run time

Today's run: 6 mi-> 1:16:39

Funny story

The other day, Eric worked from home in the morning for a little while before we had an appointment together. I got Mason and Miles dressed for school. When Mason was ready, he came to us and told us "I going to the office to work. I need Daddy's keys to drive to the office." He picked up a book (ironically, it was "The Everything Potty Training Book" - yes, please read it Mason and actually practice what you read!!!!), picked up keys (mine, not Daddy's) and started telling us bye. We repeated what he said about going to the office and he just kept telling us, "yes, I got to work. I going to the office. I drive Daddy's car." It was so funny! At the same time, I reminded Eric that before we know it, he will be asking for keys or taking his own and driving off and we won't be able to stop him or just laugh at him. Amazing how quickly the last 3 years have gone. I still feel like I saw that first + pregnancy test just a few weeks ago rather than nearly 4 years ago (4 years ago June 1st!!). I never would have predicted then that I would be where I am right now - a stay-at-home mom with two boys, working part-time as a Realtor (more about that in a minute), writing a blog on a Monday afternoon. I am pleasantly surprised at how it all has worked out.

So, after Miles was born, I decided to inactivate my real estate license. As much as I enjoyed it, I just didn't have the time or energy to market myself, keep up with clients and provide the level of service that I would expect from a Realtor. It is 8 months later, and while I still don't have the energy most days (Miles is totally inconsistent about sleeping through the night -- could be the reflux, random gas/constipation, and now random teething pain -- I never know what to think!), I do feel like I need to start doing something again that I enjoy, gets me out of the house, interacting with adults and using my brain. There are so many details to work out (childcare, how to handle domestic duties like laundry and cleaning, etc) but I am starting to look at brokerages and interviewing. I think that it is a good time for me to enter the market. With my mortgage servicing/loss mitigation/foreclosure/short sale, etc experience, I have something extra to offer clients and know how to work with a mortgage company.

The other news is that we had our first interview with a preschool for Mason. We are looking at starting him 3 days per week in the fall. When we are accepted to one, I will post where he will be going. Our first choice is a Christian school that is K3-6th grade, so it would also solve our elementary school problem (The elementary school that we feed is not a very good school, unfortunately. Most families in our area go to private schools.).
OK, enough ramblings for one day. I will post more soon!
Happy Valentines Day to all! Kendra, Mason and Miles

No teeth yet.... do they sell baby dentures?

We're having another spitty day in the Kimball house. I did read last night (on a reflux site) that teething and added mobility can cause a baby to suddenly spit more. Miles started crawling this past week and (better be) cutting a tooth.... he is 8 1/2 months, afterall! I'll post if he ever gets a tooth!

Mason, Eric and I are all good. We enjoyed the nice weather last weekend and took a few walks. I hear that next weekend is supposed to be cold again - 40s by Friday and Saturday. Just 42 days until Eric and I leave for Chicago (without the boys) for a few days. He has a seminar to attend and I will get a few days of .......quiet.......and no one spitting up on me ........ or whining...... or crying....... ahhhhhhhhhh. Then, we will stay the weekend with Eric's sis, bro-in-law and niece. So, some quiet, some family, lots of FUN! I can't say that the weather will be better than here. Maybe it wil be cold and snowy so that I have an excuse to stay in the hotel and do nothing but watch movies and read! Now that's a fun weekend!

Take care! k, e, m & m
Sunday's run: 5 mi -> 65:09

Tired today

Today has been a terrible day for Miles. He has been in an ok mood, but he has spit up constantly. He just lost an entire 8oz bottle (in several spit-ups/throw-ups) and went through 3 set of PJs and a change of clothes for Mommy. It just exhausts me some days. Does anyone know if the UGI (barium) he had done yesterday could cause more spitting up? He has not spit up this much all day long in quite a while.

