Last night I decided to switch things up a bit, since I had to change my ileostomy  appliance I decided to take a bath.  It has been just over 30 days since I had one and I really, really wanted to take one.  So I taped the old appliance with waterproof tape so when I have to change it, it will still stick.  When I take a bath I use the Burt's Bees Bath Salts and in it is oils, if the oil gets to the skin where the appliance is, the appliance won't stick.  I have a hard enough time getting the dumb thing on and having the adhesive stay flat on my skin.  Usually when I take a bath I shave, it was the best shave I've had in 30 days and after I got out of the tub I felt really daring and I put on a sunless tan.  So I missed a few places but I do look better on my legs.  So today I'll do some touching up.

We leave tonight for "The Hubby's" race, getting totally jazzed about that!  We decided that we aren't going to rent the car because it's almost $400 for two days.  That's $400 out of our vacation money.  So we also decided to change what hotel we're staying at, we found a nice Radisson with two nice looking restaurants and sleep number beds.  How cool is that?  I'm getting a little nervous about leaving because I haven't slept without my tempurpedic pillow.  I don't want to take my pillow to the hotel because they are so dirty and I don't want something getting on it and then not be able to wash it.

I'm feeling a little bit better today but still tired.  So once a get a little more stuff done then I think I'm going to use the Wii Fit because I need to do my yoga.  It's been a few days and that's not a good thing.

Last night "N" decided he was going to read and so we bought him Go Dog Go!.  He read most of it and I have to say that he's really good at it.  I just wish he'd apply himself like that more often.  Maybe this little night away will be just the ticket.  You never know.

As of right now things are in a little downward spiral for me.  I looked at the rest of myself in the mirror and I actually have to do my face and underarms with the sunless tan stuff.  My bag leaked all over the floor and I had to clean that up, I love new bags, I still have two or three loads of laundry and I wanted to clean a little more before we left and make the beds.  I know I should have been cleaning everyday but it takes a lot just to keep the kitchen up and even that's not completely done yet. 

Today will be a busy day with all that and then also packing for a day making sure that "The Hubby" is well rested for his race at 7am tomorrow and all that fun jazz.  Well you guys have a great weekend. I know we will.

I have a cold and that is totally fun.  I hope I start feeling a lot better tomorrow because we leave tomorrow night for "The Hubby's" run.  We are renting a car to go to Flagstaff instead of putting the miles on our car.  We decided to rent the Audi A6, after tomorrow we have now rented all the sedans that Audi makes.  Every time I drive one it makes me want the Q7 even more, until I saw the gas mileage on it, 14 mpg.  That's a guzzler! 

Today was my turn at seeing the new family doctor.  He's actually the head of this practice and so it made sense to go with him.  Since pretty much everything is now done through Mayo that everything is in the computer and he can see all the tests that were done.  Because of that I found out that I have to get an ultrasound done every six months for one thing and from my other appointments I know that I have to get the other stuff checked every year.  So from now on I'll be going in for a check up about every six months.  I guess it's better to do that than it is to go many years and find out I have cancer right?  The nice part is that with one of the tests I still get happy drugs.  I swear those drugs aren't as nice as the colonoscopy drugs but they'll do the same thing.

I finished reading my latest Cecelia Ahern book called There's No Place Like Here.  I bought it a couple weeks ago, started reading it then stopped picked it back up and didn't want to put it down.  I thought it was a good book, not nearly as good as PS, I Love You but almost as good as If You Could See Me Now.  I hope that I'm able to get a hold of her latest book but unfortunately she releases in the UK a year before she releases here.  Her new book coming out is called Thanks For The Memories, from the reviews I've read it sounds like another good book.  The only book I didn't like was Rosie Dunn but maybe I have to re-read it.  Now I'm trying to get my hands on The Wife Of Reilly by Jennifer Coburn to see what she's like.  I feel bad because I am a picky reader and now that I have read all of Cecelia's books I have nothing left and now searching for something like her but I hate the romance stuff.  I guess I could always re-read To Kill A Mockingbird or Of Mice And Men.

I'm hungry again so I need to grab some food, it's sad because I had lunch two hours ago, haven't written a whole lot here, looked for new books and now I want to eat and rest.  What a lazy life huh?  I'll tell you how I did on my book and food search tomorrow.

I have been trying to get stuff done for this site and it's been hard today.  I have a cold, runny nose, sore throat and tired, I think the achy body has to do with over doing it by working out.  I made some ginger tea with honey and it really seemed to help my throat, I even drink OJ and I hate OJ just to try to get better.

