I WENT somewhere!

Last night I went out to eat some Italian food with 7 other ladies who used to attend CCC with me.  :)  It was great fun!  We met at 7:00 and I didn't get home until well after 11:30 p.m.  Oh...MERCY.  Coming from the lady who has been going to bed around 8:00 every night these days, that was the end of my rope.  But it was worth it.  So many fun stories to tell and remember.

So, that was Saturday night, and right now I'm making a veggie frittata to bring to a brunch with 4 other high school friends.  I am very much looking forward to this, but it also makes me laugh.  When my social calendar fills up, it seems to be all at once I guess!  

This introvert is going to need some ALONE time sometime soon, in order to recharge.  ;)  

Chemicals:

So here is the deal.  In general, I love chemicals.  They do such a great job at what I ask them to do in my daily life, namely, cleaning.

However, I'm also a human being who reads, and researches, so I've learned a lot in the past 6 years or so on chemicals, and I'm trying to eliminate all but the most essential ones in my life.

"Fewer" rather than "none" is probably a better way to say it, because I for SURE am not that Pinterest / Facebook lady always posting about what thing she just made home-made, from scratch, just like the pioneers did.  Yeeeeah, no.

So, I've landed on a company that I like in general, The Honest Company.  I guess they had a naming legal battle with a blog called The Honest Toddler a while back, and lots of people don't like the company now because they went after a blogger with their name, etc.  Lame.  Either you like their products, or you don't.  The fact that they handled a legal matter, where both parties were happy at the end, has no influence on my opinion of their products.

Anyway, I started off getting lots of different products that they sell and just trying them out.  I began with a bundle, but now that I know a lot of their products I will likely just get a few specific ones every now and then, rather than have a regular shipment.

Here is the thing...I've liked almost everything I've tried:  sunscreen, lip balm, body wash and shampoo combo for the kids, hand wash, floor cleaner, bathroom cleaner, counter cleaner, lotion, etc.

My one big exception to this is their dish products.  MAN they just don't work for me.  My dishes have never looked worse.  I'm sure it's much healthier for us to eat off of them, in general, but I don't care.  (To be fair, the dish soap for the sink is okay--but not amazing.  It's the dishwasher soap that I'm really not impressed with.  And if I'm going to take the time to wash a dish by hand I want it to freakin' SHINE when I'm done!!)

I AM GOING BACK TO DISH CHEMICALS, BABY!!!!

My loves:

The one other product they make that I don't "adore," but I'm going to stick with, is their laundry detergent.  It's no Tide--nothing can be better than that--but it works fine for us.  Just fine.  My kids aren't in the "staining everything" phase of life right now, so we can get by, and frankly a big reason I do this is for Finn and his crazy sensitive skin.  So, laundry soap in general is a place where I'm willing to sacrifice a little.  I mean, I guess I could always separate the kids clothes from our clothes and wash our stuff in the good chemicals, but...let's be honest...that's just too much work for me right now.  Getting ANY laundry done seems to be a chore I had never thought possible, so let's just eliminate that extra step right now.

If you're interested in trying something from this company, you can click on this link from me and I get a "credit" towards my next purchase:  http://honest.com/accept_invitation/295556  Don't get me wrong.  This is not a multi-level marketing company or anything, I promise!  :)  I don't make any money from them...just get a bit of money taken off my next order if someone new orders through me their first time.

But if you're going to stick with chemicals I totally understand.  Because I love them too.  And I miss them, sometimes.  Sigh.  :)

Oh, fortheloveofallthatisholyandgood!!!

So, today I get to go BACK in and be seen by the colon-rectal surgeons.

Because things have become "not quite right" over the past 3 days.

I'll be taking wagers now. What do you think the issue is?
1.  Fistula, requiring an actual surgery in an actual OR tomorrow, or
2.  Mystery problem, possibly a second abscess developing.

More later, I'm sure.  We just can't do without a little drama around here every 3 weeks or so, it seems!

Update:

I will spare you all the long, boring details, since we did so much of that last time.  Long story short:  I am not near death.  Should I happen to actually be developing a fistula, we won't know that for a month or two at the earliest.  As of right now it looks like my abscess healed too fast (as it sometimes happens in "young, very healthy people" says the Dr.  Thanks Doc.  I'll take it.), and it wasn't quite done...emptying...so it basically re-formed and then emptied on its own, as there was already an incision site as a weak point.

Man I feel sick just writing this all.  Such gross stuff we are possible of in our bodies, huh?  Sigh.  This is about as far from classy as I can get.

My anus / rectum / all things rear-end involved:

Be warned, this post contains somewhat personal information.  As I am not an overly guarded person, I don't mind sharing my life this way, but if YOU are squeamish about personal sharing, or the correct anatomical terms for body parts, then you might want to take a pass on this entry.  



Ah, dear friends.  Sorry about the post title, but really...how often do you get to use the word anus?  Probably not very often.  Rather, not often enough!! ;)  I think it's a little silly to be offended with words like anus, just as much as "butt" or "ass."  Relax.  It'll be okay.  They are just words.  :)

(1st side note:  I can't stand it when people make up pet names for body parts because they are embarrassed about them, or they were raised to never talk about them, etc. A body part is a body part!  It is not inherently good or bad.  It deserves to just be named (scientifically), without grimacing/giggling/blushing, and then move on with life in a collected manner.  I cam very firmly to this conclusion as a teacher, although I think my parents were somewhat this way as well, if my memory serves right.  As a parent I am even more so.  Finn knows that his penis is a penis.  Layla knows the word vagina. We will never use pet names for these body parts, or hopefully any body part.  It's weird to do so, I think.  If the fact that I wrote these words makes you squeam, then YOU are one of the people I am talking about!! ;)  Don't raise your kids to be embarrassed about their body parts before they even have one single reason, right?  Right.)

