Special Mama Time

It seems that lately, most of the blogs I read have mentioned the fact that Mom is always the one taking pictures and never actually in them. So each mom has been trying to get in front of the camera a little more often. In my friend Bee-Jai's blog, she posted "Mom n Me Monday". She posts a picture of a special moment shared between her and her sons. What a GREAT idea!

My special moment with Jaxon is bedtime stories. Our routine every night is Brian & I get Jax ready for bed together. Once he is bathed and pajammad up one of us reads him a story. More often than not that someone is me. Lately, I have been asking Jaxon would he wants to read him a story. The answer is ALWAYS "Mama!" with a very big show of him throwing his arms around me and saying, "Read it, Mama. Read dinosaurs" (or whichever book he's into at the moment). I have even tried saying, "Oh, but Daddy is a good reader. Don't you want him to read you a story?" "Ummm No. Mama read it".

I truly enjoy this time with him. I know the time will come too soon when he doesn't fit in my lap anymore and won't want me to read to him. I cherish each night that I get to sit him on my lap, smell his sweet boy smell and snuggle with my baby. Even though after 3-4 books, I'm ready for that sweet boy to go night night. :) He almost always says, "More Mama. Read other one."

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this boy?

Thyroid Update

It was a year ago today that I had a complete thyroidectomy due to a cancerous tumor. So, what better day than to today give an update!

I have been seeing my Endocrinologist, Dr. Edwards, every 3 months since June 2009. Each time I have lab work done so he can check my TSH (thyroid something hormone, can't remember the name) and the tumor marker. Well, (I think I've blogged this before but I can't remember) apparently, my blood makes an antibody that conflicts with the antibody used for the test. This means Dr. Edward is not getting an accurate reading on the tumor marker, which means he does not have a clear idea of what the cancer may or may not be doing. He hasn't been extremely worried about this considering that Dr. Coffman (my surgeon, Dr. McDreamy) took out as much thyroid tissue as possible last year and I had a very successful body scan last summer. Since there hasn't been an accurate blood test, I have to have a body scan in June. This means that I must have another radioactive iodine pill, which means I must go on the low iodine diet once again.

The diet will begin on

June 7 -June 25 (yes, that's almost 3 weeks!): Begin low iodine diet

June 21 & 22 : go to Dr. Edwards' office for some injections (not sure about why, but he told me I had to)

June 23 : Go to hospital to take the radioactive iodine pill and leave immediately!

June 23 - 25. In isolation. Luckily, this is a much smaller does than last time (5 millicuries as apposed to 150) so my isolation time is only 3 days. Jaxon & Lucy will be in Tucson. Brian will be living in our guest room & his office

June 25: Body scan

June 26: Fly to Tucson to pick up Jaxon!

Let me remind you what the low iodine diet consists of:

- no dairy products- milk, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate

- Only egg whites, no egg yolks

- No iodized salt or sea salt

- No seafood

- No soy sauce

- Only 6 0z of meat everyday. Stay away from ground meat

- No foods that are packaged- no sliced bread, no cookies, no cereal, no crackers, no tortillas, etc.

Almost everything has to be homemade since I can control what goes into each meal. Thank goodness for my mom because she got VERY good at cooking meals & snacks that followed the guidelines. She even made me homemade bread every other day!!

While in isolation I may not be in the same room with any person or animals. This is why Jaxon & Lucy will be in Tucson.Brian will be home with me, but he will spend most of his time in this office or the guest room. Last year, when I was in the living room and he would want to come into the kitchen, he would yell, "Coming to the kitchen!" And would either go outside or upstairs until he was done.

During isolation I have to use disposable everything, plates, utensils, cups, napkins, etc. I also have to flush the toilet 3 times after using it and rinse the sink & bathtub thoroughly when finished. I also have to shower 2-3 times a day. This helps the radioactivity leave my body quickly.

Several hours post-op

The day after surgery

My scar today. You have to look closely! It is right in between the collar bones. It looks like a crease. Dr. McDreamy did an amazing job didn't he?!?

It's hard to believe that was a year ago! I feel great and the thyroid medication I take everyday is the perfect dose. I feel so very blessed for having survived thyroid cancer with not much fuss. I also am so happy Dr. Coffman was my surgeon, he did such a great job removing all of the cancer. Dr. Edwards has also been a Godsend. He is so patient, nice & caring. And I just feel fortunate all the way around!

One Little Jaxon Jumping on the Bed

After about 3 hours of peace and quiet in our house yesterday, I begin to hear some peculiar banging noises coming from Jaxon's room. Hmmm? A little boy must be awake and doing something naughty I'm sure. Sure enough, I walk in and find Jaxon jumping in his crib. My favorite part is the look on his face in the very beginning of the video. He knows he's up to no good and knows he can get away with it! He is 100% boy!

You Know You're a Mom When

All of my blogging friends have blogged on this topic this past week, so it wasn't something I thought I should do. BUT! I couldn't think of anything else to blog about today and I can't skip a day this month! So here is my version:

You Know You're a Mom When....

- You would NEVER dream of leaving the house without a sippy cup, extra snacks, small toys, & diapers.

- You can drive one-handed while leaning into the back seat handing your child one of the above items.

- You can't have a meal without getting out of your chair at least 5 times to pick up a sippy cup or fork that was "dropped" on the floor, feeding your own food to your child (even though he has the exact. same. thing. on his plate!) and saying, "Do NOT play with your food!" a million times.

- You can't walk into any room of your house without stepping on any number of toys.

- You have no problem sticking your nose in a kid's butt to check to see if there's poop.