It's been a hectic day so far, "The Hubby" had his doctors appointment and things look ok but they want to run a few tests, his EKG was normal so he's good running his race this weekend.  It's a little mini vacation because we get away from Phoenix and we're staying in a hotel.  Have to love it.

As I was reading Google news today, I happened to come across a couple of articles that I found interesting.  One was about colon cancer, one about skin cancer and one about a vaccine approved by the FDA.  Not too sure about the FDA still but I guess if you're looking for a way to decrease how many shots your kid has to have then this may be it for you.  I'm a little iffy about the FDA and I can't seem to find my other post about the rush to get the HPV vaccine pushed through and then the whole Vioxx thing, I think that if you have enough money you and pay to have your product put on the shelves.  GlaxoSmithKline the maker of Paxil and Avandia, have had a lot of lawsuits because of these two drugs.  Well the Paxil one you should have known that it's not safe to take while pregnant but whatever.  The point being is that they had enough money to get these through even if they did know that both medicines we're doing what they should.

Luckily the kids are down for their naps and I'm pretty tempted to take a nap too but I wanted to tell you something funny before I do, I found out that I can't eat ice cream anymore because it makes my stoma burn.  I can drink milk and eat cheese just fine but there's something in ice cream that I just can't handle.

Well that's about it here and since it's calm now I think I will go rest by reading my book.  Have a good afternoon.

I went to MySpace for the first time in forever today and actually updated it very little.  Last week I went in for my colon X-ray and everything looks fine and there is no leakage so now I wait until July 2 for my last consult and then the last surgery will be scheduled.  How awesome is that?  What's also awesome is the fact that "O" is also potty trained.  Yesterday she peed right as she was washing her hands.  I guess it's not bad that she has only had one accident in almost seven days.

This weekend "The Hubby" pretty much took off and didn't work and it was nice.  He bought me a Wii Fit and I totally love it!!!!!  We bought it Saturday night and I have played it everyday since then.  I don't do the strength training yet but I do everything else and I really love doing Yoga on the Fit Board.  It shows you how to do the poses the correct way since you have the Wii Board and it shows you how you balance is.  I like doing the boxing and the step aerobics too.  If you can find it, I highly recommend buying it because it really helps you get into shape.  I let the kids try it but they are a little too young for it but it was nice to see them try.  Right now they like playing the Mario Kart game.  I don't have many games for it but really I don't use it but for the Fit and the kids play the racing game.  I'm debating about getting Guitar Hero again but right now I'm pretty happy with what I have.

We are going on a family vacation next month before my last surgery.  We're taking a car trip to Eugene, OR.  We will be spending the night a few hours north of LA and then wake up and drive to San Francisco for a few days, drive to Eugene for a few then drive as far as we can to get back to Phoenix by July 27th.  This is our first family vacation ever and I think it's going to be great because I love San Francisco and "N" enjoyed it too, "O" has never been and the best part is that we have more than one day to spend there.  I was trying to talk "The Hubby" into letting us take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory but that was a solid no.  Oh well, it happens.

Unfortunately I'm more known for my product reviews than I am for my blog.  I know that there are tons of sites out there that look cooler and have more functionality but I like to think that my blog actually serves a purpose because I think it's not a mass produced site that the only reason why it's there is to make money.  Yeah I like to make money but I would much rather be out there and letting people know about me, my family and the disease we share within it.  I want people to know that life isn't all fun and games.  "The Hubby" and I have major problems and with the disease has put a strain on us.  Our kids are spoiled and mean but with everything else going on we haven't been able to focus on them as we should.

We don't get the help from family we would get if we lived closer.  One of the drawbacks of living thousands of miles away from family is that it's hard to get help when you need it.  That's why we are taking this trip so we can just focus on us and have fun away from the heat.  I will be blogging as we travel to the different cities.  Who knows, I may even do while he drives.  I guess we'll see. 

