The Irvine Family

Thanksgiving 1 & 2

2009-12-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

the weekend before thanksgiving we went up to the cabin in heber to have thanksgiving with all the irvine family. nana and grandpa were going to houston over thanksgiving to see aunt pam and uncle steve, so we decided to celebrate it earlier. it was so much fun we rode 4-wheelers and went sledding. we also celebrated my hubbie's 38th and my niece's 16 birthday. we left on sunday and got caught in a huge storm in heber and park city. the roads were ice and were at a standstill because of all the vehicles and semi's that were sliding. it tooks two and a half hours to get home. on thanksgiving, we were supposed to spend it with my family at my aunt and uncles but big surprise, we were sick. we ended up staying home in bed. my mom brought us by dinner, so we did get some good grub, but it was really depressing. one thing i now know is that if we ever move far away, we will definately be coming home for all the holidays, or paying for everyone to come and spend them with us. i definately can't do holidays without family!

Halloween Wrap up!!

2009-11-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

yes I am behind, but it is not my fault. i swear my family has been sick since Oct 1 and I have been busy taking care of all of them. unfortunately i am now sick. just a bad head cold, but it still sucks!! won't be surprised if I get a sinus infection, I usually do. me and the girls all came down with colds this weekend. poor Kaylee has an ear infection too. she has all this green stuff draining out her ear. i swear she just finished antibiotics for pneumonia like a week ago. someone needs to cut my kids a break, this sick thing is getting ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anywho, just wanted to post some picks of all our pumpkins. since we spent a lot of time at home sick, we carved, painted, glittered, and stickered our pumpkins. all the pumpkins were from our yard. we are awesome pumpkin growers!! we did have a few days here and there when we weren't sick. on one of those days we spent it up at nana and grandpa's cabin they just bought in heber. they also bought a lot of toys to go with the cabin. they got a pink razor for the girls and i must say they love it!!! kiana is a nut when she drives it and has no fear. she wants to take it as fast as it can go. i hate riding with her, she scares the crap out of me. i let her dad have the opportunity of going with her. once was enough for me!!! they also played dress up in all the cabin toys and wanted their pictures taken with boots, hats, and guns! they are so funny!!

Fall Fun

2009-10-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of some of the fun things we did before we got sick and have been stuck in our home for the past two weeks. The Halloween party was yesterday. The kids and I went, but Greg was at home sick. I am still not sick and hope it stays that way. I am the room mom for Kiana's school class and this week is Red Ribbon Week and they have their Halloween party I am in charge of on Friday. I have to much to do to be sick. Kiana finally went back to school today after being out for a week and a half with Swine Flu. Stupid Flu!!!

Sick Babies!!!

2009-10-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have had influenza once, and I swore I would never let myself get it again. Anyone who has had the real Influenza bug knows how awful it is. You hurt in places you didn't even know you had, your hair even hurts!! With both Influenza and Swine flu going around, I got my kids vaccinated for both the second they were available. Unfortunately, Kiana got exposed either right before or right after her shot and caught the Swine Flu. Last Wed. she went to school and was fine until that afternoon when she called us sick at school. She had a fever of almost 104. For three days she laid in bed. We tried to keep our other girls away from her so that they would hopefully build up some antibodies and not catch it. Unfortunately, they both came down with it yesterday. Both were fine in the morning and woke up from their naps with 102 fever. I was up most of the night with both of them. Kaylee's nose kept bleeding. Her Dr. said it was from the fever and congestion. Kennedy's eye swelled up and became infected. They put her on antibiotics for that. It is surprising how well they are doing considering everything. They are at least up and around. Kiana never even got out of bed. They must have some antibodies helping them fight it. Kiana will hopefully be able to go back to school next week. I spoke with Kiana's teacher today and she told me that the two other kids that sit at Kiana's table have also been sick since last wed. and are not back yet either. My husband and I are the only two left standing, and I have a feeling it won't be for long. We couldn't get the swine flu vaccine because we were not considered high risk. I tried my best to prevent this, but it didn't work. Oh Well. We better not get the other Influenza!! If you have not vaccinated your kids for both flu shots, DO IT! It is no fun and real sad to watch your little ones so sick. You feel so helpless, because there is nothing you can do for them but try and keep them comfortable, which isn't easy when they have such high fevers and cry because their little bodies hurt everywhere. This to shall pass, hopefully sooner than later!!!!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall.

2009-09-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

So the weather today was ridiculous. It was so cold. I think summer is officially over and Fall is here. I can't believe how fast the summer has come and gone. I just wanted to post some pictures of all the fun things we did. I also posted some more pictures of us that were taken by Greg's mom.

New Pictures!!!

