Anniversary Day! My belated anniv. post....

Today, November 21st, we celebrate 9 years! Happy Anniversary babe!

Nine years ago we were in Las Vegas with family and friends who could make the trip to help us celebrate our special day.

For those of you who know the story, it was a struggle to get down that aisle for both of us but not because we didn't want to, but physically almost couldn't. We weren't going to reschedule our day that we had planned! Ironically, it was the most joyous day and most awful day at the same time...one we both will remember forever. It gives true meaning to "in sickness and in health."

The wedding trip was the week before Thanksgiving. We were getting married in Las Vegas, Friday, November 21, 2003 at Treasure Island Casino. I wanted a small intimate wedding because my family is so large and I just didn't want the headache or bill of planning a big wedding. It isn't about the day~it's what comes after that matters most, and that was what I kept reminding myself as I was planning a wedding, I was pregnant, and wrapping up a semester at college. I just wanted a big party later and that's what we did. We had friends and family coming with us to make the trip. We left on a Wednesday evening from Minneapolis with my brother, sister, mom, dad, Grandma Baudoin, and aunt Dawn. There was not one of us who had been to Vegas before, except for grandma, yes grandma...because my dad's cousin Keith lives in Las Vegas.

We were tired after landing, so we didn't do much except hit the casino floor in the hotel that evening. After, about 10-15 minutes on the casino floor with Charlie, I realized this is NOT the place for a pregnant lady! Yes, I was 6 months pregnant with Braedyn, as you can tell in the picture above. I wouldn't normally wear a size 16 wedding dress, but that's what it was and it was comfortable and simple and didn't make me look any bigger than I already was! I went to bed early while leaving everyone else to walk around Vegas and the casino tables. I figured we have a whole day ahead of us on Thursday.
Thursday was a beautiful fall day in Las Vegas. We started the morning out with a limo ride to the court house in downtown Vegas to get our marriage license and headed back to meet up with the group. Dad, who we usually give the nickname Clark on any family trip, had figured out our day and what and where we should go...The end of the night we ended up at The Golden Nugget and ate at the buffet, what a great place to eat for a pregnant lady! We later found out ~wrong choice!

I went back to the room and everyone else went to party. Charlie rolled in like at 4 am and I woke up to him in the bathroom. It was coming out both ends and I said "well that serves you right for staying out that late the night before we get married!" He said he had quit drinking "so he says" at midnight. I actually believed him as the sickness progressed and I had NEVER seen him that sick before. Well, then that wave came over me and took me by surprise as I was getting my hair and make-up done at about 10 am. I thought this lady better hurry up or I am going to be sick in the salon. The smells were nauseating! Mom could tell I was turning green even though I had what felt like an inch of foundation on my face!
I got back to the room and Charlie was out cold and when I say cold he was actually cold to the touch with the shakes. I layed down and soon I was joining him not feeling the greatest. I didn't know whether to sit or kneel at the stool.
I thought this is not how I planned my wedding day. We both were so extremely sick how are we going to do this. Mine was tolerable still but not pleasant. Charlie finally got up and got dressed,ready to meet me at the chapel at 6 pm. He could barely make it down the aisle. We both were a a tinge of green. At one point the chaplain said, "Are you okay?"

We were able to make it down the aisle but had spent the rest of the night in bed with both of us sick to our stomach and we could hardly move. The groans coming from our hotel room weren't from your typical wedding night! We missed out on our reception afterward so everyone had a nice dinner after our wedding while we were in our rooms struggling to get down saltines.Turns out we had food poisoning! It was awful! I thought I was going into labor my stomach pains were so bad. My sister got sick and so did another person in our party.  We both were still not feeling the greatest on Saturday but made it through. We came home on Sunday feeling normal and a healthy married couple.
The funny part about the story was my mother wrote a letter to complain to The Golden Nugget and you know what they sent back to her a discount to eat at The Golden Nugget. Really, C'mon!

It is something we look back on now and can laugh. We did have a wedding reception after Braedyn was born to celebrate everything in our lives with all our family and friends back in Minnesota.
So when I see people planning their "BIG" day and spend so much time,energy and money on it. Then when I look back at ours....and look how we've turned out. I don't regret one thing! I still had my fairytale ending it just was a little different than the book.

I love you Charlie and I have been blessed and my cup runneth over!

absent from blog

I have been so busy with the holidays and other writing I haven't been as great as keeping this up to date.
Wednesday was our last follow up with the neurologist after the MRI.
As far as Braedyn goes he is doing so much better. He went through all those tests and Dr.s appointment and they have seem to pin point where his migraines are coming from. It has to do with his allergies/asthma and his sinuses! Thank goodness. The MRI showed that his sinuses were full but the ENT Dr. couldn't know if it was inflammed tissue or an infection, pus or etc. So the ENT Dr. put him on a 21 day course of antibiotics which he will finish up next Thursday. He has not had a headache since being on it. We are happy with that! The neurologist said that the kids with sinus problems~it can trigger migraines~ so if we can get his allergies under control and get him on a stronger allergy medication, he shouldn't have these migraines. If he was still having migraines after the antibiotics, then she wanted to see him back because she would want to talk about medication strictly for migraines which I DID NOT WANT him on they sounded like drugs that were a little scary for a child to be on. So I am so glad we can treat his allergies, which will also treat and cure the migraine problems he has been having. He feels much better.
We thank you all for the prayers and concerns!  Now we just need to find a pediatric allergist/asthma Dr.

