Snapshot Prompt Regifted

Happy Holidays! We're all busy, and we're sure you are, too. So our small (very small, but potentially huge) gift to you is an extra week for our last post!

Brought to you by Leanne Sype:

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I don't know about you, but I am immersed in the hullabaloo of the holidays, which makes it hard to squeeze in the writing time! It looks like we could all use some extra time to get our submissions in, so we are extending last week's photo reveal a for another week. I've reposted the entry below and reopened the submission link. Have fun and Happy New Year!!

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Hello, friends! It's time for another dose of weekly inspiration with our Writer Wednesday Blog Hop photo reveal! My co-hostesses Nicole Pyles, Carrie Sorensen, and Tena Carr have done the most wonderful job in giving us some great prompts over the last several months! This week, they are handing me the reins for hosting! Thanks, ladies! Here are the creations from last week's prompt. Be sure to check them out and give some love to the authors through comments! The Photo Finals Project, by Scott Taylor I Have A Bad Feeling About This, by Nicole Pyles The Only Way Out, by Leanne Sype (hey, that's me!) Now, drumroll please: badabadabadabada.......... This week's photo

Mandatory words:

lobster

remote control

luggage

ears

exam

Here is how this all works:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create. 2) There is also a 500 word maximum. 3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post. 4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so! 5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it. Have fun!! Oh and if you are loving the Writer Wednesday blog hop, display this button on your site:

Three Day Get Away

We are off this morning on a weekend adventure to Chicago. Despite having grown up only a few hours drive away, I've never been to the Windy City. I'm very excited and a little sad it's only for 3 days, but we have to be back in time for Santa.

With that in mind, I'm offering a warning that posts over the next few weeks may be sporadic. Part of the reason we're going to Chicago is to pick up my husband's parents who are staying with us over the holidays (yay!). That along with the laundry list of tests and doctor's visits may mean I won't have as much time for the blog. I know, I know, I've already gone sporadic, but hopefully these tests and doctor's visits will fix the root cause.

So, if I don't blog to you before then, have a lovely holiday season!

Dizzy Me: Dr. Appt. 2

Yesterday was my rescheduled appointment. It turns out the test was an EKG (electrocardiogram - testing heart rhythm rather than electric activity in the brain). The test was a lot shorter than 30 minutes, but I'm still glad I rescheduled so the boys weren't there. Could you imagine the jumps in heart beat every time they got into something?

I also had my face to face. On the downside, I'll be put through a lot of tests I've already had, other than the EKG. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound, an MRI, blood work, and a heart monitor you carry around for a bit. I'm also scheduled to see a Cardiologist and Neurologist. On the plus side, I love my Neurologist (she helped get rid of my migraines) so I have high hopes there. Also, I'm being sent to a Hemotologist (blood specialist), Optometrist and an EN&T, none of which are specialties I've been to before for this. And in all this confusion, we're also getting me in to see a surgeon for my gall bladder.

Oh, and most of this happens between December 27th and January 9th, with an outlying appointment later in January. Unfortunately, they just weren't able to schedule everything on the same day. :P

Thankfully, I'll have family visiting who can help with the boys and a husband who is off on holiday for much of it. Then an amazing day care provider and other family. This network of help is so different than my last run with all these specialists and tests. Before, I only had one person to help me, to drive me, and her family of 4 to support me. No one else believed. How the world has changed for me, and I hope that means something will truly come from this.

Also!! I ran in to my Grandma yesterday. Turns out she had an appointment on the same day. I let her know what I was in for and she huffed. She asked me if I had a particular disease, one she had just been treated for last August. I was kind of miffed, I can't lie. Why wouldn't she have said something then? But, better late than never. I just have to get through the busy tone on my doctor's phones and ask them to add it to my history and alter any of these tests to look for it, if they need to.

Wouldn't that just be amazing? Ah, the hope. It's nice, but it's also bad when things doing turn out. Still, this is a family member, so her suggestion is a lot stronger than others.

On a side note, apparently there may be a few other outlining things we find (which wouldn't surprise me, to be honest). Which is why I'm going to specialists I haven't seen before. Apparently blood tests I had during this last pregnancy have raised a bunch more questions.

Haha. After so long, I'll take anything.

