I know I haven't blogged about Lilys birth yet. I will soon. I promise. Right now there's more than that on my mind. Monday of this week, I took Lily in for her two week check up. She weighed in at 8lbs 9oz which is almost a whole pound since birth. She measured in at 21inches. I don't think she was stretched very well when she was born because otherwise, she's grown two inches in two weeks! She's right in the middle of the road for her height and weight. So the MD comes in and does her assessment; listens to her heart, lungs and tummy. Checks all the other physical features they do at check ups. She gets out her light kit and starts with Lily's eyes. I was standing right next to her since I was keeping my hands on Lily as she was laying on the exam table. It only took me a second to notice that she was lingering on one of Lilys eyes when checking it. I immediately asked her what was wrong. She said well it could be nothing and that it was just too bright in the room to get a good view. So she turned out one of the lights, checks her left eye and then comes back again and again to her right eye. I ask again, what's wrong. Well it could be nothing. I looked right at her and said "Dr. Handyman, this is my child. It's not nothing with our medical history." she tells me she's not seeing any red reflexes in Lilys right eye and her pupil is cloudy which could mean a cataract. I've never in my life heard of an infant having a cataract. She finishes her check up and tells me she's going to get us a referral to an eye institute up at OHSU. She walks out and takes our chart to our nurse. The nurse comes back in as I'm nursing Lily and in tears. Terri tells me her heart sank when the doctor gave her our chart for the referral. She told Dr. Handyman that poor mom doesn't need any more issues. Boy was she right.
Our insurance doesn't require a referral to specialists so Terri gave me the number to call up there to see if I could expedite things faster that way. The gravity of it all hadn't set in but I called as soon as I got into the car. They sent me to patient registration for all the fun stuff then back to the eye clinic. She asks me if I know why we are coming so I told her. She put me on hold and then comes back to ask if I could come up first thing Tuesday morning. Pauses and reconsiders and said can you come up now? It's 2:25 Monday. I called jay since he was at home with the other two and told him I was just going to go by myself. It'd take too long to try and find daycare for the other two and go all the way out to the farm to get him. I knew when they asked me to come up same day, it was scary important.
We get up there and the specialist comes right out to get us. She's amazingly sweet and very personable. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I was just trying to process everything that was happening etc. She looks in Lilys eyes and says yes she can see something but wants to dilate her eyes for a really good look. So we wait for the meds to kick in and she can see a centrally located cataract in her right eye. It's the size of her pupil undilated. She couldn't even see her retina and optic nerve around the cataract because of the size. I cry silently trying to hold it all together and let the gravity of what's about to happen sink in. We did an ultrasound on Lilys eye to check the retina and optic nerve. Thankfully they look great and her left eye looks great as well.
They were going to try to schedule her surgery out closer to furor weeks of age but there were schedule conflicts because of her size and age. Because of the holiday week, Wednesday wasn't completely booked up but it would require us to come in on thanksgiving to have her dressing removed. We scheduled for Wednesday. I left and called Jay on my way home trying to explain the insane amount of information that was just thrown at me. He listened but didn't really get it either. I spent most of Tuesday at our Peds clinic and Salem hospital getting labs done for Lily and getting stuff ready for the big kids to be home with a sitter all day.
Wednesday we checked in at 6:15 and the eye institute. Poor Lily was hungry since I hadn't fed her since 3:30. Back in pre op, they take care of all the necessities. The specialist comes in to explain the procedure to us. Jay starts asking questions regarding long term care etc and as the specialist is explaining this to him, I see tears falling. He's getting soft in his old age ;-). She leaves and I walked over to him. I asked him if the gravity of it all was setting in and he could only nod. I felt so bad for him. I was maintaining composure for the most part until they came in to take Lily and anesthesia told me they wouldn't let me in while they gassed Lily out. They let me walk her to the OR doors and that's when I lost it. I just stood there holding her and crying, not wanting to give her to them. I finally did and walked away crying with Jay. The nursing staff was awesome. They went back there to check on her for me and to give me a report. Then we had to wait in the lobby for what seemed like an eternity. Surgery was supposed to last two hours. I laid down to sleep on jays lap and woke to the specialist saying we are done. It only took an hour. The cataract was bigger than the original assessment but everything was out, Lily did great and they were just letting her wake up. We waited again for about 45 minutes until the post op nursing staff said we could see her. I cried when we went back. She was laying on the bed, wrapped up and hooked up to everything. She had oxygen blowing on her to keep her breathing. They said the hardest part about a baby so young is that they've only learned how to breathe and eat 17 days ago in Lilys case. With being out under, they "forget" so we were monitored for a long time afterward.
