A clean bill of health

Wow! What a busy 2 weeks--to catch you up we will start happiest to craziest:





Glade: We took Glade up to Park City last week for a fun condo stay. Greg took Glade swimming, hiking, on the alpine coaster, to the park, & many other fun things while I was a bit out of comission (details to come). G has also been enjoying preschool and is looking forward to his Halloween party this coming week. He will be a gaucho-which is a Mexican cowboy. G has spent alot of time with different family members and friends the last couple of weeks and has enjoyed the change of scenery-I hope!





Greg: He is super-swamped at work, but managed to squeeze out a few hours to care for Glade and me. He had a hearing, mediation, and deposition this week alone. He is running a million miles an hour but is still managing to care for the house plants, do the shopping, & arrange help with Glade. I got lucky.





London: Okay, where to start? Last week in Park City, I woke up feeling like I had the flu. Stomach symptoms, bloated pain, etc. It got gradually worse until I was dying in pain. I made Greg take me to the hospital in Park City where I spent a couple of days on pain medication and with a catheter trying to pass what they guessed was a kidney stone. This was unlike any stone I have ever felt before. And I've had more than my fair share. An ultrasound showed my kidney was extremely inflamed. They sent me home when my pain was under control with some more pain medicine to hopefully pass the stone and feel better. I slept the week away only waking to eat with pills, and pee blood. It was miserable. Finally, this past week, I went into my OB to find an answer. He had me consult with a urologist who immediately scheduled surgery that day.

I was put under general anesthesia (they monitored the baby, phew!) and they removed a MOTHER stone, which was 1 cm large. It was blocking my ureter/bladder opening and was the cause of my kidney filling with fluid and my bladder pains. The doc had to blast the stone for him to even get it out. There was no way it was coming out on its own. He put in a stent to help my kidney drain and a catheter and I spent a couple more days at my local hospital. The good news is that baby girl should be able to stay in another 1-3 weeks until she is due. I am 36 weeks now. The bad news is I have another procedure tomorrow to remove the stent (which is uncomfortable). Hopefully the docs will give me a CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH afterward so I can relax a bit before baby comes.

Family and friends have been so helpful these past 2 weeks with babysitting, checking in, gifts, flowers, and much more. I only had a teeny taste of the pain others go through and it was rough. I feel really blessed.

Halloween

Halloween is a favorite holiday in our house, so to get us in the mood...

bring on the spiders! As long as I have Glade nearby...

Baby Girl's Nursery

Due to many requests, I have posted what is done so far on the baby girl's nursery. Her closet is absolutely packed, seeing as I've worked on that for months. :) Her crib is new-it is a pottery barn crib (from Greg's mom, Suzanne), and it is a dark brown. The bedding is vintage pottery barn and has an array of colors including orange stitching and turquoise patches. The crib picture shows her room colors: orange and cream. (previously painted)

The mini chair is vintage and is about 20 years old. The dresser I redid and added the changing area and accessories. Besides the clock, I plan to hang some frames or fun pictures on the wall as I find them. I am searching for things I love, not just things to fill the space.

Glade's 3rd surgery

After his annual pediatric exam, it was determined that one of G's ear tubes has fallen out. Normally it is okay for kids to lose them, especially around age 3. Unfortunately, Glade still gets several ear infections a year, even with the tubes. They are usually severe and require severe high powered antibiotic shots to get him better. Not to mention the sleepless nights they bring. So, shortly after his 3rd bday, we put in his 3rd set of tubes. Fingers crossed they stay in and do their job at least through the winter. We have had a healthy summer (knock on wood) and are hoping for the same this winter...especially with a new little girl joining the pack. The above picture is of Glade, brave as can be, hand in hand with the anesthiologist at my work, walking into the OR. He didn't cry, but turned and said, "Mom, you wait right there for me." He also explained to the staff how his bear also needed straws in his ears. My smart boy! He cuddled for 5 minutes when he woke up and was his regular self for the rest of the day. I call that a success.

Brief cuddle moment from my active boy--captured on film. :)

Glade is 3!

