Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A welcome back surprise!

I've been gone for awhile, but here is our 2010 Christmas Card. Well....one of them anyways! Enjoy and we'll catch up soon!


Holiday Gift Christmas
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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Me and a Princess

CJ is off at the lake with my in laws for the rest of the week. He left yesterday morning with his sweet Aunt Nicole who is visiting from Colorado for a week. Its a welcome break, but really good for him to get some family time in. I know him and I get sick of each other sometimes, though we would never admit it, LOL!

So it's just me and Ella until tomorrow afternoon. We'll be going down to the lake and spending the night to see Aunt Nicole before she leaves Saturday morning. We have some errands to run and then I MUST go to the gym. I skipped yesterday, just had way too much to do. I got my cavaties filled, it was an ok experience. I only needed novacaine on one side, the dr had to do a lot of drilling and I opted to not feel it this time. I didn't need any local or anything on the other side b/c the spot was so small....and of course I survived. I figured I could handle it after having 6 cortisone shots in my wrist, a broken wrist, a certain operation and other small problems! I'm a wreck I must say.

Magellan keeps saying in his next life he's going to do a health background check BEFORE he gets married....only b/c I'm a freak of nature. Anything that could possibly go wrong usually does with me. And speaking of going wrong.....I'm having an issue with one of the girls. For those of you who remember about my surgery a few months back. I'll be going back to see my surgeon in the next few weeks and maybe I will have more information for you all. Until then, stay tuned!

So as the days get closer to CJ going off to Kindergarten, I get a bit misty eyed. He is super excited, but boy I'm going to miss that kid and miss seeing how he interacts with the kids. Now I know how my mom always felt that first day I walked up the bus steps...so bittersweet. I know he'll do fine, I just can't help but miss our time together and his time with Ella. That girl is going to miss the heck out of her brother!

CJ currently has another VERY loose tooth. It may even be out before he goes to school! Then he really will be the toothless wonder. Ella can now put her shoes on by herself and does a lot of dressing herself these days. She has just started sitting super good for books. She will sit on your lap while you read at LEAST three or four books. She just loves it. But the books must be about Elmo or Thomas or she won't last. That's all she's interested in.

So that's enough of playing catch up! More tomorrow for 5 question Friday!!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Finally, it's out!


CJ has been working on his first tooth for what seems like months! And finally the darn thing basically fell out Friday morning. He likes to gross me out by moving it around with his tongue every morning, and this morning he pushed on it with his tongue and it was hanging by like one root! Let me tell, it made my stomach turn. If there is one thing I hate, it's loose teeth. I don't like looking at them, and even at a young age, I HATED pulling them out. I just don't like it and never will.
Anyway, I told CJ to please pull it out, give it a little yank or he would swallow it and the tooth fairy wouldn't be able to give him money. Then he got all nervous when he saw how really close it was to coming out. He gave it a little wiggle and spit it out. And had just a small amount of blood which was a good thing, because he probably would've freaked out had he seen more blood.
So, for all of you photo lover's, here it is!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Thoughts for you to ponder

Five Questions Friday (even tho it's not Friday, I'll be too busy to remember):

1. Have you ever visited a foreign country?
Sure have. Quite a few in fact....been to Mexico, Canada (when you live as close to it as I do, who hasn't?!), St Lucia, Bahamas, and Puerto Rico (in the airport)

2. Where is the strangest place you have ever been?
This is tough, cause I really don't have a clue. The most recent I can remember would have to be at the racetrack when I took a roadtrip with Magellan and his brother, who races Legends cars. He raced in Lancaster, and man were those SOME interesting folk down there....almost like a different country. Kind of creepy.

3. What is your favorite season?
Summer hands down! I love the warmer weather and all the things you can do. I love to swim, go on my in laws boat, water ski, go tubing, wear less clothing b/c I tend to sweat a bit more than normal people, and I can dress Ella in cute little dresses too!

4. What one song will always cheer you up?
Any Justin Bieber song...sorry I'm a sucker for those high notes and cheesy pop songs!

5. What Disney character do you resemble most?
Well, I guess if I had to pick I'd say Sleeping Beauty b/c I'm blonde with blue eyes and she sleeps for a long time, and I love to sleep. It's probably my favorite past time and I never get enough of it these days! Plus I love to dance!!

