On the way to church this morning I overheard this conversation in the back of the minivan:
(A little background: yesterday afternoon Lance was playing soccer with the boys and half the neighborhood kids. He would kick the ball really hard up the hill and all the kids would try to catch it and kick it. During this a good sized flock of very large cranes flew overhead. Josh swears there were pelicans in the flock, too. I highly doubt that, but hey, you never know.)
Spencer: Hey, what if Daddy had kicked the ball so hard that it knocked one of the pelicans out of the sky?
Josh (not missing a beat): Pelican for dinner!
****************
Today was Tess's third week in nursery. She still cries when I drop her off, but she stops once I'm gone. Then she sobs and cries and yells when I come to pick her up, as if to say "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME HERE!!!"
All of my other kids did the same thing.
During class I peaked in the window to see how she was doing. She was sitting on her little carpet square, cute as can be in her little red and white knit dress that grandpa and grandma gave. Scowling. At everyone and everything. As if to say "I want no part of this."
She was will dang cute.
****************
On the way home from church I accidentally hit a squirrel. It just ran right in front of the car and there was nothing I could do. Right before I hit it I let out a little "Oh, dang!"
*thump*thump*
Spencer and Josh stopped their chattering in the back.
Josh: What was that?! Why Oh Dang?
Spencer (inexplicably freaking out a little for some reason): What's happening? Where are we going? WHERE ARE WE?!
Me: What the?! Spencer, calm down!! I just hit a squirrel. I couldn't help it - it just ran in front of the car.
I looked at them in the rear view mirror. I was a little worried they would be upset by this.
Spencer looked contemplative. Josh started to smile.
Josh: Stupid squirrel! They're so dumb!
Spencer: Yeah! Stupid!
Cole: Hey! Where's Perry?
I didn't know whether I should be relieved they weren't traumatized or worried about their reaction. Oh - and Cole wins the Non-Sequiter award of the day. As per usual.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Hypo Hormones
I'll get straight to the point.
Wait, no I won't. Let's build up the suspense, shall we? (Unless we're Facebook friends. Then you already know. So forget it, move on. Nothing to see here, people!)
Anyways.
After Tess was born I never felt quite "right". Well, do new moms ever feel quite right? No. No they do not. Because hormones are going crazy and babies want to stay up all night and not eat and all the other kids won't leave you alone. But after Tess I felt different from after the other babies. I chalked it up to her being my fourth and me being old (because I'm ancient, you know) and just dealt with it.
**Side note: I will be 35 in less than a month. Birthdays that end in a 0 or a 5 always seem more exciting, right?! But not this one. Because 35 just doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Should it be? How would I know, I've never been 35 before.**
Time went on, and other things started happening. Things that we won't go into on here because, sheesh, a girl's gotta have a few secrets, right? And it became enough of a problem that I decided to talk to my doctor about it at my annual exam. He checked me out, listened to my complaints, asked some good questions, and then decided to put me on some hormones for a few months to see what would happen.
Things got better. But still not all the way normal. I just didn't feel myself. But again, since things got better I assumed the other things were just lifestyle and age related.
And then, about 8 weeks ago, my hair started falling out. A lot. You know how some people (like me) lose a ton of hair after they have a baby? It was that much hair. And I hadn't had any babies recently. And it was brittle and even more frizzy than normal, no matter what I did. Luckily, I've always had quite a bit of hair, so I don't think anyone else really noticed. But I sure did - especially the nice bald spot that was forming around my part. Oh, and my skin decided it wanted to relive its teenage years, so that was fun, too. I've been feeling really lovely lately.
So I had some blood work done and a week later the nurse called to let me know that I had hypothyroidism. Basically, my thyroid had decided to take a vacation after Tess was born. It just took a while for my symptoms to make themselves set apart from normal after-baby stuff.
Dang those babies. I love 'em, but they've done a real number on my body. Dang those blasted babies!
Sometimes this condition clears up after a while on some medication. Sometimes it becomes a lifelong thing. It's too early to tell. Obviously I'm hoping for the first situation, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I end up in the second.