We are trying to minimize our debt so we can afford our trip but I have found that when you get used to spending money, it's hard to stop it from going.  We make pretty good money from what "The Hubby" does and yet we can't seem to put a whole lot aside.  Take for instance yesterday, my hair dryer broke (it was also four years old) and I had to spend $15.00 for a new one.  I forgot a few things at the grocery store and spent another $18 on top of the $80 I had already spent at Walmart.  Because we are trying to save I don't buy as much natural things as I once did.  Since we are trying to save not only for the trip but also for retirement and other things I tried to teach my kids something on Sunday because I bought two things that I had no idea were so expensive, while we were in the car "The Hubby" and I chatted about the items in question and then I decided that I didn't need it (I wanted it) so I returned it.  Later I found out that "N" asked, "Why is she not keeping it Dad?"  He then said, "Because she doesn't NEED it."  "N" said, "But she WANTED it."  "The Hubby" said, "Yes "N", she WANTED it but she didn't NEED it and there is a difference."  So now we realized that we have been setting a horrible example for them and now we are trying to not do that anymore.

Last night I went to Walmart to buy my dryer and we walked the kids through the toy department and told them that they can look but not touch and we will not be buying them anything.  For the first time in a long time, we walked out of Walmart with just the one thing I needed.

Eventually our family will mesh as one.  Today was a trying day because the kids broke "O's" Rose Petal cottage again and while doing so totally trashed her room and the guest room.  So right now I have sent them to their rooms since "N" just makes cleaning up the room more difficult and also as they are doing that I'm fighting a massive headache, hunger and trying to come up with content for all my sites and also trying to motivate myself to add new restaurants to Kids Eat For, I feel bad because I don't even know where we left off on coding.  The goal is for people to also add restaurants in their area so that way it won't be just me calling thousands and thousands of restaurants.  It really is an awesome service especially while traveling on vacation and for people who don't know the area.

"The Hubby's" been out of town since Tuesday night and it's been kind of crazy.  Wednesday I had to have a colon X-ray but luckily since I have and Ileostomy that I didn't have to do any prep, but it still sucked anyway.  When I heard there was going to be barium I thought for sure it was going to be painful like when I had my CT scan, it was very uncomfortable.  I don't know exactly what they did considering I was always facing away from them but it was not fun.  I do know that they had this machine that would pump the barium in as he needed and I had to slowly turn 180 degrees so they could pump the barium and take pictures of everything at every turn.

Now because what I have been through with enemas and bowel cleaning that I thought for sure that I would be leaking but I didn't and I was pleasantly surprised.  I did ask for a pad anyway just in case.  I did feel uncomfortable for a few hours but not at all like the pain I had after my CT scan.  I was able to drive home by myself and it was ok.  I found out that the sitter I had gave the kids lunch way too early and laid them down for a nap too early as well.  I was hoping to eat lunch with them and have some peace and quiet but that wasn't meant to be.

It was a pretty good afternoon.  I put "O" in underwear because we are going on our first ever family vacation!!!!!!  We are taking a road trip to Eugene, OR and it's going to be an awesome, leisurely drive.  We are leaving July 18 and return July 28, the plan is to drive until just north of LA and sleep.  Drive to San Francisco and stay there until Sunday, drive to Eugene and spend a few days there, maybe hit Portland.  On the way home hit San Francisco again for a couple days and drive back to Phoenix.  That sounds so awesome.  I love San Francisco and "O" has never been there.  "N" was there when he 14 months old but really enjoyed the sea lions.  I'm just getting really excited.

So the terms and and conditions are: "N" has to learn to read and "O" has to be potty trained.  I'm working with both of them.  I also have listed all my baby stuff for sale and have a few people coming over this weekend to possibly buy it.  That will be gas money!!!!Today I'm going to spend the rest of the day cleaning the house,one of my trees leaked water all over the living room and luckily it's time and not carpet.  But I have a few more loads of laundry and a lot of scrubbing and mopping to do before "The Hubby" gets home.  I also want to go grocery shopping but I really don't feel like eating so I don't know what to get but I need Baking Soda (for laundry) an don't want to spend $4.20 for the 4lb box when I can go to Walmart and get it for $2.12.  Some grocery stores are a rip off but I guess you're paying for convenience of not having to deal with Walmart.

To help with saving money for the trip and yet have fun in this disgusting heat I have a few things I thought I would share with you that are either free or close to free:

• Harkins Theaters has Summer Movie Fun.  That means you can see one movie $2.00 no matter how old you are, 2 and under are free.  They change the movie weekly and the movie starts at 9:45am.
• AMC Theaters also has the Summer Movie but they are only on Wednesdays at 10am starting on June 25, and they are $1.00.  They were free last summer but it's ok because it's still cheap.
• If you want to see a new or any movie, you can also go to AMC Theaters on either Friday, Saturday, Sunday or holidays you can see them for either $4, $5, or $6.  If you want to see it in IMAX then that's an extra charge as well.
• Water Day.  That's free, fill up a pool in the morning and my mid-morning you're good to go.  Or if you live out in Phoenix, then there are many parks that have water parks.  And by water park I mean cool sprinkler type places and by sprinklers I mean big stationary water guns, fountains and other fun water things.
• Evening running on the track.  It's fun and it's good exercise for the kids, out here we go outside in the evening since it's now 110 degrees during the days.
• Library fun.  It's cheap and it's inside.