2009-09-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

So my mother in law brought me over a bunch of pictures she took of our family, and I must say they are absolutely beautiful!!! I love photography, especially when it is of my kids. I think my children are beautiful and she is such a wonderful photographer, so together they make some amazing portraits. I am probably biased, because they are my kids, but I really don't think so. HEE HEE. Photographs mean so much to me because they capture time and preserve it forever. I love watching my kids grow and I am so glad and so lucky to have these pictures that will last forever. Thanks so much Lee! We love them and love you! I am going to post a bunch tomorrow.

Life Sucks!!!(at least for the moment)

2009-09-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged all summer and figure now is a good time to catch up. Let me fore warn those of you who are about to read this that this is not going to be a very nice post talking about how wonderful and perfect my life is, but rather a whine session. Don't get me wrong, our summer has been wonderful and has flown by, but you know the saying, "when shit hits the fan" well it has hit and hasn't stopped. Maybe tomorrow I will be in a better mood and post some wonderful pictures of all the fun things we have done, but not today. Some of you may want to stop reading here and end on a good note, those of you that choose to continue on, you have been warned. HA HA! So here goes. Greg has worked for the same Guy and Company for 13 years. This past year, he began downsizing due to the wonderful economy that has affected us all. Prior to him downsizing, he had transferred Greg to be the General Manager of a Hotel that he owned after having fired the other one due to some problems. Greg was unwillingly thrown into this position without any training or knowledge of the Hotel industry. He has been a general manager over several other companies this guy has owned, but never a hotel. When Greg took over about 2 1/2 years ago, the hotel was loosing money. They had no business, a bad reputation, and a lot of other problems. Greg taught himself everything about the industry and took the hotel from a total wreck to the top booked hotel through sites such as expedia, travelocity, etc. They were even beating the Grand America for bookings. The place was doing great and Greg grew to love his job. He said that in thirteen years of working for this guy, he finally enjoyed it. That all came to an end in July when Greg was laid off and another guy, who knew NOTHING about it was brought in to take over. Greg was devastated! I was pissed! How could this be happening? What in the hell was his boss thinking? Apparently he wasn't! His decision was based solely on the fact that he talked to the other guy on the phone more, and that's it. This guy new nothing about anything with the Hotel and even asked Greg to train him, because he was going to take over when Greg was laid off. Fat Chance in Hell! Teach yourself, just like Greg had to. We don't have any hard feelings towards the guy that took over, well at least Greg doesn't and most of the time I try not to, but I am still upset. It will probably turn out to be a blessing, but sometimes it is hard to see the positive in such a messed up situation. So anyway, after Greg was laid off, we cashed out all our stocks, Ira's, savings etc. so we would have money to live off of until Greg found another job. We just opened a car wash this past march, but it is not making enough money to support us and the other owners right now. It keeps growing and revenues increasing, I just wish it would do it faster. We also decided it would be a good idea to contact our mortgage company and let them know what had happened and see if we could get approved for the Obama plan and temporarily get our payments reduced until he found another job. We started this process the week after he was laid off, and for two months they have screwed us around. Apparently, they are not interested in helping people who make their payments on time every month, but rather the people that don't. They basically told us that they would not help us until we had missed at least three payments. WTF???? The whole reason that program was put in place was to help RESPONSIBLE people in situations like ours without it ruining your credit. After me calling them everyday for two weeks and sending them a not so nice letter, they just told me yesterday that our file has been sent to a processor and we should know within 15 days if we get approved for any of the program. The way our luck is going, I am going to bet not! So back to the end of July, I became sick with the stomach flu and decided to boil everyone's toothbrushes so they wouldn't get sick. Let me tell you from personal experience this is not a good idea!!!! I forgot they were on the stove and I was sitting on our back porch watching the kids swing, and kept hearing this annoying beeping. I sat their thinking what idiot does not realize their car alarm has been going off for forty five minutes? Well that idiot was me, and it wasn't a car alarm, it was my fire alarms. The entire house was filled with smoke, so thick you couldn't see five feet in front of you. I, being as intelligent as I am, told the kids to stay outside by the back fence as I ran into the house to open all the windows to try and get the smoke out. Needless to say, there were no toothbrushes left, only ashes, and we had to move out of our house for three weeks while they came in and cleaned everything. Word of advice, just buy new toothbrushes next time, much easier and less expensive. Greg than gets in a car accident and rear ends someone. It didn't do much to our truck, but her car was another story. Honestly, I am expecting a letter from All State any day telling us they have dropped us do to all the claims we have had in two months. We go for 7 years without any claims and then bam two big ones in one month. Just as we were beginning to think that we have had more than our share of catastrophes and they are finally over, some lunatic, jackass, and many other things that I don't want to write, punches Greg in the face for no reason!!! Most of you are probably thinking there must have been some reason, but there really wasn't. He broke Greg's jaw. We spent all Tuesday in the ER and he had surgery today. They had to put a plate in his jaw and wire his mouth shut for three weeks. After three weeks, they will take the wires off and put rubber bands on for another three weeks. Those will then be taken off but the plate is permanent. For the next three weeks he can only have liquids. The doctor said he will probably loose 15 pounds. He is laying next to me sleeping as I type this. He has been in a lot of pain today and his face just keeps swelling bigger. He has blood oozing from his mouth and he can't hardly talk. I am trying to be strong for him and assure him everything will be OK, but inside I am devastated. I cry when I watch him sleep. It kills me to see him hurting and looking like this. I hate that I have so much anger inside towards this man that did this to the love of my life. I hate that I feel like i will never be able to forgive him, but i know I need to. It makes me sick to think that people are so cruel. I don't think I will ever forget what the guy said after he did this. He said that he would never be sorry or feel bad for what he had done, Greg was just another person, and he didn't care. I can't believe that someone could have no regard for human life. Greg isn't just another person. He would do anything for anyone and he would never hurt anything or anyone. In fact, yesterday, as he was laying in bed with his broken jaw, he listed a bunch of stuff for sale on KSL for my aunt who lost her husband a month ago to cancer. Most people would have not done that, but not Greg. It didn't matter that he was in pain, someone needed help, and he could help, so he did. He is a Father and Husband, a Brother, Son and Friend. He isn't just another person, at least not to me. It is times like these that I hate and love that I have a conscience and that my parents raised me to be a good person. I hate it because I want so badly for that guy to have the shit beat out of him so he can feel the pain he has caused Greg and our family and I love it because I know that I am a better person than him and I would not and could not ever do anything like that to anyone. I guess I will have to rely on the system and hope that it does not fail and that this man will have to pay for all the medical bills and serve time. The guy was ticketed and charged with assault. We will have to go to court and I hope that they will include all our medical bills in part of his restitution. We don't have insurance and Greg was laid off. The only thing that has kept me sane, besides my anti-depressants, is our wonderful families. We love them all so much and would have never been able to get through all of this without them. I guess I am done writing. I am worn out. Tomorrow is a new day and I hope it is a little better.

