I
got really sick, like in the hospital sick and then shingles after that
kinda sick and I let my weekly updates go - so that I could focus on me
and getting better. It was the hardest thing and the most confusing
thing I have ever been through. I had to change my life completely,
something I fought for a long time, because change is hard y'all! But I
did it and I feel better than ever! First change was to change my diet
to Gluten Free. That happened and all of a sudden I had so much more
energy and kicked my almost two month long headache good bye! I have
started excersizing again too! I began couch to 5k over a month ago and
I am finally considering myself a runner!
So here is the thing with these photos, I tried to get them in order the best I could, but some may be out of whack...sorry!
The
last time I left you, grandpa and grandma were on their way back home
to Nebraska, but not without a picture with the babies!
Kyan finished off football season.
Pink Mouse Inc, in the house!!! Lola loved her new t-shirt!
First
big Boys Scouts meeting! Contest for cupcake/cake decorating. No
mommies were allowed to help, but they didn't say anything about no
daddies helping! So Chad got on it and helped Kyan hook up his
cupcake!!!
Lola went to Kindergarten Roundup! She loved everything about the room we were in!
And so began my journey of migraine answers (they I never really seemed to get)...
Betsy continued to grow, her ears look so funny here!
We took a family trip to the World Wildlife Zoo!
Her first ride way up high! I made Chad go with her, just in case she freaked out!
Baseball season began, we took Kyan's best bud to practice with us most of the time!
Finally
was able to see a neurologist, who I ended up hating. He recommended
that I be admitted into the hospital, told me I was taking migraine meds
for far too long, and I was, but with the advice of my general doctor.
Said I needed a drug called DHE (like a detox) to break my migraine. I
was torn...it was two days from Spring Break. Could I hold on?
The answer was no. I needed to take care of me. Period.
Problem
was the DHE didn't like me too much, made my blood pressure drop to
69/55 (I have high blood pressure controlled with medication, so this
was very strange) and my heart rate went as high as 139, just laying in a
hospital bed. Scary.
Having
my babies come visit me was amazing, but so very hard. I think Lola
did better than Kyan, he understood what was happening to me and was
scared.
The
neurologist at the hospital wouldn't show up until 10-11pm, you know,
when I was completely out of it. I was very drugged up and had a hard
time comprehending anything. Chad was able to spend the night with me
one night to see if he could figure out what was going on. Of course
the neuro never showed that night. He slept with his feet propped up on
a chair, they said they had nothing for him to sleep on, no cot, no
recliner. Nothing. It was very disappointing.
I realized that I can't do it all. I have never felt so powerless, seems like this quote said it all.
I
left the hospital on more drugs than when I initially walked in the
door. I had a hard time with balance and fell on my daughter the first
morning I was home (she sometimes sleeps on the floor next to my side of
the bed, she was okay, but I wasn't). I cried and felt so stupid, but I
lost control of my body.
I
repeated myself over and over and over again and couldn't remember
anything. I was on so many pills, I had to write them down and when I
was supposed to take them and when my doctors appointments were. I took
that piece of paper everywhere (until a friend of mine sent me a pretty
journal to keep in my purse)!
My
mom came to help me out with myself and the kids and with Chad (he went
back to work). If you talked to me I was out of it and cried at the
drop of a hat over anything. She was amazing and I am so grateful that
she has a job that is so willing to be flexible with her. I am also
thankful to my dad who made sure she came down immediately.
Kyan got his braces off!
I
wasn't working the entire time I was sick, so part of my recovery was
watching my babies swim or play or hear their laughter when they did get
home!
When
my mom came to help, she cleaned the shizz outta my house, including my
closet. She doesn't mess around. I love this about her. I let go of a
lot of clothes that I may "one day" fit into. She said it was time,
that if I got myself in shape she would buy me new clothes. It helped a
ton to have less choices hanging in my closet (and sock drawer and
underwear drawer and everything in between)!
Made
it out to Mabel Night at the Spring Training Ball Park with the
family. I actually felt pretty good this night (I had occipital
injections into the back of my head the day before, made it numb for
about 24 hours, but that is about all it did, relieved nothing).
Sprinkler running and lots of laughing. I got to sit outside and enjoy them.