Later!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tuesdays Tidbits


Thought I'd let you all know what my two crazy kids are up to these days. Because we all know they are crazy and sure keep me busy!!
CJ had his very first visit to the dentist office last week. Yes, I put it off for a few years because of how nasty he can get when anybody gets near him. I still have to cut the child's hair at home b/c he cries when anyone attempts to cut his hair. Surprisingly he did very well. He loved every minute of it, so I've come to the conclusion that he's not my kid. I absolutely hate the dentist, I'm lucky if I get the nerve to go once every 2 years. Not that I don't have an awesome dentist, I have a great one. I mean he's gotta be a saint if he can impress CJ enough to want to see the dentist every day, right?! But, I just have very sensitive teeth and gums and it's always so tortorous for me. So CJ will go back in 6 months, and I'll go back next week to get TWO cavaties filled. That's right folks, although I brush my teeth every day and floss twice a day I still managed to have two very small cavaties. CJ had none, thank god. I'd rather have them than him though.
Ella is finally starting to say more words. Still waiting for her to put two words together though. Occasionally she will, but for the most part she's so darn stubborn she doesn't want you telling her to do ANYthing!!! She can gallop now and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. It's like watching a horse try to skip!! I love it.
CJ starts Kindergarten in about 3 weeks. I can hardly believe it. I'm excited for this new journey for him, but sad at the same time. My baby is growing up and it's almost like he won't need me as much because he'll be gone all day long now.
Ella is currently obsessed with the library and thankfully she has learned to be quiet there as well now. Before she would be so excited she would just shriek and we would have to leave. Now she loves to choose Thomas the Train books and movies.
She is also starting to show some interest in the potty but never wants to sit long enough to actually go. I'm thinking I'll bring the little potty up later this week, wash it out and put it in the bathroom and see if that sparks more of an interest. She's going to be tough to potty train b/c she hates to have her diaper changed. She'd sit in a poopy diaper all day long if she could, it really just doesn't bother her and she's always been that way.
That's it for now!!! More to come.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Full of it

I have decided that in blog world I should win the record for how long I can ignore my blog. I really did have a lot to say, I just didn't feel like saying it I guess. I've been more into spending time with the crazy kids, working out, getting some girl time in also, and trying to have date night once a week with Magellan. It sort of works out I guess. It's harder in the summer though with his massive work schedule.

So, to do some real quick updates, I am officially signed up for my college classes that will start in September. So not only will I have a Kindergartner but I will also be an almost full time student. I've decided to pile on the workload and take 1o credit hours, just 2 shy of what is considered full time. Why you ask am I so crazy? Probably b/c I want to be able to get done with school as quickly as possible. I don't want to be an old student forever, LOL! It's just not me.

Ella is now almost 22 months, can you freaking believe it?? I can't. She has grown up way too fast. She is amazingly strong and pretty advanced in the motor department. She can already do somersaults, spin in circles, pull herself up on the uneven bars in her gym class, jump down 3 steps, jump off of both feet, gallop, swim by herself with floaties, jump in the pool, loves to jetski and tube, and is basically a crazy, busy girl. She is still an awesome sleeper unless she's teething or sick, and is an absolute Daddy's girl! She just loves him to death, it's the cutest thing ever.

CJ is doing very well. He had his first visit to the dentist today and loved every minute of it. He even asked me when he could go back, the silly kid. He didn't even cry or get nervous at all. He had no cavaties, and basically surprised the heck out of me for being so darn grown up! He has two loose teeth now, and one of them should fall out any day now. He is still the goofiest little boy and loves to make us laugh, and is really beginning to enjoy Ella as she gets more playful. They are very cute together. Wait to see the photos I took of them! I will DEF share tomorrow, for Wordless Wednesdays. CJ has made great strides in the swim department. He can swim wihtout floaties now, jumps in the pool by himself, jumps off the diving board and loves to do cannonballs. He is much more sure of himself when he's in the water, it's amazing. He is currently taking Karate and is one of the star pupils. He really enjoys that.

Pee Wee has finally moved out of our garage. He moved in with some buddies of his. It will be a bit quieter around here now, LOL!

Magellan is busy as ever, and still getting a lot of calls for buildings, which is awesome. Hopefully we'll have another winter like last year; enough work to get us thru the slow season. Especially with me being in school now, we have an extra bill to pay. Joy! But the end result will be well worth it.

