A day at the doctor

Well, I definitely had other plans yesterday than to spend the day at the doctor's! I was supposed to go with Rebecca and her class on a field trip, but when I woke up yesterday morning, my stomach did not feel very well. I took two Tums and then proceeded with my morning as usual. By the time we were ready to go out the door to take kids to school, I was nearly doubled over with pain.

I drove to my friend, Camille's, to pick up her son and I asked her to take the kids to school. In the meantime, her sister-in-law, Sarah, who was visiting for the week, made some phone calls and got someone to come over and give me a blessing. I, also in the meantime, was calling Kaiser and got an appointment with my doctor. By this time the pain had abated a little bit and I was feeling better. Sarah volunteered to drive me into Fresno for my doctor's appointment.

As soon as we got on the road, the pain started again. It was as though there was a column of pain going down from my stomach/heart area down into my intestines. If I hadn't already had my gall bladder surgically removed, I would think that I was having a gall bladder attack. That was how intense the pain was.

We got to Kaiser and went up to the doctor's office, but by the time I got into the exam room, the pain had subsided again. The doctor asked me a bunch of questions and said that she thought I had an extra build up of acid in my stomach. (She also mentioned that this could be caused by stress. Hmmm. She's probably right. So I'll just reduce my stress levels. Ha!! Ha!! Ha!! Ha!!) She sent me down to the lab for some blood work and prescribed a Pepcid-type medicine. We went to the lab and then when we picked up the Rx I took one, and swallowing the pills started to make my stomach hurt again.

By the time we got out to the van I was having me third attack. I would say the pain was a 7 out of 10. I called Kaiser and said that I was having another attack and since I was still in the parking lot, if I need to come back up I could. They said to go back up and we went back in. As we were about to get in the elevator, I felt like I was going to throw-up. I ran into the bathroom, and although I felt all the fevery-clamminess that usually proceeds throwing-up, there was no gag reflex to get anything to come out. We went upstairs and they took me to a treatment room and tried to get me on an IV. My veins are not very cooperative, so after two tries (and two big bruises) they gave up and brought me a "GI cocktail". It was a nasty concoction that numbed my throat and mouth and was supposed to stop the spasms in my stomach and make it feel better. I lay down while they called the radiologist and the gastroenterologist and I got some "pseudo" rest. My stomach still hurt, but it was down to a 5 instead of a 7.

The results of my blood tests came back, and all of them were normal, except that my liver was inflamed. They made me an appointment to have an abdominal ultrasound the next day and prescribed me Prilosec. After picking up that Rx, we were ready to go. It was seven hours after we had arrived. Yikes.

I was able to eat about six saltines before I went to bed last night, and then I was supposed to be fasting before the ultrasound. So, technically I was on a 26 hour fast. I really didn't feel like eating though, believe me!

Today I had the ultrasound and it is so cool that we have the technology to look into the human body. It was fun to watch my liver on the screen. I should become an ultrasound tech! The results of the ultrasound should be available in about a week.

I am so grateful that Sarah was there to be able to spend the time with me that I needed. I felt really bad that she had to spend the last day she had here with her family with me, but she insisted that she didn't mind and I really appreciated her being there. I also appreciated Camille taking care of the girls for me. It was so much easier to be there at the doctor's office without having to deal with taking care of the girls as well. Kevin called me frequently throughout the day to see how I was doing and to see if there was anything he could do.

Today I have felt a whole lot better and thankfully have not had any attacks. I have been able to eat a little bit and slowly am getting back to normal. Whew!

Parent of the Year

This year I have volunteered in Rebecca's classroom, gone on fieldtrips, and worked on a parent committee to improve the traffic safety at Sun Empire Elementary. I have served on two School District Committees. I have helped in Amanda's classroom, helped with class and school events and volunteered to be the coach for the Odyssey of the Mind team (that was a BIG one!).

Tonight was the Kerman Unified School District's Recognition Night and I was honored by Liberty Intermediate School as the Parent of the Year. They honored retirees, employees and teachers as well as people from the community. Mrs. Milspaugh, the principal at Liberty Intermediate, introduced me and gave me the award, but there was no time for an "acceptance speech", so I want to take the opportunity now. That is what a blog is for, right?!

I appreciate the recognition from the District and the school sites for all the work and time that I have given to try to help my children and their classmates have a wonderful and positive learning experience. I appreciate the teachers who work so hard and I am grateful that I am in a position where I can lend my support and help in many ways. I appreciate my family who support me in these endeavors. This is a very nice honor to receive.

Kevin and the girls were there to cheer me on, as well as Mom and Wes and Laura. One of my friends, Kathryn Hansen, also received the Parent of the Year award for Sun Empire Elementary. It was a lovely evening!

See all the pics HERE.

Good to the Last Drop

Katrina had Ice Cream at Gramma & Papa's. She wanted to make sure she got all of it.

Third quarter grade reports

We have had Parent/Teacher Conferences with both the girls' teachers now, and they are both doing well!!

Amanda has straight As again for the 10th quarter in a row. She actually got two As and two A+s and at first was upset because she thought that the A+s were different than As and that she didn't get "straight" As. We finally convinced her that an A is an A. Mr. Karagozian says that Amanda is one of the best students in his class and that she is always exceeding the goals that she has for herself.

Rebecca brought her Reading and Math grades up to As, and her Writing grade is improving so her teacher is challenging her to get that Writing grade up to an A by the end of the year as well. So, she has two As and a B. Her reading level is up to middle 3rd grade and she continues to be excited about learning, which her teacher really appreciates.

