Lindsay & Brandon

Cali & Disney | Vandermyde Family Christmas

2012-01-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Christmas adventure to California and Disneyland and of course, shopping!. All these crazy grandkids got together and wore each other out. We had a system navigating the Park that involved 23 people, fast passes, and stroller passes. It was great spending time with Brandon's family and having them back at our house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas is truly a time to celebrate family and be around the people you love. I am so grateful for delightful in-laws and a happy family. What a great way to end a fabulous 2011!

PCOS

2012-01-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

The past month or so has been an interesting turn of events. I went in to my OBGYN for my annual checkup and asked if she would order me a blood test to check my Testosterone level because I thought it was low. Much to my surprise, I got a call a week later and my Testosterone was HIGH. What? So, the assistant on the phone said the Doc wanted to schedule more blood work and schedule and ultrasound to see if anything was going on internally. They never really told me what they were looking for and I thought that was a bit odd, so I googled what could cause my testosterone to be high. With much searching, the only thing I could find was PCOS or Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. Huh? Nah, there's no way that was my problem. So I got the blood work done and went in to get my ultrasound. I had googled images of PCOS ultrasounds and so I had an idea of what it looked like on screen. But still. That can't be what I have. False Alarm. The Doc is just taking precautions. I thought I was in a bad dream when I looked on the ultrasound screen and sure enough, there were my ovaries, dancing with cysts all over them. Both of them. The Black Pearl necklaces (as I now know it's nicknamed). They also saw what could be polyps (precancerous growths) on my uterus, but wouldn't know unless they did a hysteroscopy (surgery) to see if they were actually polyps and remove them then (polypectomy).

I was in a daze as I talked to the doctor and she handed me a pamphlet and said to limit my sugar in not so many words, scheduled me for surgery, gave me a prescription for Metformin, and I was out of there. What just happened?

After I slept on the news, I decided since the Docs didn't seem too worried about the polyps just yet, I canceled the surgery and scheduled a follow-up ultrasound in a few months to see if anything has changed (more cost-effective and less invasive).

So, I guess I have PCOS.

And that means? Thank goodness for my friend the internet which holds many medical documents and resources in which to educate. I would seriously be in such a rut without it. It basically means I am insulin-resistant and have a high risk of developing High Cholesterol, Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, Infertility, High Blood Pressure, etc, etc. Watch the video below for the whole list. Highly entertaining. Okay, not really, but very informative!

I have only really had one or two side effects of PCOS, but they say the heavier you are, the more symptoms you have. I feel grateful I've been able to maintain a normal (not 100% ideal, but normal) weight, despite my hormones working against me. I am glad I was able to have the inspiration to get my testosterone tested, even if it was for a different reason than I envisioned. Knowing I have PCOS has made things that went crazy with Mason's pregnancy and delivery make sense. I developed preclampsia in the last month, Mason came technically two-ish weeks early (my pediatrician suspects it was more like a month since he was so small, his lung development, etc.), and it took roughly a year or so for us to get pregnant the first time. All common in PCOS pregnacies. I am actually lucky I got pregnant at all!

Now what? Well, in order to control my symptoms, maintain/lose weight, hopefully be fertile/ovulate for more babies, I need to and have now adopted a diet, ahem, "lifestyle," that coincides with being a Diabetic. That means no sugar, white bread & rice, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and to count my carbs each meal (30-40g each meal, 15g for a snack). To help my body use the calories/nutrients correctly, I should always pair a carb with a protein (meat & veggies, etc.).
It's fortunate I never had much of a sweet-tooth and that I had already cut out a lot of those mentioned above because I knew whole grains were healthier or I imagine this change would be harder for someone who lived on cookies and candy. Counting carbs is a new thing for me. I have counted calories, but never carbs. And sugar. I swear, sugar is in EVERYTHING! Even spaghetti sauce. Seriously, what the heck! It'll be a long road of trial and error for me, but I suspect I may get a handle on it sooner than later!

The thing that surpised me most was how common PCOS is. 1 in 10 women have it! It goes undiagnosed often because of the wide range of symptoms and how it shows up so differently in people. No one know what causes it, and no one has a cure. We can only treat the symptoms.

That is why I am sharing. Not because I want everyone to know or feel bad or whatever, but because it might give someone the answers they have been searching for. Believe me, I thought about keeping this to myself and hiding under a rock! No, my friends, I have learned that sharing your life (and hardships) allows you to connect with those around you. I have kept my vulnerabilities "close to my chest" for a large part of my life, but you know what? That is so ridiculous. My life has been so rich since I've opened up and let others know what I'm going through-good and bad. It creates an opportunity for people to be able to reach out to you and serve & vice versa. It solidifies friendships and relationships. It makes life beautiful.

Isn't that what life's all about? Supporting each other, loving, and serving others?

My request for you is that you watch the video below to get an idea of what PCOS is and keep your eyes open to those who may be suffering from the symptoms. If you know someone with it, there is a PCOS Education group that just started up by a local Doctor that meets twice a month. Of course, feel free to contact me for any questions, etc. I am certainly no expert, but can offer support or direction if needed.

Mu-wah!

http://youtu.be/9zmI0QIk2M8

Mason's 3rd Birthday | Rock Concert!

2011-12-29T16:38:00.002-07:00

Version 2 with Mason on the Mic! So funny!

Carribean Cruise October 2011

2011-11-02T12:43:00.002-06:00

Mormon Dodger Night

2011-11-02T12:42:00.001-06:00

FORD IRONMAN | St George

2011-11-02T12:40:00.001-06:00

At the ZOO

2011-11-02T12:39:00.000-06:00

At the Cabin

2011-11-02T12:38:00.000-06:00

Just gimme a sec...

2011-09-16T16:33:00.003-06:00

Just biding some time until I can figure out how to put Mason to bed before 10pm. These days I want to go to bed before he does! Translation: I don't have any "me" time at night to update my blog, so I threw some of my favorite pictures up to make me feel better until I get my nights back. Dang climbing-out-of-the-crib-phase.

Design for Shabby Apple | A few more

2011-08-10T16:17:00.007-06:00

Shabby Apple Dresses

Design for Shabby Apple

2011-08-02T16:08:00.008-06:00

Here are my drawings and my submissions to Shabby Apple Design Contest. They have some awesome clothing! Shabby Apple Dresses
What do you think?

Update

2011-08-02T15:59:00.003-06:00

Just a little under the weather this past week. Mason opened the door to the deck and stood there for a second, and then just laid down. He didn't quite have the energy to go any further. So miserable!
P.S. I have pictures from our July adventures, but they will have to wait a bit. Other than being sick for the 45th time this year, Mason is doing well. We hope to start speech therapy with IHC in August until the end of December & 2 times a month with TLC, too. Mason will start preschool in January. By then, we should see some great progress!

A Breakthrough!

2011-06-30T10:18:00.004-06:00

I can't explain exactly what happened yesterday, but the feeling I had was night and day compared to Tuesday. After much praying and thinking on what I should do with Mason's situation, I went to bed Tuesday feeling overwhelmed, helpless, and discouraged and that I had hit a brick wall concerning Mason.

Wednesday was a different story.

I felt I was lead to a few different discoveries that helped make sense of a few things. For example, one thing that we know that Mason has is Low Tone in his core(possibly neck). So, while I was researching online, I came across a mother's forum. A woman posted and article on Low Tone and it's characteristics. Two in particular stuck out as I read. One was the that children with low tone often sit in the "W" position because it is easier for them to keep their body stabilized as opposed to sitting cross-legged or with the legs out in front of them. Another was that they often have protruding bellies that may be due to the low muscle tone, but could also relate to their bowels being backed up, etc. Mason has pretty much always strained when he has a bowel movement and no matter how much fiber & prunes he's fed, he still strains. In the article, it talked about how the children with low tone may not have the strength to "push" and so it's difficult for them. Also, there may be a possibility of a muscle along the GI line that is not working properly (or at all) that could be causing the backup and protrude the belly. I am going to put him on Miralax for a month or so to see if that helps get his system back to normal. If not, I'll take him to a specialist to see if there is a problem.

