Thirteen & Counting

As of yesterday, Todd & I have been married for 13 years. I often wonder where the time has gone. Has it really been that long? So now I'll have to bore everyone with the details of our meeting, courtship and wedding....

I was attending the U of U and living with my cute little Grandma. One Sunday afternoon while having dinner at my mom's, I somehow managed to inherit a pet snake that needed a home. After convincing G'ma that it was safe, I brought Reggie home. I was instructed to feed him a mouse once a week so I went to the closest pet store, Fins, Feathers & Fur. I wandered around the shop aimlessly until I was helped by a cute pet shop boy, Todd. He kindly helped me pick out mouse, we chatted a bit and I made several trips to the store for mice.

The next time I went to purchase a mouse, Todd informed me that it was his last day. We chatted about playing tennis & that we should get together sometime. He gave me his number then I told him that I don't call boys & I gave him my number. He called later that afternoon & invited me to go on a double date w/some friends of his. I told him I didn't watch rated R movies so the four of us; Kevin & Sonja Checkwood, Todd & I went to see "Little Women." Nice.
It was a fun first date & I stayed at his house til 2am (much to the displeasure of my G'ma who was about to call the police).

We got along really well but I knew things wouldn't progress because he was not a member of my church along with other issues...smoking, drinking, 5 earrings, belly button ring, tattoo, no job. He was a keeper! We still continued to date and while he wanted to get more serious & I was happy just to keep things as they were. The first time he told me he loved me I told him I didn't feel well and that I had to throw up. I then went home. My poor dad worried about this boy I was dating but I reassured him that I wouldn't marry him.

Time passed and Todd made a effort to investigate the church and we started going to a singles ward. I had a friend from Snow College and we all started attending and made some life long friends. One in particular, Nathan Cottle, was instrumental in helping Todd. He brought the missionaries in and participated in every discussion and ended up baptizing & confirming Todd on August 9, 1995.

We got engaged in August of 95 and got married civilly on January 27, 1996 in a beautiful home in the Harvard/Yale area of SLC. We then got sealed 9 months later in the Manti Temple on September 14, 1996.

Todd is a funny & outgoing person who always makes me laugh. He loves me, respects me and supports me in all I do. He is a fantastic father and loves our two sweet kids very much. We've had a great life together and I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives together.

Friday Night Date

Todd got tickets for the Atlanta Hawks basketball game last Friday so we surprised the kids with a date night. The tickets were awesome, 2nd row floor seats. You can see the sweat on the players. It was fun to watch the game and the people around us. We only made it through half-time then we left since Sam was on sensory overload. He can't quite tolerate all the noise & movement. We had a great time at the game & enjoyed some over-priced Cold Stone Ice Cream afterward.

Kids & Politics

Since yesterday was the Inauguration, Sam & Abby's schools both had the students watch part of it. It certainly was historical. We were ready to have dinner and I asked Sam to say a prayer and this is how it went, "Dear Father in Heaven, I'm thankful that I could go to school today and bless that Barak Obama will be our 44th president, bless the food...."

Now, I didn't vote for Barak but I respect the office of the President of the United States. When Diane Feinstein asked everyone to stand, I stood up in my living room as he was being sworn in. I hope that this next administration's policies & politics will help us out of the current messes we are in. Time will tell. Until then, all we can do is pray for these new leaders of the nation & hope that they will make the right decisions.

God Bless America!

Post Op Op Ed (graphic photos ahead)

Photos: suspended uterus right ovary & cyst

OK, so who doesn't love a good surgical story? Especially one that involves cool internal photos.

Let's begin...