So.

This has been a very difficult week for me.  I was in pretty much constant pain for 6 days straight.  Today is Monday, October 14th, and it's the first day I have had relief from this pain in a week.  Relief is so WONDERFUL.

Last Monday I started having pain, both internal and external, in/around/near my anus.

This is not the sort of thing that "polite" society talks about, I know, but I've been questioning the wisdom of that this week.  Why not?  If I had horrible headaches for week I'd have felt free to ask for any and all tips on Facebook, right? So why not my anus?  Clearly, it's social tabu, but I think for the wrong reasons.  However, I'm not exactly trying to fix all social wrongs through FB, so I left that one alone, but if/when people that I knew asked me what was wrong through the week, I told the truth.  I didn't fudge the truth.  I didn't try to evade the question.  For some reason, this became important to me.  Probably some part of me still felt embarrassed by the whole thing, deep down, even though my brain held other thoughts to be true...so I was trying to sort of preach to myself in a way.  Who knows?  That's just how it went.  However, I did try to give people an "out":  if they asked me what was wrong I would usually say it was something that was wrong with my ass, and if they wanted to know more I'd be happy to share, but I realize that most people are uncomfortable with that region of the body.  Most people did not take me up on knowing more, which I was totally fine with, but some did...and I was fine with sharing medical facts.  :)  I did intentionally use the word "ass" or "butt" with other people because I know that the word "anus," though CORRECT, makes many adults squirm.  So, even though "ass" is a more crass, non-scientific cop-out, I did use that word. Out of love.  Not everyone can adjust to a life of scientific accuracy in a day, even grown, college-educated adults.  ;)

So, what was wrong with me?  GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY, right?

Two issues:
1.  Internal anal fissures.
2.  An external abscess in my upper butt crack.  I'm not sure what the scientific term is for upper butt crack, but if I knew I'd use it.

I had a regularly scheduled appointment with my OB/GYN already for Thursday afternoon, so I thought I'd just muscle out my pain (which wasn't really "severe" until Wednesday) until then.  I didn't KNOW those were my issues, though, or I certainly would have gone in sooner.  I believe in doctors and modern medicine!!

(2nd side note:  You've heard my modern medicine speech, right?  It seems to be a big trend these days to be "anti modern medicine."  The general gist seems to be this:  "The old ways are always better, the more we learn the more we try to play God, anything not found in nature is bad for your body, etc."  This argument seems to come strongly from two camps:  extreeeeeem conservative Christians, and the extremely "crunchy/hippy/granola" types (which sometimes/often overlap).   Correction:  that is where *I* have heard it coming from most loudly, in the form of my personal life experience and media exposure.  

I don't disagree with part of their argument.  I think there is a LOT of good and truth to be found in "some" older medicine practices, uses of herbs, oils, etc.  I reject very much the idea that modern medicine is bad, run only by money, out to get you addicted to meds, etc.  There are some very awful, totally un-scientific things that were done in the past, as medicine, that I am SO glad we don't do anymore!  We know BETTER now!  Yay for science!  Yay for research, progress, and learning!  Also, I think there are a lot of very great things that older health practices still continue to teach us--no need to throw the baby entirely out with the bath water, right?  But that takes time.  Time to look at both, research, and evaluate.  Most people just want to be in one camp or the other, and surround themselves with like thinkers.  Why can't we do both??  :(  Why can't we learn fro the past and grow into the future??  We can, obviously, but that can sometimes be an isolating and lonely place to be.  Moderation is rarely celebrated, right?  Middle-ground is seen as being wishy-washy and not really picking a side.  Sigh.  

The reason I have my two children is due to modern medicine.  When everything was done naturally I had two children that died.  When modern medicine got involved, I had two children who lived.  There is no natural herb out there that could have diagnosed my very rare blood clotting disorders and held them in check, in very precise and delicate ways, during my two full-term pregnancies.  I am SO THANKFUL for modern medicine.  

At the same time, I do think that modern medicine is often mistaken for true health care.  Most people go to doctors when they have a problem, NOT regularly, in order to truly take care of their bodies.  Therefore, doctors specialize in problems--and boy do they do it well!  I'm so thankful for their expertise!  However, I think there is for SURE a place at the table for nutritionists, holistic medicine practitioners, chiropractors, essential oils use, etc, etc.  

I choose BOTH.  :)  Both are good, both have things they are good for and NOT good for.  You just have to be smart, and spend a little bit of time being informed.  The end.)

Back to my story.  My OB/GYN calmed my fears that I had hemorrhoids.  I did not, thank God.  Having watched Jonas deal with that nightmare for years and years, before he got his life-changing surgery (again, thank you modern medicine...), I was rather petrified that I had somehow been "blessed," by marriage, with the poor curse of the Schaefer men.  :(  This makes absolutely no sense, of course, but I was 4 days in pain at this point, and seeing no end in sight.  My OB/GYN, rather, diagnosed anal fissures.  He wasn't 100% certain, being an OB, not a colo-rectal surgeon, but he said he was 90% certain without the use of a scope.  For that, there was really nothing for me to do but rest and take lots of hot baths.  He said they normally resolve themselves on their own, without any need of medical intervention, and gave me some good thoughts on how they can maybe be prevented in the future.  Very helpful.  I was still in pain, but at least I had a bit of hope.