What am I going to school for you ask? A nurse, eventually I hope to get my RN, but the school I will be going to will help prepare me for my LPN. After I get that I will have to continue on if I choose to a 4 year school to get my RN. After all is said and done I really want to be a Labor & Delivery Nurse someday. Hopefully I can make that dream come true.

So...until tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Leave me alone

Just kidding...

Well sort of I am...

I know it's been almost a month that I haven't blogged. Obviously y'all miss me or something, I miss you too. I wish I had something to write about, or had the energy or motivation to write. But sadly, these days I don't. I attribute it to the shitty weather that puts me in a funk, and the fact that I have had migraine after migraine, and all I do is watch the kids, and when they go to bed, I go to bed. Its been tough to say the least. But here are some updates I'm sure you've all been waiting for:

1. I had another appt with my hand dr, sometime in the beginning of April. My days all mesh together lately. I had been having pain again in my wrist and in my middle finger, that's called "trigger finger". I've already had two cortisone shots for it, so I didn't really think there was much the dr could do. Well, to my surprise he wanted to try one last shot and go from there. I also got a pretty little cortisone shot in my wrist too. Both hurt like hell, not gonna lie. And the comfort has been short lived. I still have my good days but also the bad days are back. Next step from here is surgery. At least for my trigger finger. It's a short 10 minute surgery, but still not looking forward to that. Next step for my wrist could be another shot and if that still doesn't help then they cut my wrist open, put a scope in to check the tendons out, and possibly cut off damaged tissue or scarred tissue. Sounds fun right? I should know more at my next check up which is next week.

2. Ella currently has both of her bottom incisors in! YAY!! 'Bout time, dammit. She's been working on those for at least a month now. She is back to sleeping semi good. Still 12 hours, but just recently started waking at 11p and 2am. Not good habits to get into, and she cries for someone, she isn't just waking and talking to herself. So, I've been letting her CIO, and so far so good. Well, for some of the nights. Last night was the first night she didn't wake up and cry. All she really wants is some milk, but I don't want her making that a habit either. She gets a sippy cup of water in her bed, but I guess that just isn't good enough sometimes.

3. Ella had her 18 month check up on April 12th. She's still a horse, can you freaking believe it?? I can't. I don't get it. She is 24lbs, in the 50th percentile, and is 33" tall! She's in the 85th percentile for that. I just keep looking back to CJ's baby book and his stats at 18 months was 21.12lbs and 33" tall. For a boy he was obviously very skinny and average height. Ella is almost out of all of her 18-24m clothes. I was just noticing that half the pants she owns no longer have any "slack" in them. They were a bit baggy but not anymore. And I've come to notice that Ella also has a very long torso. Where that comes from I will never know. She is still every bit a tomboy, she loves playing cars and dinosaurs, but loves dressing up in dresses and having her hair down. Oh and she is a true shoe hound now! She obsesses over her shoes, and if I don't let her pick them out for the day she has a tremendous temper tantrum! Sure takes after her mama in the shoe department.

3. CJ has about 2 months left of preschool. He recently had some testing done to see what he's learned through out the year and he is doing excellent. Out of 100 questions he only got 2 wrong, I could hardly believe it! They consider him to be in a 6-7 year old level, which is amazing. Can't believe how smart and old my baby is getting! So sad to think he will start Kindergarten in a few short months!

4. I am now the proud owner of a mini van. Yup, traded in the Explorer and got Chrysler Town and Country. I love it. It's awesome, has a ton of room in it, and the kids still have a DVD player in it. I think they like it even better b/c of where it's placed in the van. I just like the fact that the doors are automatic and slide. No more dings into someone else's door, courtesy of CJ. And no more assholes making it virtually impossible to get Ella into the Explorer b/c of the big bulky doors they had, which happened all the time b/c half the world can't park or stay in the lines! I highly suggest the Chrysler for anyone with more than one kid. I can actually put two diaper bags in the car and not have it look jam packed!! I also think the kids like it better b/c the windows are wider and longer and they can see out of them better. Ella still gets excited every time we pass a car or she sees a dog in someone's yard, even tho we've now had the van for almost a month!