Now that the shock was over, the long term care kicked in. Lily will get a contact placed in her eye next week. When they took the cataract, they took her lens in her eye and didn't replace it since she's still growing. The contact will be her temporary lens. We will have to start patching her good eye arund 4-6 months to force her weaker eye to work. We've got two sets of eye drops for the next month to put in. She's got a little hard shield that covers her eye so she doesn't scratch it since she has stitches in her eye. We will have eye therapy. We will be best friends with I-5 and our specialist. She will get glasses around a year of age to compensate for her up close vision. She will have to have a second surgery to put in the permanent lens eventually.
I've been trying to hold on to the fact that we are so lucky our pediatrician caught this so eary or Lily would be blind in that eye. We are very blessed to be only an hour from the only place in the NW that could have done that surgery on Lily. We are lucky we got in to a specialist on the very same day it was found and surgery was so quick. I thank Heavenly Father for all of that. However, it doesn't mean I'm not upset. It doesn't mean that I'm not scared. It doesn't mean that I'm not freaking out about it all because I am. I cried yesterday for awhile. Jay asked me if my post partum was kicking in. Not sure yet but I'd be surprised if I didn't get some again!! It doesn't mean I haven't asked why. Because I have. More than once. It's sad all of our medical issues are making me lean towards we are done having kids. Lilys ordeal makes Liam's look like a cake walk.
We will get thru this. We will make this our new normal just like we did with all the food problems. Until then and I'm sure thru it all, it's going to be hard. We are holding on to Heavenly Fathers amazing grace and the blessings that we live in a country where our medical care is so good.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Another Day on the farm!
This it backdated from September sometime but it dodn't post that way!
What a day!!! I had another farm day today that is blog worthy. After Larissa got home from school, the kids were out playing. They have very specific boundries of where they can and can't go or can and can't do. While I was cleaning up the kitchen and they were playing, it went very silent outside. That's never a good sign. After a few minutes, I stepped outside and yelled at them to see where they were. No answer. yelled again. No answer. Third time I get a smart remark from Larissa. They were in the barn where they hadn't asked to be. I called them in the house. Larissa immediately insisted that whatever thay had been doing was all Liam's idea. And that immediately tells me that it was her idea. Liam tries to tell me something about the chickens. I finally get Larissa to tell me what they were doing in the barn, where they weren't supposed to be alone. She tells me they were trapping chickens. Trapping chicken!?!? What do you mean trapping chickens? "mom we were trying to catch the chickens so we could show them at the Polk County Fair. I think they've acclimated to farm life don't you? I was furious at first because I was more afraid they'd get hurt so I sent them to their rooms. Then I called Jay who was working, and I told him what they were doing. He laughed right out loud!!! I chilled out after that. He thought it was so ingenious what she had come up with about showing them at the fair. However, I didn't want to implement a punishment that wasn't daddy worthy as well since he takes care of the majority of the outside chores etc. He wanted me to explain to her, I mean them :), that what they were doing could really scare the chickens to the point that they might not lay eggs for us anymore and we'd have to get rid of them, that they could've gotten hurt by being pecked or scratched etc. And then they had to go pick the garden clean of what was there at the time. I love the things my kiddos have come up with out here!!