Brandon and I took Mason to Mason's-tubes-in-his-ears-follow-up-appointment to see the ENT Doc and check to see if his ears were healing well. His left tube has already fallen out and the other is loose and the doc said the ear drum looked good. Since Mason still has a speech delay, we wanted get another hearing test done to make sure and rule out the possibility he may have a slight hearing loss (that can really effect speech & language development) which we scheduled in about 2 weeks. In addition, we asked the doc for a referral to IHC's speech therapist, so we'll wait for a call from them.

I am hoping to have Mason in speech therapy 2x a week, part with the TLC program and part with IHC. I am also going to get him evaluated by an Occupational Therapist to see if they can help with the muscles in his mouth to be able to form the words and chew (he does chew his food very well). I am also going to do more core-strengthening exercises that with help Mason with his core strength, too. Mason will start at the Washington County Special Preschool in January, which will be a big help in getting him caught up.

It's going to be a lot of juggling and conscious effort to get him up to speed, but I feel like right now it is critical for him, especially since from the age of 0-3 children's brain's are like sponges.
We don't have it all dialed in or anything concrete, but I know we are heading in the right direction and today was definitely evidence of that.
What a difference a day makes!

We are feeling very hopeful and very grateful for the support of wonderful family and friends and feel very loved! We are definitely still open for suggestions or recommendations, as well. Thank you!

Gently Lead

2011-06-28T16:55:00.003-06:00

Lately, I have felt a push to up Mason's speech development progress. He will be 3 years old in December, and he has the language development of a 15-18 month old (approx.). A lot or all of it is due to him not being able to hear because he had fluid in his middle ear that wasn't draining, so after putting tubes in, we have seen an increase in his progress, slowly. We go to the audiologist for a follow-up appointment and another hearing test to rule out any hearing damage on Wednesday. I hope that the doctor will be able to read the results correctly in order to properly assess Mason's hearing. Hopefully, he'll be in the clear, but at the same time, if it's not a hearing loss causing a delay...then what is it? And what the heck do I do to help? Mason has been working with a speech therapist 1x a month and I just don't think it's enough. I have been searching for blogs, websites, any sort of information I can find on speech delay. My knowledge only goes so far and I feel so helpless because I don't know how to help him improve and I swear, I am not getting any straight answers from the doctors. I feel like Mason is losing ground and I do NOT want to stand by and watch him go backwards.
His asthma is another concern, but for some reason, I feel like his language needs attention at this time.
Please, if anyone has had any similar situations, has suggestions, doctor recommendations--anything--could you please share your wealth of knowledge with me?

I don't know even know if anyone reads this blog, but I'm hoping someone will who can help us.

With God, all things are possible...right?

Isaiah 40:11 (NKJV)
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

Roomates!

2011-06-19T22:05:00.000-06:00

When I was in my last year at college at Weber State, I had the great fortune to live with some of the most amazing, fun, happy-go-lucky girls ever! It was later affectionately named the "HOT BOX" for reasons I can't remember, but somehow the name just stuck. There was 8 girls in a 4 bedroom house. It was wild! We all got along great and made a lot of great memories. I am really glad I got to share my college experience with these ladies and hopefully get to continue sharing our ever-changing, busy lives with them. Here are some pics from our recent get together. A few gals couldn't make it since it was really last-minute but next for sure!

Homeboy

2011-06-14T15:37:00.004-06:00

Mason puts on Brandon's hats and then takes them off...and then puts them on...and then wants you to put it on...then take it off...then it's his turn again. He could play that game for hours!

...And he likes to play in the dryer. I used to hide in the dryer all the time when I was little. I thought it was the coolest hiding place ever! Did you?

If he's not dancing, he singing & playing

2011-06-14T15:22:00.002-06:00

I know, video overload. But I just couldn't resist!

That Boom Boom POW!

2011-06-14T15:05:00.003-06:00

Hey Black Eyed Peas! We got your backup dancer!

P.S. The music is kind of loud and fuzzy on the Dancing videos, so turn down your volume for them and enjoy the show!

Pedro

2011-06-10T14:18:00.004-06:00

I took Mason to a baby shower because my sitter bailed and Brandon was working. He was pretty good, except when he put his mouth in the hole on a patio table where the umbrella is supposed to go in, except for it was where the table top hooked in, then the umbrella. Confused? Oh, well.
The end result looked like this:

and when I tried to wash it off, I got this...

I thought it was "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions...whoops!

2011-06-08T15:41:00.003-06:00

This just gives you a taste of my mad dance skills.
Get the music blastin' and I'll show you moves you've never seen!

At least I'm not singing!

P.S. I secretly wish I could still go to High School stomps and dance. Anyone need a chaperon?...Sigh...

Can you say...

2011-06-08T12:05:00.001-06:00

Some Comic Relief

2011-05-19T09:53:00.002-06:00

So I just found this site that is so funny! It is real messages from match.com that people have gotten and it is seriously hilarious.

Here's a few favorites and the link:

Subject line: You look easy

…to fall in love with, lol

Filed Under: I’ve Got One Line And This Is It

I think you might be too young for me, but looks mattered most.

Filed Under: At least he’s honest.

5 Years! | May 20, 2011

2011-05-17T13:22:00.010-06:00

This is a picture from our first official date to the Oakley Rodeo!
(second date if you count the movie we went to 5 years earlier before B's mission)
If you want to read how we met and got started on this journey, please refer to my previous post HERE.

It's crazy how it's been 5 years and it feels both long and short. We have been through a lot and nothing has killed us, yet, so I suppose we're getting stronger! Our relationship is in a completely different place than when we first got married or started dating, and we're both happy about that! We have both grown in so many ways and we work together on everything. Our communication is great (always room for improvement, though, we're not perfect!)and we take time to make sure our priorities are in line with what really matters-our relationship and our little Family. Right now I feel like our relationship feels fluid and that we can almost anticipate what the other will say or how they will react. I guess that comes with living with someone 24/7--and I couldn't have made a better choice. Mason has added a whole new element that brings us even more joy that we could have possibly imagined. Sure, child-rearing has its challenges, but that snuggle in the morning when he first wakes up makes it all worth it. Brandon and I regularly swap stories of what "Mason did" and we laugh about them together. It feels good to be able to share life with someone who loves me and my little Mason so unconditionally and enthusiastically.
It has been a WILD 5 years and I'm grateful for every minute of it and to be able to share all life has to offer with my love & best friend, Brandon.

Cheers!

Here is a little somethin' I put together that features the qualities I enjoy about Brandon:

Salt Lake Marathon 2011 | Nostalgic Torture

2011-05-03T11:06:00.009-06:00

Marathon #2!

Since my experience at the St. George Marathon in October, I decided it might be a personal challenge to actually train and see if it would make a difference in my running experience. I cut about an hour off my SG time, so I suppose it did make a difference, but not near as much as I envisioned. Why do races have to start so early??!! Holy fetch. I was up at 3:30am and in downtown Salt Lake at 4:30am. Apparently, most people don't get there until later (I didn't want to be packed like a sardine on TRAX so I went early), so me and a few other crazy people rode Trax from the Gateway (where we parked)to the top of the U of U. As luck would have it, it started to rain! Super. I found a perch under a porch and stayed there in a little ball out of the rain for two more hours until the rain stopped and the buzzer was about to go off for the race to begin. Note to self: Next time, go MUCH later.

As I crossed the start line, I thought to myself, "Why am I doing this again?" and then I put it out of my head and continued my slow-jog-I-like-to-call-my-race-pace through the course. I grew up in Salt Lake on the East Side, Holladay area, and that is where the course wound through, so it was a little nostalgic for me. I ran through areas where I used to drive through often and saw other places I didn't know even existed. It was a chilly day, so I kept my sweatshirt on until about mile 17. It started sprinkling half way through, but didn't last too long-thank goodness! Brandon, Mason & B's parents & Freddie & Govert came to see me at about mile 18 when we crossed 45th South (and later at the finish line). It was perfect timing, because by then I was wanting to be done, but their cheers helped me continue. Brandon said Govert asked another senior citizen that was in the race if he "wanted to borrow my scooter?" in the most Dutch accent you can imagine. The rest of the race was fine physically, but I had to fight through the so-close-yet-so-far-way mentality and force myself to finish. It wasn't necessarily hard, but just felt really, really long.
My only gripe was right after the race, my IT band started pulling on my knee a bit and it took about a week after to get it to loosen up. It started acting up on the last mile of my big 20-mile run when I was training so I worried it would flare up during the marathon--but--it didn't! I was really fortunate to not have anything go wrong and be able to run 99.9% of the race.

