The ArmyBrat Speaks

The Happenings in the Lee Clan

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:03:00 +0000

Holy crapper it's been a while since I've updated! I'm a bad blogger, get over it! LOL

OK, Nathan just turned 8 on the 9th. We did a family day that included playing in the new play ground in Spruce Grove, swimming at Millenium Place (and a short visit to the indoor playroom), the supper that he requested and finished off with the cake he picked out (Chocolate Mousse...Like I was going to argue! LOL) We'll do a party with his friends after school starts up again. Both Nathan and Nicholas enjoyed playing on the Medical Emergency toy...I mean the new Slip and Slide. They had a blast sliding into the little puddle at the end. Both were nicely scraped up by the end so fun was had by all. LOL

Nolan took his first unaided steps on the 5th. He is really doing well with walking, he just needs to build his confidence. He walks with a light touch on anything but not really holding on to anything. He'll stand then realize he's not holding onto anything and start to squat to sit down. A few times he's clued into the fact that he's standing on his own power and straightens up with a look of self satisfaction.

He's ramping up the cheese factor by 1000%. He likes to give a big cheesy grin, wrinkle his nose and make funny sounds. He'll either make a geeky laugh sound (the big intake of breath) or he'll start to snuffle (like panting through the nose). The really funny part is that there are photos of ME making the same face when I was a baby! He's definitely mine. No switcheroos at the hospital!

Nicholas has lost 2 bottom front teeth in less than a week. The Tooth Fairy had to scramble the first time and came up with 4 quarters but this time she knows she has a loonie. She made sure of it. Now if he'll only go to sleep!

Stephen is going to be on vacation again starting next Tuesday. He'll be underfoot, I mean home with the family, for 3 weeks. After last month's trip to Disney Land, San Diego and San Francisco, I doubt he'll want to drive anywhere further than a 3 hour trip. LOL Maybe I can convince him to go 5 hours and we'll go up to Lesser Slave Lake again on a day trip.

I'm still recovering from Disney. It wasn't Disney that was the problem it was the one day we spent at the beach. That is for another post though.

I'm not exactly sure what else we're up to but we always seem busy. Nothing is accomplished but we've remained occupied! I know that I have some household chores to do but I'm trying to wish them away. I keep hoping magic fairies will come over and clean the playroom for me and little gnomes will stop by with their tiny mowers and take care of the grass. But every morning I wake up to disappointment...they didn't come over. If anyone has seen these creatures, please do me a favour and send them my way.

So while I disappear into my delusions, enjoy the rest of your summer everyone!

Now how do you explain this?

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:05:00 +0000

I was at the grocery store today with the munchkins and roaming the aisles by the pharmacy. As we strolled past the "Intimate" section, Nathan picks up a box with flames all over it and the word Hot listed on it. It was a box of condoms extolling their great feel and how hot your love life would be. Of course Nathan has no clue what this box contains but is interested in the flames and the few words he can read.

In what I would describe as a loud voice, he asks me if what is in the box is hot/spicy. I'm trying not to laugh as my mind was in the gutter and thinking dirty thoughts about how spicy the contents can make one's life. He was under the impression that the contents were something to eat. I tried to be subtle and only answer what I was asked but it wasn't going to fly for Nathan. I didn't want to explain what was in the box at quite that moment as there were other people around but Nathan was persistent. He's good at being persistent.

So my explanation was something along the lines of, "Honey, what you picked up was a box of condoms. When a man and a woman have sex, they can put a condom on the man's penis so that his 'seeds' won't get inside the woman and make a baby."

Well, didn't Nathan's face turn a delightful shade of red. LOL Poor kid! I don't think he knew whether to be grossed out or to laugh. He made a funny face, giggled nervously then looked a little grossed out. LOL His reaction kind of made my day as I hadn't laughed much by that point. He hasn't said anything else about it for the rest of the evening.

My poor kid, traumatized in the grocery store. LOL

Busy, busy week

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:12:00 +0000

What a freaking busy week last week was for me! Holy cracker-doodles! LOL Lots of airport runs and day home kids and out of town visitors and getting sick and baby teething and, and, and! LOL

With 2 day home kids plus all three of mine, we picked Stephen up from his airport commute. My Dad, his partner Karen (I guess I could start calling her my step-mom, they are common law now. LOL) and Karen's brother John were camping close by so they came over for a bar-b-q. Good food, great company...who could ask for anything else?

