ever wash our faces (or any other body part) in the gross throw-a-penny-in-it-make-a-wish-type fountain at the mall. Ever.

Today, someone in our family (ahem, Isabel) asked to throw a penny in the fountain. Sorry, Mommy doesn't have any pennies in her wallet. Someone asked to take off their shoes and put their feet in the water. Sorry, Mommy thinks that is yucky--even if there are other kids doing it on the other side of the fountain. Someone then asked to walk in the fountain. Again, sorry but Mommy thinks that putting your feet in or walking around in this slimy fountain is kind of gross. That someone then sat quietly by the edge. Calmly took off her glasses and folded them up. They delicately placed them on the bench by my purse. And waited. For me to get distracted. By a phone call from their Aunty. They continued to sit casually by the fountain. Then, she (oh did I give her identity away?) vigorously WASHED HER FACE IN THE FOUNTAIN!!! We are talking a full blown "I think I'm in the Noxzema commercial" type of washing. A big huge splash followed by some little splashes and then a lot of patting. Then, she turned to me and said "Could you get me a towel please?".

You can see why we are already to rule #127.

Recipe(s) of the week...

A yummy red bell pepper. Note the bite marks. It was once an ingredient for my lunch, sitting whole on the counter...until a little boy helped himself to 2/3 of it when I wasn't looking.

Yummmmmm....

Chinese Chicken Salad (a.k.a. Issy's Favorite Dinner Ever)

1 head of romaine or green leaf lettuce, chopped

2 cups of snow peas, rinsed and sliced on the bias

1 cup of sliced carrots or matchstick carrots

1/2 pkg of rice noodles, cooked according to directions and rinsed/cooled*

*buy these in the Asian food section of any grocery store

2 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/4 c sliced green onions or thinly sliced red onions

1 can mandarin orange slices, drained

Asian dressing of your choice--we love the Briana's Ginger Mandarin.

sliced almonds for garnish

cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Blanche peas. (Bring saucepan of water to a boil, submerge sliced peas for 1 min, drain them and then plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Once they're cool, drain them again.)

Blanche carrots . (Same as the peas, except if they are sliced--not matchstick--boil them for 1 1/2 - 2 min instead.)

Layer plates with lettuce, peas, carrots, oranges, peppers, rice noodles, then top with chicken slices, onion, cilantro, and almonds. Drizzle dressing and pig out. YUM. Makes 4 HUGE salads or 2 adults plus a few kids. :)

Another use for kale/swiss chard...Potato Chard "Au Gratin

Kale and swiss chard are in season around here so recipes calling for either one have been a hot topic at work (especially with Rebecca the garden queen). If you haven't tried either one, go for it (or just substitute spinach)! This recipe is so yummy and not intimidating. :)

Preheat oven to 350.

2 large potatoes (or equivilant in red potatoes), sliced thin

1-2 bunches of swiss chard or kale (don't fret about actual measurement here--go big or go small, it's good either way)

3ish Tbsp butter

S&P

dried thyme

2-4 oz of swiss cheese, grated or diced small

1/2 cup milk

Butter an 8x8 casserole or baking dish.

Place 1/4 of the potatoes in a layer on the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle with S&P, add 1/3 of the chopped kale/swiss chard, dot with 1/2 Tbsp butter and sprinkle with a pinch of thyme and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times, then end with a layer of potatoes. Pour the milk over the top, cover with foil, and bake 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender. (When I made this, I cheated and softened the potatoes a bit on the stovetop first then baked for about 35 minutes.)

STAMPED!!! The beginning of our paper pregnancy...

The future big sister in the crown that she made at the gym daycare...and has proceeded to wear all day every day for the last 7 days.

We've been approved!!!!!! We're stamped and approved to adopt through LDS Family Services! What a relief! We're so excited and--while fully realizing that this could be a long wait--we're hopeful that it will be sooner rather than later. As our caseworker says, this is the beginning of our "paper pregnancy". One of the big catches is that we have no idea how long the gestation will be. (Yes, it is kind of a goofy way of saying it but it makes sense too.) LDSFS will immediately begin including us in their profiles for birth mothers to view and our online profile will be activated in the next few days. YAY!!! :)

The letter that Milo wrote to Dr. Guenther, his pediatrician. Sorry, the picture is so small. It's worth clicking on it to read his captions and see the picture.

