Weekly Update

Nate's reading spot
Breakfast noodle
So Helpful

Big kid


My in-laws are now in Africa and I am going to try my best to update this each week so that they can know what we are up to.

Connor-Almost everyday Connor will come home and say, "No homework!" I never know if he is telling the truth but his grade sure prove that he is doing the work. Connor got straight A's (Just 2 A-'s) this term. That is a 3.925! I am so proud for him and the effort that he is putting in to his schooling. The best part is that he did this all on his own. There was no late night procrastination that we had to help him with, he did it! The other night he and I had a good talk about trying to see each others prospective. I love that Connor is still coming to us and shares his life with us. He has been keeping a journal and will share it with us on occasion. He is a great kid!

Nathan-After having his hammock chair on the floor in his room for the past 5 or more months. we FINALLY got it hung in his room this week. It is a nice little place for him to sit and read for the 80 minutes a day that he is doing for the Jazz read-a-thon. When Nathan is not reading he is inventing something amazing with Lego. The things he comes up with are so detailed and original. I just can't imagine what is going on in the smart little head of his. Nathan's art is fantastic as well and was even asked by his teacher to do the front cover of the class book.

Matthew-Matthew is such a loving little boy. He tries so hard to do good and it sometimes ends up smacking him in the face. That smack usually comes from his brother Michael who is just a little to independent for his own good. Matthew has improved on his reading skills a lot. He reads with more expression and stops and follows the punctuation.

Michael-This kid is so busy and has so much energy! I wish he could give me an ounce of the energy that he has. I have not been feeling so great and Michael has been going to play with friends a lot more that usually. Last week he went with my friend Lori to play with her boys and when she brought him home she had dinner for me. They had gone to Good Earth and picked up tortillas made of brown rice so that I could eat them. When Michael started telling me about what he did with his friends, he told me that they went to "Good Planet"! He was so excited. Michael also likes to eat a "Breakfast noodle" each morning as he calls it. It's really a toaster strudel.

Jacob-Jakey is getting so big! He is standing on his own, clapping, waving and pushing things around. His biggest push this week was the ironing board across the kitchen. Don't worry, there was no iron on top. Jake loves to help me reorganize the Tupperware lid cabinet and kids cup drawer. He is so close to walking and so content to sit and turn in circles.

John and I have been working hard to get our house in order. I was able to speak to my old ward this last week about doing just that, I loved it and now know what I want to be when I grow up! John posted a bunch of stuff on KSL and sold almost $150 on Saturday. He has been amazing at getting the garage and storage rooms organized and finding more space in our house. He has been patching holes and finishing up projects like Nate's chair. I did another Thirty-One party. It was great to have a reason to get up and get out of the house. I did pay the price for so many outings. I was pretty weak Friday and Saturday and didn't make it to church Sunday. I hope to get result from the rest of the tests this week and have some more answers on my health issues. I am grateful for the support of my family and friends and all they are doing for me and my family right now.
Here's to a great week!

Not much has changed

I was hoping by now I could report that I was feeling so much better. It has been a rough couple of weeks. I have really been feeling the effects of the low iron since I can't eat anything to give me temporary energy until the iron kicks in. I have lost at least 6 pounds, which would be great if it was because I was working out and getting into shape, not because I eat next to nothing! It would be a lot easier if I was work on one thing at a time. The hardest part is the constant fatigue that I feel each day.
I have been blessed with great friends and neighbors that have brought me delicious food that either my family or myself can eat. They have taken Michael for play dates, and called just to check up on me. I have been very tired and weak, not wanting to do much at all. I feel a lot like I do when I am pregnant, but at least then I have a reason and I feel a little bit justified for sleeping all the time.
The food has been fine. As long as I eat the same things and drink lots of water. My meals consist of one to two eggs for breakfast, (that is after I take my 5 fiber pills on an empty stomach, than 2 cleanse pills half hour later, and then I can eat a half hour after that!)I take about 7 pills with breakfast and by that time I am pretty full. Lunch has been some yummy food friends have brought over, kabobs, fajitas, or a spinach salad with a dressing that I can eat that I made. between lunch and dinner I take 2 more pills, then half hour before dinner I will take 2 more cleanse pills. Dinner is usually a modified meal I am making the family, I will have meatballs and brown rice with steamed veggies, while they will have sweet and sour meatballs, white rice, fruit and steamed veggies. I even made my own ziti with marinara sauce, brown rice noodles and plain yogurt. Just before bed I will have 3 more pills and water. If I need a snack during the day I will grab a handful of almonds and drink more water. Not bad, it would be a whole lot better if I could have fruit though. I do miss having a little sweet treat.
Last week I had not made any mistakes for 3 whole days! (sometimes it's hard to remember what I can eat, like spraying the pan with canola oil, when it should be olive oil! technicalities!) Friday I told John I wanted to go out and we went to Iggy's and had a burger with onion rings and fries and a Butterfinger for something sweet. I couldn't even eat the whole thing which is not normal for me. (I did however eat the whole Butterfinger.) I got a horrible headache that lasted 2 days and that night I felt like my heart was racing! I have been back on track and back to feeling sick and tired.
I put calls in to two different doctors, requesting the blood tests that I need to check the shape of my blood cells. I hope to hear back Monday and get test and results this week. I really want to move forward with getting my spleen removed if that is what I need to do to get better. Twelve years is a long time to deal with the fatigue and weakness. I want to be the mom that I want to be. I want to be active and enjoy the summer with my family.