With the support of Brandon & Mason, I was able to complete it in 5 hours and 37 minutes. Amazing? No. Satisfying? Why, yes. Yes, it is.

Until next time...

One more...

2011-04-29T16:39:00.000-06:00

I just love this one!

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T16:38:00.000-06:00

My parents always took a picture of us by the tulips in the front yard with our new Easter outfits on. Some are hilariously grumpy while others are positively adorable. Actually, both are adorable. Brandon worked a shift at the Fire Station, so I got Mason ready for church in his new Easter clothes and thought it'd be wonderful to get his cute little picture by the flowering bush in the front yard. It was an adventure! Well, the pictures tell the story...!

More Brandon's B-day Pics & Mason

2011-04-29T16:34:00.000-06:00

Mason & his dancing ways...

2011-04-06T11:17:00.005-06:00

Mason likes to get his groove. It's evident he gets his coordination from me. Let's hope he grows out of it!!! jk I love it!
He loves any kind of electronics (in this case, stereos) and all things that have to do with music. He seriously has a sixth sense when it comes to figuring out anything digital. Please enjoy his strumming and dancing in the videos!

The BIG 2-9!!

2011-04-06T11:11:00.003-06:00

Brandon woke up to a lot of people wishing him a Happy Birthday (via a wall of pictures & Happy Birthday signs)and enjoyed a fun-filled day of delicious food and fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best husband & father anyone could ask for! Love you B!

Dutchman's Sugar Cookies...or not

2011-03-03T14:59:00.003-07:00

I have a deep love for homeade sugar cookies. A lot of people enjoy Santa Clara Dutchman's Sugar Cookies and so I thought I would share a recipe I found on a friend named Ashleigh's bloggeroo. I'm not sure if this is the actual recipe, but word on the street is it's close. I've never actually attempted to make these myself (anyone who knows me, knows I have two left pot holders or whatever the term is...basically I'm a terrible cook. I like the idea of cooking, but when it comes to execution, something gets lost in translation.) However, I am an EXCEPTIONAL taste tester, so feel free to attempt this recipe and drop off some delicious cookies to me. Let me know if the recipe is nasty, too--then I will remove it from this blog immediately! There's nothing worse than a yucky sugar cookie!

Dutchman's -Like Sugar Cookies

1/2 pound butter
3/4 C canola oil (or vegetable)
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C water
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t salt
5-6 C flour

Mix butter until fluffy, add oil and eggs. Mix until incorporated. Stir in powdered sugar, sugar and water. In another bowl add the soda, cream of tarter, salt and 3C of flour. Mix together and add it into the wet mixture. Add the rest of the flour until the dough is not too sticky but still has a little wetness. Chill for an hour. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Frosting
1 block of cream cheese
2 boxes of powdered sugar
1t vanilla
1T butter

Mix until incorporated

Here's another recipe that uses sour cream. It actually seems a bit more appealing to me, but heck, try them both and see which you like better!

2 C sugar
1 C soft butter
2 eggs
1 tea vanilla
1 C sour cream
5 C flour
4 tea baking powder
1/2 tea soda
1/2 tea salt

Cream together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Roll out dough on a floured counter top. Place cookie shapes on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 for 10 minutes then remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes and then remove from baking sheet to a wire rack, let cool before frosting.

Yields approximately 5 dozen

Cream Frosting
4 oz cream cheese
1/4-1/2 C butter
3 Tbl heavy cream/or milk
1 tea vanilla
powdered sugar (until desired thickness)

Ah, man, again?

2011-02-07T14:18:00.004-07:00

RSV struck and we're back in the hospital. Mason was lethargic and struggled a bit to breathe over the weekend. On Sunday, we took his temp and it was 105 degrees the first time, then 104. At the docs it was 102 degrees. High, High, High!

They admitted Mason to the Pediatric Unit Sunday night and we hope to have him home at some point today, worst case scenario tomorrow.

Poor little buddy!

**The good news is that he has been doing so much better since his tubes in his ears!! It makes us so happy to see him babbling more and singing to music. His balance has improved, too. The other day, for the first time, he heard a plane in the sky and looked up and did the sign for airplane and a "shhhhh" noise. It was awesome!

Ummm...

2011-01-27T10:40:00.002-07:00

Yep, that's my boy!

Ice Skating!

2011-01-24T16:27:00.004-07:00

We went ice-skating this winter with B's family! It was fun until I wiped out big-time on the ice. YOWSERS! That hurt. Mason was tired, so he only went for a minute (enough time to get some pictures!). All in all, though, it was a good experience! We went to the Olympic Oval and another day got to see the USA Speed Skating races (preliminary's?). Pretty coolio.

Brandon Vandermyde Original Piano "Carolina Rain" Dixie's Got Talent.wmv

2011-01-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Randomness

2011-01-10T16:50:00.003-07:00

Sleepy...

In Vegas at the City Center.
It's cool, but I'll probably never shop or go there again.

Mason & his cousin, Sammi, fighting over the Little Tikes car.

I did take a picture of my Jubilee tree after all!

Thank you cell phone for all these pics.

Our New Baby

2011-01-10T16:40:00.002-07:00

Piano, that is!

Brandon was a very good boy this year, so Santa brought him a new piano! I'm afraid he's going to have fight Mason for it, though!
Everytime Mason hears Brandon playing now, he goes downstairs to "play" with him. Mason will go from playing to dancing to the music, to playing the acoustic guitar. He'll even find the microphone and sing while Brandon plays. It's pretty darn cute, I have to say.

Silly

2011-01-10T16:35:00.004-07:00

This is Brandon being Brandon and Mason & his cousin, Tanner, being good sports about it!

2010 Flood Pictures

2010-12-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

So, in 2005, my parent's house in Santa Clara got flooded with 3 feet of water in their walk-out basement and they got a lot of possesions ruined. We got word that the river was potentially going to flood, but we really didn't forsee the damage it was about to do. It was pouring rain and we put out sandbags here and there, not really imagining it to be as bad as it was. I myself am permanently scarred from the 2005 flood. Literally. After the fireman knocked on our door at 4 a.m. and I woke up to moonlight dancing on the water on the floor in my bedroom (I slept downstairs). It was ice cold! Long story short, we started frantically moving furniture, etc. upstairs before the water got too deep. On one of my trips up, I was carrying a black metal filing cabinet drawer and slipped on the wet tile in the kitchen and then WHAM! I hit the floor. I laughed at myself until I saw that I had filleted my right thigh open (sorry if that's TMI). Obviously, my family was a little busy, so I waited patiently in the living room with my leg in the air & a towel until the water got up to the sockets in the basement and the fireman came back to order my family out of the basement for fear of electrocution. A visit to the emergency room and a lot of stitches, I was back to normal. The next day (after the water receded) or so we sorted through the disaster and salvaged everything we could and threw the rest away. The Red Cross put us up in the Crystal Inn for a week while we got the house situated. My parents had a lot of friends and neighbors help and it was a really positive, though sad, experience seeing the love people had for my family. I tell you the background behind the last flood, because as you might imagine, the memories came back like wild fire- especially when I get a call that my Dad went to get sandbags and the river is about to flood again. I'd driven past the bridge by my house on my way to work last Wednesday and saw the Virgin River raging, so I was so super worried that was what the river behind my parent's house looked like, and if so, this might be a repeat. Everything ended up being fine, but it was still kind of a scare.

These are pictures I gathered from other places and some of my own. I'm too lazy to credit them all (go here if want to know), but if I claim I don't take credit for taking most of them is that enough? Hope so. I probably saw all of these in action and would have gotten the same picture had I taken them--with the exception of the aerial photo from UDOT. So am I off the hook? You know it.

Photography

2010-12-23T13:59:00.006-07:00

My new obsession is taking pictures. I love it! Brandon got me a fun camera, and it's been such a treat to be able to capture all the fun faces of Mason and our friends and family.
If you feel like it, I've put up a blog that shows some of my recent photoshoots. Enjoy!
www.vandycam.blogspot.com
Pic: This is my cute nephew Kaden. He's got luscious lips like his Mama. Watch out Ladies!

