Kolter's Check Up and the interesting morning

Kolter had his 9 month check up. We are kinda off on his check up schedule due to last time he was supossed to get shots the doctors wanted to wait until his casts were off, because they were afraid that his legs would swell to much. Anyways there is a funny story to my morning.My sweet mother in Law watched Kameron for me. Kolter's apt was at 9:00 and every appointment Kolter and Kameron for that matter has had, has always been at the pediatrics in the hospital. So Kolter and I arrive 5 min. early, and stand in line for 10 min. I had to set Kolter down on the floor in his car seat because as you moms know, those car seats are so freaking heavy!! Kolter was a quick temptation for a sweet darling little 16 month boy named Aiden(my nephews name by the way). He was to cute!!! Big blue eyes, tan skin and very blonde, very curly hair. He adored my Kolter bug, and stroked his hair, and tried to help Kolter escape from his carseat by trying to un buckle him. His mom kept saying sorry to me and kept telling Aiden to be gentle. And he was gentle. Nothing fazes Kolter, he lives with a crazy 4 year old brother. So I made my way to the front of the line to check in. Apparently his doctor was at the clinic on the other side of town today. News to me. Nobody told me that!! So the receptionist called the other clinic to let them know I was on my way. Yeah a 30 min drive away thanks. So I hauled Kolter pack out to the car, my arm was already going numb, and headed across town and through all the lovely construction. So as I listened to the radio, they were having a contest where you call in and have to guess a celebrity they have had on the show. They give out a huge prize pack. Little by little they give hints, but every caller that guesses wrong they take a prize away. So I called in right when they started the game. So I was going to guess Kim Kardashian on a wim. So I got through and by then 3 people had already called in and guessed wrong. The DJ gave me a hint, he was male and know to be crazy???? SO I guessed Steve O. I was RIGHT!!! I won: a Season of: Evolution on DVD, 4 hocky game tickets, 2 VIP movie tickets, and 2 CDs. Score!! That put me in a better mood. We made it to the doctor and here are the details:

Weight: He weighs 17lbs 2.6 oz which is only in the 15 percentile but he is gaining weight normally so the doc said that is A okay.

Height: I cant exactly remember..lol but I remember he saying average

Baby Talk: He can say MaMa and DaDa so that is good

Crawling: He is doing the up on all fours rocking horse action, and she said thats great because they dont normally expect that til 10 months, and even greater for Kolter because he has been in a brase or casts his whole life

Standing: She is very proud that he likes to stand for long periods of time supporting all his weight on both feet

The Sad part: He got 3 shots. He cried for 5 min. Turned the shade of a fire truck, and quivered his chin like he was freezing. Then he was done, and back to his happy go lucky lucky self.

All in all ,everything worked out. Im glad I went to the hospital instead of the clinic because I wouldnt have won the tickets if I didnt:)

Have a great weekend!!

I can see your piggies

I really am enjoying the reduced brace time with Kolter. There are so many great things about it. Sunday was cold and rainy here in Montana. The cold where you want to stay in your warm jammies all day, have a nice pot of home made soup on the stove, and cuddle up on the couch watching movies. I went to Kolter's dresser to pick out his outfit for the day and I was so super excited because he is finally able to wear his feet PJs!!! They are the cutest hand me downs from Kameron. I told Kameron that they were his when he was a baby, and he got a great kick out of that. I pulled out the cutest pair of blue feet PJs with a green little fuzzy dinosaur on them. So I put Kolter in them and stood him up so we could check out this yummy little boy in his feet pajamas, and I looked down to see a nice little hole in the toe, and a cute little toe was playing peek a boo:) Oh my, Kameron and I laughed, which made Kolter laugh. I thought it was a great moment. Not only was he without a brace, not only was he wearing feet pajamas, I could see his toes!! The rest of the day I tickled his piggies and kept telling him: I can see your piggies. He would laugh so hard and the entire time, he smiled so big you could see his 4 teeth and the two trying to come out, and his little piggie playing peek a boo. Yes I left him in those PJs, he didnt mind, and neither did we!!

