Medical updates

Where to start?

uhhh, oh yeah....


I have hives all over my body, well had hives all over, they are slowly going away. I looked like a leprosy patient, it was even on my face at one point! Yep, it's miserable and I think the most annoying part about it, next to the itching, is that I don't know what caused it and I probably never will! I hate not knowing how to prevent this from happening again. It's been awful, to say the least. I hope to never feel what it is like for my skin to be on fire but if I were to guess what it felt like, it would be like these hives!

It got really bad last night, so bad in fact, that in the morning I had C take me to the ER to get steroids to help kick those hives in the butt, literally.

Don't you just love it when Doctors say "wow, this is the worst I have seen on any patient." It's so comforting, I love it, personally. No but really it doesn't make me feel any better, and NO I will not let you take pictures to put in your slide shows or text books!

At one point he said "If these don't work and you get worse, like blistering and bleeding, we will need to admit you to the burn unit." WHA!!!? I guess it was getting close to as bad as it can get. So yeah it has not been fun, at all. BUT the steroids are working, I am now one pumped up mama :) with my hive slowly disappearing, THANK HEAVENS!

Now that I have the prescriptions filled and I am all medicated up I am slowly feeling better and I no longer look like a leprosy patient. Wo hoo!

Later in the day I also had some stomach reactions (yes I threw up, I know too much info) so that leads me to believe it might be a virus or more likely it is food poisoning caused by the yummy McDonald's I ate yesterday. Yay for Mc Donald's! Either way, it's miserable.

In other news.......

E went to the Doctor the other day, the Dermatologist actually, and is now being sent to a Plastic Surgeon to get a mole on her face removed, well I guess it's more like her forehead/hair line area.

I think it sounds weird to say "I need to get my 6 year old Daughter in to see a plastic surgeon." I feel like those freaky Pageant Moms who spray tan their three year old daughters for Beauty Pageants, they are only THREE!

I know I have a better reason for sending her off to the surgeon, it's not like I'm getting her lipo suction or a face lift or anything like that. I think they want her to go to this Pediatric Plastic Surgeon because it is on her face and they realize it could scar and they want little scaring in the process of removal because of it's location. Makes sense to me.

No, it's not a "dangerous" mole, well yet any way. It grew and got big, and it changed so quickly even in the last year that I'd rather not risk it and just get it removed and the Dr.'s pretty much agree, well they are the ones who suggested it and I agree with them I should say. There is another one on her face, her left cheek that the surgeon will look at too and help make the "call" on whether it should be removed or not along with the other one.

She's a funny girl. I over heard this conversation she was having with J boy on the ride home. Keep in mind I had just explained to her every thing that me and Dr. talked about....

J boy says or asks some thing, I'm not sure what

E: No J it's called a Mole and it can turn into a worse sickness so they are taking it off of me

E pointing to her mole on her cheek: But THIS one, well I don't like to call it a mole because that sounds yucky, I like to call it a beauty mark because I like it and it makes me feel pretty.

J: and they will take that one off too?

E: No, I don't want them to, because I think I look pretty with it.

Ha ha ha. Can you tell she's been told by her G-ma more than once that her mole was a sign of beauty, calling it a beauty mark? Well apparently she feels it is just too pretty to take off.

Later we talked and she said if it was going to be a "dangerous" one as I called it, then she would like it to come off so she won't get really sick. BUT if it's not dangerous she wants to keep it :) What a smart and funny little girl.

Any way there is a little medical update on me and E girl. Fun times with moles and hives :)

1st Camping trip as a family of 5

So we finally went camping this season. It was fun and it went surprisingly better than I thought it would go with five of us in one tent. It was probably our last time we'll be able to go this season and probably our last time while we live in this part of the country so I'm glad we took the opportunity to go.

We went to a new place and we really liked it a lot. We took lots of pictures so be prepared to scroll down for a while.....

LOOK! There was almost a whole little forest of Evergreen (pine) trees. We don't see many of those around these parts and it made me miss Washington, The Evergreen State.

We forgot our roasting sticks so we had to make our own out of branches. E's response to using sticks to roast hot dogs and marshmallows "Eeewww gross!" ha ha! It made me laugh because she gets so dirty she practically eats dirt while we're camping, that should really be the least of her worries.

E wanted to build her own little mini fire on the grill of the fire pit. Here is daddy helping her get her little fire going...

Poking at the mini fire

Happy little Lady. She did this much of the time, sit in her bouncer smiling at nature.

This kids LOVES fire, I'm not sure it's healthy for him to be such a pyro so young, I'm scared for when he's a teenager.
Off of our camp site we had our own personal trail into the woods. The kids LOVED it! That is where they spent much of their time.

The coolest part of our own little trail.....it led to this little open bowl type area which they had fun pretending and playing in.

looking into the "bowl" from above.

The kids' favorite part of camping? Hands down, the fire at night. They LOVE to poke and prod at it, and just stare into it. It's kind of funny.
Second favorite part? Staying up late and sleeping in a tent.

