Feeling A Lot Better (and what I would have missed if I wasn't)

Today is Monday, and I'm feeling a lot better after a restful weekend, and some serious pampering (from my hubby and friends).

While I was in the hospital, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, I kept worrying about all the things I was going to miss out on while I was stuck in bed. On the first day I was in the hospital, I missed Ryder's first singing performance at his preschool. I had planned to go and video tape, but instead, super Dad had to be there for me and him (and tried to take video while keeping Mazlow quite and in one place - not so successfully). I missed Brice's last adult soccer games that Sunday too. On Wednesday, I missed Landin's Cub Scout Rocket Race. We had been working together on his rocket for the past week and a half, so it was a bummer I couldn't be there.

One of the things that made the hospital stay bearable were the visits from my kids (and of course Brice).

Brice brought the boys to say good night to me every night I was there, and often he brought Ryder and Mazlow during the afternoon around lunchtime. They actually really liked the hospital food.One of the times Landin was there to visit me, he left me this message handwritten on the nurses white board in my room: In case the picture is unreadable, it says, "Dear Momy, I hope you feel better. I love you. I miss you, and I want to kiss you . There are four yous, not the letter U. XO OK"

So even though I missed some things that would have been really great, I felt very loved that my boys came and hugged-on me for at least a short time everyday.

If I hadn't started feeling better on Saturday, I would have missed out on the Harvest Carnival that I was chairing for Landin's school PTA, as well as the soccer tournament Ryder and Landin were playing in over the weekend, which would be their last game for several months (more on that later). So the bottom line is, I started feeling better just in time. That's just like life isn't it - everything works out just like on TV - right in time for the commercials.

Bed Rest Is Hard (Day One)

I mentioned the lessons learned (and that there were several of them) from my stomach pain saga thus far. The one the Dr. wanted me to learn as she sent me home on Wednesday was the importance of rest in our lives - of taking a break, before we NEED it. She reminded me that if you just keep pushing, and going, going, going, without taking the break that you need to stay healthy and sane; then life will hit you over the head with something that forces you to take that break (usually at the most inopportune time - not that there is an opportune time to be hit over the head with anything).

So at any rate, here I am, absorbing the lesson that life is teaching me - Take the time to REST!

But can I just say, as much as rest is wonderful and peaceful and feels good - its stressful to be forced to physically rest, when your mind is still going a hundred miles an hour and there is just SO MUCH that needs to get done!

Why can't bed rest be scheduled and conducted on a tropical island in the summer sun? The answer of course, it that that is what we call - "vacation"... however, at least in my world, vacations are seldom restful times of total relaxation; and more often are busy whirlwind trips where we rush around trying to fit a million experiences into our slim time away from home. What I usually end up needing is a vacation from my vacation. [10-days at Disneyland, our last "vacation" is a case in point]

I've had several conversations with friends the past few days where I have admitted that it would be much easier to be on bed rest if I knew it was my baby's health at risk, and not my own... crazy huh? But I bet any mother or mother-to-be would agree. You worry more about the health of your children then your own health (10-fold probably), and that's just not healthy at all.

My Mom keeps beating into my head the fact that if I don't rest my condition will only get worse, and could land me back in the hospital. I don't want that, and yet I find myself thinking up ways to challenge the system, to walk the fine line of bed rest and exertion - - like typing this blog post from my bed (resting yet working, right??).

I tried the whole "do nothing at all, just lie there" thing this morning... It was weird. In the silence of it all, I heard some really strange noises. Do you know that cats can grind their teeth? They can. Mine does. It sounds freaky. Also there is a bird here that's call sounds exactly like the sound my SKYPE makes when a call is coming in. Everytime I heard it today I jumped, thinking someone was ringing me on Skype. My computer makes a strange humming noise when it gets hot and then as it cools down the humming changes into a low buzz that if you listen to long enough, can start to sound like you're underwater. It was windy today too, so you can imagine all the interesting sounds the wind makes blowing up against the house and through the trees. A whole lot of sounds, that while restful, were strangely unsettling, and made me want to DO SOMETHING.

