Nicole and Matt's Wedding Weekend

What a fun weekend I had with my friend Annie as we road tripped to Nicole and Matt's wedding in downtown Milwaukee. We took our time on the way out and just enjoyed the sites and chit chatting. Once we arrived we unpacked and spent the evening with Mike and Rachel Krediet. It was nice to hang out and catch up for a little while. Saturday we were able to sleep in. That never happens! I was without kids or hubby and enjoyed a lazy morning on Saturday. We did some adventuring out in Milwaukee to find a few last minute items that we needed. Then we headed over to help set up the reception site. It was gorgeous! Nicole loves halloween and I don't think it could've been any more perfect than it was! Everything was gorgeous! The wedding was perfect and we were able to catch up with a lot of old friends that we haven't seen in forever. The night went by too fast! I am so glad I was able to be a part of this amazing weekend. Here are so fun pics from the wedding!

Results for Charlie

Well our appointment went well. The doctor was so much more personable and explained everything to us. She even showed us the CT Scan that we hadn't ever seen. She looked in Charlie's ears and immediately noticed fluid in the left ear. This is what is causing the pressure Charlie is feeling in that ear. She also stated the the tube in the right ear needs to come out. It has migrated over to a point that can cause his hearing to be temporarily lost. She saw the moon shaped white spot that the other doctor already did. She said basically the same thing as the other doctor did. It probably is nothing but it should be looked at. Okay good! Her prognosis: The right tube needs to be removed and a new tube needs to be put in. There should be a tube placed in the left ear to keep the fluid from building up. Next, the adenoids need to be removed. The adenoids cause the fluid to back up into the ears. When the adenoids are removed the fluid can drain out successfully. She spent a lot of time explaining everything and answering all my questions..ALL OF THEM! Even the one...what about his hearing?...that has been avoided for months. She said that his hearing is probably not so good right now because of the fluid build up. Okay, Thank you for the response! Surgery with the new doctor is scheduled for November 21st. I am happy with our choice and it was so great to have Nick there to listen too. Looks like Charlie has a new ENT. Oh and she did say that the moon shaped thing and the scab on his ear drum are not a emergent thing. She saw no concern with either and said that we don't need to worry at all. That was awesome! I said that the other doctor was making me worried and never calmed my nerves by saying simple words like...it isn't emergent so don't worry. Continue the prayers as they are working and we can definitely feel them. I have surgery in 2 weeks so November is going to be a crazy surgery month for our household.

Pumpkins

Here are some pictures of us carving pumpkins tonight. Charlie took all of them except the ones he was in. What a great photographer he will be some day! Oh and I have actually decided that I need to start using other settings on my amazing DSLR camera. I have been inspired by all my wonderful professional photographer friends. Obviously I am not a professional and do not aspire to be one BUT...I have moved from auto on my camera and experimented with other settings. After a conversation with my friend Rachel I decided it was time to attempt the move. It has been fun!

Pre Op and Second Opinions

This week is full of doctors visits and activities for the kids. Today I had my pre-op appointment...YEAH :( I am not excited to have eye surgery again but I am excited to be able to see clearly out of my right eye. Everything was fine and I am set to go. The doctor said they have to do a pregnancy test before they can do surgery. I told him I was pretty sure we weren't pregnant and if we were...MAN OH MAN God would certainly have a weird plan for this family. My surgery is set for November 8th which is also Nick's birthday. He has the day off so he can take care of me. What a guy! We will celebrate the weekend before and I am sure the weekend after.

Charlie has his appointment on Thursday and thanks to the advice of Aunt Vicki Otto I have started my list of all my questions! This way I am sure to not forget what to ask.

NO RUN :(

This morning is the 1/2 Marathon and Full Marathon in Mankato. I ran it last year and had an absolute blast. This year life got in the way of training. I am so disappointed that I wasn't able to run. BOO....I trained hard before we moved. Then with the move and my business growing so much I wasn't able to put in the training time. I feel like I failed so starting January 1st I will start my training again to run the 1/2 twice next year. Hopefully the 1st run will be with Zak, Nick's brother, in Green Bay. Good luck to all the runners today. I am there in spirit cheering you on!

2nd Opinion

We go Thursday October 27th at 12pm to see Dr. Pearson at the Mayo Health Systems Specialty Clinic in Mankato. I am anxious to hear what she has to say.

Surgery AGAIN!

Poor Charlie! He woke up Monday night saying that he has drops in his ear and asked me to get them out. I felt his ear and there was no drainage but he kept saying he had drops in his ear. We haven't been putting drops in his ear for a couple weeks now. I called his Ear Doc Monday morning but had to leave a message with the nurse. I got a call back yesterday afternoon stating Charlie needs to be seen. We went in this morning and the doctor said that there is no fluid in his ear but there is a 'scab' on his ear drum. He had me look at it. It looks like when you get a bad cut or scrap and crusts yellow. He also saw saw a white moon shaped marking that he believes is scar tissue but with Charlie he just wants to make sure. He wants to take him into surgery again to clean off his ear drum. Then he will make a small slit into the ear drum to see if there is any signs of the Chlosteatoma. AWESOME! I am so confused why we had a CT Scan if he isn't sure if the Chlosteatoma is all gone or not. REALLY...was the CT Scan a waste then? Surgery is scheduled for November 16th but in the meantime this mommy is getting a second opinion. I am frustrated with how this is all being handled and the lack of information/explanation that is being supplied to me. Why would a scab form on the ear drum? He said that he sees this in elderly people and can clean it off in the office but since Charlie is only 3 he can't do that and finds it a good time to look for Chlosteatoma. I am thankful that I have a pull at the Mayo Health System with Molly. Mayo is a swear word in our family but when it comes to my kids I will cross the line ;) The Ear Specialist is suppose to be amazing with kids and has a fellowship in pediatrics. Sean had his tonsils removed by her. I am up for whatever at this point. I would just like some answers and the issues resolved! This is my baby and my baby's hearing that we are playing with!