And
then, on the final day that my mom was here to help, I got Shingles. I
was heartbroken and felt disgusting. My headaches were under control
(with the help of medicine - -which turned out I wasn't supposed to be
on) and then that happened.
I
could only snuggle with my kids head to head. We are a snugglin'
family, but they did good understanding that this is how it had to be
for a little while.
Betsy
was the best company I could have asked for. She never left my side,
especially when I was eating (I sneak her little bites)!
I love their faces. The water at this point was way too cold.
Her ears started to stand up!
I
finally felt well enough to walk my kids to school. It was a little
thing that was BIG! Previously, my friend was picking them up every day
and bringing them home.
Such
a big boy! After the first few days, I taught him the route to walk
home to. He loved every second of it and begged to let him stay home
alone. He asked for his own key and said he could handle it.
Spring School Pictures!
Lola was so excited when she would get homework! She is a lefty all the way!
Betsy's favorite way to snuggle.
She discovered dirt one day. It was hilarious!
Finally
got around to building all of Kyan's World of Warcrat lego/mega block
sets he got for Christmas. But before daddy agreed to help, the kids
and I had to separate the pieces by color (the knuckleheads decided that
it would be awesome to put all of the pieces together).
More baseball practice, this season the kids pitched and Kyan was loving it!
While at yet another Spring Training Game, this time for Little League day at the park, Kyan caught a fly ball!
Silly girls.
Nerd Alert.
Betsy loves to snuggle as much as she does.
A glimpse into what our summer already looks like...even though this was taken in the spring.
While
spending time at home, instead of at work, I finally felt a little bit
better and was able to do a little bit of crafting and put together 10
emergency clutches (you can find the DIY in my tutorials section).
Betsy didn't really like her leash at first, but we often went out to meet Kyan on his walk home from school.
Lola was the first to crack her iPad, but it was just a tiny one, so we let it be.
I
needed a house key (so did some friends and family, I usually lend out
my extra garage door opener, but that was getting old). Saw this key
and fell in love. So what if it cost $5 more than the regular ones.
Betsy
and I had our routines. I usually couldn't function until about 10am, I
still woke up at the exact same time, as if I was working, walked the
kids to school, but it was work. I came home and crashed until that
time. By then, my headache lifted enough to play fetch! We usually
stayed outside for 30 minutes or so and then came back in to snuggle!
My
favorite present to give to new couples getting married. The tree has
their first dance song lyrics printed on it, and the hanging hearts are
their initials, hung from baker's twine in the colors of their wedding
party. WE had a wedding coming up and I wanted to give them something
special.
I love that this was my daughter's superpower: to shoot LOVE out! If only that could really happen.
Kyan's reading superpower helps him to learn about history! Love the hand print for a cape!
So
remember when I said I hated my neurologist? Well, my general doctor
was able to get me into a very good clinic across town. She explained
that taking so much migraine medicine was going to cause me to stoke out
or have a heart attack. Scary. I cried when she told me that I was
going to have to quit the migraine medicine cold turkey. What? I
finally had this headache business under control with it and now I was
gonna have to completely stop. I don't know if you know what it is like
to have a migraine, but it sucks. Every time I haven't taken meds, I
wind up in the hospital. I didn't want to do this, I just wanted things
to stay how they were, I had a grip on life. She explained that I was
doing major damage and that she wanted me to come in for an infusion to
try and break the headache without using narcotics. I would do anything
to make it go away and did the infusion. I left feeling heartbroken
once again, as it didn't really seem to help. We had a wedding to go to
that weekend and I was worried that I was going to be stuck in bed
feeling like death because I couldn't take anything to help the pain.
Turns out, I was right. While my husband celebrated with the wedding
party, I was stuck in bed, hating life. I insisted that he go be with
his friends, as I knew I needed to just rest. Maybe that would help. I
slept, I cried, I slept so more.
All
that rest worked. I woke up the next day and had a lighter head. The
nurses told me that the infusion might not work until several hours (or a
day) later. I didn't believe them, but they were right. I was able to
join my husband at the wedding!
We returned home from the weekend away to our babies who were dressed up from Easter Church Services with Chad's parents.
In
the fourth quarter of school, every Monday became a dress theme, this
happened to be Orange Day for one of the pillars of character (just
can't remember which one it represents).
More baseball practice!
