Fun, New Things

It's pretty bad when you can't remember what's been going on so you have to look it up in your phone. I have learned how to play Futsal (indoor soccer). Our ward has a team. I even invested in shin guards and soccer socks. It is a good work out and one day I hope to be good at it. It is fun to learn though. I'm also going to play on a softball team which I'm pretty excited about! A lady in my ward invited me. I don't know how she knew I played, but it'll give me a chance to get to know new people here. Branden and I each took part of our tax return and man did I go on a shopping spree. I'm trying to look more girly. I also went to an open house and bought some necklaces and earrings. Now I'm trying to save up to finish out my ward robe. I was on the committee for the Relief Society Birthday Party so I've been working on that the past few weeks. It was a lot of fun, but I'm sure glad it's over! For our Primary activity we're having a Film Festival and each class was supposed to make a video of a story from the Book of Mormon. I got mine finished this week and I just sit and laugh. If I remember I'll post it on here before I end my rambling. I look forward to seeing everyone's videos. Other than that for me, it's been yard work and playing with the kids than come to our house. According to the neighbors, I may have 2 more kids that want to join our family. I almost forgot, last weekend I went to girl's night. We went to the Pizza and Pasta Factory. It was fun to get to know different ladies. Six of us rode in my neighbor's suburban and it was a blast!


Braxten has started soccer. He had his first game last week and did a great job. I forgot the camera though, so no pictures sorry! We've had a few practices and I'm the Assistant Coach. It's a lot more fun to watch him this year because he's a lot more aggressive and doesn't sit down every few minutes. He'll also start t-ball here in the next 3 weeks. He is growing and learning a lot! He also got 100% on his first two sight word spelling tests. I couldn't be more proud of him!

Branden has been all over the place this month. He went to Salt Lake at the first of the month. He had Scout Camp at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes a couple weekends ago. He also went to Pleasant Grove this past week for meetings. I didn't know he'd travel this much, but it's okay. He gets to learn new things and have fun! He helped with the scouting for food drive yesterday in the cold wind and fixed the sprinkling system.

We've had a few friends come down to see us and it's been a lot of fun to see them! We're so grateful for great friends and family!

A few fun things

Dr. Seuss Week

Brax had Dr. Seuss week at school the first week of the month and we had a lot of fun with it. Monday was Dr. Seuss hat day, Tuesday was crazy sock day for Fox in Socks, and Wednesday was crazy hair day for Thing 1 and Thing 2. We left town Thursday and Friday so he didn't participate in Green day or PJ day. I have included some fun pictures. We bought the green and white hat on Monday and he decided he wanted more, so I made them. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Trip to Wyoming

A new niece was born in January and we hadn't seen her yet and she was getting blessed on March 7th so we decided to head to Casper. It was a fun trip. We stayed in Salt Lake the 1st two night of our trip and then headed out. We stopped in Evanston and saw some friends. We stopped again in Rock Springs, to see some more friends. If you don't know, we lived in Rock Springs for a year and a half. We met some amazing people there and it was great to see them again. We hadn't seen them in almost five years. We stayed in Casper for 2 nights, enjoyed the baby blessing and headed home. It was fun to see amazing people. We drove straight through on the way home. It took us 10 hrs. and 10 mins. with five different stops. I am so glad we went.

Spring Break

This past week and tomorrow are Spring Break for Brax. He goes back on Tuesday and we're both excited! We have gone on some shopping trips and been to the movies twice. I love the cheap theater. It is nice. We've had a lot of fun with the neighbors and even had some friends come down this weekend. Our goal for tomorrow is to go swimming and then life back to normal. Anyway, I think I've put enough on here and really better get to bed.

Last Week is a Blur

I haven't posted anything about last week because I don't really remember much. Brax was out of school Monday and Tuesday with half days the rest of the week due to Parent, Teacher, Student Conferences. I learned he has come a long way in the 2.5 months we've lived here. He's catching up quickly!

Last Tuesday night Branden went ice skating for the 1st time ever. I didn't know he'd never gone before. He said he took some girl out because he started spinning and couldn't stop, then fell down! He said it was a lot of fun even though he hung on the wall a lot. My family used to skate a lot in the winters, so maybe I could talk him into going skating again.

The reason the week has been a blur is because I have been sick, yet again! I have this cough that is killing my throat and I think I'm better then get really sick again. I guess maybe it's supposed to be that way for now. I also have a constant headache. I'm sure it'll go away soon!

We did have a lot of fun Sunday night. Branden's aunt and uncle invited us over for dinner. We ate and they asked Branden a lot of questions about his mission. It was a lot of fun and I learned things I didn't know. We were there for 3 hours. We watched the kids play, talked, and Branden helped his cousin with homework. He loves math, so it was good for him. Anyway, short post, but that's all I have to say for now!

The Results Are In

I got a call from the doctor's office this morning! I do not have ovarian or uterine cancer. The doctor says to carry on trying to get pregnant. I took my 1st dose of Clomid soon after the call.

Fun Weekend

Well, the past week has been a lot of fun! Monday through Wednesday Branden was in Salt Lake at training, so Brax and I had a week to ourselves. Yes, we did treat ourselves to Subway one night which was wonderful. I'd actually made dinner, but put it away and served it Wednesday night. Branden and our friend Rhett went to Mesquite Thursday morning and went golfing on Falcon Ridge Golf Course, thanks to my Uncle Brian. They had a great time and enjoyed being able to spend time together!

We packed and got ready Thursday and Friday. We picked up Brax from school on Friday and headed north to Venice. We got there and went to South China for our Valentine's meal since we never went out. We let Brax go play with his friend Jordan for a few hours and that night my parents took my family, Jeremy's family, and Cara and Kincade out to Pizza Hut. It was a lot of fun, although Kennedy had been woken up to come so she was exhausted.