Jubilee of Trees + Due West Concert

2010-12-23T11:59:00.002-07:00

Some girls at work and I did Mini-Trees for the Jubilee. Mine is the top right tree. I was going to take a picture of it at the Jubilee, but the guy that bought it ended up taking it with him before I had a chance, so this is the only pic I had.
Brandon and I went to the Due West concert. It was fun! They are really good and I think 2 if not all 3 are members of the Church. They've done some work with the Nashville Tribute to the Prophet folks, too.

Christmas Window Painting

2010-12-21T21:13:00.003-07:00

I get the pleasure of painting the windows for Christmas at work & decorating (kind of) for Christmas.My favorite is the reindeer...

Bridge at Sunbrook golf course! #wacoFlood on Twitpic

2010-12-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Bridge at Sunbrook golf course! #wacoFlood on Twitpic

Escape Artist

2010-12-13T19:37:00.002-07:00

On Sunday, I dropped Mason off in nursery to go to Relief Society. Halfway through the class I see Mason at the door in the arms of Brandon's co-worker. I was confused because they were in the other ward that meets in our building--so why did they have Mason?
He escaped.
He escaped nursery, ran down the hall to the main chapel, opened the chapel doors and walked reverently with his little hands behind his back straight up to the organ and started to play it in the middle of Sacrament meeting. The bishop of that ward went to pick him up, but luckily Brandon's co-worker recognized Mason and went up and got him and after a little searching, found me in Relief Society.

That's not even the best part!

So, I thought it would be a good idea to tell the nursery leaders that I found him, because they should be looking for Mason, right? Wrong. I opened up the doors and told them that I had him--- just in case they were worried about him. They just looked at me with these blank stares and said, "Oh...we didn't even know he was gone...he's usually just so quiet..." I just had to laugh because their reaction was so nonchalant that I was more flabbergasted than anything else. Some wards have tons of kids in nursery so you see how that could happen, right? Not ours! We have 3, count them, 3 kids in nursery. Wouldn't you notice if 1/3 of the nursery went missing? And there were 2 nursery leaders in there, too. Ei yi yi....

They have since called and apologized, so I'm over it. I am just glad he was just running wild in the building as opposed to the parking lot. I would definitely not be laughing had that been the case! Whew. Catastrophe avoided.

Tubes

2010-12-01T21:05:00.005-07:00

Brandon took Mason to the ENT doctor (I was out of town for work) and the doctor took one look in both of Mason's ears and was like, "Whoa. He doesn't have fluid in his ears, he has JELLO!" He scheduled Mason to get tubes in his ears and to get the fluid (JELLO) out of his little ears. Good news! Today we went in at 6:45am and were out by 8:30am. Mason did awesome. The doctor said he pulled out 4-5 inches of gunk out of each ear! Yucko. Glad it's out! He said everything went smoothly and we should get some good results for Mason. Mason's balance was a little off from the anesthesia and adjusting to his newfound equilibrium. It was pretty hilarious watching him bounce (literally) from the couch to the floor to his little chair to the floor back up to the couch to the floor... We felt bad, but couldn't help but laugh...and video it...hee hee. We have some great hopes that this is a big step in Mason's progress. Thanks for all your prayers and support in his (and our) behalf. We really appreciate it... more than you know...

Mexican Cruise 2010

2010-11-23T20:27:00.007-07:00

Brandon and I went on a cruise to Mexico in November. It was a nice bonding time for us. Please pay attention to the evolution of the beard to the handlebars to the mustache. It's pretty comical and a highlight of the trip! Another is the fact that practically every picture has me in the same black tank top. Nice!

Mazatlan.

We rented a four-wheeler for a few hours (you can drive them on the street there) and took our own tour of the city. Mazatlan is not our favorite place. Hence the random pic of a crazy building. And that's it.

Fun on the ship-
I love to boogie and boogie we did! Brandon doesn't love it but he humored me while I got my groove on. Oh, and we ate. A lot. It was delicious as usual.

Puerto Vallarta
Brandon talked me into doing the zip line through the canopy. It was pretty fun. The best part was when we got to go across upside down. What a rush! Definitely worth doing at least once.

CABO
We went to a sweet hotel called something-Bonita on the Pacific side of Cabo. It was so nice! We may or may not have gone on a timeshare presentation..no, we did not buy, but we got a sweet hookup (free taxi to the hotel, $100 gift certificate to spend on drinks/food while we were there, and use of the pool and facilities). It is totally worth the hour and a half you sacrifice to hang out there. Mucho Bueno.

Kind of at a standstill...

2010-11-18T13:10:00.004-07:00

Oh, Mason.
What to do?
I write today in hopes that somewhere, someone in blogland has the answers we are seeking.
We are kind of at a standstill with Mason. He's falling more and more behind the older he gets developmentally. We have a likely suspicion that it has to do with his ears. He can hear, but we just don't know what he hears. He still can only say "ball, up, mama, dada". He's attemped to mimic sounds, but he just can't quite get it. His balance isn't great either, so a problem with the inner ear makes sense, right?

Our frustration has been that we've been to the doctor a ton and they all say that "he's got a tiny bit of fluid in his ears, is he just getting sick or over an illness?" And yes, he's usually always one or the other. He's only had like two earaches that we know of, though. So, we tried to get hearing tests but they can't get a reading since if there is fluid behind the eardrum, the ear drum won't move. So they say, come back when he's not sick.
Well, that's never, so we're going to try an alternate route. We made an appointment with the Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist on Tuesday to hopefully shed some light on what's going on. We're crossing our fingers that all we need to do is get tubes in his ears to drain the fluid and all will be peachy. Our next adventure will be to the allergist to test to see if he just has bad allergies that trigger asthmatic symptoms and see if we can eliminate them from his environment (if that's even possible).

If it's not his ears, then what? What's making him fall behind?

It's been almost two years and no real solutions.

...here's to praying Tuesday comes with a new light and lots of answers!

LOVE.

2010-11-18T12:50:00.003-07:00

My friend Brooke posted on her blog about another post she read and so now I'm reposting because it was so touching. (Brooke, if you're reading this, I hope it's ok!!)

""NEVER let a PROBLEM to be solved, become more important than a PERSON to be LOVED." President Thomas S. Monson.

Simple isn't it? Yet, my inner passion for life is refreshed, the loves of my life are priority, guilt free, walking to beat of my hearts theme--Love First!

God answers prayers and amazingly, it has been a lot easier to be on time and survive daily life, now that I am reminded that NOTHING is as important as treating my children, self, and hubs with love.

This may seem silly and obvious to many reader's, but I challenge you the next time you have a problem to take a look at yourself and see if you are treating the problem with more attention and love than those involved, even if the only person involved is yourself.

"They do not love, that do not show their love." William Shakespeare."

While I'm at work..

2010-10-27T11:18:00.001-06:00

....Mason destroys Grandma's house....

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

2010-10-15T20:52:00.004-06:00

This is my design for the www.shabbyapple.com. design competition.
Ideas of fabric and colors: I would make this with jersey-knit fabric that you can throw in the washer and not have to iron, hence my wash 'n'wear approach. I added bold colors --teal and black (red and black would be cool, too).

My design inspiration: I have a few jersey-knit dresses that I love, but they needed a bit more style and pizazz. I wanted a wash n' wear dress (for us busy moms) but a dress that still looked well put together. The scallops are more like petals that create a nice movement and flirty flow. I also like the fact that the top is super flattering and the petals hide your hips and any lines.

St George Marathon 2010

2010-10-11T16:30:00.005-06:00

So, I ran the St. George Marathon. Did I train? Nope!

