A New Outlook

This week has been a struggle. Not only did having a seizure take a lot out of me physically, I'm also mentally and emotionally drained. I've had to make a lot of changes in my daily habits that have been a challenge. And I still don't feel like myself. The way I feel phsyically has been affecting my ability to work, which weighs heavy on my mind.

I had to give my shift up for today because of how dizzy and lightheaded I've felt since yesterday morning. It's especially frustrating because I don't know what to do about it or how to fix it. After Tyson left for work this morning I decided to watch one of my many recorded re-runs of Oprah. This one in particular was the episode with Celine Dion and the Canadian Tenors. Every time I watch their performance on this episode I just cry! It is so touching. On this particular occasion I realized how happy it was making me feel to hear them sing. I started thinking about all the wonderful things in my life and the many more to come. I couldn't help but get emotional.

And from this I've decided to change my attitude. This week has been so rough and frustrating. But I know that everything is going to be ok and work out the way it's supposed to work out. When we ask for the answers we don't ever seem to get them when and how we want. But I know that someday I will realize the blessings that will eventually come out of all that has been happening. I know that we're never alone. That thought is extremely comforting. I'm just so happy for this little baby who will be joining us in just a couple of months. He has already brought joy into so many lives. I know things will get better for Tyson and I. If I think about all the good things, they somehow weigh out the bad. I feel lucky to be living the life I live. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Bella

Tyson and I had a little house guest this last weekend. Her name is

Bella

and she is Aaron and Britney's kitty.

She was fun to have around for a few days!

Thanks for coming over to play, Bella!

Never a Dull Moment at Walmart

Every now and then I witness something really random and/or rediculous at Walmart. First I went to lunch with Amber and Mom at Carino's. I had to order something meaty to help with my iron issue. So chicken scaloppini it was. It was fun to go out with Mom and Amber.

Mom and I went to Walmart right after lunch. When we walked in I decided I needed to use the restroom. Mom went to the vegetables and I told her I would just find her. So I went into the restroom and got in line behind a woman with a cane, who was behind a mom and her 7-year-oldish daughter and 3-year-oldish son. The mom went in one stall and the kids went in another {which I thought was kind of odd, honestly.} Then someone else came out of another stall. But the woman with the cane was waiting for the large stall. So she told me I could go ahead of her as she went to stand in front of the large stall. Pretty soon I hear a woman come out of the large stall. As she did so the woman with the cane began reprimanding her. It went something like this:

Cane Woman: You shouldn't be using this stall. This stall is only for people who have a hard time getting around...
Other Woman: My apologies, ma'am.

{My thoughts at this point were, "Are you kidding me? Don't you apologize to her! What were you supposed to do, hold it till someone else came out of another stall? Good grief."}

Cane Woman: I've been standing out here waiting on you, and you shouldn't be in there...
Other Woman: My apologies, ma'am.

I was rolling my eyes like crazy and saying things like, "Give me a break," and "Good grief," under my breath. Then in the stall to my left I could hear the two kids. Their mom had just asked them if they were ready yet. This is how that situation went down:

Girl: Almost done, Mom. Wait, Billy don't do that. Billy, don't. Billy...{getting louder}...Billy...Billy!!

Then ~splash~ water everywhere, even under my stall. I had to lift my feet up. This girl hadn't flushed the toilet yet.

Girl: Mom, Billy fell in the toilet.

I couldn't help but laugh. I was so grossed out but at the same time, it was hilarious. Pretty soon I hear the kids come out of the stall and the mom sounding a little angry:

Mom: Are you kidding me?! What were you doing, look at your shirt! We're going to have to buy you a new shirt. Go wash your hands. Better yet, let's find a shower somewhere. What were you thinking?!

Talk about drama. Then I went out to wash my hands, and as I was doing so the woman with the cane came out of the large stall. And out the door she went, not even glancing at the sink that she probably should have washed her hands at. I was grossed out, but couldn't help but laugh. It was all so rediculous! As soon as I found Mom I told her what she had missed. I think she was pretty bummed she missed out on all the excitement ha ha.

Thank you, Walmart, for making life so much more entertaining!

