2015 Family pictures

These are our first family photos in about 5 years. So glad we got them done before Christmas. Everyone is definitely getting older. Usually it is me behind the camera, so there aren't many of me the past few years. These are my favorites of the 200+ we have.

Another brief update

In September, my hair got cut short. Very short. The shortest Tom has ever seen me with, but he likes it. Everyone's been sharing positive reactions to it. Most importantly, I'm happy with it. It was time.

Speaking of time, I have been in therapy for about 6 weeks now. Right after hearing the Conference talks from both Saturday sessions, I knew I had to get back to it. It's mostly going well so far. We've been so blessed that this therapist is such a perfect fit for my issues, and their being LDS helps a lot in a therapy setting. He's very blunt, and doesn't sugarcoat anything. I've been doing a lot of homework assignments, especially reading. There are no free rides, everything has to be worked hard for. I am on medication right now. I've only accidentally missed one dose and the difference I saw/felt the next dosage I took after the missed one was night & day. For now, I can kind of tell when a dose is wearing off (conveniently a few hours before the next dose) so I am a little grouchy/cranky around an already stressful dinner time. My appetite is going down. I lost 6-7 lbs the first week of medication. The therapist and I have differing opinions about the scale and what my weight should be, and technically I'm not supposed to look at one for at least 3 months (I have cheated a few times--old habits die hard). So for now, I'm monitoring via an app to make sure I'm hitting at least 1200 calories a day since that's not the scale. If I don't, 9 times out of 10, I'm under the 1200 calories. Energy levels are just about back to where they should be. I had to do lab-work to check to see if any hormone levels, including thyroid, were off. They all came back normal. Also have been recently counseled to get back into journaling by hand. I haven't done hardly any of that since having any of the kids.

The kids are mostly liking school. We've had issues with the new principal and her micromanaging things that don't need to be and should be of little consequence to her. Specifically, us sitting together as a family in the mornings with Collin (which has always been permitted) and about siblings waving hi to each other on campus by the playground(she told Drew he wasn't allowed to wave to Collin). After a discussion with the school district superintendent and the district special ed coordinator, for now she is leaving us alone. Collin has a new teacher this year. Last year's decided not to come back from maternity leave. That's unfortunate since we were fairly certain in April/May that she'd be returning this fall, but he's doing okay with the change. Ivy has an awesome teacher. We love her. Andrew I think is doing well. He's got a church friend in his class this year. He graduated out of special ed for speech services and is on a short term speech program(off the record) right now. Brent--I seriously think his 3's are worse than his 2's. At least he's sweet for the first half of the day.

Thanksgiving is nearly here. Thankfully, I've done my meal planning & the shopping for the next 2 weeks. I had to pick up milk today and there was hardly any parking at 11 am. It's never like that. Monday certainly wasn't. We will be doing our own mini Thanksgiving on Wednesday, and go see the inlaws on Thursday. We'll also be helping Tom's mom put up her tree.

Christmas we'll get to see my family. Haven't been out for 2 years, and there are new cousins younger than Brent we haven't met yet.

Summer

This is one crazy summer. Ivy & Collin started up swim lessons the 1st Monday after school got out.  Andrew wasn't clear from the doctor to start the first 2 week session. We took Drew in for his last appointment, and got the a-ok on everything, with only instructions of he'd know when to quit the walker, and no full blown running/training for races for 4 weeks. Drew & Tom both tried to get him off the walker before he was ready. He's just about back at 100% today--still hobbles a little. Anyway, the next 2 week session of swim, Collin, Ivy & Drew got to do lessons. I had Drew in the class with Collin & told them that he hadn't had his cast off long, so if his leg coordination was off, not to stress over it.  Drew actually ended up being moved up a class for this 3rd two week session(next week is the last session for 1 week). Drew can just about swim by himself. He just needs to get over the mentality of not holding the instructors' arm. Ivy is now out of beginners and into Intermediates. She may be moving up to what's called Swimmers since she's mastered(after about 3 weeks), breaststroke. Brent is doing a mom & me type swim class this summer also--just 3 Saturdays, 30 minutes each.

Brent turned 3. He only gained 3 lbs, and 4 inches since his last birthday--the kid doesn't like to/want to sit down to eat. He's just as disagreeable as he was at 2. You get either really sweet, or really upset/frustrated instigator. He is definitely a strong fighter--any fight or flight type situations he perceives himself to be in, you get 100% of the time fight response. I don't know what that's all about--maybe because, with the exception of Collin's being in summer school(Collin only gets 3 weeks between end of school, and summer school; and 3 weeks after summer school & start of school year), he feels displaced?  He's really not terribly interested in going potty or telling me when he has to go, unless I cut off the computer and he asks "I go pee pee for 'nother turn?" Still doesn't sleep good, because someone won't let him cry it out because somehow it makes them feel less of a parent (even though there was no problem letting the older 3 cry it out). So bedtime is often way past 11 pm most nights.