Milo's surgeon left us a message today and said that he wants to proceed with some additional tests. I'm assuming he wants a pH and impedance study. (Again, this will be our third one.) They'll give Milo a mild sedative and put a tube down his nose into his esophagus. The tube has some special sensors on it and is attached to a data collection box. It's a 24 hour ordeal and, in the past, has been a little stressful for all of us. We had one done in October that came out after only 6 hours. :( We're really hoping that this one will be successful and that they'll get all of the info that they need.

Milo also gave his pediatrician a letter/thank you card this week. He drew such a cute picture of himself in his hospital bed and then had me write out the things he wanted to say. He wrote Dr. Guenther's name on the envelope (with me telling him the letters) all by himself and carried it around all day until it was time to go see him. Dr. Guenther was so cute and enthusiastic about opening it and reading it out loud. It was too cute!

Isabel a.k.a. Little Miss Muffett (Note that she's wearing a whole slew of skirts. She's taken to wearing multiple skirts so as to maximize the puffy factor.)

Isabel is a HUGE fan of cottage cheese. Except, she calls it "cottacheese". The girl cannot get enough of the stuff. She loves it plain, with cinnamon, with fruit, or any other way you can dish it out. Today she was eating some at the table with Milo (who was totally fake-eating his--he can't stand the stuff but always wants to "just try some" with Isabel). She jumped up from the table and said, "Milo, I have a much more better idea!" then marched over to their step stool and plopped down on it. She giggled and then announced, "Look, I'm little Miss Muffett just sitting on her tuffett eating her curds and whey!". They cracked up about it for the next 10 minutes.

Update...and a few more updates

We spent the morning at The Children's Hospital in Denver today. It is such an amazing and beautiful facility--however, timeliness is not their strong point. (Tough when your child isn't allowed to eat anything before his procedure!) Milo was a trooper but did tell us several times "I don't want to spend the night at the hospital this time okay?" and did insist on wearing his jammies all day. You pick your battles sometimes you know?

Our surgeon opted to do a swallow study (having Milo swallow some contrast while the radiologist watches in via x-ray and shoots about 500 pictures) instead of the scope. We were glad to start with something less invasive but this will be our 3rd swallow study in the last year and they never seem to get enough information from it...so we're anticipating additional testing before the inevitable repair of the repair.

The radiologist said "yup, it's loose" and "well, you can still sort of see the point of the repair". We'll see what our surgeon says...should hear from him in the next few days.

The view looking up toward the back of Red Rocks Amphitheater just as Sheryl Crow was coming on stage.

In other, late, news Sage and I went to the Sheryl Crow/Brandi Carlisle concert this week. It was at Red Rocks--which is so beautiful and amazing! (I totally stole these pictures from her posts.) The music was great--or what I heard between the 345667 times I checked my cell phone to see if Spencer had called me. We met up with some hilarious friends that I work with and got to sit even closer that we'd thought we would. ;)

Maycee, Isabel, Milo and Porter "drying off" after a run through the fountains.

In our effort to keep life a little normal (ha!!), we met several of our friends at Oak Street Plaza in Old Town on Tuesday for Noontime Notes on the Plaza. The city puts on a free outdoor concert every Tuesday during the lunch hour. This week it was Western/Americana music. Honestly, the kids hardly listened--they were too busy running through the fountains and being hilarious. (Except Milo, who was still feeling under the weather and wanted to "dry off" and watch the other kids.)

And finally, last week I Ran the Rockies with some friends (Erika, Brady, Tiffany, and Tara). Actually, I nearly died in the Rockies. The Rockies worked me. Chewed me up and spit me out. Hardest. Race. Course. Ever.


Straight down hill for 6ish miles and then hideously steep up-down-up-down-up-down the rest of the way. Never do I have to walk. This course, I walked several times. Combine the course with the altitude (I think we started around 11,000 feet) and you have what feels like a near death experience. I finished in 2:03ish. Pretty crappy time considering how fast I was running while I trained. But, still fast enough to get me 8th place in my age division. That says a lot about the difficulty of the course--if a pace that slow gets you in 8th place in your division!! ;)

Tara's post has a way cute picture of all of us. I'm having serious picture posting issues today. Otherwise I would post the way cute picture of us. Go to her blog instead to check it out.

Hospitalisms...by Milo

Milo with his Project Linus blanket, a new stuffed wolf from Grandpa and Kiana, and the donated stuffed owl that he got at the hospital (note the "Class of '98" graduation cap!)

Me: "You were so brave Milo. Were you scared?"

Milo: "Huh?! No, Momma. Why did you think I was scared?"