What a day!!! I had another farm day today that is blog worthy. After Larissa got home from school, the kids were out playing. They have very specific boundries of where they can and can't go or can and can't do. While I was cleaning up the kitchen and they were playing, it went very silent outside. That's never a good sign. After a few minutes, I stepped outside and yelled at them to see where they were. No answer. yelled again. No answer. Third time I get a smart remark from Larissa. They were in the barn where they hadn't asked to be. I called them in the house. Larissa immediately insisted that whatever thay had been doing was all Liam's idea. And that immediately tells me that it was her idea. Liam tries to tell me something about the chickens. I finally get Larissa to tell me what they were doing in the barn, where they weren't supposed to be alone. She tells me they were trapping chickens. Trapping chicken!?!? What do you mean trapping chickens? "mom we were trying to catch the chickens so we could show them at the Polk County Fair. I think they've acclimated to farm life don't you? I was furious at first because I was more afraid they'd get hurt so I sent them to their rooms. Then I called Jay who was working, and I told him what they were doing. He laughed right out loud!!! I chilled out after that. He thought it was so ingenious what she had come up with about showing them at the fair. However, I didn't want to implement a punishment that wasn't daddy worthy as well since he takes care of the majority of the outside chores etc. He wanted me to explain to her, I mean them :), that what they were doing could really scare the chickens to the point that they might not lay eggs for us anymore and we'd have to get rid of them, that they could've gotten hurt by being pecked or scratched etc. And then they had to go pick the garden clean of what was there at the time. I love the things my kiddos have come up with out here!!
Friday, October 21, 2011
15 years ago...
15 years ago during Senior awards, I was slightly offended that I received an award called the Drama award-most likely to have the life of a soap opera. I think they were originally trying to tell me I was a drama queen. Well duh! I was in theatre all four years of high school and I was a ballerina. Go figure.
Fast forward 15 years years. 10/21/11 2am I take my 3 year old son to the ER for croup, stridor, retractions and a 103 fever under the arm. We didn't get home until 5am. 10/20/11 slight TMI....I lose my plug and begin contractions all evening. 10/18/11 11pm I take Jay to the ER because an injury sustained at work the week prior is not healing. We are there 3 hours. Thank goodness it's at least workmans compensation so I don't have to pay that bill. 10/18/11 Larissa wakes up with 102 fever and her asthma flared up. Later in the week we discover she has an ear infection. She misses the rest of the week from school. 10/15/11 I change Jay's hand dressing to find out that's it's swollen an infected. Send picture to former home teacher and thankfully he can see it enough to come to the same conclusion and call in medication. Saves me a trip to another doctor or the ER. 10/13/11 Liam's birthday. Jay goes to work as usual that evening only to come home at 2am with his hand wrapped and 5 stitches. He knows he's in trouble for not calling me when it happened but we deal with it. He was In K9 training and got bit really good by a dog. 10/2/11 Larissa pulls Liam off of her bunk bed and he breaks his wrist in two places. We spend 4 hours in the ER to get Xrays and a temporary cast. He gets his permanent month long cast two days later.
9/17/11 I wake up with a slight rash but ignore it as we have six little girls coming out to ride a horse for Larissa's birthday party. Later that evening, I can't ignore them any longer as they are driving me crazy and itching. I did go to church the next day only to leave and have a doctor friend of mine tell me to leave the church, I have chicken pox. That was the first full week of fall session at the studio. I missed it of course.
August we move. Liam has two or three bouts of summer croup that the doctor thinks is crazy as croup is a fall illness typically. Liam also has a follow up scope at Emanual which is always a fun experience when you have a child doing everything in his power to rip out his IV and I have a nurse refusing to listen to me as I struggle to keep him contained until she finally listens and takes the stupid thing out.
July I take Jay to the urgent care because he sheared his hand instead of the sheep wool and requires stitches again. I have a really good bout of pre term contractions at the studio, while teaching. Thankfully having experienced them before, after a minor freak out, I got home and was able to eventually get them to stop without having to go to the hospital.
I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in detail in June at the moment. May, my 18 year old nephew took his life in my sisters basement. The aftermath, we are still feeling. Oh and this whole time, I'm pregnant with two little kids.
Yup, I'm living a soap opera. But in a different meaning than I originally understood.
Fast forward 15 years years. 10/21/11 2am I take my 3 year old son to the ER for croup, stridor, retractions and a 103 fever under the arm. We didn't get home until 5am. 10/20/11 slight TMI....I lose my plug and begin contractions all evening. 10/18/11 11pm I take Jay to the ER because an injury sustained at work the week prior is not healing. We are there 3 hours. Thank goodness it's at least workmans compensation so I don't have to pay that bill. 10/18/11 Larissa wakes up with 102 fever and her asthma flared up. Later in the week we discover she has an ear infection. She misses the rest of the week from school. 10/15/11 I change Jay's hand dressing to find out that's it's swollen an infected. Send picture to former home teacher and thankfully he can see it enough to come to the same conclusion and call in medication. Saves me a trip to another doctor or the ER. 10/13/11 Liam's birthday. Jay goes to work as usual that evening only to come home at 2am with his hand wrapped and 5 stitches. He knows he's in trouble for not calling me when it happened but we deal with it. He was In K9 training and got bit really good by a dog. 10/2/11 Larissa pulls Liam off of her bunk bed and he breaks his wrist in two places. We spend 4 hours in the ER to get Xrays and a temporary cast. He gets his permanent month long cast two days later.