Update

I have to say, the last 24 or so hours have been nothing but up and down. I had a lot of visitors throughout the afternoon and evening {thanks again to all and for all the yummy food!} and I was feeling pretty good. I drank a lot of water and munched the whole time. But it didn't hit me till about 11 pm that I had seizure. And when it did hit me the water works came. And came. And came. I had a hard time sleeping, in fear that I'd have another one and not wake up from it.

I woke up this morning feeling very achy and sore. I've always heard from people who have had seizures that your muscles get super sore from how tense they get during the seizures. I was feeling pretty good and even wrote about it on Facebook. I also decided to call my doctor's office and see if they could get me in today to check on the baby. Just for my own peace of mind. I was put on the schedule for 3:45. At about 10:30 I started going downhill again and felt very dizzy and tired. I couldn't believe the fatigue. It was almost overwhelming. I called Tyson {who had been checking up on me throughout the morning} and he made the plan to come home after visiting one more patient. All day today I have been drinking plenty of water and juice and munching on different foods. It made me feel better, but I still was feeling yucky. Naturally I was getting worried and anxious to get to the doctor's.

The time finally arrived and I went to the doctor's with Tyson. I ran into my friend Ashley {who is 39 weeks and being induced Thursday - so fun!}. I was doing great with my emotions till I talked to her. Of course I started crying and struggled to get it under control. Finally my name was called. I saw Scott today and he asked me how I was doing. Through the tears I explained my frustrations of what has been going on and all my fears...I'm sure I was quite the sight. But he measured my stomach and listened to the baby's heart rate before we got into the seizure and everything was great. He was even laughing because the baby was kicking so hard. Such a great feeling! Then he asked us to tell him about the seizure incident to make sure he knew everything. He was happy to know that I was able to stay in my chair while it was happening. Then he asked me about my glucose test and how my numbers were. I let him know about my iron being low, but everything else was fine. It was then that he decided that the lack of iron has also played a role in this mess of mine. My crazy work hours have kept me from eating as often as I should and getting enough fluids. And the fact that I don't drink enough on my own didn't help things either.

So the deal has been sealed: I'm iron deficient. I'll be starting an iron supplement and need to get as many fluids as I can. I also need to eat more during work. And all you servers out there know how hard that is! So it's going to be interesting. I'm just glad we know what to do about all this and that the baby is still doing ok. Not exactly how I wanted to learn, but I guess the hard way is better than no way at all!

And thanks for all your comments and all the concern! I have such awesome friends and family who care about me. You're the best!

The Seizure

This morning I got up for church and got ready like I would on any other Sunday. Our ward starts at 11:00 so I ate breakfast at about 9:00. Right before I left I grabbed a plastic baggy and filled it up with Honey Comb cereal. We headed out the door at about 10:35 so Tyson could start the organ prelude for sacrament meeting. The day continued like any other: active primary kids, games and learning...

We only had three little Sunbeams in our class today. All the boys were gone, so we had three of the four girls in our class. The lesson went well ("I Am Grateful for the Day and Night" - I love these lessons!) and the girls had fun learning about the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. We got all the playdoh put away when at about 1:50ish I turned to Tyson and told him I didn't feel well. I figured I just needed to eat something since all I'd had since 9:00 was dry cereal. Very soon after that I started feeling hot, weak, and a little dizzy. I told Tyson we needed to go and that I wasn't feeling very well at all. So he grabbed the role folder and went out to give it to the primary secretary. Right after he left I felt extremely dizzy and the room began to spin. The next thing I knew Tyson was standing above me yelling my name and telling me to wake up. With blurred vision I could see three little faces staring at me. He then took the three girls and walked them over to the classroom next door.

When he came back he said,

"You just had a seizure."

I've never had a seizure before. I was terrified, worried, embarassed...My hands were super sweaty along with my forehead and everywhere else. Tyson said that when he came back into the room after giving the role to the secretary I was slouched in my chair making weird noises and convulsing. I couldn't believe it! Why would I have a seizure?

He helped me out to the car, and all I could think about was how the baby was doing. I was thinking about the worst case scenario-how I would have to go to the hospital and they'd tell me the baby was in distress so they'd have to get him out...What a nightmare. So we got home and I started changing my clothes as Tyson was calling the doctor to see if I needed to go to the hospital. He ended up talking to the PA at my doctor's office (who is also a friend of mine) and told him what happened.