Worst case scenario!

For someone that swore I would never diet, this has got to be the worst case scenario!

I have been wanting to update our blog for a while now, but I have just not been feeling well. For years (about 12 actually) I have been battling with anemia. Much of it during my pregnancies, but it just never seemed to completely go away. I have been put on iron several times and my body just would not absorb it. In fact, when I was pregnant with Michael I had to go to the hospital 3 times a week for 3 weeks to get iron infusions, twice! I did one infusion when I was pregnant with Jacob, but decided to just do the supplements rather than going back and forth to the hospital.
The last few months I just felt like I was getting worse so I decided I was going to finally get to the bottom of this and went to a doctor that my friend Candace recommended. We went through a series of questions and she came to the conclusion that I have a buildup of yeast in my gut causing a number of problems, including the fatigue. She wanted to do some blood tests to make sure that there wasn’t anything else going on so I did that and came back in 2 weeks. The tests showed that my iron was low (Shocker!) and my bilirubin was high. She mentioned a few things, but when she said something about the spleen, I told her that my mother and half my siblings have had their spleen removed. That caught her interest and after giving me a prescription for iron and going over all my supplements and diet restrictions for the Candida (yeast thing), she asked me to come back in 6 weeks for more blood tests and with the reason that my family had their spleens removed. Of course I went right out the the car and called my mom. She told me that it was a hereditary thing (that would have been helpful 12 years ago!) and sent me the name and info about it. After spending the evening reading and looking it up on the Internet, I have come to realize that I may have a mild case of Hereditary spherocytosis. This is what my mom sent me:

Hereditary spherocytosis is an inherited disorder in which the normally disk-shaped red blood cells become spherical. The misshapen, rigid red blood cells are trapped and destroyed in the spleen, resulting in anemia and an enlarged spleen. The anemia is usually mild but may be more severe if an infection develops. When the disorder is severe, jaundice and anemia may develop, the liver may enlarge, and gallstones may form. In young adults, this disorder may be mistaken for hepatitis. Bone abnormalities, such as tower-shaped skull and extra fingers and toes can occur. Treatment usually isn't needed, but severe anemia may require removal of the spleen. This procedure doesn't correct the shape of the red blood cells, but it reduces the number that are destroyed and thus corrects the anemia.

So, What now? Well, I wait for 6 weeks and in the meantime, I am taking handfuls of supplements including iron and Vitamin D. I can’t eat fruit, breads, anything with wheat, corn, potatoes, dairy (except eggs and plain yogurt), sugar in any form and no KETCHUP! I am super tired from the low iron and normally I would be able to eat a candy bar or drink caffeine to give me the energy to get through the day, but since I am cleaning out my system, I just have to fight through it. It is not fun and I sleep a lot! I am grateful that I am getting answer and it helps to know that I will be feeling better soon. I don’t really want to have my spleen removed, but if it will stop the fatigue, I will do it. Just because I have the eyes of an 80 year old, doesn’t mean I need the body of one too! I know my doctor will try everything before surgery, and I will definitely get a second opinion.