9/17/11 I wake up with a slight rash but ignore it as we have six little girls coming out to ride a horse for Larissa's birthday party. Later that evening, I can't ignore them any longer as they are driving me crazy and itching. I did go to church the next day only to leave and have a doctor friend of mine tell me to leave the church, I have chicken pox. That was the first full week of fall session at the studio. I missed it of course.
August we move. Liam has two or three bouts of summer croup that the doctor thinks is crazy as croup is a fall illness typically. Liam also has a follow up scope at Emanual which is always a fun experience when you have a child doing everything in his power to rip out his IV and I have a nurse refusing to listen to me as I struggle to keep him contained until she finally listens and takes the stupid thing out.
July I take Jay to the urgent care because he sheared his hand instead of the sheep wool and requires stitches again. I have a really good bout of pre term contractions at the studio, while teaching. Thankfully having experienced them before, after a minor freak out, I got home and was able to eventually get them to stop without having to go to the hospital.
I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in detail in June at the moment. May, my 18 year old nephew took his life in my sisters basement. The aftermath, we are still feeling. Oh and this whole time, I'm pregnant with two little kids.
Yup, I'm living a soap opera. But in a different meaning than I originally understood.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Officially miserable!!!!
Ok. I'm sorry but I have to vent!! I am officially miserable!! Not only am I 32.5 weeks pregnant, but I'm stuck in quarantine at my house with the chicken pox!! No my kids don't have them, I DO!! I had them as a child and I'm always the exception to the rule so yes I have the chicken pox again. It's miserable. I've tried to be good and not complain and count my blessings that I only have the skin rash and have not developed the pneumonia that comes along with it or the high fever, but I sit here tonight itching from head to toe!! Grrrrrrr! I'm hoping and praying that my sister doesn't go into labor until at least next week so I can be there for the birth of her first baby. As if now, I can't be anywhere near her even though she's been vaccinated. Ok. I'm done :)
On the farm side, it's been pretty status quo. We butchered a beef cow last week. Larissa understands the concept of what was done and what the cow turns into, however, I didn't want to put a visual with it quite yet. We took the cow to the neighbor's house the night before so we could have it done up there. Thankfully, the immediate demise of the cow was done before she was off the bus from school because I actually had a bit of a tearful moment when I heard the gun shot. then I got over it really quick :)
On the farm side, it's been pretty status quo. We butchered a beef cow last week. Larissa understands the concept of what was done and what the cow turns into, however, I didn't want to put a visual with it quite yet. We took the cow to the neighbor's house the night before so we could have it done up there. Thankfully, the immediate demise of the cow was done before she was off the bus from school because I actually had a bit of a tearful moment when I heard the gun shot. then I got over it really quick :)
Friday, September 2, 2011
First farm casuality
Tonight Larissa and I went out to put the chickens in and feed the rest of the animals. She decided to check the nests ( no idea if that's really what they're called. I was educated earlier via text from Jay that they are in fact not called roosts where they lay eggs!) anyways we fed everything, closed up the coop and Larissa wanted to check the nests one last time today for eggs since we have some cannibalistic chickens who eat them. She found two eggs and a hen in the nest. I told her not to disturb it, which she didn't. When she came out she explained to me that she thought the hen was dead. I asked her why she thought that and she visually showed me the difference of what a laying hen looks like vs a dead hen. It was rather comical actually! She was quite concerned tho and asked that I send jay a message since he was at the West high football game. I told her I would hence, the education of roosts. She really pressed me to let her get a flash light and check it out herself but I refused. I told her daddy would check when he got home.
Jay got home after the game and going to 7-11 to fulfill my latest pregnancy craving, Icee's! I reminded him to check the chicken status and he did. Sure enough, it was dead. He put it in a bucket and is hoping critters will leave it alone until tomorrow so he and Larissa can bury it if she wants.