today's run: 2 mi -> 19:34

UGI today

Miles' upper GI was this morning. He was a trooper, all things considered. They strapped him down to this board. Then, they pulled his arms over his head and strapped his arms and head down. Clearly, he was quite unhappy with this arrangement. He was given a 2 oz bottle of barium to drink. He started ok, but after about a half ounce, he decided he was not a fan. We had to coax him to drink. If he didn't drink it, they would have to put a tube in his nose and get it down that way. I started silently praying and it worked! He kept kinda growling and crying at us, but did eventually finish with me holding the bottle for him (rather than the nurse). The x-ray machine was very close to him and covered most of his face, but he could see me just a little. He would look at me with those sad pitiful eyes and just cry. It about tore my heart out. So, I talked and sang and he calmed some.
The board he was strapped to turned and as he drank and afterwards, they turned him on each side and eventually face down. That was when the real screaming began. He was so mad and refused to drink more. Since there was so little in his tummy, it took a while to start moving into his intestines (which they needed it to). They kept rubbing his tummy and sides with a wooden spoon to coax it to move (I guess). Finally, they got the images they needed. Unstrapped his arms, which almost made him more mad because his body was still stapped down. He needed to drink more barium so that they could see if he would reflux. No doing. They said no problem, if they could see him reflux, great. If not, it was fine too. Once I held him, he settled quickly and cuddled up close. He fussed when we tried to get him dressed, but was happy and smiling at them all before we left. He quickly fell asleep on the way home - all the screaming wore him out. It was about 20-25 minutes from start to finish.
She didn't say much afterwards (I was not paying attention to anything she might have been saying during the test - my mind and attention was totally on Miles). But, she did say all the organs looked fine. Great news, except for I feel like there is still no answer for the throwing up. Maybe once the doctor looks at the report he will have more information for us.
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We felt them this morning. Both boys had a really hard night last night, so I am going to rest while they are both napping now. I'll post more when we know more....

Just another Monday

Both boys had "school" today. The first preschool we applied Mason to called today to schedule the parent interview. It is a great christian school and goes K3 to 6th grade, so it would be a fabulous fit and solve our elementary school problem. I'll update afterwards on how it goes.

Miles still has no teeth, but he is sleeping better and is not as fussy. I wish all the sleepless nights would have resulted in a tooth, but at least he is feeling better. He did start crawling on Thursday. He actually started making forward progress! :) Things are going to get even crazier in our house soon!!

Nothing terribly exciting to write about today. Tomorrow is swim lessons for Mason, Wednesday is Miles' upper GI test, Thursday is school day again and Friday we are having the boys pics done for Mason's 3rd b-day. So, busy busy week. I need to fit in a could of runs and a hair cut for Mason.

Sunday's run: 5mi -> 64:27 (Yes, I was slow, but it was 72 degrees and 61% humidity!!)

Have a fabulous week!!
PS.... see a new post that I just finished and is under Jan 22....about my Nennie.

UGI scope scheduled

Wed, Feb 6th at 8:45AM - Children's hospital.
Had a very bad night with Miles.... teething or another ear infection? No idea.....
more later.....

Happy 3rd Birthday Mason!!

Mason turned 3 on Saturday. I can hardly believe it has been 3 years since I became a Mommy! The years have flown by but some days have seemed crawled by!! His party was so fun! We had a train party and even had a circus train for the kids to ride on. Almost everyone enjoyed the ride (there were a few kids unsure of the train and the noise it made). Most parents took a ride (or two or three) and even Nana took a ride! Mason and Miles wore their overalls and looked quite the part of the engineer. I'll post pics later......

Miles had a check-up with a new GI doctor on Thursday and we loved him! He did a milk allergy test (even though it was inconclusive, at least he did it), changed 2 of his 3 medicines and scheduled him for a upper GI scope. The new medicine for the constipation is working so much better already. We are still waiting to hear when the UGI is scheduled, so I'll post when I know.

I also turned in an application for preschool (k3) for Mason for 2008-2009 school year. It is such a huge step and makes me so nervous! Things like this remind me how much of a grown-up I am. Sometimes I forget.....

Speaking of being a grown-up, I need to go get the boys some dinner.