5. I traded in my old wedding set for a new set, which most of you know via facebook. You've seen the pics. I'm still very happy with it! The only thing I still can't get used to is how big it is. My old set was very pretty and different but this one is more Karats. Randy actually chose this set, if you can believe that. I had a very pretty set all picked out, and Randy says to the sales girl, "Oh let me see that one. I hadn't noticed that one over there yet." First thing I said was, "Oh it's gonna look weird cause it's so big!" But it looks great with the wedding bands I picked out. I do two, one on the bottom and one on top. My old set had the diamond wedding band, and the top band was my birthstone, blue topaz. This one is just diamonds on both bands. I also switched to white gold, previously I had gold. I kind of like it better, I guess b/c it stands out more. But the most important part is I have a lifetime warranty on the diamonds. My previous set we got from a place that ended up going out of business a few years back, so of course if I happened to damage my set or lose a diamond we would've had to pay outright for it. And you all diamonds are pricey! So, it was a win-win I suppose. Leave it to Randy to HAVE to have the big and the best. But he did pick a good set tho!

6. I recently went to my normal dr for my migraines. They are getting worse and are coming at other times of the month than just when I get my period. It hasn't been fun. Not only was I out of medicine, but I hated the way my current meds were making me feel. It would make me super groggy, and then a few hours later would make me bounce off the walls, also making it impossible to sleep. So we talked about a few options, the first being that my dr put me on a prednisone, have no clue what it's called, which I am now taking 2x a day every day for a week, hoping to ward off the frequent tension headaches I get. Then we are trying Imitrex for when I do get migraines. The dr also said I had some very sore, tender pressure points that can cause inflammation in my neck and that contributes to migraines so he suggested PT and possibly cortisone shots in those spots. Not crazy about getting a shot in my neck or shoulder to be honest with you, makes me nervous too about the spots it would go in. So hopefully that's a last resort.

Well, I guess that's about it! I'll try and be more diligent about updates and pictures!! Sorry!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Five Question Friday

So, it's about that time, to learn a little bit more about me, as if you didn't already know enough, right??

Thanks to Mama M at www.fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com, you get to read my responses to some interesting questions.

Here we go!

1. Do you sing out loud in the car when you're driving?
Yes I do! Every chance I get. Sometimes I even tell the kids to be quiet so I can sing in peace and quiet.

2. What would you never be caught doing?
I'm not sure about this one....picking my nose I guess.

3. Will you go #2 in a public restroom?
If I absolutely couldn't hold yet, yes I would. Otherwise, I do my best to hold it and go in my own bathroom. It kind of freaks me out to go #2 elsewhere.

4. Have you ever broken a bone?
Now you ALL should know the answer to this one. For those that don't...yes I have. Just this past December I broke a small bone in my wrist, but it's one that has a tendency to take forever to heal, cause years of pain and possibly cause you to get early arthritis. Good times, eh?

5. Do you prefer cooking or baking?
Much prefer cooking. I'm pretty creative when it comes to cooking and not afraid to try new things. But I can't even bake brownies out of a box the right way, so I'll stick to cooking.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tasteless Tuesdays

Yes, Finally, my gross story about Ella! I've been patiently waiting for Tuesday to come along. Ya'all are going to love this!

A few weeks back, I had forgotten to lock the bathroom door. Unfortunately, if you ever come to visit you will need to make sure you ask for the key to the bathroom first. Each bathroom is locked in our home b/c Ella has an obsession for toilets and garbage's. So, back to the story. I was in CJ's room and he said, "Uh, Mommy I think I hear Ella in the bathroom." I said, no way, I had thought I had remembered to lock the door. SO not the case!

I walked into the bathroom and saw the most disgusting thing...well, not the most disgusting thing Ella has ever done, but close enough. The girl was STANDING in the toilet. I kid you not...everyone I've told this story too can't believe or figure out how she got feet first into the toilet. I haven't a clue, this girl is sneaky and crafty all at the same time. I'm not sure what she thought she was going to do once she got into the toilet. So, as I was giggling but trying to be the disciplinarian at the same time, she was getting nervous b/c she couldn't get out. I grabbed by the arms and then proceeded to wash her feet off.

Good thing the toilet had just been cleaned or the situation might have been much more gross than it was!!!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Elmo Live!

We actually ventured out of the house yesterday, which is rare for us to do, as a family. Here are the photos from our evening, seeing Elmo Live on stage. Enjoy!
Miss Ella, excited and ready to go!

At the show before it started!

Ella and Daddy sitting together, before the show started.


The show started and was a bit loud for CJ. He's the uber sensitive one!


Ella wanting a better look at Elmo on stage.