Both girls have zero absences for the year so they are trying hard to stay healthy so that they can have perfect attendance for the year.

We are so proud of our girls and how much they love school and how well they are doing there!

A few more steps on my weight loss journey

It's April 1st and you all know what that means. Well, besides the obligatory practical jokes, it's time for me to weigh and measure. . .and tell you all about it.

This has been a good month. After a lull in February I was able to get back in to fairly regular exercise and I also have let myself indulge a few times, which I had not done before. And when I say "indulge", I do not mean whoofing down five candy bars, I mean, at a wedding reception I had a small, thin piece of cake and did not eat the frosting. I mean at an Easter celebration I ate a small piece of Mom's lemon cake becuase it was SOOO good! I have learned and retrained my brain to realize that I do not need six candy bars to enjoy the taste of chocolate. I do not need to finish something if I don't like the taste of it just because it's there.

I still need to drink more water, but pretty much everything else is going really well!

So, here is the info for Month 3


1 April 2008
weight: 188
total pounds lost: 30 lbs
total inches lost: 39.75"


Only six pounds to meet my next goal, which is to get back to where I was when I tried to lose weight last year. And, I did get my size 16 jeans up over my hips, I just couldn't button them yet. Yet!!!

Tune in next month!

Happy Easter!

What a nice weekend this has been! For one thing, the weather has been gorgeous! Sunshine and warm breezes!

On Saturday we went to a friend's home for a potluck. The food was great. The company was lovely. The kids had a great time finding Easter eggs and eating all the chocolate in them!

On Sunday morning the girls enjoyed their easter baskets, and then we went to Church, which was great (Kevin gave a talk in Sacrament meeting) and uplifting. After Church we drove up to Mom and Dad's with the Molloy family for Easter dinner and another super-duper egg hunt! All seven kids were out searching for nearly 200 eggs. It was so much fun to watch their excitement! (Katrina blew everyone out of the water, finding nearly 50 eggs just by herself, and with all the change that was in most of the eggs she found, she ended up with $8.40!) Not bad for a two-year-old! The kids played all over the place, on the swings and on the rocks (as evidenced by the scrape and bruise on Katie's leg and the cut and bruise on Jacob's head! Ouch!), until the mosquitoes chased them inside at dusk.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the beauty of the earth at this time of rebirth and renewal. Happy Easter!

See Saturday's pictures HERE.
See Sunday's pictures HERE and HERE.

A day at the Zoo

Today was a gorgeous spring day and we went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. We had decided to go last week, and then the Sister missionaries asked us if there was a Zoo in Fresno, and so we decided to go today so they could go on their P-day. We hadn't been for a while, so Katrina was especially excited, as last time she was a little too young to really appreciate the Zoo.

Since it was still cool the animals were all pretty active and we got to see most of them. The Winged Wonders Bird Show was not doing shows during the week in the month of March, so unfortunately we didn't get to see that, but other than that, we saw most everything. With the new camera, I took a TON of photos of all the animals, as I was able to get some great upclose shots that I hadn't been able to get before! We saw the birds, monkeys, reptiles, elephants, tigers, giraffes, zebras, flamingos and much more!

The Stingray Encounter was back and so we got to pet the stingrays and we also fed the giraffes. It was a lot of fun!

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Amanda is wearing a shirt with green on it under her red sweatshirt!)

See all the Zoo pics HERE.

Lea & Scott's Big Day

Scott Bolin has been a part of the Nehring family for years. Mom and Dad consider him to be one of their own. Our kids call him Uncle Scotty. When Scott and Lea got together we were happy to get to know Lea, and our kids immediately started calling her Aunt Lea. We were thrilled when Scott asked Lea to marry him at the end of his first Ironman Triathalon.

Scott and Lea's wedding was held at a beautiful home in the foothills surrounding Millerton Lake. It was a gorgeous location! The weather was mostly cooperative, as it didn't rain during the ceremony, but it did sprinkle before and after. Scott looked great and Lea looked fantastic! Their vows were perfect for their relationship. The girls got to be a part of the ceremony and hold flowers in the background. When the ceremony was over, there was a great buffet meal and then the Santa Cruz River Band played several songs for Scott and Lea. One of the band members is Scott's uncle. They were great! It was a great party and now they are off to Hawaii to run the route of the Hawaiian Ironman Traithalon! How cool is that!

See all the pics HERE and HERE.

For more pics, click the following links: Scott & Lea's Announcement, Announcement Photos, Lea's Dress Fitting

Letter to the Editor

I have opinions about a lot of things. Some things I feel very strongly about, and others, my views are fine-tuned as I learn more about them. Most of the time I make my comments out loud to the radio (I like listening to "Talk of the Nation" on NPR news), or at the newspaper, but every once in a while I feel the urge to see my opinion in print (mostly when it comes to the subject of voting and the electoral college). The Fresno Bee has printed my Letters to the Editor over the years, but today, my letter was featured at the top of the "Your Views" section, with an illustration! Cool!

Amanda at the Ranch

Papa (Kevin's Dad) went to his Aunt's ranch, in the hills west of Coalinga, Ca. today, and Amanda went along for the ride. According to Papa, she spent the entire day outside, playing in the creek that runs through the valley; the same creek that Kevin played in when he was young, and the same creek that Kevin's Dad played in when he was young. Amanda only came in for lunch and then it was right back out. She played in the water, built a house out of sticks, saw cattle, horses, and poppies, and she found some fossils. Not enough time to do everything, but she tried. She's eagerly awaiting a return trip.

See all the pics HERE.