Death....Hmm.... What calls someone home??

Life can certainly change in one fell swoop!! Poppie is gone, I am sad, but it was coming for a while we knew it. How do we prepare for death anyways, this week I sat in a hospital room watching a man I loved dearly gasping for air for 4 days straight. Preparing, or so I thought myself for the one moment in life. I still was not prepared for what this would bring. It has been an emotional rollercoaster.... Overall though it had to happen, I am so grateful that God was finally willing to take this man out of his suffering. Meanwhile as I am sitting at the hospital on Monday I got the call from my Mitchy that his father had passed very suddenly that morning. Well not so suddenly when you have cancer spread throughout your body, you are given three months to live and then 2 days into the hospice care your body has enough. I am much too tired to come up with some philosophy right now but am sure that I will speak more about it later... It is just interesting to think about "What calls someone home?"

To all my dear friends thank you for all of your support!!!

WOW one weekend down, one WEEK to go :)

Well overall things have gone fairly well for me here. I love my kids, we have had a blast and so many wonderful people have offered support. I got in this weird mode on Thursday and decided that I would take hold of the time that Ky was gone and bleach the entire house I mean sanitize, deep clean. Well I have made some progress, the kids bathroom has never been cleaner, and i have almost completed the kids end of the house. Today I got a wild hair and decided to clean our dry storage and storage room in the basement. Oh my the projects I start now I am sitting here blogging instead of going down to finish it. I will finish it though soley so I can check it off my list. I have written two papers for school, shoveled massive amounts of snow, made snowmen, and completed some Christmas present crafty stuff that I have been meaning to do for a while. It has been good I have been a sort of machine. Isn't it weird that we get more done when the one we love is away, I think it is my way of keeping my mind off of things, plus when she is home it is WAY more fun to cuddle on the couch to a movie.

For fun Friday night a work friend of mine brought over "Roc*k ** B**and) and her playstation 3 and we played that till close to midnight, it sort of goes along with my new Gu**itar He**ros addiction. After the kids were in bed of course. I only wish I was a good as Ky and could put pictures up but thats not my forte.

Anyways, to my wifey, I love you, I miss you immensly, and I am counting the days for you to come home!!

To my friends, thanks for all of the much needed moral support, the phone calls, the offers for drinks, coffee etc. I surely appreciate that you are all amazing!!

Wish me Luck

My beautiful wife is leaving me tomorrow for 11 days to go to Hawaii to take care of her mom who had surgery. Thats right folks 10 days. I am mostly jealous that she is going to warm and lovely Hawaii, and I will miss her BAD. I think I will handle the kids just fine!! I might need some happy pink pills or just knock me over the head with a bat!! Really it will be fine. I will enjoy the intense quality time with my children and plus thank heavens for daycare, like my wife says "it is only like a couple of hours a night before they go to bed" I say "thats right honey it is just keeping up with all of the stuff you do in addition that makes it a bit difficult". Love you my girl!!!! Hurry Home and remember you deserve a bit of a break!!

It can't be that bad compared to the last couple of days, as some of you know our furnace went out on Sunday morning and we have been without heat till just late this afternoon. What a nightmare, unreal!! ITs all good though it is fixed!

New class started ight love my class so that is good!!

Sorry I am so boring but that is 2 posts in 1 day pretty fancy if you ask me!

Lets do this Utah PEEPS

For those of you who are not already involved in this:

I am on the board for a legislative bill that is going to the House in January 2008As most of you know we have a little girl that is adopted but we were unable to legally foster her or adopt her as a couple. This bill is VITAL for all LGBT who are hoping to have children, have children, or have the potential for fostering children within their family or otherwise. Ultimately this bill would allow for second parent adoption for now we are just going to take it step by step.

This is going to require a TREMENDOUS amount of support from everyone in Utah. We want all to be involved this is going to take action and a big push from all including, LGBT parents, grandparents,supporters, allies, and friends.

We are hosting a meeting at our house on December 17th at 7:00 pm. Kids are welcome. In this meeting we will tell you what you can do to help, we will discuss the rally that will take place in February. We will talk about other bills that have been overturned that are similar to this back in 2000. My email is below for more info!

We NEED all of our friends to be involved kids or not to be there, because we know that you ALL support and love our children. We will also host meetings in Northern Utah, Tooele, Sandy/Riverton area over the next month.

I have included some additional information below, if you have ANY questions please email or call me!! Thanks in advance for your support. Also please keep this going, pass it on your bulletin, we must educate everyone we know because most think we already have these rights!

If you have other questions about this you can email me at rebecca.brown2@gmail.com and I will get you in touch with the right people, I am just not comfortable posting all contact info now.

ADOPTION FACT SHEET 12.07

SUPPORT Adoption Amendments

Adoption and foster care decisions should be made by
parents and professionals, not politicians. All qualified
parents should be able to adopt.

• The marital restriction costs taxpayers. Children with two parents
are less likely to end up on CHIP, food stamps, and welfare than those
with only one parent. Current law prevents a parent from sharing rights
and responsibilities with another cohabiting adult if they are not married.
This creates families with a working adult and a child on welfare.

• The marital restriction has harmed children in crisis. In 1999, the
year before the marital restriction, DCFS placed 644 children with
relatives. As of last year, relative placement had dropped by 31%. In
that same time frame, the number of children in state custody and the
length of time in custody have increased.

• Parents should have the right to choose who raises their children.
A parent knows what is in their child’s best interests. Under current law,
a single parent can designate someone for a second parent adoption,
including a roommate or a lover who lives somewhere else. But if the
second adult lives with the parent in a committed relationship, the law
says they are disqualified.

• The best interests of the child should not be ignored. In October
2007, a court told Gregg and Mike Valdez that their four nieces and
nephews would be taken away and placed in foster care because Gregg
and Mike were not married. Even though the children were with relatives
and were all together, the law prevented the court from considering what
would benefit the children.

• Married couples will still have priority to adopt. Utah values
traditional families. And under Adoption Amendments, a married couple
will take priority over other candidates in the adoption process. But any
loving and supportive family is preferable to no family for children in
crisis.

SUPPORT Adoption Amendments

Mommy its Jesus and stuff

I have a final tomorrow but I had to write this while I was thinking about it!! 2 of the funniest things from the mouths of babes. So, I had to go for my weekly shot of god at the doctors office and I had the day off so the kids were home with me (it only took one day to be reminded of why I go to work everyday, I would go NUTS, I LOVE my kids but I am pretty certain I am a better as a professional working mother, thanks GOD for our wonderful daycare lady) Okay back to the story, doctors office and kids Alyssa is sitting next to me and she can see through a window into another office where a man is sitting, before looking that direction Alyssa SCREAMS at the top of her lungs with excitement "MOMMY LOOK ITS JESUS" I was agahst and it took me a minute to figure it all out, the entire room was also in awe, like what do these people teach there kid. Well I should explain that the guy did have very long brown hair down his back....... I have not stopped laughing since about it. So I look at her and say "No, honey that is not Jesus, he is in heaven, and please don't scream like that it scares me" Alyssa says in a very slight whisper "Okay Mommy but that is Jesus I promise". Weird who knows maybe it was??

The other funny of the day is that this morning Alyssa had come to lay in bed with her Mama and she says "Hey mom there is chocolate in my pink bed" Ky says "Chocolate??? Honey will you go check Alyssa's bed for chocolate." So I go in there thinking maybe she had a hidden candy bar. Sure enough I should know better there was a nice brown area on her bed, she still wears a pull up so I have no idea how it made its way there, I am sure it is one of the stages of development, I mean it wasnt big and it sure looked like chocolate, and just to convice myself it of course being the mom that i am I had to smell it just to be sure it wasn't really chocolate. NOPE it sure wasn't it was a tiny bit of smeared poopy. Oh geez!! I hope she didn't really think it was chocolate, but she is definitely a crack up!!

I am such a loser

Things have been so crazy, right this instant I am trying to finish a final paper on nuclear energy, this I have no clue about really!! My class is done this week and I am going to write soon. Not to mention I really have not had anything too spectacular happen in the last few weeks just trying to breath!

Updates and such!!

Well to start off thank you to all for your well wishes to "Poppy". This week the rushed him into surgery and decided to remove his hip joint and stuff that area with antibiotics, in an attempt to fight the infection in his hip. He is doing better at least his pain is getting better. He is just not ready to give up yet, and I don't blame him he has a lot to live for and he is the first to say that!! Someone at the hospital the other day said that they think he must have something else to teach, or another lesson to learn. He is a fighter!!