We love summer nights!

2009-05-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today we went and watched Carson, the little boy I babysit, play in his Soccer game. It was so funny. He just turned three and has no desire to play. He ran on the field a couple of times, but that was about it. It was so crazy. The little kids had no idea what they were doing. When they didn't want to play, they just walked off the field and sat with their moms or take off to play on the playground instead of in the game. Kiana got out and played with his team, since only two kids were on the field, and she loved it! We were so surprised how well she did. We have never played soccer with her. Greg gave her a quick run down on how the game is played and she was off. After we got home, we all played soccer in the backyard. It was lots of fun! Thanks Callie for inviting us and for letting Kiana play in Carson's place, she loved it!

Summer Fun!!!

2009-05-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to have the warm weather here, FINALLY!!!! We have been spending a lot of time outside. Monday we went to Wheeler Farm with a bunch of freinds and all their kids. It was fun, but really hot. The kids have also spent a lot of time playing in the water. They have been begging to get out the pool since March. They were really excited when we got it out last week and have been swimming everyday. We have also been playing a lot of baseball in the backyard. I think we are going to sign both Kiana and Kennedy up to play on a team. They are very good! I think they must take after their Great Grandma Bonnie. She played on the professional Women's League back during WWII. Greg and I agree that they most definatley did not get it from us! The girls and I decided it would be fun to do pedicures, so we went and bought some cute stickers and then I painted all our toes and put them on. They turned out so cute. Kaylee even let me paint and put a sticker on her toe. I put her in her high chair and gave her some pudding to eat while I did the other girls. She found it more fun to play with it than eat it, Big Surprise! Kaylee also has a new hiding place, the Dryer. She is such a goof ball! We Love our Girls!!!!

My funny Kaylee!

2009-04-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

So Kaylee is becoming quite a funny little girl. She will be two in June. She is still very small, just barely reached 20 pounds, but is very smart and talks very well. She loves to make her sisters laugh, and will do anything they tell her if it means getting a laugh out of them. It is funny to watch her get on the toilet to go potty. I am always worried she is going to fall in because she is so small, but she won't let me help her. Luckily she is very coordinated and that hasn't happened, yet! She insists on doing everything by herself. She goes down the biggest slides at the park, jumps off the diving boards at pools, tries to ride the her sisters 4-wheeler by herself, but she can't reach the pedal so she gets mad and throws a fit. Her knew favorite thing is to stick her tounge out at you and wave her arms in the air and say na na na na na na come get me. It is so dang funny. She also loves to get into everything. Some of you may remember my earlier post back in October about the flour. Her latest thing is markers!!!! Thank goodness for washables! Her nice sisters gave them to her because they thought it was funny that she was coloring herself. Kaylee thought it was great they were laughing, so she just kept on going. After I got her all cleaned up, we decided it would be good to go outside and play, so they could burn of some energy. Kaylee got herself ready. Her sisters shoes, on the wrong feet, her daddy's hat, and nothing else. She wouldn't let me change her so that is what she wore.