My friend got pregnant so she asked the day before the marathon if I wanted her number. I said, "Well, I didn't train at all, but what the heck? I'll do it!" At the starting line, I definitely second-guessed my decision, but there was no turning back at that point!
I went into to the race just hoping to finish, not caring what my time ended up being. I know I could have pushed myself a little harder towards the end, but I didn't want my legs to give out a mile before the finish line, so I took it easy. The first ten miles were awesome! My ipod ran out of juice at mile 10, though. BOO! I always run easier when I have music to get my groove on to, so I had to just concentrate on people watching the rest of the race to keep my mind off my feet pounding the pavement. I am absolutely certain I could have done better with music, but there's always next year! My sister Chari came to run the rest of the way with me at mile 20. It was fun to have her at the end of the race to keep me energized. Brandon & Mason & my sister Taryn and her friend were there at the finish line to greet me. So sweet! My parents would have been there to, but the were in Salt Lake so Chari called my mom while we were running into the finish line so she could kind of be there. So Cute!
I said the day I finished I would not do another, but Sunday, I was like, "No, I totally want to do another one!" So, I'm going to. I'm hooked. It was seriously so much fun.
The aftermath of the race wasn't too bad, either. The balls of my feet were super sore on Saturday, and then I was just a little stiff the next few days. I'm sticking to low-impact exercise for the next little bit because my shins are not quite recovered (I did a little plyometrics in a gym class last week that was NOT good for the ol' shinnies). All in all, I had a really amazing race.

Who's running it next year with me?

Sickie Sick

2010-09-22T10:52:00.003-06:00

The good news is we didn't have to spend the night in the hospital again, but we did spend 4 hours at the Pediatrians office on Monday! Mason came down with another cold and he is having breathing issues so we have to give him daily (several times daily) breathing treatments and steroids (not the kind that give him big muscles!)for the WHOLE winter. Fun! We're just glad he didn't have an episode like last time. It looks like any allergies or cold he gets for the next bit will go straight to his lungs and cause havoc, so we are taking the precautionary measures (the breathing treaments/steroids) in order to keep his airways open.

Mischievous Mason

2010-09-22T10:03:00.008-06:00

Mason is so curious about everything right now. I guess it's that age. It's fun to watch him explore new things and places, but man, is he busy! I have to watch him more closely now so he doesn't kill himself by drinking straight alcohol or something!

Anyone that knows Mason, knows that he has the quickest hands ever. Uncle Chio & Kenz dropped by some cookies for him when he got back from the hospital. He reached up and grabbed the plate off the counter and cookies flew everywhere. He grabbed every cookie he could get and shoved them all in his mouth. He had so many in his mouth he actually snorted chocolate through his nose!

He found a pen and wrote with vengeance all over our external hard drive for the computer...

and figured out how to take the lid off my deodorant then proceeded to dig a hole with his finger right smack in the middle of it. Nice.

He is a climber! We'll go to the park and all he wants to do is get up on the picnic tables and walk back and forth. The other day, I went in the other room to put away some clothes and found Mason downstairs, in the guest room, trying to climb up on the kids table we have down there, but he was stuck because the chairs keep sliding back when he tried to use them for leverage. He climbs up on the table all the time in my mom's playroom and gets a look on his face like "Look what I'm doing!" and just grins and squeals with delight.

Please, no autographs!

Still, no matter what he does, he's still the cutest little chubbers on the planet!

Where to find us...

2010-09-03T12:40:00.006-06:00

Last night was really scary. I came home from being out with friends to find Mason-grey. Brandon said he was having a hard time breathing, had a fever, and was "shooting out both ends". I knew he wasn't feeling a hundred percent when I left him, but I was not expecting to see what I saw. Brandon put him to bed and later heard noises coming from Mason's room so he went and checked on him. He picked him up and he threw up all over him and continued to dry heave over the sink. Brandon gave him a bath and he continued to be be short on breath, dry heave, etc. After holding him for a minute we decided it would be best to take him to the emergency room (then 12am). The hospital admitted us really quickly and got him immediately on air & IV. They drew some blood, gave him a breathing treatment, and sucked his nasal cavity out. After the breathing treatment he relaxed and fell asleep. The video is of him sleeping. I don't know if you can see his chest almost concave as he tries to get his breath. It's so scary that he has to work that hard to just breathe! They monitored him for a little while more and decided to admit him and take him over to the Pediatric Unit at the old hospital in town. After more sucking and treatments, we finally got to sleep for an hour or two, and then the nurses had to keep coming in to check on Mason. Brandon went home before we were transported to the other hospital to get some rest. Mason is responding to the treatments so we should we discharged with a machine to do breathing treatments at home. He seems to have a bronchial inflammation and possible pneumonia and/or asthma. They are treating him like an asthma patient because they say that the babies respond well to the steroids and breathing treatments. He prefers the oxygen mask instead of the other tube thing that sticks up your nose (whatever you call them) which was kind of funny. He's a little trooper. He was struggling to breath and dry-heaving and to get his mind off of his struggles, we would ask Mason "what does a doggie say" and he would do the sound and pucker up those dry blue lips. It was pretty funny. Poor little guy! I hate to see those big blue eyes look up at me wondering why he can't breathe. The worst!

20-Months & Splash Pad Fun

2010-08-31T20:51:00.002-06:00

A call to Poison Control

2010-08-19T09:16:00.004-06:00

Mason is getting really good at drinking out of water bottles and cups. Unfortunately, he mistook Rubbing Alcohol for water, and before I could rip it out of his hand, he got some in his mouth. I'm not sure if he swallowed it, but he gagged and threw up a little and we (my mom & I) washed his mouth out as much as possible. My mom told me to call Poison Control and they were actually very helpful and caring. Who knew? I was pleasantly surprised. They said to give him something to drink (2-4oz), make sure he doesn't go to sleep for an hour, and watch him to see if he gets a little loopy or acts DRUNK! I couldn't help but secretly want to see what it would look like to see a 1 1/2 year old drunk...probably hilarious (minus the fact he just drank straight alcohol!)...
I put my curiosity aside and watched Mason for the next little bit and he was fine. Poison Control even followed up an hour later to see how Mason was doing. Exceptional service. Not a service you think about until you need them!

Catastrophe avoided. Phew.

Beach Time!

2010-08-17T12:55:00.004-06:00

On our trip to Cali for a baby blessing was eventful!We took some time for Family pics on Venice Beach. We had such a blast! Mason hated the sand (even with shoes) and wanted someone to hold him the whole time so we didn't get too many pics of him walking on the beach. He was playing, I mean watching, his cousins play in the sand in a volleyball court at Brandon's brothers house--- he didn't want much to do with the sand there, either--except to eat it! Ahh! He reached in, grabbed a big fistful of succulent white sand and not two seconds later he gagged and it was out--right back where he found it! Eeew! We had to keep washing out his mouth 'cause he kept "chewing" the little sand particles that were hiding in the crevices of his mouth. While in Cali, we did some shopping and had a babysitter watch the kids while we were out. Well, poor Mason got a car thrown at his face (not by the babysitter) and it gave him a black eye! Of course, he didn't cry! I think he fell asleep on the floor shortly after that, hugging the TV remote...who needs a blankie when you have remotes, right??!!
We were so glad to welcome our cute little nephew Kaden to the world (wish I had a pic to show you!). He is soooooo sweet!

First Place & Fun at the Fair

2010-08-16T10:09:00.005-06:00

First Place Ribbon! Amateur division, acrylic painting on canvas.

Family Fun at the Fair!

Merry-go-Round

2010-08-06T10:20:00.006-06:00

The other day we shopped in Las Vegas at the Outlet Mall and while we were there, I decided to take Mason on the Merry-go-Round. It was perfect timing because between certain hours, the ride is free! He was unsure about getting on the horse for a minute, but after the ride started going, he started screaming and laughing his little head off. It was soooo adorable. My mom stood by and waved each time we came around. It made me a little woozy, but Mason could have gone all night!

10K Complete!

2010-08-06T10:10:00.004-06:00

We did it! My sister-in-law and I trained for our first 10K. I've done a few 5k's in my time, but never a 10K. We signed up for the run in Enterprise on the 24th of July. I wasn't sure I was going to make it because two days before I got the WORST shin splints that just ached. Luckily, they subsided after a day and a half of rest (well, mostly). Does anyone have a good treatment for shin splints? I get them way too often. Anyway, back to race day--- The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and we ran the whole time! To us, this was a monumental achievement!
Brandon & Mason came along (we woke up at 5 a.m.!) and were great cheerleaders. Brandon had Mason on his shoulders and Mason was clapping as we ran by. It was so cute. My boys are the best! My parents & sister, Chari, drove up,too, and stopped at different spots along the road and waited for us to run by to cheer us on. Kenz's grandma lives up there, so we went to her house afterwards and watched the parade. Great 24th!
We're thinking really hard about doing a Half-Marathon in November...yikes!
Anyone have any pointers or "must-knows"?
Stay tuned for more pics...

