15 months old today!

 Mason is 15 months old today.  Not sure how this happened so fast but I will say that he is growing into quite an amazing toddler (and by the first picture I realize he is starting to look more and more like Colton).  He is running everywhere, talking all the time (mostly with words we don't understand), he is loving and caring, he is a champion sleeper (we lay him down wide awake, just give him a nuk and his blanket and he puts himself to sleep without a fuss at all), he is a wonderful little brother who is always wanting to be by and love on his big brother.  He is so much fun and I just want this stage to last forever.  He is my baby and always will be my baby but everyday he reminds me that he is growing up!

Meet the newest members of our family!

So just over three years ago I posted this: Life At The Zoo.  To my surprise 6 of the fish that we bought a little over 3 years ago are still alive (all of the tiger barbs died within a few days of orig post and we did lose both sucker fish early this year and had to replace them)... none the less 6 of the original fish are not only alive but they have out grown their 20 gallon tank!  Seriously, one of them is over 6 inches long (it started at just 2 inches).  So we have been talking about getting a bigger tank for several months now but just hadn't done it, until last week.  I went into a Pet Store in Woodbury and they had a 29 gallon tank on display with a sign that said "Fish coming soon".  I said to my sister that is the size tank I need.... and the owner of the store said " You want it?".  I asked how much and he said Free... he just wanted it gone.  So we got a brand new 29 gallon tank with filter system and heater for free, SCORE!   Now what to do with the old tank.... I guess move it Colton's room and let him get his own fish seemed like the most logical thing to do!  So we moved the old tank with fish still in it to Colton's room and set up the new tank and added the chemicals to get it stabalized and ready for the fish.  After about 5 days, the water was up to temp and water was stable so we moved the fish to their new home!  So far all have adjusted to their new home and are still alive.   Here is our new tank:

Now the old tank was in Colton's bedroom and ready for fish so off to Petsmart we went to purchase the newest members of our family.  We settled on two Bala Sharks, who he has named Phineas and Ferb, a Ghost Knife Fish name Perry (call him Agent P) and a sucker fish name Dr Doofenshmirtz.  We also have a ceramic orca whale in this tank named Candace.  And for those of you who have never seen the show Phineas and Ferb and are thinking we are completely nuts... you are right and lucky (we watch that show a lot in our house)!!  Here is Colton's Fish Tank: 

Waterpark Fun

A couple weekends ago we spent the night at The Lodge in Brainard Lakes for our Annual Sand's Family Get Together!  It was so much fun to get all the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Second Cousins together in one area!  Colton and Mason loved the waterpark, we swam for hours both days.  Colton floated around the lazy river most of the time, around and around and around he went usually without even a tube (he just let the current of the water carry him around)!  After the kids were in bed we played our annual battle of Catch Phrase - Team Aunt Mary vs Team Mandy!  We played best out of 5 and it came all the way down to the 5th game but of course in the end my team pulled out the win!   Another great get together has come and gone but the next one is already planned for this summer... time to get our TEAM AWESOME shirts ready - we will never lose again!!

  

Helicopter Egg Drop and Hospital Stay... what a weekend!

I apologize in advance for how lengthy this post is... I just started writing and it didn't seem to end!  Anyways, Saturday morning I took the boys to a Helicopter Egg Drop and it was a blast.  It was cold and drizzled on and off but we still had a great time and we even met the Easter Bunny while we were there.  Colton was so excited to run and collect eggs but as soon as they allowed the kids onto the field I noticed he was running past all kinds of eggs.... yup my little weirdo was only collecting red eggs, go figure!  He collected his 10 in no time and we headed back to the Baby field to find Mason and Uncle Brad.  Mason wasn't as quick to collect his 10 eggs... he only had about 3 in the bag when we got there but he quickly caught up and was picking them up and dropping them into the bag like an old pro!  Like I said the boys had a blast.  Here are a few pictures from the event.