I was having a conversation the other day about farm kids with a friend and with my sweet mother in law before she left. We came to the conclusion that we believe that farm kids are more grounded. They have a more natural view of "breeding" so to speak and of death as well with all they experience. I think I might have a hard time moving back into the city after our awesome stint squatting at the farm! We've only been here a week and I'm loving it here. Now if I could only find the tables in the house and it didn't look like I am living in a box manufacturing plant that vomited everywhere, we might really be on to something!
Jay got home after the game and going to 7-11 to fulfill my latest pregnancy craving, Icee's! I reminded him to check the chicken status and he did. Sure enough, it was dead. He put it in a bucket and is hoping critters will leave it alone until tomorrow so he and Larissa can bury it if she wants.
I was having a conversation the other day about farm kids with a friend and with my sweet mother in law before she left. We came to the conclusion that we believe that farm kids are more grounded. They have a more natural view of "breeding" so to speak and of death as well with all they experience. I think I might have a hard time moving back into the city after our awesome stint squatting at the farm! We've only been here a week and I'm loving it here. Now if I could only find the tables in the house and it didn't look like I am living in a box manufacturing plant that vomited everywhere, we might really be on to something!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Life on the farm
With Jay's parents en route to England for their mission in a week, we have now moved out to the farm. Jay grew up here from the time he was in the fourth grade. the farm consists of approximately 20 chickens, three beef cows, two extremely old sheep, a few barn cats and an awesome little Australian cattle dog. I think that's her breed.
I decided to was time to jump back on the blog wagon, with a new blog address for those who used to follow, to record our daily lives and the massive changes that have just happened. I am willing to keep this un-privatised as long as I don't start getting freaky comments again like I did on my last blog.
Let me give you a bit of a background. I AM A CITY GIRL!!!! I grew up a city girl and never thought for a minute I would love the country. Jay wanted to move out here in Larissa's first year of life and we actually persued it for awhile but we both got the prompting that it wasn't the right time. The country has grown on me over the last 7.5 years we've been married and I was actually pretty excited about the prospect of living out here someday when his parents went on their mission. Well they FINALLY bit the bullet and started working on paperwork. Then I found out I was pregnant. hmmmmm. OK. I can make that work I guess. Afterall, mom raised seven kids out here and gave birth to I think if my math is right, three while living out here. My kids love it out here. Jay loves it out here and he loves the fact that we don't hear thumping stereos, screeching tires and neighbor's dogs that bark nonstop all the time they are gone. So they turned in their papers in the beginning of May. Insert Kelli's very slow brain doing math here. I suck at math. Truly suck at math but I did figure out about how far along I'd be if they left at certain times over the summer. At 16 weeks pregnant, May 27, 2011, my sister calls me at home to inform me that my sweet 18 year old nephew, whom had been living in their basement apartment, took his life sometime that morning. Enter mass hysterics then Kelli having to revert to the cops wife training that all of you cops wives reading this, know exactly what I'm talking about. I've always felt that I've been dependant on being the strong one in my family that can handle just about any amount of garbage thrown my way, whether from my family itself or outside sources. My strength was tested beyond its limits with this. A few days later, even before the funeral services, my in laws get their mission call to Birmingham England....
Needless to say, this all happened, thankfully, between dance sessions at the studio so I didn't need to take any time off, I could be with my family, and hit my crazy planning mode desperately needed to keep my pregnant brain on task. Fast forward to the last two weeks. I had Nutcracker camp for our second annual prodcution of Nutcracker in December and then we moved. Now I have two messy houses to deal with instead of one!!! Yay me! You are all so jealous, I know! So we get our big stuff moved out to the farm, Jay and I, alone with the exception of my amazing bestie, Laurie who did more heavy lifthing than 99% of the men I know. I did all the packing prior with still some to do and undo!! But I wasn't allowed to love anything after having two massive bouts of contractions lasting a very long time the week prior. We get out here Friday evening, finally get showers and some horribly make shift dinner down us all, and get to bed. Saturday morning we jump right into farm chores, ok I didn't but Jay and the kids did, then we got kids rooms organized etc.