Saturday we went to the temple. My cousin got married Saturday morning, so we went through a session since we had babysitters and then to his dinner following. After that, we went to my cousin's in Ephraim to discuss my parent's new remodel and look at all the options and decisions. We got back later that night and headed to Glenwood to find no one home. Errol and MaeBeth went to Salt Lake to watch Tyler play. We visited with Branden's Aunt Alta and Uncle Ralph then returned to my parent's. I wasn't feeling that great so I stayed there the rest of the night and watched the Olympics. We were able to go to church in Venice and see some of our old ward members. We then went to lunch at Branden's parents and headed home soon after. The roads were pretty bad, but we made it home safely. I'm happy to be home and see the sunshine again! The following are pictures of our trip home from Venice!

PCOS Information

So I talk about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome lately, but haven't been very informative. I believe that people should be informed about new things. I have also been learning new things about the disease over the past couple weeks which make the past few years make a little more sense.

PCOS affects 1 in 15 women. It is not scientifically linked as hereditary, but is found more common in women who have a mother or sister who have it. It has shown up as early as age 11 in girls and is the most common reason for infertility in the US. The cause is unknown, but some believe that some major trauma or stress may cause the hormonal imbalance. The earlier the diagnosis, the better chance of getting it under control and reducing your risk of a lot of problems later.

Symptoms

Abnormal, irregular, or absent cycles
Acne that gets worse
Increased hair growth, in male patterns
Infertility
Poor response to insulin or build up of insulin in the body
Weight gain or obesity and trouble losing weight
Male patterned baldness
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Patches of dark skin
Anxiety or depression
Sleep Apnea
Fatigue
Due to cycle irregularity, pregnancy symptoms occur almost monthly
Pain in the lower abdomen
Skin tags especially in the neck area
Dandruff

It can lead to diabetes or heart problems by age 40. Women with PCOS also have a 7X more likely chance of having a heart attack. Higher risk for endometrial cancer have also been found. It also increases risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Miscarriages are also very common.

I looked at 5 different web sites and not every one says the exact same thing. More and more research is being done because of how many lives are affected. It is one of those diseases that a lot of people don't believe it is real. They believe that it's just one of those things you make up when you can't figure out what is wrong. I am here to tell you it's real and very hard on a lot of women who have it. I even found there are web support groups to help so you don't feel alone. When people don't understand, they tend to lessen what you're really going through and so it's nice to have someone there that understands and knows what you're going through. Like I've said before it can be treated. If treatments are used properly, the symptoms and risks are lessened. Sometimes they go away completely. I am hearing of more and more women with PCOS getting pregnant. More and more research is being done also to help those of us out there that are having problems. I have come to grips with it and have found an amazing doctor. He is helping me do everything I possibly can right now.

I am also learning now about supplements that can be taken instead of medications, but the right dosage levels need to be determined with doctors before taken. There were 26 different supplements listed on pcosupport.org, but I'm not sure which ones are for what so I'll have to consult with my doctor next time I go in. I've also learned that sometimes losing 10% of your body weight may also help with symptoms, but the problem is that PCOS makes it extra difficult to get rid of those extra pounds. If you're well trained, I say go for it.

I must say I am lucky that my symptoms have not been worse, especially the hair growth. I'm very blessed to have found the doctor I have now since he specializes in hormonal regularity. I hope that this post might help people out there understand a little better and maybe someone who has the disease can learn something they don't know. I've found it fun researching and sharing it with the few people who may read my blog.

Crazy Week

Last week I posted that Braxten was sick. I took him into the doctor and he was diagnosed with strep throat. I had the doctor check me also and sure enough, I had it too. Branden came home later complaining of a sore throat. Needless to say, we are all on antibiotics. Only 2 days left and I can't wait! We stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday so life was pretty boring. Branden ended up staying home all week. On Thursday, I returned to the doctor for a uterine cancer test. Not the funnest of tests, but I guess whatever is necessary. I get my results back in another week and a half. The doctor put me back on Metformin to help with my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome(PCOS), not diabetes. I also got back on Provera to help me start my cycle. We decided to try Clomid again since my dosage was too low previously. We're going to try all this for three months and then reevaluate. Last time we tried it, I was only on Provera and Clomid, not Metformin. I'm finally at a state in my life that I think I can handle all of this emotionally and be okay with it no matter the outcome.

Enough about me though. The weekend was a typical just hang out and have fun weekend. Honestly, I couldn't really tell you what we did except Sunday. Friday I got Brax signed up for soccer after he got home from school. We also put new racks in our garage because Branden loves having organization. Although I do have to admit, they look really nice and I like the extra space. Saturday we mostly just relaxed and cleaned a little. Branden's cousin, Gayleen and her family were in town to visit her in-laws so they stopped by. The kids played Wii while I took the parents on a tour. It was fun to see them. Sunday was church and fun with the family. After church, my visiting teacher came over and we visited for a while. At 5:30 we went over to the neighbor's for a Valentine's Dinner. It was a lot of fun. We talked and ate. The kid's played and visited. We also ended the evening playing pinochle. We played boys vs. girls. Unfortunately the girls lost, but we are looking forward to a rematch sometime soon. Yesterday was President's Day so a day off for both Brax and Branden. We mostly just hung out together. Branden did go and do flags with the Young Men. Today I got Brax signed up for t-ball and luckily the soccer and t-ball seasons don't conflict except maybe practices. He is looking forward to playing both. We are also going to attempt piano lessons. I guess we'll see how it goes. We are having a lot of fun. I love my new found friends here and am loving the 60 degree temperatures.