Friday Funny

Get you chemistry hats on.....

Meet my great-neice.

This is Breqlynn Lucille Mezera. 

Not for the squeamish.....or my niece, Sarah.

Here's who's renting space right outside our front door.....

The pictures don't do it justice....it's bigger than a quarter....and has the MASSIVE web that stretches from the roof and gutters down to our front bushes and over to our porch railing.  We had storms and winds one night this week.  I woke up, looked out side and didn't see the web or spider.  By the following morning, everything was back.  John says "she" has a big egg sac full of babies too....but I think he's just trying to freak me out. (And it's working.)  Normally, I'd say the web and spider have to go - cuz the kids run all around and might run through the web, plus everyone that comes to our door sees it....and I'm NOT crazy about spiders.

But then again, these are the insects we deal with in MN.....

And anything that's gonna eat this.....I may have to consider a friend.

Note: All 3 pictures were taken within 15 minutes!  One at the front door, one at the back!  AND if you think that web in the front yard is something...we have a matching one in the back under the porch stretching almost the entire width of the porch....same kind of spider.  Oh, and she DOES have an egg sac.

Now.  Who's coming to visit!

Enough Funnies!

Ok - so instead of a Friday Funny....it's a Friday Cutie.

We went to the state fair yesterday and in the Alphabet Forest/Family Park they had a cute activity where you use a swimming noodle and cut out letters to create a message and then they took your picture.  I can't seem to copy and paste the picture, but here are links to the kids' pictures, if you want to take a peek.


Katie:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphabetforest/6081587160/

Will:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphabetforest/6081587206/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphabetforest/6081587284/

And these are the only pics of the state fair you are getting because who's got two thumbs and left her camera at home??

THIS GIRL!

I'm a great-aunt!

My sister is officialy a grandma today.  In honor of the occassion, I'd been saving this for today.

Eeesh.....what have I done!?

I just signed up for my first duathlon. 

I can't swim well, so I can't do a threesome. (a.k.a. triathlon)

Some friends found this one and suggested it to me.  It called the Athleta Iron Girl.  Sounds cool, right?  It's a 2 mile run, 22 mile bike, 2 mile run race at the end of September.  I've got the running down, no problem there (well, not too much!).  But here's my biking for the summer so far:

We biked as a family about 3.5 miles to Lake Ann.
We biked as a family about 5.5 miles to neighborhood parks.
I biked 2 miles with Katie for a quick spin in the trailer.
I biked 8 miles by myself.
I rode 8 miles on a stationary bike.

Notice anything?  Yeah, that's right - no double digits.  Also - I tried running after my little stretch on the stationary bike and I thought I was going to fall over. :)  Let's just say, I've got some biking in my future if I want to be happy about my finishing time in the race.  I read that they pull you off the course if you don't finish biking in 2 1/2 hours.....so I think I can make it under that.  Also - my nether regions haven't hurt all that much after biking...yet.

So, we'll see what this whole tri/duathlon thing is about.  Stay tuned.

Mid-week Funny

Here's a Wednesday Funny.  Why a Wednesday Funny, you ask? 

Because it's my blog and I can do whatever then hell I want.

Plus....I'm busy, and have no energy for creating a more unique post. :)

Friday Funny

Will's T-ball Team

Will is finishing up his t-ball season, and it was as entertaining as we thought it would be.  The ages of his teammates ranged from 4-6...but were mostly closer to the 4 end.  No matter how far the ball was hit or how beautiful the day was, nothing was more exciting to the kids than the gravel on the field or the snack and juice that came at the end of practice.

At the beginning of T-ball, John offered to help coach because they were really hard up for help.  He figured he'd just be a "helper", but he quickly turned into the only coach...with only 1 other dad helping occasionally. 

Will's team....The Red Dragons.  He's on the far right....and there's Katie hidden behind the fence.

Watching John work with the entire team - doing warm ups, stretching, working on catching, throwing, batting, etc. was such a treat for me.  I guess once you get older, and especially after you've had kids - the things you find attractive in a partner change a little bit, or at least expand to include things you wouldn't have included 10 years ago. 
For example....
John in a nice suit and tie = really attractive.  
John washing dishes = just as attractive.

John playing with Katie and Will in the backyard = very cute. 
John taking time to work with kids on Will's team = heartwarming AND cute. 

(*Please note - I use the terms "cute" and "attractive" as opposed to "hot" and "sexy" because my mother-in-law reads this blog, and I'd like to still look her in the eye.  But be advised they are totally interchangeable.) :)

Is there a doctor in the room?

