Sunday, November 14, 2021
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Okay, so I am reviving my blog!
A lot has happened as of late, and I feel that I should start documenting some of my journey. I have tried so many things to be healthy. And as I have indeed done diets, and lost weight, but eventually the weight comes back because you go back into the original eating habits.
I tried CoreLife for a while, and I learned a lot about macros and nutrients, however they had a horrible turnover of nutritionists and councilors. The plan that they had me on also included eating over 100 grams of protein a day. They suggested I eat 3 to 4 chicken breasts a day. I can tell you that's easier read than done. After being on the diet for a while I did indeed lose weight, but I felt sluggish, I felt bloated, I felt disgusting. When Covid began, I left CoreLife for many reasons, and went back to eating more fruits and vegetables. I did research and watched documentaries and found myself intrigued by a vegan whole food diet.
I have family who are vegan, and family with allergies, and have always done what I can to make food that they could eat. Now my goal is to eat as clean and allergen free that I can, which in turn will help me to become healthier and possibly lose weight.
I have now gone over 2 weeks eating Whole Food Plant Based with minimal oil, and sugar.
How do I feel? I feel great honestly. I feel better than I have in a while. I feel like my head is getting clearer. I know I have lost a few pounds so far too. I'll start watching for those differences more to post.
Is it hard? Well yes and no. The best way I can explain it is that the food is great! It's not hard to eat the food, but making it is another story. Because I'm eating Whole Food, it takes longer to prepare sometimes. I dont want any chemicals, nor do I want a lot of un-needed things. I'm an on the go mom, so that makes it hard for me to stay with this way of life of eating. Also support! The support can be make it or break it... If you have no support it can be hard; but try to think of the better person you can be by following this lifestyle. The other hard part is restaurants. Few have vegan options, but mostly they won't be whole food. In a pinch, there are a few places that you can go to though.
I'll post more on restaurants as I find and research them, as well as recipes as I make them. I hope that I can help others out with sharing my journey.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Stone Soup
How did we do it? Well first I decided the rules and sent out the invitations. On the invitation I explained that everyone had to bring at least one ingredient for our stone soup that we would make that day all while playing board games and card games. My idea was that we would have at least one soup, possibly two depending on what ingredients everyone brought. I asked everybody to come early in the morning around 10:30 AM and planned on us eating around 5 or 6 PM.
I set out some crudité with homemade cucumber lime dip, as well as an assortment of chips.
After our first guests showed up we started the base of the soup. The first thing I did was sautéed some celery onions and carrots in butter. I then added some home made chicken bone broth that I had cooked the night before. Our first guest brought mushrooms, so those we decided would be one of the last items to add to the soup. (We didn't want them to get mushy.)
Since everyone who was coming looked as if they were only bringing vegetables, I decided to rummage through my freezer and found some chicken apple sausage that we decided to add. Along with the sausage we added seasonings. Seasonings consisted of Thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper, and 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic.
A while later, more friends showed up with fresh carrots onions and kale grown in the garden. After the soup had been simmering, we sautéed these ingredients in butter to give more flavor then added them to the pot.
We had another two friends show up with beef broth and a chicken with spinach and a siracha sauce. I added the broth, then waited for it to come back up to a simmer then added the chicken siracha mix.
At this time we sautéed the mushrooms with butter and added white wine, let it steam for a few moments then added that to the soup.
I made some rice in my rice cooker at this point. Then we let the soup simmer while we played the game Munchkin! Once the game was over, we read the Stone Soup story.
I believe everyone had 2 bowls of this fantastic soup! I couldn't believe the taste! All the flavors melded perfectly! We will most definitely do this again!
Friday, January 8, 2016
One room with three boys!
First off we do have enough room in our house that the two oldest boys would be able to have their room while our youngest to have his own room. In our family though this doesn't work. When we first moved in, that was our set up. Our two oldest shared a room upstairs and our youngest stayed in the bedroom next to ours. After two or three months of the oldest two constantly telling us they could not sleep in the room by themselves. The two oldest boys would tell us they heard noises, were scared of the dark, complain there was something up there, and ultimately would procrastinate their bedtime every single night. Every single night was tough and long trying to get the kids in bed. It was exhausting! The next thing was that they started asking why the youngest got his own rooms and the older two had to share a room upstairs away from the family. I felt horrible that they had thought of that! When we first moved in I had thought of putting everyone in the same room but ultimately decided to try to give the big boys a bit of freedom.
After having such issues with the boys bedtime, I decided to try and put them all in the same bedroom. So far, they have been in the same bedroom for two months now and it is like night and day. I was scared that my youngest would have a hard time going to sleep with his two older brothers in the same room, but I am so grateful that every night when it is bedtime, it is a breeze! We read a book each night, we sing songs, then I give each boy hugs and kisses and they all go to sleep so easily. The two older boys have no problem and do not procrastinate like they used to. The two older boys also do not complain of noises and other paranormal kind of things as before... Bedtime is quick, painless, easy, and enjoyable for everyone!
Our house is not big! The 2 bedrooms downstairs are fairly roomy though! The boys share the larger room, while my husband and I take the slightly smaller room. I made my eldest boys beds in Japan, and they love them! They work nicely for this small room. I have the youngest in a twin bed on a medal frame, and the oldest two use their loft and platform bed in the "L" configuration as they prefer.
I'm not saying it's easy, but it works for us! Here is our room...
The entrance, you see we use over the door shoe hangers for extra vertical storage.
Under the first bed are 3 bins that house extra sheets and blankets for all the beds.
This dresser has 3 draws on top, one for each child's socks and undies/diapers. The 4 draws on the bottom go to 1 per child and the extra drawer is misc.
As you pan the room, you can see all 3 beds here... The extra room under the loft is where I have the smaller "library". (Our upstairs room has 4 book cases full of books!)
Our cat loves to hang out in this room you see! The book area could be a fort, a house, anything really! I even hang my wrap up and he swings sometimes!
The great thing is when we are done swinging, I can just in-tie the wrap and use it for carrying little boy!
Continuing the tour, you see the long set of cubbies? They make excellent you storage! I also hung a shelf to put other items on including the boys fish tank nightlight.
