New School

Well the boys start at their new school today! It will nice having them so much closer. We're excited to see how things went today. Today is their early out day, so their first day at school is a shorter one which is always fun. We'll let you all know how it went. So many changes all at the same time!

New Job

Well, Shane starts a new job this morning. He will be working for Alpine Fireplace. He will be their purchaser and will also manage inventory and such, so I believe they call it the Supply Chain Manager. He will do what he has done for years as well as the purchasing he was doing at Mitylite. We are excited for the change. Mitylite was bought out and they were going through a lot of changes, layoffs, and other stuff. I think it was just time for a change for both Mitylite and Shane. The people at Mitylite were sad to see him go. So we'll see what the future holds with this new job. Wish him luck!

Eventful Weekend

Well, we had an eventful weekend. Friday nightShane had to fix a pipe outside and at one point it decided to shoot out water because one thing wasn't quite tight enough. Here is how he looked.



Then "J" (Suzy's brother) got baptized. This was a fun experience. Afterward we got pictures of the boys with "J" and then "J" with all his nephews and his niece.

Today Suzy's Dad was called to be bishop of our ward. This will be the second time Suzy has had her Dad as her bishop, but this time will be different because she isn't in the house anymore. He has also been a branch president at the MTC, but that wasn't over any family members. Good luck to him.

Reality TV

So I don't know what happened, but since marrying Shane I have become quite the reality TV buff. Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order), although some seasons are better than others.
The Amazing Race
Survivor
Dancing with the Stars
The Biggest Loser
The Apprentice (Have you seen the Celebrity...it is fabulous and Trace Atkins is my favorite)

For some reason these 5 have been the most fun for me to watch. I did watch Dance Wars with Bruno and Carrie Ann, but only because our friend was on it (and p.s. won!). I would love to know what your favorites, if any, are. You know, your secret addictions to reality TV.

Max-isms

Here are some of the cute and sweet things Max has said lately:

He was in bed with Anna so we could go to my surgery. He had his eyes closed and woke up rubbing Anna's face and arms and said, "I Love you Mom". Anna said he then looked up and saw it was Anna and lost it.

He was playing basketball and made a basket and said, "I am a good quarterback!"

We went out for ice cream for Shane's Mom's birthday. He wanted to get a drink so Shane's Dad gave Max $3. It cost $1.50. He had $1.50 in change he went back and gave Baca (What the Grandkids call Shane's Dad) the 50 cents and put the other dollar in his pocket.

Every Easter Egg he found he said, "There it is, I find it!"

He wanted his action figures to move so he said, "Mom we need batteries." I told him they don't need batteries we move them and play with them. Max then got frustrated and said, "Mom we need to buy batteries now."

At church on Sunday Shane got him from nursery and I turned the corner to the hallway they were in. Max saw me and ran all the way down the hall yelling, "Mom!" I know he shouldn't run or yell in church, but it was just what I needed.

One time when we were going to a BYU game he was mad because Andrew had a BYU hat and he didn't. Tonight we were in the car and he had a BYU hat and I heard him in the back seat talking about when Andrew had the hat and he wanted it. Too funny!

I was sharing a drink with Max. I gave him the first sip and then when I took it for the first time he said, "Be careful"

Max is really into dressing himself and he doesn't want help at all. He really likes to wear shorts that don't match or pajamas. It is so cute.

Surgery Update

Well, things didn't go as planned. All the tests and MRI showed that I did have a septate uterus, but once in there they found otherwise. I don't know all the details yet as to what uterine anomaly I do have. I completely surprised the doctor. I was only in surgery for about 36 minutes and it was supposed to last over 2 hours. I still had the laproscopic part of the surgery so I am still very tender today, but probably better than if I would have had the whole surgery. Long story short, I don't know where this leaves us. We meet with the doctor in 2 weeks to go over everything. He is reviewing my MRI and the DVD he made of the surgery. I hope we'll know more then. Although I have physical pain and was completely sick yesterday I have to say the emotional pain is worse. It feels frustrating having to have surgery and then waking up and learning that nothing has changed except a few added future scars, some pain and a hospital bill. I'm also worried because they did try to fix what they did find, but were unable to do so in the manner they were performing surgery. We won't know until my follow-up if it even can be fixed, but that doesn't look likely, so that is a huge blow to find out that we may not be able to have any more kids. I have Max and he is apparently even more of a miracle than we originally thought, and we are so lucky to have him. This, however, doesn't make it any easier to learn about all of this. They explained part of it to me today, but I'll share more once I know more in two weeks. For now I'll just try to recover and do some soul searching. It is kind of hard to talk about so I thought this would be the easiest way to just let everyone know how I am without having to talk about it over and over.