He then noted the abscess.  At this point, his training may have failed him a little (well, he likely did the best he could, he is just not a colo-rectal surgeon, trained to see these things all the time/diagnose them), because he said it looked like a blocked sweat gland, or an enlarged pimple.  At that point, the abscess was painful but not killer, so I told him I could handle that pain--I was frankly more concerned about an internal tear that just had to heal on its own!  They said that after a week of rest and baths, if things weren't better, I should maybe go in and be seen again.  Okay.  So, I had some direction at this point.  That is helpful for sure.

I went home, barely able to drive through my tears of pain, and basically collapsed into a ball on my bed.  I pretty much didn't move for 3 days.  The pain was excruciating.  My hips began to become sore from the number of hours I was laying on my sides each day--my stomach and back were too painful.  Jonas stayed home from work on Friday to take care of the kids, so I could be still.  I took 5 baths a day, at minimum, every day.

As time went on I began to feel that my internal pain really was becoming less and less, but sometimes this was hard to notice because the external pain was so awful!  That was clearly getting worse and worse.  After an awful night on Friday night, where I likely woke up 10 times from pain, I decided that I might need Jonas to take me to the ER on Saturday.  However, Saturday I started feeling okay.  If I was reeeeeeeeeeally still, things seemed to settle down.  I could breathe slightly normal again.  So, I decided to tough it out...maybe I would really turn around by Sunday!

Alas, Saturday night was not so kind to me.  I realized my healing was mostly internal, which was great, but not to be outmatched by the increasing external pain.  It was completely and utterly taking over my life.  I could do NOTHING all day long.  Someone else had to take care of my kids all day.  This was not going to work for any sort of life, so I told Jonas we needed to go to the ER early on Sunday morning.

My mom, bless her, came over to watch our kids rather than going to church, and we headed out to the ER...me with the seat fully reclined, balanced on my side, wincing at each and every bump/turn in the road.

(3rd side note:  One thing I love about where we live is our close proximity to so many great hospitals.  There are specialists for every disease/problem under the sun, and if that's not enough for you, you could make the "long" 1.5 hour drive south to Rochester, MN, where the Mayo clinic is located (and where my lovely sister-in-law Andrea is training to become a nurse anesthetist)--world leaders and amazingly rich people from all over the world fly to MN for their medical care.  What I also love is how MN takes care of the non-rich among us.  We really do have pretty darn good health care and education in this state, but I am especially thankful to MN for helping us out when Jonas was unemployed and I was pregnant, high-risk, with Finn.  My $1,500 a month shots and our hospital bill were totally covered, after we applied for help, because mothers and babies are such high priority here.  I know the same is true for maternal and fetal health nation wide, too, but I will always be grateful to the State of MN for taking care of my family, me, and the health of my little boy when we really needed it most.  They didn't restrict where I could be seen, ever, or who my Dr. could be, and I got the BEST medical care I could have hoped for.  They allowed me to drive 18 miles to St. Louis Park, MN, because that is where I wanted to be cared for in a specialty clinic.  One result of that generosity was my healthy pregnancy and safe delivery of Finn.  Color me grateful.  Bravo, MNCare.  Bravo.  The end.)

When we were caretakers at the apartment building I knew that I could have a croupy child at an ER in literally 5 minutes.  FIVE.  When a child is struggling to breathe, that is so huge to the relief of a mother's heart.  At that living situation we were near 4 hospitals...none more than a mile from where we lived!  However, they are all also located in downtown St. Paul.  When we take a child there at 3:00 a.m., especially when I would take them to a children's specialty hospital, the lines were usually not long.  But I knew that any hospital located in the downtown area usually has longer ER waits for adults, paying for parking, etc., so this time we headed out to a hospital we had never been to:  St. John's in Maplewood.  Now, we actually live very close to Maplewood...just blocks away, really.  I had completely forgotten that this hospital was there because very little in my life is located in Maplewood, other than Costco (thank you, Holly!).  :)  The other week Jonas and I made note of it as we were driving to a restaurant because it really seems to be the closest one to our house, so that is where we headed Sunday morning.   Also, I have a friend who works in the ER in Regions Hospital in downtown St. Paul, and I just didn't want to present her with my anus on a lovely Fall Sunday morning.  ;)

St. John's Hospital was such a pleasant surprise.  Everything and everyone there was beyond nice, helpful, thoughtful, and good at their jobs.  I LOVE that.  However, I have this thing about hospitals...I end up crying a good portion of the time I'm there, usually.  It's lame.  Don't get me wrong...I have no fear of hospitals.  In fact, they are very reassuring and comforting to me.  It's just that normally when I'm there I'm either giving birth, and all hormonal before and after, or I'm getting a D&C and beyond hormonal and sad.  So, yeah.  Hospitals tend to make me cry.  This time was no exception.  At the reception desk, when the nice lady asked what was wrong, I just broke down into tears.  6 days of pain wore me down, man.  I was DONE.  I had some hope that they could just lance the sucker and send me home a new woman, but I was also fearful that they would say I needed to see a specialist, take hours for the appointment, maybe send me home to come back the next day, etc.  I could NOT wait any longer for help.  Clearly I had waiter too long to go in.

(4th side note:  Yes.  I know.  I am making this story, which could be very quick, into a long, drawn-out  saga.  I have no idea why.  I just feel like writing today.  Normally I stay AWAY from this type of writing on my blog, as it is not why it was created, but I'm just going with it for today.  Eh.)

