August 2011

Hey! Long time, no blog.....Sorry. Anyway, moving on. July has come and gone way too fast! Lots of stuff was done in July, most of it I can't remember. I think there was a lot of swimming and sun though?!?! The kids had a lot of swimming birthday parties, swimming library parties, and just plain ole swimming with the family. It was 100+ degrees for more than 21 days. So, needless to say, we needed to be in the pool. A lot!

I made a trip to KC with girlfriends, Amanda & Shannon. We ran the Warrior Dash. It's a 3.1 hellish run through grass, mud, sticks, ponds, rocks, rough terrain & oh yeah, there's 12 obstacles to complete too! It was a ton of fun and I'd like to do another one someday. Hopefully I can get Jed to do it too! The girls and I had a great time. After completing the dash, we got hosed down by the local fire department, enjoyed a beer and a turkey leg, then headed back to our hotel. After showering off in a "real" shower, we went to get a bite to eat and shop at Zona Rosa. The shopping was OK, didn't find much we didn't already have in Wichita, though. We finished the trip with breakfast at The Cracker Barrel and then headed home. :)

So.....Now it's August. School has started. Kenna is in 7Th, Koen in 4Th, Kammie in 1st and, of course, Kampman is still with me....but he says he goes to school with me. The kids are enjoying being back in school with their friends, and their teachers seem like perfect fits for them too. I'm happy, they're happy, we're all good. :)

Kammie entered in the Little Miss Pioneer pageant that is part of Old Settlers Days every year. She had a collector canister at Calabrones, it's one of the pizza joints here in Mulvane, KS. Every penny equals one vote. So, 1¢=1 vote. $1=100 votes, $5=500 votes .....etc. There was a crowning ceremony on July 19Th at Main Street park, Mulvane. Then, the next day all the girls entered into the pageant rode in the parade on a float. Kammie didn't win, but all the girls together raised over $2100!

Kammie has also signed up to play flag football again this fall. This year she'll play with 1st and 2ND graders. Who knows, maybe they'll be more girls play this year?

Koen wrapped up baseball season in July. Lots of days, nights, weekends at the ball field, but it was fun. It was his first competitive experience. He is playing Mulvane Jr. Football again this year. He should be playing as a 4Th grader, but only seven 3rd graders signed up, so some 4Th graders will have to play on a 3rd/4Th grade team. We don't know what team Koen will be on yet. Koen doesn't seem to care. He just wants to play. The bad part about the whole thing is the games are so much farther from Mulvane this year, compared to last year. But, it's totally okay, we LOVE OUR FOOTBALL!!

Koen also ran in the Mulvane Old Settlers 1 mile road race. It was the 30Th annual running of the race. Koen placed 2ND in his age division (8-10) and also shaved a whole minute off his previous time. New PR: 7:20! And, that was without training!

Kenna vs. the 7Th grade. I think she likes it so far. She tried out for the 7Th grade volleyball team, and made it. So, this year we get to go to her games on Thursday nights. I'm super excited for Kenna to undergo this new adventure! I hope she enjoys the experience as much, if not more, than I'm going to enjoy watching her.

Kampman is getting so big. And, no I'm not sad he's the last kid. I'm always sentimental when they are around this age. A major milestone that means a lot to me happens at 3. KJ has officially started Sunday school! I say officially because he has been allowed in the class for the past few months, but never HAD to stay, if he didn't want to. Now he goes to class and stays there. He listens to the story, colors a picture, makes a craft and comes back eager to tell me. Sometimes he puts his own spin on the story. My favorite is when Jesus died on the cross because he got ran over by a school bus. Of course, I made sure he knew the real reason for Jesus' death. Then uploaded the explanation video anyway. :) (Check out my Youtube channel on the sidebar if you want to hear it!)