The next day we took Nathan to an audiologist appointment. Same results, mild hearing loss. Most likely has fluid in there affecting the middle ear so he'll need to see his doctor and get a referral to an ENT to see if we can get tubes or something. Then we went out to the campground to see Dad, Karen and John. John had a guitar and played for a while. Nathan was completely enthralled. John showed Nathan some chords and Nathan sat cheerfully strumming for quite a while. Nic bounced from person to person and dog to dog (Dad and Karen's dogs, Bear and Tuxedo). Nolan smiled and charmed his way through the night.

On Friday we took Stephen to the airport to fly out to his Dad's 70th birthday. Stephen was the surprise guest. His Dad was pretty happy to see him. All in all a success. Saturday involved some shopping then back out to the campground for another feast at the trailer. John played again, Nathan strummed for a little while, dogs were walked, marshmallows were roasted, etc.

Sunday was the only rotten day. I was so weak and sick again. I don't know why it comes on like that but it does. Now at 2:45 Monday morning, I'm feeling a little better. I guess whatever was bothering my tummy has now been expelled. Good thing too since I have to make an airport run to get Stephen from his trip to PoCo. And Tuesday he flies back up to Ft. Mac. Yes, that involves ANOTHER airport run. Man, oh man, my loser cruiser is really putting on the kilometers lately. LOL

I think I'll try to head to bed now since I have a day home client at 7-something and Nathan has to take the bus before 8. *yawn* Nite-nite all!

The Littlest Lee is Growing Up Too Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:59:00 +0000

I'm starting to see that Nolan won't be a baby forever anymore. He has had 2 teeth on the bottom for a few months now but he has now cut 4, count them, 4 teeth on the top all at once. There may be 2 more coming up from the bottom too but he's being a turkey and won't let me look anymore.

THEN, today alone, he put himself into a sitting position all by himself, pulled himself into a standing position all by himself and tried crawling on his hands and knees rather than army crawling. I'm stunned! Why did he have to pull this all today? He's a big poop! And of course Stephen has to be away this weekend. He's going to see huge differences on Tuesday even though we last saw him LAST Tuesday.

Nolan has also finally had his 6 month shots. He weighed in at 20 lbs 14 oz and just over 27 inches long. He's a MONSTER! Thank goodness he's a good natured, loving, smiley, no making strange monster! LOL

In Honour of St. Patty's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:08:00 +0000

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I caught a little of Regis and Kelly this morning (unintentional, I was channel flipping) and there were 3 priests from Ireland singing this verse. They apparently have a CD called The Priests. I was so moved by them. Maybe it was the sound of their voices (beautiful male operatic voices) or the meaning behind the words (what ever you read into them) but I lost myself in them for the too few moments they were singing.

What if?

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:46:00 +0000

What would you have done differently if you knew it was the very last time you'd ever see someone? What would you have said? Would you have changed something?

What if you knew that the last time was coming? What would you have done differently leading up to it? Would you have made the attempt to be there for that last Christmas? Would you have traveled out for that last birthday together? What plans might have gone differently?

Would you have stopped thinking about yourself and just been there...in that moment. Would your perspectives have changed?

What would your conversations have been about? Would you have said all you wanted to say? Apologize for the wrongs? Celebrate the greats? Ask for their advice? A share of their wisdom?

Would you have held them closer? Wiped more of their tears? Would you have held on so tight like you'd never let them go?

What would you change if you only knew then what you know now?

Some mental house cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:14:00 +0000

As some of you know, I have suffered from bouts of depression since my pre-teens. I made my first (and only) suicide attempt at the ripe old age of 11 or 12 and I did some semi high risk behaviours in my teens and early twenties to try and just FEEL something. I was so confused about what I was feeling that I didn't feel like I was actually living. So after more than 20 years of suffering, I'm doing something about it. Yes, I'm airing my dirty undies for all to see...I'm only human you know.

I have tried different antidepressants over the years and I've done some counselling half heartedly. I've also done an out patient program that was great while I was in it but I sunk to the bottom again once it was over. I have cut myself, dated the "wrong" men, ignored friends and put myself in harms way to try and get an understanding of who I was and what I was doing on this earth. I may not have all the answers yet but I'm learning.

Because of my depression, I knew that I was a prime candidate for Post Partum Depression. After Nathan, I was depressed but it wasn't too bad. I was more weepy but I got through it on my own. I "learned" how to suck it up and just get on with life. It wasn't the best way of doing things but I managed. After Nicholas, I was a basket case. I cried over everything. I didn't have a sense of myself or my family. I was lost and alone in so many ways.