If you've read here before, you know that Katie has been fighting a strep infection that went untreated, and traveled to her knees.  You can read more about it here if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

So we were told in March when her first diagnosis was made that she should have a heart ECHO after 4 months of penicillin.  This pediatrician said that she had talked with the Pediatric Infectious Disease people at Children's Hospital and they said that it takes longer for the heart valves to be affected, if they are going to be....so that's why they wanted to wait 4 months, instead of doing it sooner and missing something later.  They also said that we had to call their nurses to set it up through Children's so that both facilities would be involved.
Ok - so 4 months brings us to July.  I'll admit - the 4th was busy, we were in IA for a long weekend, and I hadn't gotten around to calling to scheduling the ECHO yet.  But let's go back for a minute.....

Katie was in for a checkup on June 17th with this pediatrician that we'd been seeing.  We wanted to get a check of her knees and do another urinalysis to check kidney function.  Since it took a long time the first go-around, I brought our urine specimen with me - (tip - Medela breast pump bottles work REALLY well for this....however, I did NOT get it given back to me!)
The pediatrician said they would call if there were any abnormal results.  Let me repeat that.  The pediatrician said they would CALL if there were ANY abnormal results. 

2 weeks go by, and we hadn't heard anything.  John mentioned maybe we should call to make sure, I said yeah, maybe....but we didn't.  So - we dropped the ball too, but honestly, we weren't expecting to have to.  Anyway - SIX weeks later, on June 28th - I get a letter showing Katie's test results with TWO items showing abnormal amounts.  The pediatrician had HANDWRITTEN a note saying "We may check this again in the future."  WTF?  I don't rate a phone call??  A phone call telling me what these results mean??  So I call in to speak with the dr, and I am told that a message is sent into one of her nurses and they will call me back.  This was on Wednesday, June 29th.  I believe it was 2 days later when I heard from someone, and they were asking me what I wanted to do - did I want to do another urinalysis? If so - how long did I want to wait? Did I want more tests?  etc.  What the hell do I know?  I'm NOT the dr!  Shouldn't someone ELSE - say, someone who went to medical school be advising me on what to do?  So I said I would talk it over with my husband and we'd call back.  She said to call anytime and they'd squeeze us in.

I talked with John and we decided to re-test, of course.  Then it was 4th of July....and then we were in Waukon til July 9th, etc.  So I called July 13th to see if we could come in.  I also wanted to schedule Katie's heart ECHO, and to see about getting a referral for a 2nd opinion.  The receptionist said she would have a nurse call me back about the urinalysis, and another nurse call me back to schedule to heart ECHO.  A nurse called on the 14th and asked why we feel we need to have a urinalysis done.  I felt she honestly was treating me like an idiot.  "Well, are there symptoms that would warrant such a test?" Ummm....gee, the fact that her pediatrician wants the test done?  YES!  So I spend another 15 minutes explaining our history since March that she hasn't taken the time to read.  She said that she had to get a lab form signed by our pediatrician first - who happened to be out of town until July 19th.  When I asked about the heart ECHO, this nurse said she had no idea what I was talking about.

They call on the afternoon of the 19th (Tuesday) and say everything is set to go.  I can drop off the urine at the lab anytime, someone is there til about 7-8pm.  I asked if I could drop if off the next day - sure.  So after Will's t-ball, I swing over to the clinic with a specimen in a not-as-fancy container.  I am greeted at the lab door by a tech who has NO lab paperwork and nothing to show what tests are to be done.  Great.  She asks that I write the name and DOB on the container and she'll try to figure it out Thursday.  She'd give me a call back if there was a problem. 

I hadn't heard anything, so I call the clinic the following week on July 27th - because by this time I don't trust them to get back to me at all.  I ask about the urinalysis results as well as Katie's ECHO appointment that I had requested 14 days earlier.  She makes a note requesting a nurse to call me back about the ECHO and sends me over to labs for results.  They show -AGAIN- elevated abnormal results, which no dr has seen fit to call me back on.  I thank the tech and hang up.  The next day I get a letter from the lab, showing the results with a typed message from the ped (no signature) saying that we don't need to take another specimen, bring her back if symptoms re-develop.  (Wellll.....the symptoms haven't gone away....soooo, thanks for checking in.)  SIX days later, I get a phone message from the pediatrician informing me of the results from the urinalysis.  When I asked her about the letter today....she had no knowledge of it being sent out.  So WHO typed that message then????  The janitor????  Might as well have been.