The one nice thing about having an Ileostomy is you can actually see what you absorb.  Take for instance vitamins.  I now know that the one I take, 3/4 of it gets absorbed and the rest is able to be pressed flat and broken up while in the bag.  At least I know that I have a good vitamin considering it doesn't come out whole. 

So I am now taking Metamucil and just really not liking it.  I just have to take so many pills now and it's crazy trying to keep them straight.  At breakfast I have to take 1 vitamin, 1 Imodium and now have added Metamucil (for the next three days I take 1 pill twice a day, then 2 in the morning and 1 in afternoon for three days and building up for 15 days and then I'll be on a set schedule).  Basically I take vitamins and Imodium three times a day with meals.  Plus I also take Sambu Guard a few times a day and also want to add a stress reducing pill that's all natural.

Now I know that I said I'm only going to do the "Natural Way Only" but with this lifestyle change, I'm following my doctor's advice to the letter until after my second surgery and I feel a lot more comfortable with how my body reacts to things.

Not to be gross but if you have the same type of surgery I did and you are able to have your small intestine reattached to your rectum, for the first few weeks (if you're a woman) you need to wear a pad 24 hours a day, especially at night because even though you did the bowel prep, there's still stuff in there.  It's weird because I remember the Friday after my surgery late at night I had this sensation that I had to poop.  I didn't need to but that feeling was very weird.

When I get home that Sunday night and a few days pass I started waking up and there was this black stuff all over my pad and this disgusting smell.  As long as you have your rectum, even with having a temporary Ileostomy, you will still be producing mucous.  Now all of the black stuff, which is a blood clot, is gone and it doesn't smell at night (no more changing the sheets twice a day) and when I do have something coming out of my rectum I now know that it is just mucous. 

I have been doing more research about my diet since my diet is the same as someone who has a permanent stoma (colostomy or ileostomy) that I really am trying to increase my protein, carbs and salt intake to help with hydration.  One thing that a few places say is that after the second surgery is done to really stop eating after 7pm so that way you don't have to get up so many times to use the bathroom.  Right now I'm lucky because my bag and these deodorizing drops make cleaning up not so smelly but once I have the second surgery it won't be so easy.  I know for the most part how fast my food is being passed through so but I don't know how well I'll be able to mask the odor after the bag is gone.  I've been told that I can take charcoal tablets to help so I guess we'll see.

So today things went ok except for the fact that we were a little late getting to school and I'm still upset about a charge from his school that I don't think I have to pay but the owners are on vacation for the next three weeks.  I guess we'll see.  Anyway I dropped him off at school and we drove home and while I was doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen I asked "O" to color in her coloring book instead of watching TV.  Now that I'm done cleaning and in need of a break we are watching Dora as I'm trying to get all my work done.

We have been talking about moving to Chicago a little more with the kids and they are getting excited about doing it and we have already decided that we are going to live somewhere downtown but now the mystery is are we going to get a three bedroom or a three bedroom with den.  Since we'll be going back to a small apartment and there's a good chance that the kids will be sharing a room, "N's" getting excited because he's understanding that we are going to be getting them bunk beds and he gets to sleep on top.  Last night he didn't want to go to bed until he had his bunk bed and so "The Hubby" told him that we would go look at IKEA at one of the bunk beds.

I'm against it because that means we'll have to move it and we're not even sure how many rooms we're going to have.  Either way "N" will be getting a new bed with new mattress since I don't like what he has now. 

Yesterday I had my surgical checkup and things went awesome.  I go back in three weeks to have a little dye test done to make sure that everything inside is healing and then a few weeks after that I guess I get a quick scope done and then my surgery will be scheduled. 