This last month has been really rough on Jed and I both. Not on "US" but more on each of us. While I went to KC with girlfriends Jed had a lot of issues at his hotel. Then, when I got back, everything was in shambles. Just when I thought it was all back to normal, I stood up at work right under an open cabinet door. It hurt like hell, and I knew I was going to have a major headache, but I did not know how bad it was going to be. I hit my head on Tuesday, August 2ND in the late afternoon. I went home rested, took some Excedrin (which I now know is one of the worst things you can take when you hit your head. Stick to Tylenol) and then went to sleep for the night, a little nauseous. Next day, August 3rd, I woke with a splitting headache, but sucked it up, (took more Excedrin) and went to work. About an hour into work, I was having issues with standing for a long period of time, feeling nauseous and dizzy. Around 12pm I figured out I wasn't going to make it at work through the day. I went home and yes, took more Excedrin, then slept until 4pm. Jed called and asked if I was okay or needed to go to the doctor? I said I was okay, but then I got up to get the kids something to eat and about blacked out! I've never felt so horrible all of a sudden in my life. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

So, I called Jed back and said, "Yes, I need to go in to see a doctor." Jed left work right away and took me to Derby Family Med center to be checked out. I ended up with a concussion and an x-ray of my skull. I was told to take Tylenol, (Do Not take anything with Aspirin, hence the bad choice of Excedrin, because Aspirin can cause brain bleeds to be worse) put ice on my head and sleep. I was written off work until Monday August 8Th.

I don't remember Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday much at all. I do know I slept on Thursday & Friday about 40 out of 48 hours. My poor kids. They just had to fend for themselves. Well, Kenna took care of them, fed them, made sure they stayed alive. And in the evening Jed took over. Jed had to do everything for them. Which is why this time was rough on him physically as well. Not only was he worried about me, but now he had to play mom and dad. Saturday came and I woke with extreme leg pain. We're talking lower back pain and sharp knife shooting pains down my legs. Both legs. I was dizzy, nauseous, head hurting, memory loss, blurred vision and now lower back and severe leg pain. I took Loritab that I had left over from 6 or 7 months ago and it seemed to help. Problem is....it wears off. Sunday & Monday I slept a lot. I went back to see the doctor Monday night. He said I had a severe concussion and ordered a head CT. It was scheduled for Thursday, August 11Th. The CT was fine, I guess anyway, they didn't say anything about it. I spent the weekend resting and the kids started school on Monday. I was feeling better, but just maybe around 50 percent of my normal. I went back to the doctor for a weekly visit. The doctor said I probably need to see a neurologist and I am off week until I am headache free for an entire week. I don't know when that will happen, I have had a headache everyday still. The good news is....I was allowed to drive again. Well, as long as I didn't take the Loritab during the day. So, now I've been taking Advil during the day and Loritab at night. Sometimes I push myself to do more than I should. On August 18Th, I allowed myself to drive the kids to a birthday party in Wichita and then after being there, I was dizzy. Luckily Jed was there with his car, so we just left his there and he drove us home. Then the next day, Friday, August 19Th started Mulvane Old Settlers Days, and if you read above, you saw that we were involved in it. KJ and I slept for 3 hours on Friday so that we could make it to the Little Miss Pioneer coronation and rodeo. I managed, but by 8pm had a pretty good headache going again. Saturday, was super busy. Koen ran, then Jed ran and then Kammie rode in the parade. My mom came to town and brought cousins Trinity, Xander & Orin with her. My friend Amanda came to watch the parade. She brought her husband, Luke and their kids Korbin and Emma. And Jed's mom and sister, Katie and cousin Hunter came too. Kammie had quite the cheering section! After we watched the parade, we went down to the carnival, the kids rode rides, we ate lunch at Luciano's Italian restaurant, the kids rode rides, Kenna shopped the vendors and then we headed home. Exhausted. Jed, Koen, Kammie, KJ and myself all took naps. After a shower, and much prep work, Kenna went back downtown with Aunt Katie and Uncle Ed and Hunter. After sleep and food, Jed took Koen and Kammie to the rodeo and Kenna met them there. KJ woke up and we watched Phineas and Ferb's movie......

Well, that's about it. And August isn't over yet.

In the end, I think I wouldn't be as far "healed" as I am, if it weren't for God and Loritab!

God Bless,
Melissa