When I was getting close to my due date for Nolan, I decided that I was NOT going to feel like I did the last two times. I started to make appointments and gather supports BEFORE the meltdowns started. I knew logically that I had to do this myself FOR myself. If I couldn't help me then who else could?

After Nolan was born I was angry with everything. Nothing was right in my world. Nathan and Nic were doing everything to push my buttons, Stephen wasn't helping, I had no one to support me. Well, at least that is how I was feeling. Right or wrong, that is what I felt like. I finally broke down and asked my doctor for antidepressants. I tried to avoid them because I didn't want to put more chemicals into my body but I realized that I wasn't going to get better without them.

As well, I started seeing a counsellor. We've only had a couple of appointments but already I'm seeing some emotional relief or even just a release. I'm not one to ask for help. I'm an only child who was always fairly independent. I did things my way and that was the only way I knew. Again, right or wrong, that is how I managed. I always figured that I could do it myself or someone would see that I was struggling and would come to my rescue. It would obviously entail some mind reading though because I often would put on a facade to not let anyone know how screwed up I was.

I tried to put forward a clean, well put together front so no one could judge me. I didn't need anyone to judge me because I did plenty of that myself. I am my harshest critic. Someone in the past year asked why I allow people around me to be human but cannot allow that of myself. I couldn't answer that. I hold myself in sharp criticism and expect perfection. If I can't be perfect then why even try? It's still something I have to work on.

As it stands right now, I'm on an antidepressant that is doing wonders for me. At first I was very worried. I felt numbed out...I THOUGHT I wasn't crying, I wasn't angry, I wasn't happy, I wasn't anything. Then I realized...I was having normal emotional responses to my life. I have had over 20 years of intense, blinding emotions that a quieter, more normal response was very disconcerting. I started to cry when it was warranted instead of over every comment, commercial, song, TV program, etc. I yelled when the kids were doing something dangerous or overtly against the rules. I laughed when something was funny and not because I was nervous or insecure. It's a whole new reality for me.

I pointed out to Stephen that he met me with depression, he married me with depression, he has worked with me through the good times and bad with depression and now I'm trying to make beneficial changes to myself. He's happy for me that I'm doing this for myself. He knows that if I can work through my issues then it can only benefit us as a couple and us as a family. My children deserve a sane, put together Mommy and that is what I intend to do.

Holy Smacker-doodle! She's ALIVE!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:35:00 +0000

No, I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth. Close...but not true! So much has been happening and I haven't found the time (or the creativity) to post.

Of course the big news is that Nolan Mitchell Lee finally arrived. He was born on Sept 5th at 1:01 am. He weighed in at a hefty 10 lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long. He's a pretty good baby...he's finally learning that when he sees that bright light in the sky it is day time and he needs to be awake more. The Darkness is when he's supposed to be sleeping. He's usually eating around midnight then again around 3 or 4 then another feeding around 6 or 7. Not too bad for night time feedings.

Nathan and Nicholas still think Nolan is the cat's pyjamas! Nathan likes to try and tote Nolan around and to feed him. I can't quite convince him to change diapers though. Still working on that one. LOL Nicholas likes to be in close contact with Nolan too. He always wants to hug and kiss Nolan or to hold his hand or foot. I can only hope that the boys all maintain that close contact and actually enjoy growing up together.

Nathan has now turned 7 and has started in Grade One. The original class had 27 students so they split it into 2 classes. Nathan seems to really like his teacher. One of his favourite things is that she has a bracelet with a REAL spider in it. Hey, its a conversation piece! LOL

Nicholas is now 4 and finally coming into his own in respect to socialization. Now that he's a big brother, he talks to anyone and everyone about the baby. Nolan is Nicholas's favourite conversation piece. (Please! Let them still like each other in the coming years! LOL)

Stephen has started a new job AGAIN!!! He is working up in Fort McMurray at Suncor. The schedule is kind of retarded but once he gets into the swing of things (and gets all access to the computer systems he's expected to work with) it won't seem so out of the ordinary. For the time being, he is able to take 3 day weekends so that he can drive home and be with us for a couple of days each week. We're adjusting...it's what we do! LOL

As for me...I'm just hanging about, being me and getting used to being the Mom of 3 highly demanding and strong willed boys. They definitely take after their Father! LOL

Eventually I'll get some photos up of the boys. Just know that I'm still here and lurking about on every one's blogs...Are you all feeling WATCHED now? LOL

Nic's Gall Bladder Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:31:00 +0000

I just realized that I hadn't updated my blog about Nic's surgery! Guess I've been a little distracted. LOL

We went in as per scheduled but the surgery was delayed by about an hour. I guess the ORs can get a little backed up at times. LOL Daddy put on the silly gown and cap and carried Nic into the operating room. They looked at a book while the doctors got busy putting in the IV and sending him off to dream land. Apparently he didn't even fuss when the needle went in so the EMLA cream did it's job.