Here is the closet area. I currently have 1 long panel hanging down, but I'll provbavly grab another for easier getting in and out. The medal doors that are suppose to glide on the rail were broken when we moved in, so I took the doors off and just left it "open".
Inside the closet I have more cubby space to hold toys with more pieces, and then all school clothes/nice clothes are hung up.
Under the bottom bunk bed I have more bins that house "play clothes" the kids everyday not school nor church clothes items.
We love our set up, and the kids are HAPPY! That's what counts! It might be a little crammed, it might be a lot messy when all the toys are out, but this is what works for us!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Breakfast sandwiches on the cheap!
I love a good ham/sausage/scrapple, egg and cheese on a bagel/English muffin/biscuit sandwich for breakfast... But with the prices they cost at any fast food place or gas station, could you really afford one everyday? No, at least I can't! I decided to try my hand at saving some money and still getting what I want in the morning...
I was at the supermarket today and found some mini ciabatta buns in the discount bread area! I took advantage of the low price of day old (maybe 2) bread... $1.49 for 12! I had to get deli ham anyways for lunches, so I grabbed a little extra and got home to start!
First I used my PC brownie pan to make egg patties. These are the perfect size for the buns!
Then I prepared my buns.
Added ham, then cheese. I used pepper jack from a 1 pound block I sliced up. Buying a pound block and slicing your own cheese can be much more budget friendly!
Finally I put the top bun on and packaged them in lunch ziplock bags making sure to take all the air out as I sealed them.
Now they are in my freezer!
All you need to do is remove them from the bag and wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for about 1.5 minutes in the morning. Great for on the go busy mornings! Enjoy!!
Happy New Year!
So, I decided I really suck at blogging... But here is to another year! I am really going to try this thing again...
Did you make a New Years resolution? I didn't officially make one, however I would like to try better at blogging, eat a little bit healthier, and hopefully find a way to save some money!
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Summer.... Maybe
I have also started canning for the year. We found a great you pick strawberry plave and I have picked over 18 quarts of strawberries all on my own!
I have made some preserves with some! We had fresh mint in the garden too, so I tried some strawberry and mint jelly too! YUM!!
Thursday, April 30, 2015
More from Trystian's Journey
So the last week has been so hectic let alone all the fun of the past few months!
Trystian's journey now includes a UTI... He was okay all of last week until Saturday morning when he was a little sluggish and didn't want to get out of bed. Friday night was long and the kids didnt get to sleep till way late, so I thought at first that was the reason. But when I checked on him in late morning, I noticed he had a fever. It was 102.2. I got him out of bed and moving because he had to go to the bathroom even though he said he didnt have to. I got him to come downstairs and about 10 minutes later he had a 103.3 fever. I gave him tylenol and consulted his pediatric urologist on the possiblity of a UTI or it just being a virus. The urologist said to make sure it wasnt a UTI. We went into the ER to get a urine culture. The doctor was so nice, well the whole team was great! From the techs and nurses to the doctor, they all listened to my concern of a possible UTI and that I was in contact with our urologist. Unfortunately the results came back positive. Trystian was prescribed an antibiotic and we were released. I told our urologist what was going on. The urologist said to just let him know once he is better and we would look at getting some tests done to make sure no harm was done to the kidneys.
Later on that night, Trystian was telling me he was so cold and he was very lethargic. It was exactly 4 hours from the last dose of tylenol. I checked his temperature and it was 104.7. I gave him his tylenol and then called the pediatrician to let him know. 5 minutes later as I was getting off the phone with the pediatrician Trystian's temperature was 105.4. I started to grab jackets and keys along with the meds he was on put together in prep for the ER again. It was about 10 minutes from the first time I checked his temperature and he was just laying there and looked miserable. I checked his temp one more time to find it at 106.9! I dropped everything except the keys and grabbed him and put him in the car so fast! We rushed to the ER where they checked his temp at 104. Thankfully in the time that he had they tylenol in him the temperature had started to go down! The ER took us to a room and Trystian just layed there. I told the techs, the nurses, and the doctors about his chronic kidney disease and about the UTI he was diagnosed with that afternoon. I contacted our urologist and he said that Trystian needed to be catharized and that he should be admitted to the hospital to monitor the fever and UTI. I relayed this information to the techs, the nurses, and the doctor. The doctor told me they would get the fever down, and that he didnt need to be cathaterized. I insisted that he did, however they said they would give him an IV and check his blood. We were released after the IV was completed and his fever was down to 100.5. I asked the nurse to check his temperature as we were leaving the room and it had already begun to rise. I was told that he just needed tylenol when it was time.
We woke up the Sunday, the next morning at 8am and I checked his temperature. It was 104.2. I gave him tylenol and wrote an email to the urologist. The urologist suggested we go to Hopkins so that they could cath him and take care of him if the local hospital wouldnt. I decided to try the hospital one more time since the day crew was much more helpful than the night crew was. We went to church and immediately to the hospital where we got the same doctor as the prior day and she was very helpful and Trystian was cathetarized about 10 minutes after we arrived. He then got some bloodwork to see if the UTI was being affected by the meds he was given at all. The outcome was that the first urine culture showed young growth and the new bloodwork showed that the infection was getting better, however not as fast as it should, and his creatinine levels were really high and sodium was super low. I let our urologist know what was going on, and we were told we would be transported to Hopkins that night. A little while later we were then told we would stay at the local hospital and that the Doctors were in close contact with the doctors at Hopkins and they would take care of us locally. Trystian was admitted to the hospital that night and he was given an IV antibiotic to help things along.
The next day more blood was taken and it showed a very big fluctuation in the creatinine and sodium levels. We were in contact with the Hopkins crew and told we would be going home that Monday and had follow up appointmens on Friday at Hopkins to start running tests. We were happy to go home, well I was anyways... Trystian said he wanted to stay in the hospital because he didnt want to go home with the catheter. Poor kid! He was released with the catheter in place and he got some leg bags so he can be mobile as well as a couple night bags for night time so I dont have to keep emptying it every 2 hours and can get some sleep. He has antibiotics to take 3 times a day and had a doctor appointment with his local pediatrician to make sure the catheter looked good and no big issues.