Derrick and I took Kolter to see his foot doctor (Dr. Shultz) on Wednesday. Both of us were scared. Usually we get bad news from Dr. Shultz, so of course we were expecting the worst, but praying for the best. He has been in his braces 23 hours a day for months. This appointment was going to decide if he would continue with the 23 hours of brace wear a day or he could get his time reduced. So as always Kolter got all sorts of attention from everyone in the waiting room and the nurses. He was all smiles showing off his 4 teeth, and soon to be 6 new teeth. So we waited in one of the rooms. I swear they need a decorator, there are no pictures on the walls, and everything is a light tan. So boring. Dr Shultz came in a looked over Monkey’s feet, and KOLTER PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!! His brace time is officially REDUCED!!!!!! How awesome is that?? I know right? He only has to wear his brace at nap and night time. I asked Dr. Shultz if there were any stretches we could do for his feet and he did show us some. So daily I will do some stretches on his feet. We are beyond excited about the great news. I am so proud of Kolter. He has been through so much in his short little life. He always so happy and sweet. Nothing has fazed him at all. One thing I thought was weird, Dr. Shultz and a nurse asked me if he was walking yet?? Shocked I said: um no. Considering he just turned 8 months and he has had casts and a brace for his whole life thus far, um yeah infact he just finished his first marathon last week. Hello. I thought that was weird. The Doctor and the nurse asked me that. Should he be walking???? I don’t think so but, maybe I am wrong. Who knows. All I know is things are looking great. And Kolter is happier then ever.

Up date on My Kolter Man and the fam

It has been awhile since I have done a update here. Kolter goes in to see Dr. Schultz on Monday to see if his time in the brace will be reduced. I really hope that will happen, but it all depends on his feet. I think his little feet look great!! Its funny because my sister gave him the nick name: Little Foot. I love it, because it is so true. So once we hear what Dr. has to say, I will post. Some other news, Kolter now has his bottom two teeth!! I love it when he smiles and his little teeth play peek a boo:) I told Kameron to be careful because now it will hurt if Kolter bites him. Kolter has grown so much, it makes me sad. His baby days are flying away. His personality is very obvious. He is a very happy, chill baby. But when Kameron gets in his face, he puts his hands in fists and grunts. Kinda like the hulk. He must be catching on from watching Hulk with Kam...lol Kameron also continues to grow, and he learns something new everyday. He has been spending alot of time with the hubby this summer doing " man thing"...fishing, camping, going to the river just to get dirty and play in what little sand you can find. we as a family go to the river alot as well. Kolter loves to put his feet in the water and kick away. I wish the summer would slow, just as it starts to get nice out, and we start doing things, Fall starts to show its colors...

NEW BLOG

Well I have started another blog. I will still keep this one. This one is more about my family, and Kolter's journey with club feet. But my new one is mainly just me and my thoughts so if you would like....come take a look and maybe you might just enjoy yourself...

Please Pray for this

This post is for a great Lady that I work with named Cortney. I want to give you a little back ground. She is in her late 30s and she is married with no children. Her and her husband are wonderful people. Unfortunately Cortney has had a very very hard life. 10 years ago she lost her sister, 2 nephews, and a neice in a house fire. It has effected her every day of her life. It was a terrible tragidy that no one should have to endure. Also she lost her dad to a massive heart attack last year, which only adds to her pain. Years ago her and her husband learned she was pregnant. They were very excited, until she had some problems and ended up having a tubular pregnancy and she lost the baby and almost her life as well. They have tried for years to get pregnant to no evail. They dont want to try the artificial insemination or any medical way as they feel that if they are meant to have kids they will. So this leads me to my prayer request. She came into my office this morning asking me how i knew I was pregnant both times. She has been very sleepy, she is late, and she has felt nautious lately. So fingers crossed hopefully she is pregnant. She plans on taking a test this weekend. I cant speak highly enough of her. If anyone deserves to be a mom, it would be her. A child would bring so much joy and love to their lives. Jo ann, I know you are my only follower and I am not sure if other people read my blog and arent followers? But please spread the word. They need lots of prayers. I know that she is meant to be a mom, and god has picked a special baby just for them, that baby just needs to get here!! So please just take a minute out of your day and pray for Cortney and Mike:) Thank you so much

Beautiful

The Sun is Shinning and its a hot 75* out. Yep its a hot one. But Montana weather is crazy so, at any moment there could be a down poor, thunder, freezing temps. I just hope it stays sunny. I want to take the boys outside when I get off work and enjoy the small slice of the day outside that I can. Working 10 hour days monday-Thursday in a office really steals away a good chunk of my nature time away from me. So my plan of attack for this evening. Well the first thing I SHOULD do is cook dinner. Maybe I will throw something together that will cook itself..Ha good idea. Thats what I will do. Then I am thinking I will set up Kameron's 5$ slip and slide from Walmart( he luv,luv,luvs it)and break out some water balloons. I am always game for a good water balloon fight. I will never be to old for that :) And I am not sure what else we will do. Maybe I can finally get my moss roses planted that my mom gave me ,while Kam is distracted by the slipin slide. Kolter loves it outside as well. We have a nice tree in the back yard, that creates the perfect shade spot for us to stay out of the sun. Most of the time Kolter kicks back and watches Kameron zoom by on his bike. He kicks his legs so fast as if he we trying to take off. I can already tell by the time he crawls I am going to be very very busy Mommy. Oh and Kameron starts soccor the beginning of August. He is way excited.When I asked if he was interested in playing: He told me he is going to run really fast and kick it into the net. Then he ran and got his soccor ball, preceeded to bounce the ball off his knee and it came up & hit him right in the face. Didnt faze him one bit. He then asked me if I had a list for him to play. I am very excited for him to play. 4 & 5 year olds playing soccor has to be great fun to watch. Maybe I could even learn something. I am from a small town and we never had soccor, and I have never seen a game. So I might need to study up a bit. I really dont think its going to be that serious. I dont care how good Kameron is, as long as he is having fun. Wow my boys are getting too big too fast :(