I
am a quote girl, they often speak to me at just the right time. I was
starting to feel better, very slowly. I still didn't fully understand
why this all happened to me and why it was taking so long to fix.
I
found a picture of my husband and I on the beach. We used this picture
on our wedding invitations. It was this picture that made me decide it
was time to go back to blonde hair. If you know my mother, she has
been begging for me to do this every time I go to the salon. Let's just
say, she was very happy when she heard the news.
Swimming babies. One of them in their undies! Sometimes it is just too much work to but on trunks.
She has 6-7 swimsuits this season, this one is my favorite.
I
have been wanting to do my own gel nails, like get the dryer for it and
everything. Then I discovered a way to do it using all the colors of
polish I already had! See the tutorial below if you would like to try
it too! I promise if you follow the steps, you won't be disappointed.
Heading to Kyan's opening ceremony, on top of the world (because a daddy's shoulders are just that)!
She got eye "pink" to match her brothers!
Still off of work, but continued my walks after I school drop off. I just kept going. More progress.
Lola rode her bike with me when I walked at night on occasion.
Golf
buddies came to town and we were sad that we couldn't cook our big meal
for them, like we usually do. I just couldn't do it. We did however,
make them cookies to take home and enjoy!
Lola
loves to paint, she would do it every day if I let her. But as you can
see below, there is a reason why she isn't allowed to, crazy thing.
And then her iPad cracked even more. Lots of tears were cried.
Just when I thought it was about time for me to head back to work, Lola got pink eye.
I put the final touches on the emergency clutches.
Her eyes continued to get worse.
Took the expensive stuff to finally kick kit to the curb.
I made Kool-Aid flavored vasoline, using a tutorial that I had pinned many moons ago.
Another
quote that I adore, along with the show, One Tree Hill. Life lessons
were learned watching it. I was so sad when this show ended, but man,
how true is this one.
I love smoothies.
Mama, Lola, and Betsy snuggles!!!
My little catcher. He is sooooooo cute.
Prepping AIMS testing treats for my kids. I was determined to make it back for testing week at school!
Secret messages from my boy and his invisible ink pen from the school book fair.
Almost better...almost.
We
like to work on our tans. We are in competition you know...who can
have the darkest tan by the end of summer. She beats me every time!
Heard a little makeup sale tip from a IG friend. Headed out the door to catch it on the last day!
Flip-Flop ears, one forward, one back.
Planning for a gluten free diet change, the only way I know how. This round of meal time took double what I normally take.
The start of couch to 5k.
Family trip to Lowe's to get tools to pull up our ever growing weed population we had going on in the backyard. At the self-checkout they have a camera, I think she thought she was a movie star!
They loved pulling weeds...weirdos!
Just skateboarding her lunch to the pool area. No. Big. Deal
Oh this smell, so yummy and leaves your skin soooooooooo soft.
If
I want to make sure I eat all of my fruits and veggies, this is what I
have to do, prep in Ziploc baggies and have them ready to go for the
entire week.
Pinewood Derby for Scouts was happening and we had to bring a potluck treat, first time making Snickers Salad.
Posing for the derby.
Gone in under 3 minutes, no joke. Make this.
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
*mix the two together then add then whip in the rest of the ingredients below
4-5 (sliced small) green apples
5 frozen snickers, smashed into small pieces
12(ish) oz of Cool Whip, I always add more
*chill
for an hour before serving. This is not something you can make ahead,
it become too runny the longer it sits, but you need to let it chill a
little bit before you serve. Trust me, you make this and it won't last
long.
His first derby and he made it to the finals. He also won for most original design.
Wacky Wednesday, she wishes every day was wacky.
Self portrait.
Tried sneaking some greens into his smoothie! It worked.
Back
to work and feeling better. Eating gluten free is what finally made my
headache fully disappear. I fought it for so long, but glad I have
friends that gave me the gentle push to just try it.
So into his book, "Knights of the Lunch Table". Lola just wanted to be by him and then crashed out.
School Spirit Day
Practicing for the school talent show. Two new members join their group.
Pretty much my favorite way to spend an afternoon. On the kindle you ask? "Eleanor and Park", read it.
Supper Club Love
More veggie prep. How I typically spend Sundays.
When I run on the treadmill I watch shows on the iPad. Makes it go so much faster.
Jump!
