Latest on Halli

I know that I am terrible at keeping up on this blog, so thank you for taking the time to check it out anyway! Many people have been asking me how Halli is doing, so I would like to let everyone know what the latest developments are. Since my last update, things have been very up and down. Halli has had a few relapses. Her pattern seems to be this:

When she relapses, she'll start retaining fluid throughout her body and gaining weight because of that. She also gets very swollen and puffy which can be painful. When this goes on for a week or so, we put her on the highest dose of steroids. After about 8-10 days, she'll respond to the medication and lose the fluid. We then follow a schedule to begin tapering her off the steroids. This process takes a couple of months. It seems that as we lower her doses, she has another relapse, and we start all over again.

It has been a year now, that she has been on the steroids without any break. The doctors want to try a new medication to see if she can go for longer periods of time without a relapse. We have decided to go ahead and try this. The new medication is called Cyclophosphamide. It will be given to her for 12 weeks. She will take it in pill form, daily. Some of the side effects are; thinning hair (although I don't think it will be noticeable, and it will grow back), lowered white blood cell count (this will be monitored by weekly blood work and is Halli's least favorite part), there are a couple of other risks involved, but they are not too much of a concern with the small dosage she will be taking.

We are hoping and praying that this medication will be able to help in some way. We probably won't be able to tell if it has helped until the end of the treatment, which should be the end of this year.

As usual, Halli has been strong and brave through all of this. Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and concern. We love you all!

What's in a name?

There are many nicknames in our family. Ki-ki, T-dog, Sweet Baby James, Munch, Ghostrider, Hal-Gal, Boo, Fefer, just to name a few. The other day, Boo informed us that she wanted her name to be Sam. Blake thought that was pretty funny because when I was pregnant with her and we were thinking of baby names, Samantha or Sam was one name Blake wanted for her. Anyway, everyday she would remind us to call her Sam; and so we obliged! I called Sam to breakfast in the morning, kissed Sam goodbye and sent her to school, I even sent her to play-group with Sam on her lunch sack. A couple of days ago, Sam came home from school with a paper she had written in class. She had proudly written Sam on the line for her name. Even the “S” was backwards! Next to Sam, her teacher had written in red ink... “Faith”. I showed her the paper and asked her if her teacher had said anything to her. She proudly said, “Yeah, my teacher held up the paper and said, ‘Who wrote Sam?’ so I raised my hand and told her that I did! It’s my new name!” “Well,” her teacher told her, “you need to write your real name.”

As I thought about this exchange with her teacher, I was reminded of what her real name means to me. Faith. When I was trying to think of girl names, this was the name that came to my mind and wouldn’t leave. I knew that this was to be her name. I resisted the thought at first because I was worried about the religious connotation behind the name. Would she be teased? In the end, I relented and wrote Faith on her birth certificate. After time, I grew to love her name. It fit her personality, and it fit what our family stands for in this ever changing world. As we have gone through the trials that have been given us this past year, I have thought about faith a lot. As I struggle with the notion of “Why do we have to go through this? Why does Halli have to struggle so much? Why does Heavenly Father not heal her?” I always come back to faith. I do know that He loves us. I do know that he knows things I can’t even begin to comprehend. I have to have faith. When I pray for Halli to be healed, I have to have enough faith to change my prayer to “Please bless us with strength to handle this.” I have to have faith that as we are in the refiners fire, he knows just when we will be made pure. It is times like this, that we are put to the test, and I feel myself, and our family draw nearer to Him as we strive to endure, and endure well.

In the meantime, we will continue to have faith. We will continue to endure, and I will remember that when Heavenly Father gently writes “Faith” in red ink in our lives, he is just reminding us who we really are. Despite what her teacher says, I will continue to call Sam to dinner. Until she decides to be Faith again, or maybe Boo, or maybe even Aretha.... you never know.