Stephen and I walked down the hall from the ORs and found my friend Hope looking around for us. She stopped by on her lunch break for a quick hug and a little added support. Stephen and I ended up just wandering aimlessly for a while, nibbled on sandwiches brought from home and tried to be patient.

After the surgery, Nic was in recovery for a while then he was taken upstairs to a post-op observation ward. He stayed nicely passed out for a couple more hours and was still sleeping when the surgeon came around on rounds. Because Nic was still passed out for those rounds, we had to stay the night. I wasn't happy but what can a Mommy do? LOL

When Nic FINALLY woke up, he wanted to eat and drink everything in sight. I had just bought myself a burger from downstairs and he wanted that thing with all of his being. The nurses said he could have ice chips but they didn't go over very well. LOL I snuck him some apple juice and he was a little happier. Then we tried toast and that went down like a dream! So juice, toast and finally part of a muffin ended up being his menu that evening and night.

Once he was awake, he was AWAKE! Like I said, he wanted to eat and drink everything. I had to go down the hall to get his toast and juice and when I came out of the kitchen, there's Nic, standing there with his IV pole! He was bored and didn't want to wait for me to come back. That was it...he wanted to walk everywhere! We toured the 5th floor and our ward, sat and watched some TV, wandered some more, got snacks, wandered some more, watch more TV...and on and on it went.

When the nurses saw that he was drinking, eating, walking and peeing with no complaints, they turned down and finally turned off his IV. He had to keep the IV port in overnight just in case but the IV pole didn't need to be towed along anymore.

Nic's roommate had just had surgery to put a metal rod in his leg so was in a lot of pain and in traction. He was screaming every 2 hours or so, so Nic and I didn't get a lot of sleep. The nurses kept apologizing but it didn't increase my sleep any. LOL

The surgeon's resident and a couple of lackeys came around at 6am and verbally released Nic. We got dressed and waited for the papers to be "filed" in our chart and for the IV to be removed. I knew that it was close to shift change so I tried to be patient. LOL When a student nurse came in to do Nic's vital signs, she almost fell over that we were both dressed and packed to go. She got his release papers and the prescription and took out the IV and the two of us RAN out of the hospital. Neither one of us wanted to be there anymore. LOL

We drove back to Stony Plain, got his painkillers and scooted home. Stephen and Nathan were pretty happy to see us and we just wanted to rest some more. It took a while to get us back on a proper sleep schedule but we're doing better.

He came through the surgery like a champ and healed beautifully. The incisions are really tiny, like the width of my fingernail tiny. He still guards his tummy a little and doesn't want it to be pushed on but he's playing and wrestling and being a boy just like normal. Like anything/anyone in my house is NORMAL! LOL

The worries of a munchkin

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Here I am, the night before Nicholas's surgery trying to figure out how to keep him calm. He's been really whiny, clingy and demanding. Everything is setting him off and his reactions are over the top for the circumstances.

He was mad at Nathan because Nathan got to what I asked for first and grabbed it. Nicholas started to swing because HE wanted to get it for me and Nathan of course defended himself. Well...that set Nic off into absolute hysterics. He finally got an apology from Nathan (Nathan had hurt him a little with a glancing head butt) but he was still sobbing. Even me holding him wasn't enough to calm him. He finally said that he was scared about the operation tomorrow. He's afraid of the "pokies". I sat him down and said that I'd be honest with him and tell him what he wanted to know.

He wanted all the details from the time we got up until the end of the day. I told him about going through admitting, getting jammies on and then getting a cream on his hands so that the pokie won't hurt so much. I tried to explain that Mommy or Daddy will take him into the operating room and hold him until he falls asleep then when he wakes up, we'll come and sit with him until it's time to go home. When I explained that I'll have his blanket and his stuffed "Moosie" he was happier.