Why are you having surgery?

One thing I want to do with my surgery and the Endo Study I am part of is try to educate other people to what exactly I am going through. I am hoping that if anyone knows of someone having similar problems they can perhaps talk to their doctors about getting certain tests done to see if this could be why.

What is a Septate Uterus?
It is a uterine anomaly, usually which occurs prior to birth. This means that I was born with it. Apparently every woman while in the womb will have 2 sections of their uterus. At about 22 weeks the middle section is dissolved and absorbed into the uterus wall. For some reason sometimes the septum (middle divider) doesn't dissolve properly. It is essentially a piece of cartilage/tissue extending from the top of the uterus down to the cervix. Not all extend completely to the Cervix. Mine does not. This piece of cartilage essentially divides your uterus into two parts. It can limit how large each "horn" (side) can grow causing premature birth. If a baby attaches to the septum they won't get enough blood supply resulting in miscarriage. Some other anomalies that can be confused with a Septate Uterus or cause similar symptoms are: Bicornuate Uterus and Unicornuate Uterus. These two actually have fewer instances of miscarriage, but they are also not as easily fixed or may not be able to be fixed.

What are some symptoms?
Premature birth (My water broke at 32 weeks for no explained reason with Max)
Frequent Miscarriage (I have had 3 miscarriages, one before Max, one with triplets, and one this last September.
Some who have a complete septum can often have discomfort or pain during s**.

How do I know if I have a problem?
Sometimes it can be detected with an ultrasound. Most often it is not. In my first pregnancy that ended with miscarriage they didn't see it. They also didn't notice it with the D&C I had for that miscarriage. They also didn't notice it with any ultrasounds on Max and I had many, especially while in the hospital waiting for his birth.

If you suspect it and the ultrasound is not clear enough you can have a Hysterosalpingogram. This is a fancy name for X-Rays using dye. You go in and they inject die into your uterus and take several X-Rays to see where the dye goes. This will outline the uterus and tell you if your uterus is misshapen at all. Just a heads up...this is extremely painful! It may not be as bad for some, but they had trouble getting it to go in one of my fallopian tubes and so he had to push the dye in really hard and it hurt! This test will tell you if you have a problem, but it won't always diagnose what kind of anomaly you have. A Bicornuate and Septate uterus can appear the same with this test, but it will appear if you have it.

If it is diagnosed that you do have a Septate or Bicornuate Uterus you may need an MRI. They performed this on me and my doctor was very specific to the technician as to how to place the machine, etc. This was so he could see how it was shaped. A Bicornuate Uterus is not operable, a Septate Uterus is. A Bicornuate is the actual uterus is misshapen and is "heart-shaped". The Septate has the outer part of the Uterus being still round, but the inner lining has the septum.

What do they do in surgery?
There may be other options, but for my surgery it will be laproscopic. They will take a little camera in through a small incision in my stomach. They will also take some tools up my "lady area". They will go in and essentially take scissors and cut the septum out. For a week I will have a balloon like thing in there to make sure it doesn't grow back together. I have been on hormones for a little over 2 months to prepare and I will be on them for another 2 months to make sure I heal correctly.

The amazing things about this surgery is that just 2 months after surgery the patient can start trying to get pregnant! That is amazing! I can't believe what they can do these days.

My Feelings
I have to admit I am nervous. I think when you have a family everything makes you more nervous. Your mortality is more real to you. You have so many people who depend on you and who you depend on and it just makes you worry. I am praying for the best and I will have my Dad and Shane give me a blessing tonight. I have to be to the hospital (in Salt Lake) by 5:30AM! That is so early!

Wish me Luck!