NY Pics

Easter Eggs

We recently took a trip to NY. It was the first time any of us had been there! We had a great time as we roamed the streets, trying to figure out how to look like "locals". Each day we got up and I spent a couple of hours prepping everyone to go outside for the day. As they lined up, I went down the line checking off all the necessary items.... Thermals, first layer of clothing, second layer of clothing, boots, coats, hats, gloves, scarves...then, when I was finished with Blake I could move on to the girls! The scarf that I bought for Blake was a great scarf, but we discovered one problem. Because he sports the mountain-man look, his "beard" kept catching the scarf and it was "shedding" everywhere! Every time I turned around, he would be standing there with fuzz stuck all over his face! After we finally got outside and caught our breath, we began the walk down the street. By about the second day, I thought we were doing pretty good at blending in. We knew (for the most part) where we were headed, and how to get there. As we walked down the street, I heard Blake say behind me, "We look like a bunch of Easter eggs!" I glanced around at everyone scurrying past and I noticed that they all had on black coats, scarves, gloves, and shoes. Then I turned and looked at the girls briskly following me and I saw that he was right! They all had on brightly colored coats, hats, cloves and scarves! I laughed and said, "It's okay fuzz-face, I'm sure we look totally normal!"

We saw many amazing sights while we were there including, The statue of liberty, Empire State building, the bull by Wall Street, ground zero, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Christmas Show, Wicked, Carnegie Deli, Museum of Natural History, Central Park, and much more. It was so fun to see the girls' faces light up at each new adventure, and to experience it all myself as well! We learned how to use the Subway system (that Boo says is the one you ride not the one you eat.) We also learned to be quick when the trains arrived when Halli got on the train and the doors closed leaving the rest of us on the platform. (Yes, she is still with us!) I lost my credit card, and we panicked for a bit, we got to try new foods and learned that we love Pakistani food! We learned that we should stay out of some stores when we have four little girls with us. (Ask Blake about that one) But most of all, we got to spend time together every day, and that was the best part of the trip. We grew closer, and laughed, and even shed a few tears. But we did it together, and that is what we'll always remember! And the people of New York will always remember the Easter Egg people with that Fuzzy face guy.

Update on Halli

Two weeks ago on Wednesday, was supposed to be the last day that Halli needed to take her meds. We woke up and gave her her last pill, feeling very excited to be finished. We also tested her urine for protein. We were supposed to be testing her a couple of times a week, but because she had tested negative for a couple of weeks, we got lazy. We hadn't tested her for about three weeks. When we looked at the test, her protein count was really high again. My stomach dropped. I began to kick myself for getting lazy as I didn't know how long it had been high. I immediately called her doctor at Primary Childrens. Because we were to be going out of town to NY for the week, he wanted us to come in before we left. As we met with him, he told us that he was a little concerned that she was having a relapse so quickly after being "off" the meds. Although, we did expect that she would probably have a relapse, we didn't think it would come so soon. We left the office with heavy hearts, and a new prescription for a second round of the steroids. We began her second round the day before we left to NY. We have been testing her urine daily to check the protein levels. (We learned our lesson and are faithful now...) As of Monday, her count has become negative again. So we can begin to taper her down again beginning next week. It will take about six weeks to taper off. I hope and pray that this time, maybe her little kidneys will keep working on their own. She has taken this all so well, hardly skipping a beat. She always gets up and leaves her "sample" for me each morning and has her bowl of "mush" to take her pills with. She is so brave and strong. It just breaks my heart to think of what she has to go through, yet she just keeps living from day to day; smiling and whistling all the while. I can take a lesson from her that no matter what challenges are thrown our way, we can just take it and keep on loving and living. As for now, we'll just keep praying that she'll respond to the meds this time. In the meantime, I'll just get up each day and whistle along with my little munchkin as we carry on.

Te gusta ir conmigo?