Hopefully I can get him off to bed tonight with little fanfare. He's looking forward to getting up early so that he can have some Jello. (He can have clear fluids and Jello until 4 hours before surgery.) Isn't that just like a kid! LOL

So, be thinking about us tomorrow at 11:30. Hopefully they'll be on time so that he isn't kept waiting without food for too much longer than is necessary. That's Mommy's worry. LOL

A turn of events

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:33:00 +0000

There has been a bit of a change in plans. This change is going to help my stress level go down...just a little bit. LOL

I got a phone call from the hospital again this morning. There has been a cancellation so they can bump Nicholas up to have surgery on July 29th! He'll go to the Pre-Admission clinic on Friday to be weighed and measured to get the meds figured out. I'll find out on July 28th what time we have to be at the hospital.

It's been set up for Nicholas to stay the night but if he comes through with flying colours, the surgeon might release him that day. So as long as I don't have this baby this weekend, I'm rocking and rolling!

Nicholas has been complaining since Monday night that his belly hurts. He's acting like the beginning of a major attack but there hasn't been any vomiting yet so we may be in luck. I think he may be looking for attention rather than actually being in pain. I've been watching a 10 month old in the evening all week and I'll have him the rest of the week too. I think Nicholas is a little jealous and is making sure Mommy is still here and still very much in love with him. We'll have to see how this all develops. IF he's not faking, he may be dealt with even earlier but we'll see. We'll see!

Busy, Busy, Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:40:00 +0000

So much is happening and it seems like not enough time to do it in. LOL I'm at an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet and I need to be kicked out...TOO MUCH ON MY PLATE!!!! LOL

5 weeks and 4 days left until my expected due date and I still need to clean out that room and set up the crib. Minor details is washing and sterilizing the bottles, nipples, toys and pump.

Nicholas has finally been booked for surgery. He's having his gizzard yanked on September 2nd. Yeah, only a couple days after my due date and Nathan's first day of Grade One. Oh what fun! Like I didn't have enough other things on my mind!

On a slightly different (yet very related) note, is it bad to be slightly tempted to send Nic into an attack to see if they'll deal with him sooner? Yeah, I thought so...Bad Idea. LOL

We're still waiting to have more assessments on Nathan. It'll be nice to try and figure out what wires are crossed and how we can help him be the best Nathan he can be.

It appears that I'll be re-opening the day home earlier than expected. We'll see how it pans out this time. I'm considering going through the day home agency to try and make sure I have a full house and to not have to deal with tracking down clients to get paid. Getting into the agency may prove difficult but I'm starting the paperwork now to try and get started soon after the baby comes.

I'm trying to get the house prepped for baby and the day home. Cleaning, re-organizing, purging, etc. It's enough to make your head spin.

So my life is busy...I'm doing everything but completing nothing. LOL Where does the time go? LOL

So close

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47:00 +0000

We are so close to being done!

The bunk bed arrived this morning so the boys will be sharing a room by this weekend. Now, to try and figure out how to keep their clothes separate. LOL

All the baby essentials are in the house and ready to be installed. The car seats will be dealt with this weekend to ensure they fit in our respective vehicles. The crib will be wiped down and assembled in the near future (after moving Nic to Nathan's room) and then I can deal with the basket of baby clothes that need to be put away. I have a little more stuff to wash before baby arrives (toys, bottles, soothers, etc) but I'm essentially done with that.

I have started to pack my hospital bag. My toiletries are set except for my glasses and I've got most of the socks, undies and jammies that I need. I still need to figure out what I'm taking for the baby but that'll be done in the near future too.

Giving in a little to my OCD side, I have packed a small emergency bag for in the vehicle. Nothing much, just a couple of towels, a snot sucker and some garbage bags. An online friend, who is also pregnant right now, asked what that was for. My response was in case I go into labour while we're out and about, I can sit or lay on the garbage bags and towels and not bleed or leak amniotic fluid on the seats of the vehicles. It seems logical to me...LOL OK, I'm paranoid and a little OCD but if it makes the Mommy happy then it is all right!

7 Weeks 2 days left until my expected due date...It's coming faster than I thought.

8 weeks left

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:54:00 +0000

I don't know how this happened so fast, I have 8 weeks left until my expected due date. It seems like not that long ago that it was January/February and I was just announcing my Oopsie! LOL

Any ways, this has been my healthiest pregnancy so far. No high blood pressure, no complications with the baby, no gestational diabetes, nothing really bad. Sure I'm having the typical pregnancy related discomforts but they are manageable. I'm a little anemic but iron supplements fix that pretty fast. Other than that, I'm just melting in the heat. Sweating like a man comes to mind. LOL

I have to see the OB every 2 weeks now. The boys have been coming with me lately and they love to hear the baby's heartbeat. They think it sounds squishy or watery. I just like the sound. LOL

