3/52

We had some really nice days last week. So we some time out at the park. I was nice to get out and run around for a little bit. Too bad this nice weather probably wont last...

 

Finley loves to help me bake and cook. I am not so sure I love it.... but she does. She wanted to make some muffins one morning, and I am not one to turn down muffins! She concentrates so hard when she stirs to not make a mess. But she always ends up making a mess!

We are visiting family this week. My 2nd niece was born yesterday. So we are very excited to get to go see her today!

Happy Monday!

2/52

I am finally getting week 2/52 up... a bit late... but better late then never! Amiright?

Not a lot happened last week. We had some pretty yucky days, so we spent most of our time at home. We did some more stuff for school. I saw this activity on No time for flashcards and knew Finley would love it. I was right. She had me freeze all of there other clip princesses so she could unfreeze them too.

We got a bit of snow last week also. Finley really saw snow for the first time last year. And this year she has been asking every couple of days since we told her it was winter time "when will it snow?!" Living in the south, snow is like a unicorn. You never see it and when you do... it.is.magical. She stood at the back door watching the big flakes come down. Of course she asked if we could build a snowman. I had to tell her it wasn't enough snow and wasn't sticking to the ground. She was not happy with that answer, but she enjoyed watching it snow anyways.

And as cold as it was last week... this week we are back up into the mid 60's. I imagine this can't be a good sign.... but we are taking advantage of it while we can!

15 things to do in 2015

I like lists and goals. I don't mention them much on here because I tend to forget about them and never update. But I saw this on another blog earlier this week and really liked the idea (I can't remember which one... if I find it I will link back to it.) My plan is to try give an update at the end of each month about my list.

So here is my list of 15 things I want to do in 2015

1. Do a different kind of family vacation other then the beach. Matthew and I have talked about doing a small family vacation again this year. We have hit up most of the good beaches on the Southern East Coast, so I would like to go some place new. I have always wanted to go to Connecticut or Vermont during the fall. Or maybe even just go out to Nashville for a weekend.
2. Make one craft project a month.
3. Learn a new skill. I mentioned this last year, and I did try but it just didn't work... but I really want to learn to knit. Or I would like to take a photography class.
4. Double the size of our garden, plant something we wouldn't normally eat, and can enough veggies to last us at least half the year. I put all this under one because I feel like they all kind of go together. We did a garden last year and loved it! We definitely learned the hard way on some things, but we were not scared away. We want to go bigger and better this year!!
5. Slim down my closet. I have a lot of clothes and shoes, and not much space! I use to get rid of things all the time, but then would go looking for something and realize I didn't have it anymore. So I got in the habit over the last few years of not getting rid of anything. Now things have gotten a bit out of hand and half the time I don't even know what I have.
6. Clean out and organize the whole house. Truthfully Matthew and I don't keep a lot of unnecessary things. But we are human and we do collect some clutter. Our guest room is the worst! Matthew says it is where things go to die. I found a 14 week home organization challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons and plan on doing it. Every week is a new room and she will post a cleaning check list at the beginning of each week that you can print out. Last week was the kitchen and this week is the laundry room. So far so good!!
7. Eat at one new restaurant a month (and possibly blog about it...). Matthew and I tend to get into food ruts. We find a place we like and then we go to that place over and over. Chattanooga has some great local places to eat. So when we moved up here 2 years ago we decided we would try 1 new place a month. We created a spread sheet that keeps track of how much the places cost, which one of us ate there, and if anything stood out to us about the place. We have had so much fun trying new places and I have been throwing around the idea of making that part of this blog.
8. Complete the 52 week photo project. There are a few different kinds of photography challenges out there. One of the other major ones is the Project 365, where you take a photo a day for the whole year. I wasn't sure I could do a photo a day, but I can surely do at least a photo a week. Maybe next year I will try out the Project 365.
9. Read my Bible and journal everyday. I am horrible at doing this. I will go through spurts where I do really well, and then something happens and I just stop. I am currently doing the study with She Reads Truth and this makes it so much easier!
10. Read through The Story Book Bible with Finley.
11. Drink more water (as always).
12. Go to the gym 2-3 times a week.
13. Grow my hair out. I chopped my hair off right after we got back from Nepal for the first time. I regretted my decision almost immediately. The lady did a horrible job and I have spent the last year growing it back out and trying to fix the damage she did. I have finally found a hair lady that I love and trust.
14. Ride our bikes more. Matthew and I got bikes last year after we got Finley one for Christmas. I'd like for us to be able to take them downtown and ride together as a family more often. And hopefully get Finley more comfortable on hers so we can take the training wheels off!
15. Run a 5K. I said I wanted to do this last year, but never got the chance. This will be the year I do it!!

What are some things you would like to do this year?

1/52

I have seen the weekly photo challenges over the last few years and have always thought about doing it. This year I have finally decided to try it out. I am hoping it will get me to use my camera more on a daily basis. I also want to learn how I like to shoot.

