Calm Amongst the Chaos

Giving it up

Kim Nothdurft

March 8, 2011

I like to give things up for lent. Let me go back. I give things up for lent, something I really like. I do not like giving said things up. And often someone will say why are you giving up something for lent? You’re not Catholic. I say, I know. And they follow up with then why do you do that. I guess it is as simple as this. **disclaimer Jesus will be discussed** I believe over 2000 years ago God gave his one and only son. I have one and only son and no one will take him from my arms. But God gave us his. His one and only son. Then his son, Jesus gave his life. HIS LIFE. And not by a shot to the heart. He was crucified. He was ridiculed, beaten, hung to a cross and left for dead. He gave up HIS LIFE for our salvation. How do you feel at the eye doctor and they are about to blow air in your eye? Apprehensive? Do you jump before they even puff? I know I do. Or right before you get your blood drawn do you tense up, and not because they told you so? When we know we are about to hbe hurt we have fear. Jesus knew he was going to be crucified and went along with it, for us. Can you imagine? Even for one second? And all for us. For me. So when someone says why would you give something up for lent if you aren’t Catholic, I simply say well God gave up a whole lot for me the least I can do is give up……. soda. Yes soda.
And let me just give an example of my life with soda. Just about every day starts with an $0.86 32 oz Dr. Pepper from Circle K with crushed ice and cherry and vanilla syrup. And no diet. Full sugar Dr. Pepper with full sugar syrups. Pretty much every day. That is the morning, then I will have a soda with lunch. Yes. Typically never more than 2. But never less than 1. So giving up soda for the next 46 days is a bit of a sacrifice and no it isn’t life changing… well maybe for my health a little, but it is a small sacrifice. But every morning I don’t stop and get my soda I think I will remember a little clearer what mighty sacrifice was given up for me.

Well here’s to my fat Tuesday… I had 2 today

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Kim Nothdurft

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March 7, 2011

No detail left unturned, it was a spectacular night and I was so impressed by the hard work these amazing women did for this special night. I did not have my camera at the event, but I did take pictures before they left.
Andi stayed back with me while I took decorations down, it was pretty late when we were driving home and she said to me “while me and dad were doing the robot I told him this was the bestest night ever!”
I think they had a great night!

Cancellation List Woot Woot

Kim Nothdurft

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March 2, 2011

At my request we were placed on the cancellation list for the neuro surgeon and sure enough someone cancelled. Tomorrow she is going in at 8:45am and I am hoping and praying I can finagle my way into getting the VNS scheduled during our long spring break, the girls are off March 11-29 (!) modified year round schedule, and grandma and grandpa Nothdurft will be here a lot of this month so it would be optimal to get this done during this time, besides the child needs this thing back in her. I know it isn’t a cure all, but I honestly believe it helped her when it was on and working. So we see nuero surgeon just to see her and schedule the surgery, nothing really will happen at this appointment, just another way for me to use up a bunch of gas in our gas hog van. Oh and to experience the joys of rush hour traffic in downtown Phoenix.
Wish us luck, say a prayer, send positive vibes that I am able to get this thing scheduled sooner rather than later.

Twitter This

Kim Nothdurft

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February 25, 2011

I started on twitter years back, when it pretty much first came about but I never had friends do it with me and never really “caught on” so I quit. and then I thought I was cool for not twittering… but it got a hold on me again. I am not trying to get a million followers but I do want some participation.
For all us parents know, parenting is hard work. Like the hardest, but of course most important job we will ever have. But there are days when your car keys end up in the trash can, your phone in the toilet and you fight over them just eating a bite of oatmeal and this is all before 9am. Sometimes the only pleasure in parenting is sharing the funny things they say or do via the internet. I mean seriously sometimes I want to sell my kids on the black market, but then they will do something that makes me just stop and laugh and it makes me realize I don’t want to sell them.. until later of course.
So if you twitter, or if you don’t, start. Just everytime you share something your child just did do this #mychildjust and finish the sentence. I would love to hear all the other stories out there of sharpie on leather couches, we all know it makes us feel better knowing someones kid out there is worse than our own 😉 (isn’t that why s@# my kids ruin is so popular?)
So if you have a baby who just farted or a tween who just proclaimed her love for justin beiber during mass, or if you have a 35 year old who still lives at home and you think they are pretty funny too…. share!
Remember if you twitter #mychildjust