With all this being said, the urologist has tests lined up for us on this Friday as well as for 2 weeks from now. Trystian will get an ultrasound and VCUG this friday and we are suppose to learn how to self cathetarize so that we can make sure his bladder is completely emptied, and then when we go back in 2 weeks he will see the nephrologist and get a urodynamics test and possibly a MAG-3 scan. With all of these test results, we will find out the damage to the kidneys this UTI has caused, and whether the right kidney is worth preserving anylonger since it was already marginally usuable before. We will also find out why the bladder is unable to fully void all the urine when Trystian pees and if there is a surgical fix for this. The tests will also show if he has any other obstructions or if the reflux is back.
I hate seeing my children go through so much, and Trystian has been through too much in his short 7 years here on earth! He is a trooper though! So brave!!
You can follow Trystian's journey on his facebook page here. I keep that updated as things happen.
Trystian's journey now includes a UTI... He was okay all of last week until Saturday morning when he was a little sluggish and didn't want to get out of bed. Friday night was long and the kids didnt get to sleep till way late, so I thought at first that was the reason. But when I checked on him in late morning, I noticed he had a fever. It was 102.2. I got him out of bed and moving because he had to go to the bathroom even though he said he didnt have to. I got him to come downstairs and about 10 minutes later he had a 103.3 fever. I gave him tylenol and consulted his pediatric urologist on the possiblity of a UTI or it just being a virus. The urologist said to make sure it wasnt a UTI. We went into the ER to get a urine culture. The doctor was so nice, well the whole team was great! From the techs and nurses to the doctor, they all listened to my concern of a possible UTI and that I was in contact with our urologist. Unfortunately the results came back positive. Trystian was prescribed an antibiotic and we were released. I told our urologist what was going on. The urologist said to just let him know once he is better and we would look at getting some tests done to make sure no harm was done to the kidneys.
Later on that night, Trystian was telling me he was so cold and he was very lethargic. It was exactly 4 hours from the last dose of tylenol. I checked his temperature and it was 104.7. I gave him his tylenol and then called the pediatrician to let him know. 5 minutes later as I was getting off the phone with the pediatrician Trystian's temperature was 105.4. I started to grab jackets and keys along with the meds he was on put together in prep for the ER again. It was about 10 minutes from the first time I checked his temperature and he was just laying there and looked miserable. I checked his temp one more time to find it at 106.9! I dropped everything except the keys and grabbed him and put him in the car so fast! We rushed to the ER where they checked his temp at 104. Thankfully in the time that he had they tylenol in him the temperature had started to go down! The ER took us to a room and Trystian just layed there. I told the techs, the nurses, and the doctors about his chronic kidney disease and about the UTI he was diagnosed with that afternoon. I contacted our urologist and he said that Trystian needed to be catharized and that he should be admitted to the hospital to monitor the fever and UTI. I relayed this information to the techs, the nurses, and the doctor. The doctor told me they would get the fever down, and that he didnt need to be cathaterized. I insisted that he did, however they said they would give him an IV and check his blood. We were released after the IV was completed and his fever was down to 100.5. I asked the nurse to check his temperature as we were leaving the room and it had already begun to rise. I was told that he just needed tylenol when it was time.
We woke up the Sunday, the next morning at 8am and I checked his temperature. It was 104.2. I gave him tylenol and wrote an email to the urologist. The urologist suggested we go to Hopkins so that they could cath him and take care of him if the local hospital wouldnt. I decided to try the hospital one more time since the day crew was much more helpful than the night crew was. We went to church and immediately to the hospital where we got the same doctor as the prior day and she was very helpful and Trystian was cathetarized about 10 minutes after we arrived. He then got some bloodwork to see if the UTI was being affected by the meds he was given at all. The outcome was that the first urine culture showed young growth and the new bloodwork showed that the infection was getting better, however not as fast as it should, and his creatinine levels were really high and sodium was super low. I let our urologist know what was going on, and we were told we would be transported to Hopkins that night. A little while later we were then told we would stay at the local hospital and that the Doctors were in close contact with the doctors at Hopkins and they would take care of us locally. Trystian was admitted to the hospital that night and he was given an IV antibiotic to help things along.
The next day more blood was taken and it showed a very big fluctuation in the creatinine and sodium levels. We were in contact with the Hopkins crew and told we would be going home that Monday and had follow up appointmens on Friday at Hopkins to start running tests. We were happy to go home, well I was anyways... Trystian said he wanted to stay in the hospital because he didnt want to go home with the catheter. Poor kid! He was released with the catheter in place and he got some leg bags so he can be mobile as well as a couple night bags for night time so I dont have to keep emptying it every 2 hours and can get some sleep. He has antibiotics to take 3 times a day and had a doctor appointment with his local pediatrician to make sure the catheter looked good and no big issues.
With all this being said, the urologist has tests lined up for us on this Friday as well as for 2 weeks from now. Trystian will get an ultrasound and VCUG this friday and we are suppose to learn how to self cathetarize so that we can make sure his bladder is completely emptied, and then when we go back in 2 weeks he will see the nephrologist and get a urodynamics test and possibly a MAG-3 scan. With all of these test results, we will find out the damage to the kidneys this UTI has caused, and whether the right kidney is worth preserving anylonger since it was already marginally usuable before. We will also find out why the bladder is unable to fully void all the urine when Trystian pees and if there is a surgical fix for this. The tests will also show if he has any other obstructions or if the reflux is back.
I hate seeing my children go through so much, and Trystian has been through too much in his short 7 years here on earth! He is a trooper though! So brave!!
You can follow Trystian's journey on his facebook page here. I keep that updated as things happen.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
this and that
We have been quite busy and I have not been updating the blog as I should, so here are a few pics of the kids and some things we have been up to.
Atreyu is doing well in school and this picture is of him on St. Patty's day with the hat he made.
A friend of mine's cat had kittens and here is a picture of Ryder whom was so excited to see such cute little kittens sitting nicely showing just how happy he is!
Ryder and I love to go to the zoo, especially now that the weather is nice! Yes, he LOVES to be on my back and not in the stroller!
The kids had a blast coloring eggs for Easter! We tried a few different methods and they all turned out great!
Trystian's Angry Bird-day
I made a sheet cake and laid out one of the Angry Bird games I had bought on top as the decorations.