Elmo came to the end of the stage, and Ella wanted him to pick her up, lol.

Elmo!


Elmo and Cookie Monster, Ella's two favorite characters!


Oscar and his girlfriend


Daddy letting Miss Ella stand on the bars in front of the stage.


The two of the goofiest kids you will ever meet!


Daddy and Ella watching Elmo again together! Amazingly enough, this is how Ella was the ENTIRE show!!

Had to take a picture of the Ladybugs!!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

It just really gets my Goat!

I have some issues I will admit. I'm not perfect just like everyone else in the world. Sure, I like things done my way most of the time, who the hell doesn't? I try to be nice and treat people the way I'd like to be treated. The one thing I will NOT tolerate is someone who treats me like I'm less of a person than they are and then want me to treat them as gold in return.

Do you have anyone in your life like that?

I sure do! I'm sure we all do as a matter of fact. I won't tell you who it is, most of you that know me well know exactly who I'm talking about. It's the one person who, still, after all these years thinks they can walk into my house, ignore me and then call ME the bad person. This is the same person who could give a shit how much mud they track around my house (cause they know I'm the one cleaning it up, and apparently they're too good to take their shoes off most days), could give two shits how much they torture my children. I just don't like it. I don't like people who feel as if they walk on water. I don't need this in my life, I do my best to ignore it, but I will be damned if I'm going to feel like I owe them something, especially when it's in my own house. I will not be made to feel as if there's something wrong with me.

It's been a rough weekend, can ya tell???? A lot has gone on, and I'm hoping when I wake up tomorrow it will all be just a bad dream. A very, very bad dream.

So, Friday night Magellan actually put Ella to bed while I ran errands and took CJ to his open gym class at The Little Gym. About 10p, she woke up, screaming and was burning up. Actually her temp was 102.8 to be exact. She was not a happy lady, she only wanted to be snuggling up with me. Obviously the fever made me very nervous, given the fact she has MRSA. I did get her to lay back down, only to have her wake BACK up at midnight. So I turned on a movie in our little play area in the hallway upstairs, and I let her sit with me, eat crackers and drink some milk. She was such a happy girl, being with her momma after having taken some teething tablets and motrin.

And is it just me, or does it seem like this girl is CONSTANTLY teething? Her bottom molars just freaking came in, and now she's getting her incisors. Those are apparently the worst for her! With CJ, we didn't even know he got them until they broke thru the gums. Naturally Ella has her own way of doing things.

So, Ella was up for a good two hours. Yep, two hours. At 2am she finally was ready to go to bed, as was I. I'm sure you can all guess where Magellan was. Yup, fast asleep. Mothers have never ending jobs. She slept till 6am and I was way beyond exhausted when she woke up. Oh, I guess I forgot the part where we called her ped's after hours line b/c her high fever got us worried about her MRSA. But they said if she seems dehydrated and her fever gets above 104 to bring her in. But to call and get an appt in with her ped's office first thing Saturday morning. Thank GOD for Saturday hours. They do come in handy sometimes.

Anyway, I took Ella downstairs with me while Magellan slept in (BIG SHOCK THERE!), and she didn't leave my hip. Not for a second. I basically had to pee with her on my lap, poor thing was so warm again, she was drooling up a storm and screaming from the pain. She didn't want to eat or drink anything. I felt so bad for her, and she was so tired too. Four or five hours for a girl who normally sleeps for 12 is not good. Our appt was for 9am so all of us piled into the car and drove the 20 mins there. CJ kept us all entertained of course, and Ella just sat in her carseat, not making a noise.

The best part of the appt was seeing how much Ella weighed. The little heffer weighs 23.8lbs. And I think at her last appt which was early Feb she was 22lbs, so she's packing them on. But she's so tall she really doesn't have too much chub anymore. Anyway, they took her temp and it was at 101.2. Her ped felt strongly it wasn't a urinary track infection or from her MRSA. In fact, the only possibility we even think it is from is her incisors coming in. She tested negative for strep, didn't have an ear infection and her breathing sounded good. The dr thought maybe Roseola, but I'm pretty sure you can't get it again, and Ella already had it a year ago.