The triage nurse was very sweet and thoughtful.

The first doctor who saw me did a great job of getting lots of notes and patient history, was very reassuring to me, etc.  He was VERY concerned that I cried the whole time.  I think he thought it meant that I was in absolute, extreme pain.  Everything was very painful, but maybe not as bad as I looked from the outside.  He kept wanting to give me some sort of pain meds.  Especially morphine.  :)  Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am rarely, if ever, one to say no to pain meds.  Do you have pain?  Is there a medication that can stop it?  Great!  That is my general philosophy for things like menstrual cramps, which can't be avoided for those of us so unfortunate to get them.  However, this was a totally different situation for me.  I didn't want them to give me anything to make me feel better until I knew what their action plan was.  I didn't want morphine, feel good for a few hours, and then be sent home to suffer again while I waited for an appointment tomorrow, you know?  No sir.  No pain meds until they told me the PLAN.

After looking at me he said I had an abscess and that it would likely need to be lanced.  However, not being in that specialty, he wasn't sure if it was safe for him to do quickly in the ER, or if I needed a specialist to do it in an OR.  So, he called the colon-rectal surgeon to get her opinion...and she JUST so happened to be on her way to the hospital to round as they were talking.  Thank you Jesus.  She also agreed to stop and see me before doing her rounds.  Again, thank you Jesus.

Dr. Jensen was, also, very sweet...and she didn't mind listening to my story through constant tears.  I wasn't sounding like I was crying in my voice, but those tears just kept rolling down my cheeks all day.  :(  After taking a look she agreed that it was something she could take care of right there, quickly, in 10 minutes or less.  And she agreed that it looked bad.  And painful.  Bless her for validating my ER visit.

The procedure itself was very simple:  She shot me up with some lidocaine (a common local anesthetic that hurts like the MOTHER when entering your body) and then two cuts to open up the abscess (removing some skin to keep it open), pressure to fully drain it, and done.

 But let's go back to that lidocaine shot for a moment.  Holy CRAP.  You know, when I was 9 I had a mole removed from my back that was suspected of being cancerous.  It was huge and deep.  Before they could remove it they gave me 7 shots of lidocaine.  I was immediately brought back there with this ONE shot...it feels like someone stuck a burning hot needle under your skin, and then is threading it through your skin, muscle, and tissue in a horrible, burning pattern.  It is awful.  Those 7 shots in my back were bad, but this one in my butt/rear-end/ass (not sure if "anus" applies here because it wasn't near my actual anus...) had me almost hear hyperventilating.  I squeezed the heck out of J's hand and barely held myself together.  Yeah, not my proudest moment.

Another thing I am beginning to realize about myself is that I must have an incredibly low pain tolerance.  Seriously.  Layla's 36 hour childbirth about killed me.  The only thing that saved me was my epidural.  (again:  God BLESS modern medicine.  Clearly I would have died young in pioneer times).

After that it was smooth sailing.  Dr. Jensen said there was a lot of pus in the abscess, and she said it clearly would have been painful and needed to be professionally taken care of.  When I asked her WHY I got it, she just shrugged and said "really bad luck.  It happens sometimes."  There was nothing I could have done to prevent it, and nothing I can do to prevent them in the future.  So, I guess I'm glad I didn't do something wrong, but not so thrilled (now that I've experienced one) that they can happen again at any time, for no good reason.  Stupid fallen world.  :(

Dr. Jensen also mentioned, before the surgery, that the abscess would take up to 2 weeks, maybe more, to heal.  It would continue to slowly drain during that time, possibly.  (*silent throw-up from Lisa*) Also, there is a 1/3 chance that I can develop a fistula because of the abscess.  A FISTULA!!!!  The only kind of fistula I knew about was the kind women in 3rd world countries develop when they endure traumatic childbirths in poor medical conditions with no good medical follow-up and care.  Those sound horrific.  I guess fistula is also a generic medical term that basically means "when two things become connected," or something like that.  (I'm writing this from my memory of her talk to me, not from Google...)  Sooooo, there is a chance that this abscess and my rectum could somehow become connected again, through the decision of my body, and if that happened I would need to have legit surgery.  Gah.  So, fingers crossed that I am NOT in that 1/3 camp in future days.  :(

Dr. #1 came back in as I was preparing to leave and, again, really wanted me to take a prescription for some Oxycodone with me.  :)  Bless him.  I agreed, even though I didn't think I'd really need it.  Now that the reason for the pain was gone, how bad could the pain be??

Well, there was actually still some pain.  So I was glad for the prescription the first night of real healing.  BUT I think I only took 2 of the 20 pills he gave me.  Haha!  JACKPOT!  I am so saving those up.  Love it.

Walking out of the hospital was pretty funny.  EVERYONE stopped what they were doing to wish me well and say goodbye to me:  nurses, janitors, security people, front desk people.  Evidently my tears really made a mark.  ;)  Drama Queen, right?  Sheesh.  :)



So, that's been the last week of my life.  Sigh.

I'm sorry to say I have no cute pictures, videos, or stories of the kids to post...because I've barely seen them for a week.  Jonas has been a Saint in helping out so much, and my family has pitched in some too.  It takes a good village, people!  Grateful for my village all the time.

Seriously, though.  I feel like the kids look SO much bigger today.  They seem older, smarter, funnier, cuter. I am a little sad I missed the last week of life!  The last week of Fall!  It was so pretty here the entire time I was flat in bed, and now that I'm getting better it's drab and rainy.