Luck o' the Irish

So I decided to try a new tradition and make a special meal for St. Patrick's Day. We had Corned Beef and I made homemade soda bread. We also had steamed cabbage that was actually quite good. It was really fun to do something new. I have had it before, but it was fun to make it myself. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Aidan's Birthday

Well, Aidan is now 11. I really just can't believe it because he was just barely 5 when we started dating and 5 1/2 when we got married. He started kindergarten right before our wedding and now he is about to finish the 5th grade. I am amazed at how quickly kids grow up. Aidan has always been a delight. He has always been thoughtful and has been a helper. I have some pictures from each year of our family and some small stories from each year about Aidan.


I need to get some of our pictures from our first year scanned it. They are from before we had a digital camera. Aidan was just so little. Right before we got married we went to Seattle for a family reunion with Shane's family. Aidan was so sweet the whole time and just wanted to follow his Dad and me around. He loved exploring and still loves to learn new things. Right after we got married we did a job chart and a bedtime chart. The bedtime chart listed the usual brush your teeth, say your prayers. I remember how good he was at making sure we did the bedtime chart. He was also such a good helper with the job chart. A fun thing we did was "Personal Time". This was where Andrew would go with Dad for 30min. and Aidan with me for 30min. and then we would swap. The boys could choose the activity within reason. One of my favorites was when Aidan wanted to go for a drive. We went around Orem and I got to show him where I grew up and went to school. It was a great time to talk and to bond. At the end of his kindergarten year Shane and I were able to go to the zoo with his class. That was so fun and we got to spend a really special day with him.




Just before our first anniversary the boys moved to Washington State with their Mom. We were lucky enough to have them for Halloween and then Christmas. We were able to go to Disneyland. It was Aidan's first time. He was so brave and even went on the big Mickey Mouse roller coaster with me. Above is a picture of him at Disneyland. He was 6 1/2. When I think of Aidan around this time I remember how patient he was. He still is. We had this really long drive and he never complained. He was so excited to go and we were so lucky to be able to take him. Shortly after the Disneyland trip Aidan and Andrew with their Mom and Step-Dad moved back to Utah. Right after that we moved to Santaquin.

Right after their move back we were able to spend more time with them. Ignore the date on this picture. It was April of 2004, just after Aidan turned 7. We did so much once they got back. I think it was the whole, let's not take our time for granted because of how hard it was to have them away from us...especially for Shane and for them. Shane was able to coach them in sports over the summer and a lot of other fun time together as a family. When Shane coached them Aidan always wanted to do his best. He would try really hard to hit the ball and did very well. He was also very helpful to me. I would help the catcher get ready and help all the boys know when to get up to bat. Aidan was my right hand man.

Right after our next anniversary (#2) we had some nice family pictures taken by Julie. It was a really fun day and then we went to Brick Oven and had a fun dinner. After our anniversary we were able to go to Idaho for a fun trip and spend Thanksgiving together. By this time it was nice how relaxed we were as a family and things were really good. The next birthday for Aidan would be his 8th birthday. This was an amazing experience. He was so excited and so well prepared. He looked so big in his suit. It was a beautiful day where both his families were able to participate and there wasn't any tension. It was truly a blessing. At this time I had also learned I was pregnant and Aidan was so excited about this. Later that year we would have Max. Aidan and Max formed an instant bond. Aidan always wanted to help with everything for Max. He is such a good big brother.

Right after Max was born we hit our 3rd anniversary. It was during our 3rd year that Aidan just all of the sudden shot up. I don't know what happened, but he just seemed to age a little more this year. It must have been the duty of being a big brother to 2 instead of just one. Just look at him from his baptism to then at the hospital with Max to these pictures from Halloween and Max's blessing the November after Max was born.

After our 4th anniversary Andrew was baptized and they just kept getting bigger. We were able to get pictures with Aidan's mom of the 3 boys together and that was fun. Again, Aidan was looking all grown up! We also moved right before this anniversary and then moved 8 months later to where we are now. We were able to go to Southern California which was a blast and really enjoy our new house.



