Rylee, the service dog

Rylee is legit, in his vest. The vest is there to answer questions before they come up and to let people know not to bother him, he's working. And believe me, he takes it seriously when he has the vest on, he wouldn't even accept a treat from the worker at Petco. He does a great job ignoring people/ carts etc. when we are out {except his Papa, he loves his Papa} and is a great comfort to me to have at home for Joseph while I'm working. 

He's a great traveler too, we are so looking forward to our Utah/Idaho trip for Jessica & Keith's wedding!! We wanted to make sure he had his vest and was used to it before this trip and our spring break/10 year anniversary trip. Life is better with Rylee in our family.  

Thanksgiving (catch up)

Thanksgiving: Mom & Dad hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. (Day after surgery- we weren't going anywhere!) so we had 13 people total at Mecham Manor that day, lots of yummy food we had a good time. I don't remember too much it was a slow week for me- no work and I was on a pain pill schedule so the details are a bit sketchy. :)

Piano decor, I love playing it and decorating it too!!

Giddy up Auntie Val!

The kidlets loved the barn, except they turned the door against the wall. 

And Sean loved Joseph's tractors.   

Oma and the kidlets made the decorations, so cute!! 

Surgery Summary (almost 2 months post-op)

I feel AWESOME, seriously. So here is the run down of what has happened for anyone who is curious enough to read this

• Oct. 26th: Ultrasound & Dr appointment @ APW, diagnosis: Endometrial polyp, cysts on uterine wall. Dr. Tandon was sweet, direct and to the point, qualities I value in a doctor. (gimme the facts, but with tact) I really think she must have thought I was a little crazy, because of how calm I was about everything.  Dr T: "we found polyps and cysts in your uterus and endometrium, you need to have surgery to remove them, a hysteroscopy, D&C and polypectomy." Me:"okay" Dr. T: "Do you want to schedule that today?" Me: "yes."
• Nov. 16th: pre-op/ pre-admission appointments: boring, long, necessary. 
• Nov. 25th: The BIG day
• We stayed up late to eat and drink, so I wouldn't be hangry the next day. We woke up early, unintentionally.
• Mom, Joseph & I arrive at hospital, and get checked in just before 12:30
• I was hooked with, or up to everything: a gown, a hair net, anti-nausea patch behind my ear, compression socks, pressure cuffs on my legs, another pair of socks, blood pressure cuff, finger pulse ox monitor, some other monitor on my ear, 3 bracelets, and probably about 5 warm blankets on top of me.
• The I.V. hook up didn't go so smoothly...I squirted blood everywhere, blood EVERYWHERE, crime scene quality I'm sure. The nurse thought it would be more difficult and that I would be more dehydrated (fair skin = difficult poke, she said) 
• I was given valium in my I.V. right before they wheeled me to the O.R., then in the O.R. an oxygen mask was brought up to my face, I was told "time to go to sleep", had surgery (so I'm told, happily under general anesthesia I don't remember anything) then I woke up back in my "room" 
• 2, I.V. pain med pushes, a snack, and 1 bathroom trip later I was dressing to go home. We left the hospital, around 3pm
• We all went to walmart for my prescriptions. Joseph rode behind me (in an electric wheelchair) around the store while we waited for the meds. Got home around 4pm
• Mom says she was a little freaked out by how coherent I was right after surgery.  She stayed, warmed up our dinner and ate with us, started my medication notebook (schedule) and left after I was finally settled in and relaxing. (around 6 pm)
• Apparently I am tough one to get to lay down and relax... but Joseph knew the trick, he put a dryer warmed blanket on me and I stayed put. 
• Dec 17th: Post-Op appointment, kind of a waste of an appointment, if you ask me. Dr. T told me it was a successful surgery, everything looks good, made sure I was feeling well and had no complications, then she gave me the all clear to try to get pregnant. 
• Other Facts
• The polyp was benign (yay!) and measured 2.1 cm x 1.4 cm x 0.4 cm, so it was quite large. (Validating for me, I was in real pain and for a real reason)
• This was not my first surgery, but it was my third D&C.
• However,  this was my first D&C that had nothing to do with a pregnancy loss, which made it much easier, emotionally.
• It was so much harder (painful) BEFORE surgery than after. Something I found that people had a hard time understanding.
• Polyp Info: Not much is known about polyps, I know, I asked and I googled... 
• What causes them? Not sure...hormone imbalance seems probable.
• How long was that growing inside me? Who knows...It was kinda flat so it could have been pushed aside during previous ultrasounds.
• Do polyps prevent pregnancy? Unknown, but likely. Symptoms include unexplained infertility and multiple miscarriages. What I do know is that it was there, it was large and it was causing serious problems (PAIN, irregular periods & excessive and irregular bleeding, difficulty getting/staying pregnant)