Back in March of 2008 I was sitting at the computer and had terrible cramping pain. I can equate it to labor pains, although I've never experienced labor, I think that's how it might have been. I had to lay on the couch, I was nauseated and the pain radiated to my lower back. I thought to myself, "I'm going to have to call an ambulance." Luckily the pain subsided and I was OK. I made a phone call to my gynecologist's office the next day and asked if they had any sick appointments available. The lady said no and if the pain is bad, go to the ER. Well, I'm not sure our local hospital has actual doctors in the ER so I decided against that. I was able to get into my regular doctor and as he came into the room with his suede pants on, he didn't even touch me and handed me a prescription for pain pills and anti-nausea medication. His thought, fibroids.

I eventually got in to see the nurse midwife sine my regular doctor never seems to be available. She checked me out and didn't find anything out of the ordinary and said she could send me for an ultrasound. I scheduled my appointment at the hospital and got it taken care of. I didn't hear back from the doctor's office so when I called, the helpful office girl relays the message that "everything is normal, repeat the ultrasound in 6 weeks." Why would I have to repeat it if it was normal? I did repeat it in June and I eventually got a call that said I did have an ovarian cyst but that it hadn't changed since the last ultrasound. I complained a bit to the nurse that they told me everything was normal. Sorry.

I had another episode of pain but managed through it then went to see my MD for a follow-up. The nurse put me in a room and my MD (a female) came in and asked why I hadn't had another ultrasound. I told her I had had 2 and that they were expensive. I really just wanted to know what my options were. She left and the RN came back in. I said, "Is this a waste of a visit?" She said yes. She was asking several questions and I said, "Can't the doctor be in here for this?" The MD reluctantly came back and I said, "Am I wasting your time?" I said, "I am here once a year for a yearly, an occasional UTI, I'm not pregnant and I'm not drug seeking. This whole thing has been handled very poorly." Sorry. That's what I got. I walked out of the room and said I wasn't coming back.

The saga continues...I decided to find a new MD who perhaps cared a little so I made an appointment for November. I then had more pain so I called the old MD just to get the order for another ultrasound. I had another US and after several days, the actual MD called all sweet and nice telling me I needed to have surgery, the cyst was now 6.5 cm, come in and get a blood test to determine if it's ovarian cancer. She scared me but I told her I needed a second opinion. I went to the appointment with the new MD and I thought I was seeing a female doctor but in walks a cute, younger-than-me man. Nice. We went through everything, I was scheduled for another US in 2 weeks. Finally, after many ultrasounds & visits, it was decided that I needed to have the whole right ovary, tube and accompanying cyst removed. Yeah!

I had hoped to get in before the end of the year so I could utilize the deductible that had already been met. No such luck. I had surgery on January 7th and they laproscopically removed my ovary, just barely. However, little did he know what I mess I was on the inside. The photos above show my uterus which is suspended and attached to my abdominal wall (not where it should be). My cyst created lots of problems as well, That's what happens when you have 2 c-sections I guess. I may also have some endometriosis..why not!

I have been trying to get back to "normal" and my incisions are still healing but it's only been a week. I've got to give my sweet husband Todd a big thank you. He took 3 days off of work, took care of me, the kids, laundry, cooked (even to a meal into a co-worker whose wife had a baby), vacuumed...pretty much everything. Love you honey! Thanks to my kind friends who brought in Thai for lunch, flowers, chocolate, dinner, cookies and the phone calls.

In this reporter's opinion, the surgery was a success but chooses not to do it again. I will say that I liked some of the drugs, Versed in particular is quite nice.

It finally happened!

After trying to wiggle every tooth in her mouth, Abby finally lost her first tooth. It had been very wiggly and I attempted to pull it out but she just kept crying saying she wasn't ready. She calmed down a bit, I bent it forward and out it came. She is so excited! I had purchased a cute little "Tooth Fairy" kit that has a book that tells the story of the tooth fairy, a little light to put in the window and a satin envelope to put the tooth in. The tooth fairy did come and leave her $2.00. She is now working really hard at trying to lose the other teeth. She told me that if she was able to pull out the 4 that are currently loose, she would get $100. Thanks to the faltering economy, that won't be happening.