Of course after I spoke to the nurse I did a little research online. Looking at a list of symptoms made me laugh because I pretty much had every single one. The thing is, these are all symptoms that are easily explained away by other things. (Body aches and pains? I'd been doing the Insanity workouts - who wouldn't hurt? Fatigue? I'm a mother of four young kids!) It's interesting, because the symptoms lists are different depending on what site you look at. I think it can safely be said that having your hormones go missing kinda messes you up all around.
Dang those hormones.
I am now on a low-dose synthetic hormone that will hopefully help get things back to normal. It's supposed to take a good week or two to really start feeling its effects. However, I've only taken it for two days and I'm already feeling some side effects: dizziness, and little disorientation (as in my thoughts are a bit muddled sometimes) ((more than normal)) (((shut up))), and nausea. The nausea is no surprise: that's my body's way of reacting to pretty much any new medication I take. The nausea never lasts more than a few days.
So if you see me wandering around with a disoriented and slightly greenish look on my face, don't worry about it. I'm just working on getting back to normal, even if on my way back I have to take a little detour in Loony Town, which is apparently the seat of Nausea County.
Just smile, lead me back to where I should be going, and tell me my hair looks good.
Wait, no I won't. Let's build up the suspense, shall we? (Unless we're Facebook friends. Then you already know. So forget it, move on. Nothing to see here, people!)
Anyways.
After Tess was born I never felt quite "right". Well, do new moms ever feel quite right? No. No they do not. Because hormones are going crazy and babies want to stay up all night and not eat and all the other kids won't leave you alone. But after Tess I felt different from after the other babies. I chalked it up to her being my fourth and me being old (because I'm ancient, you know) and just dealt with it.
**Side note: I will be 35 in less than a month. Birthdays that end in a 0 or a 5 always seem more exciting, right?! But not this one. Because 35 just doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Should it be? How would I know, I've never been 35 before.**
Time went on, and other things started happening. Things that we won't go into on here because, sheesh, a girl's gotta have a few secrets, right? And it became enough of a problem that I decided to talk to my doctor about it at my annual exam. He checked me out, listened to my complaints, asked some good questions, and then decided to put me on some hormones for a few months to see what would happen.
Things got better. But still not all the way normal. I just didn't feel myself. But again, since things got better I assumed the other things were just lifestyle and age related.
And then, about 8 weeks ago, my hair started falling out. A lot. You know how some people (like me) lose a ton of hair after they have a baby? It was that much hair. And I hadn't had any babies recently. And it was brittle and even more frizzy than normal, no matter what I did. Luckily, I've always had quite a bit of hair, so I don't think anyone else really noticed. But I sure did - especially the nice bald spot that was forming around my part. Oh, and my skin decided it wanted to relive its teenage years, so that was fun, too. I've been feeling really lovely lately.
So I had some blood work done and a week later the nurse called to let me know that I had hypothyroidism. Basically, my thyroid had decided to take a vacation after Tess was born. It just took a while for my symptoms to make themselves set apart from normal after-baby stuff.
Dang those babies. I love 'em, but they've done a real number on my body. Dang those blasted babies!
Sometimes this condition clears up after a while on some medication. Sometimes it becomes a lifelong thing. It's too early to tell. Obviously I'm hoping for the first situation, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I end up in the second.
Of course after I spoke to the nurse I did a little research online. Looking at a list of symptoms made me laugh because I pretty much had every single one. The thing is, these are all symptoms that are easily explained away by other things. (Body aches and pains? I'd been doing the Insanity workouts - who wouldn't hurt? Fatigue? I'm a mother of four young kids!) It's interesting, because the symptoms lists are different depending on what site you look at. I think it can safely be said that having your hormones go missing kinda messes you up all around.
Dang those hormones.
I am now on a low-dose synthetic hormone that will hopefully help get things back to normal. It's supposed to take a good week or two to really start feeling its effects. However, I've only taken it for two days and I'm already feeling some side effects: dizziness, and little disorientation (as in my thoughts are a bit muddled sometimes) ((more than normal)) (((shut up))), and nausea. The nausea is no surprise: that's my body's way of reacting to pretty much any new medication I take. The nausea never lasts more than a few days.
