Diet Time

Well, do I have the diet for you!
It's called "The Starve yourself" diet.
Yes, that's right, just don't eat anything and you will lose weight. I'm not sure the long-term affects of this or if you will gain all your weight back when you decide to eat again, but it's been working for me for now. 8 lbs lost so far.

Okay so literally I have not eaten for 8 days. Not because I chose to, but because I literally can't eat anything.

I had my tonsils out last tuesday and my throat has been "on fire" ever since. Would you want to eat with those giant sores in the back of your throat? I have been able to drink water and every other day I have an "Ensure" drink for breakfast. I have had the occasional milkshake or popsicle, but for the most part I actually don't feel like eating anyway because just swallowing is .

Well that is until hitting the 7 day mark. I'm craving everything! Easter is coming up and oh how desperately I want some gravy and mashed potatoes or ham or even apple pie with ice cream.

My throat is still pretty tender though and I'm mentally preparing myself for being around amazing food and not being able to eat any of it.

Also for anyone who is having to get their tonsils out as an adult, I would recommend that you get multiple prescriptions of T3's and book a hotel room for 2 weeks. This ensures you are sufficiently medicated and you have no other responsibilities. Hopefully by the end of your stay, you will be healed, have had adequate sleep, and have lost more than 10 lbs. That sounds pretty good to me.

Please consult with your doctor before beginning your "Starve yourself" Diet, or maybe don't do it unless you have to.

Update

Precursor to this post: I am on Tylenol 3 right now, so if I don't make sense or am giving too much information, I'm blaming it on the drugs! 

 At 2 months Tyson is loving life.

The most awesome dad ever!!!


Well the past few months have been a challenge. Having my 6th child at the beginning of January has been such a blessing, but also hard. Having postpartum depression is difficult enough, but add on 5 children and 1 small baby, it has been crazy. I have been so blessed though with wonderful friends, an amazing husband, and an incredible mother, who has literally saved me many days. It is difficult for me to ask for help, but over this period of time I am slowly becoming more comfortable with it. I used to think that asking made me weak (and sometimes I still do), but mostly now I know it means I'm smart not to try and do everything by myself. 

 Cole was awesome!

 Before

After


Almost 3 weeks ago Cole had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He was such a trooper and did amazing. The recovery was pretty good, there were a few nights where I forgot to wake him up to give him his medicine and he woke up in so much pain. Poor guy. I felt really bad! 

Well now it was my turn. Yesterday I had my tonsils removed and that was such a weird experience. I have to tell you that leading up to this surgery I was pretty nervous. Not nervous that they couldn't do it or something bad would happen, but scared to be put under. Keep in mind I have never had surgery of any kind, not even a broken bone, and definitely not been put to sleep. Jay gave me a blessing that morning of peace and comfort and that helped me as I was wheeled into the operating room. Side note: I actually thought that you get put to sleep by the mask they put on you, turns out that this is only oxygen you breathe. They actually put you to sleep through your IV. I remember my head and eyes getting really heavy and I can remember saying "I'm trying to stay awake", but obviously I couldn't. The next thing I remember is waking up in a recovery area. Even though I could barely open my eyes (actually I think my eyes were closed for a good while when I woke up) I tried to sit up in my bed over and over again. The nurse kept getting mad at me and asking me "why are you trying to sit up, lay down." I could tell she was annoyed that I kept sitting up. I also tried to say things, but couldn't because my throat was so sore. The nurse told me "I can't hear you, I can't help you if you don't speak up." That made me mad because, duh, I couldn't speak up I just had my tonsils removed and I hurt. Finally she got the picture I was in pain and gave me more morphine. She actually ended up giving me multiple doses because I was in so much pain I was crying, which the nurse promptly told me to stop doing because it only made it worse. 
This part is hilarious. I remember getting the nurses attention after a while and she came over and I told her, though my tears, that I was sorry for sitting up and for crying. For some reason I felt so bad about it all. Obviously the morphine talking, cause in reality I should have yelled at her for being so mean to me.

Anyway, once they wheeled me back to my small room where I stayed for about 4 hours after, I was happier. I still felt as though I couldn't open my eyes and my head felt so heavy that every time I moved it, it would flop to one side or the other. Really annoying! Jay tried to help by putting something beside my head but it didn't really help and I just had to deal with it. By that time I was so tired I didn't really care anymore. I had an IV in so I was getting quite a bit of fluid in me without having to drink much. Thus, I made bathroom runs about every half hour (well it felt like it). Jay had to help me out in there because I couldn't really see normal yet and I was light headed and it was hard to walk. What a great husband!!!

