TK + TOTS

So I have a good friend from high school. That is right, an old friend (that is a really long time for me---I only still talk to 2 people from high school). Well, there isn't much to say about her. Except that she is completely and totally drop dead gorgeous, talented, and she has two little kids yet herself and her husband are in school full time. She is in short amazing.

She has spent the last few months giving tutorials on how to improve your blog and do things you don't know how to do. I have tried some of them---the picture format you might have noticed changed. But so many of those things just seem beyond me. And I have no idea what layout and color scheme I should choose. Thank goodness, she is giving a blog makeover/redesign giveaway. I want to win so desperately. Feel free to enter, or at least go checkout her tutorials if you are trying to improve your blog--the links are on the right hand sidebar. Seriously. Head on over. So worth it. Even if you just look at her beautiful kids.

Temple Square

Have I told you recently how obsessed with the temple this child is? Oh, I haven't. Well, let me tell you. He is OBSESSED! It started with an family home evening, he and I had months ago when Aiden was a wee little one who was always sleeping. We leafed through a special edition of the Ensign sent out about the temple. We flipped through page after page and although I tried to talk to him about it, all we really did was point out every Angel Moroni and made trumpet noises.

Several months went by and we really didn't revisit the subject. But then in June an edition of the Friend came in the mail, or as we call it around here, "Kyle ma-zine." It had a picture of the temple and he immediately pointed out Angel Moroni and made a trumpet noise, that afternoon I was instructed to draw the temple and the angel on our driveway in sidewalk chalk. Since then, obsession!! We have a picture of the Salt Lake Temple that I hung a few weeks ago, and he always points to it. He gets upset if he can't come with us to the temple. He also told me two days ago (after weeks of wanting a monkey birthday) that he wants a temple birthday.

To satisfy, this little boy. We decided spur of the moment to take a picnic down to Temple Square and see the temple. It was hot, but awesome. He loved it, although he is in a phase of always asking to go home. Once we had the picnic everyone behaved much better.

We saw the reconstruction of the Salt Lake Temple and showed Kyle all the details inside. I love the middle building although I don't know what it is called, we picnicked on the lawn right by it. We took in the Christus statue and Evan ruined it by talking about how the mural's view of the universe is not physically possible and out of perspective. But we love him anyway. We also toured the Conference Center, something Evan and I have never done. It was also worth waiting thru the rest of the tour to see the roof. The roof is to die for, particularly the scene at the back where you and the temple are reflected in the black marble mural. Awesome.

Funny story, when we were on the roof of the Conference Center a man started to play the bagpipes on the street below. Kyle ran to the ledge and started saying, "Angel Moroni, horn!" over and over. It took some time to convince him it was the bagpipes and point the man out several stories below us.

Naked Jumping

So I snuck outside one evening while I was making dinner, earlier this summer. It was the first day that we'd had the pool out. Kyle was so eager to get in, and I was too busy to go get his swim suit. But I did have time to strip him down before shooing him out of my kitchen. He was practicing jumping in and out of the pool, while I took these pictures on the sly.

While Kyle was perfectly content to play in the two inches of water outside--he didn't even want to come in once dinner was made. Aiden looked like this:

Sprinklers

Way back at the beginning of June, we got out the sprinkler. It was Kyle's second experience with the sprinkler and the first one didn't go well, but I kept the sprinkler low and he enjoyed it. We washed all our toys, including our dinosaurs. We washed pine cones and sticks. I'm hoping that at some point this weird bipolar, patchy, humid, rainy weather will stop and we'll be able to get the sprinkler, water table, and pool back out.

Sidewalk Chalk Festival

Back on June 18th, we went to the Sidewalk Chalk Festival at the Gateway. It is something that I've done for several years now, although I missed last year. It is so wonderful and the artists are just amazing with what they can do with chalk on the sidewalk. The greatest part of this is that it benefits foster care.

We even got a family picture because my best mom friend came with us, Nichola. She has five kids. Kyle loves their house and is obsessed with Nichola. He thinks he sees her at the grocery store and asks to go eat lunch at her house. It is the only place in the world that he doesn't ask to go home from. Frequently, we plan a few hour play date and end up staying until well after the kids bed time. I'll admit it, we moved where we did partly to be closer to this family. Besides delivering Aiden and deal with my emotions from the pregnancy with Kyle--Bri's greatest gift to me in this life was introducing me to Nichola at a mom party 18 months ago. Nichola and I both have husbands in school--although her's is in medical school, and we both birth our babies at home :) Honestly, she keeps me sane.

(Eden is the newest, and was only a few weeks old here, but she is in the wrap on Nichola's chest, in case you were only counting 4)

Aren't her kids the cutest? Seriously!

It was very crowded--each year the festival seems to get more crowded. To top it off it was hot too (wish we were still having weather like that instead of rain every day for weeks), thank goodness it is held at the Gateway with the fountain. So we quickly saw the sidewalk chalk and played in the fountain. We all had a great time and I even relieved Evan at one point while we played in the fountain and sent him to the Apple store. To finish off the perfect day we had pizza and popsicle/ice cream in Nichola's backyard while the kids jumped on the trampoline, dug in the sandbox, and played on the swing set. It was the highlight of my birthday.

First Birthday Teaser

So Saturday was someone's first birthday. Do you know who?


That's right. This kid!

Ear Ache Update

I know that you all are dying to know, just checking my blog ever six minutes to see if I've told you the drama of the ear ache outcome. Come on, don't lie! Well, to appease all of you, I'll tell you. This is detailed and alludes to cussing--just FYI.