In the end I opted for organizing (from my bed of course). I typed up our family's schedule for Friday - Sunday (boy do we have a lot going on!), and typed up a grocery list for Brice (sorted by aisle of the store of course), and by then, I was ready to, well... rest.

Melissa’s Painful Hospital Saga (All the details)

As most of you know, I was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night, following a day fretted with extreme stomach pain which robbed me of having fun at Landin and Ryder’s soccer games in the morning, Tawnya’s Baby Shower in the afternoon, and Jennifer and Jason’s Costume Party that night. After driving home from the Halloween party I laid in bed for several hours trying to make the pain stop so I could get some much needed rest. But it wouldn’t stop – It just kept getting worse.

Those of you who know me well know my high tolerance for pain. I’ve given birth to 3 children without any pain medication whatsoever – but this, I couldn’t handle. I tried getting comfortable; I couldn’t. I tried breathing through the pain; I couldn’t. The hardest part about the pain was that it was constant. Never let up. With contractions, at least you know there is a break coming after a few minutes. This was just steady pain; with no break; no rest for the weary. I was worried about the baby, but was convinced that this was just a passing stomach ache, normal with pregnancy. At 12:30am I decided I was wrong. This wasn’t normal pain.

I called my OB and filled her in on my pain. She recommended I go straight to the Emergency Room. I already had on my PJs so I hobbled down to the car, and drove to the ER in town.

When I opened the door to the ER I was practically doubled-over in pain. The nurse was expecting me (a call from my OB had her ready and waiting for me) so she took my hand and led me straight to a room where they laid me down and got out the equipment to listen to the baby. I explained what I was feeling and answered their questions. They found the baby’s heartbeat right away, and it sounded great – a HUGE relief. The next order of business was relieving the pain (thankfully). Hey hit me with 6mg of Morphine, which removed the pain, and relaxed my muscles for the first time in more than 24-hours. They poked me to assess whether or not it was my appendix that was causing the pain. Hard to tell. They took me in for an in-depth ultrasound (3-hours) examining the baby and all my major organs.

One of the big concerns was that I fell down the stairs 10-days prior and had been in the Dr.’s office following the fall to check on the baby. Baby was fine, so they sent me home. What they were worried about now was the possibility that I had damaged an internal organ in the fall – and that it was just now manifesting itself. By 5am, the morphine was wearing off and the pain was coming back. The ultrasound results came back and showed that all my organs looked as they should, and that baby was happy and healthy wiggling around actively.

Without knowing what was wrong, but sure there was something abnormal going on, they checked me into the hospital for the night. One more dose of Morphine, and I was off to sleep for a few hours.

I woke-up starving (the extreme stomach pain had masked any hunger pains, and made me too nauseated to eat the day prior) but still feeling the ache in my tummy. I felt reassured that baby was okay, but frustrated that we were no closer to knowing what was causing the pain.

They ran a series of blood tests and we watched and waited, trying to see what would happen next. My blood work came back looking perfect – I was as healthy as a horse. With left us with a couple of options – The wait and see (while I withered in pain); another more specific Sonogram; the MRI (an imaging test using magnets that has no known side effects for baby, but could show the appendix and other organs in more detail than the ultrasound), the CAT scan (not a viable option given the danger of radiation to the baby) or a laparoscopy (a surgical procedure where they blow up the belly with gas, go in with a light and a camera and look at the appendix and other organs, and then conduct surgery to remove the appendix if necessary).

That night (Sunday) while I lay in bed in pain, I took a red pen out of my purse and with my eyes closed I used the pen to circle on my skin the spot where the pain was the most pronounced. I had been trying to pinpoint it all day but when I sat up and tried to double over to look underneath my growing pregnant belly at the spot, it would shift and I would feel the pain more broadly from being bent over. The next morning I showed the nurses the spot and explained that was where the pain was centered. The spot I had circled was right around where my appendix would be.