Vegas Baby!

2009-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas over Easter weekend with the kids, and I must say it is still the biggest Hell Hole I remember it being from the last time I was there. If it wasn't for all the smoke and porn everywhere, I would enjoy it a lot more. We decided to go there because we thought the kids would have fun seeing all the lights and shows, and they did. I forgot, however, about all the wonderful flyers those nice men hand out to eveyone and the majority of them end up on the ground, visible to everyone, including my kids. Greg and I tried to keep there eyes focused up on the buildings, but that is easier said than done. Needless to say we used that as a teaching opprtunity as best as we could for a 6 and 4 year old about modesty and pornography. Greg and I both felt like we had exposed are kids to things that took some of their innoncence away. We were both just glad that we decided to talk to our kids about it rather than just try and ignore it and hope they forget about it. We both want to have a very open and strong relationship with all our kids, we just never thought we would have to talk to them about this type of stuff so young. When we asked the girls what they had seen and what they thought of it, Kiana our oldest said, well they don't dress very nice, that's for sure. We just smiled and said your right! Anyway, beside that and the fact that I turned 30 while we were there, we did have a lot of fun. I think the best part for everyone was playing at the pool. It was very warm on Sunday and Monday, so we spent most those days swimming. Oh how I wish it was warm here!

Easter 2009

2009-04-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

My family decided to celebrate Easter a week early since our family and my sister's family were going to be gone on Easter Sunday. We did Easter at our house this year. We colored eggs, had an egg hunt and ate dinner. It was Kaylee's and Cohen's first egg coloring experience, and boy was it funny. Kaylee thought it was fun to paint everything but the eggs and Cohen enjoyed dipping the eggs in the dye and then licking them off, it was pretty disgusting, but he seemed to enjoy the wonderful vinegar flavor. YUCK!!! It was a lot of fun and it was nice and warm so the kids were able to play outside for a bit. Here are some pictures. I will post pictures of our vacation soon.

Fun Fun Fun!!!

2009-03-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some pictures of activities that we have taken the kids to lately. The first photos were taken at the Sandy Saftey Fair. We went with my Mom, Sister and her little boy. The other little boy is one that I babysit for a friend. The kids had a great time. They got to sit in police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and a small helicopter. They also got a lot of cool nick nacks. The other photos were taken at Disney on Ice. Greg's sister took me and the girls to the show. His mom and other sister with her two girls also came. The girls loved it! Their favorite part was when Tinker Bell came out flying. Kim and Nana bought the girls lots of toys and treats. It was nice to be able to go and do some fun things with everyone.Thank you!!!! Greg and I have been really busy lately. We just opened a Car Wash with my brother in Lehi and that has taken up all of our time lately. I also posted some pictures of our new Car Wash.

Kiana's trip to the Dentist

2009-03-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

I am so proud to say that Kiana did awesome at her appointment with the Dentist. She had to have 1 cavity filled and didn't cry or whine at all. She was very nervous prior to her appointment, and I was worried she was going to cry, but she was so brave. All I can say is I love my girls!

Kennedy's trip to the dentist

2009-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

I have not slept for two nights in fear of Kennedy's dentist appt. she had today. She is only three and had to have two cavities filled. I was so nervous she was going to freak out. I couldn't have been more wrong! She did so awesome. She did not cry, whine, or even fidget. She cooperated so well, I was so proud of her. Even the dentist said she was amazing. I love my kids dentist, he is so good with kids. Kiana has to go in tomorrow to get one filled, hopefully it will go as good.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-02-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

Today was my mom's birthday so we decided to have everyone over to our house for dinner. It was a lot of fun. We made Chipolte Burgers and had ice cream cake from Maggie Moo's. I love my mom!!!! She is the kindest and most generous person I know. She is always happy and helping others and I have NEVER heard her say an unkind thing about anyone. I wish I could be more like her. I am training to run a half marathon and go running with her on Saturdays. It is nice to be able to spend time with her and talk. She truly is amazing. I hope you had a great Birthday Mom. We Love You!!!