Fire pictures...

It was so cute to watch Lou lou. Look how mesmerized she is by the fire. She just sat there like that most of the night before bed time.

The kids trying to be "scary" with their flash lights. If you look closely (click on the picture) you can see marshmallow all over J boys face among other things :)

It was a nice cool morning the next day, it felt so good!

Breakfast time!

look at that boys face! Ha! I'm sure it got worse than that. You can tell how much fun they had while camping by looking at how dirty they got
Lou lou, again sitting in her bouncer like a good baby all bundled up in the cool morning.
Seriously, I could put so many pictures on here of her, she's just so dang cute I can't stop taking pictures of her.

Well there ya have it, our first and maybe only camping trip of the year. It was just one night but hopefully that will give the kids their "camping fix" for the year.

Change is good

I rarely do updates on the blog about me or about C. It's usually about the kids and for good reason, they have more to update on, they are always changing so fast. And us? Well we've been doing the same things for the last three years.

So today I'd like to do a post on my husband and myself. Mostly my husband and my thoughts on him.


Most people do not like going to the dentist.

You are probably one of those people.

You might feel like this when you go....
OR this....

Or this....
I don't blame you either, I really don't. Usually it's not "fun" going to the dentist. I completely understand it.

BUT I don't mind it!

Don't get me wrong, I don't like getting fillings, I don't like rubber dams, I don't like getting shots even though I don't hate them, I don't like holding my mouth open for too long because of my TMJD. I don't like hands shoved in my mouth.

but, it never has bothered me to "have" to go to the Dentist. I grew up in a home where we went twice a year every year. My Mom has always worked for a Dentist and that is just what we had to do, go every six months.

And even though I have bad teeth (I just get cavities no matter what I do) I still don't mind going. You're going to think I'm crazy but I have never hated getting the shot to numb you up. I don't like it, but I can hardly even feel it to be honest with you. I guess I never really developed a fear of the Dentist so all the things that go on there that people hate and/or fear I never really was scared of and so it never bothered me. I think a ton of it can be in your head, but that's just me and my hypothesis.

Oh and I also don't mind it, because I LOVE my Dentist. Really, I'm in love with him :) I can say that now because C is and forever will be my Dentist. I love seeing him and not just because I have to because he's my husband and it would be insulting if I asked to see some one else, But because I love going up to the school to see him at work doing what he likes doing and learning as he goes. Just watching him at work, learning and doing it for me and his family makes me fall in love with him all over again. He's my sugar Daddy :)

I really do think it's fun. And at first when we show up together at the school I feel like we're on a date, ha ha. I know it sounds funny but my braind will automatically think that with this equation in mind.... me+C-3 kids=date. That only lasts for a while until I have to hold my mouth onpen so he can put his hands in there :) and it only bothers me because I have TMJD, other wise, eh it's just C doing what he does.

So to actually update on C (thanks for hanging in there with me)....

He's in his 4th year, yes that means it is his LAST year of Dental School. I am so proud of him! He's done amazing, he really has and all the while in school he's balanced his time with school, church, family and yes even his beloved Mountain Biking and that's not easy to do. He's worked hard these last three years and four months and I couldn't be more proud of the work he's done. Seeing him up in Clinic working, I just watched as he was confident in his skills, I was so proud. Eight more months left of fourth year and they are not an easy eight months either, but I know he can do it and know he will because he's that kind of man.

Some times I feel like complaining to him, and I probably do some times, about my day or about the hard parts about just staying home and dealing with, eerrr I mean, raising the kids. But then most of the time I try and stop myself, because I know he works hard at school only to come home and not be done working, he has to work at his family and being a good husband and father doesn't come easy.

Looking back on the last few years here I am amazed at the man I married. He's the same yet he's changed and grown so much to become even better than he was the day I married him (that's hard to do, because he was perfect in my eyes back then ;). I love him for all that hard work he does and I know every bit of it is for us and not just him. I'm glad he likes what he does, that means a lot to me to have him doing what he loves to do but even if he didn't love it I know he'd do it for me, for our family because that is the kind of Husband and Father he is.

Not matter if he was a bus driver or a police officer or a Business manager or whatever I'm proud he chose to work and work hard so that I can be home with the kids, doing what ultimately I love to do (though some days I just have to tolerate it) and be a Mother and a Wife.

So we're on the count down of eight months until he graduates and after that who knows where life will take us. Hopefully we can be closer to family, ultimately that is the plan. As much as I've enjoyed our married lives as poor students I'm looking forward to the new road a head of us, and not living off student loans :) that will be nice too. Change is good, and I will enjoy now as I look forward to the future.

As time gets closer we'll know where we think we'll be going and hopefully by graduation C will have a job somewhere, we're hoping out West and I'll be sure to keep you up to date on where we'll be.

Bad luck: 3 Harker kids: 0

Although only one of these following incidences was partially my fault, I'm still feeling slightly like a bad Mother....or at least a Mother with bad luck for her kiddos.

