"Never suppress a generous thought."

-Camilla Kimball
I just love that The Chocoholic was born in December so that everything happening here was happening in December!  LOL
December 20, 1999.  We took him back to the children's hospital to have another renal exam.  This time it wasn't so easy to put in the catheter.  He was crying  and I was crying and it wasn't pretty!  Finally they got the catheter and the I.v. in.  They strapped him down on the exam table where he proceeded to cry and cry some more.  They gave him a sucker and that calmed him down for about 15 minutes.
When it was over, we met with the pediatric urologist.  We were told that 90% of the time, hydronephrosis happens in boys, and 90% of the time, it is in the left kidney, and 90% of the time, there aren't any problems.  In fact, in the years before ultrasounds, we would have never known he even had this.  But it's that 10% that need intervention that are truely helped by all this.  When the doctor looked at the scans of his kidneys, he smiled.  When we were there last time, the split was 60/40, meaning that one kidney was doing 60% of the work.  But this time the split was 55/45.  The doctor said, "He is fine and I hope to never see you again!"  I cried all the way to the car.  What a relief that was.
So our experience with hydronephrosis came to an end.  All that stress over nothing.  But it could have been worse, and I am so glad that he is healthy!
After The Chocoholic was born, the pediatrician examined him.  The kidneys weren't swollen, and he had peed on the nurses just after he was born, so he felt everything would be okay.
Less than 2 weeks later, we went to the children's hospital for an ultrasound.  The right kidney was completely normal, and the left kidney was 1 cm. longer.  But they weren't concerned at all.  The pediatric urologist scheduled us for a renal exam and bladder x-ray the next month.
Boy, weren't those fun.  Ever watched a 1 1/2 month old get an i.v.?  And a catheter?  I just cried while they were doing it, mainly because they were having to hold him down to do it all!  But he was so good about it!
The renal exam is to check for blockage. They laid him on a "table" that had the “cameras” on both the top and the bottom, so he was inside, kind of. It was open on both ends.  They put sandbags over his feet, then one over each arm. He had to lie still for the pictures. Then they brought in this tube that has radioactive symbols and warnings all over it. They opened it up, and it's lead lined, with a tiny needle inside. They injected it into his I.V., then we waited. They had a computer screen that was showing the particles as the collected in his kidneys. It took a picture every 15 seconds. It was kind of cool to watch as the kidneys began to show up. The right kidney "dumped" the particles almost right away into the bladder, but they stayed in the left kidney a lot longer. They watched that for 20 minutes, then they gave him a diuretic to make him pass the remaining particles into his bladder. It took the left kidney quite a while to pass them. That took 25 minutes. He slept during the whole thing. When they were finished, they took out the I.V., which woke him up and made him cry again.
Then we went into a waiting room to wait for the bladder x-ray. This is to check for reflux, if the bladder is pushing the urine back up into the kidneys. I fed him while we were waiting. When they called him in, I had to lay him on a table and the nurse gave Tom and I both lead vests to wear so we could stay with him. I held his hands, and she hooked up a bottle of saline to his catheter. She just held it up in the air and the saline flowed into his bladder. It took less than a minute, and his bladder was full. She then took some x-rays of his bladder. Then she called a dr. in to watch him "void." They took out the catheter and took x-rays while he was "voiding." After they were done, she left to go get something, and he peed again. I think he peed 3 times in all! But the good news is there was no reflux!
So we were told to come back in a year and they would do it all again to see what was happening. 
I bet you didn't anticipate a part three, did you?
When I was pregnant with #3 (The Chocoholic), I was really nervous because I wanted a girl so badly.  I had even been feeling like it was a girl.  I know, we are just supposed to want our babies to healthy and strong, but I wanted a girl desperately!  The night before the ultrasound, I had my husband give me a Priesthood blessing and afterwards, I felt such a calmness.  I knew I could handle it and would be okay. 
We had the ultrasound at 20 weeks, discovered that he was a boy, and I was strangely calm.  I was disappointed, but I knew it would okay.  As we were sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor, the nurse came in and said, "So are you the couple that is having problems with your baby?"  We said no, and she quickly hurried out, but then I started to panic. 
When the doctor came in, he said there might be a problem with one of the kidneys of the baby.  There was some extra fluid in the left kidney, and the tube to the kidney was slightly dilated.  He told us to come back in 2 weeks and they would check it again.
The next afternoon, I was watching Oprah and they were talking about parenting tips and she had on a couple who had 10 boys, ages 22 to 4. I started to cry. Just a little bit. Then harder and harder. It just really hit me. I was totally sobbing. I had to call and tell Tom something, and I could barely talk. I finally calmed down and then my mom called me to see if I had watched it and I started to cry again. It doesn't mean I don’t, or won’t, love this baby, but I just needed to cry.
Two weeks later we had the ultrasound and the kidneys looked the same.  My OB told me they will just wait and do another ultrasound at 34 weeks and if it was the same, then we would let the pediatrician know and go from there.  It wasn't serious enough that anything had to be done right away.  Except stress about it!
I went to the doctor at 34 weeks and had another ultrasound. The baby's kidneys were still dilated. I will try to explain it without pictures!
There are 2 sections to the kidney, the place where it holds urine and the working part. The place where it holds the urine would normally be 1cm wide. The baby's are 1.25 cm. This means that the urine is not draining into the bladder like it should. The doctor said that sometimes a little flap grows in the ureter, which blocks the urine. If the working part starts to shrink at all, then he would send me to Primary Children's Hospital to see a pediatric surgeon/specialist. He told me this isn't something that we should take lightly, but we also shouldn't stress about it.   LOL  Tell a mother something is wrong with her baby, but don't stress about it!
They gave me ultrasounds every week to keep and eye on it and finally in December, I was induced and delivered a healthy baby boy. 
But lest you think our story is done, stay tuned for part two!
"Very often in our anxiousness for the joys of the future, we run away from the very things we are wanting and needing today. And appropriate examination of the passing moment will prove it leads to eternity. We need to constantly remind ourselves eternity is in process now."