I've been trying to get myself back into a regular exercise groove, and I can now say I'm consistently back up to 5-6 days a week, 30 minutes strength and 30 minutes cardio each day--but not usually done together/back to back.

I am so looking forward to the kids all starting school at the same time, and just about same pick up time this year. It was really hard with the last month and a half of school, taking Drew after kindergarten lunch & picking up like 1.5-2 hours later.

Tom & I had our 13th anniversary on July 8th. The date/celebration was kind of a let down though--won't lie. I made some stuff for Tom, and I got nothing. I'm overwhelmed & burned out with the summer stuff, as well as some other major issues I'm dealing with or should I say haven't been dealing with. So, it was poor planning on my part and Tom's been overworked taking over a co-workers' mechanisms while he was out for 2 weeks.

Before this, he had done a 4 day youth conference(6-7 am until after 10 most of those nights..ugh) and a full week of Coast Guard active duty time(they do training for 2 weeks in the year, usually summer but this year it was 1 week in April and 1 in June).

We've had 3 new younger couples move into our ward in the past month. Looking forward to getting to know them. I'm trying so hard to branch/reach out more, including going on a double date soon with some friends of ours we've known for 9 years. It would be nice to be able to have friends to do stuff with.

Not much other news. I am getting a big haircut in a month. Not related to my starting up therapy for me in a month or so, once everything's settled in place with the kids back to school, and not related to Tom.

7 x 7 fashion remix challenge

Linking up with Audrey @ PuttingMeTogether.com

I did a first 7x7 fashion remix hosted by Audrey at PuttingMeTogether.com and Ma Nouvelle Mode. The premise is to choose 7 items of clothing (1 has to be shoes) and make 7 outfits. I've never done anything like this before.

After a lot of careful, and thoughtful consideration, along with thinking about things Audrey has mentioned in her Build A Remixable Wardrobe Series, I came up with my 7 items. Here are the items I chose:

7x7 pieces by mindy-gee

1. White skinny jeans. These are a newer purchase, within the past couple months at Kohls to replace some capris I had. that I outgrew, literally. I like the fit and opaqueness of these.

2. Striped pencil skirt. (exact sold out, but these are similar) Got this from Old Navy last year, in their Tall size, so it wouldn't ride up too high when I sit.  I knew in the 7 days of this challenge that I had at least 2 days where I had church functions,  where I had to be dressed up. I thought a skirt might be more versatile instead of a dress, since I had to make 7 different outfits.

3. Blue printed blouse. This was a recent find at Kohl's on clearance. They are now sold out of the long sleeved and short sleeved version. I have a hard time finding prints I like, but I liked the color and the small diamond print.

4. Polka dot chambray shirt. Similar I got this from Old Navy last year, and it is a workhorse for me. The weather has been typical "June gloom" where it's chilly in the morning, warms up late afternoon, and cooled down again by dinner. I knew I had to have at least 1 layering piece. I wanted to do 2 long sleeve layering pieces, but then the weather decided to warm up a bit.

5. Mint v-neck tee. Got on sale at Old Navy. Thought I'd try out the mint green trend that's going on.

6. Bird graphic tee. This was from Old Navy. It sold out online faster than you could blink. There must have been a couple returns, so when this came back on the website, I snatched it up fast. It's 1 size big for me, so it's been washed in the washer(against directions, since I know what happens to rayon in the wash) to shrink it down that size.

7. Cognac t-strap wedges. (also comes in other colors) These are from Target. I figured wedges would be the way to go, as I had casual and dressier outfits to accommodate. I will disclose though, that I bought Dr. Scholl's for Her High Heel inserts (also at Target, I found mine at the grocery store) to take pressure off the balls of my feet and have arch support.

Here are the outfits I came up with.  I apologize for no real photos. I've started potty-training the almost 3 year old and he messed with the computer (his reward for going potty in the toilet was a 3 minute computer game), and I've seen a lot of blue screens and computer restarts. More than I care to number.  So, I decided to bust out the Polyvore. Click on the images to see all 7 pieces I chose, as well as all 7 outfits. I could've gotten more than the 7 outfits, if I had used the skirt more but I only had 2 outfits that required skirts this past week.