My kids are great I will include some pics from this weeks trip up to the pumpkin patch!! We had a blast, it is funny we planned this little afterwork jaunt up there to BFE Syracuse expecting to hop on a hayride and pick a pumpkin we had no idea it would include such fun things, this place rocked. They had hay slides, corn mazes, milk barrel rides for kids and adults. THe best thing Heids and I decided to hop on the teeter totter, oh my hell it is soooooo much fun to be a kid once in a while!! It was nice to spend time with family and friends!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I also went to a haunted house this week which is probably one of my most favorite things ever, I always have to find friends to take with me because Ky will not go within a mile of them. She HATES haunted houses, the one time I managed to get her into one she airlifted herself onto my back in several parts and peed her pants literally. Needless to say she does not join me anymore. It was definitely fun though and I love love love Halloween.

We are very very excited this week we have finally gotten our sweet daughter into the number one child neurologist, psychologist in Utah, we have known a lot of people who have tried to go to him to no avail because their insurance will not cover his services and he is very expensive. Well this week we found out our insurance will cover him, what a blessing. Initially he did not have openings until March but after hearing Alyssas story he is going to get us in with his resident immediately. Ky and I really tried to avoid the inevitable of seeing someone more qualified. A has had services for everything since pretty much the week she came home. We have had behavior specialist, eating therapists, evals, tests, more evals, and a lot of speculation and diagnosis. We have been told by 2 different social service organizations that she was beyond their ability. So for the last 6 months K and I backed off, decided we would try our own thing, love her love her lover her and love her some more. NOTHING is working and I won't even go into it all. Those of you that understand behavior disorder, drug addicted children and attachment disorders may understand what I am talking about. Back to the guy who will be evaluating her, we are so excited because not only will he work her behavior, problems, medical, psychological, emotional. But MOST importantly he will help K and i feel like we are parenting her appropriately. I mean I know we have good parenting skills but in this instance there is ALWAYS room for improvement, I was reading a book today that was talking about how as a parent we all want to raise successful children and we do that with the best of intention, we have to learn to adapt to her behavior, balance that in our family, and love with boundaries. So again we feel EXTREMELY blessed that this is all working in all of our favor.

Thanks for listening!!

Our Poppy

Well things have been a bit crazy this week. I have been dreading writing this post all week in a way because it seems like it is the beginning of finalizing something that I do not want to ever see happen...... It is the inevitable though and the beauty of the circle of life.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My "Poppy" as my kids call him.... To me he is my Pop, to some he is Oscar, others he is Reed, and at one point in his life he was a Colonel in the Army. Most of all he is one of the most amazing men on earth. He is a fighter, a man who has a strength unlike anyone I have known, a man with a heart as big as Texas, a love as large as this world, and acceptance unlike anyone that I have ever known. A man who has not blinked at the thought of me having a women as my partner, a man who stood proud at my commitment ceremony, loving and cherishing Kyla and my children. This man who cried uncontrollably, with joy when he held Jackson for the first time is one of my greatest heroes.

Poppy, was run over in the Korean War in a vehicle accident. He never received the care he should have and has been debilitated by severe and excruciating back pain for the last 25 years. A pain unlike anything I have ever seen one soul endure. He spends his days in agony, with a mind as clear as glass. Usually as people age it seems their mind goes along with their bodies. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for him. He gains more clarity, about the importance of his family, the love he has for his grandchildren, and the tremendous passion that he has for his newly added great grandchildren. He just got a new one 2 weeks ago and has not been able to see her yet and I know this is driving him crazy.

His true darkness began about 3 1/2 years ago when he was placed in the first "assisted living center" by my grandmother (an amazing woman, I might add)she could not longer physically assist him with his daily needs as they increased. So into the first home he went, no family wants this for their loved ones, in fact I would rather have had him live with me. Gram would not have it though, for those that know her she is strong willed, slightly manipulative, and has an intense need to control EVERY situation she encounters. So he has been in and out of assisted living, nursing homes, and care centers. Each getting worse it seems, he has gone home a few times and Gram has given it a college try providing him care, with the help of some in home nursing services, but it became too much. His most recent stay home about 3 months ago came to an abrupt end with a severe infection in his body, he went from being more mobile to being wheelchair bound. He is a Veteran so he is seen at the VA and I think his generational thinking forces him to believe that the VA is the only hospital on the planet that can provide him care. Everyone seems to believe it is a good place.... I however have not been impressed, every time I have been there I have been treated like shit by the staff, my grandmother was escorted out by a police officer at the request of the secretary (who I like to refer to as the not so lovely secretary of the year) for simply requesting to see her husband in the emergency room more then one time. I was sitting right there, she was not aggressive, certainly not a threat, and is just as far from the woman that would need to be escorted by police off of the premises as "Kathryn Hepburn". Anyways, every single time I walk into that god forsaken hospital I cringe at the thought that this is the way we treat the amazing souls that protect my family and our future generations. I cringe at the thought that my brother is a Marine and I can't stand the thought of him EVER having to get care at such an establishment. It disgusts me and after some research truly is a national problem. Enough about that though!!

Even worse are these god awful care centers where we place our elderly citizens. One of those citizens at this time happens to be my grandfather. The filth and despair present there is unimaginable. The stench that lines the halls is more then most could bare, and there he lays in his bed unable to move without assistance sleeping. Well that was till last week when he was rushed to the hospital for the 3rd time in 2 weeks because of pain he was having in his hip. Well know I think that this lovely care center is what will kill him in the coming months. He started with 2 sores on his rear end, sores that could have been treated and prevented much sooner then they were. Sores that should have been cleaned and cared for 3-4 times a day. They were not, we were led to believe they were but the last couple of weeks have proven otherwise. As those have been healing he was forced to lay in bed, no pressure on his rear which in turn has led to a terrible bed sore on his right side. A bed sore that yes started out as a red sore, and has now progressed to a sore the size of a silver dollar and has reached his bone. At any moment in the last couple of weeks this should have been given more intense attention but instead was ignored. There is really no explanation for it. My family has been completely attentive my grandmother there 8 hours a day. Everyone told us it was being cared for. My uncle a surgeon checked him regularly and believed it may not have been being cared for as much as was being said. Again though my grandmother does not allow us to get too involved.

Well the scene has gone from bad to worse this week. He was rushed to the hospital last Sunday, he was having trouble breathing and not acting normally. He got worse on Monday and that is when I got the dreaded call of "get to the hospital now this is it" Ky and I knew when we called back and my father had escorted my mom to the hospital that this really was it (see, ole dadio doesn't do anything unless it is absolutely necessary, he avoids the drama of it all very well)so we rushed to the hospital at mock 90. Rushed into the intensive care unit, and there he was. He looked like he was ready to go, he was barely breathing, they thought he had a stroke, and they were pounding on his chest trying to wake him. Part of me just kept thinking "oh poppy not yet, it can't be time yet I am not ready for this!!" and part of me kept thinking "oh poppy it is okay let go it is time for you to let go and be free." The docs came in and said the last and most invasive thing they were going to do was administer IV meds into a central line they would place in his heart. They believed it could be another infection in his bed sores.

Well, sure enough they placed the line and administered the antibiotics and not 1 hour later he was 80% better. The first thing he said when he came too was "I am hungry" the rest of the family still there was like uhhhhh.... you were practically dead, now you are hungry. But that is Poppy for you............. So the week has been filled with this rollercoaster of emotion as to what his fate is going to be. My mom called me and I think I am realizing what his fate is...... The infection from the sore that was never treated properly at the care center has gone into the bone. Throughout the development of this sore there have been many interventions none taken because the severity was never discussed. So it is now in the bone, and this will kill him soon (although he did inform the doctors this week thats he "WAS NOT READY TO DIE YET THOUGH"). This is where I start to get a bit heated apparently prior to death and according to my Uncle the doctor this is one of the most painful and grueling deaths imaginable. The pain is unbearable, medications barely will touch the pain at this point. It will seep into his entire body, through his bones and eventually take his life, because it is in his hip there is no ability to amputate. It will take a miracle for something to be done, I mean I believe in miracles, I wish for a miracle even if he died the next week but they cured the infection that would be okay, I want him to be peaceful more then anything.