- Your couch & carpet have all kinds of interesting stains.

- Your day revolves around naptime.

- You chose a restaurant based on whether they have waiters or not. If they do, you won't go. Too much waiting for a toddler!

- You do more shopping for your child than you do for yourself.

- You have a day to yourself and you decide to go grocery shopping instead of getting your nails done.

There's my list! Check out the other versions of "You Know You're a Mom When"

The Best Things in Life are Three

Madsen Memoirs

A New Normal

Sarah and James Plus One

6 Years Ago Today...

The past six years have been the best of my life! Thanks for being a wonderful husband, taking care of me and putting up with all of my craziness & feistiness! There is no one I would have rather been with than you!

Happy Anniversary!

It's That Time of Year Again...

GOLFING SEASON!

The moment the temperature creeps to the high 50s and the wind is only a slight breeze, the Pearsons head to the golf course! Well, Brian heads to the golf course & I get suckerd into it! Last Sunday, Brian decided he wanted to walk a few holes. We are fortunate enough to be able to walk down our street and be on the golf course. So I loaded up the wagon with snacks, water, 2 animals, the camera, and Jaxon and followed Brian to the golf course.

(video 238)

We started off nice and calm, enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon together. The 1st hole took us next to the pond, so of course we had to stop to see the ducks.

"T'mon, Mama! Duts!"

It was a little tough leaving this hole since Jax didn't exactly want to leave the ducks, but I comvinced him to walk to the 2nd hole in search of more ducks.

At the 2nd hole Brian decided he would show Jaxon how to swing the club. This did NOT turn out well! Jaxon is a "try it myself first" kind-of-a-guy. It is impossible to show him things without him screaming.

During the 3rd hole Brian went ahead and I stayed behind with Jaxon while he hit the ball. We were here FOREVER!! He did not want to leave. I tried and tried and tried. He screamed and screamed and screamed. Luckily I had a second golf ball and, brilliantly I might add, thought to throw that ball and have Jaxon get it. Yup, like fetch. Actually I said, "Look Jaxon! You hit the ball! Let's go get it and hit it again!" It worked like a charm. The only problem was that I throw like a girl and it didn't go very far. So we played this game like 10 times before we caught up to Brian at the 4th hole.

(VIDEO 245)

Check out his grip!

Our little lefty

Finally! We reached Brian!

Our golf outing ended at the 4th hole with me saying something like, "Don't ever ask me to go golfing again unless there is a cart and an ice cold beer involved!" and I walked us home. (There was much Jaxon drama between holes 3 and 4 that I decided to spare you the details of. )

Good times at the golf course!

I started this post at 1:30 pm. It is now 10:17 pm. This entire time the computer has been trying to upload one stinkin' video and it hasn't been successful! Sorry. It was a cute video of Jaxon saying, "Paying dolf" (playing golf). then I tried uploading another video of Jaxon trying to swing the golf club. I have had no success with either. Go figure the only one that uploaded was the one of Jax throwing a tantrum! Maybe another day you will see the other two.

Who Knew?

I am a girly girl! I love everything that comes with being a girl. I love manicures & pedicures. I love pink! I would wear dresses & skirts everyday of the year if I could. I love wearing high heels, HATE tennis shoes! I can't leave the house without make up on, even if I go to the gym I have to wear foundation & mascara. I know absolutely nothing about sports and have no desire to learn. I would die before I skipped a hair appointment. I spend way too much on getting my hair done. My favorite part of the day is the hour I spend getting ready. I love shopping, I love shoes, purses, jewlery & clothes. You get the picture!

When I was young and pictured myself as a mom, I always pictured myself with a little girl. Of course the little girl would always be dressed in the cutest outfits with matching shoes & hair accessories. She would love to play with dolls and I would take her to get a pedicure as soon as her little feet would reach the water basin. I had a ton of girl names picked out. Not one boy name. When I was pregnant from weeks 5 to 19 I had a sneaking suspicion I was having a boy. As much I dreaded it, what would I do with a boy? I fiercely held out hope that it would be a girl, I mean I had a fifty-fifty chance right?

Well, when we went in for the, much anticipated, 20 week ultrasound I couldn't stand it! The tech said, "I see a penis! You're having a boy!" My heart sank. Really? A boy? I didn't know anything about "boy things". A teeny tiny part of me was sad. You mean I couldn't paint the nursery pink or buy all of those adorable pink polka-dotted dresses at Target?

But of course, I did my motherly duty and painted the nursery blue, bought blue outfits, blue bottles, blue blue blue! All except the pacifier holder! I chose pink! The cashier even said, "Umm. Your having a boy. Why is this pink? Go exchange it real quick" "No. I will be carrying the pacifier holder. I want something pink. It will stay pink."

Of course, now and even at twenty-something weeks pregnant, I wouldn't trade my boy in for the world. Actually, now I am grateful I have a boy. We all know the attitudes girls bring and the worrying about boys I would have to do.

Jaxon is a boy through and through! He loves all sports, he makes sound effects, he can't sit still, he plays with dirt! Each day this week I have had to wrestle him to get the dirt out of his fingernails! He loves to play rough, loves to be outside & loves dinosaurs. He always had a dirty face & screams bloody murder when I try to wash it or wipe it clean.

All boy. And I LOVE IT!

This is a glimpse into what I expect my summer to look like:

Jaxon isn't much of a fan of keeping the sand in the sandbox! He prefers to throw it in the air or empty it.

Who knew I would love being the mama to a boy so much??

Half way done with NaBloPoMo!