I had my 15 year high school reunion the other day. Well, more of a tailgate party to be correct! I was standing with Blake talking to an old girl-friend of mine when I heard someone say, "Is this my 7th grade girlfriend?" I turned to see Ben, (the first guy who made my heart flutter) standing there! I couldn't believe it was him! This was they guy that I spent HOURS talking to on the phone. You know, the ancient kind that didn't have texting, and pictures, and video, and Internet, and well....anything but good 'ol fashioned talking! I remember the day he asked me to be his girlfriend like it was yesterday! I was in 7th grade so I was probably 13. I always tried to go out of my way to "bump" into him and talk to him and pass notes back and forth. (I know, sooo old fashioned, but we didn't have cell phones smaller than a small car let alone texting!) Anyway, he passed me a note one day which I opened eagerly and read, "Te gusta ir conmigo?" Now, I don't speak Spanish so it was killing me that I had no idea what it said! (Again, too bad I didn't have my iPhone to just pull up the Internet and look it up. Wow, I am old!)

Well, I got home and pulled out a Spanish dictionary and looked up each word...

Te: You

gusta: like

ir: to go

conmigo: with me

Now as I said, I don't speak Spanish nor do I now speak Spanish. So I have no idea if that is even correct. But he apparently took 7th grade Spanish and I was now his girlfriend! I don't remember how I answered him. I'm sure it was not by walking up to him and telling him anything. It was probably something much more mature like telling his cousin Dallas to tell him or passing another note. Somehow we got through it and it was official. The funny thing was that I was only 13 and therefore not allowed to date or have a boyfriend or anything that even came close to that! So our "going out" meant that we hung out at school and talked on the phone sometimes after school. I remember he really liked Simon and Garfunkel and I was way into Erasure. So he gave me a tape with "Bridge over troubled water" on it and I gave him an Erasure tape and some Drakkar Noir cologne for Christmas. I remember that he never kissed me but my heart skipped a beat every time I saw him or held his hand. (Yes mother, I held his hand... sorry!) He was my first real love! My older brother told me that it was just "puppy love" and I was so offended! I thought, how can this not be real? My heart knows that I am in love! And so began the ups and downs of my love life! Looking back, I suppose you could say that it was puppy love, because it was young and innocent and fun. As I grew older, I learned what heartache was and jealousy and eventually true love. But you have to experience it all. The scary thing is that now I have a daughter who is 13! I can't imagine her talking to any boy, let alone thinking she loves him! I'm sure she'll be MUCH more mature than I was and pay attention to her school work and leave the boys alone. At any rate, it was so fun to see Ben and introduce my puppy love to my true love. Funny thing is that as we talked, we discovered that they are both from the same little town in Idaho! Maybe my heart was drawn in some small way towards my future husband through Ben. Then again, maybe I was just a girl with stars in her eyes...

The difference a week makes

I decided to take the girls up to Idaho for the UEA weekend. We all needed some r&r and what better place to do that than Grandma and Grandpa's house! We left Thursday morning and had a fun three hour drive up to Blake's parents house. Blake wanted to weigh Halli before we left and so he did. She was up to 70 lbs. (Her normal weight previous to all the water retention was around 52 lbs. We waved goodbye to Blake and hit the road. The girls plugged in my Ipod to the truck speakers and we all sang at the top of our lungs to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." It has become a favorite of the girls' for some reason! Anyway, I was thinking that maybe Halli looked a little less swollen. When we got to Mom and Dad's house, they commented that Halli looked much better than she did when they had seen her last. I agreed although her belly and ankles were still very swollen. I went to bed that night feeling positive that maybe she would begin to slowly respond to the medication and lose the water. The next morning I was awoken by a bouncy and happy Halli on my bed! She was jumping on my bed and yelling "MOM! Today is a celebration day!" She pulled up her shirt and my mouth dropped! I couldn't believe the difference! Her belly was at least half the size it had been the day before! Her ankles, face, everything were drastically reduced! All the girls were on my bed by then and we all smiled and hugged and cheered for Halli. That was the beginning of our day of celebration. It was also the beginning of the weekend of peeing for Halli! She went to the bathroom more times this weekend than I've seen her do in a long time! By Saturday, her body had lost all of its swelling and looked normal again. I couldn't believe how fast it happened! I was expecting a slow process and it happened literally overnight! We tested her urine and weighed her this morning. Her protein level is only a trace. That is very good news, it means her kidneys have responded to the medication. Her weight is now 51 lbs! She lost 19 lbs in 3 days. The human body is absolutely amazing to me. I am constantly in awe at how it works. As I have watched her today, I noticed a couple of things. First, her eyes actually look gaunt and sunken. I don't know if this is from losing so much fluid so fast or maybe from a lack of sleep. Her cough is still present, but seems to be diminished. Also, she gets bursts of energy and bursts of anger. I can tell that her emotions are all over the place. I've chatted with the older girls and told them what is going on so they can be patient with her.