 Shortly after the egg drop I started to have some back and abdominal pain (similar to what I had been having Friday evening and overnight Friday night).  I decided it was time to go to Urgent Care to figure out what was causing my pain!  Frankie came home from work to take me, my mom kept the boys, and off we went to the clinic.  I checked in around 2pm.  They decided to do some lab work and when that didn't really give any answers they sent me for chest xrays... again not much for answers.  By now I had been at the clinic for 2 hours and my anxiety was starting to sky rocket.  The doctor said he was suspecting blood clots and suggested I head over the ER to have a D-Dimer test.  Seriously, PANIC set in at this point.  I am way too young for blood clots and that is scary to even think about dealing with, SHIT!  So Frankie took me immediately to the ER at Woodwinds Hospital.  I got into a room and explained what had been going on and what tests had been ran at the Urgent Care.  The ER Doctor agreed that blood clots could be the problem (although she didn't seem convinced that it was the correct cause) so she ordered a D-Dimer test.  I seriously couldn't even think straight at this point.  Well that test came back negative.... Thank God.   So now what?    Well I guess an EKG was in order to make sure by heart was okay and yes I passed with flying colors.  The doctor reviewed my labs from the clinic and realized my liver enzymes were above normal so she decided the next thing to do was a CT Scan of my abdomen to see if that gave any clues and placed the order.  I was wheeled down and up on the table getting ready for my scan when the doctor called and said she changed her mind... she decided an ultrasound would be a better route.  I was moved again and Ultrasound completed.... by this time I was getting tired (it was 7:00pm) and I just wanted some answers.  I was moved back to room and the wait continued.  Around 7:30 the doctor came back and said she didn't have any concrete answers but was thinking Hepatitis.  She said she was going to release me as the pain was pretty manageable and I would just need to follow up with my doctor on Monday morning.  So after 5.5 hours I didn't really have any answers but all the scary things were ruled out and I could go back home to my boys, relief.   Then she came back.... she had a change of heart and decided that I should be admitted and monitored.  I pretty much burst into tears.  I just wanted to go home.  After collecting myself I agreed that if she thought it was best I would stay.  She left to get the order in and get a room ready for me.... and then Frankie dropped the bomb.  He asked "So about the Easter Baskets?".  Crap I had pretty much forgotten that the next day was Easter... who was going to color eggs with the boys, who was going to play Easter bunny, who was going to take pictures of my boys with their baskets, who was going to get them all dressed up in their Easter outfits that I have purchased just a few days earlier?  I again burst into tears.  I explained it all to Frankie and off he went to get things together and head to my parents to color eggs with the boys and explain everything to Grandma and Grandpa.  He then came back to the hospital to spend some time with me before I finally decided I should get some sleep around midnight.  I was woken up at 5am for more labs and of course to check my vitals.  I feel back asleep shortly after and slept until 8am.  Sunday morning while everyone else was at home with their families I was sitting in a hospital bed wondering what the day would bring and when I would actually get to meet with a GI doctor and get some answers.  I met with so many doctors on Sunday... all of who seemed puzzled and all of who had different ideas of what to do with me.   Some wanted to run more tests, others wanted to send me home and see what happened (by Sunday morning the pain was completely gone).   It was about 4pm before they finally landed on this:  It was probably a stone stuck in my bile duct (dammit, didn't think that could still happen being as I had my Gall Bladder removed 5 years ago, but news flash it can) and they figured that I probably passed it on my own which is why the pain has now subsided.  My labs showed that my liver enzymes were slowing dropping so that was a good thing but they recommended I call my doctor Monday morning and set up a follow up lab appointment just to make sure that they return to normal.  I didn't really care what answer they came up with... I just wanted to go see my boys and I got my wish.  By about 5:30 I was back with my boys and HAPPY.   I did miss all of the Easter day festivities but others took pictures for me so that I could see the excitement in the eyes of my boys and at least!!