BUT.  I am getting better.  And I am so grateful.  :)  Phew.  Let me say again:  I do not handle pain well.

End of my saga on my anus, rectum, and everything else involved in that region.

El Fin.

Mama's got a brand new toy!

As I have said before, I'm a little obsessed with strollers.  :)  I'm always looking for the new one, the "perfect" one, the lightest one, etc.  I constantly stop strangers to discuss their strollers with them.  

Exercising these days is very tricky with my kids--either I do it WITH them, during the day, or I do it when Jonas gets home and I'm pretty darn tired, or I spend 2 hours during the day trying to do a 30 minute workout.  I've just decided that option #1 is my best route to go, in general, so the kids and I try to go for long walks around our lake quite frequently.  However, this lake has some HILLS...and there are certain things about my stroller that weren't helpful, despite how light it is (the wheels can't handle a big crack, that's for sure...but it's great for malls, etc).  So, I decided to save for a BOB Revolution Duallie.  I am not a fan of the side-by-side strollers, really.  It's the one downside of most double strollers, and the thing I loved best about our old double stroller was how it was NOT side by side, but that old one was FAR too heavy for these lake hills.  So, this was next on my radar (and don't even ask me about the more expensive ones...I am pretending I don't know about them...).

We obviously don't have the money for this stroller sitting around, so I decided to start selling things that I'm not using, things I have duplicates of, our old stroller, etc.  In a few short weeks I had enough money for this stroller (and sorry if all my selling cluttered up your FB news feed!  I have no idea why that happens...).  SHAZAM!  I can't wait to try it out!  :)  I'm guessing that's not going to happen until Labor Day, though.  Mama also can't stand this awful heat...  It was great to have this sort of be a "financially neutral" purchase.  I didn't save money out of my slightly tight budget for it, I got rid of excess stuff...AND in the process got a great stroller.  Love that.  I actually hate selling things, but this gave me a taste of what can happen!  :)  However, I think all of my "big money" items are gone now, so all of my selling is likely to be in increments of $5 and $10 from now on...slow progress.  What am I saving for now, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you:  1/4 of a grass-fed and grass-finished cow.  Wheeeee!  It'll be a while, I'm sure, but I'm pretty excited about that option in my future.  

This is the "Stroller Strides" version of the Revolution Duallie.  I had no idea what that meant, really, other than it was cheaper to get this red one that came with the handle console than to buy the stroller and the console separately.  Evidently "Stroller Strides" is a class that is held in many local areas, sort of like Moms on the Run.  You can sign up and pay to be a part of these classes where everyone is pushing their kids at the same time.  Um...no thank you.  Just me and my kids is enough.  :)  BUT, the best part of this story is yet to come:  so I guess this stroller is sort of like free advertising for this exercising group.  The stroller should come with an exercise manual and exercise bands as well, for you to use if you end up being part of the classes (which you sign up for separately).  Mine did not, so I wrote to amazon requesting that they send me the bands and the exercise manual (always one to get my money's worth, that's me...).  They wrote back saying they can't, but they gave me the option of getting a 20% refund on the stroller, or sending the whole thing back and getting a new one.  HOOOOOOOOLD up.  Yes.  That's right.  A 20% discount on a stroller like this is over $100.  Bada-bing!  SOLD.  So, soon I'll have some refunded money so I can purchase the snack tray consoles for the kids that also double as infant car seat attachments, if needed.  SO sweet.  I am pleased.  :)

Love those sun shades!

My first thought when saving for one was to get one on Craigslist.  9/10 of our life has been purchased on CL, I'm sure.  We love it for big purchases.  However, it is insane what people want for these strollers...USED!  There was one woman who was selling a nice looking one, but it was 4 years old, and she was still asking $400!  PEOPLE!  It's USED!  I saved for a few more days and got a new one.  I guess the good news for me is, should I ever want to sell it 10 years from now, I can ask $700 for it??  Just kidding.  ;)

That's it.  So lame to write so much about a stroller, I know, but this is it:  this is my stupid obsession.  

And it's my blog.  :)

The end.

What. A. DAY.

Today, the Schaefer Family Day-O-Fun was a smashing success.  

I am exhausted.  :)

The day started out by heading down to Northfield, MN, around 9:45 a.m.  We walked up and down main street, went to the little farmer's market/art fair, read some books at the library, watched some funny street dances, pet a bunny on the sidewalk, ate at Hoagan Brother's, walked along the river and fed ducks, and watched the waterfall.  

Here are our video diaries of Northfield:

Then we headed back north to swim at Lake Elmo.  We hadn't been there all summer yet, so we thought...nothing like the present, right?  :)  I took the pictures below while Jonas took Layla to the restroom to change.  I only have one picture of her, from after we were swimming, because these kids are crazy fearless in the water, and they seriously require two adults fully present...or things could happen!  Layla is, again, still, amazingly skilled in the water...if I can say so, as her mother.  ;)  She now goes fully under water (not holding her nose or anything), kicks her feet, uses her arms to swim, and goes distance...real distance under the water!  I'm not sure why I'm so amazed by this in a 3-year-old, but I am.  Maybe most kids are like this and I just live in a little bubble of motherly pride.  ;)

JUST as we got there everyone had to come out of the water for a safety break.  

TORTURE.

Off on an adventure!

You know....just chillaxin'.  

His favorite game was to run far away from me, then run back and tell me he missed me.  

Leaving Mama.  

Waiting 2 seconds.  

RETURNING!!