Although the swelling is gone, we still have a long road ahead. It is so good to have our Halli back. I believe that her improvements are the result of much fasting and prayer. Thank you to everyone who has kept us close to their hearts.

We spent our day of celebration playing with Grandma and Grandpa. We rode Go-Carts, got ice cream, drove to a honey boutique and enjoyed hanging out at their house. It was a perfect weekend. The only thing missing was Blake!

Sunday's update

Today was a very emotional day for me. I knew I should have put on waterproof mascara when my eyes began "leaking" as I listened to spiritual music while getting ready for church. I got everyone up and ready for church pretty well this morning. Getting there by 9:00 has been quite a challenge and I really tried to be on time this time! Anyway, throughout the day, I had many people asking me how I was doing. One thing I've figured out is that I seem to be doing great until someone asks me how I am doing. I feel a bit like Pavlov's dog... Someone asks me how I'm doing and tears come to my eyes! I did make it through church alright. Today was a little rough for Halli. She seemed more swollen and puffy. She has also developed a cough. The doctor said that it is because all the fluids in her body are pushing everything up and crowding her lungs. Hopefully, as she loses fluid, that will remedy itself. She also seems to be battling mood swings. The medication seems to make her more grumpy. I am trying very hard to be patient, but as this goes on for a few weeks, I will be praying for the strength to continue to be patient. She also has already seen the side effect of not being able to sleep. She told me today that she woke up in the night and couldn't go back to sleep. I don't know how long she was up... poor girl! We did have some fun moments today. The girls played twister and got all tangled up, and went for a little walk to the park for a bit. We are grateful for everyones support in joining us in our fast. Beginning tomorrow, I will start tracking Halli's weight gain/loss and protein count. I am grateful to be able to monitor everything from home. I will try to be diligent in updating the results on this blog. Thank you again for your support!

We are a blessed family

I want to start this post by telling our many family and friends how much we love each and every one of you. If there is one thing that we have been reminded of, as we have gone through various challenges these last few months, it is how important relationships are. We consider our family to be blessed beyond measure. We are surrounded by amazing people. People who look beyond themselves. People who will drop anything and be by your side when you need them. People who have hearts bigger than this world. People who love. I want to thank each and every one of you for your time, your concern, your babysitting, your meals, your ice cream, your thoughts, your prayers..... your love. The Lord uses each of us as his "hands" and because of your service, we have been blessed.

Today we took Halli up to the U of U hospital to meet with the pediatric nephrologist. That is a new word I learned this week...

Nephrology (from Greek: nephros, "kidney", combining with the suffix -logy, "the study of") is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.

For those who may not be aware of Halli's circumstances, I'll explain. A few weeks ago, I noticed that Halli's eyes seemed different somehow. I thought she was probably tired and didn't think much of it. A few days later, as I was giving her a bath, I noticed that she looked like she was putting on weight. I thought that I should try to get her to eat better foods, as she is a very picky eater. After another week, she started waking up in the mornings with very swollen eyelids. I thought maybe it was allergies. Finally one day, I noticed that her whole body was beginning to swell. She had swollen ankles, legs, belly, arms, hands, and face. Everything was swollen and puffy. I realized at that point, that something was very wrong and made her a doctor's appointment the next day. That was one week ago. Over the last week, we have been to the doctor's office countless times. They have taken numerous blood samples, and she has peed in a cup more times than we could imagine! Here is what we have learned:

Halli has been diagnosed with Nephrotic syndrome. it is also called nephrosis. These two terms describe a condition in which the kidneys leak large and abnormal amounts of protein into the urine, this leads to puffiness or swelling (edema), often of the eyelids, feet and ankles, and eventually the abdomen. More than 90% of children with nephrotic syndrome are successfully treated with steroids.