Class Reunion

2010-07-22T21:38:00.003-06:00

Yes, my friends. I am that old. It's been 10 years since high school! Crazy. I've come a long way since then. It's been a good road.
Back to the reunion...they had a 5k fun run (B slept in for that one), fun at the park, and a fun dinner that night. We had good food, saw people I hadn't seen for ages, and played "Minute to Win It" in which I had to shake ping pong balls from tissue box strapped to my booty. No, I did not win the contest. Guess I have some booty-shakin' practice to get to...!

B's class is going to have a reunion in August, so stay tuned!

Mason Loves His Grandmas & Omas!

2010-07-22T20:36:00.006-06:00

Grandma Marsha (or Vandermyde)enjoys teaching Mason all things music. She thinks he's going to be a concert pianist like his daddy. I say, Why not?!!

Great Oma Ann Sharp (Brandon's dad's mom). She's full Dutch, too! Moved here from Holland in the 50's (?). Cool, huh!

Great Oma Fredricka Copier or "Freddie"---mother of 12 children. 12. And she wanted more.
Sidenote: Mason just got done grabbing the cake off a lady's plate sitting next to him. He's quick! Watch your food, glasses, and electronics!

Grandma Lory (my mom)She tends him a few days during the week while I work. She's a Saint and Mason LOVES her.

No words needed for this one...

Grandma Naomi's 90th Birthday

2010-07-22T20:05:00.009-06:00

My grandma is in the pink. She lives around the corner from Brandon's grandparents, Govert & Freddie, and they came to the party, too! Brandon played the piano to sing "Happy Birthday" and then Govert & Freddie sang their own Dutch version to her. It was awesome! And yes, I did get that on video!

I love this pic of Brandon & Govert. Don't you think they look alike??

While we were in SLC for a quick weekend trip, we managed to go to the park with the cousins. Mason had a ball!

This is my favorite pic of Mason ever!

Challenge Part 1

2010-06-29T12:44:00.000-06:00

Fireman's Challenge 2010

2010-06-29T12:43:00.000-06:00

Painting...

2010-06-29T11:32:00.004-06:00

I like to paint. I don't do it near as often as I'd like, but such is life. I painted a piano for Brandon (not pictured), a snowboarder for my sis (if you look close-you may even see the glitter I put in the snow to make it sparkle! My favorite part!), and a skier for my brother. I guess it's easier for me to paint if I have a theme, huh!
I'm no Picasso or Van Gough, but it is fun so don't pick my work apart too much. In the words of William Hung, "I have had no po-fessional twaining!" So don't hate. Appreciate. Word.

Fire Academy Graduation

2010-06-04T21:26:00.005-06:00

Brandon graduated from Fire Academy! It was a long process--every Tuesday & Thursday, & every other Saturday since January (the other days were filled with Umpiring, but that's another post). He worked way hard, did both physical fitness and written tests, and came out a real live firefighter! He beat out a ton of applicants, so we couldn't be happier to have gotten this opportunity. He will not be working full-time, but mainly on a volunteer basis.
The graduation was fun. I got to put on his badge (proud wife) and we had a little family get together beforehand to celebrate. In addition to B graduating, Mason and I were celebrating finally having our Daddy/husband back! Yeah for us!
Congrats Brandon! We Love You!

May 2010

2010-06-02T20:17:00.001-06:00

Brandon has been busy umpiring for college baseball and also for the local RoadRunners. Mason's starting to walk and getting busier by the minute. He's really into electronics (cell phones, cameras, remote controls, keyboards, computers, etc). Give him one of those items and he's good for at least 20 minutes. It's great!
May was a good month, here's to an awesome June! =)

Car

2010-05-30T22:25:00.001-06:00

Mason loves riding on his little car. He can get on it himself now and sometimes he'll just sit there and make noise until he gets our attention to take him for a ride around the house.

Happy Birthday Mr. President...

2010-05-20T12:31:00.003-06:00

Who can guess which one is me?

I call myself Modest Marilyn. Some ladies that I work with got coaxed into dressing up for and IHC fundraiser to raise money for the Lifelight Helicopter, etc. They ended up raising $80K that night! Thanks to us! jk

I turned around and...

2010-05-17T08:51:00.004-06:00

I was getting ready the other morning and I turned around and saw this:

and then this:

and this:

On a heavenly note...

2010-05-12T13:23:00.004-06:00

Typically, I don't keep my blog very deep, but recently, my friends tiny baby passed away, and I just feel like I need to write a little. I've lost sleep thinking and aching for the parents without really knowing what I could do or say to ease their pain. There was one night I couldn't shake the need to be close to my baby so I slept in his room that night and just listened to him breathe through the darkness. I couldn't imagine not having Mason to snuggle with everyday and thought of how much I would miss him if he had to go to heaven. My mom said that it's good to show empathy for my friends, but to also realize that I'm not privvy/entitled to receive the spiritual blessings and experiences that they are. So, while it is an incredibly excruciating experience for the family, we can also take comfort that Heavenly Father is very mindful of them & taking care of their hearts. What can I do to ease their burden? The conclusion I came to is just pray/fast for them, let them know they are loved, and try to show support in the form of cards/letters, & offer ways to make life easier to bear while they are grieving.

I believe that it is important for these situations to happen to teach us what is really important in this life -family- and to cherish the time we get to spend with one another. Whether we like it or not! The good news is that we don't have to wait forever to see our loved ones again--and we get to be with them for that long, too!

Sorry, can't get enough...

2010-05-03T16:56:00.001-06:00

Mason & Friends

2010-05-03T16:45:00.004-06:00

Mason loved all the attention from Abby and Steph. He followed Alec everywhere and loved playing with him, too. Whenever I'd say to Mason, "Can you say Abby?" he was just chuckle. Everytime! It was so cute and so funny. Mason liked Steph's snuggles and to curl up with Abby and read books. Stephani will have her baby June 17--it's a girl! Wahoo! I tried to get a great pic of Mason & Alec together, but it was hard since Alec was bouncing off the wall and Mason kept turning right at the last moment. Oh, well. We still managed a couple good pics! Oh! Mason took his first step the other day and we are so excited about his progress! He's getting more confident and better balance each day. I shake my head everyday in amazement at how much joy he has brought to our lives. It's so incredible! I love being a mom.

Ironman Fun

2010-05-03T16:23:00.004-06:00

We had a blast at the festivities on Saturday for the Ironman. We woke up at 5:30am to catch the bus to Sand Hollow for the starting line & swim portion with Jon & Kenz. Our claim to fame was that we befriended Rachel Cole, the girlfriend of the winner of the IRONMAN--Michael Weiss #14. We helped cheer him on to victory, so I guess you could say we're pretty much lucky charms...
My two former roomates from Weber State, Stephani and Abby (and Steph's cute boy Alec), came down from Salt Lake for a fun weekend. We went to the finish line and walked around downtown for a bit. They are so fun! It was fun to have a sleepover and enjoy some girl time! We used to live in Ogden in a house, the "hot box" it was called. We had 8 girls living in a 4 bedroom house. It was the best! We have some fantastic memories from there. And they all pretty much involved girl time because the dating scene there pretty much was non-existent! Weber was a great school, but it's social scene wasn't happen'! (especially coming from party school Dixie State!)

Mason & the Bear

2010-04-20T09:31:00.004-06:00

A year and a half ago Mason pretty much could curl up inside the bear...Now he towers over it....take that bear! Don't mess.

Pics of Mason---by Kenz Vandermyde

2010-04-19T16:19:00.004-06:00

My sister-in-law took these photos of Mason! I love them. I took the one with the bear, but you can probably tell!! ha ha

The Best Insurance

2010-03-08T15:28:00.003-07:00

I had several people contact me about Mason's awesome insurance. It's called SelectMed Kids High Plan (a link to the insurance packet) It is just for Mason. We pay about $110 a month for it and our initial deductible is $150. I do pay a $20 co-pay to regular doctors and just $30 for specialists. He can stay on the Plan until he is 18. You can put all your kids on it if you want. If I have more than five kids it may not be worth it, but for now, it's a great option and has saved us a bundle with all his medical tests, etc.