Me: "Because honey, sometimes it's kind of scary when you can't breathe."

Milo: "No, Momma, I was just scared because I couldn't talk. I couldn't really breathe and I kept on thinking that I wanted to go to your hospital to get better but my voice wouldn't work so I couldn't tell Daddy. (pause) And then, next thing, I just realized that I was at your work already!" (He kept losing consciousness because he was so hypoxic.)

*****

Isabel (in the E.R.): "Could somebody please fix that? (pointing at Milo) Because I don't know why my brother's voice sounds like that!"

*****

Me: "Milo, Dr. Guenther will be back to see you in a little while. Then, in the morning, you'll get to meet another doctor that works with Mommy. She's my friend; her name is Dr. Sampera."

Milo: "Oh. Okay Mommy. But, when will Dr. Arnold be here?" (His opthamologist!!)

Me: "Oh baby, Dr. Arnold doesn't need to see you this time."

Milo: "Oh. Okay. Are my eyes okay this time?"

*****

Me: "Look Milo, Hannah (a nurse) brought you this cool blankie to sleep with. It even has a valentine (a heart) sewn on the corner of it!"

Milo: "Oh Momma, let me see that! Oooohhh, this is great! This is so I can just look at it and think about my sister Issy when she's not here!"

*****

Milo: "Momma, do you want me to tell you what happened?"
Me: "Sure, Milo. Tell me what happened."
Milo: "Well, I was at home sleeping and I woke up and my throat was just like this (holds up a closed fist) and my voice wouldn't even work. And then pretty soon Daddy came into my room and he just ripped me right out of my bed and we couldn't find any medicine and then Daddy got Issy and he drove us to the hospital soooo fast Mommy! But I wasn't scared. But Daddy was REALLY scared. And then they gived me some medicine and it made my throat like this instead (makes an 'O' with his fist and looks through it at me) and then I started to feel a little bit better."

*****
Milo (looking at the Project Linus tag sewn onto the corner of his blanket--with a little picture of Linus sucking his thumb and holding his blanket): "Hey! Mom! My blankie has a picture of a little boy holding a blankie and sucking his thumbie! (pause) Why is he doing that?"
Me: "I think that maybe he gets scared sometimes too and sucking his thumb and holding his blanket makes him feel a little better, just like you."
Milo: "Oh...does he have to go to the hospital a lot too?"

Here we go again...

It's amazing how just a few words can bring it all back...a flood of anxiety, fear, and panic.

Sunday night when I was working, a nurse called from the ER. For a few seconds, I thought that maybe--just maybe--it was a call for help with an IV or a lab draw for a baby. Not my baby. But, then, there it was, "...your son is down here...". She tried to keep explaining but I interrupted with "Which room is he in?!". Knowing that the lower the room number the worse he was. Room 2. He was in room 2.

Seeing Spencer's face when I walked in was enough to tell me everything. Seeing Milo was enough to bring out a visceral groan and that mother bear side of me that had not had to protect and fight for so many months. He looked worse than he'd ever looked--with the exception of the day and night he'd spent in the pediatric I.C.U.. Pale and blue all at once, limp, flopping over, eyes rolling back in his head, minimally responsive, struggling with every single breath, and what felt like a million people around him. His chest heaved and pulled with every single breath. You could hear him struggling from outside the room. 10 liters of tight face mask O2 and they had just gotten his sats out of the 60s. I felt like I might throw up. Isabel whimpered on Spencer's lap. Sounding miles away.

Thankfully, thankfully, our pediatrician was working in the hospital that night. He knows Milo--and our family--so well. He strode after me into the ER (how he even understood my panicked phone call I don't know) and rapidly fired off orders. 25 minutes later Milo was able to shake his head yes or no. He was able to look around and actually see us. I felt like I could exhale. A little.

We spent the night in his room, tense and anxious. 2 hours after the ER, more epinephrine to open up his airway. "Double the dose" on everything they were giving him. Continous monitoring. But, ultimately, it was the "why" that kept me bouncing between blankly staring at his heart rate bleeping across the screen and trying not to cry.

It must be undone. The repair on his stomach must be undone. The Nissen is undone. We're back where we were 15 months ago. Sleeping with his door open and ours. Checking on him repeatedly during the night. Hoping that tonight isn't a night that we'll go to the ER. But, knowing that it's only a matter of time until it happens again. His voice hoarse again from repeatedly aspirating and from the burning irritation of refluxing over and over again.