I'm measuring a little larger than average but I'm not surprised. Nathan was born at 38 weeks and was 7 lbs 12 oz. If I'd gone the full 40 weeks, I'm sure he'd have been 8 or 9 lbs easily. Nicholas was born within days of his due date and was 9 lbs 3 oz. With history and measuring a little large, I figure this one will be around 9 lbs too. Gee I hope the sleepers and diapers I bought are big enough...Yikes! LOL

Overall I'm pretty much ready for baby to arrive. The only thing that still needs to be purchased is a car seat. We're looking at a Britax Marathon for in the car (better fit with 2 boosters) and an infant carrier seat for in the van. I figure it'll be easier when I'm alone with the munchkins to have a carrier seat to attach to the shopping carts. LOL

We've also ordered a bunk bed for Nathan and Nicholas. It's a single bed over a double bed. We've already got the mattresses so we're just waiting on the frame. It's on back order so it could arrive any time between now and the end of August. I hope it's sooner though so we can move Nicholas into Nathan's room and get them settled into the routine of sleeping in the same room. Once Nic is moved, I can set up the crib in his old room. Nic is pretty excited about the move into the bunk bed and into Nathan's room. He sees it as graduating into a bigger big boy. Whatever floats your boat little man! LOL

So that's the update for now. Maybe I'll update again before the baby actually arrives. LOL

Nathan's Accomplishment

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:44:00 +0000

My Nathan has made a big step...he's learned how to ride a two wheeler WITH NO TRAINING WHEELS!!!!!

He was so nervous last year and self defeating. He was so sure that he couldn't do it that he didn't. This year, he begged for the training wheels but we told him it was time to sink or swim without them. He looked seriously skeptical but he put enough trust in his Daddy and let it rip. Now you can literally SEE his confidence growing each time he starts and stops his bike.

He begs to be taken on a bike ride every day now. Stephen is going to have to bring down his own bike now and get the chain greased and his tires inflated so that he can get going and keep up with Nathan. I swear our bikes haven't been used since before Nathan was born so it may need some work. LOL

Baby boy with big words

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:13:00 +0000

I hadn't even noticed but it was pointed out during recent visits by my in-laws that Nicholas is really growing up and his vocabulary is growing almost daily.

While my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law were visiting, we heard Nicholas using Actually and Ridiculous on a regular basis. He was using them well and in proper context. My Mother-in-law hadn't seen Nicholas in 5 or 6 months so this was a huge change for her.

While my Sister-in-law was visiting, we were talking about caterpillars and butterflies. We were telling the boys about how a caterpillar eats and eats and eats then it makes a nice cozy house for itself and has a long nap. After the nap, it comes out as a pretty butterfly. Nicholas sat there, drinking up the information we were giving then pipes up, "Oh, a CHRYSALIS!"

My sister-in-law and I just about dropped dead with shock! We were trying to dumb it down for a 3 year old and he shoots back proper terminology. LOL Guess he showed us, eh? LOL

I guess 6 months makes a big difference in little kids. LOL

Funny how the mind works

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:05:00 +0000

This morning, while he was showering, Stephen had the wierdest thoughts...

He started thinking about the kids and their initials. By using their initials, he found out their futures; sort of.

Nathan James Lee = NJL = In Jail (if you say it fast enough, it makes sense LOL) He's our trouble maker!

Nicholas Arthur Lee = NAL = Nail, as in tough as nails (my medically fragile baby HaHaHa) or he's gonna nail you (fighter, contact sports, etc)

(I won't give the name away since some people don't want to know the sex) NML = Animal (hard to train or rein in) or a Party Animal

Things that make you go HMMMMMMM! LOL And we didn't want to put labels on our kids...LOL

Maybe we're getting somewhere now

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:41:00 +0000

We saw the GI specialist again today. She confirmed that all the test thus far have been normal. Nicholas does not have an auto immune disorder that is attacking his body and he isn't lacking enzymes or what not that would prevent digestion or the break down of fats. His cholesterol is good as well. We still don't know WHY he has gall stones, he just does.

As it stands right now, she wants to recheck his liver enzymes and another test that has been missed so far. In the mean time, she's sending a referal to a surgeon to have Nic's gall bladder removed. We still need to wait to see the guy and then wait for the actual surgery so I still think it'll be done after the baby arrives. Oh won't THAT be a fun time? NOT!!!!

The surgeon is the same one that removed the tumour from Nathan's arm in 2006. At least I know what I'm in for with this guy.