So there's a quick-ish update for those of you following this series. Thank you for your care and concern. :) I'm kind of looking forward to this round of tests. Then again, it does always start out that way. :P

Snapshot Prompt

Leanne Sype has put together this week's Snapshot prompt. Come have a look.

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Hello, friends! It's time for another dose of weekly inspiration with our Writer Wednesday Blog Hop photo reveal! My co-hostesses Nicole Pyles, Carrie Sorensen, and Tena Carr have done the most wonderful job in giving us some great prompts over the last several months! This week, they are handing me the reins for hosting! Thanks, ladies!

Here are the creations from last week's prompt. Be sure to check them out and give some love to the authors through comments!
The Photo Finals Project, by Scott Taylor
I Have A Bad Feeling About This, by Nicole Pyles
The Only Way Out, by Leanne Sype (hey, that's me!)

Now, drumroll please: badabadabadabada.......... This week's photo

Mandatory words:

lobster

remote control

luggage

ears

exam

Here is how this all works:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.
2) There is also a 500 word maximum.
3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.
4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!
5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it. Have fun!!

Oh and if you are loving the Writer Wednesday blog hop, display this button on your site:

 

Toddler Tales: The First Present

Joshua ran in from day care and went straight to the tree. He ran back to where I was in the kitchen, jazz hand raised.

"That's a present, Mommy. You can't look."

"Oh. Is it a Christmas present?"

"Yeah, you can't see it."

"Not until Christmas."

"No, Mommy. It has to be snowing."

Well, here's to hoping for a white Christmas!

Family Fun: Christmas At Grandma's

We had a field trip planned for this last weekend, but it was outdoors and the sky was spitting at us, so we weren't able to go. We did have family Christmas at my maternal Grandmother's house yesterday and I have a ton of photos.

So many photos were taken by everyone. There were a lot of differences this year, sparked by a death in the family this past summer. Though we don't all get along (we're a big family, after all), there was a bigger effort to have more fun, to engage rather than disengage, and it turned out to be one of the best Christmases.

I only have our photos right now (and am only sharing 2), but I hope people can get around to sharing them. It is a busy time of year and by the time we have time, we have usually forgotten.

Has anyone else started celebrating their holidays with extended family yet?

          

Dizzy Me: Crowd Sourcing?

I've decided for the time being to blog about whatever is going on with me. I'm not quite sure I'm to the 'share the post on G+ or FB' part, but writing about it has helped me calm a bit. I mean, when I made my first appointment, I cried. Now I'm re-focused and ready to go, something writing has always been able to do for me.

Right now I'm putting together a document for my doctor, listing all the information I can remember. I learned when I moved from Arizona that not all records come with you. There's even a neurologist out there who refuses to let my records go despite many requests from myself and other physician offices. I wonder if it's because there are notes in there on him telling me the fuzzy feeling in my head came from static electricity in my hair and I needed a better conditioner .... ?

(No, I'm not joking, sadly. The worst part is not believing him, but looking it up in case I was wrong. He is a doctor, after all. Then I found out I was right. This guy who was supposed to be taking care of me wasn't taking it seriously enough - or he thought I was a hypochondriac. Lovely.)

I don't remember everything. I don't think I remember every test, and I certainly don't remember every medication. I honestly thought the doctoring world was more organized than it is. It's getting better as everything goes digital. I'm excited to see the medical world my kids grow up with where it hopefully results in higher efficiency and lacks the need to have tests repeated every time you're sent to a new doctor. Particularly since it's frowned upon for patients to really know their medical history, or see the tests, since we laymen won't always understand what's there. (Oh, taste the bitterness.)  ;)

Anyway, so I'm putting this document together and I sent it to my husband to look over in case he notices something I missed. He still hasn't read it through, but he is getting excited about what we could do with it since I'm using Google Drive to draft it. We can share it with people we know in the medical field and see if they spot a test or a theory that hasn't been explored yet. We can even crowd source it and ask other doctors to send us their theories to then take to my doctor.

I'm almost there with him, though I always hesitate to do things like that. It isn't privacy so much as pushy. But, I guess, this would be voluntary. Still ... I'm not quite comfortable with it. But then, exactly how many opinions would we get, and how many good doctors would pass because they don't have my whole file? The question will become if I'm desperate enough to agree to crowd sourcing, I think.

