A Can of Worms

One day while I was trying to work at the computer, Ben was persistent about climbing onto my lap so he could pound on the keyboard. I gave up all attempts at working and decided to let Ben sit on my lap and "play on the computer". The pounding grew more fierce and in an attempt to distract him and save my keyboard I decided to let him view a YouTube clip of a childhood favorite, Cookie Monster singing "C is for Cookie".

Here is brief clip of Ben's excitement. The clip starts out with a cow mooing then the song starts.

We watched Cookie Monster about a million times. After I decided it was time to watch something else (Elmo's Song), I left the room for a minute and when I came back he had used the mouse and clicked back onto Cookie Monster and was watching C is for Cookie again. I was shocked that he had figured out how to use the mouse on his own.


After a few more minutes it was time to pick up Sam from preschool but Ben REFUSED to leave the computer. I carried him upstairs kicking and screaming. I think I opened a can of worms.

Here are few shots of Ben at the computer. He is mesmerized. (Please ignore the messy computer desk.)
One more time please!
Ben dancing and jiving to the music. I love those chubby arms!

I Haven't Died, Just Busy

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. I have either been busy or sick. Ben is also at the stage where I can't come into my office with him destroying it or trying to climb on my lap to type. At night I do Brad's dictation and I don't have time to post.

Hopefully, things will setting down and I'll get a chance to update on all our happenings.

Gymnastics-Level 2

Emily has been in gymnastics for just over a month. Tonight they told us she was ready to move to the next level! We are so excited! Emily is thrilled but a little nervous. She is excited to learn new skills but worried about being in a new class. We know she will do great. Can I say again how happy I am that she is in a serious gym that really teaches and evaluates the kids. Too bad she had to wait until she was 6.

The only down side is now I will have to go to gymnastics twice a week-once for Emily and again for Sam. Currently they take the same night with just a little over lapping. Now Emily's class is 1 1/2 hours and not taught the same day as Sam's. Sam said he loves gymnastics and wants to continue. So I guess I'll be spending more time at the gym (too bad I can't get a workout at the same time huh!)

MRI Update

After everyone's encouragement and concern and a headache that lasted about three days straight, I finally got an MRI.

Today Brad's office arranged to have an MRI center fit me in. Brad's mom watched the boys for me while I was placed inside a cylinder that clunked and banged and even shook for about 25 minutes. It was an interesting experience and I'm thankful I'm not claustrophobic.

The MRI results showed that I do not have a tumor (which is what I was most frighted of) or a sinus infection, or other horrible problems (Brad did not want to elaborate on what else could have been wrong). Brad and I are both overwhelmingly relieved, need I say more.

So after hearing the news and heaving a major sign of relief, I asked Brad, "What next. Why do I have these horrible, long lasting headaches?" He replied, "I have a patient waiting. I'll call you later about that."

So a few hours later, and a nap for me, Blue's Clues DVDs for the kids (if you know anything about me, you know I was seriously desperate), and lots of candy (the kids took total advantage of my need to stay on the couch), Brad and I finally discussed my headaches, again.

My diagnosis: Atypical face pain (in other words an irritated nerve in my head). Treatment: increase the dosage of the Lyrica I'm taking to relieve the pain and eventually, hopefully, the nerve will heal.

So there you have it. I took another Lyrica tablet and I do indeed feel better, maybe a little dizzy, but no headache. Hopefully, we will get this under control so I can start living my life again. So much has been on hold because I can barely do what I have to do. It is nice to know I don't have a time bomb in my head. That was really bothering me.

Thanks for all the well wishes and encouragement. Hopefully I will feel better so I can blog some more. I have great pictures of Ben I want to post.

A Real Pain in the Neck...and Head and Teeth

For the past three weeks I have been experiencing horrible headaches. It started as pain in two of my upper teeth and eventually led to the worse headache I have ever had (I seriously wanted to just die). After an emergency trip to the dentist, we discovered that there is nothing wrong with my teeth. The dentist thought it was because of TMJ. After relaying that info to Brad, he discussed it with his partner and the orthopod next door. They determined that the symptoms weren't right for TMJ and that I had a sinus infection. I was treated with heavy duty antibiotics and pain killers. After about four days, I still didn't have much relief. Brad determined that I had an irritated nerve that was causing my teeth to hurt and bad headaches. After another few days of pain in my teeth and bad headaches, we decided I might also have a pinched nerve and so he gave me a shot in the back of my head (sometimes it is handy to have a neurologist for a husband). That helped for awhile but did not completely relieve the pain.

Now it has been three weeks and I have had a few good days, but the pain is back in full force. I'm tired of taking medications (some of which makes me dizzy) and I'm even more tired of this unpredictable pain. We are confused why I do well for a few days and then the pain comes back. This is really messing up my life. Now Brad wants me to have an MRI. I just don't want too. I just keep hoping it all goes away.

Sam's First Day of Preschool

Okay, so I am massively behind on my blogging. I can't help it; so much has been going on but really that is for another post. I just had to post pictures of Sam's first day of preschool before way too much time lapses.

Sam often gets overlooked as the middle child (sorry buddy). It could be that he can be quite mellow and shy and the fact that he has two dominant siblings, but he is a special little guy. I'm glad that he has the opportunity to be the first kid in the family to attend preschool NOT taught by me.

His preschool is held in the basement of a house in our neighborhood. When his teacher built her house, she designed a room for teaching preschool. It is decorated so darling, and she does a great job teaching and with the kids.

It is within walking/bike riding distance from our house. Some days we go in the stroller. Some days we go in the bike trailer, and some days Sam rides his bike while I push Ben in the stroller. It is wonderful. I will miss this when it gets too cold and snowy.

Behind on my blogging

I am so far behind on all the posts I wanted to create. We have done so much this summer and I want to document it but I feel like I am just keeping my head above water. There is so much to do. I just spent the last 2 hours transcribing Brad's dictation and paying some of his office bills. Now that he is his own boss, the more work I can do for him means the more money that stays in our pockets.

So instead of blogging for fun, I am typing for work. Oh well-maybe if I quit reading all of your blogs I would have more time to blog on my own. I won't go that far.