Lemon Pepper Grilled Shrimp and Cilartro Garlic Grilled Corn. The best way to eat both foods.
The
school library didn't have the rest of the books that Kyan wanted to
finish off his trilogy, so we headed to the book store. They didn't
have him either. He was bummed, but decided on a different book until
the other ones came in from Amazon.
Crazy after run face.
I have always been a strawberry smoothie kinda gal. Not any more. I have added more to it to make it even better:
Fresh and frozen strawberries
Frozen raspberries
Half an orange
Half a green apple
2 large handfuls of spinach (I was skeptical at first, but you can hardly taste it, in fact I love it)
Chai seeds
A splash of Kefir probiotic strawberry smoothie drink
*blend it all together and enjoy
Best friend, best room mama ever. She is the closest thing to a personal assistant I will ever have.
An
unexpected, but very sweet, surprise in the mail from my Aunt Heidi.
Her daughter has been gluten free her whole life. She was diagnosed
celiac, back when no one really knew about it. This is where I will be
pulling our last supper club menu from (speaking of supper club, this
summer will be our last. I don't want to make the other members eat
this way all the time. Sad, as I learned to love so much food over the
past three years).
I am obsessed with workout clothes. Under Armor and Nike are my weakness.
Back to being the blonde everyone missed.
Lola's reaction when she saw my hair for the first time. She was so excited that we were twins again.
Lucky to have a treadmill at my house.
My mom begged for a picture of my not so dark anymore hair. This is what she got.
Books
came in. He read out front so that his sister could play with the
neighbors, something that he usually does too, but he could not put them
down!
How my grocery cart looks these days.
Finding
new ways to still eat some of my favorite foods. Chicken salad on
gluten free crackers. It was just as delicious as being on regular ones
or even bread.
Boys went out to a movie, girls stayed in and painted our toes! Love this julep color, sent by a sweet friend.
Pulling (more) weeds and painting mason jars for teacher appreciation. Multi-tasking at its finest.
Taught him how to text his bestie. Their conversations are hilarious.
After run glow (while laying on the treadmill after I finished).
Teacher appreciation day one, sunflowers in mason jars. Lola's piggy tails are out of control.
Flowers are always prettier in painted mason jars.
Spoiled by my students too during Teacher Appreciation week.
He went on a run with me.
Day Two teacher appreciation. This was a hit last year with their teachers, so we did it again this year.
Practice at the batting cages.
Mini Hulks in my classroom! Just kidding, prepping for Mother's Day gifts.
Lola loves to drag Betsy to her brother's baseball games. Betsy can only take so much of her running shenanigans, good thing grandma goes to the games and will hold Betsy to give her a break from Lola.
He loves chillaxin' in the bath tub.
Last day of teacher appreciation week, the one that his teacher was dying for and hinting at! Made her an emergency clutch!
Being off of work for two months, not good. Means one late night at work to catch up before report cards are due.
Love my littles.
Spent
the night at a resort with a few girlfriends. Laughed a lot, a lot a
lot. Stayed up way too late! I can't sleep in like the girls that I
went with, so I went for a peaceful run in the neighborhood!
Hanging by the pool with three beautiful woman. We had so much fun!
From
one pool party to the next, this one at my Mother-in-Laws! Getting all
of the grandkids in one shot is difficult, this is the best I could do.
Trying
to be sneaky and work on a little something for me for Mother's Day.
They forgot to shut the door so I quickly snapped a picture of them from
across the way. They were so focused.
When
given the choice of where I wanted to go for lunch on Mother's Day, I
chose AhSo of course! Kyan got to flip the food into Chad's mouth!
Jumping off the waterfall together.
Betsy loves to play fetch.
BFF walk/run time.
2013 Spring Baseball Season Picture.
The
toilet overflowed in the kids' bathroom. I didn't notice until like 15
minutes after it started. Before work. It was bad. The first time I
have ever filed a claim with our Homeowners Insurance.
I tried and tried to get the toilet to unclog. No dice. Had to call in a pro.
A turning point in my running career.
Well checks for both of them. They are very healthy (and very silly).
I
fought to not go on another pill. I begged to see what my thyroid
blood test were before agreeing to just go on one. My endocrinologist
is wonderful and was willing to wait. Turns out they came back normal,
so back I go in another three months for an ultrasound to see what is
happening with the nodules in my thyroid. For now, I will take the normal tests!
