Hungry to use my new rain and shade canopy, we had a camping trip scheduled for this weekend. However, half way through the week things started going wrong, wrong, wrong... and we concluded that if we went camping that the forest would probably burn down. So instead we took a day trip and picnic to Christoper Creek.
Fishing on the rocks. Jake loves to fish and Nate has really gotten into it too. Nate caught a trout and let it go (well, it let itself go) and the kids kept catching crawdads.
These kids were bottomless pits and always starving the whole time. 
Maes was pretty worn out after fishing for crawdads and eating.
oh you want to know about our bad week. Ok.
Tuesday night I cramped all through the night. Afraid that it was pre term labor we went to the hospital just before 6 am and stayed until lunch time. They hooked me up to monitors, gave me fluids and ran tests. As I waited I worried:
What will happened to the baby if she is born at 26 weeks? Will she be ok?
What if they put me on bed rest? Our tight budget includes me working for 6 weeks before the baby arrives. What will we do?
What about our 2 vacations that we were saving for and planning for. The kids have been talking about Mexico for months.
Then I cried with all of my worries.
Their conclusion.... kidney stone. Yeah, when does someone say "Thankfully it was just a kidney stone."?
I spent the rest of the day with dull cramps and rested. Nate stayed home from work to help with the kids. By the end of the day I was so depressed at all that I had not accomplished that I was in tears (again).
Jake also pooped in my parents pool.
On Thursday I tried to pull things together, I felt well, but I was scheduled to go to day camp. I had already spent hours coordination all of the adult leadership as well as making sure that everybody had all of their gear together and the correct paper work. Now I was unable to go (my follow up appointment was scheduled during day camp and I was not sure what I was allowed and not allowed to do). I scampered to find help as I continually told my kids "After I'm done doing all of this work for day camp...." to any request they had. I only planned to spend a little bit of time on cub scout and day camp preperations, but then I found out a parent that was scheduled for the following day was called into work, so I had to find a replacement not only for me, but for Friday as well.
I was happy that a mother stepped up in the end and found care for her child (who happened to be sick) so that she could cover for me... there are angles.
All the boys were off to camp and I went to my appointment. My regular Dr. was not there, but I needed a follow up. I found out that my attack was just minor, my kidney was inflamed but they did not see a stone in the ultra sound. (I was worried that there was one in there and I had more pain in my future). My big question was "Can I still go to Mexico on vacation? " the answer "I would not recommend it." However, all my tests looked good and she told me to check with my regular Dr. when he got back from vacation (the earliest I can see hims is 4:40 pm on Tuesday- we leave on our trip on Wednesday in the dark AM).
You see, a kidney stone attack can send you into preterm labor, so it was not about my discomfort (which I was willing to go through even on vacation-so we would not have to cancel - Maes has been asking about our trip for months, remember?). If it happened again it could make me go into pre term labor. To stop it I would need to go to the hospital and I I would not want to go to a hospital in Mexico.
So I called Nate on the way home to tell him what I heard. Of course he said "That Sucks" we all know it sucks. And then he said "Planning a new vacation will cost more money and take some time." We all knew that as well. So in my hormonal and slightly depressed pregnant state I cried...wait....I bawled. And hung up on him and then when he got home I bawled some more as I explained to him that he was supposed to say "It is ok, I'm glad that you and the baby are OK. We will plan the most fun vacation that we can and don't worry about a thing." Now to rail on Nate like that was sort of crappy. You see, Nate is the PRACTICALLY PERFECT husband- and just because he did not say the exact perfect thing at that exact moment does not mean I should rail on him.... I know that most wives (hopefully) think that their husbands are great, but if you knew all of the things that Nate does to be so great then you might start to covet him, and that is a sin. So I won't share them with you all at once (but he has been known to say that I can have all of the shoes I want because girls are supposed to have lots of shoes.). So, Nate is pretty great and I would never ever trade him for another husband and sometimes I feel bad that he is stuck with a nutty wife that gives him grief.
But now I will go on with our bad week.
On Friday morning Maes woke up asking how many days until Mexico. I told her that we might not be able to go until next year, but if we cannot go then we would plan another very fun trip. "Nothing is as fun as Mexico." (we all know that as well). I sent her to her room and cried.
I checked my e-mail. The person that I was counting on to cover our missing parent for day camp (only for part of the day mind you) had sent an e-mail that said she could not help with day camp. No "sorry", no explanation. I cried again. You see, I told our scout master that I would cover if we could not find anybody. So, I put off my kids again for one more day that week as I prepared for day camp.
I also had to take our car in to get its emissions checked (yeah, the certified vehicle did not have it's emissions checked by the dealership before they sold it to us, what else did they forget?) On a good note, our friend from our ward works at the dealership and I don't have to go back there. She will bring me a check to reimburse me and then also bring us our plates!!! On a bad note, I cannot find my credit card that I last used to pay for emissions.
I took my kids to Nate's great Aunts house to be watched. Maes cried and cried because, although Grandma was there to watch her-( she was there to help our great grandma Wheeler while Dianne was out of town) Maes thought the house was scary. Jake was fine until he saw his sisters angst, then he clung to me. It is hard to leave your kids like that.