Today we schedule an upper GI. We'll cross our fingers that they see what they need to see during the scope. We sit in disbelief that we have to hand our poor sweet baby over to them not one more time but two more times. That the words "it was pretty difficult to work around an unusual branch of his aorta" will be a part of our lives again very soon. I feel like the elephant is on my chest again. But, I won't cry. I can't cry. Yet. Knowing what to expect is worse than going into this blind. Knowing what to expect is better than going into this blind. I can't decide which it is. We can't decide.

Horsetooth, Horticulture, and an Adoption Update

What a week! We've been busy, busy, busy. The weather here has been so nice--really warm some days but nice and cool (drizzly) other days. Usually, I'd be a grump about the rain but it all happened on days I was sleeping (rain=way better daytime sleep).

Monday we went to Horsetooth Reservoir swimming beach with Sage and Porter. We had a blast! Except, of course, for the whole "worst sunburn of my life--and it's on my legs people!" thing. I have never ever been sunburned on my legs. Until now. Not pretty folks.

Playing on one of the fun play structures at Happy Heart Farm.

On Sunday (I know, I'm out of order), Mr. Milo was telling me that he wanted Daddy to buckle him in his carseat. When I asked him why he always wanted his daddy now, he said "Because Mom, he's a boy just like me!". When I said that I was his Mommy though and I love him soooo much too even if I am a girl he put his little hands on my cheeks and said, "Oh Momma, I know. I love you so much too. I love you just the way you are!" It was so cute and funny.

Dennis and Bailey's HUGE playhouse. Notice the ladder is gone. Huge and rickety. :)

On Tuesday it was time for our second produce pickup of the season from Happy Heart Farm. We are members of Happy Heart Farm, a local organic CSA. This is our third year at Happy Heart and we love it!!! This was the first year that our schedules didn't allow us to do a working membership (you get $$ off the cost by agreeing to work on the farm for 3 hours per week). We've really missed working on the farm this year and we're definitely hoping that next year will work out.

Isabel on the awesome tree swing at the farm.

You can learn more about Happy Heart Farm by visiting their website. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This particular farm is owned by an amazing couple, Dennis and Bailey Stenson, who have been farming the same land for 23 years. They were the first CSA in Colorado and they've grown tremendously in the past few years. (The rising interest in locally grown and organic food has really made CSAs a hot commodity.) Our experience with Happy Heart has been invaluable. I've learned so much about gardening, organic foods, healthy eating and cooking, and just how much farmers WORK. :) One of the greatest things about it, for us, has been the lessons we've been able to share with our kids. It's so important to us to teach them the importance of sustainable living, the importance of eating healthfully, and that food doesn't just come from the shelves of your local market.

Isabel and Milo running up the dirt road leading to the produce pickup area.

This week we also had about 2345 "hot chocolate parties". Grandma Kim and Grandpa Manuel bought the kids a plastic table and chairs for Christmas a few years ago and we have gotten sooo much use out of it. Some days it gets moved into the playhouse or into the house. Other days it is an "adventure table". This week, it was the setting for many a party. Teddy bears and baby dolls were welcome and present in great numbers!

The produce pickup area. We pick up our share every Tuesday. An email goes out a few days before telling us what we can expect to get at the pickup.

Since last week was our first produce pickup, we've had fun getting back into the swing of planning meals around the produce of the week. It's a fun challenge and we had some good eats! Pasta with spinach and greens and pancetta, sauteed spinach with garlic greens, and salads galore! (I just tried the Maple Grove Farms salad dressings--YUM. If you are a fan of ginger, try their Pear Ginger dressing.) Today we'll make some quick strawberry rhubarb jam/sauce.

GIGANTIC heads of the best lettuce ever.

And finally, the adoption update...STILL WAITING. :) My background check has cleared but we're still waiting for Spencer's to clear. Once that's done, our caseworker will write up our summary and submit us for approval the following Monday. I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, this waiting really isn't that long and that we'll get a baby when we're supposed to get a baby...but sheesh already! ;) Spencer and I have both had several background checks for our jobs and they've never taken this long (cue the jokes about Spencer's recent criminal activity holding things up this time--ha ha!)

If you haven't checked out our adoption website, please do (it's a work in progress). If you haven't told everyone you know that we're adopting, please do! They (being the agency folks) say that most of their birth mothers and adoptive families connect through the internet or through "friend of a friend of a cousin" type connections these days...thanks for spreading the word or keeping us in mind. :)