Trystian had a handful of friends over and we enjoyed both inside and outside games. The first game was a traditional music freeze game. The next game was a balloon stomp where each child had a green (pig) balloon tied to their leg and their job as the angry birds was to pop the other childrens balloons. The last game was an egg hunt! It was the week before Easter and so finding the eggs in the store was a breeze, and well the whole point of the Angry Bird game is to get their eggs back right? So I thought it fit quite well as a game!
I think the party was a success! Trystian had a great time!
just so busy
As of right now, we are still living with family, however we are also working on a house to move into! :) YAY! I'm so excited because I am remodeling the kitchen. I will really try to keep this blog updated! I get so busy with things that I totally forget I have this to make updates to. I will really try though! I will add a few posts here today with Trystian's Angry Bird-day pics and fun, as well as some ideas for our new kitchen I'm remodeling.
thank you for your patience! :)
thank you for your patience! :)
Sunday, January 4, 2015
New Years Spinach Pie
I was asked to post my recipe for my New Year Spinach Pie. I love making it, and it's become a New Years tradition. Last year I made a gluten free version, but since I had no one with any allergies I used a regular pie crust.
First, make your favorite pie crust --or-- buy the already made and rolled crust from the store. Place the bottom layer on your cooking surface and sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Set aside the top layer for now.
Next make the filling. Once you have the filling made, arrange the filling into an outer ring, and a center ball. Place the top layer of pie crust on top, and put a large mouth cup in the center to create the center filling area. Use a fork to mold the crust together. Once this is done, use a sharp knife to cut the outer lying ring into many "petals" and then using your hand, carefull turn each "petal" so that the spinach filling can be seen and each "petal" is on its side.
Now bake the pie for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheight.
The recipe for the filling is below:
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
1 bag of Baby Spinach (wilted)
1 Egg
aproximately 4 oz of Parmagiano cheese grated
First, make your favorite pie crust --or-- buy the already made and rolled crust from the store. Place the bottom layer on your cooking surface and sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Set aside the top layer for now.
Next make the filling. Once you have the filling made, arrange the filling into an outer ring, and a center ball. Place the top layer of pie crust on top, and put a large mouth cup in the center to create the center filling area. Use a fork to mold the crust together. Once this is done, use a sharp knife to cut the outer lying ring into many "petals" and then using your hand, carefull turn each "petal" so that the spinach filling can be seen and each "petal" is on its side.
Now bake the pie for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheight.
The recipe for the filling is below:
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
1 bag of Baby Spinach (wilted)
1 Egg
aproximately 4 oz of Parmagiano cheese grated
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Trystian's Journey
Since we have been back in the states and getting settled, I have found a new set of doctors to follow Trystian's Kidney disease. We had thought we were in the clear and good until he hit puberty, however we were very wrong...
Trystian was born with hydronephrosis (water on the kidney). Once he was born, we were sent to a hospital to be admitted and he underwent tests at 5 weeks of age to find he had hydronephrosis due to high grade reflux on both sides. His reflux was 4 on the left and 5 on the right. This damaged his kidneys resulting in his having stage II end renal kidney failure. He had surgery when he was 1 to hopefully fix this. This surgery was quick, and no cutting. It's called deflux. They simply run a line up the urethra while under anesthesia and fix the ureters by inserting a material that will help manage and downgrade the reflux. The surgery was a success as his reflux went down to a 1 and 2 on each side. A year after the surgery was completed the urologist released us from his care and said he was no longer needed unless a urinary infection happened. A year after that the nephrologist released Trystian from his care and said that all looked great and that Trystian probably wouldnt require anything until he hit puberty. We were told that the pediatrician was able to monitor the kidney disease by blood tests.
Years later, after moving here to the shore, we found a pediatrician for the boys and the first thing he said he wanted for Trystian was an ultrasound just to baseline his care here. Well, it started with that routine ultrasound. The pediatrician referred us to the local urologist, however the closest pediatric nephrologist is across the bridge. The urologist ordered an ultrasound, and we got that done locally. As the tech was scanning Trystian I could see that one of kidneys was not like it should... The results came back the day before heading cross the bridge to see the nephrologist. It showed that his right kidney was very dilated. As we saw this nephrologist for the first time he said that he couldnt say for certain what the results were for the ultrasound except that we should consult with the urologist more in depth. He said that the blood results looked okay although some of the levels were rising. We spoke to the Urologist later that week and were told that we should see and consult a pediatric urologist further across the bridge. We went to Johns Hopkins to see a urologist who then said she would like to run a bunch of tests and once we had those scheduled, we took the trip back across the bridge and got them done.
A repeat ultrasound showed the same results as the first. The results of the VCUG showed that Trystian no longer had reflux... (although this is good, it brings more questions because there has to be a reason why the right kidney is so dialated with a back up of urine). The MAG-3 scan showed that he had a decrease in kidney function. He had a 48% function on his right kidney at 5 weeks of age, and now he had only a 31% function. The fact that it was decreased and after careful reviews of the ultrasound and VCUG, the urology team at Hopkins determined that Trystian had an obstruction at the opening of the ureter to his right kidney. The obstruction was why his kidney was not draining properly and the team of doctors thought it would be best to operate.
While I waited to hear about the operating date, the urology team continued to review Trystian's case and thought that the surgery should be done sooner rather than later and they bumped up the date! I got the date set and we were off to Hopkins so that Trystian could have surgery...
My mom came up with me to keep me company. I thank her for that, I'm not sure what I would have done all that time!
The surgery was only suppose to take about an hour and a half and only a 1 night stay at the hospital... Well as the morning of surgery started, we didnt didn't know what was in store!
Trystian was very anxious and recieved some sedative before even going into surgery... He was very nervous about everything, and I dont blame him! Once surgery started, my mom and I went down to grab a cup of coffee. I got a phone call from the surgery unit that we needed to come up to have a small conference. We weren't sure what was going on until the doctor came in the room to talk to us. The doctore explained that once they got the machine set up (The surgery was being done with a robotic laproscopic machine) that they found a second much more serious obstruction. This one would have to be fixed first. He said that the ureter itself was like a sausage with an obstruction on either end. He said that he wanted us to know about the change in surgery plans and went in to scrub up.