So on Monday morning, they opted for a second in-depth ultrasound/sonogram focusing on the appendix and the baby, and looking for any abnormalities. The ultrasound went well, baby looked wonderful, but they were not able to see my appendix in the images. This was reassuring, as they would expect that if it was inflamed it would show-up… but it wasn’t, so it didn’t. I was wheeled back to my hospital room, in even more pain after being poked and prodded again, and with no new information to speak of.

One of the other serious symptoms I was experiencing was extreme fatigue and shortness of breath. I would get tired getting up to go to the restroom, and would be short of breath just sitting up to eat.

The Morphine had made me nauseated that morning so on Monday night, we tried switching to a different pain medication that afternoon to allow me to sleep. They gave me a Vicoden equivalent, which didn’t seem to work, and I had a fitful couple of hours in and out of sleep marred by sharp pain and aches. The last conversation I had with the Dr. on Monday late in the evening revealed they were baffled, but that they were leaning towards the laparoscopy (surgery) option. This freaked me out because it meant full sedation (and if I’m knocked out, so is baby). I wasn’t excited about this option.

I woke on Tuesday morning feeling a little better. They had switched me over to a different pain med late in the night, and I finished off the night into the early morning with a good solid rest. The Dr. was encouraged by my feeling better, but I wasn’t 100% by any stretch, and we were all still eager to figure out what was going on. One of the most interesting developments on Tuesday, was that my pain had really shifted to the other side of my stomach and underneath my belly, which would be inconsistent with appendicitis. Given this, and the fact that I was rested enough by Tuesday to cope with the pain better, they put off the thought of surgery and opted for the MRI.

I went in on Tuesday afternoon for the MRI, which took around 2 ½ hours to do. I had to lay flat on my back, perfectly still, the entire time. It was really hot, super uncomfortable, and exaggerated the pain I was trying so hard to cope with already without pain medicine. When I got back to my room following the MRI, I was knocked out, sore, and ready for sleep. I was still hopeful I would go home that night, and was trying my best to get through to the end of the day without pain meds. I waited until after 6pm to get the MRI results. When my Dr. finally came to discuss the results I was curled up in a ball on the bed, ready for pain medication. One of the lessons I’ve learned through this process (there are many) is that it’s not a sign of personal weakness to ask for pain relief. I was in a lot of pain (still am) and the pain medication is not doing anything but helping me to cope with it. Still…. UG!

So my Dr. tells explains that the MRI results showed that my appendix looked normal (as far as they could see). What looked abnormal was my intestines. Based on the images from the MRI it appeared that my intestines weren’t functioning correctly, and were tweaked in several spots where there were pockets of gas and solids build-up. Based on my blood test that morning, which showed an abnormally low white blood cell count, they believed that I had a virus that was attacking my intestinal track. This would explain how the pain had moved around my belly, my fatigue level and shortness of breath, and the extreme pain I was feeling. They likened the virus to the Mono virus that we are all pretty familiar with (note: I do NOT have mono), but what I have is similar in that its sucked all my energy dry and made me feel listless and always out of breath. On top of the exhaustion, my lame virus added a gnarly pain element to the mix – lucky me. Adding mayhem to misery, apparently there are lymph nodes or adenoids located in the mesenteric layer of the bowel, just like we have in our neck, that become swollen when your body is infected with a virus. Mine were swollen, and were also adding to the pain I was experiencing (as if I needed yet another pain causing ailment). They call this Mesenteric Adenitis.

So in a nutshell, I’m facing a rare intestine-attacking virus, coupled with Mesenteric Adenitis.

They are running more tests to see if they can pin down the strain of the virus, and most importantly ensure that it is not a virus known to cause any harm to an unborn fetus.