The date: 09/15

The party: snow cones with a commercial machine for family; cake (G just ate the frosting) for him

The stats: weight-39.8 lbs 95%; height-40 inches 95%; bmi 85% percentile

The actual birthday: kangeroo zoo in ogden, an inflatable gym equiped with 15 bounce toys

The guests: G's cousins-Kyle, Luke, & G, plus Sissy and Gramma Nonni

G also had preschool and picked out ring pops to share with his class

ah, and finally...the gift: a medium (goes up to 6 feet) plastic basketball hoop-which he asked for

It was a great and busy day all in all. But dad came home from work early to take G to dinner and we enjoyed celebrating with family. Happy 3rd bday Glade!

Pre-School!

First day of preschool!!! Posing with Mrs. Maloney-

With Mrs. Pearson-

Glade on his first day. He was so excited and has been talking about school for MONTHS. So, he was extremely pleased to visit his teachers, classroom, and of 'course the play area! They had an impressive array of coup cars for the kids to ride on (like 20) and a huge playground. I am very excited for Glade to attend school. Gives me a break :) and he will hopefully learn to listen and be apart of a constructive classroom.

Greg wrote an article that was published in the Utah Business Magazine on legal issues involving landlord/tenant policies and recommendations. We were pretty excited and celebrated with the coauthor for dinner last week.

This picture below is the dresser that I have transformed for lil girl's room. It started out an oak brown with water stains and rusting hardware.

The process: sanded off wood veneer, painted matte paint in a dark brown/2 coats, added weather crackle glaze, then added top coat of turquoise in flat paint. It magically cracked to reveal the brown underneath. I had mudded previous nail holes with wood filler and sanded them flat. To finish the project, I added a clear protector/2 coats for easy wipe off and a smooth finish. Greg drilled in the fleur hardware and voila! A one of a kind dresser.

Contributors include:

(well, because I can't take all the credit)

Bob and Sheila for donating the sturdy Ethan Allen dresser 5 years ago

Several friends and my sister for accepting the MANY picture texts of the process and giving pointers

Greg for drilling the new hardware in

My sister for picking it out and even going to the store to get another

Glade for painting (even when I didn't want him to)

My friend Jodi for picking the color turquoise

The saleslady at Lowe's' paint counter

Without further ado...

Quick catch-up

After reading several friends' blogs, I realized how much I loved getting frequent updates on their lives. And it's been a LONG time since I posted, so I wanted to quickly catch you up on what's been going on in our lives.

We will go youngest to oldest:

Baby Girl: Doc says he will start preparing me for delivery on Nov. 2nd as long as I'm a bit dilated. So tips on how to dilate (I didn't at all with Glade, hence the previous c-section) would be appreciated. That is less than 2 months away. Holy cow. I am getting her room ready: Orange and turquoise and cream are her nursery colors. I redid a dresser and am using a lot of vintage things to create a trendy room for her. She is growing great, though my belly is less than half the size of when I had Glade...but Glade was 10 lbs. Still throwing names around, but we have our favorites...

Glade: He will tell you he starts school tomorrow!!! He will attend the Little Red Schoolhouse, a legend, in Ogden. It is also his 3 yr old birthday next week--it is amazing how fast they grow up! He is pottytrained but admittedly has 1-2 accidents a week. That is pretty good considering his age and gender. He is helpful, loving, and full of energy.

London: (me) uh, besides growing a baby, healing a broken tibia, and passing kidney stones, I feel like I have been in survival mode. Just getting by--I still attempted a lot of swimming with Glade, park activities, and play dates with friends as long as I could rest my leg. I am desperately trying to avoid a cast (already had 2) and let it heal before baby girl gets here so I can continue with my running goals in 2012. Now, 2 weeks post-kidney stones (which may I just say is unfair for pregnant women to have...then they are going through the pain of labor more than one time a year, how rude!) I feel like I have my groove back! Scrapbooking, playing with Glade, enjoying the sun.

Greg: Busy working like crazy, and balancing yard work and church callings as well. Took his church group skeet shooting (what an awesome activity huh?) and loves serving others. Our yard is finally done, minus a fence--which I'm told is coming. Greg landscaped the area by himself and prides himself on unique plants. We have a wide range and it looks terrific. Neighbors favorites include a contorted philbert, canaa lilys, and our wild ferns.

Well, that wasn't a quick catch-up per say, but you now know why a post has been postponed til now. A lot going on. Getting excited for fall, halloween, and of course baby girl!