And the doctor said....

That Katie's kidney stones are the same as it was last year... hasn't grown in size and haven't moved. Whew! On the screen, it just appeared to me to have tripled in number (the stones). Then again, I can't read an ultrasound, so what am I doing giving my opinion?

Katie has a little cold (or an asthmatic cough)... Maddie decided to jump on the bed yesterday while I kept her home, and bent Katie's finger all the way back. Now Katie can't bend it much at all, so we had to splint it up for her. I can't tell if it's swollen or not.

Oh, and a bright note, Maddie learned how to make STARS!! She was so proud of herself. She can make them if she writes FAST, and S-L-O-W... so next time you see Maddie, ask her to draw you a star. It'll make her day. :)

More stones for Katie

Katie had her annual ultrasound this afternoon for her kidneys. The radiologist tech was very close-lipped, but she did confirm there were more stones in BOTH of Katie's kidneys, vs just the one kidney at her last ultrasound. I could see the stones, they were so clear on the ultrasound. We don't have a doctor's appointment, but the doctor is going to call us after he reviews the ultrasounds and let us know what's going on. I was a little irritated at the tech b/c I kept asking "OK, just tell me what you see!", and her reply was "the doctor will have to tell you, I can't tell you because I'm not a doctor!". That made me nervous.

Maddie's New Friend

Last week Madison came home from school and told me she has a new best friend. She had been telling me she was so lonely at school because she only had one friend. I gave her a challenge to meet someone new that day at school, and ask her/him to play at recess! So, we did this for a week, and everyday she informed me she had a new friend! Well, last week she told me she made another new friend, and in her words: "Someone like you Mommy!" I asked her what she meant by that, and she said "well, she wears those things like you in your ear". At first I thought she meant earrings... but it was my hearing aids she meant! She said they didn't talk much, but they were great friends! I guess the little girl didn't hear much, but I wasn't for sure.

Today I picked the girls up from school, and Madison's new friend followed us past the car. Pru (or Prul or Purel... it's an Indian girl) and her mother said hello, and introduced themselves. I saw she had the hearing aids, but it turns out she actually had a cochlear implant in both ears done four years ago! She was born deaf, so what an amazing miracle involving technology for this girl! She goes half day to the Kansas School for the Deaf, and half day with Maddie's class. The school wanted her to get used to going to a school for the hearing, so she's a new student as well!

This family also lives at the complex as well, so they should probably play at the playground....whenever this rainy season passes!

Milkshakes with Grandma

A few weeks ago the girls and I went to visit my parents for the day. We had a great time helping them clean their garage out (OK, as great a time as one can have breathing in dirt and dust) ~ Maddie has proven herself to be a junkaholic... she loves to collect anything and everything. (thanks Dad for all the stuff Madison brought home!) Anyways, to reward ourselves, we headed out to Burr Oaks to walk in the woods for awhile. We heard some mighty bullfrogs just ribbit away by the pond. Very cool to hear (I've never heard a frog before).

Anyways, afterwards we headed to Winsteads for a Skyscraper Soda. I had many wonderful memories going there when I was in the Singles Branch, and a bunch of us would get one of these and share! They now have it in milkshakes as well, so we got a chocolate milkshake. We definitely had a great time trying to get the shake to come up out of our straw (OK, it was a hard thing to do, and our cheeks got a workout in the process).

"Momma... Y'know

What I want to be when I grow up?? A maid!"

gulp

Yes, Madison wants to be a maid when she grows up. How in the world do I answer this? "oh, honey, you can do SOOO much better than that!" or "OK, if that's what you want to do for the rest of your life, go for it and be the best maid you can be!". What do you think I said? Yes, I said the second one! But still... a MAID?!

Been busy learning new crafts... can't really such much now about the crafts b/c it's a gift for some people in my family. :) But, after a certain amount of time has passed, I'll share pictures. But, I'll just say I am having a blast making this and it's turning out SO cute!

Still doing jazzercise, and now taking up running (OK, trying to take up running). I think it's more of a jog a few feet, gasp for air, walk a LOT more feet, then run a few more feet, gasp for air... well, you get the idea. Ha ha! I did manage to job a full quarter of a mile this morning, so I'm stoked.


Katie's been working on a poem project she has for school. She has to create an "I AM" poem. I had to do this too, but in 8th grade. She's been collecting poem from Papa Bill and Papa Rod (b/c they've written poems), and she has to recite a poem, either what she has written, or one she has found. She told me she is wanting to recite Papa Bill's poem "Mother Goose Said That?". I recited that when I was in 5th or 6th grade too!


We had a family day at my grandma's on Sunday afternoon. Aunt Nay came into town, so it was wonderful to see this bronze lady (she moved to Florida and is now very tan... NOT FAIR!). Monday night we went to Mom & Dad Nelson's for a yummy dinner & a visit w/ Mike's grandma. She is here for a short while, and we enjoyed a wonderful visit w/ her. I have pictures of both events, but I left my camera at my in laws house, so pics will have to wait again!

Oh, and I think Maddie is scarred for life. Monday night on our way home from dinner, we're just driving along, minding our business. A police officer pulls Mike over. We both were thinking "huh?" Immediately I asked Mike 'what did you do?' to which he replies 'I dunno'. Apparently you CAN get a ticket for turning right on a road, if you don't stay in the farthest right lane. Mike went into the farthest LEFT lane first ... but he didn't get a ticket. Just a warning. *giggling* Maddie is so worried that Daddy was breaking the rules, that she has informed several people so far that Daddy got in trouble. She has asked me over and over "what happened to Daddy that the police came?"... to which I had to explain when we don't follow rules, we get in trouble. So... for any of you who will in the future take my child in their car, don't get stopped by the police. You will ruin her for life, I'll tell ya. *giggling*

Catching up on some pics...

Here are a few pictures of the things that have been going on ...


The last day of school... Maddie's favorite teacher...








The picture I took of Katie w/ the t-shirt her class gave her.




Katie's teacher at the "Light up the Night" event at school.

Here is Maddie with her 'Princess Leia' look. She loves her hair in these buns on the side of her head! To the right of the picture is Maddie's best friend ~ Lorelai. Oh how she misses her!











We tried experimenting with rag rollers made out of rags (former crib sheet). Let me tell you it took FOREVER to get these girls' hair in these rags, and they turned out soooo curly. They both hated it at first, but once it loosened up a bit, it wasn't too bad.

We went on a fantastic picnic the day before Easter with Grandma & Grandpa Nelson. It was a tad bit chilly on this day, so we ate really fast and had a quick egg hunt, then we went to the Liberty Jail. One fun fact about the Jail is that Papa Nelson's mother & grandmother served their LDS Mission here in Independence, MO. They lived in the home that was build over the jail (it's torn down now), but I tried to take a picture of the home they once lived in.

We took Grandma Polly to the new Bass Pro Shop in Independence. Very neat & big inside! Daddy would have LOVED to see some of the huge elk inside this store! Yikes! Katie's catching up to Grandma Polly! Slow down Katie!!