KEN:
So about a month ago Ken and the kids were playing on a slip and slide and Ken fell knock the wind out of himself and hurt his really badly chest. It still hurts him a lot now. The first week after his fall he notice a lump under his left breast and thought it was from the fall. But it did not go away so he told me and I convinced him to go to the doctor. The only problem was that he did not have a new doctor yet after leaving Kaiser in May. So I called grandmas PCP and he got an appointment for Ken on June 29th. Okay so we had to wait a few weeks not bad right. Wrong we both spent the next 3 weeks freaking out about to ourselves. Then he came home from work early the Thursday before his appointment because he was in so much pain. Scared me a little. Ken is tough and can handle a lot of stuff and has not called in sick in over a year! I knew he was in pain then.
Breast cancer runs in Ken's family: His Grandma (his moms mom) Aunt (moms sister) and his Mother. I worry about the BRCA gene and our kids. I was tested when I had my hysterectomy and I am not a carrier so that is good. We made it to the June 29th and Ken had his appointment with a full physical. Dr. Lu said he was in good health but wanted x-ray, blood work and was referring him to a surgeon to have the lump checked out. His appointment with the surgeon was set for July 5th. Dr. Lu said that the lump was there before the fall and it had been there for a while. He said his chest pain was from the fall not the lump and his rib is really bruised not fractured like we thought. That part was good.
So we meet with the surgeon on July 5th. He said that the lump is most likely benign but we get the biopsy back next week. He measured the lump and it is 6 cm (2 inches) and to larger to be removed in his office it would have to be done at a hospital. He said we should ask Ken's mom to get tested for the BRCA gene and if she is positive then Ken should be tested. If it is benign then we go back in a few months for him to measure it again and if it is fast growing or if the BRCA is a problem then he will take it out.
This was the first time I really thought about Ken being sick and it scared me a lot. I always thought that I would be the one to die first and so on not him. I also thought about the kids and money because his the main source of income and health insurance. It was eye opening and made me think of the future and so on.
The Doctor called today July 10th and it was a Benign!! He thought it was and I just he was right. I am relieved and can let go of some of the stress that was getting to me.
Father's Day:
The Doctor called today July 10th and it was a Benign!! He thought it was and I just he was right. I am relieved and can let go of some of the stress that was getting to me.
Father's Day:
For Father's Day and Ken's birthday the kids and I got the carpets clean in the Dinning room, Living-room, and Hallway. Ken is so happy! The house looks really good now. Ken and I are going to clean the couches next week and then it is done. I wish we could have done more for him because he is such an amazing dad but everyone how knows Ken knows that he loves to clean and have a clean house. We went to dinner with Ken's parents at Kyoto Palace the kids had a great time. Kaylee ate shrimp and more shrimp.Both kids loved watching them cook in front of us. Kaylee wants to go back for her Birthday dinner in August.
Camping:
We went camping for 2 nights in June and it went well. We took Payton along with us and our friend Sara and her daughter Emma came along too.
![]() |
| Watching wild pigs. |
We had a lot of fun. Michael had a hard time the second day but got over it by lunch time. We all slept in one big tent and used a smaller tent for the kids toys and for them to play in. I can not wait to do it again. Both Kaylee and Michael keep asking to go again. We are planning to go for Kaylee's birthday. I think it will be our new family thing in warm weather. We love the camp grounds that we go to because it is so close.
Kaylee:
This month has been really hard on Kaylee. She keeps asking about Kindergarten and her friends from preschool. She has had the most meltdowns and tantrums this past month, then ever before as well as not sleeping through the night. I know she is nevus and or scared about the big changes in the new school year. I am a little surprised by this though. I ask her why she is sad and she says "i don't know. I am just sad". She is also complaining of headaches which is from allergies which is not making her feeling good either. both ken and I have been doing stuff with her one on one.
We are still waiting to hear if she got into Easter Brook Discovery. She was #20 in the lottery and we should find out sometime this month. It would be so much better for her to get into that school. She is growing up so fast. Her summer school teacher said that "Kaylee was the kindest kid she has seen in a long time and she thought that she would grow up to be a wonderful woman!" I cried. It made may day to hear that. Kaylee is turning into a great little girl and I am so happy about that. I worry that I am going to mess her up in some way.
