News about Aidan

I took Aidan in for his EEG and MRI, and today I got the results. He has just had the one seizure, but they wanted to check to see if the tests would show they he could have more episodes or not. One reason they are cautious is because Aidan's left side of his body is slightly weaker than his right side. I noticed when he was a baby that his right nostril and right lip were slightly bigger than the left. I asked the doctor about it, he said we would need to wait and see. It isn't very noticeable (I bet most of you didn't know, but if you go back and look at pics of him, you may see it, too). But, I didn't want it to become a problem in the future. I kept being aware of everything, and by the time he was ready to crawl, I noticed he did most of the work on his right side, and was already using only his right hand (you are not supposed to be able to tell "handedness" until about 18 months old), and so I got him into physical therapy. Although he really isn't too far behind, he does still favor his right side--going up steps ONLY right footed, weaker if he tries to go up on the left foot, etc. So, because of this, we wanted to make sure there wasn't a difference in the brain sizes on each side, etc. The MRI shows that all is normal. The EEG shows there is abnormalities in the left frontal area. They really don't think there is a connection between this and his left side weakness. But the results do show that there could be (just could be, not necessarily that there willl be) more seizure episodes. But, because of the normal MRI, they think it is something that he will grow out of. So, really this is good news. We are not going to put him on medication, though we could if we felt so. We do have "rescue medicine" (if he has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, and there are no paramedics on the way, we give it to him. It only costs over 300$... and that is with insurance taking 400$ish). If he does have another seizure then we probably will put him on medicine. We just wait and see if that happens. He is a happy wonderful sweet child. We are so glad that there is good news to share, and pray that all continues to go well.

This is early in the morning (4 am!!!) before the EEG.

With all the "probes" on his head.

Happy, silly, and a mummy!

And here he is with his "buddy" before his MRI. He wasn't at all happy about the IV they put in his arm. Poor guy. But now he is all smiles. (the EEG and MRI were supposed to be on the same day, but the day before, they called to say the MRI machine was broken, so we had to do it on two different days.)

No more contacts

Just big sunglasses! I know, cheesy happy smile, but it is nice to think that I won't wear my glasses or contacts again. Things are going well, and I am 20/15 right now... Pretty good, no?

(and cute shirt, huh?!) I wore these sunglasses to our Stake RS dinner and then to church the next day!!! I think the paparazzi are after me or something...

The surgery went well, and I recommend it to everyone! As Scott said, the recovery isn't too great; a few days of rest, medicine, and my mom's help and I'm all better. Thanks for all the nice thoughts--I appreciate the Love. :)

PRK Eye Surgery

So Brittany had PRK eye surgery on Thursday afternoon to correct her vision. (No more glasses or contacts!!)

PRK is like LASIK except that instead of cutting and peeling back a flap of the cornea, doing the procedure, and then replacing the flap; they disovle a layer of the cornea, remove it completley, do the procedure, and then the removed layer has to grow back. The recovery from PRK is not fun. I had LASIK about 9 years ago and my recovery was minimal to none. She is in a lot of pain and has quite a bit of discomfort, though she is not complaining too much, just sleeping a lot.

We are very grateful that her angel mother came into town to help her.

I want to post a picture of Brittany but I know she would never talk to me again so no pictures. Anyway in a few more days she will be all better and have perfect vision!

Fun stuff my kids are doing

Every once in awhile, I have to write down all these funny things my kids do. One, to document it, so we can read it later and have a good laugh. And Two, cause I have to show off my kids and give you a good laugh!

Brennan: He doesn't crawl. But, he is starting to bum scoot! Yesterday I left him in the middle of the living room floor, went upstairs, came down later and he was in the dining room! Once I catch him on video I will upload it to the blog. It really is a sight!

And he is just a funny boy. Right now he is sitting beside me. If I don't pay attention to him, he sticks his lower lip out and begins to cry. As soon as I look at him, he stops and laughs. Then I look away, and he starts to cry again. Spoiled boy! But, how can I dare look away? He is so scrumptious! He is also smacking his lips--ALL the time! In the car, we hear him in the back just smacking away. Not eating anything, just making noises!

