Playing catch up...

So we have been quite busy these past couple of weeks! First, Macey turned 2 on March 3. I am still in denial I have a 2 year old. Where has the time gone!? We threw her a fun birthday party... it was all care bears- her favorite! I probably went a little overboard with the decorations and that, but it was so much fun to plan! We had lots of fun, Macey and her little friends loved the cupcake pinata! Just pull a string and it opened, no bats necessary! Good thing, with a crazy tantrum-throwing 2 year old... anyway, it was great and I'm glad that's all behind us now! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts!



After Macey's birthday I didn't have much time to relax.... on March 4th I had kidney stone removal surgery. I have had kidney stones for a long time, and actually had lithotripsy (where they blast them outside the body with lasers) last September, but my doctor was only able to get a big one... I still had several small(er) stones in my right kidney.... obviously not very fun to live with. So anyway, this procedure I had done was not fun. To ensure that we get ALL of the stones this time, the doctor had to go "up there" with a wire thingy and try to scrape them (the stones) out with a basket thingy. Make sense? Yeah, I didn't get it either... good thing I was put under, huh? When I woke up in the recovery room, the first thing Randy said to me was "they put a stent in". I looked at him in disbelief. They put a WHAT in!? Ho boy.... if you don't know what a stent is, that's probably a good thing... but just so you know what I'm talking about... here's a picture. Apparently during the procedure my ureter started to swell which isn't good, so they put a stent in that reaches from my kidney to my bladder; it acts as a straw. It kept my ureter from collapsing. If it doesn't look like it, let me tell you-- it's PAINFUL! I was in constant pain for 2 days until we had the go-ahead to get it taken out. That was a lot of fun too, let me tell you. I wish I was put under for the stent removal... but unfortunately, I was VERY awake for it. I don't know if I can ever look my doctor in the face again. After 1.5 surgeries (remember they actually had to yank that thing OUT), an ER visit for kidney/ureter spasms, and a week long bladder infection, I am proud to stay I am STONE FREE!! WOOHOO! I'm doing better every day, but still not feeling 100%. It's crazy what a surgery can do to your body!

Well, if that wasn't enough... my sister Heather had her 5th beautiful baby the day I got my stent taken out, and I went up to Idaho to help her out (after a few days of recovery for me). This was a really big deal to me because this was my mom's "thing"... to take care of her girls after having babies, or when we're sick.She took SUCH good care of us, I miss my mom the most when I am not feeling good, so I knew it was going to be very hard for Heather, just having a baby and all. It was a lot of fun being able to help out with a newborn. I felt my Mom near and knew she was watching over us. I just loved holding little Miley, wondering if she was looking at Grandma Judy right now. While I was in Idaho, we celebrated my Dad's 64th birthday. We decided to make it a BIG deal, and boy was it ever! We spoiled him rotten, and he spoiled himself with a brand new 4-wheeler! A Grizzly 700- special edition, even! It was really fun. I think all of us teared up when we sang him Happy Birthday. My mom was so close, we could all feel it.

And, last but not least, I had Macey's 2nd year pictures done while I was in Idaho. My sister Heather's (who had the babe) best friend from high school does photography as a hobby. She is AMAZING. I had her take Macey's pictures and I am SO pleased with how they turned out. She posted a few of them on her blog... check it out!
http://www.katieportraits.blogspot.com/
Click on Miss Macey to the side, and Little Miley is my new cute niece! Hooray for good photogs! Mace was such a little stink the whole time, I'm really surprised we got any good ones at all!

Well, that concludes my catch up session. I promise myself to never get that busy again. :P