Michael:
Michael's speech has improved so much in the last few weeks I can't believe that he is the same kid. He is using so many more words and is understanding more and more. I am getting tired of having therapy everyday but it helps him so much. His hitting and biting are out if control though. Poor Kaylee get the most of it. He is starting to leave marks on her now. But he is improving with everything. After coming back from camping we had to take him in to the doctors for his toe. He cut it while camping and of course in got infected! He still did not pass his hearing test this past month. His nerve in his right ear does not seem to work like it should. I really don't know what that means and have not had the time to look it up. I know that he can hear us and his left ear is good so I am not going to push this to much right now. His drooling is crazy still and I am at a loss as to why. His speech and OT therapists think that is medical and his E.N.T thinks it is muscle tone. SO what do I do with that!! He wont die from drooling to much but it is very discussing and not very cute anymore.
He is getting out of hand with the vacuuming. Now every house we go to he asks for the vacuum! I am hoping it will blow over soon. Grandma has hiding all of her vacuums and I had to lock ours up! I am talking about hours everyday of him vacuuming the house. Kaylee is going crazy too! Then if he can't find a vacuum he wants to watch them on youtube!
Next month our school district will evaluate him and he will start preschool in October after he turns 3. I can not wait. I know it will be hard for him at first but once he is okay with it he will love it.
Me, Sophie:
It has been a very busy last 6 weeks or so. I had a very good job offer that I decided not to take. Ken and I both realized how tired we both are and that there is no way I can work 15 hours a week during dinner and bedtime. I am not ready to deal with Michael and the change in routine. It would be hard on all of us. So for now I am going to keep doing what I am doing. His therapy takes up a lot of my time in the mornings. Monday through Friday I have people in and out of my house all morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. It takes a lot of energy to deal with that everyday. Plus they are teaching me things too! It wears me out.
My therapist is getting married at the end of July and is leaving the area. I had my last meeting with her a few weeks ago. I really liked her a lot. She helped think about things in a different way. They tried to set me up with a new therapist but it was not a good fit. So I am going to get it a rest for now and do a support group my therapist recommended for me. It starts in a few weeks. We will see how it goes. I am not a fan of group therapy stuff but really want to stay mentally healthy for myself and the family. I find that as Kaylee gets older it is getting harder for me. I am not sure if it is because of my mom or just what I went through at her age that makes it hard for me. But I don't want that to happen. I want a normal or at least a close healthy relationship with my daughter now and for every so I need to keep working on it. But after the day we had today I feel like a mean/bad mom. All she did was cry about everything all day. I finally had grandma take over for me because I could not take her anymore.
As for my health issues I am tired of being tired and sick. My new non-Kaiser GI doctor has been working with me and did a second Surgery and removed more of the infected area in my stomach as well as a lot more test and biopsies. He also did a colonoscopy. I have a lot/too many white blood cells all throughout my GI track and he is not sure as to way. It usually just affects the esophagus and stomach and not the instances I seem to have it all the way through. But at least I know why I am so tired and don't feel well. I am on some new medication and they gave me a list of stuff that I should not eat! I have to go back in a few weeks. I also have a new PCP and I like him a lot too. So I am at least covered by doctors now.
Other than that Life is going by fast. The kids keep me busy. I am trying to get out of the house more and do some fun stuff but I am to tired right now. I am just really looking forward to school starting in a month. I love my kids but I have noticed that if I get a break of 4 hours a week away from the kids I have a lot more patients for the kids. The hard part is that getting that break. I really don't have anyone to help me and we don't have money to pay a babysitter. Ken does a get job trying to give me time away but he is tired and we have so much to do around the house I feel so bad leaving. I am hoping to do some stuff with friend and have people over for dinner soon. It helps me so much to have stuff to look forward too.