Today I was a nice wife (I think).  I let "The Hubby" sleep in until I took "N" to school and we had a pretty good time while we were driving there.  "N's" getting excited because tomorrow is WATER DAY, Pizza Day and Show and Tell.  How awesome is that?  To a 5 year old, it's totally wicked.  So after we dropped "N" off at one of his last days of school till the next school year (when he becomes The Kindergartner), I came back home so I could eat a waffle and make out a grocery list.  "O" then went down with me to Super Walmart and helped me shop.  We figured out a way for me to get her into the cart without lifting her.  I'm still on the weight lifting restriction.

So we shopped and talked and had a good time and not finding a few things we needed but it was fun.  We drove home and unloaded, had lunch and she's napping and so is "The Hubby" and I'm wishing I was there too.  So since it's after 12pm I can't do laundry until after 7 tonight.  Guess I'll just be doing some chilling out today while everyone sleeps.

I was taken off me eating restrictions yesterday as well.  I was told to eat whatever I wanted except no mangoes, papaya and pineapple.  I don't feel comfortable to eat other things yet but I'm starting to by eating broccoli.  I haven't had that yet since the surgery because of gas but I think it's time to live a little.  Plus he really wants me to gain my weight back.  I kind of like being here and I think I just want to maintain and then after my next surgery then start kicking butt at cardio and yoga and all that fun stuff.

"O" is potty training better now.  Last night she pooped on the toilet and we were all very happy for her.  She said, "I can go to "N's" school now."  I told her she could AFTER she did that everyday and was in underwear for two weeks.  She and I are starting to get along better now.  We read here and there, cuddle (a lot) and just hang out I guess.  "N" is writing letters to "The Hubby's" mom now so that's pretty cool.

It's going to get fun because "N" starts soccer camp soon and then we are going up to Flagstaff soon so "The Hubby" can run in a race.  It will be so much fun and I may even sign "N" up for one too.

I'm still alive even though every time I eat I feel very nauseous but luckily I go in tomorrow for another surgical checkup and I'm going to see if he'll draw some blood so I know if everything's ok.  I have gained two pounds back so that's good.

I have come to realize that being out here isn't good for my recovery.  If only my surgeon was in Minnesota then we could move to Chicago now and just go over for the surgery.  I was doing fine a few weeks before I got really sick and now it just seems as though I'll never get over it.  Yesterday was just a day I did absolutely nothing and just let "O" watch a little TV and between my little naps, I read her stories.

I think pretty much everyone in the house is sick an it will take me the longest to recover.  Next time someone takes the kids, they are not allowed to the house until after they are better.  It sucks because now I'm coughing like crazy and my incision hurts again when I do and also when I blow my nose.  I think "The Step-Mom" was misdiagnosed from her doctor, it's not her fault but it just sucks now that we're all sick. 

I really wish that our friends and family would come visit more (depending who they are) either once a year to once every three years.  I just hope that when we move to Chicago that it doesn't turn out this way too.  I won't be taking any trips home this year because I refuse to fly because I'm always treated like crap and now they are charging me for everything I check.  Eventually people will get smart and start raising a stink about being nickel and dimed every time they try to fly.  It is just upsetting that the only way I get to see my friends is if I fly home, that really hurts because every year for a month I fly home (without my husband) and he has to pay for my ticket.  I just really get tired of being the one shelling out the money to see people.

But now living out here and it's now summer it really sucks.  We have cut back costs temporarily until August 18.  Noah will only be going to school for another week and be done for the summer so we can save money from school and also the price of gas.  I filled up my tank since normally I take "The Hubby's" car and I had to pay $3.98 per gallon. 

It was weird, last night I all of a sudden had a craving for roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I still want it today but how funny is that?  At least I'm craving food and it's healthy for the most part.  Ok it's healthier than eating candy or something.

My daughter is so cute and smart and my son is handsome and smart.  So I have found a very bad thing being taught in some places (i.e. the day care that the kids used to go to), I don't know what to call it so I'll explain it.  Kids don't understand the color of skin and they won't unless they are taught.  While learning during black history month he learned that there is difference when people have different color skin.  I know they didn't mean it as a bad thing but he never made comments like, "His skin is darker than mine", before going there.  I know that this place isn't the only one teaching it.

Since I had to use the bathroom I totally lost my train of thought but what I do know is that kids unless they are taught don't care what color the skin is of the kids they play with as long as they are nice.  That is proof that it is taught.

Anyway I don't want to focus on that but I just wanted to let you know that.

So here it 12:30 and I have been trying to write this post for over two hours.  I guess I should just let it go at that since my lovely daughter wants the constant love and affection of her perfect mom.  Ha, ha, ha, I'm almost perfect.  Just kidding.