Only My Children: The Violetisms

Out of the mouth of a very silly 3 year old:

• When I grow up, I gonna be a butterfly.
• I'm not a big girl.  I'm a little girl and I'm dirty and I need a bath!
• I only eat 5 more bites.
• Someday, I'm gonna put on my tail and swim in the water like Ariel and go see Prince Eric.
• I'm squishy pants.
• I'm a soccer team!
• As told to Madi: "I'm not a child, I'm a kid!"

She is either pestering her sisters or keeping us rolling with laughter.  She's an adventurous one, that chic!

A long day

My brain is pooped.  My body is pooped.  And the bed is yelling at me.  So I will make this quick.

Today started off wonderfully.  We met the amazing Kari at S*arbucks so I could personally deliver her prize.  Yes, Brandi, she is just as amazing in person.  Like, really.  I could go on and on and gush for a while, but I don't want to embarrass her.  But, seriously, I had a ton of fun.  Sadly, Bella was in school, but I did get to meet Scout.  He is ADORABLE!  Almost two and full of energy!  Kari thought he was misbehaving, but I thought he was precious. 

And Kat did a pretty good job taking a photo of the two of us, don't you think?

Now, Rachel, no more whining about the lack of Tiff photos on the blog, ya hear?

After coffee, we met my sis-in-love, her mom, and my niece and nephew at the Children's Museum.  It was incredible.  And I will devote an entire post to it, when I have the functional brain cells.

Then, we headed to the hospital.  We met with the GI doctor.  Have you ever had that feeling that you weren't being taken seriously?  Yup, we got that sense pretty quick with her.  She told me that our pediatrician had done an excellent job ordering all the tests she would have ordered (cant argue that point), and that since they were all normal, she was having stomach pain because she was internalizing stress and worry (functional abdominal pain).  That since the pain seemed to be getting better the last few days, we should head home in the morning, but call the clinic if it came back or got worse.  But that most of these kids feel better once they know all the tests have been run and that there isn't anything really wrong. 

Excuse me?  I drove 8 hours for that?

Needless to say, it didn't sit well with mama.

So, then we had a conversation.  A conversation about how many labs and tests our local hospital has messed up with children, our own child included.  A conversation about how our pediatrician sent us here because he suspected that some of the test results were inaccurate.  A conversation about how she didn't even look completely through the test results I had brought up to see what had been done, and the inconsistencies in them.  A conversation about the licensed counselors and therapists we have been talking to, to make sure she wasn't internalizing stress or developing perfectionism issues, like her Mom. 

It is only by the grace of God that I was able to get through the appointment without crying or hitting something.  Believe me, I thought about it.  Katrina started crying when the doctor was talking about the functional abdominal pain, and the worrying.  It didn't click at the time why she was crying.  It should have.  We (and others) have questioned her so many times throughout this about worries, fears, stresses, etc., that she has struggled with whether or not people believe her.  She is afraid people think she is making this up.  She knew the doctor didn't believe her when tried to tell her she wasn't worried, or afraid, or stressed about anything.  And that broke my heart.

The doctor asked me why a CT scan wasn't done before.  When I told her it was because our pediatrician didn't trust our hospital to do it right on a child, the conversation changed.  She had us go downstairs for more blood tests, since apparently some of the tests we have already run are really easy to mess up.  While we were down there, her nurse got us scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow morning.  I have the joy of collecting more poop in a cup - the return of Saint Poopicus!

And if I am going to be functional AT ALL, I need to get some sleep.  I talked to a few of my girlfriends tonight on the phone.  They helped the mama bear claws retract.  I was slightly fit to be tied.  A wonderful family friend is meeting us at the hospital in the morning with coffee.  Because she knows what it is like to wait in a hospital, and didn't want me to do it alone.  I got to talk to our other two precious princesses, and found out they are having a fabulous time with Daddy.  Because Daddy takes them to get Frosties and lets them stay up late.  Whatever.  I got to cry out my frustrations over the phone with my sweet hubby, who loves me even when I snot.  No matter what, I have reasons to be grateful.

Big Day

I am getting ready to head to bed, but wanted to give you all a quick update.  We are up in Denver, safe and sound.  We are staying at the home of the parents of some of our dear friends.  They really are wonderful people.  Kat is sound asleep in our room.  She had a pretty good day.  We only had a few episodes of pain. 

Ever wondered what it is like to drive 7 hours through Colorado in November?  Well, the day starts like this:

Sunny, beautiful blue skies.  Snow on the mountains.  Gorgeous.  We ran into snowpacked and icy roady driving over Wolf Creek, but we figured that would happen.  Not a big deal.

Today, as we drove, the storm chased us.

It was incredible to watch a wall of snow come down the mountain.

And it is interesting, to say the least, to know you are driving straight into this.

But, the drive was completely uneventful, other than losing battery on the laptop with 10 minutes left in the movie. 

Tomorrow, we are having coffee with a bloggie friend (woohoo), going to the Denver Children's Museum with my sis-in-love, niece, and nephew (triple woohoo), then heading to the hospital.  Our appointment is at 2pm.  I really have no clue what to expect.  I do know that if they suggest that we head home and come back up in a few weeks for tests, I will pull out my best mama bear impersonation.  Jerome and I have decided that we are not leaving Denver without answers.  We just need to know. 

I have no clue what to expect.  I have no clue whether we will do the testing outpatient or inpatient.  I have no clue what tests they will want to run. 

