Offenbach's Can-Can

This fall Hyrum told me that he wanted to learn to play the violin. Admittedly, it surprised me a little bit. But he has picked it up quickly and seems to really enjoy it. A couple weeks ago, there was a concert at the Junior High. That afternoon his orchestra teacher called and told me what a great student Hyrum was and asked if he might play his solo at the concert? Sure! What mother doesn't love to hear something like that? So, here he is playing his solo.

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Cuts Like A Knife

A few weeks ago, while I was in the kitchen fixing dinner. Trying to cut up vegetables with the same dull knife I've been using for the last 10 years. I threw my hands up in the air and said, enough is enough!! I vowed right then and there that the next time I was out shopping I was going to get a new knife. And that's just what I did. I went out and found the sharpest knife I could find. Quite pleased with myself I hurried home so I could try it out.

So I began... chopping, slicing, cutting, dicing, patting myself on the back for my brilliance in breaking down and buying a nice new, sharp knife. Then I set the knife down on the counter and got started on some Lasagna. There I was in my kitchen, busy busy, cooking my little heart out. Completely oblivious to my curious little two year old climbing up on the counter and hauling off my sharp new knife. I didn't even know it was missing until Matthew started crying. And it even took me a minute to figure out what had happened. I was so involved with dinner that I couldn't figure out why his hand was bleeding like that. Then it slowly dawned on me. I look to the counter, Where's my knife? Oh, Matthew... suddenly I hated that knife. Why did I think I needed a sharp knife, anyway? Why wasn't I paying attention to what Matthew was doing? Why did I leave that blasted knife on the counter? Yeah, I got a big ole' heaping side of Mommy guilt to go with the Lasagna. It was bitter and hard to swallow. Thankfully, Matthew didn't need stitches but I did learn my lesson, and it came with a price. Keep sharp knives out of reach of little hands.

What In Tarnations Been Going On!?

I haven't blogged in forever. It's been almost a year. Yikes! If I can find the time to do it though, I sure love it. There were some things besides the usual birthdays, holidays, etc. that I missed blogging about this last little while. So, I picked the 3 experiences that touched me the most and that's what the 3 previous posts are about. And now that we are all caught up, so to speak. Here we go again. Hopefully this year I will do better. ;)

The Matterhorn, Magic, and Madness

It's no secret that we love Disneyland. I mean... we really, really love it! Brer Rabbit says that "Everyone has a laughing place." Well, the magic kingdom is our laughing place. (As you'll soon see) So, Mark and I decided that is where we wanted to go to celebrate our anniversary. People were appalled. "You mean you are going there without your kids? You won't have any fun." HA!! Boy, were they wrong. It was insane how much fun we had. The second we walked through the gate... thanks to that Disney magic, we were two carefree teenagers again. We couldn't possibly be married with kids. What kids? We have a mortgage? What mortgage?

One afternoon we decided to ride the Matterhorn. Now, we went to Disneyland on our honeymoon. Back then we were younger, skinnier and had no problem fitting into one sled, so when the cast member asked if we wanted to ride in one sled or two? We naturally said one. He kind of did a double take, paused, looked at us as if that were questionable... doubtful even. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, take #2." As we packed ourselves into that sled, we realized that maybe we were just a bit more hefty than we had been 17 years before. My butt was half on, half off the seat and we could barely maneuver around to buckle our seat belts. We were amused. Then the ride took off. Amusement turned into laughter. The sled was going so fast, this way and that. I couldn't stay on the seat. I was on the floor of the sled. My hair was blowing back into Mark's face, he was trying to get my hair out of his mouth. I kept trying to get back on the seat and accidently pinched him in a tender place. Oh, my gosh!! It was so hilarious! We were both laughing so hard our stomaches ached. When the ride finally came to a stop I was afraid to move cuz I was seriously about to pee my pants. I managed to climb out of the sled. Took two steps and had to stop and cross my legs. We were just laughing so hard, and after 5 kids my bladder control is not what it used to be. Ohhhhh. It was fun. K! Fun, fun.