I’ve was sent home today (Wednesday), and put on strict bedrest. Keep in mind that you cannot kill a virus with antibiotics (they are only able to attack bacteria), so the only course of action is to let the virus run its course – while treating the symptoms. So I am on bedrest for at least the next 2-weeks (and for what could be a month or more) until the virus is gone and with it go my pain and fatigue.

You all know how hard bedrest will be for a person like me. What the #@%*!

And poor Brice. The man is a Saint. He brought the kids to visit me everyday in the hospital, got them all off to school and their various activities each day, and is still holding down the fort. Now he is stuck with me at home, unable to help with the kids, or cook, or clean, or run errands… and he’s taken it all with the grace of a saint. He deserves better. When I’m all better and this is all behind us, I’ll take him somewhere nice to let him know how very much I appreciate all that he does, and how wonderful it is to have someone like him I can count on for EVERYTHING.

In the meantime, I need to rest

Costume Party - Halloween 2006

Our friends Jennifer and Jason hosted an adults-only Halloween Costume Party on Saturday, so Brice and I suited-up and headed-out to party.

Brice was Hercules this year, and I was Venus - The Goddess of Love (knocked-up by Hercules)... I was still feeling awful on Saturday evening, but couldn't miss the big party - - I knew Jenn had worked really hard getting the house decorated scary and all the spooky food ready, so I just couldn't miss it! We shared a babysitter with Eric and Nicole and headed off to the party.

It was so great to see everybody dressed-up! Jennifer was a gorgeous witch and Jason was a sexually provocative catholic priest (sorry no photos - boo hoo).

Eric was dressed up as a "cereal killer" and Nicole was masquerading as "Static Cling" (Clearly they are the most creative of our bunch)... Tawnya (my pregnant buddy) was a lovely Mardi Gras mama, while her husband Adam was an amazingly convincing Frankenstein. The more pumpkin beers Brice and the boys drank, the more "Hercules" was teased about looking more like a gay biker - - or "gay-diator" (especially with the facial hair configuration he had shaved especially for the costume). Even with the teasing of Brice and my stomach pain that relegated me to a chair by the fire for the night, it was a fabulous party and a good time was had by all! Thanks Jennifer and Jason!!

A baby shower for Tawnya

My girlfriend Tawnya is due to bring her 4th baby into the world this month, so some friends threw her a lovely baby shower this past Saturday.

My friend Kris and I went in together on the gift, and wanted to get Tawnya something special; but all she really wanted were baby clothes and some basics (diapers, wipes, etc)... So we came up with a way to deliver the basics in a special way. I got a giant shallow wicker laundry basket, cut two pieces of wood about 3 feet long and tied one to each side of the basket. Then I took a piece of grossgrain ribbon and I strung it across the two pieces of wood - creating a "clothes line." I bought a bag of wooden clothes pins and painted them pink and tan (to coordinate with the outfits I picked-up for the new baby girl). Using the decorative clothes pins, I strung 3-pairs of footed PJs across the clothes line. I bought a huge container of Baby-clothes laundry detergent, and stuck that in the middle of the basket. I filled the rest of the basket with pink tissue and then laid out the two other outfits we got Tawnya over the tissue. I added a few accessories (a cute pink bib, a coordinating hat, a pair of pink slipper cowgirl boots, and a pair of fuzzy pink moccasins) to finish off the basket. The final touch was a giant pink bow tying the plastic wrapping together. It was an awesome baby shower (the food by prepared by Brenda Woodward was AMAZING!), and I think Tawnya had a great time. I was feeling pretty sick at the shower, but I curled-up on a comphy chair with a glass of mulled cider, which made me feel a bit better. I was glad I was able to be there for the special event, and was really happy that Tawnya loved the extra-special presentation of her "just the basics" gift.

Soccer Dads

At this weekend's soccer game the soccer dads proved they were just as stylish as their soccer mom counterparts - arriving at the game in coordinating navy blue long sleeve shirts. Who says North Idaho guys only wear flannel shirts? These dads are truly stylin!