We are still waiting to hear if she got into Easter Brook Discovery. She was #20 in the lottery and we should find out sometime this month. It would be so much better for her to get into that school. She is growing up so fast. Her summer school teacher said that "Kaylee was the kindest kid she has seen in a long time and she thought that she would grow up to be a wonderful woman!" I cried. It made may day to hear that. Kaylee is turning into a great little girl and I am so happy about that. I worry that I am going to mess her up in some way.
Michael:
Michael's speech has improved so much in the last few weeks I can't believe that he is the same kid. He is using so many more words and is understanding more and more. I am getting tired of having therapy everyday but it helps him so much. His hitting and biting are out if control though. Poor Kaylee get the most of it. He is starting to leave marks on her now. But he is improving with everything. After coming back from camping we had to take him in to the doctors for his toe. He cut it while camping and of course in got infected! He still did not pass his hearing test this past month. His nerve in his right ear does not seem to work like it should. I really don't know what that means and have not had the time to look it up. I know that he can hear us and his left ear is good so I am not going to push this to much right now. His drooling is crazy still and I am at a loss as to why. His speech and OT therapists think that is medical and his E.N.T thinks it is muscle tone. SO what do I do with that!! He wont die from drooling to much but it is very discussing and not very cute anymore.
He is getting out of hand with the vacuuming. Now every house we go to he asks for the vacuum! I am hoping it will blow over soon. Grandma has hiding all of her vacuums and I had to lock ours up! I am talking about hours everyday of him vacuuming the house. Kaylee is going crazy too! Then if he can't find a vacuum he wants to watch them on youtube!
Next month our school district will evaluate him and he will start preschool in October after he turns 3. I can not wait. I know it will be hard for him at first but once he is okay with it he will love it.
Me, Sophie:
It has been a very busy last 6 weeks or so. I had a very good job offer that I decided not to take. Ken and I both realized how tired we both are and that there is no way I can work 15 hours a week during dinner and bedtime. I am not ready to deal with Michael and the change in routine. It would be hard on all of us. So for now I am going to keep doing what I am doing. His therapy takes up a lot of my time in the mornings. Monday through Friday I have people in and out of my house all morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. It takes a lot of energy to deal with that everyday. Plus they are teaching me things too! It wears me out.
My therapist is getting married at the end of July and is leaving the area. I had my last meeting with her a few weeks ago. I really liked her a lot. She helped think about things in a different way. They tried to set me up with a new therapist but it was not a good fit. So I am going to get it a rest for now and do a support group my therapist recommended for me. It starts in a few weeks. We will see how it goes. I am not a fan of group therapy stuff but really want to stay mentally healthy for myself and the family. I find that as Kaylee gets older it is getting harder for me. I am not sure if it is because of my mom or just what I went through at her age that makes it hard for me. But I don't want that to happen. I want a normal or at least a close healthy relationship with my daughter now and for every so I need to keep working on it. But after the day we had today I feel like a mean/bad mom. All she did was cry about everything all day. I finally had grandma take over for me because I could not take her anymore.
As for my health issues I am tired of being tired and sick. My new non-Kaiser GI doctor has been working with me and did a second Surgery and removed more of the infected area in my stomach as well as a lot more test and biopsies. He also did a colonoscopy. I have a lot/too many white blood cells all throughout my GI track and he is not sure as to way. It usually just affects the esophagus and stomach and not the instances I seem to have it all the way through. But at least I know why I am so tired and don't feel well. I am on some new medication and they gave me a list of stuff that I should not eat! I have to go back in a few weeks. I also have a new PCP and I like him a lot too. So I am at least covered by doctors now.
Other than that Life is going by fast. The kids keep me busy. I am trying to get out of the house more and do some fun stuff but I am to tired right now. I am just really looking forward to school starting in a month. I love my kids but I have noticed that if I get a break of 4 hours a week away from the kids I have a lot more patients for the kids. The hard part is that getting that break. I really don't have anyone to help me and we don't have money to pay a babysitter. Ken does a get job trying to give me time away but he is tired and we have so much to do around the house I feel so bad leaving. I am hoping to do some stuff with friend and have people over for dinner soon. It helps me so much to have stuff to look forward too.