Mama!

I missed you!  

Grab the hat, off again.  

Finally in the water.  

Exhausted, cold Layla sitting on my lap after a full hour of swimming.  

After our Lake Elmo swim we played on the playground / pirate ship for a while, drove through Burger King for the kids, and then headed off to Irish Fest 2013 on Harriet Island (right across the river from downtown St. Paul).  It was PACKED this year!  Absolutely packed!  Each and every year it grows and grows, for sure.  Here is our video diary of this time:

The Irish Dancing is my favorite part, by FAR, of the entire festival...but we heard some girls called "The Wailing Orphans" on the big stage singing "500 Miles"...and that was pretty cool too.  ;)  Nothing says mixed tape from Renee in Kosovo like Mr. Big and The Proclaimers!

You guys, I swear I am not pregnant, nor having a PMS moment or anything, but I cried so much during the Irish Dancing.  I felt like a DORK, because no one else is crying.  Obviously.  I have no idea what was wrong with me this year!!!  I think it's just something about people doing things really well, in unison.  Love that stuff.  Plus, these were just cute kids, and you could sometimes spot their parents...so proud.  Tear.  ;)  

We headed home and the kids CRASHED in bed by 7:15 p.m.  I'm about to follow them.  Great, great summer day over here!  Goodnight, all.  :)

"Sausage"

See the zucchini, summer squash (yellow), leeks and chives in this picture below?

Well, THIS girl (*two thumbs pointing at me*) just got Finn to eat a TON of "zucchini/summer squash" fritters.  How?  He decided they were sausage.  :)

Parenting WIN!  Especially today, on a "food revolt" day for the children.  Their lunch is still sitting on the table, ready to become dinner...  Now, yes, I know, technically I had nothing to do with this "win" other than making the fritters for myself and Jonas, but the fact that he ate them...and that they were all organic ingredients to boot...I'm claiming that as a win-win.

I guess hunger / tricks of the brain did wonderful things for Finn.  :)   Mental note to keep more "sausage" laying around for when he is really hungry next time...

My Garden:

So, I garden.

I am a gardener.  

Or, maybe I should say, a few gardens exist on my property this year.  And I sometimes glean from them.  :)

It was touch-and-go as to if I was even going to do it, but my lovely friend Becky held my hand through the planting process (read:  did it for me), and my other friends Tim and Karen gave me the courage and some advice to actually think I might be able to do it, and here we are.  

The ONLY thing *I* did was to spread epsom salt all over before planting, and mix it into the soil well.  I have decided to try out one crazy gardening idea each year, and that was the crazy idea for this year.  :)  I guess lots of soil is magnesium deficient, but I didn't get my soil tested this year...I just assumed it was, crossed my fingers, and tossed it out there.  :)  (I'm getting my soil tested next year--it's only $15 at the UofM and worth it, I'm sure, in the long run...).  Sweeeeeeeet crazy success for the non-gardener who doesn't even care enough to research much about it! :)

I have two gardens.  And we're EATING from them!  It's just so crazy!! 

Here is a harvest of basil.  I cut of the top of every one of my plants.  I'm going to make pesto.  EXCITED.

Layla helping me pick the leaves off the stems.  

She was a big help.  Finn was NO help.  

Washed and drying.  

Hannah's flowers.  

Another pot of Hannah's flowers.  

My basil and tomato garden.  5 tomato plants, TONS of basil plants.  

You can see I just cut the tops off.  

Frankly, seeing things growing in my yard is still sort of a shock to me.  

Why is it a shock, you ask?  

Well, I've never exactly been known for having a green thumb.  I've only ever been able to keep two plants alive.  In my LIFE.  So, my friend planted the garden for me, and I've watered it about 3 times so far this year (rainy spring = bonus for me), and weeded maybe twice.  Nothing should really survive that kind of treatment...but it all HAS!  :)

FIRST fruits of cucumbers.  

Cauliflower.  For those who, you know, have never seen one.  ;)

Green peppers.  

A long shot of my back garden.  I smushed it all together back there, but I have:  green peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, melons, squash, beans, peas, and something else...I forget.  

Opposite view.   

My total first fruits:  I've had basil forever now, but these are my first tomatoes, green pepper, and cucumber.  

Lamer than my other lame post:

Guys, I will feel SO stupid if this is true...but I think I have identified the cause of my illness that lasted over a WEEK!  A week of me feeling totally lethargic, bad sore throat, but nothing other than that.

On Friday of this past week I started sniffling.  And sneezing.  So I took a Claratin...and what do you know???  I stopped feeling sick!!!

ALLERGIES?????  Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!  An entire week wasted to allergies, when all I needed to do was take an allergy pill??  I'm BEYOND annoyed with myself.

But, to give myself a little bit of a break, it didn't present like it normally does for me!  If I had runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, watery eyes, etc...any of that?  Then I would have known!  But I've never been totally sapped of energy before, and I rarely have a sore throat...ever...from allergies!  In fact, I would say my seasonal allergies, which used to be VERY bad when I was younger, have almost completely gone away as I've grown up.  I maybe only deal with them 2 weeks a year now, and usually at the normal times:  spring and fall.

This was not the normal time!!! :(

Sigh.

SO much wasted time.  So much.  Grrrrrrr.

There are no words. ;)

Well, actually, there are LOTS of words.  And not all of them are appropriate.  But that's okay, right?  Sometimes the bad words are PERFECT for a situation.  ;)  At least, that's my belief, and I'm sticking with it.