You can sign up your child 2 weeks after their first checkup. I'm not sure how to get them accepted when they are older, but it's likely if they don't have any previous medical conditions that you can get on the Plan fairly easy-just apply. Read the packet and it'll tell you all you need to know and if it's right for you.

My friend Chelsey told me about this plan before I had Mason and I love her for it!! THANK YOU!

**For those who just read about my AFLAC post (I deleted it), I guess AFLAC is no longer allowing the "pregnancy" plan in Utah! If you are on it already, they will honor it, but once you stop it, you're done. Soooo, hopefully you are still on the insurance and can reap the benefits! There are other insurances that offer a similar program, but I'm not sure exactly who yet (still doing my research), so if you know--TELL ME! I'm not asking for health insurance, but SUPPLEMENTAL to what health insurance already pays. I guess if you have a sweet health insurance plan (like Mason's) but for adults, I suppose I would like to know! Thanks!

19 X-Rays...in One Day

2010-03-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, Mason officially topped off the ol' record and got 19 x-rays of his tiny little bones! The doctor called it a "skeletal survey." Brandon & I went in thinking that Mason would get a few done and we'd be in and out. Well...we waited in the waiting room for what seemed like a long time, given that there was no one else waiting, we wondered what the hold-up was. 2 of the X-ray techs came out and told us that they were double-checking with the doctors to see if it was okay to take the 19 x-rays of our tiny little guy. We looked at each other and were like, "Um...say what? 19???!" Hello! We double-checked with the insurance company to see if they would be paying for them and sure enough, x-rays are considered a minor diagnostic procedure and covered at 100%. We said, "Good. 'Cause there will 19 of them." Nice! I love Mason's Insurance! It's the best! (if you're wondering what it is, call me I'll tell you all about it!)
Soo...we went ahead with the x-rays and Mason was an angel the whole time. B was so good with him and helped hold him while I protected our future children by standing behind the wall with one of the techs. It took us about an hour and a half to complete all the x-rays. The techs were awesome, Mason was terrific, B was adorable (and hot! He's the best dad ever to my baby & hubs to me), and we all finished saying, "That wasn't so bad."
BUT
The best part was after the few days waiting for the results---they came in with good results!! The doctors were speculating that he may have a syndrome that may be degenerative, etc., but with the x-rays, they ruled it out! HAPPY DAY!

Cute little Mason still struggles with low tone in his abdomen and a little bit in his neck and is what they call "developmentally delayed" in his language skills. We're not certain of the cause of it all, but we think we've ruled out anything serious and can just hope that he'll catch up soon enough. He's going forward and improving everyday in his strength and language, so we are definitely hopeful & excited about his progress.

I'll tell you what, though--no one can say I never feed my child! I think he's up to about 24-25lbs!

He's a chunk and we love him!

A Book is Published!

2010-03-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

B's father, Ron Vandermyde, has just published a book.

It is a negotiating book (obviously) that can benefit people from all walks of life. Click to purchase, or to just check it out.
He is offering a 10% discount if you purchase through his amazon estore. The code is VMCZAUAC.

Lindsay's Birthday-January 24

2010-01-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Birthday Fun!

My dad (aka "Mr. Good Lookin'") cooked a yummy meal of his Broccoli Cheese Soup and Rolls, with Croshaw's Banana Cream Pie (my fave) as my b-day cake.

Thanks everyone for the Birthday Love!

Hawaii 2010

2010-01-27T11:48:00.005-07:00

The sun was in our eyes....that explains the squinty

Captain Cook Bay + Kayaks = Fun

Hang Loose!

Golfing with the Peacocks

Landscape--St. George Anyone?

Hapuna Beach

Greetings! We are looking a little more tan and a feeling a LOT more refreshed after our vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii. The island looks a bit like St. George--a Lot of LAVA-but does have its tropical parts and yes, it does have an ocean. =)

The highlight of our trip was going kayaking. While we were kayaking in Captain Cook Bay, we encountered a small school of baby-sized dolphins. It was awesome! They just hung around our kayaks, showed off their tricks like jumping in the air and twisting and flapping their little fins. They never stopped to play, but we still were in arms reach of them several times. After that, we got off and snorkeled and hiked for a bit. We saw some pretty fish (Nemo-style y'all!). We also went to the Kona Temple. It was beautiful, but I guess you have to be a resident or make an appointment in order to go, so we just enjoyed the outside grounds. Lovely. Mason got to stay with Grandpa & Grandma Vandermyde and was pretty good for them. It was our first time leaving him for an extended period of time, but both of us did okay!

Hapuna Beach

It's A Little Chubby Santy Claus!

2009-12-25T21:51:00.002-07:00

Merry, Merry Christmas! We had a great one at B's parents house. We played games, read Christmas stories to remind us of the real Reason for the Season, and enjoyed yummy food. Brandon's brother, Ashton, got his Eagle on Saturday, and his other brother, Zach, had his missionary "farewell" on Sunday. Short, but oh so sweet!

Christmas Card...

2009-12-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas!!

Love,

The Vandermydes

Under the Radar no longer...

2009-12-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

So we tried to fly under the radar at our new ward, but it didn't last long.
Brandon & I got roped into performing at the Christmas Party. I sang a song
and Brandon played a beautiful rendition of "Silent Night". B also
accompanied for the whole rest of the program. We are booked to
perform on Dec. 20 --both in Sac. & RS. , too! This ward is going to
get sick of us quick. It's all in the plan...

Ok, so for the party, they had different families be in charge of decorating
one table and providing all the decor & place settings. Some people brought
their CHINA to eat on! We drank out of goblets as you can see (kinda) in the pic.
What the...??? This ward is so over the top it's awesome. They had the whole
place decked out. We love love love it here!

Thanks Jon & Kenz

2009-12-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

Mason Love!

2009-12-07T10:01:00.002-07:00

This sink-bath pic is my favorite! I thought I'd give him a bath in the sink, thinking that would be easier than in the bath tub. Um, he doesn't quite fit in the sink anymore!! When did he get so big?? I went ahead with washing him in the sink, but not without a big mess and me laughing uncontrollably at how monstrous he looked in there! He kept looking at me as if to say, "Mom, really? You're really trying to bathe me in the sink?? What am I 3 months old?? C'mon!!"

My Chocolate Mas...

2009-12-07T09:58:00.001-07:00

My Chocolate Mace, my chocolate Mace, my-my chocolate Mace!

TEXAS

2009-12-07T09:44:00.004-07:00

I know this is a few months late, but these pics were so dang cute I couldn't not post them! When we were in Texas for the game, we decided to let the kids go wild in the pool. We didn't have swim diapers, so it didn't take long until all the diapers were water-logged. We decided to let the babies have some nakie-time and they loved it! My sisters-in-law and I were laughing so hard. It was stinkin' adorable! Nothin' cuter than little bare baby bums!

We had a wittle tuwtle

2009-11-04T12:26:00.007-07:00

his name is Mason Ace...
he wikes to cwal awound on his tummy wike a worm in his tuwtle costume.

--Since Daddy had to go to Vegas to work on Halloween, Mason & I went to my sister's house and took pics with the cousins. We then went to Wal-mart (I made him wear his costume in) and back home to bed at 7:30pm. It was wild!

BYU football--wherever you go, we go!

2009-10-20T14:39:00.003-06:00

We did it again....followed BYU football to San Diego!. This time, though, B and his brothers made the trek to San Diego while the girls did what we gals do best---SHOP! and stayed back in LA. We didn't really shop too much actually...I think the reason was we stayed up way too late chatting with everyone that the next days we were beat! Plus, Mason woke up at his usual six am, so needless to say, mornings came awfully fast for me! Oh, well. We still managed to get some sleep, awesome deals (as usual!) and of course, have a blast!

B & his brothers also got tickets to the LA Dodger/Phillies playoff game! They are all baseball fanatics so you can imagine they were in HEAVEN!

Okay, so now the worst part....Swine Flu!