We waited, and waited, and waited! We got very anxious ourselves as 4 hours passed, then 5, then 6, and 7... At 8 hours, we were finally told that the surgery was complete and that Trystian should be waking up soon. The doctor explained all the complications... The ureter connection to the bladder was like cement! The ureter was also stretched out the width of someones wrist and what they consider a "mega ureter" The doctor had to detatch it from the bladder, reconstruct it, then re-insert it into the bladder and seal it and the bladder back up. He also had to fix the vasa deferentia as it was also cemented and non-working (this is the tube where the sperm were to travel from the testicles). He put a stent in place in the ureter to help with the healing. The stent will have to be in place for a month and then Trystian will have to have another procedure to have it removed.
When Trystian woke up from surgery, he had a foley catheter in place as well as a drain coming from one of the incisions. He had a port in one hand and an IV in the other. Trystian was very weary of all this and I dont think he really smiled much the first couple of days. Because of the extensive surgery, we ended up staying 4 nights in the hospital. We had only planned on 1 and brought only what we needed for that 1 day... Trystian was scared to get out of bed and try to walk, and he was in a lot of pain!! After coaxing him, we got him to stand and walk to the doorway of his room to sit on a wheelchair the night of the second day. We went down to the play room, and he really didnt want to do much, we kept the visit brief and got back to the room to make him comfortable. The next day we got him to walk to the wheelchair and we made 2 trips to the play room. The following day he got a surprise... his brother and daddy, and poppa came up to visit!! This was the turning point of his healing!! He was a much different person with this! He walked to the playroom without a wheelchair! He laughed, he smiled! Granted, he hadnt been able to hold down any solid food prior to this so the doctor had taken away all solid and liquid foods and said to just have him fast until he "farted", this didnt stop him from having fun with his family!
The next morning after everyone had visited, he woke up exited to tell me "mom, I farted" and so the doctor let him have some water, and juice. Once we got him to hold that down, he was given jello. Eventually at the end of the day, he was allowed to eat some real food! YAY! Now he was walking alright and eating and holding it down, the doctor was finally comfortable with releasing Trystian from the hospital. With poor Trystian being under anesthesia so long and the extensive surgery he underwent and all the complications we had had a rough time getting back to his old self!
He was released with a catheter and I was taught how to remove it when it was time. He was happy to be able to go home to see his daddy and brothers! I was happy to go home to sleep in a real bed!! I was however weary about the trip home... we would have a 3 hour drive and since Trystian had a catheter, and a carseat, I wasnt sure how this was going to work. We got it to work though... We planned the departure of the hospital with a dose of pain medication, and I made the straps lose and we put a pillow between the straps and his crotch so that it wasnt hurting him.
Now that we are home, he is doing great. Pain management is good, and he is trying to walk and play with his brothers, although I have to remind everyone that he can't be doing a lot yet since he has the catheter still. We attemted to climb the stairs, but it is too painful, so he has just been sleeping downstairs on the recliner for now.
I'm so glad that Trystian is doing well! I know he will have a procedure next month to have the stent removed, and depending on if the second obstruction fixes itself he may need another surgery in the future for that. I'm really hoping that he will not need any repeat surgeries and that his kidney will not lose any more function.
Trystian's case was extremely rare... The doctor said that he had never seen any case like this before. In fact Trystian's case will most likely end up in a medical encyclopedia soon! WOW
You can follow him on his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SirTrystian
Trystian was born with hydronephrosis (water on the kidney). Once he was born, we were sent to a hospital to be admitted and he underwent tests at 5 weeks of age to find he had hydronephrosis due to high grade reflux on both sides. His reflux was 4 on the left and 5 on the right. This damaged his kidneys resulting in his having stage II end renal kidney failure. He had surgery when he was 1 to hopefully fix this. This surgery was quick, and no cutting. It's called deflux. They simply run a line up the urethra while under anesthesia and fix the ureters by inserting a material that will help manage and downgrade the reflux. The surgery was a success as his reflux went down to a 1 and 2 on each side. A year after the surgery was completed the urologist released us from his care and said he was no longer needed unless a urinary infection happened. A year after that the nephrologist released Trystian from his care and said that all looked great and that Trystian probably wouldnt require anything until he hit puberty. We were told that the pediatrician was able to monitor the kidney disease by blood tests.
Years later, after moving here to the shore, we found a pediatrician for the boys and the first thing he said he wanted for Trystian was an ultrasound just to baseline his care here. Well, it started with that routine ultrasound. The pediatrician referred us to the local urologist, however the closest pediatric nephrologist is across the bridge. The urologist ordered an ultrasound, and we got that done locally. As the tech was scanning Trystian I could see that one of kidneys was not like it should... The results came back the day before heading cross the bridge to see the nephrologist. It showed that his right kidney was very dilated. As we saw this nephrologist for the first time he said that he couldnt say for certain what the results were for the ultrasound except that we should consult with the urologist more in depth. He said that the blood results looked okay although some of the levels were rising. We spoke to the Urologist later that week and were told that we should see and consult a pediatric urologist further across the bridge. We went to Johns Hopkins to see a urologist who then said she would like to run a bunch of tests and once we had those scheduled, we took the trip back across the bridge and got them done.
A repeat ultrasound showed the same results as the first. The results of the VCUG showed that Trystian no longer had reflux... (although this is good, it brings more questions because there has to be a reason why the right kidney is so dialated with a back up of urine). The MAG-3 scan showed that he had a decrease in kidney function. He had a 48% function on his right kidney at 5 weeks of age, and now he had only a 31% function. The fact that it was decreased and after careful reviews of the ultrasound and VCUG, the urology team at Hopkins determined that Trystian had an obstruction at the opening of the ureter to his right kidney. The obstruction was why his kidney was not draining properly and the team of doctors thought it would be best to operate.
While I waited to hear about the operating date, the urology team continued to review Trystian's case and thought that the surgery should be done sooner rather than later and they bumped up the date! I got the date set and we were off to Hopkins so that Trystian could have surgery...
My mom came up with me to keep me company. I thank her for that, I'm not sure what I would have done all that time!
The surgery was only suppose to take about an hour and a half and only a 1 night stay at the hospital... Well as the morning of surgery started, we didnt didn't know what was in store!