So if you see me wandering around with a disoriented and slightly greenish look on my face, don't worry about it. I'm just working on getting back to normal, even if on my way back I have to take a little detour in Loony Town, which is apparently the seat of Nausea County.
Just smile, lead me back to where I should be going, and tell me my hair looks good.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Rock Star Turkey
Josh had an assignment to decorate his paper turkey so that it was in disguise and wouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving Dinner. I'm not sure how or why, but Josh decided he wanted a rock star turkey, complete with (and he specified this) a blue electric guitar with white lightening bolts and blue star sunglasses. (Thank you, Google Images, for helping this Kindergartener's turkey dreams come true!)
I think the turkey looks AWESOME. And Josh did a great job. The only thing I did was cut out the guitar and sunglasses and put the holes in the paper for the necklace and bandana.
It's fun to finally have a child who is interested in art!
I think the turkey looks AWESOME. And Josh did a great job. The only thing I did was cut out the guitar and sunglasses and put the holes in the paper for the necklace and bandana.
It's fun to finally have a child who is interested in art!
Cub Scout Fireball
For Spencer's Wolf badge... rank... er, whatever, for Cub Scouts, one of his requirements is to learn how to cook outside. Unfortunately, all we have is a propane grill, and Lance and I are awful parents and not willing to take the whole family camping just so Spencer can learn how to cook over an open flame. So we figured that grilling would be good enough. (And Lance is the Cub Committee Chair person in our ward and he thought it was fine, so I'm good with that.)
Anyways.
I was teaching Spencer how to use the grill yesterday. I showed him how to turn open the tank valve and turn on the burners. All safety precautions were made, everything was normal and just how I normally do it. All systems were go.
I told Spencer to hit the ignition button.
SKADOOOOOSH!
A big ol' fireball exploded right in front of Spencer. He wasn't close enough to get hurt, but he was close enough to get just the tiniest bit singed.
He was pretty terrified. (In fact, I couldn't get him to open the grill the rest of the night.) But on the bright side, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about him playing with the grill when he shouldn't.
Anyways.
I was teaching Spencer how to use the grill yesterday. I showed him how to turn open the tank valve and turn on the burners. All safety precautions were made, everything was normal and just how I normally do it. All systems were go.
I told Spencer to hit the ignition button.
SKADOOOOOSH!
A big ol' fireball exploded right in front of Spencer. He wasn't close enough to get hurt, but he was close enough to get just the tiniest bit singed.
He was pretty terrified. (In fact, I couldn't get him to open the grill the rest of the night.) But on the bright side, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about him playing with the grill when he shouldn't.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
BLLLEEEEAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
No, this is not election night anxiety. To be honest, I don't know that I really care who wins at this point. I really don't think that my life will be seriously affected one way or another. That's the political agnostic in me coming out; I just can't help it. Please don't leave comments about wrong I am and how this country will go to hell in a hand basket if Obama/Romney is elected. It doesn't matter at this point.
No really. At this point it Does. Not. Matter. We've all voted and what's done is done.
There.
No, what I'm upset about is Mr. Spencer. My words. They fail me.
That. Child.
Okay, this is not the end of the world. I realize this. But it is a big deal in our family.
Spencer got sent to the principal's office today because he wouldn't stop talking in class, wouldn't stay in his seat, and had so much unfinished/late work.
BAAAAAHHHH! @#$@#^*@(!!!!!!
Seriously, words fail.
So instead, let's look at some cute pictures of Tess. Because little girls in dresses are always cute. And just for fun, I'll throw in a movie of her using her walker. (Yay!) Because little girls using walkers are cute, too.
No really. At this point it Does. Not. Matter. We've all voted and what's done is done.
There.
No, what I'm upset about is Mr. Spencer. My words. They fail me.
That. Child.
Okay, this is not the end of the world. I realize this. But it is a big deal in our family.
Spencer got sent to the principal's office today because he wouldn't stop talking in class, wouldn't stay in his seat, and had so much unfinished/late work.
