To be depressed or not to be depressed

I have this love hate thing going on with Utah. I love to go out there but when I return home it always takes me a few weeks to get motivated and not be depressed. I am making a conscious effort this time around to not sulk for a week. I have things planned each day and am ready for the summer to begin...bring it on! OK, I will admit I have been kind of sulky today but I am just giving myself this one day. Which goes along nicely with the craziness of the three year old cache. I am officially going to the library and finding myself a parenting book. I am so totally at the end of my rope. Wow, now that this post has really gotten side tracked and completely random I will go back to our short (haha, not really) visit to Utah. It was really beautiful. Lots of rain and cold, which I am sure the locals weren't happy about, but I loved it. It would have been nicer if I brought warmer clothes for my kids but who would have thought such freezing cold temperatures in June? I should have known better. It was nice to just go and relax, chill with family, and be in awe of how beautiful the mountains are. You forget when you live there that it is really absolutely gorgeous. I guess that could be something I am thankful for, living in a barren desert allows me to truly see the beauty of other places. Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures of us doing anything cool. Next time I will on top of that. I did however, try to take some of the kids. I am trying to just get a decent pic of the both of them, next we are headed to a professional.






*I promise I have the most smiley baby in the world...she just didn't get the memo that you are supposed to smile for photos.

Happy Birthday Cachelicious!

Cache,
You turned 3 years old just a few days ago. It just doesn't feel like that much time has gone by and how quickly it went. It feels like we were just living in Utah awaiting your arrival. I remember how excited I was when my water broke and we headed to the hospital. When I got to hold you for the first time it was the most surreal experience I have ever had. I thought there was no way this was all real. Quickly I learned...it was. This past year you have grown so much. You just love to talk, talk, talk. Some would say you may even talk just as much as I did when I was your age. I guess your grandma and grandpa would call it payback. You love doing boy things. Getting dirty is one of your favorites. I love the things you say on a daily basis and think how witty you are. That definently came from your dad. I don't know what to expect this coming year but I feel like 4 is going to be a hard one. Sometimes I wish you would never grow up and just get to stay little forever. I love you my little bugaboo!

Some pics from your birthday party:

Just some fun

A good night, hanging out with his best friends.

Such a good girl...

My sweet little baby girl has been diagnosed with kidney reflux (that is the easy term...I can't even pronounce the "real" way to say it). A few weeks ago she seemed like she was getting a cold and it looked like she might be getting pink eye. So I called the Doctor to get some drops. They told me I had to come in to check her out. So we went in, he checked her, and apparently she was running a slight fever (101.5). What? How did I miss that? It came on so quick. He thought it was weird because she didn't show any signs of anything else. He suggested we test her for a bladder infection. Hmmmmm. Again really strange, but he was pretty addiment (not sure if spelled correctly) we do the test. I was having an emotional day and asked dave if he could just take her. He did and came back with a screaming baby telling me he would never do that again. They had to do a cathader on her and we were just very unprepared for that. They ran the test in the office and said it was negative so we went on our way. It was a friday we took her in and Monday evening the doctor called us to say the lab also ran the test and she was positive for a UTI. We were nervous...what did that mean. She went on antibiotics which really hurt her tummy and she would just give this little cry like she was in so much pain. The doctor told us we needed to get her and ultrasound test for her kidney's and a VCUG to check the flow of her urine. So scary. We have never had to deal with anything like this before (knock on wood) and we were just so scared for our little baby. I went through a lot of emotions during this time. Sadness for Lyla and what may be painful for her, scared that she may have to have surgery in the future, and worry that I am just not one of those strong mothers. I can't watch my child go through these things in life and be strong for them. I think we were blessed that we had a 2 week wait for the tests to be done at Phoenix Childrens Hospital. It gave us time to pray and receive strength and comfort. I couldn't believe how well the tests went. Lyla was a superstar. The ultrasound was a breeze...they just pop in baby einsteins and she was entertained. The VCUG was a little more tricky. She was getting hungry and we were just waiting and waiting. So I found a private room and tried to feed her as much as I could until they called our name. With the advice from others we were so much more prepared. The put the cathader in and she didn't even cry. However, she started wimpering a little when the dye began to fill up her bladder but really, not even a tear. They took some pictures with the xray machine and we were done 10 minutes later. A binky, a blankie, and a music toy was all we needed, oh, and some soothing and kisses from mommy and daddy. She does have reflux on both kidneys, level 3 on both sides (the levels are from 1-5). What does this mean for her? She will be on antibiotics for the next 6 months to a year. This worries me so much but I know it is important for her not to get anymore UTI's as the more she has the worse it is for her kidney's. We will meet with a urologist and get a better idea of when we will test her again to see if it is getting better or worse. We hope better (of course) but if it gets worse she will need surgery. I know whatever happens she will be fine and hopefully not in too much pain.

Just in Case...

you are looking for some cute hairbows or clips for your little girls my cousin is making them and they are so cute. The best part is they wont cost you a fortune like at the boutiques. Take a look at her blog...she is just putting it together so if you want certain colors she can make something for you. So perfect for your little girls easter outfits!

http://www.marsplace.blogspot.com/

More Pics of Lyla's Blessing Dress

Lyla was blessed this past sunday. Dave and Lyla did a great job, dave on giving the blessing and Lyla on not crying during the blessing. I was so surprised because she was fussy all morning and was starting to get a stuffy and runny nose. Good Job! My family came out for four days to enjoy not only the blessing but also the awesome weather we have been having. There was lots of golfing, spring training baseball games, cache's baseball "games," and movies. We had fun and wished it could last a little longer. Well mostly fun, all of us got a cold which we could have done without. We said our goodbyes to the family today and are now thinking up what our next adventure should be. I vote California!