My grandmother has not told any of us but she is looking into a hospice center we found out through the grapevine of doctors. This will cost her upwards of 15,000 dollars a month. Ky and I, my mother and other family have all offered to hold hospice care in our home and pay a full time nurse to stay here, covered by insurance and costing far less then that. She will not have it. Whatever happened to a family decision anyways. Why does she always have to do it her way, and have total control. It makes me crazy, we all want him to die at "home" our home his home not in a nasty awful horrible care center, that doesn't really "care at all".

God I am so angry about this situation, but I have to live and let live......

Poppy, I love you, thank you for always teaching me incredible songs, all of the counties in Utah in alphabetical order, singing me good ship lollypop weekly, and thank you for always being my rock, for loving me too no end, and for teaching me undeniable strength, drive and motivation. I will admire you for my lifetime... and I promise to always make you proud.

Godspeed My Poppy!

6 Years in the Making

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So.. I am sure you were all dying to hear how "surprised" I was for my big trip. I was very surprised!! The "surprise" trip to San Fran was truly the BEST surprise I have ever had in my life. I can't think of anywhere or anyone more incredible to have this surprise happen with. I LOVE San Fran and I love Ky. Romantic, wouldn't you say, I guess I can really say somebody loves me!! Ky gave you all the details, for me I am still floating at the idea that she would have spent that much time and energy on lil ole me!! We had an amazing time, it gave us the opportunity to have adult conversation, and remember that we are in LOVE! We have been so busy for the last 3 years it is easy to get caught up!! I am so happy to have her as we have always said "she is my silver lining"

I love you BABY!! Thank you Thank you Thank you and lets do it again SOON, sooner then later!! Thanks to our wonderful friends that took care of the tyrants while we were gone, sure made it good to be able to relax!!

highways, byways, and getaways......

Well, I am back from my week out of town. It was a blast, I learned a lot at the substance abuse conference. Especially my favorite breakout session called "undercover with the DEA". It was nice, I managed to obscond to Mesquite on Tuesday and Wednesday nights while I was away, and play a little slot machine action. Not so good was the money that went down tube.. Ky says well it was hours of entertainment so no big deal. Whew, she always makes me feel better when I see money flying out the window. Plus, it was only the penny slots (which what a crock of crap it is WAY more then that when you bet 20 lines for 2 cents a line or whatever the hell).

My cute family joined me on Thursday night around 7 pm. It was SO good to see all of them. We have never stayed a night at a hotel as a family ALONE. We have always been with friends or family in our out of town travels (not that its a bad thing). So we LOVED it we had such a great time doing nothing. Thursday we went to an awesome dinner with some of my coworkers and for the record I hate cheesecake but ate the BEST cheesecake of my life that night. Infact I want some more right now. We did a whole lot of nothing on Friday, swam in the pool, chatted, and spent some 'quality" time together. We had previously decided to come home on Saturday because that would still give us a bit of a weekend. It was a real bummer because So. Ut Pride was on Saturday and originally we thought we would stop in. However, WINTER hit that day and we thought it best to get home as soon as possible. So we drove through a blizzard for a good 2oo miles, it was so strange I wanted to be in total denial that it was actually close enough to winter for SNOW. Ky goes "is that snow, sure is it is sticking" It took me a triple take to believe it. That is until I had the white knuckles on the steering wheel, pretty much all of the way to SLC.

We had fun last night we pulled out the new Karioke Machine Ky got me for our Anniversary and had a couple glasses of wine (ky had shots). This morning I finished up some school stuff. I am finishing my first class as of tomorrow at 10pm (how nice it goes so fast you don't even have time to hate it). Then we went and took some family pictures at Memory Grove, fun but not that fun with 2 toddlers who are done after the first 5 minutes. Infact we are going to have to get dressed again to go and get a few more of the whole family. We got cute ones of the kids but no family pic, and for those of you that know us well you know that we don't even have a family picture in the house. Why? well when we had the lovely state in for the visits monthly we thought it easier to just hide our whole family away and in that did not EVER take a picture till now. So I am VERY excited but my excitement will have to wait a few more weeks to get a few more done.

Then we went to the circus, my Ky got us 3rd row seats. After my panic of trampling elephants (LUCKILY OUR SEATS WERE ON THE END) I couldn't believe how good the seats were. We went with the Proud Prowsers and it was so much fun. Thanks girls we have missed you and it was so good to see you!! I am so niave though, we are walking into the circus and this "sweet" young man walks up handing out literature, I thought he was really giving me a "program" thinking to myself, those programs are so expensive, I scored by getting one on the way in. I looked at it for a minute and Ky was like oh they are soliciting, and picketing for the (P))E&&T##A) Organization. Not that i have a side either way, but when am I going to not be so niave to think that pretty much everyone is out for a cause, and now a days there is not going to be some nice person handing out a free program. Nope the programs were 15.00 at the door. Oh hell I might as well rant a bit more, to rid my guilt. So you know they sell so much damn propoganda at the circus and other events that Ky and I decided a few years ago that we would NEVER buy the kids any of that stuff at those events so that it never becomes a habit. Good damn thing Ky had a momentary lapse and wanted a snow cone I asked the guy for fun how much 15.00 oh and they had a 23.00 and 30.00 cup for a snow cone also. Come again, $15.00 for a snow cone in a cheap plastic cup. HOLY HELL!! We quickly changed that thought process and did NOT have a snow cone. Who pays that, well apparently everyone because the guy would come back and forth with the empty tray... To top that all off the cotton candy cost the same $15.00 for swirled up sugar, you must be kidding. Anyways, I remember as kids my Grandpa would buy us whatever we wanted at those things, we would probably take it all home and throw it away in a week, cuz it broke or whatever...... Now, it was probably MUCH cheaper back then and that is neither here nor there... the bottom line is if people would stop buying that crap it would not be so ridiculous.. Then when our kids looked at us longingly we could justify spending a bit to get them something. I mean REALLY it is not about the money for me (I am the one who blew money on NOTHING in Mesquite). It is about the principal, is it not enought to pay 35.00 a ticket, 35>00 for popcorn, hotdog, drinks, and some nachos. Oh and 5.00 TO PARK. Thank Heavens Sum and Mer feel the same way and Cam did not end up with any of those things either because lord knows that would have made things a bit harder, at least made it harder for me to stick to my "decision".

What an awesome weekend... I am on the countdown for my "anniversary getaway", Ky has now informed me that we are going to be flying." She has such a hard time with secrets, a couple of times she says, "do you want me to just tell you" I am bad with secrets too... but I have said no don't tell me I really want to be surprised. I CAN"T WAIT, I would like to think it was a romantic cruise, but the logical side of me says that 2 days is not enough for that.... So for now I will wait to see.

Have a great week, and keep an eye out for some more updated pictures that are downloading as we speak!

This and That

Sheer craziness, I don't know how else to explain it. Things have been wonderful, even better if I could just find another 2 hours in the day, and then have my alarm clock disappear. I guess, my little subconscious decided this morning that it did disappear because 2 alarms and I didn't even hear them. Funny, when you wake up at 7 am when you should have been up at least an hour ago and even that excludes my good morning workout. I guess my self is exhausted, no time for that. This week was kind of a fun week, Ky and I had our Anniversary. I know that she has a little surprise planned for me in a couple of weeks. So... I initially got a phone call on Tuesday afternoon, do you want to go out to dinner tonight, with the kids for our anniversary. First thought sure, but how funny when we both got home and in the door from work it sounded like way more fun to just stay home. So, my darling wife made me 4 cheese lasagna hamburger helper. I have been laughing about it all week, it seemed like the easiest thing in the cupboard and nothing sounded like more fun then being with my family. I know she would have made something fancy and elaborate and it would have tasted wonderful I am sure. No thanks, time was much better.

It is interesting this is our second anniversary of the year our first is the one that we celebrate in July (6 years), well we don't really celebrate it a kiss and a hug and a thanks I am happy we met gushy speech :). September 18th (3 years) is really the best one, we had our commitment ceremony up Millcreek Canyon at this huge group campsite, it was the most amazing day of both of our lives (well except for having and getting our kids). I pulled out our wedding DVD, at which of course I had to cry because it was such a beautiful experience (one of which I hope to never have to do over because it was a hell of a lot of work too)! Anyways, Babe I Love You, Forever and Always!!