So, out of the house and into the van to take the boys to day camp. Oh, I lost my keys while I was there and got blisters because I was wearing converse with crappy socks (yeah, no chaco's
I called Nate to drive out to bring me our spare set. Found out that Maes had thrown up about 3 times on my parents couch and carpet.
Nate drove out, and once we got there, the staff member that had my keys (the entire time I was looking for them) also arrived in the parking lot and clicked open our car. It just happened that way. He did not need to go open my car with the keys, just turn them into lost and found so I could retrieve them. He was a jerk...but I won't go on about that.
Saturday... slept in. Kids whining. Bath time a disaster. More fits and fights with the kids. Sent Nate to a baptism on his own. Got mad at everybody. Put the bunk beds together, cleaned the house and finally we set out to Christopher creek. Our friend said it was a half mile hike at the most. NOT TRUE. Maes hated it, her feet hurt right away and then she was STARVING. When we arrived we saw that the area was not really kid friendly...cool but not easy for them to get around. Maes let us know over and over again that she liked the place with the orange rocks better (Sedona). Jake did pretty well. He is a good hiker and did not complain. But he is little, there for slow. On the way out Maes said she was so tired and tried to just crawl out. Not Ok. As we hiked I told her the names of all the plants that I knew. She loved it (I need a book of Arizona plants so I can tell her more). It made things easier. We also told her that she had to hike fast and in between Nate and I or else the mountain lions would see that she was slow and an easy target (true, but sort of mean). Although I am very impatient with the kids at home, I think I win in patience with them while hiking (I'm not all that patient, but I think I was a little more than Nate, just a smidge).
The car ride home... Jake kept yelling (then whispering) to Maesyn to "shut off" he though he was saying "shut up" and he knows it is naughty. Maes would yell and scream in response "Jake is saying the bad word that Tanner says. " Jake did not get any french fries for his behavior.
And that was our week...
Wait... at the creek the lid to our bait worms fell in the water. Nate noticed it floating out of his reach. Although there was litter everywhere we are a slight bit granola and would not allow ourselves to contribute (in fact, on the way out Nate pointed out all of the trash and we were a bit sad that we had not brought trash bags to help clean up a little... although we really did not have means to pick up trash as our hand were full of kids and their stuff). At any rate, it was getting late and cool and I did not want Nate to get his clothes wet swimming and then be cold and risk a chafing on our hike out. So I suggested he get naked and swim out to get our little bait lid. It was fun to watch, and Jake pointed out Nate's bum cheeks ( my kids love bum cheeks) and then asked where daddy's swimsuit was.
Fishing on the rocks. Jake loves to fish and Nate has really gotten into it too. Nate caught a trout and let it go (well, it let itself go) and the kids kept catching crawdads.
These kids were bottomless pits and always starving the whole time. 
Maes was pretty worn out after fishing for crawdads and eating.oh you want to know about our bad week. Ok.
Tuesday night I cramped all through the night. Afraid that it was pre term labor we went to the hospital just before 6 am and stayed until lunch time. They hooked me up to monitors, gave me fluids and ran tests. As I waited I worried:
What will happened to the baby if she is born at 26 weeks? Will she be ok?
What if they put me on bed rest? Our tight budget includes me working for 6 weeks before the baby arrives. What will we do?
What about our 2 vacations that we were saving for and planning for. The kids have been talking about Mexico for months.
Then I cried with all of my worries.
Their conclusion.... kidney stone. Yeah, when does someone say "Thankfully it was just a kidney stone."?
I spent the rest of the day with dull cramps and rested. Nate stayed home from work to help with the kids. By the end of the day I was so depressed at all that I had not accomplished that I was in tears (again).
Jake also pooped in my parents pool.
On Thursday I tried to pull things together, I felt well, but I was scheduled to go to day camp. I had already spent hours coordination all of the adult leadership as well as making sure that everybody had all of their gear together and the correct paper work. Now I was unable to go (my follow up appointment was scheduled during day camp and I was not sure what I was allowed and not allowed to do). I scampered to find help as I continually told my kids "After I'm done doing all of this work for day camp...." to any request they had. I only planned to spend a little bit of time on cub scout and day camp preperations, but then I found out a parent that was scheduled for the following day was called into work, so I had to find a replacement not only for me, but for Friday as well.
I was happy that a mother stepped up in the end and found care for her child (who happened to be sick) so that she could cover for me... there are angles.
All the boys were off to camp and I went to my appointment. My regular Dr. was not there, but I needed a follow up. I found out that my attack was just minor, my kidney was inflamed but they did not see a stone in the ultra sound. (I was worried that there was one in there and I had more pain in my future). My big question was "Can I still go to Mexico on vacation? " the answer "I would not recommend it." However, all my tests looked good and she told me to check with my regular Dr. when he got back from vacation (the earliest I can see hims is 4:40 pm on Tuesday- we leave on our trip on Wednesday in the dark AM).