So, here's the run down on the past few days for us:

Friday night:
8:30 = Power goes out.  The white noise machines turn off, but the kids don't really "need" them to sleep anymore--they are just a luxury to prevent any noise we want to make in the house from waking them up.  The kids didn't make a peep and slept just fine, but I wanted the white noise back!  I prefer to sleep that way for sure.  :(

Saturday morning:

12:30 = I finally fell asleep, after tossing and turning for several hours (worrying about all the food in my fridges and freezers...one of the downsides to buying in bulk, I guess..., worrying about not hearing the kids over the monitors if they did start to cry, wanting the soothing white noise back, etc...).

1:30 = we wake up to the power going back on, and Layla starting to cry/cough in a telltale croup way.

1:35 = I head to the hospital with Layla.  I miss our old neighborhood for being only 5 minutes away from 4 hospitals!

1:50 = Check in at hospital, get drugs, etc.  By the time we got there her breathing was actually much better, it's just when they did anything to her she started coughing again, etc.  So she got the oral drug without the adrenaline mask.  I love how quick the adrenaline mask works--10 minutes flat and she's totally better, you'd never know she was sick.  The oral drug only takes 6 hours to fully work.  :(  But, she was doing just fine by the time we left the hospital.

3:40 = Get home, put Layla back in bed, she falls asleep quickly.

4:00-ish =  I head back to bed.

7:30 = I wake up to a crazy loud BOOM outside, and the power instantly goes off again.  Bad feeling that this is not a good sign for us.

I don't really remember the rest of the morning, really, other than it being hot and a little stressful.  Maybe we were outside?  The electronic message at our power company said it would take 3 hours for our power to come back on.  My fingers were crossed my food could survive that.

12:30 = still no power.  Jonas calls again and gives me the bad news:  It's not going to be back on until Wednesday, June 26th!!!!!  Double whammy:  Jonas was leaving in 5 hours for Amsterdam for a week.  Triple whammy:  Layla, Finn and I were all sick.

I immediately went into my "zone" and crazy fast packed up all the food I really cared about from the fridges/freezers into the car, then packed up some stuff for the night for the kids and myself--we would end up at a hotel maybe?  I wasn't sure because I didn't feel like I could impose on any of my friends with two sick kids!--Jonas threw his stuff in a suitcase, and we headed out to the Horsmans.  Thankfully Renee hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while, so I was able to fit almost EVERYTHING I cared about in her fridge and freezer!  It was awesome.  She was headed to church to help with a wedding, so she took just a few bags of frozen veggies to store at the church freezer, and we were saved!  That worked out really well.

4:30 = The kids and I drop Jonas off at the airport then head home to the Horsmans.  We decided to stay there for the night, then head up to Duluth the next morning.  Friends of ours up there have a house on a lake with plenty of room, AC, a change of scenery for the kids, etc.  I thought it sounded like a good idea...then... ;)

7:30 = I realize it's 7:30, and Layla is DYING she is so tired, since she lost a lot of sleep the night before at the hospital and never made it up.  Renee and Jon gave us their room, so I took her up there and put her on the floor.  She fell asleep almost immediately, but it was a bit warm in there, so she didn't sleep very deeply, I think.  Very "restless," etc.

8:00 = I take Finn up to the room.  He SCREAMS bloody murder.  This from the kid who goes down beautifully almost every night!  I realize the critical mistake I made by putting the easiest kid to bed first, but really...she was so tired!

8:15 = I take Finn back downstairs, thinking I'll just let him "crash" while watching TV tonight.  After all, it is a strange place, not his normal routine, etc.

10:45 p.m. = Finn finally crashes.  I wanted to kill something, or someone, by this time!  I was SO tired!  4 hours total of sleep the night before, and I was sick on top of it!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, Finn!!!!  :(  I take him upstairs, and we crash in bed together.

Sunday:

3:00 a.m. = Finn wakes up screaming.  I try to hold him.  Nothing.  I try to rock and "shush" him.  Nothing.  I try to bounce him, or wake him up.  Nothing.  He is TIRED and MAD and coughing up a lung.  I know this cough.  It's the cough that comes before the croup cough.  Now I'm worried I'll be going to the hospital two nights in a row, or the following night...when we're in Duluth, with no one to watch Layla while I take him in at 2:00 a.m....to a hospital that I don't know, is 30 min away, and out of network.  Yes, my brain DID go there that fast.  ;)

3:30 a.m. = Layla is awake by now, of course, and still very tired.  I try to keep them all quiet in the room since the rest of the house is totally full of people trying to sleep!  Renee woke up with all of Finn's crying, and bless her heart she tried to help.  My kids were not in a "helping" mood.

4:45 a.m. = I lose it in sleep deprivation and annoyance and grab the kids, in PJs and with no shoes, pull them down the stairs and out the door, pack them into the car, and drive home.  I had slight hopes that the power would be on again.  NO.  No power.  So we sat in our driveway at 5:00 a.m. watching a DVD in the car--because at least they can cry there without waking anyone up, right?  When I thought it was light enough to see without having any lights on in the house we went it.  Layla was a zombie and just SAT on the chair in our living room, doing nothing.  Finn was crying and crying about anything and everything.  I thought maybe, just maybe, I could get Layla back to sleep on my bed, so I took her upstairs (locking Finn downstairs with the baby gates so he couldn't follow and run it all!), plopped her down on my bed, and I SWEAR within 3 minutes she was out cold.  It was 6:00 when she fell asleep.