All about the teeth

Kim Nothdurft

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February 23, 2011

Andi Jane is a little late to the game and she knows it for sure. She has been dying to have a loose tooth and then at the dentist we saw the one behind was coming before the other was leaving and the dentist told her to get wiggling, she sure did! She has been wiggling this tooth non stop! It was finally wobbly and she’d ask Andrew and I to make it looser. Last night I was at church and on my way home I get a call that she got it out. “It wasn’t even that loose!” I say, “I know but she was so determined to get it out she actually tied a string around it and slammed the door twice THEN it was super wiggly so I just plucked it out with tweezers” he said (I didn’t even need to express my annoyance at knowing the fact they found my good tweezers for this chore) I got home and thank goodness I have the tooth fairy on speed dial! (and actually had a few bucks in my wallet considering it was 9pm at night!) I found a pretty black and silver bag I had, we put a note and $3 in it and tucked it under her pillow. Andrew thought we should give her $10 since she worked so hard to get it out.. I said no. What is up with men and wanting to give the kids so much money!?
So here she is with all her pride and glory…

And today Lily had a dentist appointment where she had to get a filling. I was very nervous for this appointment, I even had (well I always have it, we just have it for seizures, not usually for the dentist) klonopin in her back pack just in case she couldn’t handle it. But the crazy thing was I put her in the chair, the dentist, who is amazing, talked calmly to Lily, and told her everything she was going to do. Lily made amazing eye contact with her and kept looking at all of us and at the bright light. She loved the suction thingy (which we already knew from cleanings) and she sat totally still with the prop in her mouth. She was so calm it was weird! They didn’t numb her, she was going to see how she handled the drill, I said we would know if she were uncomfortable but the girl never even budged. I was so proud of her. The dentist said she did so well she wants to apply sealant on her teeth at a next appointment. She said if she will sit still it will be the best thing for her teeth.

So I am a proud mom today of two beautiful girls with awesome teeth! 🙂 I just cannot believe my girls are getting so old. Can someone find that pause button please? I’ve been asking for 2 years for it. If we don’t find it soon we will be going to the orthodontist before we know it.

Neuro Surgeon

Kim Nothdurft

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February 22, 2011

I got the appointment for the consult with Neuro Surgeon… March 23rd. Gahhhh!
I called Neuro and said hey this doesn’t really work with the amount of seizures she is having. They sent an email to see if they could get us in any sooner and asked to put us on cancellation list, but as of now the appointment still stands. So annoying. Consult will be for 2 minutes and then we will have to schedule the surgery for I’m sure weeks to a month out from there. Neuro told me he was sure I could teach the Neuro Surgeon a thing or two, not sure if that was a compliment to all my brain knowledge or a jab at a young not too bright neuro surgeon, is that even possible, well with the exception of Derick Sheppards sister on Private Practice, are we really supposed to believe she is a neuro surgeon?! Either way I am not too thrilled.
I have a massive headache, Lily was up from 3am on last night. She was just doing her loud Lily talk and on and off crying with nothing wrong with her. It is odd there can literally be a brawl outside involving police sirens and ambulances and our entire household sleeps through it, yet Lily talks all hours of the night and I am wide awake. Anyway she is still having one big seizure a day almost on the 4pm hour every day. In addition to all the jerks and drops. It is odd and makes her crabby. We haven’t seen any changes in her gluten free diet.
She still in constipated. She is now on antibiotics for a runny nose that is just green and non stop since mid January.
Sigh…. if anyone finds my sense of humor can you send it to me? I will pay for shipping. Even willing to pay a reward.
My last posts have just sucked. I know. My writings suck. My attitude sucks. Working on it. Hang with me.