Trystian was very anxious and recieved some sedative before even going into surgery... He was very nervous about everything, and I dont blame him! Once surgery started, my mom and I went down to grab a cup of coffee. I got a phone call from the surgery unit that we needed to come up to have a small conference. We weren't sure what was going on until the doctor came in the room to talk to us. The doctore explained that once they got the machine set up (The surgery was being done with a robotic laproscopic machine) that they found a second much more serious obstruction. This one would have to be fixed first. He said that the ureter itself was like a sausage with an obstruction on either end. He said that he wanted us to know about the change in surgery plans and went in to scrub up.
We waited, and waited, and waited! We got very anxious ourselves as 4 hours passed, then 5, then 6, and 7... At 8 hours, we were finally told that the surgery was complete and that Trystian should be waking up soon. The doctor explained all the complications... The ureter connection to the bladder was like cement! The ureter was also stretched out the width of someones wrist and what they consider a "mega ureter" The doctor had to detatch it from the bladder, reconstruct it, then re-insert it into the bladder and seal it and the bladder back up. He also had to fix the vasa deferentia as it was also cemented and non-working (this is the tube where the sperm were to travel from the testicles). He put a stent in place in the ureter to help with the healing. The stent will have to be in place for a month and then Trystian will have to have another procedure to have it removed.
The next morning after everyone had visited, he woke up exited to tell me "mom, I farted" and so the doctor let him have some water, and juice. Once we got him to hold that down, he was given jello. Eventually at the end of the day, he was allowed to eat some real food! YAY! Now he was walking alright and eating and holding it down, the doctor was finally comfortable with releasing Trystian from the hospital. With poor Trystian being under anesthesia so long and the extensive surgery he underwent and all the complications we had had a rough time getting back to his old self!
Now that we are home, he is doing great. Pain management is good, and he is trying to walk and play with his brothers, although I have to remind everyone that he can't be doing a lot yet since he has the catheter still. We attemted to climb the stairs, but it is too painful, so he has just been sleeping downstairs on the recliner for now.
I'm so glad that Trystian is doing well! I know he will have a procedure next month to have the stent removed, and depending on if the second obstruction fixes itself he may need another surgery in the future for that. I'm really hoping that he will not need any repeat surgeries and that his kidney will not lose any more function.
Trystian's case was extremely rare... The doctor said that he had never seen any case like this before. In fact Trystian's case will most likely end up in a medical encyclopedia soon! WOW
You can follow him on his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SirTrystian
Happy Halloween
So this year, my boys wanted to be Ninja Turtles for Halloween... We went trunk or treating at a local church the night before Halloween, and then on Halloween night we went to a neighborhood that I went to growing up... Unfortunately there was not a real good turnout at that neighborhood, so the kids didnt get to go to many houses. We know next year that we will have to find a new spot. The kids still had fun, and they got a good amount of candy too.
Happy Birthday Ryder
Ryder turned ONE!
Wow! I can't believe how a year flew by! I still remember bringing Ryder home in his premie size clothes! Now, well now he's in a mix of 12-18 month clothes, and well I want to cry that he is growing up so fast!
He started walking, he waves, he says "bye", "mama", "dada", and he pants when he sees a dog!!
For his first birthday I planned a Cookie Monster Cookies and Milk party. I think it turned out well. Not as many people showed up as I was hoping for, but we all had a great time!
Wow! I can't believe how a year flew by! I still remember bringing Ryder home in his premie size clothes! Now, well now he's in a mix of 12-18 month clothes, and well I want to cry that he is growing up so fast!
He started walking, he waves, he says "bye", "mama", "dada", and he pants when he sees a dog!!
For his first birthday I planned a Cookie Monster Cookies and Milk party. I think it turned out well. Not as many people showed up as I was hoping for, but we all had a great time!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYDER!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
The Trip from Japan to Delmarva
So our move we had scheduled and set up was changed a couple days before departing Japan... We now left earlier and landed much sooner than we had planned on. Which was definitely a good thing!
Our first flight from Misawa was quite nice! It was a smaller type plane, but the Japanese are so nice, and the flight attendants were so willing to help me with the baby car seat to get it in place, and get us on the plane first as well. We also were able to sit near each other quite nicely!
After landing in Haneda, we had to catch the bus to Narita. The bus ride was challenging as we had luggage for 5 people, a cat, and of course one of us was in a car seat (and it wasn't me)... We all had to sit in different seats at different areas on the bus. Yes my 2 eldest children were segregated from us by quite a distance! They did well on the ride though, I'm sure they were tired! The cat even got her own seat too! As we got to Narita, we claimed our bags from the bus and headed in to get checked in to our longest flight...
When we walked into Narita, we were astounded at the amount of people there were in line! But we were kinda lucky because we had 5 people traveling, a cat and TONS of bags, we got to go in the line needing assistance which was by far the shortest line there! We got out bags checked in and found out I had to take the cat to another area of the airport to finish her check in, so after detouring to accomplish that, we were finished signing in and had our tickets in hand. We went to find some food to eat. We thought there would be more of a selection of food once we went through security, however we were wrong... We did not have too much to choose and eventually just settled for the tiny shop which the kids chose pizza to eat... I was kind of hoping for one last great ramen or something, but oh well. We didn't have too much time till we had to board our flight for America. In fact, we spent little time eating and then rushed to our gate in the middle of boarding! We had an issue with getting seats too. They wanted to seat us all in different areas of the plane! That was not happening for this long of a flight!! Once we got on the plane, we found out that the seats that they had eventually found us together were double booked and someone else was sitting there already. We kind of held up the line of people boarding the plane then because we had 5 people of which was a huge car seat in the middle of the isle with no where to go. Finally they moved the person sitting in our seats and I was able to get car seat installed at the window seat. I then had one of my elder sons also sit with me, and the other sat with dad across the isle. Once the plane departed, the person sitting in front of the car seat became furious when they could not recline their seat! They asked me to move the seat! I told them no... Thankfully they did not cause a seen, but goodness, they gave me death stares the rest of the flight!! Ryder did great as he slept most the way (which was the normal night time really)... The elder boys slept most of the way too, which was nice!