It all started with J boy tripping, falling and smacking his forehead on the cement side walk. This is probably his biggest goose egg he's ever had on his head. I felt so sorry for him, he must have had the biggest head ache ever. I wasn't even there to comfort him right after it happened :(

Then I had an awful start to my morning a couple of mornings later when I stupidly laid Lou Lou on the couch arm on an incline. NOT a good idea. When she's on an incline she likes to sit all the way up, but can't yet hold herself up so she falls forward. Well she did just that, but since she was on the couch she fell flat on her head on the floor. I turned around just in time to witness it happen. It was awful and I cried, for a long time!


Then last night E girl fell off her bed, which to some, sounds like no big deal BUT she's on the top of a bunk bed, so yes it was quite traumatic for us. She is fine, her foot took most of the fall, so that is what is hurting but it will be okay. Poor girl I felt so bad for her, what an awful way to wake up!

We're not having the best of luck with these three!
(I love this picture, by the way, this depicts my kids so well)

Lets hope the bad luck does NOT continue in our family. Lets hope that C and I will not have some sort of accident.

Here's hoping for some good luck!

Just for Fun

Here are a couple of quotes from my kids.......
Just for fun

J boy:
J exits house to play with our neighbor and his little boy.
J boy toots.
Neighbor asks "Did you just toot J?"
J's responds in a serious voice "Yeah. And some times when I fart poop juice comes out."

I laughed for a good long time when our neighbor told us that. Well at least he knows that's what we call it at our house "poop juice."

E girl:
To me she says enthusiastically "Hey Mom wouldn't that be cool if you had twins?!"
"uuhhh no, that would be kind of crazy." I replied
she then clarifies and says "Well no it wouldn't, it would be cool if you had the kind that WEREN'T stuck together!"

It made me laugh. It's only crazy if they were stuck together!

And THIS little lady, well she doesn't say much yet and I like that! It'll be too soon when she does start jabbering. I'm really really enjoying the stage she is right now. She just makes me happy all day long! AND she's just SO DARN CUTE!
She has her well child check up this week so updates on her to come. I know you all can't wait ;)

Summer time

This summer has been kind of rough on our Family. It didn't pan out quite how we thought it would. It definitely wasn't a typical summer.

At the very start of Summer I had our third child. No big deal. Okay so it kind of was a big deal and quite the adjustment for our little family. We love our sweet little Lady Bug, but no matter how wonderful a new baby is, it is always an adjustment.

We had a tentative plan in mind for our summer vacation to head up to Canada where C is from to visit his family. We haven't been able to see C's siblings in a long time and E and J boy can hardly remember they have cousins because we so rarely see them.

Unfortunately plans fell through and there was no trip up to Canada. C has been trying really hard to work in his Clinic up at school to get caught up on some desperately needed points, that and having a baby at the beginning of summer kind of put a damper in our plans for a vacation this summer.

Poor C has been working so hard with VERY little time off or breaks, all summer long. We would have loved a quick little vacation around here, go camping or something, but it was SO BLASTED HOT here that nothing sounded fun, not even water, that is how hot it was this summer!

We just wanted to do something, anything to get our of our "Lame Summer" rut.
So when some friend of ours invited us to a fun day at the lake on a large pontoon boat we did not hesitate to take the opportunity to relax and have fun.

It just so happened that the weather was AMAZING that fine Saturday afternoon, seriously we could not have asked for more perfect weather! It wasn't sweltering hot out but just warm enough to want to get in the nasty muddy looking water to cool off. There was a slight breeze but only enough to make it comfortable not too cold. It was a perfect day to be at the lake. It was a perfect thing to do on a Saturday to get us out of our lame summer rut!

So a BIG Thank You to our friends who made it all happen.

WARNING: Lots of pictures below

J boy driving the boat in his cool sun glasses (with a little help)

E, changing her mind about going down the slide.

Lou Lou just chill'n

Chill'n on the upper deck

Socializing and eating lots of food!

swimming in the muddy lake.

This boat was huge and there were just as many kids on board as there were adults! We took it out on the lake in the late morning, where we kind of parked it near the shore of a secluded beach so the kids could choose to go play in the sand up on shore or they could hang out with the older kids (i.e. the parents, mainly the Dads) and jump off the upper-deck of the boat and slide down the slide into deep enough waters. As luck would have it we had time for the kids to do both.

It all started out innocently enough with a little bit of this....

Then it went to this...Then this stuff started happening...

Then we had Dads helping the kids jump off...Then we had kids leaping off left and right.

Okay so there were just two little boys that braved jumping from the top deck , but it scared me every time I'd see a kid falling out of the corner of my eye. I'd then think "It's okay, they jumped on purpose, no one is falling off the top deck."

Crazy kids! And I'm not just talking about the children.

The slide was entertaining as well, But of course you can't just sit and go down it normal....We loved it. It was a nice one day get-a-way.

Good times.....Good times!