Marvin J. Ashton
We are all going to get old.  We are all going to get wrinkles.  People who have had plastic surgery and Botox are not natural looking.  They just aren't!  For instance:








Who do they think they are kidding?  Not me!  They look awful.  They just do.  I'm sorry.  Just grow old gracefully!
I cannot believe I have made 300 postings. It has take 1 1/2 years to do it!

In honor of my 300th post, I have created a (yet another) new blog. Here I will be posting pictures of my cute kids and family.

Unfortunately, this one will be private. I will be limiting it to family and friends that I know personally and have met IRL. I am so paranoid about our privacy now. I'm sorry to those that read this blog that are friends, but I haven't met yet. I have to protect my kiddos. I am sure you understand.

So, if you would like to read my other blog and see pictures of beautiful children, shoot me an email and I will send you an invitation.

tacpaskett at comcast dot net

Thanks!
I have kept a daily (almost) journal since the 8th grade.  I never used anything fancy, just a simple spiral notebook.  I need to go back and type them up, because the ink is starting to fade.  Yes, add that to my list of things to do! 
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Anyway, in 1998, I started typing up my journal.  I am on the computer a lot, and it was just easier.  I print them out at the end of each year and bind them so they are similar to my handwritten ones. 
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I love to go back and read them.  I have gone through and done some editing...even so far as ripping entire pages out.  There are some things that my posterity does not need to know!  LOL 
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These are my journals on my shelf in my scrapbook room.  Would you like to hear a random entry?  Too bad!  LOL  I used a random date generator on the Internet, but every date it gave me, then journal entry for that date was so boring! 
Last year I typed up my Mom's old journals and I loved reading them.  She went through struggles just like I am.  She yelled at her kids and felt bad about it, just like me.  I wish I could have read them years ago.  I think I might have felt better about myself as a mother.
So go write in your journal.  If you haven't started one, start today.  Your kids will love you for it!


from Workingmomma247's Weblog by workingmomma247

1. What is your occupation right now? Accountant/Mother. I always have to put mother in there because that is the one that is the most important to me.
2. What color are your socks right now? Socks? What are those? I barely wear them during the winter, and try really hard not to wear them during the summer!
3. What are you listening to right now? All the kids are at school, I just finished working, and I have my MyTouch phone on with "Red Red Wine" by UB40. I love 80's music!
4. What was the last thing that you ate? I have been snacking on Dots while working. I like to eat all the green, yellow, and orange ones first, so I can then enjoy the red and pink ones. They are my favorite.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes. That is pretty much what I had when I was a teenager.
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister. She is buying CurlFormers for her hair. I need to try them on mine.
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, even though we have never met IRL. I love that Jean gets to be home with her kiddos after working full time!
8. How old are you today? 36 and feeling much older.
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Reality TV. That's a sport, right? Otherwise, we watch the SuperBowl (but only for the commercials) and sometimes the BYU vs. UofU game (I bleed blue!), but that's about it!
10. What is your favorite drink? Strawberry Lemonade with real strawberries in it. Not the fake syrup flavored stuff.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? I started dying my hair when I was pregnant with The Artist and I will dye until I die!
12. Favorite food? Meat and potatoes. I love Texas Roadhouse!
13. What is the last movie you watched? I listen to a lot of movies (in the car while I am driving my kids around!). So that would have to be "Quest for Camelot." The last movie I actually watched would be "Guys and Dolls." The Teenager was trying out for it and wanted to know the story.
14. Favorite day of the year? Mother's Day. I get presents and I don't have to cook!
15. How do you vent anger? I am a yeller. Ask my kids. I really need to stop.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I love my dollies. And now The Princess is enjoying my old dolls too. I love seeing her take care of them!
17. What is your favorite season? Spring...because it means warmer weather is coming!
18. Cherries or blueberries? I love eating cherry and after cherry. I just don't like the after effects!
19. Living arrangements? House in the suburbs that we have grown out of. Seriously. We need more room, but there is no way I would try and sell my house right now. There are already over 10 houses for sale on my street alone!
20. When was the last time you cried? Tears running down cheeks, or sobbing? Both in the last week! LOL I am a very emotional person.
21. What is on the floor of your closet? Christmas presents. I hide them there. And I buy all year long, so there is always stuff stashed there.
22. What did you do last night? Fell asleep in my chair. My La-A-Boy. I love him. I need to name him. And yes, it's a him. Who else could cuddle me so well?
23. What are you most afraid of? Getting a chronic illness.
24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese, no pickles, onions, or mustard. But bacon is always welcome!
25. What is your favorite kind of dog? The stuffed variety.
26. Favorite day of the week? Friday afternoon. I take a nap while the kids play. No homework, no rush, and I don't have to make supper because it's date night and the kids will eat Ramen noodles!
27. How many states have you lived in? 3...Utah, Idaho, and Montana.
28. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, but only if they're fake. Real ones are too expensive, and who really cares? Fake ones are just as pretty!
29. What is your favorite flower? I love roses, but they die fast. I love daisies and they last a long time!
30. What is your favorite song? There are way too many to name, but here are a few:
  • "Sweetest Days" by Vanessa Williams
  • "I Hope You Dance" by LeAnn Womack
  • "Men" by The Forrester Sisters
  • Anything by Donny Osmond
  • All Primary Children songs
31. What is your pet peeve? Again, too many to list, so I am not going to list them, in case I offend someone! I don't want people to get paranoid around me! I am just too OCD and things bug me. But I am learning to get it go!
Well, there you go. Now you know way to much about me!