To be continued......

MANTAS

Braeden hasn't found a sport that he LOVES quite yet. Emma loves to dance and B just hasn't found anything that is a fit. He likes baseball but it isn't all year round. He likes golf and loves to swim. He has come at us with a few ideas on things to be involved in this year. He wanted to join Cub Scouts so we did. We thought that would be a good thing for him to be involved in. Then he asked to be in Mantas, swim team. I was super excited! The Peterson's love to swim and we were all on swim team. His dad a little less enthused but agrees that if he loves it, it is a great fit for him. Then on Sunday he says..."mom can I learn how to snowboard this winter?" Sure why not...well why not...it all is so expensive. I would love for him to learn to snowboard or ski. How fun would that be! We will look into it. For now he is in Cub Scouts and Mantas. Then he will be doing basketball in the winter. Which he likes because Nick and him get a lot of quality time. Tonight is Braeden's first swim practice. I am excited to hear all about it and find out what he thinks!!

Riley & Chelsea's Wedding

We had a great weekend celebrating Riley & Chelsea Hoffman's wedding! It was so fun to spend Saturday with the Hoffman Family. We sure missed Alli but mom brought a picture of her so she made it in a lot of the pictures. They turned out great and we all had a blast including her!

Speech...

I found out this afternoon that Charlie is going to need to work with a speech therapist again. His teacher at preschool thought something was off and had a specialist come work with him and see. When she first approached me about it I will be honest I was pretty annoyed. Lynette did such a great job getting him to talk and Becca, a speech therapist, signed off on him back in May. His preschool teacher only new him for one day and was making an assumption. I quickly changed my tune because I am not going to be a parent that will say my kid is perfect and there is nothing wrong with him. I know I am with him 24/7 so I can understand him. When I compare to where he was a year ago it is amazing to here him carry out conversations with everyone. After we found out that he has other ear issues I was worried about his speech and hearing. I am okay with having someone work with him because I don't want him to be behind when he starts Kindergarten. It is best to figure it out now. Just sad that he probably does have some hearing issues that are affecting his speech. We are blessed to have such amazing people around us to hold our hands and make sure he gets the help he needs. We are all healthy so this is very minor in the long scheme of life.

Chefs Auction

Last night was the Chefs Auction to benefit the March of Dimes. What an amazing event to be a part of. I had a great time meeting everyone and sharing my treats. At my table I provided the infamous cake pops for everyone to sample. I also had an amazing opportunity and was able to provide a plated dessert to all the attendees. I served Salty Caramel, Pumpkin, Red Velvet and Triple Chocolate Decadence Cupcakes. I also served Turtle, Almond w/Raspberry sauce and Caramel Apple Crisp Cheesecake Bars. They were all a hit! I couldn't have done it with out my sister, Patsy, my hubby and my friends (Annie, Katie and Jolene)! Annie and I have bee planning everything for weeks. She got the flu this week and was there in spirit cheering me on. My hubby took a half day yesterday to help me finish everything up. It was such a relief to see him walk in the door and say he was staying to help. Here is a picture of my table. I should've taken a picture of all the plated desserts waiting to be served. It was quite a site to see 675 desserts!

Photographer Charlie

Charlie enjoyed taking pictures at Lindsey's wedding. It was hard for me to even get the camera away from him. It kept him occupied and he got some funny shots. He enjoyed taking pictures of shoes. You can see where he even took a few of his own. I hope someone got a picture of him snapping pictures with my large Nikon. I got one on my cell phone but they are never the best quality of a picture.

Wedding Weekend

What a busy weekend we had. It was so much fun. The festivities started Friday late afternoon with rehearsal. It was great visiting with cousins and catching up with everyone. Saturday morning came early and we had a full schedule. We dropped off the cupcake tower at the reception site along with most of the desserts. Then Emma and I were off to get her hair done and the boys were running errands. We were a little behind but made up time quickly. Emma and I came home got dressed quick and I was out the door to set-up the desserts. I had a few friends meet me at the reception site to help set up the desserts. Nick had to get Emma to the church for pictures at noon. As soon as I was done off I went to the church to help with Emma. She was in heaven seeing everyone all dressed up. She really did a great job and listened well to everyone. The boys showed up at 1:30pm for their pictures. They both melted my heart in their tuxes. Little boys in tuxes doesn't get any cuter. Especially little Charlie with his spiked hair! It was so stinking cute!! The wedding started at 3:00pm and the kids did such a great job. They all made it down the aisle and Charlie ran out of church a few times so we had him stay out for the remainder of the wedding. He was bummed but he started to get loud. The other two sat still and played their video games I brought. It was so perfect! What a long day for them and they did so great. After the wedding we went to the hotel to let the kids relax to some cartoons in our room. We changed into comfy shoes and relaxed with Zak, Susan, Lydia, Helena and Juliet. It was fun to hang out with just them for a little while. We had the chaotic bunch at the table. It was truly the kids table with 5 wild and crazy kids that were anxiously awaiting the dance. It was such a great night! My parents picked up the kids at 9pm and then the Nick and I could enjoy the rest of the evening. Thanks Lindsey and Nick for letting us be apart of your special day. We had an amazing time helping you get ready for it as well.