The exact cause of nephrotic syndrome is not known and it cannot be prevented. however, research into this condition is ongoing and researchers are trying to develop increasingly effective treatments.

Halli has been put on the steroid prednisone. They say it takes some time for the steroids to work, but that usually, within one to two weeks, the protein in the urine disappears and the swelling in the tissues goes away.

A child that responds to steroids by going into remission is usually thought to have a clinical diagnosis of "minimal change disease." This is what they have told us Halli seems to have. Minimal change disease usually has a good prognosis.

It is possible that Halli could have a relapse or recurrence of protein in the urine, but we are hopeful that this will not be something she has to deal with throughout her life.

So that is the official word from the doctors. We feel very hopeful that we will be able to wean Halli off the steroids within a couple of months, and that her kidney's will be functioning properly again. Those of you who know me well, know that I prefer to stay away from medications and use alternative methods whenever possible. I do believe that medication has it's place and that this is what Halli needs for now. However, it is still very hard for me to have her on such a high dose of such a strong steroid. While it is nice to know what is going on, we are not out of the woods yet. We will be holding a day of fasting and prayer for Halli this coming Sunday the 27th, and we invite anyone to join us.

She seems to be taking everything okay, but she is tired of doctor visits! She just wants to play with friends! Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers. I have faith that everything is in the Lord's hands, and that he gives us trials to strengthen us. Faith told me last night after she said her prayers, that she prays for me to have strength every day. I seem to be in good hands!

Mexico is my favorite village

I have to confess that I am a sporadic blogger. Okay, okay, so that speaks for itself. I know that I've been too much of a slacker when I start getting calls and e-mails telling me to update my blog. So each time I vow to rededicate myself to being a better blogger. It has been a crazy summer with trip after trip it seems. Our latest adventure was taking the girls to Buena Vista. A little town about 35 miles north of Cabo in Mexico (Sea of Cortez side). We went there for a week. I've learned one thing about our vacations... don't let Blake make the airline reservations.

A couple of days before we left, I asked him to forward the itinerary to me. That is when I learned that we had a 7:30 am flight to catch. This meant that I had to get everyone up at about 4:30 am in order to make our flight. I also discovered that we had a FOUR hour layover in Phoenix before catching our next flight to Cabo. So basically we got up at 4:30, drove to the airport to catch our 7:30 flight, flew for one hour then sat and waited. I asked our neighbors who we were traveling with how they felt about getting up so early, and he replied, "I would never make my wife get up that early! We are leaving at 10:30." And guess what, they caught the same connecting flight to Cabo. When I asked Blake why he doesn't love me anymore, he said that he was worried we wouldn't make the connection, if we took the later flight. I'm so glad he's watching out for us all. But I'm going to be in charge of the airline reservations from now on.

So we eventually got to our destination. A little fishing resort right on the beach. It was a quaint little place, and right away we could see that it would be a great week. It was very humid and hot, and it hit you right as you stepped out of the car. I think it was about 100 degrees or hotter each day. We were greeted by the most friendly people, who had limited English and we had VERY limited Spanish. But by the end of the week, my girls were speaking basic Spanish words to all the locals. They have been asking me ever since we got home if they can learn to speak Spanish! One thing that we loved about this resort, was how quiet it was. Right as we went to our room, Kirsten said, "Mom I love this place already, because it is so simple. There aren't a lot of people and it is just quiet." And she was right. We were the only ones on the beach each day, and there wasn't anything to "buy" or things to go and do. It was quite a wake up call for the girls when we got into our rooms. The first thing they noticed was that there was a sign by the toilet that said, "Please do not flush the paper in the WC." They couldn't believe that you had to throw any and all toilet paper into the garbage instead of flushing. No matter what is on the paper. Boo thought that was so cool! She also was very impressed when we took a shower, and the drain had a cover over it that wasn't attached. It kept coming off and she realized that she could look down the drain in the shower. She got so excited and stood up and yelled, "I love this place; it is so awesome!" Later, she found some coconuts that had fallen off the trees and she was swimming around with one. She swam over to me and said, "Mom, Mexico is my favorite village because it has coconuts that fall on the ground!"