But, for tonight, I am going to giggle at my inability to publish a post on the day it was supposed to post (take a look at the previous post) and go snuggle with my kiddo. 

Thankful Thursday: Veteran's Day

Image Courtesy Google

Today is Veteran's Day.

The day we honor those who have fought bravely to protect our country's freedoms.

Men like my buddy M.  He served his country honorably, and now teaches people to protect themselves. 

Men like my dad, who didn't ask to fight, but did anyways because it was the honorable thing to do.  And has faced the memories every day since.

Men, like my friend T, who is currently d*ployed somewhere in the world, performing tasks you and I will never know about in conditions we would not wish on anyone. 

Men like Billy.  Billy was always the big brother of my friend Michelle.  Billy enlisted to serve his country.  Billy graduated from Blackhawk training in August, and was so excited to fly his first mission.  But, then they discovered cancer.  In his stomach.  And now Billy is in the fight of his life. 

To the men and women of our armed forces:

Thank you.  Thank you for choosing to fight for our country.  Thank you for willingly putting yourself in danger, to keep my family out of it.  Thank you for missing holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, life, so that my family may enjoy ours without fear. 

Thank you.

Just a minute...

... is all I seem to have this week.  I have at least three posts swirling in my head, but neither the time nor the mental facility to get them typed out.  I have get done with work, go to the bank and the post office, pick up the sitter, get home, unload groceries, load up the kids, get to the rehearsal dinner, try to not fall asleep at the rehearsal dinner, try to not fall asleep on the way home, get the minions to bed, and crash.  That will be the next opportunity to type.  I can almost guarantee you won't get another post out of me tonight.


Tomorrow is the library, finding some cheap sunglasses for the drive to Denver until I can get some good ones (since I have broken 3 pairs in two weeks), getting the kids down for early naps, making three lasagnas (2 for new mommies, 1 for Jerome while I'm gone), getting dinners prepped for Jerome for next week, finding time for a shower, figuring out something appropriate to wear, making sure the kids are presentable, threatening them with death and dismemberment if they misbehave during the wedding, keep them quiet during the wedding, keep them from stripping and dancing naked during the reception, trying not to fall asleep on the way home, get the minions to bed, and crash.


Sunday is church (both services), church business meeting, home for naps for the kids and meal prep for me, leadership family meeting and potluck at church, keep the minions from stripping and dancing naked in the church, trying not to fall asleep on the way home, get the minions to bed, and crash.


Monday is frantically try to get the kids out the door and in the car on time by myself since Jerome will be at bible study (sheesh - those men who want to lead their families and stuff), drop off Kat at school, drop off the littles at the nanny's, work, fix dinner, pack for Denver, arrange car stuff with Dad (I get to rock the Expedition to Denver baby!), and crash. 


And Tuesday we leave.


And my minute is up. 

The Birthday Princess

My Tiny Monkey,

Today you are 3.  You have come so far, little one.

Your eyes sparkle with delight and mischief, no matter what.

Your smile lights up the room and melts hearts.

Your adventurous spirit will take you far.

But, for today, you are still my tiny, snuggly princess.

And Daddy's sweet angel.

And words cannot express how much you are loved.  Happy birthday Violet!

Today was linked up for True Story Tuesday with Rachel & Mr Daddy over at Once Upon A Miracle.  Head on over for more amazing stories.

Who Won Coffee??? And Monday Mugs: Halloween

Ohmygosh!!  Ohmygosh!!  Ohmygosh!!  Ohmygosh!! 

I am so stinkin excited about this giveaway!  Know why???

.......

Because someone won!!!!

OK, I'm done being a smarty pants about it.  And thanks to my two awesome lurkers who came out of hiding for this contest!  Michaela&Riley and Laura Ickes, you both blessed my day! 

But, the real reason I am so excited about this giveaway is the fact that the winner and I were chatting via email this weekend about how cool it would be to get together for coffee when I head up to Children's next week with Katrina.  So, according to my wonderful friend, random.org,

the winner of the $10 Starbucks card is ...

Kari - now we really have to get together for coffee!!!!  Email me so we can coordinate! 

Are you in need of a mindless Monday Blog post? Are you struggling to deal with the weekend being over and can't muster the strength to type a single word? Well, Monday Mugs is for YOU! I may or may not "borrow" ideas from IheartFaces and post my interpretation of their weekly theme. Without submitting my photo for judgement and not being forced to follow the rules.

Mondays are hard! Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

Today's theme for Monday Mugs is: Halloween

 

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Well, we had a grand time this Halloween season.  We found these great white pumpkins at the grocery store that were just begging for an art project.

 

 

So we busted out our super expensive, art supply house palates (read: cheap paper plates), and went to town!

Little Miss Neat Freak insisted on painting "correctly".

While Thing One and Thing Two were perfectly content to mush all the colors together.

I was serious about the mushing.

And somehow, someone succeeded in painting her lip.

As well as the rest of herself...

Last Saturday was Katrina's school's Fall Carnival.  So our chicken, black kitty, and cowgirl got all dolled up...

...to hang out with a turkey...

... and get fake teeth from the principal.

And Madi made sure to wear her spurs. 

We don't do trick-or-treating because Madi is terrified of pretty much everything Halloween-related.  Even the stuffed animal spiders and bats.  And, really, I don't need that much drama.  So last night we hung out at our neighbor's house for a bonfire.  It was just right.