School....... seems to be going well, I have moments of severe intellectual deportation from my cerebral cortex, but hey I am sure that's normal and I am even more sure that is an actual diagnosis for feeling idiotic. Tonight, perfect example I had my first team paper, well I can write and I can usually write a paper, I could absolutely not wrap my head around writing a team paper in which I only had to write one portion, one portion without seeing what everyone else wrote. So after about 6 tries 4 of which I seemed to head towards writing the whole darn thing, I think I finally got it. Simple one page paper on "Ethics of College Admission Policies in relationship to Socio Economic Status" My part "the virtuous cycle" created by socio economic status. I feel like that commercial right now "THIS IS YOUR BRAIN, (sizzle sizzle, sizzle) THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS" The worst damn part no drugs in this arena, just freakin school.

My kids..... Good God I think I might be thinking we might be thinking we might be wondering if we might want to start trying to see if we might want another one and now I am trying to decide how that would ever fit in the mix.(whew that's funny I crack myself up, slap happy I think) I don't want the kids to all be too far apart, they say when you start pushing 4-5 years you might as well consider them "only children" "or a second family" WTF I don't want that I have this cute family ties type, sibling love type, cosby show type, family type view in my head where my kids are all best friends they protect and love each other..... Oh brother, well ain't no spermy swimming my way this month so guess we will see whats next..... To baby or not to baby that is the question, MOM (if you are reading this), don't answer this question, I know you would sink the moon if you could have another, PATIENCE sweet mama PATIENCE.

P.S I just re read this blog and its a bit sporadic, I know forgive me!!

Nurse maid elbow

So, one of Jacks loving uncles was swinging him by the arms the other night at the fair. On Saturday morning Jack would not use his left arm at all. I thought maybe he just had a sprain or something so we gave him Tylenol and kept going through the day, we kept thinking he was guarding it and we iced it. He would say "mommy my arm hurts" and at the Ute Football game he would not even put to much pressure on it. He did not cry a lot about it and I figured if it was broken or something he would be crying a lot more. My dad did a "Papa" check on it and thought that we should give it one more night and see if it rested enough he would be better in the morning. NOPE, this morning he was still in obvious pain and complaining about it. Ky leaves town today for another week and I was worried about her not being here if it was something more serious. So I decided that I would take him to the urgent care clinic at least to have it x rayed. He was so good laying under that big machine, it obviously hurt to have them turn it all over the place but he was a little champ (I thought to myself, well this is not going to be the last time you are sitting in this position you have a little boy so you better get used to it). They took us back to the room and Dr. W came in and says so... "what can I do for you, his bones look great?' Immediately I felt relief wash over me, but what was wrong then, the poor kid can not even get food to my mouth. The doc says "well I think it is nurse maids elbow, let me look" He grabs his arm and starts twisting, my mother who was with me hits the doctor and says "stop it you are hurting him." Jack of course was screaming. The doc "well I didn't get anything that time let me try just once more." I was cringing I knew it hurt Jack, the kid can lay himself out on asphalt and stand up and brush his hands off and keep going. The doc grabs his arm once more and twists and sure enough "POP" the doc says "Oh, I got it!" I could tell it felt immediately better. So the doc told us to hang out for ten minutes force Jack to use it so we could make sure there was a difference. So we went to the lobby and what makes a kid move better then anything but candy. Sure enough the boy was back to normal and announces to the doctors office "my arm feel better.' The doc checked him over one last time, Jack thanked everyone walking out of the office and it was so nice to have him back to normal. The doc spoke to us about why this happens and I looked it up and am posting it below so you can all see, he says it can simply happen from a child holding hands with Mom in a hurry, but mostly from picking them up and swinging them by their arms. We know this and have told this loving uncle NO MORE many times but guess you can't resist horseplay with boys.


Nursemaid Elbow Overview
Nursemaid elbow is a common injury among preschool-aged children. It refers to a condition (medically called a radial head subluxation) in which a child's elbow bones get partially pulled out of joint and do not line up normally. The injury can occur innocently from swinging a young child by the arms or pulling a child's arm while in a hurry.
A temporary condition without permanent effects, it can be quite frightening to parents who find their child lacking the ability to use his or her upper arm.
Specifically, a portion of soft tissue, whose function is to hold bones together, is pulled between 2 areas of the bones that make up the elbow joint. The involved bony areas are the radial neck and head of the radius bone in the forearm and the capitellum portion of the humerus, or upper arm bone. Movement of the elbow in this condition results in pain and keeps the child from using the upper arm.
Typically, this type of injury occurs in children aged 1-4 years but has occurred in infants aged 6-12 months as well. As children grow, their bones become larger and more defined. So this injury is rarely seen in children older than 6 years.

Nursemaid Elbow Causes
Nursemaid elbow occurs after a sudden pulling force is applied to the extended upper arm of the child while the arm is slightly twisted. The force may not seem strong, and you may not even realize it has happened.
Some examples of typical situations that can produce the mechanism of force required to cause this injury are these:
In lifting the child by the hand
Swinging the child while holding the child by the hands
Pulling arms through the sleeves of jackets
Catching a child by the hand to prevent a fall
Pulling a child along when in a hurry
The young child is prone to this type of injury largely because of the anatomical features of their bones and ligaments. Understanding the mechanism of this injury is helpful in explaining the cause.
The end of the radius bone that connects to the elbow joint is known as the radial head. This will eventually become shaped like the end of a dowel rod. In the young child, however, it does not yet have a well-defined lip at its end. As such, the radial neck and radial head portions of the radius are similar in size in the toddler.
The annular ligament holds the radius alongside the ulna, which is the other bone in the forearm, and allows for the radius to twist. At this point in childhood development, it is still relatively loosely attached to the bone and can experience a small tear in some of its fibers.
The combination of these 2 things allows the loose portions of the ligament to slide over the radial head as a pulling force is applied to the elbow when the forearm is slightly twisted inward (pronation). When this happens, this tissue can become trapped between the 2 bones, resulting in the subluxation of the radial head, or nursemaid elbow.

End of Summer Fun

I cannot believe it, I can't believe that summer is coming to an end. It is time to put all of the fun away. Ky and I were driving home today and started planning out the winter, and I have to say. We are going to need some fun in there somewhere. This winter..... The house, painting and new carpet. That should be fun.

Anyways, our summer fun is not really ending but it is clear we are transitioning into fall because the fair is coming, and in the mountains this weekend the leaves on the ridges were starting to change. I am not going to lie, I LOVE fall, when I lived back East fall was the most AMAZING season of all. The trees and season change was absolutely breath taking, and the thing I miss the most from Maine, we could do so much in the fall my favorite... Apple picking, we would get out all of our first of the season fall clothes and head out to the orchards for this yearly event, this was usually followed by some apple pie, a fair or two and some awesome beach campfires. Utah.. isn't half bad though, it is quite amazing here also so I am certainly not complaining!

So as our farewell to summer we spent the weekend camping at East Canyon... Although this was the "trip originally planned for the grandparents" upon there canceling, we ended up inviting some friends up to join us. It was a blast, we spent some time at the Lake in the BIGGIE (which sadly had gained a few holes from the ride up, and I spent most of the time the first day holding the holes with my fingers, Mitchy and I went on a mad dash down the canyon to find patches for the next day, and succeeded in that project). We saw wildlife had a near "spray" experience on several occasions from the skunks that visited us nightly, played games, and let the kids run wild. There is nothing better then having your family, in the mountains, next to water, with no real expectations. Thanks to those who joined us and made it an incredible experience and to anyone who didn't we are thinking that we should start planning for next year sooner then later so that we can get a great spot, in an incredible area, and be joined by incredible people!!

I am sure Ky will give the full update and picture report so stay tuned!!

Bro Update

I am very happy to report that things have been awesome with my bro and our visit! I may have prejudged and over reacted a bit. We enjoyed dinner with the family last night, a nice family brunch today and then Ky and I and the kids decided to go to Lagoon today with some friends so we kidnapped him and took him with us. It was such a pleasure to spend the day with him. HE is an amazing uncle to the kids, he gets very few chances to be with my babies and every moment we get to have him around is AWESOME. He is definitely a natural with the kids and it is special to watch them!! Ahhh sappy. Anyways, we will be sharing more about the weekend soon!!

My Bro

(My bro and Jack on the left taken just over a year ago)

Disclaimer: Love my mom but GEEEEEZ lady are you for real, for real!