Once we arrived America, we departed the plane and soon found we had to carry the stroller down 2 flights of stairs and an escalator because we could not find an elevator! We made our way to the customs and immigrations and claimed our bags and got our passports stamped. When we got to the other side, we rechecked our bags then had to go through security again to get on the domestic flight. Well this proved harder! The security in America is so different!! We all had to remove shoes, where in Japan, they didn't have a problem with the kids keeping theirs on since that's just way more work and time for everyone! Also, the water for baby formula... well in Japan, they had no issues during the two times we went through security to just let the diaper bag go through... no, through American security we were asked to dump out well throw away our canteen of water! I fought it though and explained it was baby water and after they wanted me to drink it, then they also did that test on the container they let me keep it... Also the cat needs to be in your arms when walking through the security and not in the carrier... baby has to also be in your arms and not in the carrier... Well since I got the cat out, and I also had touch our son, I somehow was seen as a threat and once through the security gate, I had to be screened separately with the wand as well as a swab of each of my hands... Yup... well that left poor hubby to fend with getting everyones shoes on (including the infants shoes!!) and getting all the carry on luggage back together (including each laptop, innotab, and ipad that had to have separate bins)...
After all that, we didn't have much time to make it to our gate! We were very hungry too! So not time for food, and with cranky kids, well that sucked!! We got to the gate to find out it was actually delayed though (which was good because if it wasn't delayed then we probably wouldn't have made it). When we finally got on the plane, the service was not pleasant! Nobody asked if they could help with all the kids and stuff we had... We all had to sit in separate areas, and they could not get us near each other!!! The only two seats together had to be me and my baby... Once we got situated we found out there was also an issue with the plane to have maintenance on before departing. So with weather and maintenance, we arrived BWI much later than planned and missed our bus to get us home!!!
Now we were stranded in BWI with no hotel and not even one we could call and book for the night because they do not allow animals!! The bus to the shore wouldn't run again till the next morning... and so we were stuck! We didn't have phones or anything to use in America... and so I set out on my search for the nearest pay phone. It took a while to find one!!! Yup, we don't have many of those around now a days!!! and the one I found cost me 2 dollars to talk to family for 5 minutes to set up for them to come pick us up that night! It's almost a 3 hour drive from the shore to BWI, so we patiently waited in the baggage claim for family to come pick us up. Once they got there, we left to make our way home... Stopping at a Royal Farms to grab food since the kids were starving at this point with no food on the flight, and no food from the previous airport as well as BWI since nothing was open when we landed... We got home early morning and slept! Yes everyone slept except me and Ryder!! Ryder didn't know the time difference and so he wanted to be awake! ::sigh:: I made and drank an entire pot of coffee that early morning!!
Phew! It was definitely a trip to remember!! I'm sad to have left Japan, but it is nice to be near family again...
Our first flight from Misawa was quite nice! It was a smaller type plane, but the Japanese are so nice, and the flight attendants were so willing to help me with the baby car seat to get it in place, and get us on the plane first as well. We also were able to sit near each other quite nicely!
After landing in Haneda, we had to catch the bus to Narita. The bus ride was challenging as we had luggage for 5 people, a cat, and of course one of us was in a car seat (and it wasn't me)... We all had to sit in different seats at different areas on the bus. Yes my 2 eldest children were segregated from us by quite a distance! They did well on the ride though, I'm sure they were tired! The cat even got her own seat too! As we got to Narita, we claimed our bags from the bus and headed in to get checked in to our longest flight...
When we walked into Narita, we were astounded at the amount of people there were in line! But we were kinda lucky because we had 5 people traveling, a cat and TONS of bags, we got to go in the line needing assistance which was by far the shortest line there! We got out bags checked in and found out I had to take the cat to another area of the airport to finish her check in, so after detouring to accomplish that, we were finished signing in and had our tickets in hand. We went to find some food to eat. We thought there would be more of a selection of food once we went through security, however we were wrong... We did not have too much to choose and eventually just settled for the tiny shop which the kids chose pizza to eat... I was kind of hoping for one last great ramen or something, but oh well. We didn't have too much time till we had to board our flight for America. In fact, we spent little time eating and then rushed to our gate in the middle of boarding! We had an issue with getting seats too. They wanted to seat us all in different areas of the plane! That was not happening for this long of a flight!! Once we got on the plane, we found out that the seats that they had eventually found us together were double booked and someone else was sitting there already. We kind of held up the line of people boarding the plane then because we had 5 people of which was a huge car seat in the middle of the isle with no where to go. Finally they moved the person sitting in our seats and I was able to get car seat installed at the window seat. I then had one of my elder sons also sit with me, and the other sat with dad across the isle. Once the plane departed, the person sitting in front of the car seat became furious when they could not recline their seat! They asked me to move the seat! I told them no... Thankfully they did not cause a seen, but goodness, they gave me death stares the rest of the flight!! Ryder did great as he slept most the way (which was the normal night time really)... The elder boys slept most of the way too, which was nice!
Once we arrived America, we departed the plane and soon found we had to carry the stroller down 2 flights of stairs and an escalator because we could not find an elevator! We made our way to the customs and immigrations and claimed our bags and got our passports stamped. When we got to the other side, we rechecked our bags then had to go through security again to get on the domestic flight. Well this proved harder! The security in America is so different!! We all had to remove shoes, where in Japan, they didn't have a problem with the kids keeping theirs on since that's just way more work and time for everyone! Also, the water for baby formula... well in Japan, they had no issues during the two times we went through security to just let the diaper bag go through... no, through American security we were asked to dump out well throw away our canteen of water! I fought it though and explained it was baby water and after they wanted me to drink it, then they also did that test on the container they let me keep it... Also the cat needs to be in your arms when walking through the security and not in the carrier... baby has to also be in your arms and not in the carrier... Well since I got the cat out, and I also had touch our son, I somehow was seen as a threat and once through the security gate, I had to be screened separately with the wand as well as a swab of each of my hands... Yup... well that left poor hubby to fend with getting everyones shoes on (including the infants shoes!!) and getting all the carry on luggage back together (including each laptop, innotab, and ipad that had to have separate bins)...