update on Kolter

Well it has been a little over 2 weeks since Kolter's surgery on his feet. I am pleased to say that he is doing great!! It never really even fazed him at all. He went from rolling over with his Dobbs bar to rolling over with his casts just like that. But I will tell you, that little man is hard on his casts, he has worn the heels of his casts down. He kicks when he gets excited, so he really is getting his use out of his casts. Hopefully it will be the last set of casts..fingers crossed. So I worried so much for basically nothing..lol. So great news!!

"Skinny Jeans"

I went down stairs last night to sort through some clothes that have been in tubs for... long long time. I found 2 tubs full of jeans. Nice, cute jeans. Jeans I cant wear :( I decided to try on a pair of my pre baby days jeans and I couldnt get them up past my thighs...lol Its funny and sad I guess. Pre baby I was tiny. I wore size 5 jeans and they were even loose on me. Back then I thought I was fat!! I look at the pictures of my old self and I want to just say: He eat a cheeseburger. Well since then by the looks of me I have enjoyed many great cheeseburgers...lol. So I am standing there looking at all the really nice, cute jeans, that there is no way I can fit in again. Even if I get skinny again, my hips will not. I have child bearing hips now, and thats just fine with me. I just hate letting go of my "Skinny jeans". I know I dont need to be rail thin to look good. My goal right now is just to be healthy and to feel comfortable with the way I look. Diets are hard, and every time I try to diet, it works for about 2 days...lol So Im just going to be active, watch what I eat, drink lots of H20 and just be healthy and happy. So the tubs of Skinny Jeans are going to community hope to find a new skinny person who needs them. Goodbye skinny jeans forever...

"Procrastination is the thief of time"

Procrastination: is a behavior which is characterized by a deferment of actions or tastes to a later time.


What can I say? Look procrastination up in a dictionary and you will find a picture of me. I am not proud of it. I have always been a procrastinator. I just didnt realize how bad I was until recently. I really need to work on this. I constantly put things off, which is silly, because these things are always going to need to be done. My " To Do" list is huge and oh so very over whelming :( I always put things off until the last second. And that is just terrible. So am I really a procrastinator or am I just lazy? Is there a difference between procrastination & lazy?? Well either way, I am a little of both. I took a moment and thought of a solution for myself. Its not a quick fix but its a gradual process. So because I oh so enjoy to make small little "to do" lists on post its, and then crossing out what I have done. I decided to make a couple lists of all the things I need to get done .

One list, in fact will be things that just need to get done every day. For instance:

Dishes~ The Problem: Hate them!! Not having a dish washer really sucks. One + is my hubby & I take turns on the dishes. When its his turn he does them right away after dinner. Me and my procrastinator self wait until the sink is full

The Solution: Get them done as they are dirty

laundry~ Problem: not a big fan of this, plus how can 1 man, 1 boy, 1 baby, and myself have so much laundry...its never ending

Solution: get it over with, and as long as there is laundry, Im just going to always keep it going, washer, dryer, fold, put away

Cooking~ Problem : Problem is I dont get off work until 6:00pm. Then I come home spend some time, catching up on the day my boys had without me, then I cook. By then I am tired. I love to cook when I have time, but on work nights, it just takes alot out of me, and takes time away from my boys. I go home, search for something to cook, and most of the time I am lacking some ingredient and have to go to the store, makes dinner time, rather late in my house

Solution : create a menu for the week, Every Sunday I will go on a big grocery run. get everything I can for the week to come, and then cook all that I can and freeze what I can. That should help?

Then there is the "big picture list". The list of things that are quite big, that take time.