So, I got word today that my bro is coming home for a ten day visit. My brother is a Cobra Helicopter Pilot for the United States Marine Corps. He has been away for several years ( I have seen him on the occasional holiday etc) going through intensive training and flight schools. Apparently this will be our last visit before he is deployed (which makes me extremely nauseous and anxiety ridden on MANY levels, I hate the war, I hate our FUCKING President, but I love my Bro and I am so very proud of his accomplishments, so this inturn keeps me stuck) This visit will be interesting, well it is always interesting. My mother still has this weird infatuation with my brother and since he left any time he comes home my mother is convinced "this is the last time he will be home for a very long time, you have no idea what war or whatever will bring, drop everything." she monopolizes the majority of his time spent home with weird schedules and plans (in the first day he is here she has planned a brunch and dinner for him, which he doesn't even know about and would fall over and die if he did.) Besides that the thing that bugs me is that he is 26 years old and doesn't tell her no EVER. We have to practically go through Fort Knox to make plans with him or work around the weird plans she has thrown in the mix for him. Take for example that he is coming home to visit for ten days and my mom is absconding with him to Jackson Hole for 5 of the days. Sure we were invited (tentatively depending on him last minute), but who goes to Jackson Hole for 5 days over Labor Day weekend without having made reservations a year in advance. My mom however to accomplish this goal will pay thousands of dollars to ensure it happens..... Oh bug, I am not complaining but freak what happened to the time when siblings visit, the more I think of it I realize that my brother and I have struggled for so long to be close because we have never had the time to build our relationship without other things (ie my mom) getting in the way. I feel sad at times for my mother because I think this is her way of holding on to some weird fascination she has, of refusing to let go of her child but for CHRIST sakes I lived out of state for years granted I was not going to war, but whatever I never came home to HUGE cheers and infatuation. I came home to visit. Ky and I decided tonight that maybe we will try moving out of state, see if we can get some grand schemes when we come home. This is just my random rant for the day because I can't believe how irritating it is that I can't even call my own sibling and make plans with him because it might interfere with something my mom has planned for him. I can call but it is always like he practically has to say.... Well I might like to do that, (like go to Lagoon this weekend...)"If mom will let me."

Academiaphobia

So...... the time has come, K is just getting ready to graduate school and it is now my turn to start AGAIN! I am freakin out or a more likely term having academiaphobia. I have been working in the field of "social services and substance abuse" for over 12 year now SHIT!! I have been working towards my degree for about ten of that. OBVIOUSLY I have taken some very large breaks, to you know be an irresponsible 20 year old, buy houses, have kids, adopt kids, and then as a family we decided it would not benefit our family if K and I both did school at the same time.

I have gotten comfortable, if you could have a degree for experience I would have it three times over, and the experience I have has continuously offered amazing career opportunities for me... Not enough career opportunities though, it really is all about that piece of paper and for me it is going to have to include a Masters Degree. I started school when I was 18 and for years worked towards my degree in Criminal Justice until one day I realized that to be punishing and punitive was not going to work for me, in addition to the fact that I had several crime scene investigation classes and criminology that took me to the crime labs where the decision was made that there was NO way in hell I could look at the morbid things I saw there every day. The thing that really set me off was the lower arm preserved in a jar of formaldehyde saved to compare fingerprints etc. at a crime scene, I still have not gotten over those Heebie Jeebies. So my major quickly changed (which ALWAYS adds time in school and since I have been working full time I have only gone to school part time, mostly because my social life is also important to me. Anyways I digress.

I will be starting school on August 28 to finish my Bachelors in Human Services and Management at the University of Phoenix. God it is soooo expensive but it will shorten the time that I have left to get my degree by about 9 years total if I include my Masters Degree in Professional Counseling and I justify it by the fact that in that 9 years I will miss a lot more time with my kids, and the $$ I will make after my Masters will far outweigh the cost.

It is a bit intimidating though, K is so amazing in school she has done online, she is almost a straight A student and she has done all of this with 2 wild kids. I admire her sticktuitiveness and only hope that my commitment can be half of what she has shown. The only thing I have going for me is that she is my wife and she is so supportive. I already give 110% to being a mother, wife, friend. I am hopeful that school will easily fall into my line of priorities!! I will just keep a positive attitude and remember that the years will pass regardless of if I am in school or not so I might as well keep my chin up!

I can't help but have those first day of school jitters it feels like elementary school. I will be going to school one night a week on Tuesdays from 6-10 pm and then have a study group at least one night a week. What if I forgot how to be smart? What if I forgot how to be interactive and social in a school setting? I doubt I did and I am sure it will all come together. I feel like I should get to go "back to school shopping (hey maybe I can use that angle on K :)).

Addendum: Now, I know some of you reading this (Twins and 2 Moms) have done full time school and raised kids and survived so I will follow your example and bust a move!!

I love this stuff!

What a weekend!!

We had such fun this weekend.... The big gay campout!! You know it was our first time joining the group for this annual campout and we had a good time. It is always interesting though and a bit out of the ordinary for me to begin joining other groups. I have been a bit "stagnant" for a long time, I have been comfortable for a lot of years, we have had the "same" group of friends forever and this spring and summer we have had the enjoyment of having some very incredible people enter our lives... I had to realize something about myself this weekend, I easily get a bit uncomfortable, I feel out of sorts, I worry about what people think, and it bugs me!! My friends that have been around forever just know me, they know my quirks, and they love me for who I am. But.... I spent the weekend with a bunch of new people, with different qualities and quite a variety of personalities and I can't believe how much I found myself worrying if everyone was okay. It was great though there is no time like the present to come out of your comfort zone and have to do things a bit different. We really enjoyed getting to know people better and meeting new people.

The BGCO(big gay campout) held down in Dinosaur Land National Park was successful it seems. Minus a few "loud and slightly drunk" mishaps it was awesome. I was a bit concerned as we drove to Vernal, I had no idea what to expect I mean for me camping has always been in the mountains and dumb me thought Vernal would be mountainous since we were driving through Heber. I had NO idea we were going to end up in the desert. It was beautiful as we came in near the Green River.... I decided I MUST get out more! There was river rafting, fishing, swimming in the river, and some REBEL ROUSING!! K has all the pics I will let her post. For those of you who were there YOU ROCK and for those of you that weren't THERE IS NEXT YEAR!!

Meme questions answered!!

Okay I will take the HONOR of being last!! Here goes!

1. I am secretly a cowgirl, I have the hats, the boots, and I LOVE country music. I have raised horses(in fact I even drove my little baby paint horse in the backseat of my Toyota Tercel from Oakley to Heber to the vet because she was too little to go in the trailer, she was like my dog for a long time, her mother died at birth so I spent every night with her in the barn sleeping), I have barrel raced, dream of being in the rodeo pretty much daily, have a burning desire to live on several acres and have every farm animal imaginable. When I lived in Oakley I had goats, horses, and a pot bellied pig named Harley that lived in my house and slept in my closet, 4 dogs and at least 7 cats on a good day. My how times have changed but this is still where I will end up some day!! MARK MY WORDS!

2. I have lived in two other states besides Utah, I lived on a dude ranch for a summer in Grand Teton Wyoming after moving out of my parents home at the age of 16. I also traveled across the country to live in Portland Maine when I was 20. I went with a "girlfriend" who informed me in approximately Nebraska that she had cheated on me at least 16 times. I just kept driving. This experience was life altering, I learned and grew so much after I "left that girlfriend". This is truly where I came into my own, on my own, it really can be life altering when you spend some MAJOR time alone.

3. I saw K 4 days before I met her on a night out in Salt Lake while I was visiting. I knew that i had to know her. I walked the block for her that night, I was by damned going to talk to her, I never found her. 4 days later she walked into a going away party that was being held for me at the "Paper(lame) Moon" (6 years ago today folks, Happy pre Anniversary, Anniversary, we now celebrate our commitment ceremony date as our anniversary.) It was so overwhelming, I got on a plane the next day and wrote a letter to her. Mind you I had talked to her for about an hour in a large group of people, there was just "something about her"------ Probably, the wet t shirt (no not really but damn she had me whooped) (the wet t shirt was a pre Becky thing)

4. I have extremely bad luck with wildlife, I have hit over 10 deer in my lifetime in my car, I have been chased by a moose (no one ever bothered to tell me they jump fences), petted a moose in the dark thinking it was a horse, had chipmunks mating on my chest in the middle of the night, been approached while on a phone by a porcupine (and I thought it was a dog, till I didn't think it was a dog and then I freaked).