I got an appointment Friday morning for the doctor, the clinic I wanted to go to would not see me same day since I had not seen a doctor there. The instacare was a choice, but felt like it would be too expensive. So I went to the doctor that I had seen in March, because it was cheaper to see a doctor again than a new visit ($80 as opposed to $120). Dr. Rasmussen, had prescribed a lot of meds back in March, but I went anyway, cheap is cheap right?

Bad choice. My mother-in-law, bless her soul, came over on her day off and lent me her car so I could go. I waited 45 minutes to see the good doctor, and had to see a P.A. student first. Of course, once the doctor walked in to my exam room, it was only 13 minutes until I was in my car with the prescription driving away. Seriously! I was told that I had an ear infection in the right ear and that the pain on that side of my face was likely due to pressure, although if it didn't go away I could have shingles (that should have been my first clue). I had a bulging ear drum on the clogged left side because my ears are not draining. He made me feel bad for not having seen a doctor sooner for my chest cough--after 1 week he said you should go see a doctor for a cough (bullsh**). He said I might have asthma (no, I don't). That my cough didn't just start, it had to start as a cold (no it didn't). Anyway, I was told to get a nose spray, decongestant (I'd been taking one since Wednesday), a trial inhale (seriously) and an antibiotic (those are usually only given when high fevers accompany the ear infection---most effective is to get the fluid to drain---decongestant).

I left. Not pleased, but not terribly upset. I got to the pharmacy immediately afterwards and was told that the antibiotic he prescribed was $150. Are you ****ing kidding me. I called the doctor's office---everyone was at lunch and there was nothing that could be done for another thirty minutes. I have to admit that I lost it and punched a shelf. I'd have to wait another hour to get it filled and get home to my boys who had been with my mother-in-law who had been with them for 2 hours already. What an insensitive prick for having prescribed a $150 drug to a self-pay patient. Rude. Especially because there was no need--a $4 antibiotic would have worked just fine and an antibiotic was not even necessary because they don't help much for an ear infection. I was crying when I got home to my mother-in-law with no antibiotic.

Well, long story short and several other health professionals in my life consulted. I am still not better. I need to let the decongestants work longer and get things moving. That is what needs to happen: drainage. I still can't hear and occasionally am having horrible pain. I am going to try to get this to work, but I know that I'll have to talk to the doctor again on Tuesday about the antibiotic, which I did not get. If this doesn't clear in another week, I'll have to see someone else.

So that is the long and short of it. Still trying to hold on to the fact that God keeps telling me to be patient, hasn't given me any course correction, and that he keeps saying this will get better. I'm not good at patient or delayed gratification. I need to figure out what this is supposed to teach me.

Ear Ache

So I've been up since 4: 30 this morning, which I'm really not complaining about since I went to bed at 7:30 last night and was finally able to sleep without two percocets since Monday night. See, Monday late morning, I realized one of my ears was completely clogged. I could not hear out of it and it was driving me crazy and painful. I did research and tried flushing it and steaming it and heat. By that evening, I was in a lot of pain, and my right side of my face hurt too. I knew that when Evan got home, I would get a blessing and I would be healed by morning. The blessing said I would be healed through my faith--and I knew that Heavenly Father could and would heal me.

Well, on Wednesday, I went and bought a decongestant to thin the mucus which I've taken every 4 hours religiously (after plenty of research I thought this was a sinus infection and that is what needed to be done and recommended on the internet). I did not buy the recommended Mucinex-D because that was $22 for 24 pills, but the off brand with a little less of the guaifenesen for $2.35. Well, fast forward this this morning and I am still at a pain level of about 6 (out of 10--common doctor pain scale rating). My ear sometimes hurts, but mostly the other side of my face: jaw, temple, sometimes throat, all hurt something crazy. I was really hoping to not to go to a doctor, because as well all know, I am not covered by insurance. But I am going to have to. I'll try to look up a discounted clinic and see if I can get in today--I know that if I don't go today it will either be the instacare or most likely, the ER because of the holiday weekend and I don't want to pay those types of cost. Plus, I'm so tired of this. I have major things to do on my to do list before Aiden's birthday bash and I just feel miserable and like I am barely getting through my days.

I've had two other blessings and I just don't know why I am not being healed. I know that He can, I know that I'm worthy for that blessing, but I am not being healed. I really want to be because I just can't afford more medical bills to be paid. But it is not my will that matters, if He wants my family to pay for a doctor's visit and medication, then He will make a way. Plus, I read a great article in the July Ensign about going forward and He will make course corrections as we need them as opposed to just sitting and waiting in what could potentially be a "spiritual dead spot." FYI: I love the Ensign, I read it cover to cover each month, and I sometimes neglect my motherly duties to do so, it is the best birthday gift that I've ever been given (thank you Alyse for both years of my subscription).

So please pray that I'll get an appointment this morning, pray that it will be $50, pray that is nothing more than a sinus infection and the prescription will be $4. Pray that my children will be good, patient, and sweet in the doctor's office. Pray that it will be quick effective and that it will not ruin my holiday. Pray that this racking, productive (in case you don't know: that means there is stuff that comes up when I cough, oh TMI, sorry!) cough that I've had now for three weeks and is probably related to this head stuff will go too. I have things to do, a BBQ to attend, and a party to prepare for. Plus, I have awesome posts with pictures about someone who is a God send, the yard cleanup day, sprinklers, birthdays, and so much more---all waiting for energy to be composed so you, my few and faithful, readers know what is going on in our life.

Also, if you want to read a hilarious story about my friend who lives in China, click here. I can just see this happening.