Finish stripping and painting kitchen cabinets
re tile kitchen floor
Do a new Garden in the front yard
paint my bathroom
re do bathroom floor
re tile bathroom floor
Re paint boys room ( I just painted it 1 year ago, and I don't like it)
~ There is more... but I will stop

then there is :

The Two Week To Do List: Things that can,should, and will get done in two weeks

I am creating this two week list to stay realistic with myself, and not over whelm my self. So all the things I need to get done sooner then later will be on the 2 week list. So tonight, once the boys are in dream land, I will sit in peace and write my 2 week list... OK Here we go. Wish me luck

Kolter's Bubble Gum Nose & his surgery

Well I want to do a sort of quick update on Kolter's feet surgery he had yesterday. Surgery was scheduled at 7:20 am. We arrived at 5:30am as requested. They ushered us into a room to wait. Kolter did great for not being able to eat since midnight. He didnt even get fussy at all. I just dont understand, why be there 2 hours early ,just to wait. So we waited downstairs, then some nice little nurse took us upstairs to wait again. This waiting "room" as you would call it was strange. Im not sure if I can even discribe it right. I think it was the place where all people who are going throught out patient surgery get their anesthesia. There were people all over in hospital beds, and doctors running around. They had us in kind of a "nook" in the middle of everything. The nice thing was, there was a huge murel on the wall of a ocean scene. It was beautiful, the artist did a great job. I should've taken a picture. It also had a little nemo fish, and a hidden pair of scuba diver goggles as well. So while we waited, Derrick and I played "I Spy" with the painting. I kicked his butt. He couldnt find the goggles. lol So after talking to a few doctors, they took my little baby away. That was so hard. So while he was in surgery, we waited in the waiting room. Then it was over, and Kolter's doctor Shultz came and told us that it went great, and that we could meet him downstairs in recovery. So back down we went again. I passed through the doors and a nurse was holding him. He was kinda crying. They said he still wasnt totally awake yet. But when I held him he sure stopped his fussing. We just had to wait until he had some water, and then we were able to go home. I was afraid he would fuss big time because they said no formula until we get home. So Kolter didnt get to officially eat until 10:30!! The surgery was a success. So the plan of attack is casts for 3 weeks, followed by 8 weeks of full time Dobbs bar. So hopefully all goes well.

Crazy morning

This was how I felt this morning & probably looked like

Okay so I guess last night I didnt set the alarm on my cell right. So I woke up only 45 min. before I had to be at work. Thank goodness mr. Kolter woke me up, or no telling what time I would've rolled out of bed. So I shot out of bed. Changed Kolter's diaper & made him a bottle. Then my mom showed up to watch the boys for the day. Just in time. I was able to wet down my hair so I could pull it up. I didnt get to make my usual pot of coffee. That threw me off. I tell you I just hate waking up late, and rushing into my day. It USUALLY puts me in a bad mood for the day. And at first I was in a bad mood. But then as I was driving to work..WITHOUT my much needed coffe, and my crazy hair sticking up in my pony tail. I caught a glimpse of myself and I had to laugh at myself. I decided, just because I woke up late, and was in a rush I dont have to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Although I didnt choose for my morning to start out badly, I can choose my attitude. So as "every day is a gift, not a right" I will change my crappy attitude, I wil embrase this day, and I will focus on all the simply great things of this day. I am now greatful for this crappy morning that gave me a little bit of perspective today. I hope that everyone is able to enjoy their day as well.

Then I woke up & smelled the roses and had a nice attitude change

A few steps forward, a giant step back

Monday Kolter has his doc appointment to check on his progress with his feet. I wasnt able to go, I was to busy with work. Even though, I was very excited. I expected the doc to say: they look great!!i expected his time in the brase to be reduced from 23 hrs. a day, down to only wearing it a nap time & at night while he sleeps. I expected so much better. I think expecting alone, was the wrong thing to do. The doc did a x ray on his feet, and checked them out....Bad news: Kolter has to get his heel cords lengthened again!! This time he has to be @ the hospital and they have to put him under...tear. Yeah not what I wanted to hear. Kolter had his heel cords cut on April 1st, followed by casts for 3 weeks. That time they did it as a in office procedure with numbing shots, Kolter cried, I cried. I can tell you, it wasnt very fun. I hope this time will be a little bit easier. But I will not expect anything...that never turnes out in my favor. So surgery Monday morning, followed by casts for 3 weeks. Kolter has been rolling over so well with his bar and without, I hope that this doesnt set him back in that department. Kolter is a fighter and I am willing to bet he will continue to roll over with his casts. So its almost time to break out the colored sharpies for some colorful art work on a nice white canvas. I will post a update on the surgery. So if you read this please say a prayer for my little man...