5. I too was adopted and found my Birth mother Debbie in Michigan when I was 16 and spent the summer with her that year. Another life changing experience she and I are very similar but VERY different and we have not had the "best relationship". It was the one thing I needed in life to complete my puzzle. I just needed to understand me a bit better, however she is a major alcoholic and uses many prescription drugs. The best is when I told her I was gay--her response--"I knew I should have had an abortion". Oh some peoples mothers--To this day this experience has made me say thank you to my adoptive parents every single day and I have never looked back since!

6. I am a horrible passenger seat driver, K hates it I have a very hard time and I go into this weird little panic thing if I see brake lights in front of me. Sometimes I think Ky might divorce me over it. I am working on it though, if you want I can demonstrate sometime.

7. I have no cartilage in the end of my nose so you can push it to squish right up against my face. The strangest thing is ---Jack doesn't have any either. Cute he must have got that from me, its my sperm I just know it.

8. Recently, I have started meditating while driving to the "Secret" meditation tape. My favorite is when it tells you that "it is not necessary to stay awake for this meditation" I laugh I stay awake but want to take it all in subconsciously and when I go to sleep I go WAY to sleep. Ky thinks I am too weird! P.S I just read this to Kyla and she informed me that I can't meditate while driving but I will tell you right now I have it down to a science!

Incarceration on a daily basis

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."

So many of you probably don't know this but I spend 5 days a week incarcerated. That drinking and driving and crack smoking has finally caught up with me. No.... not really I actually work in the local jail as a Substance Abuse Treatment Provider. I work in a unit of 64 men or 32 women on a daily basis. I work directly in their housing units, that's right most the time they pee and shower right there in front of me. I think I have the greatest job ever, my friends mostly think I am nuts. I have worked in this field for over 11 years left for about 1.5 years to try something new and couldn't stay away. A definite chain of events today has led me to write this blog. First, I work with a coworker who is intensely cynical and burned out, I had a new intern start today, and I received a call from 2 different people whom had been in my program over 4 years ago and recently one of my "inmates" died....... I couldn't help but think all day today just how lucky and grateful I am to have the gift of work that I do everyday. Not often do we get to "give it away" hope is what I am talking about..... Not often do we get blessed with the job of simply instilling hope in individuals who have lost it. Hope is an amazing thing I watch it fall into souls everyday and as quickly as they find it, it can be lost. Currently, I work with men who have committed crimes as simple as Driving on a suspended license to career criminals and everything in between. They don't all get out of the program and become successful individuals, and that is not what it is about for me.... What life is really about is potential, to see someone who has felt like they could never succeed, endure and entire paradigm shift and have the opportunity to be successful is amazing. To watch self esteem and hope walk up and tap "grown men" on the shoulder is a gift. I mostly wanted to put it out there today that I am so grateful!!

I 2 different phone calls today from two different women that I have worked with in the past 4 years. They both lived a life of severe drug addiction and crime and were able to gain the tools necessary to be successful.... There is nothing like that call the "Hi Becky, this is so and so and I just needed to tell you THANK YOU, I am a new mom, or I am a grandma" I will keep in touch!! That's worth it..... So my coworker is as mentioned earlier the most cynical person I have met I am sure it is based on burnout.. Sad I hate that!!! If I am ever at that point with my job "SOMEBODY MAKE ME STOP"

Well this has been a bit gushy, I don't know I had to say it.... Some aren't so lucky to love their job. I guess if I have to leave my kids everyday for 8 hours it is a good thing I have something that I feel this grateful for!!

What the hell??

Mingle² - Online Dating

R my blog was rated R for saying Gay (4X) Death (4X) and Hell (1X). I don't get it, but I am definitely R rated and proud of it. Shit at this rate I am probably XXX rated if thats what it is based on!

I am woman see me catch toss and dodge snakes then hear me scream oh and then roar!

I only wish that i would have taken pictures but here is the story!!

So it is neighborhood cleanup in our area, a couple of my friends came over on Monday to help me get some things pulled together in the yard. I was drowning in our yard. Let me just preface this with, when we bought this house it was the middle of winter and we had NO idea what was waiting for us under the snow. To our surprise we have the most amazing yard, well I am sure it is amazing if you have approximately 10 hours a day to spend in it, weeding, shaping and trimming. Me and my family we are lucky to have an hour a week to spend and now with K down for the count I was freakin. Anyways, back to the story!!
So on Monday we began cleaning the yard and Mitchy got this bright idea that we were going to not only begin whipping the yard into shape but clean and refill my pond in the front yard. Okay seriously it wasn't really a pond anymore, it was more like a mossy pit with one large goldfish in it. I talk about it and giggle, last year we had 5 goldfish in it and that is when we realized we had the topic of this discussion SNAKES. The snakes were pulling the fish out of the pond and then not able to digest them so I would weed and find my sweet little fish carcases. So, when we cleaned (I don't mean cleaned we drained and wet dry vacuumed the sucker out) we lost some of the little feeder pond fish that had miraculously appeared in there after putting a lily in (this is going to come in another post titled "fish through immaculate conception". ) Today when I came home I looked into my crystal clear pond and noticed this snake at the bottom snapping at the fish every chance he got, he almost got him several times ( my philosophy is that now he could see it). I decided to put in a call for help, I called Mitch and organized a search and rescue task force to get the freakin snakes out. This is where it gets good, so we successfully determine there are 2 snakes that we have to get OUT. We gather supplies to include but not limited to a fish net, bucket, gloves, shovel, pole, and stick. I have no idea exactly how these will come into play but when you are snake hunting you never know.

Let me set the scene: Mitch on one side me on the opposite side of the pond. May I remind you, Mitch is the most not gay looking gay man on the planet. Mitch is armed with the net and there I stand gloved up and ready to go. I am a slightly girlie lesbian who would like to think she wasn't afraid of much. So we begin with shall we call him snake "A" he sees us and hides for a while and eventually he creeps out of the rock I jump for him grab him with the gloved hand and let out my infamous girl scream and lose him. He squirrels himself around and I manage to get my hands on him again, there the scream comes, I think it is my adrenaline releasing so I don't explode at least that's how Mitch explains it. Finally after the third try I get him in my hands and have a grasp that is pretty good on him. But no I don't hold him and I never have I proceed to launch him across the yard like a frisbee (please know it is not animal cruelty) it is a uncontrolled reaction to holding the creepy thing. So Mitch and I dance around like two crazy people and finally he manages to get him in the net, get him in the bag and deliver him to his nice new home in a field about 5 miles away (hopefully he isn't like a cat and has that eerie sense of finding his way home). So then we have Snake "B" after several unsuccessful sightings Mitch decides that he thinks he can convince him to go directly into the net in the water. Surprisingly on about the 3rd try the little bugger swims half way in and an overzealous not so gay looking gay Mitch decides to whip the net out of the water, but instead of the snake going as planned into the net he flings it across the pond directly at me. I try with my all to catch it but as some of you may know I try to be athletic to no avail. so I miss we do alot of dancing and diving and squirming around and finally finally catch him and release him with Snake "A". So the snakes are safe, the fishy is safe and I survived too. Still I think in any other scene you would have seen the guy grabbing the snake, a lot less screaming and dancing, and I would have been giving him 5 when he was done. Instead it was the other way around I am woman hear me scream, catch, toss and dodge snakes and then hear me roar!!!

The story for the week (not for the weak stomach)

Friday night started off like most Fridays. I rushed home from work, threw the kids things together, ate dinner, let the dogs out, and showed up as usual 15 minutes late for the Arts Festival. K has been doing so well with the surgery, infact astounishingly well, I have been so proud of her and now I am feeling extremly grateful!! We spent sometime at the Festival with some amazing friends. K looked at me nearing the end of the evening and looked tired really tired, she said "honey I am done, I need to go". We packed up the kids and made it home. I thought she is probably dehydrated. She sat down and had 3 small sips of Crystal Light diluted with water. She immediatly began dry heaving and throwing up (not a lot in there to do that too). K went to bed immediatly thinking she was extremly overly exhausted. I checked on her several times over the next few hours and she seemed to be sleeping peacfully. I went to bed around 12:30 am things still seemed okay. ( This is where will insert the part of the story where J had wanted to lay down with her and fell fast asleep, the funny part, he had put on his sisters froofy yellow halter top shirt and refused to take it off, but I didn't want to wake him and figured he can just sleep with us tonight, its the weekend).