Aidan: I don't know where he got it, but if you ever ask him something and his answer is "yes", he doesn't just say "yes", he says: "Yes-sir-ee-bob!" With enthusiasm. Do you want to play with toys? Yes-sir-ee-bob. Are you finished with dinner? Yes-sir-ee-bob.

He is constantly singing. That isn't new. But, he is singing "Do a deer, a female deer..." song. But, he does it hard rock style, and screams every first, third, and fifth word (or so). Makes for a very loud car ride.

Weston asked the yesterday, "What is a scarecrow?" Aidan answered him: "It is a type of monster." (By the way, he says that "Monster are instinct (extinct)".

Weston: We saw a guy a on a motorcycle yesterday. If motorcyclist are not wearing their helmets, the boys always point out that they "aren't safe". Well, this guy was wearing his helmet, so Weston said, "He is wearing his helmet, he is safe. He must go to church. Or maybe he has the Bible."

Weston is so sensitive. We caught a grasshopper and two praying mantis (how do you pluralize mantis?). Weston named the grasshopper "Hop" and one of the mantis "Check". The other mantis died. We had had the bugs for over a week, so I told him we really needed to let them go. We took them out to the lawn and emptied the bottles. Hop just sat there, and Weston sat next to him and cried cause he was so sad to let him go. He said, "I am just going to miss Hop so much."

I just love my boys and think they are amazing and FUNNNNN!

Ode to Grandma Bea

Scott's Grandma Bea just celebrated her 80th birthday. She is just a wonderful, fun lady and I am so glad I can call her grandma, too! She loves songs and she always makes up songs for people on special days (weddings, etc), so we decided to write her a song. We just put words to the song "Thank you very much" from the musical Scrooge. The song references some of the great things she has done for all the grandkids. Here are the words (by the way, if you haven't seen "Scrooge", you really ought to. It is lots of fun):

"Ladies and gentlemen On behalf of all the people who have assembled here I would merely like to mention if I may That our unanimous attitude Is one of lasting gratitude For what Grandma Bea has done for us today And therefore I would simply like to say

Thank you very much! Thank you very much!
We wrote this song to say we love you Grandma Bea

All the presents that you give,
The happy way you live
You’ve made our lives as fun as they could ever be.
And since you gave a bugle
We’ll have to blow it
To show you that we love you very much
But since that’s really not enough

We'll simply have to say

Thank you very, very, very much!

Thank you very, very, very much!

Thank you very much! Thank you very much!

For all the slumber parties and the shoe fairy
It really was bizarre,
Riding in the trunk of your car
But we have lived to cherish all those memories
And since you gave a drum
We’ll have to bang it
To show you that we love you very much

But since that’s really not enough

We'll simply have to say

Thank you very, very, very much!"

Reading to Sparky

Weston got to bring home "Sparky" from school and read to him. He is the classroom stuffed dog. It was so cute! He got out a bunch of our stuffed dogs and we gathered all the "dog" books and he read to them all! Aidan loved it and got his "Ruffy" out, too (his favorite stuffed animal).

Weston said the funniest thing the other day. I had given him a fresh pear and he LOVED it. Later he asked for another one. I told him to smell it, it smelled so good. He smelled it and then said, "Be still my heart." Ah, what a kid!

Brennan is SOOOO beautiful. He is so close to crawling and is still teething!

Kitchen Update

You know how we painted the kitchen? Well, that led to another project(s). We decided to tile above the sink, below the window. It looks so good and makes the kitchen look so fun!!! We splurged a bit and got some AWESOME tile! I couldn't believe the prices of some of those tiles! (another project was putting lights under the cabinets--it really lights up the room and makes such a difference. Props to my amazing husband who did ALL of this, and did it extremely well!!!)