We started in our new ward today. When we drove up the drive way, Larissa asks from the back seat, "why doesn't the baby calf stay with her mama anymore? Oh I think I know why, she's a teenager now and doesn't like being around her mom right?!?" Jay and I DIED laughing on that one!!! Come to find out later, Jay's dad, I believe, had said something to that effect to her once before.
There was a debacle, as Jay put it to his dad, today that spurred the thought of starting this blog back up. Jay and the kids went out to do the after dinner chores with the animals while I cleaned up dishes. Larissa comes in the house and tries to calmly tell me "mom dad needs a drill right now." Ok Larissa why does daddy need a drill? "I'm not supposed to tell you why daddy needs a drill, he just needs you to get me a drill right now." Larissa, where is daddy that he can't get the drill for himself? "well he's in the barn but he can't get it and he told me NOT to tell you why he needs to drill but just to bring him one now." Larissa, tell me right now why daddy needs a drill. "ok but I'm going to get in trouble if I tell you." You're going to get in trouble if you don't tell me! "Daddy's stuck in the hay loft in the barn. The chicks have been getting up in the hay loft and grandpa covered the ladder and daddy can't get down. I don't think it's probably a good idea to just leave him up there to sleep all night do you?" Ok I tried really hard not to laugh at the last comment she made!!!
So I find the drill, head to the barn to rescue my stuck husband and proceed to tell him what she daid to me. He hadn't actually told her to not tell me. He told her not to freak me out and that it wasn't a life or death emergency but he did need my help. Needless to say, the chicks were getting up in the hay loft. Jay had to toss Tess, the dog, up a few hay bales to herd the chickens down. Tess is an amazing herding dog!! One of the chickens came down right on Larissa's head/ face and scratched her face up pretty good. Winston was chasing everything he could and just about got himself beat to a pulp by Jay when I caught him pinning chickens. Then Jay discovered Larissa's favorite chicken pinned between a hay bale and part of the roof of the hay loft. The chicken is actually a rooster that, most likely, I won't be able to get rid of since she's attached herself to it. White feather, as he's called, was stuck. And bleeding profusely from his foot. Jay is trying to get the rooster from the hole without getting torn apart, I'm trying to follow instructions as to where the animal clotting meds are so we can try to stop it and hoping, since I didn't know it was just his foot at the time, that we weren't going to have to kill the thing because of its injuries. Thankfully, we don't, yet as Jay tells me. I guess chickens like blood? so there's a chance the others will kind of attack him? But most likely, his foot will get infected before anything else. Larissa, of course, had to tell grandpa about what happened because she was actually the one that heard them up there in the first place today. And the girl has the best ears too! We did not tell her it was White Feather that was injured but she knew by the sound he was making, he wasn't crowing, that it was him!
So I think that's enough of a debacle for two days on the farm!! Who knows, may this city girl will become a country girl after all. I did hold my first full grown chicken tonight! Maybe I'll become the next Ree Drummond too! Us city turned country girls have to stick together afterall!
I decided to was time to jump back on the blog wagon, with a new blog address for those who used to follow, to record our daily lives and the massive changes that have just happened. I am willing to keep this un-privatised as long as I don't start getting freaky comments again like I did on my last blog.
Let me give you a bit of a background. I AM A CITY GIRL!!!! I grew up a city girl and never thought for a minute I would love the country. Jay wanted to move out here in Larissa's first year of life and we actually persued it for awhile but we both got the prompting that it wasn't the right time. The country has grown on me over the last 7.5 years we've been married and I was actually pretty excited about the prospect of living out here someday when his parents went on their mission. Well they FINALLY bit the bullet and started working on paperwork. Then I found out I was pregnant. hmmmmm. OK. I can make that work I guess. Afterall, mom raised seven kids out here and gave birth to I think if my math is right, three while living out here. My kids love it out here. Jay loves it out here and he loves the fact that we don't hear thumping stereos, screeching tires and neighbor's dogs that bark nonstop all the time they are gone. So they turned in their papers in the beginning of May. Insert Kelli's very slow brain doing math here. I suck at math. Truly suck at math but I did figure out about how far along I'd be if they left at certain times over the summer. At 16 weeks pregnant, May 27, 2011, my sister calls me at home to inform me that my sweet 18 year old nephew, whom had been living in their basement apartment, took his life sometime that morning. Enter mass hysterics then Kelli having to revert to the cops wife training that all of you cops wives reading this, know exactly what I'm talking about. I've always felt that I've been dependant on being the strong one in my family that can handle just about any amount of garbage thrown my way, whether from my family itself or outside sources. My strength was tested beyond its limits with this. A few days later, even before the funeral services, my in laws get their mission call to Birmingham England....