1:30 am is when the night change dramatically, I awoke to a bit of a ruckus in the room and Ky falling accross the bed in a panic screaming for help "Help me, I am fainting" I came out of bed like a flash of light turned all of the lights on. She was shaking a lot and hunched over the bed but almost unconcious, I kept saying are you okay, she would say "NO". I immediatly called Mitch who lives just up the road, I think he barely heard what I was saying but knew from the sound of my voice that he needed to be here immediatly. At this point I had gotten her onto the floor by the bed, I was shaking her, smacking her, yelling at her, begging her to talk to me. She became more and more unresponsive, more and more white, and more and more cold. I called 911.

The 911 operator was the best women I have ever spoken too. I can't imagine doing a job where everyone you speak with is completly panicked. "I need help, I have someone here who had Gastric Bypass 2 weeks ago and something is going terribly wrong" I look up at this point and there sits my little boy staring at me, yelling at his mother, yelling in the phone, shaking her and I was crying and VERY panicky" He keeps pointing and saying "Mommy down" I look at him and say "You sit there, please baby sit there" he sits and watches (this is still a bit haunting to me but it is what it is). I am taking directions from the operator put her hand here roll her here elevate her legs and it feels like an eternity, I always wondered if it could feel as long as people say it takes" I am running back and forth unlocking the doors, letting out the dogs. Thankfully at some point in these moments I hear my front door open. It was like a bit of warmth walked through the door at that point. Mitch had not been alone, he had 3 of my other friends over who all showed up like Knights in shining armor. I start handing out tasks to each of them so that i can give a history to the 911 person. Brett takes J out thank god, Jason goes out for the Ambulance and Mitch begins working on Ky, talking squeezing her hands. It was amazing, in the meantime I am begging the operator to get someone there, her breathing is becoming much different she is non responsive, completely, and I begin demanding an ETA, I don't hear sirens, not in the distance not anywhere, and proceed to ask if they were coming from Egypt. I was not nice, but I am sure that is normal and I did manage to apologize several times for being so rude, abrupt and upset.

Finally, they arrive 7 fire fighters, Ky in her underwear and thats right J running around the house in his yellow halter top with bows on it. He looked like Sinead O'Conner. They ask for a history and I gave the rundown. This is my partner of 6 years she had blah blah blah blah. My mouth is so dry from adrenaline at this point it feels like I just at a jar of Peanut Butter. They start working on her checking vitals and she is alive, I have to say I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen when they got here. They check everything she is healthy as a horse, blood pressure is good, pulse is great. K wakes up "WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?" she is such a fighter she is ready to sit up. They ask "well we got this call, but you seem fine, do you need to go to the hospital?" K says "No I just need to go to bed" they say "okay well you might consider checking with the doctor, or going to the hospital, but it does not seem to be emergent enough to go by ambulance" REALLY, wait as the story progresses!!

They walk out of the house, probably shocked out there mind, a crazy partner calling in 2 lesbians raising there little boy as Sinead O'Conner. I can only imagine!!

After they leave we talk with K who has managed through her own adrenaline to appear slightly more normal. We ALL insist that she goes to the hospital and at this point my mother has flown down the highway after I made my friend call her. My poor mother who is the most amazing women is going to have a heart attack one day from my family emergencies, K and her health and all the other drama! My mother of course knows K very well and will have it no other way. So me, K, my mom and Brett fly to St. Marks hospital. K seems a bit in and out of it (I still don't know if that is because she was not feeling well or Bretts driving). We get a wheel chair and get her into the ER. Thank God there was no one else in the waiting room. They la di da check us in another patient she needs checked out la di da. IT all goes even more down hill from there. K begins dry heaving pretty heavily and starts passing out in the waiting room. I begin demanding she get a bed RIGHT NOW, the lovely nurse "Oh we don't have a bed, sorry" Then my mother "Well if you don't have a bed what do you want me to do lay her down right here" they got the message triaged her "after practically having to draw a picture for the girl explaining that no she has not had much to eat she can only eat 2 ounces at a time--- NO she did not have her Gall Bladder removed, NO she did not have Gall Bladder problems----GB on the top of her paper for her means GASTRIC BYPASS, you know the surgery where they eliminate your stomach to half the size, no lady I am not starving her JESUS!!

She passes out again in the triage and they STILL don't have a room, she says oh she probably needs a room DUH!!!!!!!! So they prepare a room, Brett is literally holding a passed out person in her chair. She gets to the room FINALLY, gets to the bed and again the nurse begins the whole la di da, he says "what has she eaten" I respond "2 ounces of refried beans at 5 o'clock and she sips at least 64 ounces of water throughout the day." He responds "well she should probably be eating more then that" Then the explanation AGAIN no she had Gastric Bypass, she cannot eat more and NO I am not starving her!"

This is where it gets worse............
K has to go to the bathroom, #2 she hasn't gone in a week, I think oh great maybe this is the whole problem. So my mom and I get her in there she goes, it doesn't seem right and this is wherre I will leave it. When she stands up there is ALOT of blood more blood then I have seen in one place ever, ever, ever. She does not make it back to the room she makes it to Brett and they go down together he held her in a bear hug. IT (the blood just kept happening) EVERYWHERE I mean EVERYWHERE!! I was the most panicked I have EVER been,(well K has scared me on many occasions, she is not good when she is not well, she is really NOT well). Immediatly the nursing team jumps into action, The nurse was amazing he was soooo amazing Luis, I hear her look at him and say Luis help me. They have IV's in her my mom goes in the room with her at this point I am worse for the situation then is good. I know when I can't handle it. My mom has GREAT mom training!! They decide after several hours to admit her. My sweet mother says "she is not leaving her side, I need to go home to the kids and she will be there to take care of her, and call with problems" "Even if I had told my mom to go, she wouldn't so this was a better idea, as really at this point a padded room for me would have been well deserved. I have never felt fear in my life like I felt. The doctor wants to monitor her blood loss over night and see if whatever is bleeding stops. Okay, I know they are doctors but after 2 of those episodes I am sure she has lost more blood then is humanly acceptable. I go home, I can't say I slept much a couple of hours. I was up at seven with a call from my mother, the bleeding was not ceasing and with the bleeding the uncounciousness got worse. She said that even the seven nurses that were in and out of the room were freaking out! I begin making calls, getting my kids cared for throughout the day. I have amazing FRIENDS, FAMILY and SUPPORT! Thank you ALL!! It is nearing 9 now all the troops are in order, and the call that I didn't want comes in. It has happened again, she is losing so much blood they MUST move her to the ICU. This is where my panic becomes reality, I need to have all of my Lawyers paperwork that we had done years ago that Lesbians have to have to be proven a couple, I have to prove to them that I can make medical decisions, visit her, have her kids if something tragic happens. I at this point begin thinking the worse, the sound of my moms calm but panicked voice trying so hard not to freak me out told me this> She was freaked, K was real freaked and I was REALLY FREAKED. I always knew I had a lot to lose but it all hit me at that moment, not because I thought I was going too (I won't say that this didn't cross my mind after what I had seen and heard from her). All of the lawyer paperwork was at her work in her filing cabinet (DUMB PLACE WHEN YOU NEED IT) (LOGICAL PLACE IF YOU ARE ANAL AND ORGANIZED, THATS MY K). I have a friend at work in 10 minutes doing a search and rescue on the Lawyer stuff. I decide it is a REALLY good time to take a ZANAX as my panic attack is not going to help anything. I get to the hospital meet with the Chaplain to hand over paperwork from the lawyer ( I must say this was not a skit I had practiced too many times in my life, not at this age, or this time and hopefully not ever again)

Anyways when I get to the hospital she has been rushed into Endoscopy, I guess after the doctor happened to be in on the last bleeding episode he realized this was in fact more urgent then he could imagine. He reports that he has found a tear and is working to repair it. They check the rest of her out. I don't know how a tear leaks that much but My God, they fixed it. She gets out of the lab, and begins blood transfusions she lost 1/3 of the blood in her body!! She looked the worst I have ever seen her!!