We rode the matterhorn a few more times. Usually in separate sleds. But for our last ride of the trip, we sandwiched into just one sled again, and had a blast. The matterhorn has always been one of my favorite rides but now it really has a special place in my heart. Now whenever I ride it, I will always think of my 17th wedding anniversary. :)

There were other great, fun filled moments but I think the Matterhorn one was my favorite.

To those of you who think Disneyland is a place you only go to if you are taking your kids. Well, you're crazy! And seriously missing out! Book a trip for just you and your best friend and see how much fun you can have. I dare ya!

Going to Disneyland without our children? We must be as mad as a hatter... Exactly! ;)

It's Not Really A Cage

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little Prince. During the day he made his Mommy very happy. But during the night he would turn into a bit of a stinker. He wasn't one for sleeping and loved to climb out of his crib, over and over again. Much to his Mother, the queen's chagrin. This made the queen tired, and very grouchy.

Oh, if only it were a fairy tale. Unfortunately, it was very much a reality. My reality, and I was at the end of my rope. Matthew would climb out of his crib, and I would put him back in. Over and over, and over, all night long.

After trying different methods of breaking this exhausting habit, none of which worked. I remembered something I had seen back when my other children were babies. It's called a Crib Tent. And let's face it. It's basically a cage. I was so appalled when I first saw this thing I couldn't even believe it. I mean really? Who would seriously, in good conscience, use something like that? It's like a cage!! ... And the World's Worst Parenting Award goes to... I mean we are talking about a little human being here, not some kind of an animal.

Well, after a couple of more nights with no sleep. This "Crib Tent" started looking pretty good. Genius, even. And I thought to myself, "I have got to get me one of those!" Yeah, sleep deprivation can do a funny thing to a person. So, I drove over to Walmart ready to fork over whatever they were asking for this kiddie prison. And wouldn't you know it? They didn't have one. So began my mad hunt for a crib tent.

Only one store, miles and miles away carried it. I called my Mom and explained the situation. Sensing my desperation, she went on a wild goose chase for me and picked up this contraption that in the end saved my sanity. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. She's my hero.

At first Matthew thought it was great. The novelty I guess? But that night when he woke up and discovered he couldn't climb out of his crib... he wasn't happy. So, for the first few nights I would go in and lay on the floor by him until he fell back to sleep. I guess you could call it Mommy guilt.

I don't know what it is about this kid but he has like a sixth sense. Even if he was asleep he could sense when I would leave. So one night, as my hips were aching from lying on the hard floor. I came up with a plan. Yeah, another one of those desperate mother devious plans. I got some pillows and blankets and shaped them to make it look like I was laying there next to him. When really I was in my own wonderful, soft bed. Well, it worked. For a little while anyway.

But he's a smart kid and the next morning when I went to get him, he was angry. His little face said it all, "What do you take me for? A fool?" He was crying and pointing at the pile of blankets and pillows. He then shouted at me, "NO!! NOT MOMMY!!" I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, you got me." Darn. A perfect plan, foiled again.

That day my sister Emily called and asked me how things were going. If any of us were getting any sleep yet? Exasperated, I said, "No. Hey, do you want a two year old? He comes with his own crib tent!" For some reason that hit a funny bone and we both burst out laughing.

I'm relieved to say that after several days, Matthew adjusted to that crib tent. And what I once thought was an atrocity turned out to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. It helped Macky figure out that night time was for staying in his crib and sleeping. We are all sleeping better now and we are much happier. What a difference a good night's sleep makes!

Got Ice?... Yikes!

Late last Spring... yes, I know that was a long time ago. Do you want to hear this story, or not? So, last Spring, I was feeling... Off. Not really bad, or sick. Just off. I thought it would be a good idea to go to the doctor and get myself checked out. While I was there I happened to mention that I craved - No, SERIOUSLY CRAVED ice. I would get up in the morning and get myself a huge cup of ice. I wasn't hungry for food. Not interested in breakfast or lunch, or even chocolate. All I wanted was ice. I was driving my husband and kids crazy. We'd be watching t.v. or a movie and there I'd be just crunching away to my hearts content. And my kids would look at me with exasperation and say, "Really, Mom. Enough with the ice!! It's not normal." Well, apparently they were right. It's not normal. It's called Pica. And it's not a good sign.