Wolverine

Movie Date with my little man

Okay so last Friday, May 15th. I was at home with the boys, as Derrick works on Fridays. Anyways I had gotten everything done for the day that I needed to and I had a itch to do something. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I wanted to do something that we dint do very often. So I came up with the idea of the Drive in Movie. Its cheaper then the movie theaters, and its just a better experience. I hadn't been there in more then a year. Derrick and I used to take Kameron all the time. We would pick out Chinese take out, and watch a movie and eat Chinese food in our car. It was simply fun. But we just quit going. Life got busy. So as I sat on my back stairs enjoying the nice evening, the thought of going to the drive in sounded better and better. My one negative thought was" How is Kolter going to do with sitting in the car for 2 hours". But he is a great baby, so I didn't worry to much. So I waited for Derrick to get home from work to ask him if he wanted to go. Well he said he didnt feel like it....(disappointed). But he said that he would stay home with Kolter, and just Kameron and I could go....(Excited). I couldnt wait to spend time with my little man..just him and I. Its been too long since we have gotten alot of 1 on 1 time together. I always try to make him feel every bit as special as Kolter, and I always want him to know that Kolter didnt take his place. When I was prego with Kolter I would cry at the thought of Kameron feeling left out with a new baby in the house. I am grateful that while I was prego Kameron I did lots and lots of fabulous fun things together all the time. I have continued to try since Kolter was born. Its just there are two loves of my life now. Anyways back to the Drive in Story. Kameron and I loaded in the car and headed to the Drive In. As we approached the Drive in Kameron asked me : Mama where is the movie theater" I laughed I said baby its that big screen right there. I think he still didnt really understand. So we pulled up to the ticket booth and I paid my 6 dollar fee( kameron was free). Luckily we got there a little early so it wasnt to busy yet. We found a great spot. The screen was still blank so we decided to go to the " Snack Shack" and get our munchies. I told Kameron he could have whatever he wanted: of course he got cotton candy, popcorn, nachos, and a glow in the dark sucker. I carried all of that load, plus a large soda for me all the way back to the car. We settled in and had the radio tuned in to the movie station. Well we tried the nachos. YUCK. They were the worst I have ever had. So to the garbage can they went. Sucker lasted 2 min, then it went in the trash. He didnt want it anymore. I was still hungry. You can order a pizza from their snack shack and they deliver it to your car. So we did that. Now that pizza was yummy. It finally got dark. The previews started to play. Kameron shrieked in excitement. It was a beautiful night so I had the sun roof on my car all the way open. Up Kameron went, sticking his head right out the top to announce to everyone that the movie is starting. He is just to cute. He was so excited to sit in the front seat with me. I was pleased as well. So we watched the movie (Wolverine). Kameron soon cuddled on my lap. I breathed in that very moment of me and my sweet little man. How big he has grown. The things he says. How truly smart he is. I watched his big blue eyes glued to the movie screen. He was just happy. Oh Simple Pleasures truly are lifes treasures. That was a great night for this mommy and her boy, the very proud big brother...

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged. I have been a very busy girl. Now I actually have 1 follower!! Im so excited. Thank you for joining my blog. My appologies though, Im sure my blog isnt the best, most exciting blog ever, but its the best I can do. I follow alot of blogs. I must say I enjoy it quite a bit. Especially reading about other families dealing with club feet. Some of those families have it so much worse then I do. I am inspired by these families. They are so brave to tell their stories here. They face every challange with grace and determination. So thank you for being you :)So I will give a update on Kolter's club feet. There isnt much to report. He is still wearing his shoes and bar 23 hours a day. Mostly he does great in them. At times he gets a little irritated by them. He grunts and kicks his legs. But on the other hand he does great with them. He lifts them all the way up almost touching his head. I just laugh. His legs are so strong now. He is such a tropper.He has a follow up appointment with Dr. Shultz the ortho on June 1st. Usually Derrick takes him because he is off on Mondays. And my maternity leave took all of my PTO for the year.But I am going to this one. Derrick isnt very good at relaying info to me. I want to make sure his left foot is doing okay. His left foot was more turned in then his right. And hopefully in a couple of months he will only have to wear his bar at night and a nap time for a couple years. So I am eagerly anticipating that time to come.