I love having a camcorder. 
I love to go back and watch when my kids were little and how cute they were.  Seeing their chubby legs and hearing their giggles always brings tears to my eyes.  I didn't know how easy life was then. 
I love watching as they grow up...rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, riding a 2-wheeler, Easter, Christmas, birthday...  Every moment is to be treasured and enjoyed.
WAIT...Not the band concert!  Argh!  It was painful to sit through live!  Oh, wait!  There it is again!  They held the concert twice to accommodate more people, so I had to go to both concerts.  And I had to tape them both.  
I feel the need to video tape everything they do.  Even if they do it twice.  I don't want to watch it twice.  I am not sure I want to watch it once!  LOL  So how do I delete one of the concerts?  And which one do I delete?  The one where he played perfectly, or the one where he goofed up and made a cute face? 
And am I ever going to watch that soccer game from 3rd grade?  I just don't see me sitting down in 20 years saying, "Let's watch a bunch of 9 year olds run up and down a field!" 
However...
My family didn't have a camcorder growing up until I was in high school.  And one of our favorite things to watch when we get together is when my dad video taped the morning of a first day of school.  My older brother was starting his senior year and my little sister was starting kindergarten.  It is so funny to see us interact and what we are wearing and what we are concerned about.  For instance,
Mom: "You need to iron your shirt."
Me: "Mom, it's fine."
Mom: "You really need to iron it. Kids might make fun of you."
Me: "No one is going to laugh at me because my shirt is not ironed."
Annoying younger brother: Points at me and starts to laugh hysterically. 
Me: Roll my eyes and wonder what on earth I did to deserve such a twit for a brother.
Now, I know this narrative doesn't do it justice, so if you really want to see it, come on over.  It makes for great TV!
So I guess what the point of this post is that if you have a camcorder, turn it on more.  Don't just tape the games and concerts.  Tape the every day stuff.  Who cares if the house is a mess.  My dad even taped the contents of the fridge.  But in doing so, he got the kitchen and the decorations and things that brought back lots of memories.
And you get in front of it more.  Or if you hubby does the taping, get him in front.  Those are the memories your kids will watch over and over.  Trust me. 
Now go pick it up and tape something! 
Because we are trying to eat healthier, we are buying more fresh fruits and vegetables. But they take up room. And in a 20 cubic foot fridge, that means there isn't much room left for other stuff. So I have been looking at fridges, just to try and get an idea of what I want.

And tonight, I found it. The perfect fridge.


It's perfect. 28 cubic feet, huge interior, ice in the door, freezer on the bottom. Everything that I have been looking at. Except...


$2,800.
Are you kidding me? $2,800? I just about died!

I guess I will keep on dreaming because there is no way I am spending that much!
Adversity

Let us not presume that because the way is at times difficult and challenging, our Heavenly Father is not mindful of us. He is rubbing off our rough edges and sensitizing us for our great responsibilities ahead. May His blessings be upon us spiritually, that we may have a sweet companionship with the Holy Ghost, and that our footsteps might be guided along paths of truth and righteousness. And may each of us follow the Lord’s comforting counsel: “Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (D&C 24:8).

James E. Faust
I am in love with this idea!

Faux Makeup

Like the post says, all the "play makeup" out there is real makeup. This is a perfect idea! I can't wait to make it!
...days until Christmas! Start your shopping!