B was hit with it on the way down to Cali. It starts with a sore throat/frog and proceeds to give you a headache. As it progresses, you'll have a fever of over 100 (B was sooo HOT!), but you will be absolutely FREEZING and shivering! B's head was so hot to the touch and he kept piling blankets on top of him claiming he was insanely cold. You will have no appetite and could be nauseous. You can also vomit or have it come out the "other end." (B didn't do much of either). You will be super achy and fatigued. You may have a cough (though B didn't). If you get the prescribed TAMIFLU in the first 2 days of getting it, your chances are better of it not lasting as long and should reduce the effects. We were out of town, so B just had to endure it. He's stayed home from church & work for a few days and is feeling better each day. We don't know where he picked it up, but we're trying every precaution to help confine it (hand-washing, sanitizing, etc.).

If you do pick it up, take Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours, stay home, get lots of rest & call the doctor for a prescription. If you start having respiratory problems or a super-duper high fever that won't go away, go to the doctor, otherwise, your best bet is to stay home. Drinking hot water with drops of lemon juice will soothe your throat, as well as gargling with salt water. Take Zinc supplements to boost your immune system, too.

Computer Guru

2009-10-12T16:10:00.002-06:00

My computer crashed at work last Friday and a co-worker tried his hand at fixing it. He got it working again, but said I had lost "everything." I didn't backup my computer, because, well, I didn't really know how to (you bet I do now, though!) and so I lost everything--all my ads I've done for the past five years!! I think I was in shock. All that work---gone!!
Or so I thought.

After the guy told me my history was "history", I thought, "hmmm...I bet my brother-in-law (aka Computer Guru) can do something & magically get my files back.

And he did. I love him!

Need your computer fixed? Leave me a comment and I'll get you his number. He's a freakin' genius!

Cell Phone Fascination

2009-10-12T15:27:00.004-06:00

Baby Legs

2009-10-12T15:09:00.004-06:00

So I love the idea of the Baby Legs, but too cheap to buy them, so I made my own from a Dollar Store scarf. Stretchy fabric, warm, and soooo cute on my little munchkin...

Not my best sewing masterpiece (who am I kidding? Yes it is. I obviously haven't sewed much...), but I patted myself on the back anyway. I need to stitch up the tops a little tighter to stay up, but other than that, they were successful.

September in a Nut

2009-10-07T11:31:00.004-06:00

What the heck...I can't believe I haven't posted forever! Oh, wait, yes I can. This month has been crazy! We moved! We love our new house! It's awesome. We'll have you over soon. If we don't, just come over--we love visitors! I actually enjoy cooking now-I even made bread (pictured above)! My sis-in-law gave me the BEST recipe and it was super tasty. Okay, but don't get the wrong idea...our meals still consist mainly of Turkey Burgers from Costco (Yum! And only 200 calories each =), cold cereal, and Brandon's famous PB&J-like smoothies. I know, the epitamy of health, but we do eat fruit and veggies, too, I promise.

I know, this post is total picture overload, but I'm lazy and don't have time to post each one separate. I'm so in love with my little Mason I can't hardly stand it, so hence the gajillion pics. He's holding his own bottle now (yeah!), crawling (kinda), makes fish faces & does a "puh" sound with his lips, got his first tooth!, he eats like it's going out of style, and still is the happiest, cuddliest, sweetest baby on the planet. Aaah cute...

What you do you think of the pics with Mason & Brandon? Whoally adoreable. The main pic is totally my computer monitor background. I love these two boys so much! Brandon is so funny with him. Mason is picking up on his sense of humor and just stares or smiles at B when he's trying to scare Mason saying "Boo" or whatever. When Mason gets really excited, he gets both arms a-goin and smiles & coos like crazy. Whatever you do, though, do NOT take away the remote control when it's in Mason's possession. DO NOT. He'll fight you for it. Yep, folks, this child is a Vandermyde....

Texas tastes like sweet victory...

2009-09-10T16:35:00.003-06:00

We flew to Texas last week to spend some quality time with some B's brothers & fam's and of course, to go to the BYU vs Oklahoma game. I know, you're jealous! The game was held in the gigantic new Cowboys stadium. You can see from the pics that the big screen was enormous, but really, unless you see it in person, you can't possibly capture the size of it. MASSIVE.
There were around 75K fans there (only 10k being BYU fans!). We had sweet seats, ok, nosebleed central, but being there was super. BYU pulled off a big W! Yeah!

The rest of the trip consisted of late nights giggling & making funny pics on some computer program, sleeping in, shopping, eating at some genuine Texan BBQ places & Culvers for their delicious raspberry-cookie dough-oreo custardish shake. Nielsen's Frozen Custard eat your heart out! We even hit up a small rodeo. We got there just in time to see the barrell-racing & Bull-riders. The best parts! I wish I would have taken a pic of the "box" seats. They consisted of two folding chairs & were roped off with a chain. They just sat two feet in front of the bleachers. Hope they didn't pay too much for them there seats!= )

Mason was fantastic on his first plane ride there and back. He is such a good baby!

The wedding

2009-09-10T16:28:00.003-06:00

My sister-in-law Annie using her awesome camera. This girl's got skills! If you need a photographer, she's a great one!
Here's our attempt at a family pic

The Vandy Grandkids--aren't they adorable??

(MIA: Tanner)

The wedding was a hit! We hit the temple & a yummy luncheon in Wincester Friday, hung at the Bell Tower for the SG Reception, and then drove to Salt Lake on Saturday for the SLC Reception. Both were beautiful. Jon & Kenz are adorable and we couldn't be happier for them!

Vandermyde Gals are HOT!

2009-08-12T18:39:00.002-06:00

My cute mother-in-law, Marsha, and sisters-in-law

(from left to right) Annie, McKenzie, me, and Michelle! (MIA--Whit!)

Kenzie is marrying B's bro, Jon, this weekend and we are so glad!!

She's so sweet & nice. I love her!

(This is a pic from her bridal shower last Saturday)

2009-08-10T14:31:00.001-06:00

We love Daddy!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Recipe

2009-08-06T14:02:00.004-06:00

We very much enjoy the tasty goodness of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (and cookies).

I recently tried this recipe off Snackorama and it is the best! I slightly modified it to my own liking & you're welcome to do the same. What's great is that it has NO eggs, so you can eat the dough with no worries. Healthy? No. Delicious? Oh, yes!

1 cup salted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Eggs (Instead, I used 2 T of ground flaxseed + 6 T warm water)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 12 oz pkg if you like a lot!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees with wire rack in the center of the oven. Cream the butter & then add both sugars and run in the mixer until fluffy. In a small cup, take the flaxseed and water and beat until frothy. Add it to the butter mixture and run the mixer until well blended. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

In another bowl, take flour, baking soda, and salt and stir. Add the dry to the wet ingredients and run the mixer until the mixture forms into a ball. Mix in chocolate chips with spoon or clean hands.

If you haven't eaten all the dough by this point (wink, wink)---Drop about 2 T dough balls on the baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 min until the bottoms are golden brown.

The recipe doesn't make a ton (or maybe I just eat too much of the dough...) so you may want to double it if you are making them for anything. The cookies taste REALLY good, too if you're not a dough person.

Let me know what you think if you make these!!

We Support...

2009-07-30T11:33:00.005-06:00

The hospital. Seriously, do those bills ever stop coming? I swear once we think we've got them all paid, here come more. Could someone please talk to them about consolidation? Geez.

Well, speaking of hospitals, Mason has given us a few scares over the course of his short 7-month life. I haven't written much about them because his diagnosis was never really clear so I didn't want to "cry 'wolf'."

Here's how the last few months have been:

Newborn: Possible Heart murmur. Chest x-ray (thanks Sharice). No heart murmur. Not sucking. Sucking like a mad-man. 3 percentile for weight-3 months. 6 months-54%.

7 months: Hypotonia (low muscle tone) & Tortocollis (head/neck tilt). Pediatric Physical Therapist visit. Not hypotonia. Slight tortocollis. 12 degree head tilt. Between visits-leans head to right. Then left again (not typical of tortocollis). 2nd visit. Not really tortocollis. X-ray of cervical spine. Not conclusive. Cat scan. Normal.

Final Diagnosis? We have a perfectly healthy boy! (and lots of bills)