Scott (the PA) told him it sounded like I was lacking in fluids and wasn't getting enough water. But he had never heard of that leading to a seizure. His advice was to most likely go to the hosptial. At this point I was still feeling dizzy. Scott was going to call Dr. Leavitt and would call us right back. Tyson got me water and juice, then Scott quickly returned Tyson's call. Dr. Leavitt told him that I needed to be drinking more water and not going so long without food. He explained how the baby is getting much bigger and requiring a lot more water and oxygen. And I'm also pumping 50% more blood. So if I'm not drinking enough water and eating enough, the baby will take everything he needs and I won't be left with anything. Which was what happened to me. My brain was lacking oxygen because all I had went to the baby, which led to a seizure. I now needed to get plenty of fluids and eat some serious calories to get my blood sugar levels back to where they needed to be. If I have another seizure I need to get right to the hospital. And as far as church and work go, I need to start bringing a water bottle and "real food" like a sandwich or something. Not a baggy of dry cereal.

That was five hours ago. So far I haven't had another seizure and have been drinking a lot of water. Tyson got me something to eat and has been keeping a close eye on me ever since. He's such a great husband!

It was a very scary experience today. I felt bad for Tyson and the girls in our class. But he reassured me that the girls were pretty involved with the conversation during the seizure and didn't notice anything till he started yelling at me. As for him...he's just begging me never to do that again. Apparently I "scared the crap" out of him. I told him I'd do my best not to have another one.

And Baby Miller has been doing just fine. He's been kicking and moving around like usual. What a relief!

My final note is this:

For all you pregnant friends and family out there, make sure you're getting your 8-10 glasses of water a day! They're not kidding when they say that it's important to get enough water. It took a seizure for me to realize that I need to take water more seriously. The baby is going to be getting everything he or she needs whether you're getting enough or not. Good for the baby, yes, but mom needs enough too. And make sure to eat throughout the day. Don't go too long without food! I was dumb to not drink enough water. I hope you all are smarter than I am!

***

{PS I also want to thank all of you who have called and stopped by today after our crazy ordeal! I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me. You're wonderful!}

"It Could Have Been Worse"

It's hard to believe that almost sixteen months ago my dad's cabinet shop caught on fire. That day will go down as one of the crappiest days in O'Connor family history. It was also the day that "could have been worse," according to Dad. He's always been able to see the positive side of things. At the time it was hard to see anything positive in the situation, but he was very reassuring and comforting during such a terrible situation.

On that morning I didn't think to grab a camera at all, but I did have my phone. And just recently I was able to get the pictures off the phone and onto my computer. I wanted to document the pictures and include them in my blog book. The following are the pictures I took from that cold, rainy, dreary Sunday morning in November that none of us will soon forget.

All the cabinets inside were completely damaged.

I hated seeing a beautiful mantle sitting out in the rain after being pulled out of the rubble.

Dad talking to the firemen

We had a lot of support from friends and family. It was very comforting.

I Passed!

I had the ever-so-famous glucose tolerance test at the doctor's office today. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous! I've just heard so much about it and how gross it is:

"It's like drinking a can of Mountain Dew with an extra cup of sugar in it."

"It tastes like you're drinking cough syrup right out of the bottle."

"You'll never want to drink Sprite again."

After getting checked in and getting my blood pressure taken the nurse asked me what flavor I wanted for the drink. I chose orange. The physician's assistant and his wife at my doctor's office are friends of mine, and she said out of all the flavors she's tried the orange was the best. So I went with it! I was told I had ten minutes to get the little 10 oz. bottle drank, then I needed to keep track of what time I finished.

So I opened the bottle at 10:42 and went for it. I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It tasted like Sunkist without the carbonation, but with a little more sugar. However, I'm not used to drinking a can of Sunkist that fast! Or anything, for that matter. I struggled for a bit. Three minutes later I was finished and onto the rest of my appointment.

My belly measured well, and the baby's heart beat sounded great. Phew! Always a good thing to hear. The doctor answered a bunch more of my crazy questions that I had for him {Is it bad that I haven't felt the baby have hiccups? Is my weight gain on track?} and then I sat in the lobby reading my book for 40 minutes before going back for the blood test. Just moments after the nurse pricked my finger she told me I was normal and in the clear for gestational diabetese. Yes! I thought for sure I had ruined my chances after that week of wanting to eat nothing but candy and sugar ha ha. But I was actually quite far under the maximum number to have before you've got it. The one thing the test showed, however, is that my iron is a little low. I need to be eating more red meat. Guess Tyson needs to take me out for a steak! Dang.