Advice

Kim Nothdurft

2 comments

February 20, 2011

You know when you go to a baby shower and you have to put down a piece of advice for the new mama and we all rack our brains for great advice, we want something encouraging so not to scare the new mom, we want something sentimental so we make the poor woman already crying on a dime cry harder, but we also want it to be useful. So here is my advice from now on. So if any of you invite me to your shower this is what I will say…

Kids spill things. All the time. They will spill on your laptop. Your new top right before heading out the door. They will spill all over your lap while at chic fil a. They will spill all over your cell phone. And spill proof sippy’s are a lie. It is how you handle that spill that proves who you are as a parent. If your first instinct is to yell, scream and freak out. Well that’s your prerogative, but next time your hands are too full and you accidentally spill your drink I hope someone is over your shoulder telling you what all you just ruined.

I yelled at Andi after she spilled a soda all over the hospital floor. It was a few years back and I had been there for days with Lily, we went to the cafeteria while Andrew sat with Lily, I was so stressed that the minute she spilled it I got mad. A stranger was standing by and came over to help and told me it was just an accident and while it pissed me off at the time they told me that, they were right. It was out of character of me, it was a stressful time, but it was just an accident. How many times have I dropped something, spilled something, etc who yelled at me? Since then I have been keeping my cool when things, annoying little things happen and it isn’t something I proclaimed to the world, it was something I noticed and corrected in myself, but last week Oliver and I were at Chic Fil A and he was on my lap messing with his soda and the next thing I knew the entire freezing contents were on my lap and what I said was “that was cold!” and then proceeded to clean it up. Thankfully I was at the 5 star of fast food and I was given assistance in no time at all. But the funny thing was a mom of 2 little boys and one on the way said to me, “Wow you handled that amazing! All you said was it was cold” and I said “because it was!” I felt proud though that my reaction was handled and recognized by a fellow mom.

So if I’m coming to your shower I will condense it to, kids are messy, don’t freak out.

Daddy’s Christmas Gift

Kim Nothdurft

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February 19, 2011

I bought Andrew a ride along in a Nascar at PIR for Christmas and this was the weekend he could cash it in. Friday we took a long lunch from work and drove the 45 minute drive to the other side of the state and he signed his life away, got suited up and got to go for the ride of his life! He loved every minute and of course now he wants to drive for his next gift. Quite a difference in price there buddy! I told him it was his birthday gift too since his birthday is Saturday the 26th but not sure if that will fly 😉

Anyway here are some photos of our fun long lunch date which was followed with a yummy Mexican lunch, it was a fun day:

Kindergarten Fun!

Kim Nothdurft

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February 11, 2011

I help out in Andi’s class one hour a month. Yes one hour a month is plenty enough time for me. The kids get glue everywhere. Even with glue sticks! The teacher from across the room always says to my table that everyone is too loud and I even got in trouble for helping a kid finish up. Apparently the kids have to do their own work. Who knew. I am just way too soft to work with 25 6 year olds.
Anyway I always get to hear the most interesting things during that hour that makes up for the glue, the loud, and the getting in trouble.
Back in July I had a couple hot pink extentions put in my hair and I liked it so much I had my most awesome hair man dye the whole bottom of my hair pink in August.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nordyswifey/4952914315/in/set-72157624867792084/
That is a picture of us at Splash for a Cure and a great example of my hair color 🙂

So anyway not one but two kids in two seperate groups ask me where my pink hair went. This was after they asked me in January and December AND November…I told them it washed out. They said ahh man. I wonder if that makes me the cool mom?
Another thing I found funny was Andi’s group was at my table and Andi said “T kissed J!” And I said “what? kissing!” and little J says to me “well Andi kissed me!” I looked at her and asked if that was true and she smiled. Sigh…
Then a sadder moment was when I asked a little guy how he was doing today he said “well my parents got kind of rough with each other last night” I asked him if everything is ok and he said it was. I didn’t really know where to go from there. My heart was sad for him.
So last night when Andi made fun of us kissing (Andrew and I) I said Andi do you want parents that kiss or parents that fight? And she of course said kiss, but I just have to say I am so happy that even though the school year started out with lots of fighting and unknowing, here we are getting made fun of for kissing. Mwah!
Speaking of that we are going on a date tonight thanks to my parents they are keeping all 3 for a sleep over and we are going to celebrate Valentines Day a few days early. ❤ (that makes a heart on facebook if you're wondering)