BAAAAAHHHH! @#$@#^*@(!!!!!!
Seriously, words fail.
So instead, let's look at some cute pictures of Tess. Because little girls in dresses are always cute. And just for fun, I'll throw in a movie of her using her walker. (Yay!) Because little girls using walkers are cute, too.
Monday, November 5, 2012
PTO
If you ever want to feel really inadequate (and who doesn't), I suggest making your very first ever PTO experience a PTO board member meeting.
Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I'm on the PTO board now.
Yes, I was kinda tricked into doing this. How'd you know? At the end of the last school year Spencer's teacher called to talk about Spencer. After a lengthy conversation about how he was doing, she snuck the PTO in at the end. She was really tricky, too. Instead of saying "Would you like to be a PTO board member?" she said "Here are the different PTO events going on next year; which one would you like to be in charge of?"
I mean, how to do you get out of that? She was asking for help a year in advance. I could no longer claim to be Primary President (a handy excuse in the past), Tess was no longer a tiny infant (also a good excuse), I wasn't in Young Women's yet (which already takes a TON of time), and I would now have TWO children attending the school. So I caved in and told her I'd be in charge of the refreshments at the history fair at the end of the year. (Which I am sure you will hear all about in May.)
So apparently part of my duties as History Fair Refreshment lady is to attend a monthly PTO board meeting. I had no clue about this going in, but figured it out pretty quickly once I started getting emails from this year's PTO president (who happens to live two houses down from me.) I couldn't attend last month's meeting, so tonight was my first one. Ever.
Talk about feeling like the odd man out. I walked in and there were about 15 people sitting around a large table. The PTO president, who is the only person I know on the PTO board, was, of course, not there yet. There was one seat left, so I asked if I could take it. Everyone smiled at me, but they were all talking to each other. So I sat. Fiddling with my pen. Feeling very much awkward and middle schoolish.
Ah, middle school. Is there ever a more awkward time in a kid's life? I was awkward-aplenty in middle school, and I was the 8th grade class president, so it's not like I was the most unpopular student there. (Nor do I hold any delusions that I was the most popular. Somewhere in the middle for me!) Oh, and my middle school's name was Grange Middle School. Isn't that just an awful name? I never liked it. It just sounds... grungy or something. I dunno.
Anyways.
The middle school awkwardness continued. No one introduced themselves to me and I didn't feel like I could interrupt their conversations and join in. I figured they had all been on the PTO board before, and this suspicion was confirmed during the course of the meeting.
I felt brave enough to pipe up and give my opinion about a few things, but mostly I just kept to myself. Oh, there were two lovely times when they asked for volunteers for something, and each date there was just no way I could help. (One was on a Wednesday with a big activity for mutual that I really shouldn't miss and the other was during the week Lance will be in Hawaii in January. Ugh.) They didn't pointedly ask me to volunteer, but you could tell they kinda expected it.
I was hoping to redeem myself by volunteering to help put together the goodie bags they give to the teachers each Christmas, but then they started talking about doing it at someone's house so they could have drinks at the same time.
Drinks don't really work so much with me. I know, I could go and just not drink, but I don't really like being around people I don't know that well who are drinking. I already have to do that once a year at Lance's work Christmas party.
Anywho, is there a moral to this story? Not really. Other than I'm bugged that I felt this way at this meeting. I shouldn't have, but I did. Hopefully next month will go a little better.
Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I'm on the PTO board now.
Yes, I was kinda tricked into doing this. How'd you know? At the end of the last school year Spencer's teacher called to talk about Spencer. After a lengthy conversation about how he was doing, she snuck the PTO in at the end. She was really tricky, too. Instead of saying "Would you like to be a PTO board member?" she said "Here are the different PTO events going on next year; which one would you like to be in charge of?"
I mean, how to do you get out of that? She was asking for help a year in advance. I could no longer claim to be Primary President (a handy excuse in the past), Tess was no longer a tiny infant (also a good excuse), I wasn't in Young Women's yet (which already takes a TON of time), and I would now have TWO children attending the school. So I caved in and told her I'd be in charge of the refreshments at the history fair at the end of the year. (Which I am sure you will hear all about in May.)