What about it? Would you crowd source your symptoms if no one had been able to find lasting answers for the past 15 years?

Snapshot Prompt

Nicole is back, and she has jumped in with her new laptop to get this week's post together for us. :)

But first, here's a peek at Heather's ad button, which you can see for the next month in my (and other blog hop hosts) side bar.

Congratulations again, Heather. To win, you need only participate in our weekly story prompt, as told by Nicole:

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This time I get to post the weekly prompt (and soon, I will get used to having a laptop enough to join in...I promise).  A special thank you for my co-hosts, Carrie K Sorensen, Tena Carr and Leanne Sype for having so much patience during my time of laptop-lessness.

And here's the awesome writers from last week's writing prompt! Make sure to go by and read their amazing pieces!

Snow by Randy Lindsay
The Call by Stella
John Buck Thompson by Scott Taylor

Even though rules were meant to be broken, you must follow ours (especially to be considered for our monthly contest) -


1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.
2) There is also a 500 word maximum.
3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.
4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!
5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

And make sure to grab a blog hop button if you're loving the prompts!

Click and copy this code

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Now, for this week's photo:

The Five Words:

Parking Meter

Stomach

Magazine

Chart

Olive

Oh boy, I have a good feeling about this one. 

When you have you're post ready, get yourself linked up below! Get those creative engines going!

Woooo!

Toddler Tales: Crazy

"I'm crazy for you," Joshua said with a grin.

"Awww. I'm crazy for you, too."

"No, Mommy, only boys. Only boys can be crazy for girls. Not girls."

"Oh, I see."

Lol.

Family Field Trips: Hidden Lake Gardens for Christmas

Part of our Advent train gifts to Joshua are trips. We have one trip for every weekend related to some sort of Christmas event. Hidden Lake Gardens is a place near by we discovered this past summer. Last weekend they had their Holiday Festival.

Joshua and Sebastian had already had a long day with swim lessons and the afternoon with Mimi (my mom). So when we got there, this is what the back seat looked like.

Once Joshua realized there were cookies and popcorn and Santa, he was ready to go, though. Sebastian hung out in his carrier with Daddy. (Which I don't think we have pictures of, regrettably. Kris was taking people out left and right with that thing.)

As good parents, we showed Joshua the cookies first, then Santa, but told him none of that until a potty break! The crafts were near the bathrooms, so we ended up starting there. Joshua (erhm, I) made a couple Christmas ornaments.





Here I'm putting paint into a clear glass ornament and shaking it around.

   











Here I'm using a cut branch to make an angel ornament. There were many stations for these - for a reindeer, for Mrs. and Mrs. Claus - but after struggling with the angel, I thought she was enough. And you can see how patient Joshua was during out (my) craft time.










There was also a bird feeder made from a pine cone, Crisco and bird seed, but it was too far away from where Kris sat with Sebastian for a good photo. It was cute, though. I haven't checked on it since we hung it up, but I suppose it made a squirrel happy.


We eventually sat with Santa, then got our bag of popcorn, listen to the Saxophone jazz band for a little bit, before heading off in search of those cookies we saw at the beginning, enjoying the lights along the way. The hills were lit by candles in painted milk jugs, arranged into wreaths, snow flakes, candy canes. It was very simple and very beautiful. I wish we'd gotten a photo of that part, too.

Off we went home. This time the boys stayed awake with the promise of food at the end of the trip, and the Christmas lights decorating businesses and houses along the way.

What will the Advent Train yield next week? Maybe not as many pictures. Lol. ;)

Growing Pains: Growth Spurt

Let's start with a picture of Joshua's coat from last year and the one we got him this year (shhh, it's his Advent train presents).

The little coat is a 2T, the big one is a large for size 4-5.

All summer Joshua wore 2T clothes. As the year got colder, I realized his long sleeves weren't long enough, and his pants fell above his ankles instead of below. So I moved out his 2T's and got his 3T's.

The 3's were too small, too!!

Here's the skinny - my son is skinny. He always has been. His length is, apparently, a 4T. His girth, however, is still a 2T. He's still wearing 18 month trunks for swim class, for goodness sake. So, all summer, T-shirts and shorts fit him fine, because, well, you don't notice the length so much for those. Come winter and it was very clear how much height that boy gained.