For some reason I have never gotten caught up after the painting in the kitchen, and we had so much going on last weekend, and I cooked and baked so much the past few days, that I hadn't gotten any of the big dishes done. Here is a photo of all those dishes --my wonderful husband washed them all tonight!! I love you honey!!! Now I feel like I can finally get back on top of things. Just for fun, here is what I did today: Decided NOT to go to Jazzercise (although I usually go at 9), and instead we made aebelskivers and I made way too many. We then got books and read for half an hour. Bathtime. Three cute and messy boys in the tub. Brennan took his morning nap, I got dressed and ready while the boys played. Then I cleaned up breakfast, made lunch, got Weston ready for school. I put ingredients into the bread maker, started that up. Then Aidan pooped in the potty. You may think that is silly to add, but it is HUGE for me! We celebrated for awhile, then got Weston off to school, did a bit of grocery shopping, and back home for cooking. I prepared two pans of lasagna. Got the bread out and made more bread dough for breadsticks. Cleaned up the lasagna mess, and made cookies. While all of this is going on, Aidan laughed and danced and fussed. Brennan slept and then woke and fussed. Scott came home early and took the two older boys up to the church while he did some work up there, and I got together a meal for a family in the ward (one of the lasagnas, the breadsticks, cookies and a salad). I took it up to them while Scott did the dishes, then we set the table, ate (well, some of us ate), cleaned up, got Brennan a bottle, then to bed. Finally took a break to write this post. And now I will go get the boys off to bed. That is a pretty normal day for me. Okay, not too normal. I don't usually make two lasagnas. And often I work on scout stuff, and other, you know... things. Just life things. Like--I am the room parent for Weston's class, and I am making October's calendar. Oh, I am also working on preparing my Christmas list for the boys!!! I think I am pretty much done! Wow, looking over the day makes me feel like I do gt some things done! Once I am done here I am going to go seal that grout and then we'll be done with projects for awhile (I hope!).

Church's Statement on Same-Sex Marriages

Please read this statement from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

It is so well written and really explains so many things that help all understand the importance of guarding the family.

Pantry

My friend Heather told me about these great plastic containers she uses for her pantry so I finally got around to buying them--I love them! I have put all my snack food into them and when the kids want a snack, they can get little baggies and pick from the "healthy" snacks (except the candy jar, all these are good for you snacks! They can choose a candy when they have earned that privilege!)

It looks so much more organized--no more bags of treats, etc. And my rice and pasta look nice, too!!!

****New Note: many have asked where I got the containers. From a place called "Industrial Containers". (website: http://www.industrialcontainer.com/) It is out by the SL airport, and sells lots of different containers, including those big storage buckets and gamma lids. I found a few people who needed things from there and then I went a got a big order (rather than just going for myself... It is a long drive for just a few things...).

See what happens when you leave your husband alone for one minute...

So, Saturday we worked all morning, got many things done. Then I went up to take a shower and looked forward to a relaxing afternoon. Came down and found my husband had taped off the kitchen. He hadn't cleaned up anything, moved anything out of the way, just in true husband style, got right to work (something I love about him--when he decides on a project, he just gets right to work). So, I cleaned things up a bit, and moved all the stuff out of the way, and then he went off to a meeting, I continued to work..., then we had our Stake Conference meeting, then we came home at 9 pm and worked til 12:30!!! But, it is done (well, we still have to fix the caulk, I had to clean everything up on Monday, etc). And we really like how it turned out.

This is how I found it when I came down!

So, what do you think?

I love my decor on top of my cabinets--they are old spice containers (I mean OLD--from 1930's and 50's!), and fun old looking food things!

Here is the dining room, though kind of hard to see, the lighting is hard to take a photo...

Visit from Popenshnaper

One of my favorite comps from my mission came a few weeks ago and we had a marvelous time visiting! Her name is really Trina Popenhagen Doncouse, but on the mission we called her Popenshnaper. I was called Browniepants (my maiden name was Brown... It isn't cause I sat in brownies...) She has four darling kids and our kids played together wonderfully. We went through my mission book and had a great time reminiscing and telling fun stories! Ah the times we had. It was great see you my good friend!

Food glorious food!

Brennan likes to eat using his whole body. That's right. Somehow the eyes, ears, hair and nose seem to get the nutrition the body needs cause there is more food on his body than I think I put on his tray!

Tag

Don't often do these, but it would be good for me to look back at my life and look forward, too!