So apparently part of my duties as History Fair Refreshment lady is to attend a monthly PTO board meeting. I had no clue about this going in, but figured it out pretty quickly once I started getting emails from this year's PTO president (who happens to live two houses down from me.) I couldn't attend last month's meeting, so tonight was my first one. Ever.
Talk about feeling like the odd man out. I walked in and there were about 15 people sitting around a large table. The PTO president, who is the only person I know on the PTO board, was, of course, not there yet. There was one seat left, so I asked if I could take it. Everyone smiled at me, but they were all talking to each other. So I sat. Fiddling with my pen. Feeling very much awkward and middle schoolish.
Ah, middle school. Is there ever a more awkward time in a kid's life? I was awkward-aplenty in middle school, and I was the 8th grade class president, so it's not like I was the most unpopular student there. (Nor do I hold any delusions that I was the most popular. Somewhere in the middle for me!) Oh, and my middle school's name was Grange Middle School. Isn't that just an awful name? I never liked it. It just sounds... grungy or something. I dunno.
Anyways.
The middle school awkwardness continued. No one introduced themselves to me and I didn't feel like I could interrupt their conversations and join in. I figured they had all been on the PTO board before, and this suspicion was confirmed during the course of the meeting.
I felt brave enough to pipe up and give my opinion about a few things, but mostly I just kept to myself. Oh, there were two lovely times when they asked for volunteers for something, and each date there was just no way I could help. (One was on a Wednesday with a big activity for mutual that I really shouldn't miss and the other was during the week Lance will be in Hawaii in January. Ugh.) They didn't pointedly ask me to volunteer, but you could tell they kinda expected it.
I was hoping to redeem myself by volunteering to help put together the goodie bags they give to the teachers each Christmas, but then they started talking about doing it at someone's house so they could have drinks at the same time.
Drinks don't really work so much with me. I know, I could go and just not drink, but I don't really like being around people I don't know that well who are drinking. I already have to do that once a year at Lance's work Christmas party.
Anywho, is there a moral to this story? Not really. Other than I'm bugged that I felt this way at this meeting. I shouldn't have, but I did. Hopefully next month will go a little better.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Random Conversations From Today
Cole: I want juice!
Me: How do you ask nicely?
Cole: Juice.
Me: What? Ask nicely.
Cole: JUICE.
Me: What's the magic word?
Cole: Trick-or-treat!
Me: .... Good enough.
*************************************
Josh (running breathless into the kitchen): MOMMY! Cole is taking the mail out of all the mail boxes!
Actually, this was not a conversation so much as the beginning of a busy 10 minutes where I had to stop my three-year-old from committing a federal crime in taking other people's mail.
Never a dull moment around the Madsen home.
*************************************
Josh: Mommy, do us have any marbles?
Me: Do us?
Josh: Yeah, do us?
Me: Us?
Josh (getting annoyed): Yes. Do us have any marbles? Or small balls?
Me: US?
Josh: Mooommmmyyy! Marbles?!
Me: No. US don't have any marbles.
Josh: What? Uuuss? We!
Me: *facepalm*
Me: How do you ask nicely?
Cole: Juice.
Me: What? Ask nicely.
Cole: JUICE.
Me: What's the magic word?
Cole: Trick-or-treat!
Me: .... Good enough.
*************************************
Josh (running breathless into the kitchen): MOMMY! Cole is taking the mail out of all the mail boxes!
Actually, this was not a conversation so much as the beginning of a busy 10 minutes where I had to stop my three-year-old from committing a federal crime in taking other people's mail.
Never a dull moment around the Madsen home.
*************************************
Josh: Mommy, do us have any marbles?
Me: Do us?
Josh: Yeah, do us?
Me: Us?
Josh (getting annoyed): Yes. Do us have any marbles? Or small balls?
Me: US?
Josh: Mooommmmyyy! Marbles?!
Me: No. US don't have any marbles.
Josh: What? Uuuss? We!
Me: *facepalm*
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