I can only visit her for a half hour every other hour, my friends kept me busy in the other moments. She is not only getting blood transfusions but also Plasma. On my third visit in to see her her nurse says oh dear she had a terrible allergic reaction to the antibodies in the plasma and she is all swelled up. OH MY GOD I walked in the room and she looks over and she cant even open her eyes, can it get any worse (the answer is yes) the thought is no! We BARELY get the ring (the one she blogged about finally being able to wear) off her finger before it became a part of her hand her lips were so swollen they would reach Texas and she has a rash on her body like a road map with cities, states, and counties! She has had 2 doses of Benadryl and is now so anxious and agitated she looks like a drug addict coming off a big high. It was so awful for her.


K is doing better today, I have seen her 3 times and each time she looks more and more alive. She is ready to come home, just like that huh, you cheat death, get a bit of blood and there you go alive and kicking again!! She came back out of the ICU this afternoon. She had a visit from friends and me and the kids. Her spirits are good, really good, again I tell you she is an outstanding person.

As for me, I spent the day feeling incredibly blessed, blessed that the love of my life is okay, that she is such a fighter, blessed that I have 2 of the most amazing children in the world, blessed that I have the most incredible, and amazing mother in the world, and blessed that I have a support system and friendships that some are not as lucky to have, from the friends that I have had for over ten years L, J, B, M, J, K, H, P,and C (you know who you are). You have guided me through this world a very long time and to a particular two couples S and M and K and J who have not been in our lives for long but feel like they have been around for years. I thank god for you all everyday!! I love you and thank you a million times!! I couldn't do it without you!

As for you K, I love you, more then life, quit scaring me, I need you around a long time. You continue to amaze me!!!

I will keep you all updated...... I am even more sure that K will have plenty to share about her own experience, even though she was the mostly unconscious one, thought I would get my part in first since she doesn't remember most of it!

I know but its summer man!!!

I know I am such a loser, I have not made blogging a priority things have been a bit crazy!! Even more importantly it is summer. I think I have decided that I am more of a seasonal blogger. K always posts all of the cool, exciting stuff we have going on. I will do a better job at it but honestly I would rather be outside!! This month alone has been crazy with Hawaii, True Colors concert (see surrounding pictures), K's surgery, Fathers Day, Indigo Girls (tomorrow), The Arts Festival this weekend and I am gearing up for a 2 day backpacking trip at the end of the month in Kanab with some friends (pending K's progress as she now is unable to go and I want her to be okay with the kids).

K deserves public acknowledgment from me about her progress, she is AMAZING!! I have never in my life met someone with the type of determination that she exhibits. I could have fallen on the floor yesterday when she was able to "Hike" a mile and a half after being released from the hospital on Wednesday. "Raise the roof"!! You are doing an incredible job, keep up the good work, you can find her journey at turtleandbutterfly.blogspot.com

To all my friends and fellow bloggers, thanks for checking my blog everyday, I will be better even if it does take until September!

Gearing up for the Islands-6 days and counting!

Wahoo, we are on the week count down for the trip to Hawaii. I am finally getting excited for the trip. I do let myself get a little down about it here and there because it is hard for me to be a sideline parent with the kids. K's parents are getting much better but I can see the pain in their faces when they have to tell the kids "go tell becky, I mean mom". However, we are going to have a great time. I tell you, I am going to make a little beer hut on the beach, or something of that nature and walk the block from the parents house and just hang out, relax, watch the kids play.

The even better and most exciting part is that K is finally going to be completing A's adoption. So really I have no right to have had bad feelings about going. The end result will be worth it!

Random Rant Tuesday--Wish I had it in me to be a stay at home mom

Okay so it has been a week and I have not even had a free second to post a blog....

Since it is random rant Tuesdays I decided to post something today!! So my babysitter gets in touch with K today to let her know that the kids are throwing up (they had shots yesterday)and that she needs us to come and get them. Which is fine, so she calls me in jail and I rush out like a crazy mom to go pick them up... I get there and they of course smell like vomit, I think oh that is wonderful!! I load my kids dressed in only their diapers into the van and drive home. We get home and hang around for a bit, I try juice (bad idea that projectiled) I try pepto (2nd bad idea that projectiled, oh from both kids at the same time). This is where it gets good, my phone rings its the babysitter. She is calling for I don't know what I can't even remember now because I am so incensed. Oh I think really she was calling to say the following so after a few moments of her blah blah blah she says, "Geez your kids have horrible immune systems""I have never seen kids react that way to shots or with such incredibly horrible immune systems". WTF?? So as my blood pressure rises and I feel that horrible defensiveness that we probably all get as mothers I say, "I don't think they have horrible immune systems, but they do have tender stomachs, it probably has something to do with the fact that they were both born early, blah blah blah" Shit, here I was trying to defend my kids being sick. Now I should say that I have exposed my kids to every germ imaginable and I really think that they have pretty good immune systems!! I should mention that K and I have had to take as much time off for her kid being sick as we have for anything else. Anyways, I don't really know where I was going with this blog except I had to vent. My babysitter is a wee bit insensitive and I have a tendency to be a bit sensitive so the two may not go together well, especially when I am following my kids around the house as they projectile vomit!! So these are the days I wish I had it in me to be a stay at home mama.

So as I am handling all of this K calls from work in the middle of both kids throwing up, I have to say she is really the most wonderful because no sooner did I get off the phone with her she (12 minutes later) is walking in the door, it felt a bit like ghost busters as she walks in and practically puts her gloves on and goes into action. I love her so much, I don't have any freakin idea how mothers ever do it alone!! I can't even fathom my life without her in it, and it is unfortunate that it takes moments like that to remember that!!

So as the night progresses, poor J threw up in his entire drawer of cars(you all know how much he LOVES his cars), K and I had a car wash and sanitize in the bathtub. Poor boy just finished recovering from the fact that his cars are in the drying cycle in the bathroom....

So this is tonight so far......

Mostly THANK GOD for wives and "F-off" to insensitive babysitters who have children of their own but have no tact.

Random Rant Tuesdays

(so it looks a little something like this!! I am serious a bit longer though)

I decided today that I would dedicate Tuesdays to Random Rants.

So..... I work with this woman, “she who will not be named” but I lovingly refer to her as Keebler, seriously she looks like a Keebler elf, she should be on the front of the cookie package. She has the pointy ears, the little curly faced smile and she comes to approximately my armpits (not to difficult being that I am tall). So she who will not be named—Keebler has a chin hair, I am enamored and engulfed by this chin hair. It has kept me up at night!! I am positive she has caught me studying it on numerous occasions. I feel my arm automatically reaching towards it daily. It is far from inconspicuous it stands near the passenger side of her chin. I kid you not this MOTHA is close to two inches long, gray and it curl like a pigs tail (like 4 times spiral). It is blatantly obvious so as I said, I have been kept up at night by this hair on her chin with the following questions:

Does she see it?? Does she look in the mirror? (it is gray and all) Her lighting might be horrible!
Does she curl it like that EVERY morning?
Does she have anyone in her life that loves her?? (I expect those in my life to tell me when I have a 2 inch wiley hair sprouting from my face)
Is she growing it for locks of love?
Does she use it to floss her teeth?
Does she keep it for emergencies if she has to sew a hole in her pants?
Is there a greater purpose or meaning to chin hair then I have ever been told??(if this is the case I can stop incessantly plucking my hair)
Can’t she feel it when she cleans her face, rubs her chin, brushes her teeth?
How long does it take to grow a specimen of that nature?
Is her intention to place beads on this hair as I have seen before?

Don’t get me wrong I understand that a lot of people get inconspicuous hairs that pop out of strange places where they shouldn’t be growing. I get them a lot, “K” has this awesome one that pops up on her neck of all places, and this other cool one on her wrist, but because I love her I am sure to watch for it and intervene before it becomes obvious to the general public. But for the love of God people pluck them. Don’t make me stand there and obsess about them (I am not the only one that does this right?); I mean really this that I am speaking of is NOT a normal hair. I have tried to give you a visual hope you get it!!

So as I mentioned EVERYDAY I have thought about pulling it or telling her but I think now it has become my new obsession. It has become a slight distraction for me from this mumbo jumbo of tedious grant writing, so for now I will let Wiley Gray Hairs Lie.


disclaimer: I definitely wrote this blog in the heat of the moment today and it (after hours of sitting across from Keebler in her office) it was funny, much funnier while I wrote it and a bit of a release!! Thanks for the rant! You too can join me for "Random Rant Tuesdays" it could be fun!