6:00 = Encouraged by Layla falling back to sleep, and with the sweet dream of getting more than 8 total hours of sleep in 48 hours, I brought Finn into his room, shut the curtains, and rocked him.  He was crying and crying, "Mama!  Mama!" in a sad, whiny voice, until finally he just conked.  It was 6:30 when he fell asleep.  I had his window shut because it started to storm again and I didn't want the noise and thunder to wake him.

6:30 = I crawl into my bed, oooooooooh so slowly, next to Layla, and put my head on the pillow.  My house is TOTALLY silent at this point...a very odd thing for me when sleeping.

8:20 = I wake up.  Shocked.  I got almost 2 hours of sleep!!! I feel like there is hope for the world again.  I do not currently feel like harming my children.  This is a good first step.

8:30 = Layla wakes up, all cheery and happy, smiles and giggles.  Thank you JESUS.

We go downstairs to play for a while.  I empty out everything in my fridge so it doesn't smell when I return from Duluth.  3 garbage bags late I have come to two conclusions:
1.  We own an amazing amount of condiments, which are going to suck to replace.
2.  I save and freeze things that I never remember about late.  Must stop doing this.

We continued to clean up, pack for Duluth, and all the while I'm listening for Finn upstairs (I'm not used to doing this because we have monitors on the first floor...)

10:00 = Finn finally wakes up.  I am SHOCKED and so happy that he recovered some of that lost sleep!  I'm also a little bitter that "I" did not get to sleep for 3.5 more hours, but whatever, I got over it relatively soon and just got to packing.

While my kids were much happier now, they were still both incredibly emotional.  SO EMOTIONAL!!!  I can't write that in all caps enough!!  It took me 2 more full hours to pack because I literally had to stop every 3 minutes to hold a crying child.  Renee, I used the word literally intentionally there.  :)

11: 45 = We head over to a friend's house to borrow a double stroller for Duluth.  I own two very nice double strollers, BOTH of which were in my garage.  Stuck.  Because you can only open the door with electricity.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  I normally always keep one in my van, so I was kicking myself for taking the easy way out last walk and just shoving it in the garage.  :(
*  The Plus Side = I got to borrow Maren's Phil and Ted stroller, and very FANCY stroller which I shall never be able to afford.  ;)

12:00 = Back to Renee and Jon's house, all of us still in our PJs, to grab everything we had left there at 5:00 a.m. and head up to Duluth.

1:00 = Stop in some random town for lunch at McDonalds.  Feel bad that I take my kids to McDonalds.  ;) Get annoyed with the McDonalds teller that the 20 piece McNuggets from the value menu are as expensive as a 6 piece McNuggets from the regular menu, so I order the 20 piece, feed the kids 6, and then throw the rest away...just to show THEM.  ;)  Yes, I was sleep deprived.  But it felt good.

2:30 = Almost fall asleep at the wheel.  Evidently those extra 2 hours of sleep weren't enough.  Scared shitless.  Much more alert for the rest of the drive.

3:30 = Arrive at the home of Jim and Barb Swanstrom, Lauren Mitchell's parents.  They live on a beautiful lake 30 minutes outside of Duluth and graciously agreed to let us stay there.

The kids snapped out of their funk and have been perfect angels ever since we arrived here!!

They were happy and polite all afternoon.  They went to bed at a normal time.  They did not wake up ONE SINGLE TIME all night!  They slept until 8:30 a.m., almost a record for my kids!  And, no one had to go to the hospital, so they both get bonus points for that.

All in all, a crazy, cray 24 hours in the life of this middle-class-white-girl-mother-of-two.  ;)

Up next...videos from our first day here.

New lame post:

1.  I am still "sick."  Blah.  That's enough about that.

2.  Layla had a horrible night last night.  I almost got to the point of taking her in, thinking her appendix had burst or something, but as she would calm down for periods of time I thought that unlikely.  However, we slept in the guest room bed together for at least half the night, and this did give me the opportunity to learn that the new guest room bed mattress is a wonderful upgrade from the one we had before.  Come one, come all, for a (maybe) restful night of sleep at our house.

3.  I have few things I am obsessed with, but one of them is strollers.  I am OBSESSED with them!  I am constantly stopping people on the street and asking what they have, how they like it, etc.  I keep a running wish list of strollers on Amazon, the most expensive of which is $700.  Stupid, I know--SO stupid, but true.  I am obsessed with strollers.  I want them all, it seems.  If we have a baby #3 (and no, I am not pregnant, this illness is really an illness...), then I might use it as an excuse to get another stroller.  Maybe.  Ha!  :)  AND a video monitor.  I can't believe we don't have one already.  ;)

The End.

Lisa

Sick?

I feel "sick."

I'm weak, super lethargic, and have a sore throat.  That's it.

It's the lamest sickness ever.

Just sick enough to sap all energy to do anything, but not sick enough to rid me of all of the GUILT I feel for not doing anything all day today, and most of yesterday.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm trying to remember when I was sick last...maybe I should go back through the blog.  I'm sure I mentioned it, right?  Because why not?  It makes for amazing reading material.  ;)

L

Sigh...

I'm getting sick.

I can FEEL it coming on.

It started yesterday afternoon, and continued through the night...yep, I'm getting sick.

I usually get sick once each Winter, which has already happened...but I guess since this is the first day of Spring I get to be part of a fun Universe practical joke.  ;)

Oh, the joys of watching kids while being sick...and poor little Finn is getting sick too.

Fine.  Bring it.  I'm ready to curl into my little ball and wait for it to pass.  ;)