Made it home that afternoon and tried to sleep. I'm waking up every couple of hours to go to the bathroom because I'm trying to drink an abnormal amount of water to help my throat heal. I'm also on Tylenol 3, which I am keeping on top of because even with it my pain is still there. One really weird thing is that you know the hanging down thing at the back of your mouth? I think it's called your uvula. It's nice and swollen right now, so any time I sleep on my back it kind of flips back and forth as I breathe. Therefore sleeping on my side is my only option right now, which isn't that big of a deal since I've been doing that for 9 months anyway. 
The doctors say that over the next couple of days it will get a little more sore and then around day 7-9 it will be really tender again as the scabs fluff off and the sores are exposed again. Yikes, not looking forward to that, but I am looking forward to no more strep throat or abscesses in my throat. 
I am looking forward to summer and hopefully not being as eventful as this winter and spring.

Hello

Why am I so bad at writing on my blog?
It's not that I don't have things to say, but maybe it's because I always want to put pictures up here, but I never download any from my phone onto my computer so I have nothing to post. I'm all about pictures so assume others are too, why would you want just writing without any pictures? 
Oh well, I guess I will resign myself to the fact that no pictures for now its okay. Just kidding, it's not okay, here are the pics.

 Went to the formally "Kinsmen park" now Kinpark with lots of bears. I'm pretty sure Jenna and Brody are trying to be the bear.

 Owen hard at work!

 Going crazy with the little boys.

Windy cold day at the park, but cute kids! Laurenne is Lyndsey's littlest.

 Kids pitching in the help build my planters.

 Jay being a good dad and being patient with the kids wanting to help.

Almost done....

Now we just need to plant stuff. Also cedar smells so good after the rain (just a side note).
Almost ready for a baby....

Brody getting a brain freeze eating DQ too fast.


The kids lately:
Jenna is such a sweet girl, but also very stubborn (which can be very good or very bad). I'm glad that she won't be easily swayed by others, but it's also hard to get her to do something she really doesn't want to do (even it's good for her). She ran for class counselor at school and won. She looked so grown up giving her speech, I almost shed a tear. She is starting to really have some good close friends that could last for a very long time and they are such nice girls.
Brody is a very social guy and it surprises me every time I see him at school at how many people know him. Especially the older kids, they will often say hi to Brody first and that puts a smile on his face. He's always been very friendly and isn't afraid to associate with older kids and play with them. He starting to get the hang of the piano, even though practicing is not his favorite thing right now. He figured out how to land a back flip on the trampoline. What a fearless little guy!
Owen is really growing up and I've especially noticed that in the last few months. He is starting to really want to help out and take care of Cole and help him with things. I think he is starting to feel proud of himself when he is able to take on a more grown up role around the house. I so thankful for this at this stage because I will need all of his help when this new baby comes. Owen has become obsessed with riding his "two wheeler" as he refers to his bike. He wants to ride it everywhere and anywhere and he's pretty good at it too. He just started this year without his training wheels and he's awesome! Well he's awesome at whatever he tries that is athletic, he is a very coordinated little guy.
Cole is such a little snugly guy. He loves being close to me and giving me hugs and kisses. I really appreciate this most days, but sometimes his closeness is a little overwhelming. He has sat on my tummy multiple times and I've cringed in pain, I know he wants to be close to me but my growing tummy just doesn't allow it sometimes. He is also getting into a phase of tantrums and angry outbursts. Yes I know patience is a virtue, one I must hone and try everyday to develop. On the flip side he is a totally different person when he's around babies, he is lovey and so soft and kind and gentle. So that's good new for our baby.

We're all just waiting for a baby to arrive. It's pretty much torture, however I know it will all be worth it to hold a soft little bundle sent from heaven soon.