My doctor sent me for a bunch of blood work. The next afternoon he called me and said, "Natalie, I just got your test results back, and frankly, I don't know how you are even able to function!?" What? Really? Okay, that doesn't sound good. Then he said, "Your thyroid is completely out of whack! And you are severely anemic. In fact you need a blood transfusion right away! Just having one of these things wrong would wipe you out. But you have two!!" Then he gave me the number for an Endocrinologist and a Blood Specialist and told me to make appointments right away. It was friday afternoon, so he emphasized that I needed to call first thing monday morning. Monday morning rolls around and I call the Hematologist first. And they answer the phone, "Utah Cancer Specialists." Cancer?? What!? Who said anything about Cancer? Now I admit, I'm prone to letting my imagination get the best of me. But that really freaked me out. And I didn't think to ask questions, I just made the appointment and panicked. All I could think about were my 5 kids. That I wouldn't be around to be their Mom, to watch them grow up. Matthew was so young, he would surely forget me. My heart nearly broke. Of course, I called my Mother in tears. And she wisely told me I was jumping the gun, and talked me down out of the jumping gun tree.

The next 2 or 3 months were filled with Doctors appointments. No wonder I couldn't find the time to blog. Someone was alway drawing blood. Which I find highly ironic. They kept telling my how low my blood count was yet had no problem drawing vial, after vial of it? I have a sneaking suspicion that Doctors are really Vampires.

After seeing the Hematologist, sure enough, I needed an iron infusion. Now here's my theory. I always get a little anemic when I'm pregnant. So, carrying Matthew was no exception. However, his birth was. I had to have a C-Section and apparently I lost huge amounts of blood. Throw in the anemia, not a good combo. Every morning they would check my blood and tell me that I was going to need a transfusion. But did they ever give me one? No. And honestly, I don't think I ever recovered.

So, the iron infusion. It was actually really quite pleasant. They hooked me up to an I.V. drip. I sat in a big, comfy chair. Read my book, watched a movie, took a nap. It took about 6 hours. It was like a mini-vacation. It was!

The next morning, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "Wow, you're pink!" I was surprised at how much color was in my face. And in the palms of my hands. I realized then that I had been walking around looking like one of the living dead. Pale, gray, colorless. Another thing I noticed was I had no interest in ice. No interest at all!! That was odd. It was amazing how fast this iron infusion worked. And the best thing I noticed was, I had more energy. Turns out I really was tired. I just thought I felt so run down cuz, well, isn't that part of being a Mom?I go back every 3 or 4 months and get my blood checked. I'm also very aware of my ice intake. If I start chomping that again... red flag.

Now the thyroid thing. Turns out I actually had the beginnings of a goiter. All I could think about was that Seinfeld episode where Elaine visits that old lady with the huge goiter, and she was so hideous Elaine could hardly look at her.

Jerry: C'mon Elaine, it's just a goiter...

Elaine: I don't know what I'm going to do? I can't look the woman in the face. I mean I keep thinkin' that that goiter's gonna start talkin' to me! You'd think they'd mention that before they send you over there: "Oh, by the way, this woman *almost* has a second head!" But no, no, I didn't get any goiter information.

Jerry: They really should mention that in the breakdown: Height, Weight, Goiter.

Anyway, they did a scan on my thyroid which was a little unsettling because I knew they were looking for cancer. I'm pleased to say that I remained calm and didn't panic this time though. After some other tests, it was discovered that I have Hashimoto's Disease. It's when your immune system attacks your thyroid gland and causes it to be under active. Happily it's an easy fix, I just need to take a hormone replacement pill daily.

It's funny how sometimes in life you get a wake up call. This was mine. I'm so thankful for my health and that I am able to take care of my children. I really do love being their Mom.

And the moral of this big, long drawn out story is: If your kinda tired and craving ice like all get out. Uh, that's just not right. You should see someone about that. :)