Mom with the Grandkids. Kiana,Kaylee,Cohen,Kennedy

Painting

2009-02-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the girls and I spent most of the morning painting their name puzzles that their Dad made for them. They had a lot of fun and made a huge mess. Kaylee really enjoyed painting everything but her puzzle. Thank goodness the clean up was fairly easy. We love you Daddy!

No Insurance

2009-02-15T21:24:00.001-08:00

I am so tired of winter. I do not like the cold and all the illnesses that come with it. For the past 2 months our kids have been sick with one thing after another. Kennedy has had numerous bad colds, Kiana has had Bronchitis and an ear infection, and Kaylee is just finishing up her antibiotics for an infection in both ears! Luckily, we have made it without having to go to the doctors all but once, which is a good thing because we lost all our medical benefits at the beginning of the year. No insurance is a bad thing for us. Those of you who don't know what I am talking about, here's a run down,
1.Kennedy starts having seizures at 6 months old. She spends a week at Primary Children's Hospital. They determine it is Febrile Seizures. We still have to watch her close. She runs a fever any time she is sick and it is not uncommon for it to be up around 104.5.
2. Kiana breaks her foot. A month later she breaks her leg.
3. By time Kaylee is 7 months old she has had 6 ear infections. She has tubes put in her ears up at Primarys. She stops breathing at two months of age. Spends a week at Primarys. Six months later she does the same thing. We spend another day at Primarys followed by multiple test such as EEG, ECG, MRI, Blood work, etc. none of which showed anything wrong. Still don't know why she did it, just glad it hasn't happened again.
4. I give birth to Kaylee and Hemorrhaged that night. Almost bled to death so had to stay in hospital extra days. Two weeks later I hemorrhage again at home and had to go back to the hospital and be put on coagulants. This past summer I got very sick and spent 5 days in St Marks, 4 of them on the PCU floor.
5. Greg gets hurt while boating at lake powell has to be life flighted to the hospital. He has broken ribs, bruised lungs, internal bleeding, and messed up back. Last Memorial day he injures his back and has to be taken by ambulance to the hospital were he spends 4 days, followed by 6 weeks of pain mngt. therapy, and than six weeks of physical therapy.
Thank goodness we had insurance because all of these accidents and illness would have cost us close to $100,000. Now you know why it is not good for us to be without insurance. We seem to be accident and illness prone. I figure are family has had more than its fair share of medical problems and hope that they are over!!! Now that I am done whining, I will say that I am grateful that all of these illnesses and accidents had the outcomes they did. All of them could have been much worse!

Holiday Fun!!!

2008-12-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

These past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun for us. My parents took all the family to see the lights at Temple Square and a Jazz Game. It was so much fun being with everyone. It was the girls first Jazz game and they loved it. They kept their tatoos on all weekend and wouldn't wash them off. We also set up our Christmas Tree and decorations. My Mother in Law gave us some of her tree ornaments that she no longer uses and I just love them! She also gave us a santa that stands about six feet tall that Greg has always wanted. It is awesome, and the kids just love that Santa is always in our living room. Thanks Lee, we love all of it. The kids also went to Greg's parents house, Nana's and Grandpa's, to decorate Ginger Bread Houses. I was really sick so I missed out, but they had a lot of fun. Santa aka my parents, Grandma and Papa, sent a card to our girls saying that he has been watching them all year and because they have been so good, he is going to leave them a present every night till christmas. Every night my parents have been leaving a small gift on our porch for each of the girls that we leave under the tree every night for the twelve days of christmas. The kids are loving it!!! They can't wait to get out of bed to see what Santa has brought them each morning. It has been especially nice for Kiana. She hates getting up to go to school, but she has had no problem getting out of bed when I remind her that their is a gift under the tree for her. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!!! And last but not least Kiki and Jim are in town and we love spending all the time we can with them. The girls just love Kristy. She is so good to them and is always willing to play House and barbies with them. Jim is a most excellent cook so we love it when he is in town and cooks for us, plus he has great stories that keep us all laughing! We love you all and are so lucky to have such awesome families that are so good to us and our kids. Merry Christmas!

Pictures of the Girls

2008-12-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

We have been really busy so I haven't had time to write. I just wanted to post some really cute pictures of the girls that I took on Greg's birthday. They got all dressed up to take him to lunch. They looked so cute and were being so good I had to hurry and take some pictures in front of the house. I was surprised how well they turned out and that they were all smiling and happy at the same time! We love you Greg!!!!

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Yes I know Halloween was almost a month ago, but things have been really crazy around our house so I am a little behind. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays so I wanted to post some of the fun things we did. We went to Gardner Village, Heritage Park, Scarecrow Festival, and some Halloween Parties. Our three girls had a blast and wore different costumes to each thing. For Halloween, we were witches and Greg was a warlock.