 

Isn't what I thought

I had this great idea of putting a little bench in our front hall closet and putting up a shelf and hooks in our front hall for all the kids coats and backpacks that frequently annoy me, especially in the winter. I went to get all the wood I would need and came home and painted it all. I was so proud of myself for getting all that done in one day. So today I started screwing wood into the walls and then things went horribly wrong. The piece of wood I measured for the bench wasn't the right size. It was all my fault! So annoying. Then the shelf and hooks I wanted to put up for the kids stuff didn't work out either. Thinking I was hitting studs I put huge screws in 3 places. Nope, not in the studs. Shelf is wobbly and I am more annoyed. Then I think, okay well while it's up I'll put the hooks into the wood. Well  the top of the hooks hit the top of the shelf, thus making it impossible for anyone to hang anything on it. I scrap the shelf idea and think I'll just put the hooks I bought straight into the wall. I use those plastic things your supposed to use before you put screws in the wall, but they just kept braking and not working. Just then Jay calls me about something from work and I complain about all the problems that are happening with this project and he promptly tells me in the calmest voice ever to "just stop, put everything down and just stop". I'm laughing and am grateful that he's so calm about it, because I was getting very frustrated. I packed everything up and just left the stupid too small bench and shelf that didn't screw into studs and the hooks half in the wall with holes everywhere. I really thought I was more crafty than that. I guess I need to plan things out a little better than I did. I really like to just think about something, do it, and get it all done as quick as possible. Definitely one of my weaknesses is impatience. Well when it's done (meaning when Jay fixes all my mistakes) I'll have to put pictures up. In the mean time here are some ideas I took from for my inspiration.

 Okay so I'm starting in June, is that bad? Oh well I wanted to update everyone on what's been happening. In June we went to the Calgary Zoo and Drumheller with our awesome friends! We took my parents van so we could all travel together and it was a blast. Crazy? Yes, but as the song goes "we don't even have to try, it's always a good time." I think it's Katy Perry or some other girl singer.

 This is Brittney and I, still smiling after 2 days with 7 kids.

Dinosaurs are always cool. They all loved them, and loved to run from room to room. There wasn't really time for us to read about the dinosaurs, just look and move on. That's what happens with kids I guess.

I thought this was a pretty sweet grass stain on my soccer socks. You can see me shin pad outline pretty good. Soccer was fun this year and I met some pretty awesome chicks.

My parents build their new fence this summer and the boys loved to help. They really felt like "big" boys. Cole love using the hammer and Owen loved being "strong".

 One of the last kids lunches together with our friends before they left for Mississippi. I love these kids.

Owen and Cole playing nicely together. Only happens occasionally so I had to document it.

We ended up getting a trampoline from some friends who were moving across Canada. The kids love it and one morning while it was still crisp outside the boys wanted to jump on the trampoline, but they ended up just huddling in their sweaters.

My family had a Korean exchange student that lived with us for quite a few years, but then she ended up going back to Korea. Well she came to visit and we loved it. Here we are at the Fringe.

 We went to Crankpots with Ji-Ang and of course she made this monkey look so cute. She is super talented with artsy stuff.

Just last week I went to Fort Edmonton Park with Kali and her kids. It was a long day and the kids loved it. They were all actually surprisingly happy most of the time. Owen didn't complain that much about walking, which he normally does, so that was nice.

 Oh by the way, we bought the house we've been renting for the past 2 years. And first on the agenda was PAINT.

I was hoping the color would be more grey, but I still love it. And the door is RED!
What a great husband I have, he bought all the paint and had all the supplies ready and told me how to paint. I think I'm pretty OKAY now. Haha.
We started out the Saturday with the kids helping us prep the house, which was really great of them to want to help, but kinda hard. So my amazing mom came and took them away for the day and Jay and I got down to business and painted the whole day long. I told Jay he could call me his young Padawan learner and I would call him Master Yoda. He then explained I could just call him Master. I was fine with that cause he is the Master at painting. He taught me so much about all the painting tricks.

1st Annual Olsen Cousin Carnival was a success. The boy in the middle was an honorary member of the cousins for the day. (just in case some of you were wondering who he was)

Lawn bowling.

Bean bag toss.

The best part for the kids was Amy and Tyler running the Fishing Pond. The prizes were awesome and they loved every second.

The princesses looking dashing as usual.

Owen and Jackson got paired up for three-legged races. They didn't last very long. But really funny to watch.

 Ready to try it out.

 The whole gang minus Sarah and Eric's kids. Boo!

Also it was a going away party for Ji-Ang. The next day she went back to Korea. We love her so much.

Brody grade 2, Jenna grade 3. First day was easy peasy!

Cole and Owen saying good-bye.

Brody found a bag of fishy crackers on his desk and the note with them said "you are O Fish ally a Grade 2er". His teacher was Jenna's teacher last year so he's happy about that.

Jenna excited to be at school again and see her friends. Her class has 34 kids in it. Is that even allowed?

We celebrated buying our house by going out to eat. Our server brought us a surprise dessert after she heard why we were celebrating. Very nice of her and yes I think she got a better tip for that.

Done, caught up and feeling good.