6 Unimportant things about me

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:43:00 +0000

I was tagged by http://uncontrollablecuriosity.blogspot.com/ The meme topic is to share six unimportant things about myself and then to tag six other people to do the same thing.Here are the rules:1. Link back to the person who tagged you.2. Post these rules on your blog.3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry.

1. I am the only blood related grandchild on my Dad's side of the family.

2. I was told I would never have children of my own. (I'm a mother of 2 and I am due with #3 in late August. #1 and #3 were complete surprises, #2 was the only one that was planned.)

3. All the men I have ever dated have been of Scottish decent. (Not planned that way, its just the way things turned out)

4. I was an A and B average student but too lazy (or lacking study skills) to fully reach my potential. If I had actually studied, I think I would have been a straight A student.

5. I started to develop early and got my first bra at 9 or 10 years old.

6. I am such a klutz that I resemble an over ripe banana more often than not.

I'm having trouble tagging people because my favourite bloggers have already been tagged. I'll just put out a general challenge to my friends and family to post 6 unimportant things about themselves.

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:53:00 +0000

I took Nicholas for another liver ultrasound this past Thursday. It was to follow-up on the first one and to confirm the findings.

The original findings have been confirmed. He has one lonely gall stone. It is about half a centimeter in diameter. I asked if it moving around could have caused Nic's problems in August and this past February and the doctor that came in said that more than likely, he had 2 other stones that have passed. The passing of the stones would have caused the pain, the liver enlargement, and the enzyme elevation.

His current stone cannot pass on it's own because the duct is just a little too small at only 4 mm.

On the good side, the liver looks good. First indicators said that it was fatty but that proved not true. The bile duct is good too. There is no swelling to be seen at the moment.

So now we wait some more. Nic's next appointment with the GI specialists in May 22nd. We'll have to see what they have to say.

Update on Stephen and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Wow, it's been about 2 weeks and no one has hassled me about slacking! LOL

Any way, things have been up and down and maybe a little upside down around here. Stephen and I have finally tried to clean out the storage room a little and the section we've taken care of is GREATLY reduced. The area under the stairs has been jammed with boxes and rubber bins since we moved in here 4 years ago. Some of the boxes had not seen the light of day since the day I packed them. We were ruthless and garbaged what we had to, posted the stuff we want to get rid of and packed the rest away. We have less than half the stuff that we used to. Now, if we could get to the rest of the storage room and put in some shelves to get things organized. Eventually! As long as I can crawl through the mess to get the crib at some point between now and the end of August. LOL

Stephen has been offered a new job. He's been working hard in a labour intensive job since the end of November and has now been offered a supervisory position with another company. He'll be doing the evening shift, supervising 7 people, doing load planning, logistics, and delegating duties. I'm pretty proud of him.

I'm still pregnant and feeling it more and more every day. The baby is making its presence known more frequently and once or twice I've caught movement on the outside. It'll be fun when Stephen and the boys can experience that too.

I'm having some mild swelling issues in my feet, hands and face but it's only bad when the weather warms up. So far my blood pressure has remained steady so for now I'm still on my feet. I'm definitely more tired this time around but since this is the last time I'm doing this, I'm going to enjoy it all. (Famous last words. LOL)

A Meeting at the School

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:11:00 +0000

I had the appointment at the school with Nathan's teacher, the school counsellor, and the school district psychologist. It was rather enlightening.

Nathan's big skills are in non-verbal, hands on areas and his verbal areas are seriously lacking. To average out his scores, he fits into the average for his age but if you look at them separately...WOW, what a difference.

Some of what was said wasn't a surprise, I already knew that he was a hands on, impulsive type of kid and his language skills are lacking. Basing her opinion on her education and experience, the psychologist can reasonably say that Nathan has a language based learning disability.

At this point, all we can do is modify some of his stuff to make it more fun, more creative, and more visual. The earlier grades can be modified in such a way but later on there may be some trouble doing that. This is great information to be passed on to his Grade One teacher so she can "understand his unique set of skills and weaknesses".

The psychologist recommends further and repeated audiology testing. Although his last test was clear and there doesn't appear to be any more hearing loss, his history of ear infections and fluid causing mild hearing loss could repeat itself. She also recommends he be tested for a Central Auditory Processing Disorder. That can't be done until he's at least 7. The psychologist said that he can wait until later fall to do that since there will be a some big changes right after he turns 7; the baby is due that month and he'll be starting Grade One.