The damage.
Pei Wei has a gluten free menu, this one wasn't too bad that I tried. Different, but doable.
My husband finally hung my fork and spoon! He felt bad that I was so sad about my collage wall coming down, so he surprised me by doing this.
I beg for pictures with him. He refuses most times. He finally let me win one.
Kyan had a great game pitching.
My
mother-in-law is incredible. She loves to be surrounded by family, and
despite a lot of drama surrounding this event, we had the reunion at
our home!
Always a crowd favorite at the reunions, the pinata!
By
the time it was over, we were down to one working toilet (out of 4).
Very frustrating and realized our problems were bigger than we expected.
Signs of an good day.
Working on a little something for a very special graduate.
Field trip with the boy to the YMCA.
More
of the gift. She had covered a canvas way back when with newspaper,
but never finished it, so I did for her. I used my silhouette and cut
out a quote that I thought fit her. Painted over the top, then peeled
off the vinyl when it was dry to reveal the newsprint underneath. Added
a washi border for a little bit of color.
Graduation with my girl!!! I love her.
Seems
like it was just yesterday that this girl was sitting in my 8th grade
classroom, not doing her homework, and now, she has graduated high
school! So proud of you Celeste and so happy to be such a big part of
your life.
When I got home from graduation, this is how I found them. Melt my heart.
They made into into the school show! This year they had everyone screaming with their rendition of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend".
My
end of the year party had a theme to it, one that required tents. But
not just any tent, only a tent that is 3/4 the size of my classroom,
according to my room dad! The kids loved it!!!!
But
before we could have a classroom party, I had to go to Lola's classroom
and watch her graduate preschool. The kids were adorable and danced
their way into the class!
End of the year gift to my kids. Did the school year really end already? Seemed like it just started.
Not sure why I am so smiley after running, but it seems like I always am!
Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not how they probably planned spending their first afternoon of summer vacation, but mama needed her hair did.
For
sale. After years of it just sitting in our 3rd car garage, we decided
it is time to let it go. Now if I could just get into the safe to get
the title...
Strawberry blonde. Not a fan. Just part of the process.
When my parents are in town it means alone time with Chad! The kids don't even know who we are when they are here.
Sunday mornin' church and breakfast!
A much needed pedi.
Daddy's girl. We spent Memorial Day at my parents place and the waterpark.
The
great part about having a treadmill in my house is that I can roll out
of bed and run, not worrying about my crazy bed head!
Outlet mall with my parents. I love tennis shoes.
Run
in the morning, walk at night with my mama. Added a little over 6
miles that day. And yes, it was hot, but I dumped the rest of my water
bottle (that was warm and tasted nasty) on myself right before we got
home.
We
have wanted to redo our wood floors since we moved in. The water
damage done to them means that the entire floor has to be pulled up. It
is what we wanted, but I am having a hard time letting go of them, the
color is just so pretty. The good news is that they are very high end
(according to the restorer, I would have no clue, we bought the house
with them in) so we should be able to something equally as nice.
My profile on IG is so boring, just my name and my blog. I asked for a little help and boy do I love what it looks like now.
Took
a 30 minute drive to Trader Joe's, but don't think I will be making it
again any time soon. Next stop to finding gluten free foods in one spot
is Whole Foods.
These
girls have been begging me to join them in their kickboxing ways for
forever. I always tell them no way! Until the other day. I hate
kickboxing, I don't feel like I am strong enough for it, but turns out, I
am wrong. I did it after I ran about 2.75 miles and didn't die. I
felt like I might, but able to walk!
Cashed in on my Mother's Day gift and spent two and a half hours on that bed. Massage, body scrub, and body wrap! Cha-ching!
Baseball Party, another trophy to add to the shelf.
Yes,
I eat healthy most of the time, but dang it, sometimes I just want a
donut! Turns out these gluten free ones are delicious! I only eat one
and it was my reward for getting all of my veggies cut up today!
Them ears. Love this dog (and the boy too)!
And
that is a wrap. Not sure if I am going to continue to blog
InstaUpdates here anymore. It takes so much time, so if you would like
to know what our family is up to, follow along on Instagram. My
username is jenni_roseland.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