Now that it's gone & I've healed I feel so great, I have so much more energy, it's kind of ridiculous! I'm a whole new person, or at least it feels that way, especially after months of PAIN. I like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who checked up on me, left notes and messages on FB, sent sweet texts and thoughtful gifts to me as I endured pain, and underwent surgery. It sure meant a lot, thanks. Goodbye endometrial polyp and uterine cysts and may you NEVER EVER return. 

A little pick me up

We received this wonderful email after our 1st center day in our T/TH preschool class. I want it here to re-read when I need a pick me up.
To clarify:
Center day is a very structured day for our students with 5 centers, or stations where they make crafts to do with the holiday or season, it's also an opportunity for the parents to come into the classroom and volunteer. Being our very 1st one of the year the kids didn't know to stay in their groups, or how to cycle from each center to the next one. (And we have lots of "littles" in this class, so they tend to be squirmy even on good days.) I'm also working through lots of pain still, and with so many parents in the room watching I made sure to do my best "perky preschool teacher" performance.  Now you know the background... so you'll understand why I REALLY LOVE this email.

Hi!

I just wanted to give some positive feedback for your preschool program. I think we often only receive negative feedback and I want to make sure that you all know what a great program you have going. I was very involved with my daughters previous preschool because my work schedule allowed that at the time. Unfortunately now because of my new schedule and the distance from my office to this particular preschool, I am not able to be as involved as I would like. I often worry about how the teachers interact with my daughter and if she feels at home. Well, today I was able to take some time off to volunteer for the Center Day and I would like management and the owners to know that you have a great team of teachers and a great program. They had control at all times and if a child got a little wild, they could gain control quickly. They work so well with the children and I can tell they genuinely care about them. Being able to see that myself in person, has given me so much relief. Props to your team and I appreciate all of the HEART work they put in to doing this.

Thank you!

So, Shaylee needs surgery...(slightly graphic!)

Its been 32 days since the pain first started. I feel like a Star Trek character saying that (you know, "star date..."). 

So,yesterday I had an ultrasound.

It's hard to see, and I can't even tell you what for sure we're looking at. (I grabbed a quick pic of the screen while I was changing) But the ultrasound showed that I have endometrial polyps in my uterus.

 They are causing my pain & other symptoms! It's usually my polycystic ovaries causing problems, but not this time. 

Anyway, it means surgery, a hysteroscopy / D&C to remove them. The following images depict what I'm in for. 

My surgery is scheduled for Nov. 25th. I've had these procedures done before, but not at the same time. Would it be horrible to make a paper chain to count down to surgery?? (It is the day before Thanksgiving) 

I can't wait to have it all done, recover and to FINALLY feel better. The pain is intense and unrelenting, and no medication was adequately helping with pain relief. So it's easy to understand, I haven't really been myself lately. I have a new pain killer that helps tremendously, so that's a blessing. 

Scheduling the surgery was miraculous: somehow the pre-op, pre-registration/admission, surgery & post-op all ended up being scheduled in a way so that I won't have to miss any piano lessons! No make up lessons! Hallelujah!  

Now I just need to be tough for the next 29 days. :)