Glad we didn’t have 4

Kim Nothdurft

2 comments

February 10, 2011

I will start with Lily who had a neuro appointment yesterday. She weighed in at a whopping 59 lbs! I just had my girls with me and that made the appointment so much more lovely. Love Oli, don’t love Oli in a Dr. office. Lily had a seizure in the parking lot then one drop while seeing neuro and a nice big one on the way home in the van which then caused her to vomit all over herself and her wheelchair and it was so sad because she then just passed out, the ride was 45 minutes 😦 she had to sit with her puke all over her and Andi and I had to roll the windows down.
Neuro decided to go up aggressively on Sabril and Clobzam and hopefully we will be able to discontinue the Banzel. We also decided to replace VNS on the right side. It was originally on the left side, when they went to replace the battery the cords weren’t working so they just removed the battery and closed her. I really think the VNS did help and we want it back in. Neuro said it is perfectly fine to put it on the right side and so we are going to go ahead with that, I am hoping we can do that during spring break.
Lily is still gluten free and except for my diminishing bank account I haven’t seen any changes in her at all. Positive or negative. We will continue for 2 more months and then if we still see no changes she can go back to oatmeal and peanut butter and jelly on real bread. But always willing to try anything for our girl.
I will now move on to Andi who at the Dr the other weighed in at 58 lbs and 50″. She is only a pound less than Lily and about maybe 4 inches shorter. Either Andi is a giant or Lily is really slowing down in growing (probably both). It is nice that she is knowing we have to care for her completely but I can’t help but wonder if it is because of CDKL5, or she just has slowed down. She is quite average for her age and she used to be 100% height and weight for her first 6 years then she really slowed down. Anywho, we are on Andi Jane. She was at the Dr because we are concerned she has ADHD. Her Dr has already voiced his opinion on her last year but now that it is causing a problem in school I want to look into it more in depth. Her teacher has made note of her inability to sit still to an extreme as well as her social issues and staying on task all no bueno. Not sure what our plans will be from diagnosis on, but you can be certain I won’t do anything without doing my research.
And onto our boy. Oliver had his 2 year well check on Monday and came in at a whopping 25 lbs and 36″. He is quite the string bean but I have to say I am glad his 12% and 97% percentiles weren’t the opposite, he’d be an oopalupa. First thing Dr noticed was his raging ear infection in one ear and pretty bad infection in the other. Oops. I knew he wasn’t sleeping well. Just thought it was a cold. Then we go on about vocab. How many words he asks uh.. 10? Maybe 15? Is that ok? Not really he says. He told me not to worry worry, but be concerned and we will follow up with an ear re-check and then some hearing tests. I’m not worried he is autistic, but I am concerned he has fluid in his ears as he did all last year and then when I finally took him to the ENT it was summer and he was all clear. But I am worried he has had fluid for the most part of his little life and his hearing isn’t right. So I guess we will continue to follow up with that and I will continue to update.
I told our pediatrician, I wonder if we had a 4th what the heck he or she would have?!
I call Andrew to tell him this news and he says what the heck is wrong with our kids? My sentiments exactly. So glad we closed up shop. My heart can’t take anymore worry over these precious little people.
If you can spare a prayer for us it would be appreciated. I know I kept the update on the light side, but I do have genuine worry for each of my kids and I know Lily’s is the most severe concern and most life threatening, but I want Andi to do well in school and flourish as an awesome spirited child, not hindered by her overactive brain and we would love to hear Oli say more than hot, truck, football and dada. He is 2 now and he barely says anything clearly let alone puts words together. So pray for our mommy and daddy hearts that fill with worry. Pray for the kids that we make the right choices where all their well beings are concerned. Pray God’s will always takes us where his Grace can protect us.