7x7 Remix Challenge by mindy-gee on polyvore.com

1. White skinny jeans + polka dot chambray shirt + wedges 2. White skinny jeans + blue printed blouse + wedges 3. White skinny jeans + mint v-neck tee + polka dot chambray shirt + wedges 4. Striped pencil skirt + bird graphic tee + polka dot chambray shirt + wedges 5. Striped pencil skirt + polka dot chambray shirt + wedges 6. White skinny jeans + bird graphic tee + polka dot chambray shirt + wedges 7. White skinny jeans + mint v-neck tee + wedges

Update on Drew

We went back on May 23rd to get Drew a new cast. Their office likes to switch casts every couple weeks so it doesn't get too dirty. He had an X-ray done and was starting to grow some new bone back. He chose green as his new cast color. The visit took awhile(way longer than expected), so the boys had I think 3-4 lollipops each.

Next visit was this past Thursday, June 6th. We had been told at the previous visit that there may be a slight chance of the cast coming off, if enough bone had grown back but told not to get our hopes up too high. They took his cast off, so they could X-ray his leg better. It's nice they have the X-ray capability in their office. We brought the portable DVD player this visit to ensure not a boatload of lollipops, and so the downtime for waiting wouldn't be too bad. I was quite surprised the cast came off and stayed off. I actually had to come home instead of straight to school, since I didn't bring a second shoe for Drew to wear.

His leg that had the cast has atrophied quite a bit--most noticeably in  calf. The left has almost no muscle and the right calf has so much muscle from compensation, it's solid. He's still got limitations on him, but his leg speed is slowly coming back.

Thursday, we tried a little walking around the neighborhood, to get him up and walking and see where his stamina was. We did less than 1/4 of 1 lap around the neighborhood in 30 minutes. Friday, he walked the whole 1 lap in 45 minutes. Yesterday was 40 minutes, and tonight was 26 minutes. As reference, it usually takes us 10-15 minutes for walking 1 lap, depending on how fast we go. So we are closer everyday.

Notice how his right leg(on this left in the pic) has more muscle in the calf?

This freckle used to be 1/4-1/2 of this size pre-cast. May have to check it out.

Taken tonight. He is still putting more weight/leaning towards his right when he walks. I also noticed that his left foot is in the habit of toes angled out when he walks.

Excitement in the Gee home, part 2: ER

So, apparently we don't juggle enough and must need some new challenges/experiences. Let me preface by stating that Drew has been going to soccer class on Tuesdays, and Ivy has gymnastics class right after. Fortunately, they both take place in the same general vicinity at a community center. It was supposed to be that Tom was going to take them to class, but it didn't work out like that the first couple classes because of work stuff. Well, April 30th, it was finally Tom's turn and he was home in time. He suggested to both Drew & Ivy that they should ride their bikes to class (Ivy is training for a race that takes place on the 18th). So, they biked. Tom was in front of Ivy, and Ivy in front of Drew. Apparently, there was a bench Ivy saw and swerved around. Drew didn't see it in time, and crashed into it with his left leg. They got to soccer class okay, but Drew sat it out.

After Ivy's class was over, I offered to pick them up, but they biked home albeit very slowly. Tom left for Scouts(his Tuesday calling). Drew was left in his bed to rest, and ended up having an accident because it hurt his foot too much to put down to walk the few feet to the bathroom across the hall. After 5 hours, his left leg was still hurting, so after Tom was back from Scouts, Drew & I high-tailed it over to the ER. After a couple hours, they x-rayed his foot and found nothing and were about to send us on our way, when I insisted he have a splint or something. We got a splint and some Motrin.  Poor guy. It was 3 hours past bedtime by the time that the splint and Motrin from the ER finally happened. Why they never x-rayed his leg there, I'll never know. Unfortunately, it was after 11 when we finally got the foot x-rayed and it slipped my mind.

Next day was Field trip day for kindergarten. Of course. That's how things happen--right before something big, like a field trip or school pictures. Drew desperately wanted to go, so he rode in our car since I was chaperoning 3 other kids with another mom(we got the most mellow of the class), and I wasn't allowed on the bus because their liability insurance won't let Brent ride the bus. Drew had a mostly good time. Of course, he did have to go to the bathroom when we were the furthest away from a bathroom--the way it always works with kids--a side note, I'm not sure why the zoo didn't build a bathroom, one on each end of the zoo for this exact reason. After lunch, we went to ride the train. This is the same train that I rode on in Santa's Village up in the Big Bear mountain area growing up. So, it was pretty cool Drew got to ride it too. I had to carry Drew since there was no room for the stroller in the serpentine. We had to wait for 3 train rides before it was finally our turn. Instead of sliding Drew all the way in, I had him by the side door, and when I got in, I accidentally bumped his leg causing him a lot of pain. He sat on my lap for awhile on the train. His pain medication was wearing off around the same time too, so that didn't help. After the train, we made a bathroom stop, and told the teacher we were headed home for medicine. His teacher has been great throughout our whole ordeal.