I have been tagged!
24 things about myself

1. What is your current obsession? Obsession? hmmmmm I think that would be crafts

2. If you could do any job in the world & be 100% successful, what would it be? It would be the best mom in the world


3. What are you wearing today? Jeans, Tie Dye shirt and a pink zip up hoodie :)

4. Why is today special? Today is special because I leaned that a fellow blogger's babies test results came back good!! Prayers were answered

5. What would you like to learn to do? Sew, speak french



6. What’s for dinner tonight? BlTs and soup


7. What’s the last thing you bought? A coffee, but the last thing true thing was scrapbook materials to make my mother in law a scrapbook of my boys for mothers day

. What are you listening to right now?Radio

9. What’s your most challenging goal? To get my credit in check, and this long process with Kolter's club feet& keeping in touch with friends

10. What do you think about the person who tagged you? She is a nice lady

! 11. If you could have your house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere, where would it be?
It would be tucked in the Mountains, in the middle of a meadow :)

. 12. What is your favorite vacation spot? The mountains, I havent even been to the ocean yet


13. What would you like to have in your hands right now? plane ticket

14. What would you like to get rid of? Our mortgage payment

15. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? A waterfall in the rain forest


.16. What super power would you like to possess? Physical healing, for obvious reasons.



17. What’s your favorite piece of clothing? My old Kurt Cobain T Shirt

18. What is your dream job? Delivery nurse

19. If you had $150—what would you spend it on? Trip to Yellowstone National Park

20. What do you find annoying? Drunk people...hate it

21. Describe your personal style. Always has been & always will be casual

22. What is one of your secret skills????

23. What are you most proud of? My children.

24. What is your typical morning routine? Well on my days off, I wake up with Kolter, feed, burp, change him, play with him while Kameron sleeps in ( he is such a good sleeper) then when Kam wakes up we cook breakfast

My List

I've seen this floating around the blogging world. Things that I have done are in BOLD print

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited the Bahamas

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Solved a Rubix Cube

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Went inside a pyramid

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Performed a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Flown a kite on the beach

14. Met a US president
15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

)28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's The David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Fainted

53. Drove over 100 mph

54. Visited Grauman's Chinese Theater

55. Learned Sign Language

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Watched a space shuttle re-enter the Earth's atmosphere

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Earned an Eagle Scout award

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible~ working on this

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someones life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own (isn't that what this is?)There are many things on this list that I haven't done...and then again...there are many things that I have done that aren't on this list

Treasure

This past weekend I finally went to a antique/2nd hand store here in town. I had a limmited amout of time to be there without my boys and there was so much great stuff there. I could spend hours in there I swear. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I am a bargan shopper and when I find a good deal, it always tickles me PINK. The lamp above was 12.00. I fell in love with it. We recently painted our enclosed porch. I love our porch, it has about 11 windows, so its very nice. We have a leather couch in there and a couple chairs... Its my little retreat to read my books and drink my coffee in the morning. The porch is a work in progress, but painting alone make a huge difference. I also bought a beautiful victorian style mirror for 12.50 there...steal. I am so going back this weekend. I cant wait to turn one mans trash into my treasures.Well thats all.

Guilty Pleasures

Okay, who hasn’t hear of Twilight? Im not talking the time of day either. Im Talking about the movie, the book series, the phenomenon that’s sweeping the world. There is memorabilia everywhere you look, I think every store has the stuff. So I will get to my point. I have never been much of a follower of people, I tend to march to my own beat. And that suits me just fine. I don’t HAVE to like something just because a majority of people do, its just not me. The movie Twilight came out in November 08 I think? I never watched it. I say previews and thought it looked interesting, but I never set out to watch it or anything. I work in a office of all women, and all they talked about for the longest time was Twilight and the book series. So I figured okay, why not just rent the movie, see what all that fuss is about. Then I could truly have an informed opinion on the matter. So about a month ago I rented the movie. I really enjoyed it!! So I went and bought it. Then my boss says that the book is much better then the movie. And in most cases where movies are made after books, the books are much better. So I read Twilight…LOVE IT!! Its such a good read. And that really surprised the hell out of me, because I haven’t been much of a reader either. I found myself stealing any free moment I had to read as much as I could. I am a pretty busy person, so its hard to find the time. But I made it. So I went and bought the soundtrack to the movie also. Its pretty good to. I really like the song by Rob Patterson. So on Saturday I went and bought the second book of the series: New Moon. And it is even better then Twilight!! So yes, I am a walking contradiction. And I am now hook line and sinker…hooked to these books. I cant wait until the New Moon movie comes out. Also everyone at work said how cute Rob Pattinson was. I had seen pictures of him before and I definitely didn’t think he was hot. But once I saw the movie and read the book, my opinion changed. He is HOT!! I think its just that bad boy thing. But If you have read the book, then you just might understand what I mean. Plus what girl couldn’t use a little Edward Cullen in her life? I sure could!!!