Nennie

Oh..... where to begin? My mom's mom is a one-of-a-kind lady. I have worked on writing this post in my head for several weeks and online for another couple of weeks. I never know where to start. To say that she is a strong woman is not giving her the full credit she deserves. She raised three children all by herself and while things were never easy, she always provided and made the best of a hard situation. She did what she needed to do and did not quit.


Nennie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986. She had surgery and then chemo. She was never sick from the chemo and never lost a single hair. She is such a fighter and never lost hope that she would beat the terrible disease.

She has 3 children, 9 grandkids (not including all the spouses) and 9 great-grandkids (if I can do my math correctly!). She lost her oldest daughter to breast cancer in 1994. I cannot imagine losing a child at any age - even as an adult. She stayed with Navena at the hospital every day and cared for her when she wouldn't let the nurses. She took care of her like any mother would care for their child. Fortunately, most mothers do not have to care for their adult children. I cannot imagine the physical and emotional toll it must take to bring a child into this world and then lose them to such an awful, long, painful diesease.

Nennie has always been terribly independent and I would even say that she prided herself on being able to always take care of herself. Several years ago, she started losing her eyesight. She has Macular Degeneration and slowly lost not only her eyesight, she lost the things that meant the most to her - needlepoint, crocheting, pottery, reading, driving - her independence. She is dependent on someone else for most everything these days. For her, that has to be the hardest thing in the world.

Sometimes she gets down and wonders why she is still here with us. Some of us remind her that her family needs her. She is our prayer warrior. She prays for each and every member of our family daily. I have told her that God knows we obviously still need her praying and interceeding for us. I know that I don't always have the time to pray for my family or boys like I should. But, as long as Nennie is around, I know that she is and I thank God for every additional day that he gives her on this earth.

She turned 86 in October and I can not even begin to think of all the things that she has experienced and the changes that have come along in her lifetime. Highways, microwave ovens, VCRs, DVDs, cell phones, computers (which she has probably never once used) - so many things that most could not imagine a day without. Some days I think that it would be nice to not have so much technology in our lives, but without it, I couldn't brag on my Nennie. If you are reading this and are one of her grands or great-grands, please take a few minutes to give her a call and let her know how much you love her. I know that I am going to do so this evening.

Swim lessons and yoga

Mason had his first solo swim lesson this morning. Until now, he has been in a mommy-and-me class and I have been in the water with him. He was hesitant on the drive there about going in without mommy, but as soon as we got there and it was time for his class, he took to the water like the little fish that he is. He did great and loved getting into the water. In fact, he had trouble staying seated until it was his turn. He kept wanting to jump in and swim! He has a great teacher, Mr. Chad. I think that it will be great for him to have a male teacher for once! And, today it was just our best buddy Dylan and Mason in the class. Semi-private lessons for the two of them! I'll post pics soon.....


I think that I did a few too many yoga classes when I was pregnant with Miles. I went until I was 38 weeks and the instructor freaked out when he found out I was due in 2 weeks! Miles is trying so hard to crawl. He gets up on all fours and rocks, rocks, rocks back and forth. He pushes himself backwards (under tables and chairs, into corners or other places to get stuck and/or hit his head on). He has also started lifting his knees up from the ground so that he is in a push-up or plank position.


The last few days, he has started pushing his hips to the ceiling in what looks like a down-dog.

He has tried to put his feet on the floor from here (and has gotten one foot on the floor) like he is just going to stand up. So funny! I'll post a video of this later. One other note, we are still waiting on the appearance of his first tooth. He is chewing on everything he can get into his mouth. The top 2 teeth look like they are closer to cutting through than the bottom two. I am not sure what he is going to look like with top teeth and no bottoms.

We have an appointment on Thursday with a new Ped GI doctor for Miles at Children's Hospital. I am excited to get a second opinion and hopefully get some answers. Or, at least have some confidence that there really may not be a medical explanation for the constipation and reflux. They did tell me to plan on a 2-3 hour visit, so I am guessing that they plan to run some tests that day. I will post updates when we get back.

Sunday's run: 4 miles => 44:20
Tuesday's run: 3 miles => 30:53