We had a follow-up visit at the pediatrician's office on Friday, May 3rd. He made Drew do some mobility tests and noticed Drew was still sore around his calf and we were sent for x-rays on his leg just to make sure that there were no fractures or anything. I had also mentioned, Drew was rather reluctant for bearing weight on that leg. After an hour of waiting(wasn't too bad--Drew found a Frances book in the kid waiting room), we got x-rays and sure enough I saw a gray line across the tibia. They were nice to give us a copy and then called the doctor right away with x-rays(the two buildings were like 1/2 a block away from each other). The doctor called me and said nothing weight-bearing on the leg and that we could call the office for our referral to a pediatric orthopedist after lunch to get a cast.

The red circle is around the fracture on his tibia(almost horizontal gray line on the x-ray).

The first number they gave me, also in the same hospital block as pediatrician's office, said they had no appointments available for 2 weeks!! Drew's doctor wanted a cast on ASAP, not 2 weeks later. I called the pediatrician's office and had them change the authorization. We found a place that wasn't too far of a drive, maybe 15 minutes away, and could see him Tuesday morning, the 7th. He got a cast on, and picked blue.

We really like this orthopedic doctor, Dr. Kelly. His staff is just okay. We also got a prescription for a pediatric walker, as the doctor and I both felt crutches have a high learning curve, Drew's a small guy, and so nobody accidentally (or intentionally) gets hit with a crutch. On our way out, the office asked if we wanted to see if insurance would pay for it. I said sure, since I know most places don't carry them, and could otherwise cost us upwards of around $100.

So, I called back around 4 pm to the doctor's office, seeing how they were doing on finding anything out anything from insurance. "Oh, we don't do that until Wednesdays." I was fuming, and told them they needed to send Stat/Urgent on the request form because Drew had no other mode of getting around, besides me holding his hands and hopping him along(which quite hurt my hands), carrying him(I did this on the 1st for part of his field trip), or using Brent's stroller which I'm sure he's past the weight and height limit on. Well, wouldn't you know it? First thing the next day, I get a call saying insurance will pay. Well, the number they told me to call didn't carry pediatric walkers, nor could they order one--they only dealt with prosthetics.  Ugh. You have got to be kidding me. I call the orthopedic office back and tell them find another place. 

This is around 11:30. Noon comes, and one of our friends that moved a few miles away called and said her family owned a medical supply store and she would have them deliver after 3 pm. I call the orthopedic office back and tell them to switch the provider of the walker to our friends' family's company. At 3:30, the doctor office calls back saying no to this place and give us another number. 4 pm rolls around, and the friend's family's company says that they can't work with our insurance for payment. I call the new place--apparently insurance is only contracted with 1 other place besides the prosthetics place--and they don't have the authorization fax. I call the doctor's office. They claimed they faxed it, I have them fax it again. I call 20 minutes later to check on the walker. After a lot of waiting, I was told that I would get a call back right away after they verified things with insurance and to make sure they had a walker the right height. Well, another 20 minutes later it was almost 5:00 and I called back, anxious, and was asked if we wanted the walker that night or the next day. I said that night since I planned to take Drew to school on Thursday, with or without a walker. We had it by 7:40--which was pretty impressive, in my opinion. It's just too bad it took so many hours out of my day to make sure things moved along for a 6 year old!!

Here's a cute video I took of Drew trying it out, with appropriate Popeye theme song music in the background--compliments of Netflix on the Wii.

Drew has now been in school since Thursday of  last week. I was there all day Thursday with him, and Friday he was on his own. He's on a modified school schedule, going after lunch ends so he doesn't have to sit out morning & lunch recesses, and safety issues(he'd have to go in a different way than all the other kids and some of the early kindergartners are rather large and clumsy and bump into the teacher frequently and have some aggressive issues--we don't want more injuries). He's been able to keep up with homework & classwork. Earlier this week, they rearranged the class so it's easier for Drew to get around. I think most of the pain is gone or at least tolerable with the walker. He is fiercely independent at school and doesn't like the other kids helping him.

My mom sent him a game for our Mobigo that we've had 2 or 3 years now, I picked him up a board game and a wipe off activity kit from Target, and today two of the kids in his class (who are cousins to each other, and live in our neighborhood) dropped off a bucket of goodies this afternoon for him. For now, I'm keeping him in the stroller for morning drop-off of Ivy & Collin, due to parking issues and trying to get them there fast. Drew moves fast in the walker when he wants, but he can still tire out quickly. Next week, we go in to get the cast change. The orthopedist only likes the first one on for 2 weeks, and the second for 4 weeks. I've got Drew excited for color change, and to find if they have any glow in the dark.

Here's a picture of Drew getting to hold one of the class butterflies after school yesterday.