I know I am already behind on this... it should have gone up on Wednesday... but life happens... so you...

This week we are keeping it simple. We have been focusing on doing some school work. I have been lazy this year with it, but I am committed to finishing this school year out strong!

We have been taking it easy this week and have barely gotten out of our PJs.

Last night we had a group date night at a local coffee house to watch our friends band play. They did a great job and it was a wonderful way to kick off our weekend.

We are about to head out to a fundraiser for a local business that burned down a few weeks ago. Some friends are doing a chili cook-off to help raise money for the family to get back on their feet and get their shop back open. I hope it isn't too cold.. but at least the chili should be nice and hot!

I hope everyone has a warm and fun weekend!

2014

Well 2014 is just about over and I have to say I am not to sorry to see this year end.
I wouldn't say it was a bad year... but it has been a rough year.
We are ending this year with a second cancer diagnosis, this time it is close to home and it has been hard to take.
I also had my OB/GYN appointment yesterday and walked out with a few answers and more questions then I walked in there with. The doctor no longer sees the cyst they saw in the ER, but the original diagnosis of the blood clot is correct. Right now we are still doing pain management while the doctor figures out how to treat the clot. This is not a deadly clot, which means it is not in a major artery, but it is still very painful. The type of clot is called an Ovarian Vein Thrombosis, and is pretty rare in general. It usually only happens with other conditions (i.e. sever appendicitis), none of which I have. So the doctors are stumped.

OK. I am done with all the downer stuff... now on to a recap of this year.

January: We got our first snow storm since we moved to Chattanooga. Finley loved going out and playing in it.
February: We got our 2nd snow storm and got snowed in for 3 days! This is the most snow Finely has ever seen and she loved it! She has been asking for more snow every week since it melted.
March: Once the weather got nice we spent a lot of time out at Coolidge Park. We also had my best friends wedding shower.
April: I turned 30 and Finley turned 4. Erica got married and Finley was a flower girl for the first time.
May: We planted our first garden and it did wonderfully. We will definitely be doing it again this coming spring.
June: We spent a lot of time at the pool. By the end of the summer we had Finley swimming without her life vest.
July: July was hard. We had a great 4th of July cookout, followed by Kylie's (Finely's best friend) leukemia diagnosis.
August: Matthew and I celebrated 8 years of marriage!! We also went on our first family vacation since Finely was 1.
September: We spent a lot of time outside and at the parks. We were trying to soak up as much quality time as possible before we left for Nepal.
October: We spent 2 weeks with great friends in Nepal. When we got home we had a great family day at a pumpkin patch. Followed by the coldest Halloween I think I have ever experienced
November: We had a group camp out in our backyard. It was so cold, all the mom's and kids ended up inside and left the dad's out in the cold. We spent Thanksgiving with Matt's mom's side of the family. Matt's dad and nephew came and spent 4 days with us after Thanksgiving. We went and got our Christmas tree and got to see the light at Rock City while they were here.
December: We stayed pretty busy with a lot of Christmas parties. I wasn't feeling well this month, so we kept our days pretty low key. I spent the Saturday before Christmas in the ER trying to figure out what was going on with my body. We spent Christmas with my family and Finley made out like a bandit. We finally ate at the Taco Mac in downtown Chattanooga for Matthew's birthday.

We are now ringing in the new year having a nice low-key evening with family watching Georgia Tech whoop up on some Mississippi Sate at the Orange Bowl!

Happy New Year! Here is to hoping 2015 is a great year!

Doctor visits and the ER

** Warning: this post turned out longer then I expected it to... and sorry if it doesn't make total sense, I am trying to type this while on painkillers :) **

If you follow me on instagram then you know that I spent most of yesterday in the ER. It was not how I a planning on spending my Saturday.

Truthfully I haven't been feeling well for a while. I have had no energy or motivation. If I had a busy day, where I had a lot of errands to run or a long playdate, I would just be wiped by the time I got home. I had strep a few weeks ago, and just felt like I haven't been 100% since then.

Then almost 2 weeks ago I started to really not feel well. I began to feel like I was getting another kidney infection. I began drinking a lot water and cranberry juice hoping that it would take care of itself. Over the next week I was still in some pain and discomfort. Matthew was headed to Boston for 3 days for work and I told him if I wasn't feeling better by the time he got home I would make an appointment with my doctor. When he arrived home this past Wednesday afternoon, I still wasn't any better.

I called first thing Thursday morning to make an appointment. The guy on the phone told me they were booked up for the day. I explained what was going on and he told me to hang on a minute. I heard him talking to the doctor and when he came back on the line he told me to come in as soon as possible. The doctor would see me as soon as I got there.