We hit our 5th anniversary this last September and this year has also proved to be eventful. Aidan was in his school program, he and Andrew have traveled all over. We went to Brighton on a family reunion and have just really grown close as a family.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to play a role in Aidan's life. I hope I can be the best example to him that I can be. I know he has an amazing potential and he strives everyday to fulfill it. I am so proud of him and love him so much. He is a great kids, brother, son, friend, cousin, etc.

Videos from Aidan's Program

As I mentioned, my camera was not my friend. For some reason it didn't want to zoom in on Aidan for his part. I have that, but I thought you might enjoy seeing him say it up close. After the program he was sweet enough to do his part again for the camera. I also got a small clip of him doing the Boot Sootin' Boogie. Yee-haw!

5th Grade Program

Last night Aidan was in his 5th grade program which was a tribute to America. He sang some songs, had a line and also performed a line dance to "Boot Scootin' Boogie". Here are a couple pictures and I will post some video of it.


Here's Aidan after the program minus his bandanna.

My camera was not my friend last night, so here is a blurry picture with Aidan in the front.

Adventures in Babysitting

So I have been watching my neighbor's kids when she does Activity Days and then Dan and McKell ended up with LaCrosse and needed a babysitter. If course Max and "I" needed "J" there too. "S" came over to say hi, but ended up staying for a little bit just to help if I needed it. All together including "S" I had 7 kids. "S" was so good. She played Mother May I with some of them. I spent my time basically chasing kids. They all had a ball though and so that was fun. They especially liked playing outside and exploring the fort.

Aidan's Cake

So one Sunday a month we get together with my family (Suzy) and have a birthday dinner for all the people who have birthdays that month. This month is Aidan and "J". Aidan will be be 11 on Friday the 14th and "J" will be 8 on Easter, the 23rd. I let Aidan pick the cake he wanted and he wanted me to make a camp fire cake. "S" and Aidan helped me make the cake and we made a couple logs with marshmallows for the coals and little flames. The candles will make a real fire on top. We'll put "J"'s candles on one of the logs and Aidan's on the other log. We were going to use chocolate covered donut holes for the coals but couldn't get any in time so we opted for the chocolate marshmallows. It was fun to make and Aidan really liked eating the frosting off the spoons when I was done. He said they were calling to him.

Endo Study Exam

Well I had my exam for the study today. It went really well. Here is a rundown of what they did:

1. Urine Test.
2. Body measurements, a ton of them.
3. Blood test. They took 6 vials of blood and they couldn't find a vein so it took 3 pokes...ouch!
4. Family History.
5. Personal Health History.
6. Pregnancy/Fertility History.
7. Current living situation.
8. s** history (censored for younger audiences) =)
9. Emotional History. They asked me about how happy or sad I am, my self-esteem, my marriage, income, etc. These are all factors in women's health they say and I have to agree.

They will send me a copy of the results of the study when it is done. I don't know when that will be, but it should be really interesting. I think this could help a lot of women, so when I have all the information I will let you all know more about the study and its findings.

To Go Private or Not to Go Private

It seems that everyone is going private. While I like the idea of having some things remain private, I don't like making everyone have to log in every time they want to see what we are up to. I'm afraid it will deter people from looking at our blog. I have it so that my blog can't be found by search engines, which I think helps. I don't know, tell me your thoughts.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

The Funny Stuff
Max was walking around the room moving his arms with great excitement: "The Spiderwick movie is...awesome!"

The boys were saying what everyone's farts sound like (I know, a house of boys). Andrew proceeds to say, "Dad's farts sounds like this (insert tiny sound effect here) ... but they smell deadly!"

Max says, "Dad fart in his bumb!

Aidan told me the following jokes:
Knock, knock... Who's there... Pile up...Pile up who... Get it, Pile of Poo.
Knock, knock... Who's there... Freep...Freep who... Get it, Free Poo.
Knock, knock... Who's there... Europe...Europe who... Get it, You're a Poo.

Andrew asked if they could stay up late tonight. It was 9:27pm at the time. Shane said, "Sure, you can stay up until 9:30pm." Andrew looked at the clock and quickly said, "That's not good enough Dad!"

Apparently we only talk potty talk at our house today!

The Sweet Stuff
Max was walking around the room looking down. Suddenly he says: President Hinkey died.

Aunt Anna: Max, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Max: Jesus