Some of our favorite activities were: snorkeling (where we saw puffer fish, and even an eel!), kayaking, jet skiing, deep sea fishing, playing on the beach, swimming in the pool and ordering drinks at the "swim up bar", and our little off resort excursion to go to a zip line.

The zip line was my favorite part of the trip, but I think it requires it's own post to tell about it, so I'll save that for my next post. One of my other favorite things was the amazing food. I think I ate more fresh salsa and guacamole than is legal, along with fresh fish that the guys caught fishing; tostadas, the most amazing nachos you'll ever have, and many other delicious items! It was also fun to hang out with our neighbors, and friends from work.

I am working on a slide show to post our favorite photos from the trip. We had a great time, but I have to say that I'm glad to be home. Now I can drink the water, flush the TP, and my drain cover stays in place!

Do you really want to hide that there?

Yesterday was my birthday. I started the day with Yoga. I love stretching and contorting my body and pretending that I look half as good as the instructor. I love going with my workout "buddy" (some people have dive buddies, I have a workout buddy) who is about as flexible as a piece of sprinkler piping. She continues to amaze me with her dedication and fortitude. I can't wait for the day when she can sit with her legs crossed and actually have her knees touch the ground. And trust me that day will come, because she never gives up.
Anyway as I went through my day, I became overwhelmed with the amazing family and friends I have. I had people calling, texting, facebooking, and e-mailing me all day with their love and support. I had three "parties" and some of the best chocolate cake I've ever had. I know it's a little mushy, but I want to thank everyone for all their love! I am overwhelmed every time I think about how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life.
My favorite part of the day, however was just before I hit the sack for the night. I was sitting in the office and had just gotten off the phone. Blake was laying on the floor, just chillin'. Our dog Missy, (who has perfect teeth by the way) came in with her little toy pillow. She wanted to play tug-o-war. Blake grabbed the pillow from her mouth and pretended to throw it. Missy started to run after it and then paused wondering where it went. Meanwhile, I watched Blake "hide" it between his legs. Now, a curious thought began to form in my mind, and I sat there debating whether to share it or not. Missy came back in sniffing and looking around for the pillow. I couldn't bear it any longer and I said, "Do you really want to hide that there?" He just smiled at me and chuckled at his cleverness, having tricked her. So I sat back and watched. Talk about suspense, she kept sniffing all around him getting closer and closer to where the pillow was hiding. The moment she found it, things happened so fast, yet it was like it was in slow motion! She put her front paws up on his belly and saw the pillow. Have you ever seen a snake strike and bite at it's enemy? Lightning fast right? Well, Missy saw that pillow and she lunged and grabbed at it with her teeth. I've only heard Blake scream like a girl one time...when Kirsten accidentally walked in on him naked. Now I can count two. He screamed and lunged forward just about as fast as Missy. The poor dog, she probably had a heart attack! One minute she was playing a fun game, and the next minute, she's flat on her back! I almost landed flat on my back as I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Blake lay there with a panicked look on his face and said, "I didn't think she would bite at the pillow!" And so, Babe, thank you for the best part of my day. I will remember that one for many years to come!

