Fixing the House

We have a beam in our house that was built very poorly. We've seen a lot of cracking, and the sheet rock on the bottom was beginning to separate. PE did some calculations (he is after all, a licensed PE), talked to the structural guy at work, and made a plan. He was able to fix it for a lot less than we thought it would cost. It did take up an entire Saturday though. And it was very loud and noisy. Normally I like how small our house is, but that day I wished we had a basement to escape into. Oh, the adventures of home ownership!

Solar Eclipse

We did not travel to see the total solar eclipse. Mostly because we don't like crowds or traffic. Also because I didn't want to be stuck on the freeway and go into labor. I didn't even bother getting glasses, but my mom picked up some extra ones for us. So we went outside to look for a little bit. After 30 seconds, the kids were done and P1 wanted to go back inside. I said that we were going to stay outside for a little longer, and he got really whiny. But then, P1's friend Audrey saw us across the street and asked P1 if he was watching the sun. And she kept saying how cool and amazing it was. So P1 decided that maybe it was cool. And then when I tried to take them back inside later, he cried and said that he still wanted to watch it. The power of a girl's influence.

It was neat how much cooler it was during the eclipse. I guess it dropped 22 degrees where there was totality. It was a nice cool day for us, and the cement wasn't hot like it normally is that time of day.

Pregnancy and Colitis

I have a lot of blog catching-up to do! The main reason is because this pregnancy has been rough!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had hemorrhoid bleeding start at about 12 weeks (February) into the pregnancy. Well, the bleeding just kept getting worse and by mid-May I knew that it was not hemorrhoids, but that my colitis was flaring. This also happened to be around the time we were celebrating our 9 year anniversary. A colitis flare does not make for fun celebrations. We went to a movie Station Park (Guardian of the Galaxy if I remember right) and ate dinner at the ParkStone Wood Kitchen. We ended up getting a slice of cheesecake at the restaurant, and as I was eating it I knew that I needed to start up a limited diet again and this would be my last sugar for a while.

I started my SCD diet again, basically meaning no grains, refined sugars, starches, and lactose. That helped me a bit, but not as much as I had hoped. So about mid-June I started the AutoImmune Protocol (AIP) elimination diet. This one is even more strict and takes out all grains, all dairy, refined sugars, nuts, nightshade vegetables (like tomatoes, peppers), and eggs. Eggs were hard to give up. On the SCD diet, eggs are allowed and that is what I would usually eat for breakfast. With the AIP diet you take out all potential inflammatory foods for 30-60 days, and then SLOWLY add things back in to see if you react to them. It takes about 1 week to introduce each new thing. So far I have only added eggs and peanut butter. With the eggs, I had to try the yolks first for a week and then try the egg whites. It is such a slow process!!! But hopefully worth it to know what foods trigger my colitis.

I have had a hard time gaining weight during the second trimester and the diet hasn't helped with that. But at least the baby is growing right on track! I always carry small, but this is the smallest I've been during the third trimester. People don't believe I am 35 weeks along. I really don't mind the comments, but I often am not sure how to respond to them. "Thanks, but I'm actually trying really hard to gain weight"?

34 Weeks 

All the bleeding that I had also caused me to be anemic this pregnancy. My hematocrit numbers kept dropping, and I have never been so fatigued. Just walking across a room would exhaust me. Oral iron supplements were not doing anything, so finally I had to get an iron infusion the end of June. I had just had a Remicade infusion and the place I get infusions was discontinuing that service in July. So, I had already said bye to all the nurses and staff that I regularly saw. And then I came back 4 times the very last week they were still doing infusions (the iron infusion takes 4 days). I told them that I just had so much fun there that I needed to come back. All joking aside, it was a tender mercy that I was able to do the infusion there the very last week that they were doing infusions. Otherwise, I would have had to drive to Murray or Layton for those 4 days of infusions.

I thought the iron infusions would be easy. My doctor had said that they only took half an hour, which is much faster than my 3+ hour Remicade infusion. So, I took my kids with me the first time because P2 had a doctor's appointment later in the same building. Well, we got there at 9 am, and didn't finish until 11:30 am. And P2's appointment was at 10:30. Fortunately, her doctor was still willing to see her at 11:30. And all the nurses commented on how well-behaved P1 and P2 were. Of course, it helped that they had Netflix to watch at the infusion center.

Kids enjoying Netflix at the infusion center

1st Iron Infusion

Turns out, iron is really hard on your veins. They left the IV in each day, but when they would try to start up the infusion the next day, my arm would burn and swell. So 3 out of the 4 days required a new IV. I finished the iron infusion over 5 weeks ago, and I still have a giant bruise on my arm from it! But, it was worth it! I started feeling much better after the infusion, and finally had energy again. My hematocrit numbers went from 8.9 to 12.4, which is a huge jump! And 12 is the magical number you want to be over.