You see, a kidney stone attack can send you into preterm labor, so it was not about my discomfort (which I was willing to go through even on vacation-so we would not have to cancel - Maes has been asking about our trip for months, remember?). If it happened again it could make me go into pre term labor. To stop it I would need to go to the hospital and I I would not want to go to a hospital in Mexico.
So I called Nate on the way home to tell him what I heard. Of course he said "That Sucks" we all know it sucks. And then he said "Planning a new vacation will cost more money and take some time." We all knew that as well. So in my hormonal and slightly depressed pregnant state I cried...wait....I bawled. And hung up on him and then when he got home I bawled some more as I explained to him that he was supposed to say "It is ok, I'm glad that you and the baby are OK. We will plan the most fun vacation that we can and don't worry about a thing." Now to rail on Nate like that was sort of crappy. You see, Nate is the PRACTICALLY PERFECT husband- and just because he did not say the exact perfect thing at that exact moment does not mean I should rail on him.... I know that most wives (hopefully) think that their husbands are great, but if you knew all of the things that Nate does to be so great then you might start to covet him, and that is a sin. So I won't share them with you all at once (but he has been known to say that I can have all of the shoes I want because girls are supposed to have lots of shoes.). So, Nate is pretty great and I would never ever trade him for another husband and sometimes I feel bad that he is stuck with a nutty wife that gives him grief.
But now I will go on with our bad week.
On Friday morning Maes woke up asking how many days until Mexico. I told her that we might not be able to go until next year, but if we cannot go then we would plan another very fun trip. "Nothing is as fun as Mexico." (we all know that as well). I sent her to her room and cried.
I checked my e-mail. The person that I was counting on to cover our missing parent for day camp (only for part of the day mind you) had sent an e-mail that said she could not help with day camp. No "sorry", no explanation. I cried again. You see, I told our scout master that I would cover if we could not find anybody. So, I put off my kids again for one more day that week as I prepared for day camp.
I also had to take our car in to get its emissions checked (yeah, the certified vehicle did not have it's emissions checked by the dealership before they sold it to us, what else did they forget?) On a good note, our friend from our ward works at the dealership and I don't have to go back there. She will bring me a check to reimburse me and then also bring us our plates!!! On a bad note, I cannot find my credit card that I last used to pay for emissions.
I took my kids to Nate's great Aunts house to be watched. Maes cried and cried because, although Grandma was there to watch her-( she was there to help our great grandma Wheeler while Dianne was out of town) Maes thought the house was scary. Jake was fine until he saw his sisters angst, then he clung to me. It is hard to leave your kids like that.
So, out of the house and into the van to take the boys to day camp. Oh, I lost my keys while I was there and got blisters because I was wearing converse with crappy socks (yeah, no chaco's
I called Nate to drive out to bring me our spare set. Found out that Maes had thrown up about 3 times on my parents couch and carpet.
Nate drove out, and once we got there, the staff member that had my keys (the entire time I was looking for them) also arrived in the parking lot and clicked open our car. It just happened that way. He did not need to go open my car with the keys, just turn them into lost and found so I could retrieve them. He was a jerk...but I won't go on about that.
Saturday... slept in. Kids whining. Bath time a disaster. More fits and fights with the kids. Sent Nate to a baptism on his own. Got mad at everybody. Put the bunk beds together, cleaned the house and finally we set out to Christopher creek. Our friend said it was a half mile hike at the most. NOT TRUE. Maes hated it, her feet hurt right away and then she was STARVING. When we arrived we saw that the area was not really kid friendly...cool but not easy for them to get around. Maes let us know over and over again that she liked the place with the orange rocks better (Sedona). Jake did pretty well. He is a good hiker and did not complain. But he is little, there for slow. On the way out Maes said she was so tired and tried to just crawl out. Not Ok. As we hiked I told her the names of all the plants that I knew. She loved it (I need a book of Arizona plants so I can tell her more). It made things easier. We also told her that she had to hike fast and in between Nate and I or else the mountain lions would see that she was slow and an easy target (true, but sort of mean). Although I am very impatient with the kids at home, I think I win in patience with them while hiking (I'm not all that patient, but I think I was a little more than Nate, just a smidge).
The car ride home... Jake kept yelling (then whispering) to Maesyn to "shut off" he though he was saying "shut up" and he knows it is naughty. Maes would yell and scream in response "Jake is saying the bad word that Tanner says. " Jake did not get any french fries for his behavior.
And that was our week...
Wait... at the creek the lid to our bait worms fell in the water. Nate noticed it floating out of his reach. Although there was litter everywhere we are a slight bit granola and would not allow ourselves to contribute (in fact, on the way out Nate pointed out all of the trash and we were a bit sad that we had not brought trash bags to help clean up a little... although we really did not have means to pick up trash as our hand were full of kids and their stuff). At any rate, it was getting late and cool and I did not want Nate to get his clothes wet swimming and then be cold and risk a chafing on our hike out. So I suggested he get naked and swim out to get our little bait lid. It was fun to watch, and Jake pointed out Nate's bum cheeks ( my kids love bum cheeks) and then asked where daddy's swimsuit was.