I was taken back right after I walked into her office. They took me back and ran the normal doctors appointment stuff (weight, blood pressure, pee in a cup... you know). The doctor came in pretty quickly. We talked about how I was feeling and she did a physical exam. She said I had an infection somewhere, but she wasn't sure what was causing it. It could be a UTI that had turned into a serious kidney infection, it could be a virus that attached to my kidneys or is could be a kidney stone. She had some other concerns because I had some tenderness near my appendix, but my symptoms didn't match those for appendicitis. She gave me an antibiotic and took some more blood to have more tests run. She told me if my symptoms didn't get better or got worse by the weekend to go right to the ER. They wouldn't be able to confirm a kidney stone or my appendix rupturing without doing a CT scan.

Friday morning I could tell me kidneys were feeling better, but I was still having some serious pain in my right side. I haven't been sleeping well so that night I took an Ambien before bed. Even with the sleep-aid, I still didn't sleep well. I wasn't able to get comfortable and every time I moved I hurt. I had tried to call a friends dad who is a doctor Friday night to see how long through the weekend I should wait before going to go to the ER. I missed his call that night, but he called first thing Saturday morning. He told me not to wait and go ahead in.

Shortly after we arrived at the ER and I spoke with the doctor, they started me on fluids and gave me something for the pain. She then sent me to have a CT scan to rule out appendicitis. Every doctor I talked to over the past few days said my symptoms were a-typical of appendicitis, but it couldn't be ruled out until they did a scan. After the scan was done, the ER doc came back pretty quickly and explained my appendix looked fine, they couldn't see it on the scan which is a good thing. She then told me it appeared I had a clot in a vein going to my right ovary and my symptoms seemed to line up more with that. She then sent me up to have an ultrasound done to confirm the clot.

It was about 20 minutes between when she told me what was going on and when they came to get me for the ultrasound. Matthew was trying to make jokes to lighten the mood and told me "don't move!" I was trying not to get too upset, but it was scary hearing her say that I could possibly have a blood clot.

The ultrasound took about an hour. I would say it was top 5 most painful things I have ever experienced. When there isn't a baby in there, they mash down on you, HARD. It felt like she was touching my spinal cord with the ultrasound wand. She kept telling me to relax and be still. It hurt so bad it took me to tears. I was already tender and in pain in that area and now she was just mashing away! I thought I was going to wake up with bruises on my stomach this morning!

It took the doctor about another hour to come down with the results of the ultrasound. While we sat there waiting, we had pretty much resounded that I was going to be admitted with the possibility of surgery. Matthew tried telling me how they would get rid of the clot. I told him what I needed from the house and that he needed to make sure the guest bed was cleaned off and ready for my parents to come up. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor came back with a good news/bad news situation. It was NOT a blood clot and I was being discharged, but I did have a "critical cyst" and would need to see my OB as soon as possible. I told her I had a follow up with my regular doctor on Monday, she told me to still go to that appointment and she would more then likely refer me to an OB/gyn. The ER doctor prescribe me something for the pain and nausea until we figure out what the next step is. From what I have been told, I will most likely have to have the cyst removed. I'm not sure how soon that will happen, especially since we are just days away from Christmas and New Years. I am in a good bit of pain and am uncomfortable, so they may want to do it this week. I guess I will find out when I see my doctor tomorrow!

But for now I am taking it easy and hanging out watching a lot of Netflix and taking naps :)

blogging break/ life lately

Well... it looks like I needed a little bit of a break. It wasn't something I meant to do... it just sorta happened.

We always come home from Nepal just before we get dumped into the holiday season and it seems like the weeks just go by faster after that.

We have also had a rough go this fall as far as health goes. One of us has been sick on a semi-regular basis. Luckily we haven't all been sick at the same time. You know you've had it bad when the pharmacist starts to recognize you. Matthew came home form Nepal with a virus that he had a hard time shaking and made getting over the jet lag much harder. Just days after he felt better, Finley came down with a cold. Then it was my turn and I think I got the worst of it. I either had the flu or strep throat. I'm not sure which... but it was rough. It was one of those sicknesses that you are praying for God to heal you or take you home. You know it will pass in a few days, but it seems like you will never get better. I woke up at one point with 103 fever! This also means we go into quarantine mode during our sickness and then a few days following, if we are able to.

When we haven't been sick, we have been on the go.

Here are some pictures of just a few things we have been enjoying recently.

We have had several bonfires and roasted lost of marshmallows.
We went to the aquarium for the first time in months.
We have spent a lot of time in Coolidge Park.
Matt's dad and nephew came and spent a few days with us over Thanksgiving.
We got to go walk through the lights at Rock City.
We cut down our first real Christmas tree since Finley was born.
We have had a camp out in our backyard (on one of the coldest nights of the year. All the mom's and kids ended up inside in beds while that dad's stayed in the tents.)
We traveled to see Matt's mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving. Sorry... no pictures. I left my phone at home.
We went to a birthday party at a trampoline park. That was so much fun! Finley did not want it to be over.
We had a mom's afternoon and attended the online ThriveMom's conference. It was amazing to participate it.
We had a baby shower for a new friend today and it was so cute! We did a superhero's theme!

So you see.... it's not that I haven't had stuff going on... I've just been to lazy to post anything about it. Hopefully I can get better about! The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.