The boys are walking EVERYWHERE now! Aidan tries to run already, but he is still somewhat unsteady and often falls. Cole is a little more hesitant and likes to walk pushing his walk-behind toys. They are staying with Gigi and GrandDan tonight since I have to work tomorrow. School starts Friday and I need to find a babysitter since both of my sitters are going back to work. My grandmother will be keeping them on Mondays and they will go to a day care on Tues-Friday. I'll start working a "normal" schedule on the 8th: M-F 8 to 4. I'm glad to get back to "normal," but since Cory's not sold any houses, I've had to pick up some extra shifts on weekends (which is what I was trying to avoid) to make ends meet. Hence my last post about money. Daycare is expensive, but I will not compromise and put them in a cheaper center. They are staying with a woman who keeps only 7 kids in her home, but she is the highest rated day care by DHS.

If you live in Knoxville or East Tennessee and hear of anyone looking to buy/sell a home/land, please please please give them Cory's name or let me know. He is getting very discouraged at this point. We have spent a lot of money with nothing to show for it yet.

financial problems. i hate money. why does it exist at all? can't we just go back to the old barter society? i guess not. society is too complex. and now i'm going to have to work more so that we can afford day care. i feel like it is the best situation for all of us. but... then i have my doubts when i'm going to have to work an extra day per week. cory needs to sell some houses. i'm going to bed.

Hey to anyone who still reads this, sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I was trying to recover from the surgery and had some complications (or you could say, constipations) from the pain meds. Not fun. But now I'm all better and ready to go. In fact, i went back to work Friday. Pretty soon, the boys will be in day care and i will be working a "normal" schedule, M-F 8 to 4. I'll probably have to work some extra shifts until Cory's real estate picks up.

The boys are growing growing growing. We learn new things every day. I plan to start talking more about them in this blog because I feel it is becoming too whiney and self-centered. I will still whine and talk about myself, but maybe a little less?

Some of my most favorite bloggers have left blogging and that makes me sad. I understand, tho, it can become a hassle.

The boys are starting to walk now and they are doing so well. I hope they don't terrorize us too much when they are both able to walk/run well!

Stay cool in this heat wave. Check on elderly, young, and pets. Drink lots of water. Do what your mamma tells you.

I'm feeling really antsy and kind of agitated. It must be this pain medicine. I know that my body is tired, but I just can't sleep. It is really starting to aggrivate me.

I was able to eat ice cream yesterday without feeling sick! yay!

Recovering from laproscopic gall bladder surgery is a BREEZE compared to a c-section recovery. No staples, no caring for 2 babies, and not to mention that I was much more ill previous to the c-section with pre-eclampsia than I was with the gall stones.

I am up so early because my pain meds are making me dehydrated, or something is... ?

Tonight was the 2nd night of my boys spending the night with my parents. I miss them so much. I can't lift over 25 lbs. we took them to the pede Wednesday for their 12 mo. and Aidan weighs 18 lbs. 15 oz. and Cole weighs 18 lbs. 11 oz. They are still very small for their age, but the doctor was not concerned. He asked if they were very active, and I vehemently replied "YES!" I might go spend the day at my parents' house today so that I can be with them and Cory can get some real estate work done without me bugging him.

Speaking of Cory's real estate business, it is really starting to take off! Together we developed a marketing plan, and it seems to have worked nicely. Cory has been working on his own website for the past 2 days, and I must say, I am quite impressed with his ability to sit down with a new computer program and figure it out himself (Microsoft Frontpage). Here is his new website. He is much more upbeat and postive about his business. Now, if he can just get a sale, it will be all good.

Came home a few hours ago. Feeling pretty good with the drugs in me. I have 4 bandaids on my abdomen and that is it. Not so bad so far. Thanks for all of the prayers and thoughts.

Tossing and turning. Maybe I can watch some tv and doze some before I have to be awake to leave for the hospital.

I'm feeling a little anxious about tomorrow. I suppose that is to be expected with most who are facing surgery, no matter how "minor" the procedure. The boys are with my parents and Cory is taking me tomorrow. I met the surgeon Tuesday and he was very kind and professional. (Very young and "California" blonde looking, too). So say some prayers and think good thoughts that I will recover quickly. I'm getting bored at home and need to go back to work, or something.

Surgery friday.

Vomiting despite the medication. I got my consult moved up to today at 8:30.

While I am drugged up, Cory is helping our soon-to-be sister-in-law clean out her house so that he can list it to be sold (yay!). My mom has the boys. To lighten your mood after you finished reading that last post, go look at the most recent pictures of my boys on their blog.

If the surgeon cannot see me any sooner than Thursday, then I will just have to plant myself in their office until they do. Or I suppose I could find another surgeon. I went to the ER yesterday with another "attack" and then after I came home, prescriptions for pain meds and anti-nausea meds in hand, I vomited and had more diarrhea. Yesterday and today I have been miserable. Mostly nausea and the like up until this afternoon when the pain started again. To beat it all, I have eaten practically nothing today.

I am just wondering why this hit me "all of the sudden." I have had very minor symptoms until last week. Very odd.

A picture of the offending abdomen... stretch marks and all... for half-naked Thursday 

Confirmed what the ultrasound tech showed me: many, many gall stones in my little gall bladder. Yesterday, I reminded myself what the gall bladder does with a little reading on WebMd. I realize now that I've been having some symptoms of gall bladder problems and I didn't even know it. I thought I had developed a lactose intolerance because every time I would eat ice cream or some other milk, I would get gassy and have diarrhea. I feel bloated all the time, no matter what I eat. Now I know that having gall stones can make your body have a fat intolerance. That might not be so bad...

I have a surgical consult next Thursday. I hope they can do the laproscopic surgery. My grandmother had to have hers cut out and she took weeks to recover. I don't have that kind of time.

Am seriously considering joining my husband in the real estate business...

I haven't received the results of my ultrasound. However, the tech who did the scan showed me my gallbladder and showed me the stones in my gallbladder. She said the wall of the gallbladder had thickened as well. The chances of me having surgery in the near future have increased.

Early yesterday morning at about 4 am I woke up with excruciating abdominal pain. Not my stomach, my upper abdomen. It lasted for about 4-5 hours. I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and he is sending me for an ultrasound this morning at 8:15 to check my gallbladder. If our suspicions are confirmed, I will probably be having my gallbladder removed sometime in the near future.

Milestones

A lot is happening at once with my boys these days. They have so many things they can do and are becoming more and more fun as they move from being infants to children. They can say a lot of words. Aidan says, "baby," "diaper," "hi," "hey," "cracker," "mama," "dada," "car," and of course "uh-oh." Cole says "car," "dog," "bye-bye," "mama," "dada," "down," "uh-oh" and others I am sure I have forgotten at this early hour. They are working on going to sleep without being rocked. We don't let them cry for hours, or even minutes on end. They ususally cry for about 5 minutes and then go to sleep. We got rid of the bottles and now they drink out of cups. We got rid of the expensive formula and they have developed a taste for whole milk. We got rid of the baby food and they eat what we eat (or throw it on the floor, saying "uh-oh"). They can walk assisted with one hand held. They can stand up with out pulling up on something, and then they may dance while standing in place. Their personalities are showing more and more. They love to be with each other and play constantly. They eat more than my 14 year old brother.

I can't believe how far we've come in a year.