3 year old conversations

Jordan and his little friend, that I pick up after preschool to come to our house for awhile, have a cute little friendship. She is so sweet and they play so nicely together. They have their moments but for the most part get along really well. We carpool with this family so we see them a lot. So it's almost like the sister he doesn't have or will never have. I love just listening to them play together and the conversations they have with each other are so cute and funny. Some of the things they say, they just crack me up. Two little three year olds, a boy and girl play differently then when it is boy and boy.

The conversation on the way home was too funny, so I have to share it. Jordan has been kind of obsessed with the Heaven Is For Real book. The story and pictures were so beautifully printed. Jordan was telling her how when you get to heaven you can get to walk around and you get wings to fly around.
She said, "Oh like a fairy". Jordan said "yes, I am going to be a fairy."
To which she quickly commented and said, "You can't be a fairy, there are no man fairies".

I almost choked on my gum that I was chewing because it was just too funny, as I was thinking to myself I think I know a few man fairies....

I let them figure out that one....

Parent of the Day

In honor of the holidays I created (with the help of pinterest) a snack for my parent of the day duties...

I am parent of the day in Jordan's preschool class and I thought the kiddos would enjoy this fun snack!

mini bran muffins
rasberries/strawberries
blueberries
Pear as the body
two dots of chocolate frosting as the eyes
some cheese as beak and the legs

A Day Out with the Boys

Since the Hurricanes are not playing because of the NHL lockout, it is hard to watch hockey here in North Carolina! We don't even get much of the college games on TV since we don't have those channels.

The sportsplex in Hillsborough, where Cooper started and Jordan now is starting skating, was having a college hockey tournament. It is NOT like watching Gophers vs North Dakota and those kind of teams but the boys don't know any different. That is the one thing I miss being able to watch or attend is the Gopher hockey games.

We got there and NC State was playing Eastern Kentucky. Who knew NC State even had a hockey team. They were having so much fun. It was kind of a boring game as it was slow and not much action packed hits...I think the final score was 16-7. Then Gettysburg College played Elon. Now that was a fun game. I figured it would be a little bit better of a game since that college is in the Northeast. They had some better skaters. The boys were the only kids at the rink and actually we were almost the only fans there until later in the game. Elon is close by in Burlington, NC. The boys could stand by the glass and get close, an experience they can't have really anywhere else. I wish I would have brought the camera as they were all standing there with hands on each other's shoulders. It was so dang cute! They were loving all the action and hard hits at one point Cooper pulled Braedyn from the glass and said don't stand so close the glass will bend and hit you in the face. The team from Pennsylvania was really rough!  We left after the first period of that game because they were getting tired. They wanted to watch UNC but they weren't until later that night. We went and got ice cream and played at the park.

Also hockey is a small world. I got to talking to one of the fans sitting next to me and I figured it was a dad of one of the kids out there. His kid played for Gettysburg College. He flew in for the game from Chicago but he grew up in Minnesota too. He was from South Minneapolis and went to Benilde. So it was nice chatting with him. He said  to enjoy about the next 12 years of hockey because once it is in the kid's blood it's hard to settle. He also said he had three boys playing hockey all over the states and he spent a lot of time on the road but to enjoy it because it goes by too fast!

We had a wonderful afternoon together. I just loved the looks on their faces while they were watching the game and they were so into it. I can't imagine if we went to a Gopher game or even a Hurricanes game.

Hockey Photos~11/11/12

The game on Sunday the 11th was a well fought game 3-4. Finally a game that was even matchup and the kids needed that as the other games were really lopsided. Usually outscoring the other team by 10-15 points and everyone usually had a goal. This team was a great little team as well. The goalie for the team was really good blocking a lot of shots. Only 3 people scored and Cooper was one of them. Yes, I was a proud momma yelling in the stands. The score was 3-4. Our first loss. We are 2-1.

Coop-thats what people yell in the stands

Cooper's Goal celebration~ he was pretty excited and mom was proud!

Go, Go, Go

Go after it, he's got his eye on it!

Good shot but nice block!

Face off, pass it to me

rehydrating



fighting for the puck

ENT outcome

The ENT specialist wanted to see Braedyn after school on Friday. So I dropped kids off at a girlfriends house. I was worried they were going to put a scope us his nose and that wouldn't be pleasant with other kids.
He went over the films with us as best as he could because he needs a CT scan an MRI doesn't show really what he is needed. He was able to see that his maxillary sinuses (ones on your cheeks are swollen) which would indicate a chronic sinus infection but he can't tell for sure. So he suggested putting him on a 21 day course of antibiotic so see if that will help clear up the congestion he has had. However, he does not think this is the cause of his headaches. We just want to get him feeling better because on top of the headaches he is severely congested. Maybe miraculously after this antibiotic he will be better but the Dr. wasn't as positive.
He ordered a CT scan three weeks out to see if the antibiotics cleared up the sinuses and see if anything else is going on.
He goes in on Wednesday this week to the Neurologist.
Poor guy, on the way to the Dr.s appointment on Friday, he said I just don't want to go to anymore Dr. appointments.