Happy appointments sure are great.

{PS I went right to Subway after my appointment for some food. I ordered a footlong sub. Yes, a footlong. But for the record, I ate half of it at noon and the other half at around 2:00. Totally worth it!}

image via opticsplanet.com

Wii Had a Great Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a great time celebrating Valentine's Day this weekend.

It all started on Friday when I walked in the house from work and saw these on the kitchen counter:

Tyson bought me flowers! So sweet.

Right after I saw the flowers and snapped a few pictures, I headed over to my mom's house where Amber and I baked a heart-shaped cake for Saturday night's dessert.

Amber did a fantastic job decorating it!
We also colored it pink so it was pretty cute when we eventually cut into it.

We celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday the 13th. To kick things off, we went to lunch at Papa Kelsey's with Aaron, Britney, Che', and Amber. It was fun to sit and visit with everyone for a while.
Before lunch we decided to open presents. I got Tyson a Wii and the new Super Mario Bros. game. He was pretty excited!


I had secretly been saving some of my tips every day until I had enought to buy one. But I almost didn't get one anyway, since no one in Idaho Falls has any! But luckily Game Stop in the mall was getting three consoles in right before Valentine's Day, and one of them hadn't been reserved. So I went for it and picked it up on Thursday. Phew! Cutting it close!

Tyson got me two round cake pans and a muffin pan. Perfect! I didn't have either (except for the 6-count muffin pan that I had from college ha ha) so I was really excited to get these. And of course, a delicious Hershey bar. Yum!

And Kristine got married yesterday so Tyson, Che', Amber, and I went to her reception. She looked so pretty! Amy did her hair and it turned out awesome.

I really liked her cake and the cake table/corner. It was so pretty!

After the reception, the four of us decided to head over to Olive Garden for some dinner. We were on an hour wait so we stayed in the car and talked outside ther restaurant (where this picture was taken.)

And now I'm going to tell you about our special Olive Garden experience. We'll do this in bullet form so I don't forget any details. Here it goes!

• After an hour wait we were sat at our table. It wasn't a booth, but it wasn't the worst table to sit at.
• When we sat down I started looking around and noticing the people around us. The two booths to my right had a couple in each, and both were waiting for their food. They weren't talking at all, and it seemed like they had been waiting to get their food for a long time. As a server, I tend to check things like that out when I go out to eat. But just an observation I made.
• Our server greeted us, got our drink/appetizer order, then got our drinks out. I ordered water with lemon, but didn't get the lemon. No big deal, easy to forget.
• Then the server took our order. When we got to Che' he ordered the Tour of Italy with marinara sauce on the pasta instead of alfredo. Sounded delish.
• We eventually got our appetizer (calamari - yummy!) then soon our salad and bread sticks came. Always a yummy part! (And PS, if you would like the recipe for that good dressing they put on the salad, just click here!) Che' had asked for a side of ranch but never got it. He would have asked for it from our server but he didn't come back.
• Around this time I started noticing other people around us. Those two booths occupied by couples had eventually got their food, but they were back to sitting there waiting. This time to get their check, which didn't come for a very long time. They had the same server we did.
• We sat and visited for a while, anxiously awaiting our yummy pasta. But it seemed to be taking a long time. And our server had gone missing. Our drinks were all empty and we were just sitting there with a bunch of plates. He must have just been really busy.
• Eventually we saw our server come back through his section. When he walked by our table I suddenly smelled cigarette smoke. And it smelled really fresh. For a minute I thought it was our server, then I considered the thought that it was one of the guests who had just sat down at the booth across from us and the smell came up as the server walked by. Hmmm...
• We eventually got drink refills from our server and he took our empty dishes. After more waiting for our food, the manager came up to us and explained that there was a "mis-hap" with our food and it would be out in about 5/10 minutes. She was super nice and apologized, then left us to wait for a little while longer.
• Amber, Che', and I have all been servers so naturally we started discussing the situation. We brought up our own experiences of working in a restaurant and how the "mis-hap" seemed like another of way saying that our server forgot to ring in the food. We figured that if all our food came out hot then that was probably what happened.
• Then Che' asked us if we smelled the cigarette smoke when our server walked by. And immediately all four of us answered emphathatically with, "Yes!" and continued to discuss how our server pretty much went out for a smoke break. We've had enough smoker friends in our days to know the smell of a person right after they smoke a cigarette, which was exactly what we could smell at the time.
• We ended up waiting an hour before our food got to the table. And it was all hot. But Che's was wrong, so he had to ask for a different sauce. The server blamed the cooks, of course.
• We all had two bites when the guys took their credit cards out and set them on the table. Our server eventually came back and boxed our food up. Then the manager came by and let us know that she was sorry for all the trouble and she was going to give us free dessert. We already had dessert waiting for us at home, so she ended up taking an entree off each of our checks.
• Needless to say, our server didn't get a 20% tip from us. The whole experience was a little frustrating, but the boys held it together and kept their cool nicely! And we still enjoyed the company we were with.