Summer 2008

2008-11-09T20:56:00.001-08:00

Utah vs. TCU

2008-11-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say THANKYOU to my mom and dad who gave us their tickets to the big game!!! Greg and I had so much fun. The game was awesome, especially the last half of the fourth quarter. Both of us lost our voices from cheering and yelling. GO UTES!

Flour in the air, Flour everywhere!!!!!

2008-10-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Before Greg and I had kids I told him that I did not want to have winy crying kids, but rather very active ones. Oh how I wish I could take that back some days! Our house is a nut house 24/7. Someone is always running, screaming, jumping off furniture, seeing how fast they can go down a flight of stairs on their blow up toys, building towers with food from the pantry, building forts with the couches, just to name a few. Kaylee my sweet little baby is turning into quite the little monster. I left her in the kitchen for only a few minutes to run to my bedroom to get my laptop, only to come back and walk into this wonderful mess. My first reaction was HOLY !@#%, I am going to kill you! Then she turned around and threw two fist fulls of flour in the air and laughed hysterically. I couldn't help but start laughing as soon as I saw her face! I grabbed the camera and took some pictures so you could all get a glimpse into my daily life. Oh how I love every chaotic moment of it.

Update on the Family!

2008-10-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

Kiana started school and absolutely loves it. She is excited about all the things she is learning and all the friends she is making!!! She and Kennedy are always inviting the neighborhood kids over so our house is always crazy with kids. Kennedy had a hard time for the first couple of weeks when Kiana would leave, but she is doing better now and loves to wait outside for Kiana to come home on the bus. Kaylee is all over the place and into everything. At her 15 month check-up she weighed a whopping 17 pounds. At the rate she's growing, she'll be in her infant car seat till she is three! Greg is busy at work trying to get everything running smoothly at the Utah Pet Center and the Pavillion Inn. He is working about 60 hours a week. He has also had to do a lot of traveling to trade shows the past couple of months. The kids, and me especially, love it when he is home and can't wait till things slow down at work. As for me, I am doing much better, and hope I never get that sick again. A lot of people have asked what happened so here is the jist of it. I had been sick with a Sinus infection for about three weeks. My doctor put me on an anitbiotic, which didn't work, so she switched me to a different one. During that time, I had to go in for a colonoscopy (they are so wonderful). For those of you that don't know, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colotis when I was 21, so I have to go in for these wonderful colonoscopies about every 5 years. Wednesday October 17th was the day of my Colonoscopy. They took some biopsies during the procedure. Everything went fine, and there was no problems. That Friday I went to bed early because I was very tired. When I woke up Saturday morning I could hardly get out of bed. I had a fever and I felt like I had been beaten with a metal bat all over my body. Greg wanted to take me to the ER, but it was my Great Grandmas funeral that day and I wasn't going to miss it. We went to the funeral that morning, I had to hold on to Greg to even walk. On our way home, my hands and feet started going numb. He again wanted to go to the ER but I said no just take me to an insta care. When we got to the insta care they took me right back took my vitals and said your going to St Marks ER we have called them and they are waiting for you. By time we got the the ER I was in so much pain I could barely walk. They took me right back and started running all kinds of tests. They thought maybe my sinus infection had gone into my brain so they did a CT Scan on my head, which came back fine. Then they thought maybe I had an infection in my chest so they took an x ray and that was fine. During all of this, they also got a urine sample, which was fine, tested me for influenza, also negative, and drew more blood than I knew I had, which showed I was definately sick with something they just couldn't figure out what. While all this testing was going on they had me on iv fluids and started injecting me with Terridol, which is like ibuprophen x 1000. It did not help with the pain one bit so they started me on Morphine through my IV. It helped take the edge off, but I was still in a lot of pain. Towards the end of all this I started to have diarreah, yes they got a sample of that as well. As they sent that test off, the Doctor came into the room to tell me I had all of them baffeled. He said they were going to let me go home, but I had to come back tomorrow to follow up with him and make sure I wasn't getting worse. I asked him if I could have some more morphine before I left because I was still in so much pain, he said no problem, I will go get the nurse and have him put it in your IV before he takes it out. He left and by the time the nurse walked in my heart started racing and my blood pressure dropped to 74/30. The nurse said I can't give you this and ran out and grabbed the doctor. Next thing I know I am not going home, but being admitted to the PCU floor. I was told that had that not have happened and they had sent me home, I probably would have died that night. Once in my room, they started hooking me up to all kinds of monitors. During all of this the results of the poop sample came back showing I had a bacteria called C-Diff. From what the doctor told me, C-diff is usually caused by taking antibiotics, and rarely causes problems with the exception of some diarreah. With me they figure I got the C-diff from the antibiotics I had been on for the sinus infection, and when I had the biopsies taken during my colonoscopy, they c-diff toxins got into my system and that is what caused all the problems. Needless to say I was on a liquid diet for 4 days, had to have iv antibiotics every 6 hours, had to have magniesium and Potasium by IV several times a day, also had to take potasium pills 3 times a day, and have blood drawn twice a day. During all of this, I was so nausiated, they gave me an anti-nausea drug by IV called Phengran. I did not know I was allergic to it, but quickly found out when I instantly started uncontrollably jerking. They had to give me two doses of IV benadryl which knocked me out for almost 24 hours. After three days in the PCU, the doc. said I was stable enough to move up onto the regular floor, WHOOPEE!!!! After one day on that floor and no problems, they finally released me! HALLELUJAH!!!!! Two weeks and $13,000 later (we have great insurance so it only cost us $50) I am feeling better and very very happy to be alive! This experience made me realize how quickly your life can change and possibly end. I make sure to tell my family every day how much I love them, and enjoy life even more.