I'm a nerd

Have you ever gotten up in the morning and wondered what to wear? I have a couple of daughters who don't really worry about it, they just wear the same thing every day! I keep trying to tell them, that they need to pick out different clothes, that it is in fact, "nerdy" to wear the same thing day after day. It is a constant battle. Well, I guess you have to be careful what you preach. On Tuesday, I went to the temple with a friend so I got dressed up in my "Sunday clothes". We had a great time and when I came home, I started working on all the afternoon projects. Around 5:30, I was getting leftovers out for the kids when a friend came over for dinner. (Yes, I served left-overs to our dinner guest. That is the first mark to my nerdiness!)
If anyone else wants left-overs, just let me know, and I'll gladly serve them up! So anyway, here I was still in my "Sunday clothes" serving up the delectable dishes. Our friend hung out with us for the night and we all watched Supercross. The next day, I got up and got dressed and went about my day. We had a Young Women's activity planned that night to go to the Temple Open House in Draper. When it came time to change, I sat in my closet wondering what to wear. I saw my outfit from the day before and I thought, hmmm no one that I'll be hanging out with tonight saw me yesterday so maybe I'll just wear the same outfit again! The only one who would notice is the guy that was here last night, and there's no way I'll see him. So, I happily threw on the same outfit chuckling at my clever trick. After the temple, the girls wanted to grab some dinner at Cafe Rio. We went inside and started ordering when I was suddenly bear hugged by one of my best girlfriends. I was so excited to see her, but guess who she is married to...yup, the guy from Supercross the night before. A million thoughts went through my mind. Where can I hide, How can I do a quick wardrobe change, What are the odds that I would see him, and What are the odds that i would see him! So, I talked to them, all the while wondering if he was thinking, "What a nerd, she was wearing that exact same outfit yesterday." Then I remembered... He is a guy. Maybe there is hope. Maybe he didn't even notice what I was wearing then or now. So, I relaxed a little and ate my dinner. But I'll always be wondering, did he notice? I guess for now, I can be sure... I'm a nerd!

Drag

I have had a few friends ask me, why do your call your blog The Davis Drag? They say when they read that,they think of a Drag Queen. Despite what people might think, that is not what I was thinking when I chose that name! I thought of crusin' the drag. You know... a place to hang out. Actually, I thought it was quite clever. However, if most people are picturing our family dressed in drag...(I guess it would just be Blake) that's not really the image I had wanted to create! So, my question is this. What did y'all think when you read the name, and do you think I should change the name or leave it the same?

Rad!

Just a random picture of '80's night. My hair remembered what to do! I loved hangin' out with Joe Dirt for the night!

I miss the good 'ol days

Yesterday I had to take one of my little ones to the dentist. I was told that I needed to bring her in at 8:00 in the morning and to plan on about seven hours. I was also told that they would have to put her under while they cleaned her teeth. Here is a rundown of the prices they charged me:
1 catheterization IV...$32
1 IV drip line...............$15.20
1 Sodium Chloride......$26.80
1 Sharps disposal fee..$3.40 (I guess I should have offered to throw it in the trash myself)
1 teeth cleaning...........$165.50
2 x-rays.........................$45
1 isofluorane................$51.50 (does anyone even know what this is?)
2 Dental nerve block...$68
2 extraction...................$34.60 (perhaps Blake could have pulled out his pliers)
1 molar extraction........$58.50 (this one must have been a doozy to pull)
14 Clavamox..................$31.08
4 Rimadyl......................$26.80

It turns out that she had two teeth that were so loose, they had to be pulled. She also had one tooth that was abscessed. They told me they would have to take a minimum of two x-rays and possibly more. So my grand total was $561.24. Now, some of you might say well, that's the price you have to pay to keep your kids healthy. But what if I told you this was for my DOG!
Yup that's right. $560 stinkin' dollars to get my dogs teeth cleaned. What has this world come to? I grew up with dogs. We always had one or two. I never remember my parents taking them to get their teeth cleaned, and guess what, they lived happy and productive lives. They played outside. They ate horse poop. They slept on my bed at night. And we NEVER brushed their teeth! Now you might say, "so just don't do it then, if it's such a problem". Well, here's the dilemma. Whenever I take her to the vet to get her shots updated, they shake their fingers at me and say "you are such a bad mom, you need to take better care of your pet. How can you possibly not take the best care of her that you can. You don't even deserve to have a dog. ABUSER!" Okay, so maybe they don't actually SAY it, but they are thinking it! They put such a guilt trip on me, that how can I NOT do it? Then to make matters worse, I have to go home and tell Blake that he has to fork out half a grand to get our pooch's teeth sparkly clean. Yesterday, when I broke him the news, it drove him into a cussing, ranting, frenzy. So, now I have to decide. Am I more afraid of the vet, or Blake? Who will rant the most. Can't we all just get along? Well, I've gotta run, it's time to give the dog her pain pills and antibiotics. Oh, yeah, and I have to cook her a scrambled egg. The vet said I have to. Perhaps we should put her in our will as well.

