Medical Stuff

For a few months now, I've had difficulty breathing. Whenever I do any kind of physical activity, I start to wheeze. I went to see the doctor about it and he tried lots of stuff - an EKG, a chest x-ray, asthma treatments... then I said it felt more like it was in my throat, not in my lungs - like asthma in my throat. So, he tried acid reflux medication in case I had stomach acid eating at my esophagus, but that didn't work either. So, I went in yesterday to see an ear nose and throat (ENT) doctor. He sprayed a numbing spray up my nose, which then dripped down my throat, and then he put a fiber optic camera up my nose and down my throat to have a look. I've attached the picture of what we saw. I have a bunch of tissue that is blocking off my airway, so the little hole that is left for me to breathe through is the size of a soda straw hole. The ENT that I saw called up an even more specialist ENT at LDS hospital and that new doctor, Dr. Smith, had me come down to LDS hospital yesterday afternoon so he could have a look. He looked too, and said I need to have at least 2 surgeries to remove and biopsy the tissue. I'm also having more tests done to see if I have an autoimmune disease that can cause this. My first sugery is on March 6. Isn't this just SO fun?

Book Excerpt

"I belong to the generation of women who... recoiled from the proposition that keeping a husband presentable and fed should be our highest intellectual aspiration. Somehow, though, history came around and bit us in the backside: now most women have jobs and still find themselves largely in charge of the housework. When my generation of women walked away from the kitchen we were escorted down the path by a profiteering industry that knew a tired, vulnerable target when they saw it. "Hey, ladies," it said to us, "go ahead, get liberated. We'll take care of dinner." They threw open the door and we walked into a nutritional crisis and genuinely toxic food supply. If you think toxic is an exaggeration, read the package directions for handling raw chicken. We came a long way, baby, into bad eating habits and collaterally impaired family dynamics. When we traded homemaking for careers, we were implicitly promised economic independence and worldly influence. But a devil of a bargain it has turned out to be in terms of daily life. We gave up the aroma of warm bread rising, the measured pace of nurturing routines, the creative task of molding our families' tastes and zest for life; we received in exchange the minivan and the Lunchable. (Or worse, convenience-mart hot dogs and latchkey kids.) I consider it the great hoodwink of my generation. " -Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

Valentine's Hair

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I did a special heart hair-do on Lizzy today for music class. It came out pretty good. I modified I style I saw on a girls hair blog: Hair Today

First Tooth, Last Tooth!

Rachel's first tooth is officially poked through her gums. The second one is not far behind, I can see it just beneath the surface. Meanwhile, Lizzy's last baby tooth has come in as well, she now has 20 perfect little baby teeth! When Rachel was born I took a side-by-side picture of the girls, so I thought now that 6 months have passed, I'd do another one to show how they've grown. Here they are, having an over-alls day! You can see the first side-by-side picture in the August 2008 post "Rachel's 2 Week Check-Up".

Cultural Brainwa... I mean Watching Barney

I don't know about them, but my brain doesn't feel the same after Barney!