Kiana

2008-08-04T17:12:00.001-07:00

Kinonster the Monster

2008-08-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Kiana starts school tomorrow!!! She is so excited, I on the other hand, am not. This means that I finally have to face the fact that she is and will continue growing up. Last night we let her have a friend sleep over. They had so much fun. They were laughing and playing all night. When I would go up and check on them, they would say to me, "we need alone time so we can talk about girl stuff." I thought to myself, you are only 5 & 6, what could you possibly have to talk about? Being the over protective parent that I am, I spied on them, ( yes, you read that correctly) and listened to this "girl talk". Thank goodness it only consisted of do you want to play house or barbies. I hope it stays that way for a very very very long time, like till she's 30!!!! I found a bunch of old pictures of Kiana on my computer. I am going to make a slide show and put it on this post as soon as I figure out how.

Way Behind!!!!!

2008-07-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you. I am not very good at keeping up on our family blog page but I am going to try and do better. First, to update you all on Kaylee since that is where I left off three months ago, she is doing great! She had her EEG and MRI and both came back perfect. The next step was to start running some tests on her heart, but Greg and I and her primary doctor decided that we did not want to do that unless she had another episode like this again. So far so good. The previous two episoded were 6 months apart, but we are optimistic that it is not going to happen again! Other than that she is completely heathly. She weighed 16lbs 8oz at her 1 year check up (she is very small) but she can keep up with her older sisters quite well. It is funny to watch her walk around because she is so small. We joke around that she is going to have to stay in her infant carrier till she is three, because it will probably take her that long to reach 20 pounds! Kiana starts kindergarten next week and I am ready to have a nervous breakdown!!!!! I am having a very hard time with the idea that she will not be with me all the time and that she is growing up. I think Greg will have to drop her off at school because if it is left up to me, I probably won't. I know I am crazy, but I don't care. I think I should go to the doctor's and get on some anxiety meds, but I am afraid that when I tell them why I need them they will laugh as they are kicking me out of the office!!! I just can't believe how fast five years has gone by. I know she will do great in school, she is very smart and determined. I just hope Kennedy, Kaylee, and I do as well at home without her, she is my little helper, and their best friend. I love my girls more than anything and so lucky to have three beautiful angels.

Little Kaylee Bug

2008-04-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a long time so I figured I better update my blog so everyone know's what is going on with Kaylee. This past Monday morning I went to Kaylee out of bed because I heard her kind of whimpering. When I picked her up I noticed she looked a little pale. I took her into my other girls room so I could get a better look at her and by that time she had gone completely gray and her lips were white. She was having a hard time breathing and was awake, but looked zoned out. She was rushed up to Primary's Childrens Hospital were we spent 7 hours. The whole "spell" lasted about 20 minutes, and than she was fine, just really tired. She did this same thing when she was two months old, but actually stopped breathing twice, and I had to do rescue breathing on her to get her to start breathing on her own again. The doctors are not sure what is wrong with her. The cardiologist thinks it is something nuerological and the Nuerologist thinks it is something with her heart. I told them I really don't care what it is, I just want a doctor that is going to figure it out rather than bicker back and forth about what they think. Needless to say, we have to go back up to primary's tomorrow to see a nuerologist. I will keep you all posted as to what happens.

My sixth toe!