Soccer Moms

Totally by coincidence, four of us soccer moms showed up at the kids game on Saturday wearing jeans and brown & green tops - - completely coordinated.We looked like a friggin' GAP commercial sitting together on the sidelines. It's a nice problem to have though - all these stylish moms in one place - so no complaints here!

Making Halloween Cookies

To get ourselves into the Halloween spirit we decorated the house and cleared off the island in the kitchen to make some Halloween cookies. The kids donned their aprons (Ryder wore one that belonged to my grandmother, and Landin wore my Starbucks apron), we floured the island, whipped up some sugar cookie dough, and set to work. Landin picked a skeleton cookie cutter for his cookies, and Ryder picked a spider web. I helped both the boys roll out their dough with a rolling pin (Note to other parents - A rolling pin can be used as a weapon, which your kids will figure out as soon as they pick it up - Be aware... or maybe that's just my kids!)

The kids and I had a blast rolling the dough, cutting out the cookies, and baking them. By the time the cookies were cooled and ready to be frosted, football was on, so I lost my little bakers to TV land where they would rather cheer and yell at the TV then frost cookies they know they won't get to eat. So I frosted them myself, and after dinner the kids were allowed to have one each. A sweet reward for their hard work.

The next day we packaged up the cookies and distributed them to neighbors, teachers, aides, and friends. YUM!

"Killer Boots, Man"

(That's from Dumb and Dumber for all you non-Dumb and Dumber fans)

Mazzy is the one with the killer boots. We went shopping last weekend to get him some winterish shoes, and came across these great boots at Baby GAP. He LOVES them. He can say "Boots" and asks for them by name. He sits down and takes them off so he can put them back on himself (very independent this one is).

At any rate, they are rockin new boots, and they perfectly complete the "rebel without a clue" look he has going.

Fall in Sandpoint

Fall has arrived (okay, okay, it's been here for a bit, but I'm in denial). But it's really here now.

This week Landin disappeared from the kitchen where he was supposed to be working on his homework while I was cooking dinner. I looked all over the house for him, and was calling his name repeatably, when I heard the sound of his laugh coming from outside. Mind you, it's freezing cold outside (at least I think it is). I walk over to the window and look outside to see Landin jumping on the trampoline - BAREFOOT!

I knock on the window and tell him he should be wearing shoes and to get back inside. He replies, "I don't need shoes, I'm wearing a beanie." As in a fuzzy hat, on his head. What that has to do with his feet I have no idea. But then he screams, "Watch this!" and throws the football as hard as he can way up into the sky and the jumps up and lays back to bounce on his back and catch the football. KIDS! I have to say, he looked darn cute out there jumping barefoot in the freezing cold - his cheeks all flushed from the cold wind.

Reminded me of Brice, a lot.

GOOOAAAAALLLL By RYDER!!

You've read of Ryder's infamous first soccer season several times on this blog already - - and here's one more for the record books...

Ryder, the same kid whose feet were glued to the ground last week during the soccer game, decided this past week to actually run during the game, and at least try to touch the ball. Low and behold - - Ryder was in there, kicking the ball, chasing after it, and running into kids. Next thing you know - BAM - the ball is rolling off Ryder's foot and into the goal. GOOOOAAALLLL!


Nevermind that it was his own teams' goal. Nevermind that he shot the ball at one of his best girlfriends who was playing goalie for his own team. No, nevermind those things. Ryder scored a goal. His foot kicked a ball that went into a goal - fair and square... And for that, we are so proud of him.

When Ryder was feeling bad about scoring on his own team, we reminded him that Landin's very first goal was scored on his own team as well - and look at him now. We rationalized with Ryder (our thinker) that now he knew how to score a goal, and next time, he would be able to do into the other teams net. He thought that made good sense, and instead of being sad, started to celebrate his goal. He wanted to call his grandparents and tell them all about his goal he scored. And whenever the phone rang, he insisted we tell whomever it was that he had scored a goal (a bunch of telemarketers expressed their excitement for Ryder).