Battle wounds from iron infusions (29 weeks)

I've been working with my GI doctor over the last 8 weeks or so. I really wanted to avoid being on any type of steroid during this pregnancy, but that was basically the only option I had left. My doctor finally convinced me that my current health was putting my baby more at risk than the steroids would. I really didn't want to do prednisone again, so we tried Uceris. Unfortunately, that didn't help at all. I thought my only option left was the dreaded prednisone, but at my appointment, my doctor suddenly remembered that I have left-sided colitis. After checking my colonoscopy records, he said that a steroid enema should be able to reach all the inflammation and the baby would have minimal exposure. An answer to prayers! Thankfully, this treatment helped immensely! I felt 95% better after two weeks, and after another couple of weeks I felt 100% better. Hallelujah! Negative side effects of the medicine have been being wide awake at 4:30 in the morning, but hey, I'll take it!

The last month has been really good. I had a lot of energy, so I got a lot of projects done around the house. I'm starting to slow down again just because of the pregnancy. Baby is getting heavier and I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks. Only 5 more weeks until baby!!!

Ultrasound at 31 weeks

Living in Debt with Our Time

Prophets have repeatedly taught us to stay out of debt with our money. Debt is a form of bondage, and interest has no mercy. Money (for most of us) is a limited resource and we get to choose how to spend it. However, once we are in debt, our ability to choose how to spend our money is diminished because it is already promised to someone else.

Time is another limited resource we all have. We each only have 24 hours a day to choose how to spend. As I do the daily, monotonous tasks demanded of me has a mother and homemaker, I have realized that some days I live in debt with my time.

For example, when I choose to not wash the dishes after a meal then I am choosing to not pay the time now in exchange for paying more time later. The interest is that the longer I wait, the more time it takes to wash the dishes due to the crusted on food. Also, payment often comes due at inconvenient times. Like dinner time when I need the dishes that are still dirty, and I don't have the time to clean them.

When I choose not to fold and put away fresh laundry, then I am agreeing to pay more time later. The interest in this case is wrinkled clothes that need extra attention.

Now, there will always be times when something important needs your time and you can't get to the dishes or laundry right away. The prophets have said that reasonable debt is okay for important things like buying a home and paying for your education. I would say the same is true for your time. Meaning, it's okay to put off the dishes when your child needs you, but maybe you shouldn't put it off for Netflix.

I have noticed that I feel happier and more in control of my time when I am not always putting things off to do later. I am far from perfect at it, but I have found it helpful to consider this question throughout the day:

"Am I living in debt with my time?"

Try it out and see what you think!

July Pictures

The kids love to go swimming at Grandpa's pool. We try to go once a week. They both do really well in the water with floaties. I try to spend some time without floaties with P1. He doesn't like sticking his face in the water. Maybe next year we will have to do some real swimming lessons.

After swimming they like to pick raspberries and play in the sandbox.

 Fun at the park:

Building a sewer with Dad for their ninja turtles:

Sleeping beauty:

Leonardo! The kids want to name the baby Michelangelo if it's a boy.

Fun at Ikea:

 

My silly kids:

Getting a treat at Sonic: 

Our conversation one day when we were leaving a park: 

P1: "Mom, we should go to a resternot. You know the one with the bell?"

Me: "You mean Taco Bell?"

P1: "Yes, Taco Bell. We should go there."

P2 readily agreed with her brother that we should go to a "resternot". Unfortunately for them, I can't eat anything at most restaurants and I was getting hungry so I told them no, we have to go home to eat. Also, we have only taken P1 to Taco Bell once, and it was a long time ago.

Well, the next day we went to the splash pad, and as we were leaving we have the exact same conversation. "Mom, we should go to a resternot. We should go to Taco Bell." My dad works right by Taco Bell, so I decided we could go surprise him and see if he wanted to go to Taco Bell with us. The kids each had a soft taco and I asked P1 if it was better than my tacos. P1 said "They are both my favorite." Good answer!

Handcart Days

We went to the Handcart Days celebrations at the park with my family. It was sooooo hot. But P1 had a lot of fun, especially with all the inflatables. P2 didn't want to do any of the inflatables.

P1 got stuck on the climbing wall of the obstacle course. Fortunately, another little boy came along and climbed up it which helped P1 see how to do it. This ended up being his favorite inflatable.

 

Eating lunch:

More rides:

The only ride we got P2 to go on was the swings. The only other thing she liked doing was the fishing pond.

4th of July

This was the last year of the annual 3rd of July BBQ at grandma and grandpa's house. They live within walking distance of the city fireworks, so every year the extended family gathers at their house. But they are selling their house so this was the last time. They rented a bouncy house that the kids had a lot of fun with. 

PE drove us up to the fireworks since I'm pregnant and dealing with a lot of fatigue. I probably should have just walked up and taken frequent resting breaks (it would have been faster). PE drove the van back home and then walked up. But turns out, that cell service went out because there were too many people in the area. So PE couldn't find us, and we had no way of contacting him. Texts wouldn't even go through. I was near tears and then the lights went off because the fireworks were about to start. I had been praying that he would find us. Seconds before the fireworks started, he found us! He had to leave the golf course so that he could get a signal and read his texts. I'm glad he found us! The kids enjoyed the fireworks with no crying this year.

On the 4th of July, it was 100 degrees outside. So we took the kids to the splash pad. The last few times that I've taken them, they haven't really played in the water. But I guess since Dad was there, they decided it was okay to run and play.

We stopped at Jamba Juice for a treat on the way home. P1 left his TMNT water bottle there, and we didn't realize it until that night. He was very upset about it. Fortunately, we were able to get it back the next day.