2008-03-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

I hate feet!!! I think they are gross, and I can not stand people touching mine, which has made my trips to the podiatrist not very fun. I have what they say is a cyst on the top of my foot below my big toe. I have been to the Dr. three times since October to have it aspirated with a needle, but it keeps coming back. I had an appointment today where he aspirated it again. It has never been painful in the past, but today- oh my hell- I wanted to kick him! I think he hit a nerve and boy did it hurt. He told me that he wanted to try and continue treating it this way a few more times before the next step of surgically having it removed. He says he prefers not to do the surgery because the cyst is right on a bunch of nerves and it would be a painful recovery. I told him I was just fine not having the surgery, I did not like the pain when he hit a nerve today, so the idea of someone cutting with a knife down there is not that appealing to me. Needless to say, I have grown to hate my disappearing/reappearing toe.
Kennedy had her dentist appointment yesterday and did great. They had to sedate her to fill her cavities. She did not cry at all and was up and running crazy a few hours after the dental work. Kiana has her appointment next week, they are not planning on sedating her. Let's hope all goes as well. Kaylee started crawling last week and is all over the place. She also pulls herself up onto everything and will stand by herself for a few seconds. She is only nine months old, but I think she might start walking soon. I hope not though, I can barley keep up with her and her two sisters now.

Very Willful!!!

2008-03-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

So, Greg and I have decided that we have spoiled Kaylee a bit too much when it comes to her bottle and sleep time. Since she is our youngest and probably our last child, we have allowed her to have her bottle to fall asleep with at nights, and have given her one every time she wakes during the night, which is a lot! Last Friday we agreed that we would not put her down with a bottle or give her one when she wakes at night anymore, instead we would let her scream it out until she fell back to sleep. That first night was so hard. We gave her a bottle and than laid her down after she finished it. To our surprise she fell right asleep. We thought to ourselves, this is awesome, we rock! Unfortunately, she woke up about an hour later and screamed for two hours (not exaggerating here)!!!!!!!!! Greg and I took turns going in and checking on her. After she finally gave up and went to sleep, my husband said to me, "well you gotta hand it to her, she is very willful." I just thought to myself, I am glad you're able to put it so positively, because nothing like that came to my mind, all of my thoughts were well, not that nice. Each night she does a little better. It really sucks right now, but I know it will be better for her and us in the long run. As for Kiana and Kennedy, they are very good about telling anybody that comes to our house that Kaylee can't have a bottle when she sleeps anymore because, "we just let her scream now." Thank goodness most everyone that comes to our house knows what my kids are talking about, otherwise DCFS would be on my front porch! Those two come up with some of the funniest things I have ever heard. The other day Kennedy was singing a "princess concert" for me. I started singing with her and boy she did not like that. She stopped and looked at me and with all the frustration the little two year old could muster up she said, "You make me so angwry mom. You can't go to gamma's house anymore, do you undewstand me?" I tried so hard to keep a straight face, but I just couldn't. I busted out laughing. Kennedy just looked at me and marched off. I went and found her and apologized for singing with her during her concert. Needless to say, she was fine and finished her "concert" for me.

Ear Tubes

2008-03-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Kaylee had tubes put in her ears yesterday and everything went great! We were really nervous about her receiving anesthsia, because I do not do well with it, but she had no problems! The surgery itself only took 20 minutes, but we were up at Primary's for half the day due to the pre-op and the recovery. Kiana and Kennedy got to spend the day with their cousin Cohen and aunt Jen and Uncle Seth. They had a blast and did not want to leave. I am so greatful that everything went as well as it did and am glad that it is over. It was pretty nerve racking leading up to it.

First trip to the Dentist!

2008-03-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

So today was Kiana and Kennedy's first dentist visit, and they did surprisingly well. Kiana was very cooperative and let them do everything without any fuss. I think she was excited because she got to watch a movie on the ceiling while they cleaned her teeth, and she knew that the dentist was going to give her a surprise if she was good, and boy was she! Bribary is an amazing thing. Kennedy however, would not let them take x-rays with their "funny" camera and cried for just a minute, until she realized they were not going to hurt her and she was going to get pink floss, she loves pink! Unfortunately, they both have cavities, which means their next visit is not going to be as much fun. They said that they think Kiana will do fine with just a little bit of laughing gas, however Kennedy, is going to have to be sedated because she is only two, and won't sit still for that long without crying. I absolutely loved the Dentist and his staff! In anyone is in need of a good pediatric dentist, I highly recommend him. His name is Nathan Stevenson. On a side note, tomorrow is Kaylee's big day. She is having surgery up at Primary's to have tubes put in her ears. The poor little thing is only 9 months old, but has had an ear infection every month since September of last year. I am very nervous about tomorrow, and hope everything goes great. Surgery was our last resort. The doctors that we have seen, which has been a couple of them, all strongly suggest we put the tubes in now before she has any permanent hearing loss and her speech is delayed. Even though I am nervous about the surgery, it will be so nice for her not to have to be on antibiotics anymore and for her to hopefully stop with all the ear infections.