Gold Standard

I found this video very interesting and wanted to share!

To be naked or not to be naked...

The other day, I woke up at the crack of dawn, and threw on my suit and headed to the pool. Yes, it's the beginning of Triathlon season. After an invigorating swim, I headed for the dressing room. It was there that I was posed with a question that I have been mulling over in my mind ever since. My friend sat waiting for me, as she had already showered and was dressed. Now, the big question...to change in the dressing room, or out in the open. I have been puzzled by this dilemma for a couple of years now. If you walk over to the men's side, you'll see a flock of happy men, walking and talking and showering...naked. They don't care if they know each other or not. They don't care if they are fat or skinny. They don't care if they are hairy or bald. They are just naked. Now back to our girls side. You hardly see a naked body anywhere. The women are scurrying behind curtains and covering up with towels. Why the difference? Is it modesty (or lack thereof), is it shame (or lack thereof), is it judgements? A couple of years ago, as I began running triathlons and swimming at the pool, I thought I'd take a stand and start a revolution. I'm tired of women being ashamed of their bodies. I'm tired of us never feeling good-enough, or skinny-enough, or tan enough. So I started changing out in the open! But I have to say, I am self-conscious every time. Maybe it's because I'm one of the only ones standing butt-naked in a group of carefully covered up women. Maybe it's the strange looks I get. Whatever the reason, I try to stay strong, but sometimes I falter. So back to the other day. I'm standing there, thinking about taking my stand, (my naked stand) and my friend is sitting right there, waiting, watching. I stalled a little as I tried to decide what to do. Finally, I caved. I grabbed my stuff and went behind the curtain. When I came out, there stood my friend, talking to another fellow swimmer. Who was standing there completely naked! I shook my head, (at myself) and silently applauded the bravery of my fellow birthday-suitee. I resolved to stay strong. As we left my friend said, "It's kind of hard to have a conversation when a person is standing there naked." So, I guess the battle continues. I have to try to remain strong, to stand up for women everywhere.
To be like the guys and just be happy to be me. To be okay with my body no matter what the shape, size, or color. But for now, just give me my towel!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tell me one I haven't heard...

Story #1
Last Saturday morning, Blake and I were enjoying a rare "sleep in" day and we were reading in bed. Halli came in and jumped on Blake and started telling him knock knock jokes. He wasn't really in the mood and said, "Halli there aren't any knock knock jokes I haven't heard so you don't need to tell me any." Now, one thing he should know by now is that you never tell one of us Davis girls that there is something we can't do! I saw the look in Halli's eye and I couldn't wait for the next few minutes to unfold. I was really rooting for her behind my book! After a minute, her eyes lit up and she said, "Knock knock," to which Blake begrudgingly replied, "who's there?" There was a pause then Halli said, "I forgot!" He thought he'd be funny and said, "I forgot who?" Then a full smile broke out on Halli's face and she yelled, "I forgot you!" We all started laughing so hard, and Blake conceded, "you got me, I've never heard that one!" Aaaahhh, Saturday mornings! One of my favorite parent moments!

Story #2
Faith was playing around in the kitchen where I was trying to get dinner on. I am usually an expert at zoning out everything around me and doing what I need to do, but she was being extra loud. I asked her a couple of times to quiet down, but she was still being super loud! I finally said, "Faith, why don't you go turn on Planet Earth (her favorite movie)". She said, "Okay, Mom...that's so I'll be quiet right?"
They are on to me!