The nicest part was that his team didn't hold it against him either. In fact, they celebrated right along with him. His teammate Ainsley was so proud of him she posed for this picture with him, holding his hand - and for that one moment in time - Ryder was a Soccer Champion!

Operation 8th Birthday Party: The Cake

In proper tradition of our family birthday cakes, Landin and Mitchell had a full-blown special forces cake and then some.

The best part about these from scratch cakes is how much better they taste then a store bought cake... Plus, there is no chance that your kid's name will be misspelled on it! After we go back from the scavenger hunt, the soldiers lined up at the table inside to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mitchell and Landin and enjoy some yummy cake! The birthday boys made a wish, and blew the candles out!

Operation 8th Birthday Party: Scavenger Hunt

Following lunch in the mess hall, the soldiers were presented with their top secret mission for the day - To find their desert!

Nicole prepared an awesome scavenger hunt with pictures as clues that had been cut into puzzle pieces for the kids to assemble. The first location they were challenged to find was the Tire Swing (which was just a hop away from where they were eating lunch).

From there it would get more and more difficult.

The second clue led them to the end of the long driveway that leads to our house from the road, the kids hopped on their bikes (All 16 of them) and headed off!The next four clues took the kids on their bikes closer and closer to Nicole's house, where they found the last clue...

The last clue wasn't another puzzle like the others. Instead, it ensured that each and every one of the kids participated in the solving process. When the kids registered at the beginning of the party Nicole and I wrote a number and a letter on their shoulder. When they got the last clue, it was just a puzzle with numbers. Using the codes on their shoulders, they had to figure out which letters went with which numbers and then plug them into the puzzle to spell out the final location of the prize. The kids were marvelous at solving the puzzle, and before too long had spelled out "Go Directly To The Tree House" and were off and running to the tree house to collect their treats. Awaiting them in the tree house were army canteens for the ride home, and a box of "muddy bears" (chocolate covered gummy bears).

This was a great activity for the kids and a super example of what these kids are capable of if given the room to roam.

Operation 8th Birthday Party: The Mess Hall

With all that activity, the kids built-up some hearty appetites, so it was a good thing Nicole and I were prepared with a fully stocked Mess Hall.

Earlier that morning Nicole and I scouted out the perfect spot for the Mess Hall, agreeing upon a flatish spot nestled in the trees near our tire swing. Nicole climbed a few trees, we hoisted the ropes up, and voila the Mess Hall was built! Here is what it looked like before the soldiers arrived:

And here it is filled with hungry soldiers!

On the menu for the day were grilled hamburgers, chips, and some star-shaped lime jello. YUM!

Operation 8th Birthday Party: Obstacle Course

The last game before lunch was a timed run through the Obstacle Course we built for the kids.

Nicole, Brice and I assembled the Obstacle Course that morning, to ensure our own kids did not have an unfair advantage (by practicing before the rest of the kids saw it)... so when we turned the corner to see the obstacle course, it was the first time any of the kids had seen it.

Given that, they took to it like fishes to water.
Here is how the Obstacle Course was set-up:

1. QUICK FEET: First, the kids would have to move their feet quickly in and out of crisscrossing ropes that covered a 5x5 foot square 2. UP & OVER: Second, the kids would have to climb up a slippery wall of wood and slide down the other side 3. UNDER THE RADAR: Third, the kids would have to crawl on their bellies under a camouflage netting 4. WEAVING IN & OUT: Forth, the kids would weave in and out of 5 poles in the ground as they ran closer to the finish line 5. ROLL THE SPARE TIRE: And last, the kids would have to pick up an big old tire and role it along as they ran to the finish line The kids were seriously AWESOME at the obstacle course, every single one of them. We timed them completing the course, and upon crossing the finish line each of them received a cool working digital army watch. Which again, removed all points of contention around the fastest time and whose it was.