All in all, the meeting went well. It confirmed some of my suspicions and let me know that no one is at fault. Neither the school nor us the parents are failing Nathan. We now have some ideas on how to help Nathan succeed and that is what my goal was. I didn't want him "labeled" but I wanted an understanding of why he was struggling. Now I have some ideas and I can proceed with helping him in a more visual, creative way.

On another slightly different topic, Nicholas was getting a little restless during the meeting so he was taken down to Nathan's class room. Nathan just lit up when he saw Nic. Nicholas went in, sat next to Nathan on the mats and did whatever the big kids were doing. He even tried to play BINGO with the big kids. Nathan and another boy helped Nic with his BINGO card.

I asked Nic what he did in the class and he said, " I learned stuff!" He was so happy to be in school with Nathan. LOL Nic was so upset when I said that we had to leave to run errands and that Nathan was going to stay at the school. Nic wanted to stay at school with Nathan. I felt kind of bad for him since he was having so much fun but he's only 3 and a half and not ready for kindergarten. Although, he'd probably say that he was. LOL Poor kid.

Horrible Mommy Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:35:00 +0000

Basing my opinion on the fact that Nicholas has one visible gall stone and potentially more that are not seen yet, I think I sent him into a gall bladder attack this week.

I made fried chicken one night and Nicholas ate half a breast. The following morning, he woke up complaining that his belly hurt then promptly had a technicolour yawn. He got sick a few more times over the space of 5 hours then was perfectly fine.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't food poisoning since Nathan ate the other half of the chicken breast and wasn't sick at all the next day.

I called the GI clinic and they said to call back the next morning if he was still sick and they'd fax over another lab requisition. Since he was fine by then, I didn't do it.

A gall bladder attack may fit...greasy food then belly pain and vomiting lasting less than 12 hours. Oh, the questions I'll have at the next appointment.

Parasite #3

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:18:00 +0000

I had my first OB appointment last Monday. It was a short and sweet visit. No big pile of paperwork since I had been a patient back in 2004. The only info that had changed was my work number.

My blood pressure was 140/70 which is consistant to what I've been sitting at all pregnancy. The baby's heartbeat was strong and it kept moving away from the doppler. Nathan was the same way, he hated the monitors. He'd skitter away until there was no room left then he started to kick or punch them away. Only my kids eh? LOL

Dr. Jiwa wants me back on the Metformin because it may help slow my weight gain and control any potential blood sugar issues. I've dodge the gestational diabetes bullet twice before but you never know what will happen this time. This pregnancy has been so easy on me so far that SOMETHING has to go wrong. LOL Yes, I'm a glass half empty type. LOL

She sent me for some more blood tests too. Mostly just to get a baseline so if something starts to spike we'll see it right away and be able to deal with it before it gets out of hand. I still have to do my 24hr urine collection and a blood test after that. Again it is only to get a baseline. It's all to do with my high blood pressure.

The OB has ordered my next ultrasound. Hopefully we'll get better images this time. So I'll be doing the pee-pee dance again on Tuesday.

So everything is going well for the time being on the baby front.

Nicholas's latest GI appointment

noreply@blogger.com (Christine/ArmyBrat) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:49:00 +0000

I took Nic into the GI clinic on April 10th. I ended up pretty disappointed.

After loads of waiting (go figure, it's a specialist's office) the doctor was only with us for a few minutes. She ordered more blood tests and another liver ultrasound. Apparently the first ultrasound wasn't totally clear because Nicholas was full of gas. I always knew he was a little stinker. LOL

Any way, he has ONE gall stone that may be the cause of all his troubles. The doctor wants another ultrasound to see if it has gotten bigger, smaller, moved, asexually reproduced, etc.

His liver was not enlarged at the latest appointment so he's OK for now. I asked about an MRI or a CT scan to maybe see the gall bladder and liver better and she said that he'd have to be sedated and she wants to avoid putting him under until they have to. He's already had anesthetic 3 times. She kind of wants to wait and see for a while longer. We're already scheduled for the next liver ultrasound and his next appointment and the blood tests were done that day.

I asked about doing the liver biopsy and she said that she'd have to consult with yet another doctor. She apparently has "learned from her mistakes". She has done liver biopsies then found out that another doctor needs in on the case and he'll need samples too so they have to redo the biopsy. So, we're gonna wait on that one for a little while longer too. She needs to see the new liver ultrasound and the blood test results before she does anything else.

I left the appointment very disappointed. I know they have to do tests to get a diagnosis but hasn't he had enough tests already?