Needless to say, this all happened, thankfully, between dance sessions at the studio so I didn't need to take any time off, I could be with my family, and hit my crazy planning mode desperately needed to keep my pregnant brain on task. Fast forward to the last two weeks. I had Nutcracker camp for our second annual prodcution of Nutcracker in December and then we moved. Now I have two messy houses to deal with instead of one!!! Yay me! You are all so jealous, I know! So we get our big stuff moved out to the farm, Jay and I, alone with the exception of my amazing bestie, Laurie who did more heavy lifthing than 99% of the men I know. I did all the packing prior with still some to do and undo!! But I wasn't allowed to love anything after having two massive bouts of contractions lasting a very long time the week prior. We get out here Friday evening, finally get showers and some horribly make shift dinner down us all, and get to bed. Saturday morning we jump right into farm chores, ok I didn't but Jay and the kids did, then we got kids rooms organized etc.
We started in our new ward today. When we drove up the drive way, Larissa asks from the back seat, "why doesn't the baby calf stay with her mama anymore? Oh I think I know why, she's a teenager now and doesn't like being around her mom right?!?" Jay and I DIED laughing on that one!!! Come to find out later, Jay's dad, I believe, had said something to that effect to her once before.
There was a debacle, as Jay put it to his dad, today that spurred the thought of starting this blog back up. Jay and the kids went out to do the after dinner chores with the animals while I cleaned up dishes. Larissa comes in the house and tries to calmly tell me "mom dad needs a drill right now." Ok Larissa why does daddy need a drill? "I'm not supposed to tell you why daddy needs a drill, he just needs you to get me a drill right now." Larissa, where is daddy that he can't get the drill for himself? "well he's in the barn but he can't get it and he told me NOT to tell you why he needs to drill but just to bring him one now." Larissa, tell me right now why daddy needs a drill. "ok but I'm going to get in trouble if I tell you." You're going to get in trouble if you don't tell me! "Daddy's stuck in the hay loft in the barn. The chicks have been getting up in the hay loft and grandpa covered the ladder and daddy can't get down. I don't think it's probably a good idea to just leave him up there to sleep all night do you?" Ok I tried really hard not to laugh at the last comment she made!!!
So I find the drill, head to the barn to rescue my stuck husband and proceed to tell him what she daid to me. He hadn't actually told her to not tell me. He told her not to freak me out and that it wasn't a life or death emergency but he did need my help. Needless to say, the chicks were getting up in the hay loft. Jay had to toss Tess, the dog, up a few hay bales to herd the chickens down. Tess is an amazing herding dog!! One of the chickens came down right on Larissa's head/ face and scratched her face up pretty good. Winston was chasing everything he could and just about got himself beat to a pulp by Jay when I caught him pinning chickens. Then Jay discovered Larissa's favorite chicken pinned between a hay bale and part of the roof of the hay loft. The chicken is actually a rooster that, most likely, I won't be able to get rid of since she's attached herself to it. White feather, as he's called, was stuck. And bleeding profusely from his foot. Jay is trying to get the rooster from the hole without getting torn apart, I'm trying to follow instructions as to where the animal clotting meds are so we can try to stop it and hoping, since I didn't know it was just his foot at the time, that we weren't going to have to kill the thing because of its injuries. Thankfully, we don't, yet as Jay tells me. I guess chickens like blood? so there's a chance the others will kind of attack him? But most likely, his foot will get infected before anything else. Larissa, of course, had to tell grandpa about what happened because she was actually the one that heard them up there in the first place today. And the girl has the best ears too! We did not tell her it was White Feather that was injured but she knew by the sound he was making, he wasn't crowing, that it was him!
So I think that's enough of a debacle for two days on the farm!! Who knows, may this city girl will become a country girl after all. I did hold my first full grown chicken tonight! Maybe I'll become the next Ree Drummond too! Us city turned country girls have to stick together afterall!
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