That pretty much brings us to this week.  I have called 2 times to try to get Katie's ECHO scheduled and to get a referral for a 2nd opinion - that would make 4 phone calls total since July 13th.  When I called on August 2nd - I was told a nurse would get back to me and that they would do a 3-way type call with Children's to schedule the appointment.  Today - still nothing, so I call again.  This time I talk to a nurse (Amy) who was actually helpful.  She said she saw no reason why I couldn't call Children's myself to schedule the ECHO.  I about hit the floor - I told her about how I had been told for the past 4 months that it had to go through their clinic.  She said if that was the case, Children's could call them after I make the appointment....FINALLY, she gave me a direct phone number (which I have called....left my info and have been told they'll call back....we'll see.)

Next, I tell Amy how frustrated I am because I feel like no one is suggesting anything to do next.  Katie will be done with their recommended 6 months of penicillin on September 8th....then what???  Does ANYONE have a plan for what the hell to do then?  Are we doing more tests to check to see if the infection is gone?  Cuz her knee is still swollen.....do we just wait for the infection to rise up again, this time resilient to penicillin??  No one is telling me ANYTHING or calling me back.  I want the name of another dr.  She said to hold on - let her grab the pediatrician.  She gets on the line and starts with "Ok, I feel like we should...."  I interrupt and tell her that I have NO interest it what she feels we should do next, I want to go see someone else, and I want the names of the doctors she has been in contact with at Children's.  I feel like she has no idea what to do next, and has not made any kind of effort to come up with a solution to Katie's symptoms. 

"Now calm down, there's no need to get upset."  she said.  Well, that did it - and I started yelling (very loudly) about how I'm damn well going to get upset because I am getting the feeling that she doesn't give a damn about us or our children.  She then goes on to say that she didn't feel the need to get in touch with me because she hadn't heard from me.  WHAT THE HELL?  I spout off dates and tests and phone calls and messages to her (all of which I've stated above).  She says they are updating all their computer systems so info and messages are getting lost.  I shout about how that is no excuse for compromising patients' health and maybe Park Nicollet shouldn't update anything because they are losing contact with the very people they are responsible for caring for.  She starts giving me names of fellow Park Nicollet doctors and I make it VERY clear I want to have nothing to do with Park Nicollet - I want out.  So she finally gives me the name of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist she'd been talking to at Children's. 

I was shaking and felt empowered, but now I'm scared to contact this specialist cuz maybe the pediatrician will call her and I'll have a "mark" in my folder saying I'm such a bitch.  You remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine couldn't get into see a doctor because of her file........

Friday Funny

My husband would be so happy....this ALMOST makes me want one.....

Pool antics

It's been HOT!  So we've set up our backyard pool a few times.  It's bigger and a bit more work than a "baby pool" and it needs to be taken down and cleaned if it's up for more than 3 days.  Here's some shots from the 4th of July weekend.  The kids had a lot of fun....well, for the most part.

It all starts innocently enough - as it always does - by playing a fun game of "Let's Fight Over the Elephant Watering Pitcher".

John attempts to diffuse the situation before it gets out of hand.

It doesn't work, and someone "wins" the watering can.

The plea for help.

The forfeiting of the watering can.....and a big sister hug.

Friday Funny

Blue screen of death

So last week my computer started acting all wacky and began going to blue screen and shutting down.  It happened a dozen times before I just gave up and asked John to have his computer guy at work take a look at it.  I grabbed my SD card for my camera out of the computer and he took it to work. 

He brought it home that same night and said that it was fine - never shut down on the guy and he could find nothing wrong with it.  Hmmmm.......

So last night I'm uploading pictures from my SD card (do you see where this is going??) and I get the blue shut down screen again.  So it appears that my SD card....my wonderful 8GB SD card is shot.  I'll have to pick up a new one before I dare take too many more pictures.  Has this happened to anyone else?

In the meantime, enjoy these EXCITING pictures of our snail eggs.  When we went camping in June Katie brought home two snails that she found and we put them in her bug house with dirt, sticks, strawberries, leaves, etc.  Well, they loved it so much that they have laid eggs....a ton of eggs.  In our research of snails, we read that some will hatch and eat the other eggs.  Yummy.  They do best in a humid environment and, lucky for them, that's all Minnesota is right now.  It takes about 3 weeks to hatch and I think it's been a little over a week now.  I'll keep you posted and hopefully they won't crawl out of the little air holes.....

Run like the wind....if the wind is blowing really slow.

I had my first 5k of the summer today.  You'll remember I had another race last weekend where the main focus was to just finish because the heat index was so high.  Today, the race was at 8, and not near as humid.  I had been running 2 times a week or so and have consistently gotten right around 30 minutes, and the last month I have been able to get 29 minutes and a little change....which made me VERY happy as this was a goal I had set for myself last year.