Kameron's 4th Birthday, May 4th





Kameron's 4th birthday is coming up on May 4th. Its his golden birthday. We are having his party on May 3rd,its the only day no one has to work. But party planning is in full swing(thanks to me :)I wanted to give him a very special birthday party, for many reasons and this is only some:

1. Its his golden birthday

2. He is recently a new big brother & he gets left out sometimes(but he will always be my baby)

3. He starts preschool this year...( tear)

4. It will be his first birthday with his friends too, not just family

5. He deserves it

So those are just some of the reasons I want to make his party so special. Now back to my master plan. Its going to be Kameron's Carnival party. I went to walmart to look for invitations to buy...20 min later nothing could come close to what I imagined. For boys its all disneys car theme, batman, spider man..etc. I comptemplated making them myself. Which is a great idea and I love doing crafty things but with a full time job, 2 kids, hubby and a household who has the time?? But I decided I would make time!! So I bought different colored paper, some birthday stickers. Then I bought those annoying little birthday noise makers that you blow in and they come rolling out. The purpose for the noise makers was to take a pic of Kam in front of the green wall in his room holding the noisy thing..lol. So I took the pic of him and printed them off on my handy dandy little photo printer. Each invitation was a different color, although they all had the same pic of Kam they were all unique in their own way. I worked on them when I had a few min. to spare and a few stickers, cutting glueing and I was done. On the inside they said: Come one Come all to the greatest show on earth!! Kameron's 4th birthday party!! I am patting myself on the shoulder right now. Kameron loves them. So far the reviews have been good. Back to the party. Since its going to be carnival themed I hired a clown named Skittles. She is a girl clown and she is going to do balloon animals, magic tricks, etc... So I decided on the games would be the duck float, where you pick the ducks from the water, then a ring toss,and a balloon pop. Kids, darts, sharp...not a good idea so we are going to change that up a bit. We are going to use a board and put nails all through it, then have the nails sticking out facing us.Then the kids throw water balloons that will pop on the nails. I think it will work nicely. I also found the coolest carnival supply website. They are really affordable and have the best prizes. I ordered tons of stuff including the ring toss game, the ducks, and the pool, and big blow up animals for all the kids, all for 49.00. I spent that because you get free shipping if you spend 49.00 and up. So I am going to make each kid a great goodie bag instead of handing out prizes at each game to try to avoid meltdowns because one kid didnt get something. For food we will bbq burgers and hot dogs, and i am going to have popcorn for the kids in cute little bags, and I am renting a cotton candy machine. After all what carnival is complete without a cotton candy machine right? RIGHT :)So thats it for now as the planning continues and the party is in T-11 days!!!!I am so excited to see Kamerons face when he arrives at HIS carnival. Oh and about the cake I always just buy one from walmart for everyone, which I will do again this year. I always make Kameron his own little cake. So I am thinking of ideas for that, so stay tuned on my cake creation. Have a great weekend everyone. I am off to walmart.

Sinking In

Well Yesturday my mom watched the boys and she said Kolter kept escaping from his left shoe. So I called the doc and they said to double sock him on that foot. It helped but we still have to re adjust it often. I am grateful he doesnt have to wear casts anymore, I really am. But Im not sure that they were any worse then these stupid shoes with the bar. At least with the casts he could move both legs around. But now he has to move both legs together at the same time. I feel so bad for him. I can tell he gets aggitated by them. I have been snow boarding a couple of times in my life and Im sure for him thats what its like. I cant imagine having a snowboard attached to my feet all the time. But I know it could be much worse. I am very grateful that it isnt. I know it shall pass. I find myself alot lately thinking in my head: Dear God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference....

Kolters new bar and shoes

Just a cute picture of Kolter

Kolters Castings and new shoes in a nut shell

Right after his Tenotomy: he fell asleep :)

Kolter in his Casts

Below: Are Kolter's 1st set of casts

Today's date: April 13th 2009:

