Hello all!  Boy it has been a busy time.  I had a scare when my yearly mammogram was flagged and I had to come in for an 'urgent' follow up.  I had the mammogram Monday and got the note Thursday to come in.  That always hits you like a ton of bricks.  I was at the hospital for 3 hours and after repeated new mammograms and an ultrasound - followed by the Dr. doing an ultrasound - it was chalked up as a 'benign cyst.'  Whew!  I did, however, have the most lovely time in the waiting room with 3 other women.  We were all poised to go in for our ultrasounds and all a bit on edge.  What a blessing to sit there and laugh, think out loud, and get to know these other women.  We had about a 45 minute wait so there was ample time.  Getting an ultrasound is a few levels beyond just a mammogram - and they only pull you back in 'that' waiting room if something is suspected to be wrong.  I know that 3 of us wound up having benign issues - I never saw the 4th lady.  I am praying for her as she was the most at risk.  So weird how you wind up bonding with people over moments like that!

I've also had a crown done at the dentist this week for a cracked molar.  Note to you ladies out there - if you are finally getting on the bandwagon to take care of 'you' like I am - look out because if you start going to Dr. appointments for yourself (what a concept....) you may be overwhlemed with all that's gone wrong over time!  All of my fillings are going bad (those ugly metal ones from our childhood)...my thyroid is out of whack...my hormones are off so I have many resulting problems...etc etc etc.  The thing is, if you never go to the Dr. (as I haven't for years) then you never know!  Now that I'm going, I realize how beat up I am and how desperately I have to carve out some time to treat myself better.  Not easy to do, though.  But I am really going to try to de-stress and make myself live longer!

Cody is having a difficult time the past week or so.  He's still in lots of pain on and off ~ we saw a urologist last week and will go in for ultrasounds for him next week.  They want to rule out anything structural as he tends to go sometimes for 15 hours without urinating (overnights.)  That HAS to be painful, right!?  The urologist said it was probably a sensory issue - meaning he's just not in touch with his body and his brain doesn't tell his muscles and organs what to do very well.  Turns out there are a couple of drugs you can take to either relax the urinary plumbing...who knew?  That will be our next stone to unturn.

Casey is having a tantrum fest every day.  Poor little guy is like a tea kettle ready to blow - just looking for anything that might set him off.  He'll be 3 in July and I think the terrible 2's are hitting us right at the end.  So we're trying to navigate those waters ~ with very little luck!  I'm king of just white knuckling it and knowing it will pass eventually.  I really feel like I need to get him out in the world more - he is so couped up in the house with us all the time.  But he is so inquisitive about everything - he would so benefit from outings to interesting places.  So that's on my agenda if it ever fits in.  Right now our only real outing each week is to the library.  We bring about 50 books each time and go through them in 1 day!  He loves to read, and that is the one benefit of being more home bound - LOTS of reading!  He's trying to spell words and I bet it won't be long before he can!

Well that's it for now.  With much love,

Shawna