So I got a bit jazzed for today's race because I figured it would be the first "official" race where I break 30 minutes.  I was getting passed in the beginning a bit, tried not to let it shake me.  I'm not racing other people....I'm not running their race....I'm running my own and my competition is the clock.  So did I win?  Not quite.  My time was 33:32.  Almost my worst 5k race time ever.

I did my first 5k last August in IA, 2nd and 3rd in September in MN.  Here are my times
1. 34:xx  (walking & running)
2. 31:xx  (walking & running)
3. 30:13  (walking & running)

I only remember the last time exactly because it got me really pumped and proved to me that I CAN break 30 minutes.  But come on - I run the WHOLE three miles and I could have done better walking???

Today, my one mile time was 9:20......second mile was 19:30..........so then how the hell do I dump out a 14 minute mile at the end???  I didn't walk....I didn't feel like I slowed down.  If anything, I pushed harder the last 1/4 mile.

The winner with the fastest overall time was an 18 year old guy with 18:23.  That seemed slow to me too...I usually see winners with times in the 15-16's.  Funny thing is, I finished 2nd in my female age group.  Yeah, that's out of 6....but still.  So I'm questioning the length of the race.....ya know, gotta find something to blame so I don't have to point the finger at myself.

There's another 5k next weekend.....but I think I'm going to skip that one and plan a longer run here at home instead.  I've got another race August 20th, where it should work for John and the kids to come watch.  And there may be another one yet in September.

So I'm bummed my numbers aren't going down.  But as I was thinking about it, isn't that everyone's complaint?  If you're trying to lose weight....don't you get frustrated every so often that the #'s aren't going down?  Maybe even rising a bit?  I'm not in it to lose weight, but I think performance is the same thing - sometimes #'s just don't go down and we should all just be happy that we are active and getting out there to DO it.  Yeah, I'm trying....but tell that to my head. 

Friday Funny

A little lame....a little funny. :)

Will's birthday party

Since we didn't win Will a fancy party at My Gym, he had to settle for ice cream with just family.  I think he was ok with that.

We had ice cream cake from DQ.  With all Will's candles on top is looks like a jumbled mess....but a yummy mess!

VERY happy to get his Batman underwear!

 Will playing with Batman, Superman, and Metallo (I think)..

...which left Katie to enjoy Will's new racetrack.

Molly's new best friend

We have a baby bunny that lives in our front yard and comes out to visit every morning.  She sits under the front window and drives Molly NUTS!  The bunny is so little and ridiculously tame.  She actually lays down on her side and closes her eyes on our rocks.  And when you go outside near it, it doesn't hop away.  If anything, it tends to come closer.  Poor thing better learn some "bunny skills" or it won't last long!

Gimmie a "K"!

A couple weeks ago, Katie did a weeklong cheerleading camp.  There were about 6 girls all together and it was a nice age range for her.  This week wasn't hot at all....it was just perfect.  In fact, 4 out of the 5 days, Katie took a sweater with her in the morning.

Sunday's Race

I had my 8k race on Sunday....if you can call it a race.  I don't think anyone was "racing"....it was more of a journey.  Everyone was just trying to get to the end.  My friends, Anne, Vickie, and Vickie's husband ran with me.  Well, not WITH me.  They rock.  In fact, they rock AND roll.  The women are training for a triathlon in August and it's obvious that the work they are putting into their training is really paying off!!  They were awesome.

I ran the first mile, and although hot and sticky, wasn't too bad.  Still, I started walking/jogging after a mile.  The next mile and a half weren't too bad....spots of shade, lots of friendly neighbors sitting in their front yards with their sprinklers spraying on the runners.  (Along with 3 fire trucks on the route.)

That leaves mile 2.5-5......all sun....no shade....and blacktop.  It was along this section that two friends of mine were camped and ready with MUCH needed water.  Thanks Ingrid and Katie, it was a perfect spot and we all agreed that it was a good thing you were there. 

The last mile down mainstreet seemed to take forever!  It helped that there was a crowd lined up for a parade that would start an hour later....but I still couldn't run the entire way.  So, run a couple blocks, walk a block, etc.  In the end, it was a good feeling to having "done" it.  But I don't think I want to do much more than 5 miles for a while. :)  My time??  1:01:03.  My "perfect" goal time would be 50 minutes, but the fact that I was only 10 minutes over that, in a 108 heat index is a pretty damn good thing.

Here is Anne and I towards the beginning of the race.  If you look at Anne, it's obvious it's towards the beginning.  Looking at me, however, you'd think we were on mile 4. :)

Sweet, sweet finish.