Since Kolter is almost 3 months old, Im going to post some blogs to catch up on our on going journey to correct Kolter’s feet using the Ponseti method. When Kolter was 2 weeks old he got his first set of casts put on. Each week the night before his appointment we soak the casts off ourselves. I like the method of soaking them off our selves better then having them use a loud saw to cut them off. He is going through enough already. Plus extra bath time is always a plus. His little feet stink so bad from those things. So every week for about 8 weeks he had a new set of casts put on, and each time the doctor turned his feet a little bit more, working towards normal. On march 4th 2009 he had a tenotomy. It was a in office procedure. Kolter’s doctor doesn’t recommend anesthesia for babies that small unless absolutely nessesary. So they gave him some numbing shots. I tried to stay in the room, but I couldn’t. I just sat in the hallway and balled my eyes out. Derrick is much better at dealing with that stuff. It was over very quickly and they casted his feet again the same day, these casts were to stay on for 3 weeks. So after 3 weeks we took him to get fitted for his shoes & bar. It would take about a week for them to come in so he had to get one last set of casts while we waited. When Kolter is on the floor and he gets excited he thumps his casts on the floor. Well this past weekend he got so excited that he finally cracked his cast in half!! It went all the way around just below his knee. It was still a little bit connected. And Dr. Shultz who is does Kolter’s casting is only in the office Mondays and Wednesday so I had to wait until Monday to call and see what we needed to do. The shoes should’ve been there by now. So I called yesterday morning about his casts and the Orthotic’s office called and said that his shoes were in and we could pick them up in the afternoon. So I was so excited to say the least. I took off work early to soak Kolter’s casts off. He was so relaxed when we soaked them off. But when the casts are off his feet are so sensitive from the lack of stimulation , that he gets pretty agitated for a little bit every time. So I wrapped him in his favorite blankie and he fell fast asleep. We live about 20 mins. From the doctor’s office and he slept the whole way there. Kameron got to stay back with his Aunt Stacy ( Derrick’s sister) because they were going on a adventure as Kameron calls them, to the park. The appointment was rather quick. The doctor gave us the instructions on how to work the shoes. He has to stay in them for 23 hours a day for a couple of months, then we will see what happens after that. The doctor said we could just put the shoes on when we got home to give him a break.

My pregnancy with Kolter Grant Lefler

This is baby Kolter in the womb

My pregnancy with Kolter was a complicated one. It was always one thing after another. After going in for my regular blood work done. I received a call from my doctor saying they found a antibody in my blood. I asked he what that meant and she said its something in my body that attacked the placenta as well as my major organs... I almosted passed out. She kept talking and all I heard was mumbles. So the plan of action was to wait a month and draw blood again to see if it was still there. Aparently some peoples bodies create antibodies to fight off sickness, so that could be a possibility for me as well. The doctor told me not to worry. Right, thats easy for her to say. The month seemed like a year. But the second round of blood work came back and it was gone!! So thats great news. So we were happy again, no worries. I was eagerly awaiting my ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. I prayed for a baby girl to dress up and do her hair and do all the mommy daughter things together. The day came, Derrick and I went in. I layed on the table, jelly on my belly and the technician scanned all around. She asked if we wanted to know the sex and of course we did!! She said its a BOY. I hate to admitt it, because it seems so silly and unimportant now but I got tears in my eyes. I was a little disapointed. Derrick wasnt because of course he wanted another boy. So the technician told us something else. She said it looked like he had club feet. Neither of us knew what that was. We were clueless. I went home and googled club feet. I figured out what they were and then looked at some pictures. My heart broke. I couldn't look anymore. I blamed myself. So I went in to the specialist to do another ultra sound to for sure confirm the club feet, which they did. They explained that with club feet babies can have different problems as well. So we did a Amniocentesis. We waited a couple weeks for the results, and they came back clear. So I was very grateful. We also met with a genetics counselor she said after his treatment he will be a normal boy that will run and play just like all the other kids. I broke down and she cried as well. I'm not sure if she knew it, but I wasn't crying because I was sad, I was crying because she had giving me a great peace with those words. As a parent all you want is for your children to be healthy. She was a great lady. So I read alot about the Ponseti casting method. It seemed the most common and effect way to treat club feet. So that's what I wanted done. So I enjoyed a couple more months and then was diagnosed with Gestational diabetes. So I had to poke myself several times a day and stick to a special diet..Yuck. My dad is a diabetic so I kinda knew how it all worked. I also now have a better understanding of what my dad goes through. But I know as hard as that pregnancy was, I am grateful as I know it could be alot worse

Kolter's Feet before his first casting



Kolter was born January 17th 2009 with bilateral club feet. We were already aware of his club feet because on our regular 20 week ultra sound, they noticed his feet. I had researched and looked at many pictures of babies with club feet. It broke my heart, and I really had to quit looking. I wasnt sure what to expect when he was born, and I wasnt sure how I was going to feel about it. But when he came out his feet were beautiful!! We called him our little monkey. He would tuck his legs up and his feet would come all the way up. He was special, and I knew that god brought him to us for a reason. We were going to do everything in our power to make sure this little guy had the best care in the world. So besides his club feet, he had no other medical problems. So we brought him home. Kameron was and still is beyound excited to have a little brother, he calls him George of the Jungle..lol Our family is now complete. I am far out numbered being the only girl in all, but I wouldnt have it any other way. So all we had to do is wait until he was 2 weeks old for his first set of casts.