20 years ago....
1. Seventh grade, just starting to be a hellian...
2. Wanted to be good, but wanted boys to like me. Sad...
3. I loved Whitney Houston and wanted to dress up like her for Halloween (hmm)

10 years ago.... 1998
1. On my mission in San Fernando, California. Comps with Trina Popenhagen (love you!)
2. I was over that hellian stage, and onto preaching the good word!
3. No dating prospects, which was good, right? I was a missionary...

5 years ago....
1. First time mother. James Weston Daw, cutest baby 1, was a few months old.

2. Just quit working and was looking for things to fill my time.

3. Living in my parents-in-law home as they served a mission.

3 years ago....
1. Mother of two. Aidan Scott Daw, cutest baby 2, was a few months old.
2. Primary secretary. I really screwed up that calling, and it is easy!
3. Having a "Melissa and Doug" Toy fundraiser sale for One Heart Bulgaria. Should I do it again folks???

1 year ago....
1. Pregnant and lazy with cutest baby 3, Brennan Sale Daw. On partial bedrest. Yeah right. (although truly, my house was vacuumed probably 3 times during those 9 months... gross, huh. see why I bought the dyson???)
2. Scott was called into the Bishopric (1 year ago today)
3. Weston started pre-school with Mrs. Jean. So much fun!

This year so far....
1. Tons of vacations and fun time with the kids.
2. My first child started kindergarten. I have entered a new phase in my life.
3. Reused, for the third time, all my boy baby clothing. It is really getting worn!

Yesterday....
1. Laundry alllllll day.
2. Went on a family walk in perfect walking weather.
3. Went to Home Depot to buy tile to make a tile border above my sink.

Today....
1. Went back to Home Depot to exchange stuff. Spent more money...
2. Scouts. Need I say more?????
3. Did this tag!

Tomorrow....
1. Grocery shopping
2. Clean all my decor from the cabinets in my kitchen (I'll post about this later!)
3. I'll still be wearing my glasses! (Only 2 more weeks til LASIK)

Next year....
1. We are hoping to get Elise (our future daughter that the boys pray for) sometime next year.
2. If we do get a baby, we'll be remodeling the room above the garage into a big boy bedroom.
3. Hopefully a happy, healthy family!

Sunday Thoughts

Every Sunday during sunday school and relief society, I have all these great thoughts and I always say, "I am going to blog this..." and then I never do. I am finally going to do this, but about Stake Conference. First off, all you folks who don't go to the adult session on Saturday night, you are crazy! Time without kids to just sit and listen and not be poked and prodded and stopping fights and getting up to take kids to the potty-- and you aren't going??? It was so nice!
The theme for our Stake Conference was "Envisioning Eternity". I like that. We don't often envision it, what "eternal life" will be like, yet that is what we are trying to reach. Of course lots of the talks were about families, cause that it what it is all about! One of my favorite quotes was from Elder Wirthlin's talk (May 93), that said, "If Satan can weaken or destroy the loving relationships among members of families, he can cause more misery and more unhappiness for more people than he could in any other way." Obviously, Satan is going to try and destroy our relationships with our family. Our Stake President gave a great talk this morning. He told about how Satan uses CHAOS to distrupt our lives. Some of the "weapons" he uses to make our lives chaotic are: Noise--what is the source of noise in our lives? Media, harsh voice, etc. Look to the Savior to eliminate the noise! Like He calmed the sea, He can calm our lives. Selfishness --When we are less concerned for others. We need to pray for opportunities to serve. Worldly Concerns -- We must filter the chaos and worldy things that are around us and don't let it be introduced into our family. Apathy towards Gospel -- Is the church here to serve you or should you serve the church? How can you further the work of the Lord?

Another quote I love is Elder Nelson (May 08) "salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter". As a family, we must work together to achieve our goal.

And, I didn't get who said it, and I don't know the exact quote, but it went something like: "We know the Lord will win the war, the question is, who's side will you be on in the end?" If anybody knows where that came from, please let me know, so I can get the quote right. Anyway, I liked it! I hope we are on the Lord's side!

Random thoughts, but it has made me think and want to be better and love my kids more!