Aubrey O.’s Neighborhood

for anyone who has been following kai's health issues, we cancelled his surgery on the 28th because we wanted to get a second opinion about it.  the last pediatrician that we talked to ordered x-rays immediately.  which is a great thing because i went 6 months without the last pediatrician worrying about it.  they looked at the x-rays, called us and said it looks like sclerosis or a peice of bone missing.  they sent the x-rays to a bone specialist who didn't really have much to say other than they think a neurosurgeon would be better to look at it since they don't want to mess with the vessels and nerve endings and cause damage.

that's about where we're at right now.  the neurosurgeons being a pain in the ass right now by asking for all these referrels and papers and stuff for them to look over before they decide to work on kai and figure out what he has.  we'll see what happens and keep hoping that it isn't going to be something serious.

my pap smear results were normal.  thank god.  three normal ones in 4 years, so i guess i just need to keep going regularly in case something new happens with the cervical dysplasia.  they can't really do anything if it's a mild form, other than watch it to see if it changes some more.  or maybe it just cleared up. 

i still need to get bloodwork.  i keep forgetting that i have to fast for 6 hours.  hopefully i can get it done tomorrow morning so i can just eat lunch when i get back.

may not be going to tyler.  we have some things financially going on and i just can't really justify spending $60+ in gas money or going out to eat all the time.  i may have to do it at the end of the month after kai's surgery.  we don't have a definite estimation on how much we'll owe before he goes in.  however, i think we're going to see another dr to see if they can tell us more about the thing on his head.  i just don't think it's a good idea to put him under anesthesia again.  i have a feeling it'll be better if someone will give him an MRI, measure it and check on it every couple of months.

for the next couple months -

• bloodwork on wednesday
• get stuff situated with ACC; daycare, financial aid, etc
• put money back to get my jeans altered
• stock up on winter clothes for me & kai
• put money back for christmas & birthdays
• zach's defensive driving before the 24th
• kai's surgery on the 28th
• tyler on the 17th
• another appt in september
• another appt in november
• make kai's 2 year appt
• get curtains for the office
• paint the walls again
• paint kai's shelves
• move shelf into kai's room
• find stuff on craigslist for kai's room & hope people get back to me this time!!!!
• weed out kai's old toys & donate them
• get the bathroom shelf painted and put up
• manage the closet & get things organized

the past two days have been just a lot of dr appts.  just two, but i would rather not have them back to back like that.  yesterday wasn't a great experience since the dr didn't really help my nerves & sort of rushed through the appt.  went to a gynocologist today and LOVED her.  she was great.  she was so fun and i'm not used to that at all.  she had such a spunky personality & kept things really casual and comfortable.

the good thing is that i had my lymph nodes checked out & they both thought they were completely normal.  both said that they were palpable since i'm on the thinner side.  also, i felt dumb because one of the "lymph nodes" i felt was actually a ligament.  wish i had known that 6 years ago.  the gyno also figured that since i've had two normal paps since the abnormal one in 2005, that i should be clear with the cervical dysplasia.  just to be sure, she's running blood tests to check my blood count & make sure things are normal.  mainly for my peace of mind above anything else.  i HOPE everything comes back clear.  i HOPE they know what they're talking about when it comes to checking my nodes out.  i've read about so many people going to 5 or 6 different drs since the anxiety never really goes away about them.

so i feel a little better about things.  i'll feel even better when i get all the results back.  just have to keep checking my skin and make sure nothing changes & make sure i get to the dermatologist again in the next few months.  i'm only allowed to check my nodes once a month, instead of multiple times a day.  bah.  i'm insane.

i didn't ask for it, but it found us.

100_9309

we went up to ACC to get some stuff done.  it's so confusing.  i'm glad zach was there to help me figure everything out.  it looks like i'm in the system and all i need to do is hear back from the financial aid dept, declare a major & take my THEA or placement test on friday (hopefully...i have to call them tomorrow to schedule it).  then i guess i'll meet with an advisor and figure out what classes i need to take.  i want to major in physical therapy, but i'm not sure if i should just knock out my basics & then transfer to a university who has that as an option or take the physical therapy assistant classes & then get into the actual physical therapy major.  no idea how that works. 

anyway, i'm about to bake some muffins & drink some wine.  then watch some scary movie with zach.  hopefully i'll get in a workout tonight.  i'm still hurting from last night.

things to get done today:

• go to ACC & don't forget to bring the mortgage bill
• workout
• thank you cards
• check bank account
• dishes
• sweep & mop
• bleach the bathtub
• clean the bedroom

What do you most want for your family's future?
Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

just stability and not having to worry about money anymore.  everything else is already going great.  money is about the only issue right now.

If you could only eat ONE cereal for the rest of your life, which one would you pick?

if it wouldn't make me gain weight, i would eat cinnamon toast crunch forever. 

recap of what we accomplished while we were there:

• san diego zoo
• san clemente beach
• la jolla beach to see the seals
• point loma to see the cabrillo nat'l monument & the tidepools & ended up walking the trail & seeing the lighthouse
• balboa park
• gaslamp district in san diego
• downtown tour of san diego
• rode on a trolley for the first time
• disneyland
• california adventureland
• went to trader joe's for the first time
• went to pinkberry for the first time
• went to old town & ate at a mexican restaurant
• went to little italy & ate at filippi's (i think that was the name)
• went to huntington beach
• watched some of the hurley US open surfing/skating/bike competitions & saw a live band play
• saw mountains & desert for the first time
• got to see the imperial sand dunes in california
• stayed in orange county for a night
• stayed in new mexico for a night
• saw a ton of dirt devils in the desert
• went into my first sanrio store!
• went to the san diego mall
• went to the contemporary art museums
• saw windmills for the first time
• hung out on coronado island
• went to uptown san diego
• saw some of comic-con
• i think that's about it.  i'll add more if i remember.