Untitled

 Life has been busy lately. Well, not so much in the summer, that was hot & boring (in the best way). Now it's back to life as usual: me {Shaylee} working full-time between preschool & piano, and Joseph handling things at home, our sweet home Mecham Manor.
But we've had a complication recently, not Joseph, he's doing great. {we see his neurologist in 3 weeks} it's me. My body and I aren't getting along lately, I'd even go so far as to say that my body hates me. TMI WARNING: if you're a guy, I would stop reading right now. Lots of yucky details coming up. Okay, you've been warned.
In September my period was 11 days late, I thought I was pregnant. I had 2 negative pee tests, and 1 negative blood test before my period finally arrived. And oh boy did it, bad CRAMPS and heavy heavy bleeding for 8 straight days. Then a week before my next period my body was overcome with severe cramps, back aches and pains shooting down into my legs. Tested for a UTI, negative.  Somehow, my period came, and relatively on time {weird though, 3 days spotting and 2 days borderline hemmoraging} it's over now, and I'm still in pain. See, I said my body hates me.
Today marks day 18 of continuos, unrelenting pain. Although now it's like a 5-6/10 on the pain scale, before my period it was a consistent 8/10.
The theory is that I may have endometriosis. Endometriosis is when the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. I've done research, and I have most of the symptoms. Endometriosis has never been ruled out, with all the doctors I've seen, and procedures I've have in the past. Unfortunately, endometriosis can only be diagnosed and treated with surgery.
I am currently working on obtaining short term health insurance to help cover my future medical expenses. I'll have health insurance through Obamacare, but it won't start until January, I won't wait that long. My goal is to {possibly} have surgery near the holidays, when I have time off work. Right now it's about pain management, and taking things one day at a time. I'm hoping that if I have surgery that we will have more answers about what has been causing our 9 year long battle with infertility. Is it endometriosis? Do I have  PCOS and endo? I want answers.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God. … The Lord will not forsake us.”
It will all work out, eventually. 

I've been wishing...

Or window shopping online. It's so much fun to look and plan for things to build, make or plant at Mecham Manor. Also shoes. 

We went to a tulip festival in Oregon a couple years ago, and I looked at bulbs we can buy online from them. They're amazing! 

I'm obsessed with these multi-colored ones, especially the pink & peach combinations. 

Then there are the trumpet, or fluted tulips. I like the unique shape. 

Here are some with feathered petals. 

I want to plant some perrienials, these are some drought resistantant flowers, they'd be fun to put out in the front yard. 

On to trees, we'd like a flowering tree in the front, and a fruit tree out in the back yard. We've decided a semi-dwarf peach tree for the back yard, as well as lilacs along the back fence. 

Someday, our home will be surrounded by beautiful flowers, it will be amazing. 

Pinterest, a frenemy. So many things I want to build for our home, it's so hard to chose! 

For the living room. 

A storage/ platform bed. 

A sweet desk, or 

Build this into the family room including a desk. 

I'd love to do a cool Murphy bed for the office. 

This one is amazing it could double as a table! 

This is a cool pull down table for the garage. And the hanging tool storage next to it makes me happy. 

This would be great in our laundry room, and it's cute!! 

Now shoes, I could shop for shoes all day. Much easier than clothes shopping. 

Slip on shoes, a must for preschool. 

Cute boots, and no small obsession of mine. 

Dress shoes, now that I don't have access to my Mom's cute heals, I need to find some of my own. And I wear flats for church and work. 

Piano and pups

Just before Mom & Dad left town for Arkansas we acquired a piano. Thanks to dad, we were put in touch with a guy getting rid of a kimball upright grand. It's old, but beautiful. He gave it to us for free, and instead of paying to move it, dad rounded up a few guys and by the time I got home from work they were on the way with the piano. 

This part was scary to watch. 

They were able to move it up the driveway so fast, I almost missed grabbing this picture. 

I opened it up once the piano made it inside. 

The piano in its new home. 

Pups: we dog sat for my parents while they travelled to see my out of town siblings (Idaho, then Arkansas) it was so hot the dogs came and hung out with us. 

All 3 dogs enjoying the freshly mown grass. Also a great pic to show their size difference. 

It was hot, so we had a pool out back for water and for cooling down. (Tonka cooling his pads)

Tbone got bored outside one day and chewed up the pool.

Rylee, Tbone & I took walks almost every morning. I tried to go at least 2 miles to wear Tbone out. 

The dogs spent a lot of time inside to escape the heat. So sometimes we have them bones to chew and keep busy. 

Rylee asserted his dominance by confiscating the big bone from Tonka. The bone was bigger than he was. 

Tbone was my tracing companion, inside or outside he watched over me as I did my temple tracing at the sliding door. 

Our sleeping arrangement. Big dogs on the floor, and Rylee in his kennel. 

One night I said time for bed, Rylee jumped up, grabbed Tonka's bone, and took it into his kennel. Haha 

On one of our many walks, one man crossed the street to get away from us. I got lots of funny looks, probably because of the size difference. 

One day we couldn't find Tbone, until I went to the bathroom. 

He looks so guilty here. 

I sent this pic to my mom while they were gone, Tbone jumped on the couch trying to snuggle Joseph (NO NO!) so instead I joined him on the floor, he head butted me and almost smashed me with his version of cuddling. It was a little crazy having 3 dogs at the house for 3 weeks. I'm just happy I documented it.