We ended up going shopping on Black Friday to get him and his little brother clothes. Sebastian, of course, can use his hand-me downs, but he is 9 months tall and 9 months round. As we get to each stage, I realize Joshua's odd sizing has left us shy of certain sizes, so we have to supplement. Which isn't a bad thing. Joshua has a mix of old (from his cousin) and new clothes. It's good Sebastian can get the same. :)

Snapshot Prompt and Winner!

Who won this week?

I'm going to save that for later this time. ;)

First, let's take a look at last week's story submissions.

Hard to Let Go by Heather
Home-made Business by Tena Carr
Lady by Scott Taylor
Mama's Songs by Leanne Sype

I have to say, the thought of my son and dog inspiring those stories .... haha. :) It was lovely. And I have more for you this week.

Keep an eye on the rules:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.
2) There is also a 500 word maximum.
3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.
4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!
5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

The photo for this week.

Microsoft Office Images

The words for this week.

Needle

Wisdom

Planet

Beach

Scandal

We haven't offered our button in a while. Feel free to grab one to share the love. :)

Click and copy this code

<p align="center"> <a href="http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh540/sommerfugldesign/Worldofmyimagination/wednesdayhopbutton.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a> <br /> <br />

And, finally, the answer you've scrolled all the way down to see. This month's ad winner is:

Heather @ Reading, Writing and Everything Inbetween

Congratulations! We will display your button for the next month. If you have a button already, please send it my way. If you have a photo you would like me to use to make your button, let me know that by Friday. Otherwise I can work from scratch.

Everyone else (not to exclude Heather) get to writing. It may be your blog up to win next month's prize.

Toddler Tales: Long Day

Joshua had a hard time going down for a nap yesterday. He came stomping down the stairs, then broke down into tears when he saw me come to carry him back up.

I got him in bed and calmed down. He looked at me with tear-wet eyes and said:

"It's a long day."

"It has been a long day, baby. Now get some sleep."

I don't usually get photos of Joshua sleeping because his room is dark and the flash wakes him up. A few days ago I was able to take this one because he came down after an hour in bed to sleep another hour on the couch. It must have been yet another long day for the poor little guy.

Doctor Appointment Fail

I had a doctor appointment today for my dizziness. Since I was going in, I called this morning to move Sebastian's flu booster from tomorrow.

I see the Nurse Practitioner who is only in every Monday and Wednesday, then every other Friday she and the doctor have another office they split in another town. Though I can drive to the other town, I stay here since I have to take my two boys with me, something I told them when I made the appointment.

So when I showed up today and they wanted to hook me up to the EEG (a test that measures the electrical activity of your brain), I was a bit surprised. This procedure takes at least 30 minutes, usually 45 and possibly an hour.

With a 9.5 month old crawling around and a 3.5 year old walking around? Not likely. It would have been nice if the office had told me I would have this procedure either in a phone call, or even when I'd called to get Sebastian in. Then I could have found child care ahead of time. As it was, I scrambled to find anyone available.

I called my aunt - her number was disconnected. I called my friend - she didn't answer. In a last ditch effort I called my day care provider. She said she could, but it would be a few minutes. After I hung up I worried she wouldn't have a car seat for Sebastian. I asked the nurse if I could drop them somewhere, then come right back. She went to ask the NP.

With doors wide open, I heard the NP. If I couldn't be seen when she could see me, I would have to reschedule. She wouldn't even come talk to me unless I had the EEG. If she had, I could have told her the EEG would be negative - as in normal. I could have told her I'd had the test many, many times before and it had always been normal. As had my MRI, EKG, ultrasound of the heart and arteries, glucose blood tests, hormone blood tests and a whole slew of others. All that had come back positive was a tilt table test when I was 16, and all that tested was if I would faint if my heart rate was artificially accelerated.

So, I called my day care provider to let her know I was rescheduling, and thankful she'd been willing to gather all her kids up to come and get my boys. Sebastian got his shot. There's the upside. He didn't even cry, my brave boy. He's sleeping it off right now.

I have a rescheduled appointment in two and a half weeks. This time I know what's going to happen, so I'll have a place for the boys. I'll get the test done, watch her wonder where to go from there. Maybe she'll listen to me this time. If not ...

Have I mentioned I've had many, many doctors?

Here's to hoping despite this rough start, there's a successful ending.