After dinner we went back to Amber and Che's for cake and icecream. It was delicious!

Tyson and I went to his parents' house for lunch today and it was fun. All of his siblings who live in the area were there. The tables were set up with Valentine's Day decorations and chocolates. And there were name cards at each of the plates. So cute!

Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's Day! We sure did!

We Tried the Chili

Our sis-in-law, Britney, posted a delicious recipe for White Chicken Chili
on her blog and we decided to try it last week. It was so yummy! We really liked it. One thing I would do differently for next time: add less cayenne pepper. I liked the way it turned out, but both my mom and Tyson's stomachs had a harder time with it. I used one teaspoon and will probably use a half teaspon next time. Another thing I would do differently is cut the recipe in half. But only if I'm making it for just the two of us. This makes a pretty good size batch. And overall it was great! We really liked it. Thanks again for posting the recipe, Brit!

***

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 cloves or garlic {or about 3-4 Tbsp of minced garlic from a jar}
1 - 7 oz. can diced green chiles, strained
2 - 15 oz. cans white beans, unstrained
4 c. chicken broth
1 tsp chicken buillon granules {I used 1 cube}
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne {I used a full teaspoon but will start using a half at the most}
1 c. sour cream, plus additional for topping if desired
3 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese {I used 2 cups and it was perfect}
chopped fresh cilantro
chopped roma tomato

Cooking Instructions

1. Cook the chicken by your desired method {I boiled mine}. Cool and tear into pieces. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken buillon, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Simmer 30-45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated or frozen for later service.
4. Add 1 c. of sour cream and the cheese {sprinkle in the cheese a little at a time so it doesn't all clump together}. Continue cooking until the cheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.
5. Serve in bowls and top with cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream. Enjoy!

For more of a soup consistency, add up to two more cups of chicken broth.

Erika Turned 23

Happy birthday, Erika!

This was the second of the two birthday parties we had this week.

Our sister-in-law, Erika, turned 23 on Sunday, January 31st.

She had a birthday party at Tyson's parents' house with a lot of family and friends.

It sure is fun to get together with everyone! We all had a great time!

After a delicious dinner of sandwiches and salads, we played a wild game of Bingo. It was so fun! Lots of prizes were given out.

Everyone was concentrating really hard.

Including me! I was doing really well at first, but then couldn't get anything at all.

And there's my surprised face ha ha.

Tyson's mom, Julie, holding Jack

Kristi & Bailey

Angie, Kate & Steve

Tyson and I each got a bingo!

I picked the Reese's and he picked the Milk Duds. Delish.

(I immediately threw that Reese's in the freezer when we got home and ate it the next day. They are so good frozen!)

After Bingo we had birthday cake and ice cream.

Erika lit the candles.

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Wait...trick candles! What!

Tyson & Jack

Dustin cutting the cake

Lillie & Rachel

Angie, Jack & Alisha (Erika's sister)

Brotherly love

Dustin, Tyson & Clark shootin' the breeze

Time for presents!

Love Spell products from Alisha & Lance

Jewelry and a scarf from us

A gift card from Milan & Julie

And everything under the sun from her nieces ha ha.

It was the cutest! They go through their rooms and put together birthday presents that include toys they'd be willing to give away. It was pretty funny what Erika ended up with.

And we can't forget about her "Glee" t-shirt from Tacie!

It says, "I'm a gleek." :)

Happy birthday, Erika! We sure love you! :)