Don't sit on the baby: December 2011

For those of you who don't Facebook with me, sorry, but that's where I post most of my life happenings. So... here's a quick update on me and my adorable family.

First of all, I have had a crazy past few months and things just keep popping up. In August, my side of the family had a reunion but we couldn't afford to send all of us, so my sweet husband sent me by myself and he stayed home and watched the kids for 5 days on his own. It was the longest he'd been alone with all 4 kids and he did great! I was impressed with all that he got done AND he kept the children alive! I had a wonderful time and really appreciate his willingness to make it a reality for me. Thanks, Dave!!

In late August, I was called to be the Girl's Camp Director for our ward. This will be a post unto itself because of the magnitude of it all.

Next, soccer and school started that began the craziness of running everyone everywhere. I found out very quickly that soccer for my 2 boys was going to be on 4 different nights at 2 different locations. I was disappointed as I realized that this meant dragging all 4 kids out every night to go up to the school. Within 1 week, Spencer's practice location was changed (but not the day) to the same field as Carter's practice, inside the track at the field. I thought this to be a sign that it was time for me to start walking again. Since being called as camp director, I had determined that I would need to start walking because on hike day, I didn't want to be left behind. Oh, if I had known what that would have started, I might not have done it, but now that all is said and done, I will forever be grateful to Emily Allred for her bold and brave question to me. Again, this is full story for another post but suffice it to say that Emily asked me to do a 5K with her. So, I signed up and started training.

In October, I turned 35... it's bad and not so bad. I feel a bit weird because I know that I am not very young, but I'm not very old either. It was made worse when a lady on Survivor said, "It's hard being the oldest one out here. Being 40 I am so much older than the rest of them." 40?? That's only 5 more years... when did that get to be old?? Also, for me, 35 was a turning point. I am no longer a "young adult." I'm not old either so I say that I am now, officially, an adult. No modifiers, just plain and simple. This scares me because I do think that it means that I now have to grow up. No youthful considerations for my actions. :( Blah, who wants to grow up?? Not I!

In November, I had surgery. A very long awaited rectal surgery. I have had hemorrhoids since I was pregnant with Carter (he's almost 8) and I have had an anal fissure for at least 2 years. These problems were quite painful for me and I was at my wit's end with them all. It was time to get them fixed. The surgery went well but I had some trouble coming out of the anesthesia. I couldn't keep myself lucid for more than a minute or 2 and I kept falling asleep. My dad came to pick me up and the nurse told him that I needed to stay upright for the rest of the day because I wasn't getting enough oxygen lying down. She also told him that I needed to have a sleep study done because they were quite sure that I have sleep apnea. This is something I have suspected for some time so I wasn't surprised. As for the post-surgery, it was fairly awful. Anyone with hemorrhoids should make sure they are bleeding and unbearably painful before opting for this surgery. Think of ripping open a burning, stinging, painful cut every time you poop and then do it multiple times a day. It's really, really, really painful so you should make sure you absolutely need the surgery before you do it. I did need and I'm glad I did it, but it didn't make the first 2 weeks very easy. I can't describe how horrible the pain is. It took me about 3 weeks post-op to feel like I was finally able to sit normally and to feel like I was starting to heal.

For Thanksgiving, we went to the Poconos with my in-laws. It was a wonderful, relaxing time. We hiked to some waterfalls, went to the Crayola Factory, went to an indoor water park, went bowling, played at a game room, dipped caramel apples, went shopping, did some archery, and stopped at Hershey Park's Chocolate World on our way home. I had plenty of time for recuperating from surgery and everyone seemed to have a good time. I braved my first Black Friday shopping trip and came out very shaken. I had a hard time falling asleep because of the horribleness of it all. I can't see doing it again anytime soon.

December came faster than I had hoped. Although I love the holiday season, for me December meant doing my 5K. Again, you'll have to see the post on that because this post is already WAY TOO LONG!!