After all that, we didn't have much time to make it to our gate! We were very hungry too! So not time for food, and with cranky kids, well that sucked!! We got to the gate to find out it was actually delayed though (which was good because if it wasn't delayed then we probably wouldn't have made it). When we finally got on the plane, the service was not pleasant! Nobody asked if they could help with all the kids and stuff we had... We all had to sit in separate areas, and they could not get us near each other!!! The only two seats together had to be me and my baby... Once we got situated we found out there was also an issue with the plane to have maintenance on before departing. So with weather and maintenance, we arrived BWI much later than planned and missed our bus to get us home!!!
Now we were stranded in BWI with no hotel and not even one we could call and book for the night because they do not allow animals!! The bus to the shore wouldn't run again till the next morning... and so we were stuck! We didn't have phones or anything to use in America... and so I set out on my search for the nearest pay phone. It took a while to find one!!! Yup, we don't have many of those around now a days!!! and the one I found cost me 2 dollars to talk to family for 5 minutes to set up for them to come pick us up that night! It's almost a 3 hour drive from the shore to BWI, so we patiently waited in the baggage claim for family to come pick us up. Once they got there, we left to make our way home... Stopping at a Royal Farms to grab food since the kids were starving at this point with no food on the flight, and no food from the previous airport as well as BWI since nothing was open when we landed... We got home early morning and slept! Yes everyone slept except me and Ryder!! Ryder didn't know the time difference and so he wanted to be awake! ::sigh:: I made and drank an entire pot of coffee that early morning!!
Phew! It was definitely a trip to remember!! I'm sad to have left Japan, but it is nice to be near family again...
A long move!
Well, A lot has happened since I last posted... It's been pretty crazy and I just have not had the time to get a post out there...
In August, our house was packed up and shipped out of Japan. Then on my birthday, we boarded a plane and headed back to America. The trip itself is worth a blog! After that we tried to get settled in with our parents while trying to find jobs. My husband found a job right away, but in order for me to work, the job has to be flexible enough for doctor appointments for sick kids as well as IEP meetings for school and also make enough money for daycare for the youngest... Not to mention before and after school care for the school kids! So I admit, I'm being very picky with my job choosing.
In the meantime of trying to find a job, I've been all over the place with doctor appointments for the kids to get their school physicals, as well as medical work ups for my eldest son whom has Stage II end renal kidney failure. My middle son has his share of appointments for me as well with IEP, and then my youngest, well I was planning his first birthday. That blog will be posted soon too.
I have a lead on a job, and as it might not be what I want, we sure do need some more income! It means I may be working the swing shift as hubby gets home to take care of kids while I work, then I'll get home to sleep, then be home with the baby during the day. Hey, it's something, and with the holidays right around the corner, we NEED something!
We are still looking for our own house, and wow, it's NOT a buyers market right now! We would like to stay in the general area we are in right now as my kids have already started school and have activities they are involved in. I too am involved in this community directly as well because I became a boy scout... Well a Den leader anyways...
Stay tuned for some blogs... I'll try to be more frequent now that we are getting settled in.
In August, our house was packed up and shipped out of Japan. Then on my birthday, we boarded a plane and headed back to America. The trip itself is worth a blog! After that we tried to get settled in with our parents while trying to find jobs. My husband found a job right away, but in order for me to work, the job has to be flexible enough for doctor appointments for sick kids as well as IEP meetings for school and also make enough money for daycare for the youngest... Not to mention before and after school care for the school kids! So I admit, I'm being very picky with my job choosing.
In the meantime of trying to find a job, I've been all over the place with doctor appointments for the kids to get their school physicals, as well as medical work ups for my eldest son whom has Stage II end renal kidney failure. My middle son has his share of appointments for me as well with IEP, and then my youngest, well I was planning his first birthday. That blog will be posted soon too.
I have a lead on a job, and as it might not be what I want, we sure do need some more income! It means I may be working the swing shift as hubby gets home to take care of kids while I work, then I'll get home to sleep, then be home with the baby during the day. Hey, it's something, and with the holidays right around the corner, we NEED something!
We are still looking for our own house, and wow, it's NOT a buyers market right now! We would like to stay in the general area we are in right now as my kids have already started school and have activities they are involved in. I too am involved in this community directly as well because I became a boy scout... Well a Den leader anyways...
Stay tuned for some blogs... I'll try to be more frequent now that we are getting settled in.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Tie Dye with Acrylic Paint-- WIN
After the Kool aid tie dye did NOT work, I looked again to the internet to find a way to make tie dye shirts without a kit. (because I still could not find any kits or fabric dyes here in Japan)
I came across a few blogs and youtube videos about using acrylic paints. Below is what I did.
I came across a few blogs and youtube videos about using acrylic paints. Below is what I did.
First you collect your materials...
Then Mix 1 part acrylic paint to 1 part rubbing alcohol.
Start mixing. I just used a plastic spoon with plastic containers.
At first it will be gloppy. This is the alcohol starting to separate the color and oils and such... You can add more alcohol as the colors get smoother.
Once you have a nice smooth consistency, you are ready to strain.
Once you strain it, you will see the "plastic" stuff in the strainer. That is the part of the paint that gives the paint the hard stiff feeling when dried.
Once you have strained your paint mixture, you can add a little more alcohol. About an ounce of paint gave me a full 5-6 oz bottle of squeeze tie dye color!
Have fun preparing your shirts and coloring them!
Once I colored them I let them dry overnight. I would have hung them outside, except it was raining out! I still think my kool aid ones looked better, they were more vibrant... Oh well! These turned out great looking too!
After drying overnight, I took a deep breath and followed the directions on the other tutorials that say to put them in the cold salt water bath to set the colors... The colors did NOT bleed out! I was so happy at this! I ran them through a normal wash and they are just ever so slightly faded but I suppose that is just the color setting in. They are not really stiff either... I think diluting them with the alcohol helped get the stiffness out of the paints for dyeing. They turned out GREAT and I will definitely do this again if I cannot find any dye's or kits.
This would be a great activity to do with a bunch of kids! You could do all sorts of patterns too! I loved doing this project and am very happy with the way they turned out! We will be wearing these matching tie-dye shirts at the airports for our travels home. Each of us have at least 2 of them (this way if we need to change for any reason... we have kids... that we have another and can still match)
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