Saturday for dinner the kids and I (big shock Magellan stayed home) went to my aunt's to see my Grandfather who was in town from Virginia. He's getting old and not doing so well, so my mom really wanted him to see CJ and Ella. He has never seen them except for in pictures. And boy was he so impressed with them both. CJ sat right on Grandpa Bill's lap and they chatted up a storm (I could see it make my Grandpa so happy), but being that Ella was not feeling well, she wouldn't go near him. We had pizza and wings and still Ella didn't eat much. She only had 2 bites of pizza and a few pretzels. Oh, she did steal my Fresca though, the little soda junkie.

We got home around 7p and I dropped the kids off so I could run to the grocery store. I did help Magellan get Ella ready for bed, gave her all her drugs and I left. Ella actually slept all night long, probably till almost 630a. She's been getting progessively better as the day goes on, thank goodness. And when I put her to bed, she was back to her old self, being silly and laughing with me.

So here's hoping that my baby is done with the pain and sickies soon. Cause I really need to catch up on my beauty sleep!

Friday, March 19, 2010

My poor ladybug

Thursday did not go as I had planned.

Heck, does anything ever go as planned?

Nope, not in my life. At least not lately.

So you all know Miss Elle had another appt with Dr E yesterday. I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but what happened sure was NOT what I had thought I may expect. As usual Ella is chatty and nosey, and wandering around the whole exam room. It was a different one this time than last so it was a new place to her. New=Fun!

Fun it certainly was not 5 minutes later.

Dr E said he thought Ella's head was looking better since the last time he saw her, which was a huge relief. That was one thing I was praying he would say. And at this point, I was no longer saying "hope for" b/c hope hasn't been getting me anywhere these days. Little did I know, this would be the only good part of the appointment.

Dr E proceeded to tell me that the rest of the scab on Ella's head had to come off. TODAY. I probably went white as Dr E said, "You don't have to be in the room for it, but in order to get it on the right track to heal, the infected parts need to come off. And then I'll use the silver nitrate sticks that I showed you last time to control the bleeding."

I really had no idea what I was in for. Neither did poor Ella.

So, Ella and I sat down together on in the examining chair. I knew I would have to hold her down b/c there was no way this little strong spirited girl was going to sit still and let the dr touch her head again. I am sure she remembered from last time, and quite frankly, she was probably getting sick of people touching her head and pulling on the scab. As soon as Dr E got close to us, with nurse in tow, Ella started screaming. I wrapped my arms AND legs around her body and the nurse had to hold her head still as Dr E washed and soaked the scab. Then he proceeded to pull every last inch of it off....pure torture as I am sure any mother can imagine. I was in tears as I had to listen to Ella's blood curdeling screams. I am sure people in the NEXT building heard the poor thing. It seemed to drag on forever.

Naturally there was a lot of blood. I have to admit I had to catch quick peeks of what was going on whenever the dr stepped away to grab more gauze or more silver nitrate sticks. It honestly has to still be the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. Well, after all was said and done, there is this rather large hole on the side of Ella's head as the Dr got the scab and gunk off of her head. I was very worried at the pain Ella might have been in, but Dr E assured me she was more pissed off we were holding her down. And he was right. As soon as the nurse left the room and I took my hands and legs off of Ella, she calmed right down. And hugged her beloved Elmo, who might I had, has seen better days. He's in pretty rough shape too. Perhaps that's why Ella dragged him to the dr's appointment that day!

Yes, I did take more pictures of her head wound. I am trying to cover all my bases as legally, we are not sure what we are going to do about this situation. I will post the most recent picture at the end of the post. I don't want to gross you all out before you finish reading! What fun would that be?

Ella isn't doing much better today, poor ladybug! She has been very snuggly, which she only does when she doesn't feel good. She's had a low grade fever and has had no interest in eating. Another sign you know she's out of sorts. It could be her antiobiotics, could be her head hurting her, could be the teeth she's getting in (those damn canines!), or could be she's just so worn out from everyone bothering her, LOL. She even took two long naps today and is already out cold. She hasn't been sleeping too well, waking up a few times a night just wanting to cuddle. I feel so bad for her. No one, not even a darn baby should have to go through this. Especially when it's something that could've been caught in time and prevented, or just kept from getting this far.

And it's especially hard when you're doing it all on your own. I have almost no help from Magellan. He's actually been on the job working, shocking as it is. And doing estimates, and at the end of the day he just doesn't feel like doing any type of parental duties. So I typically get little if no break. Some days it just really sucks, but I keep reminding myself that Ella is my baby girl and didn't ask for this to happen and being her mother, I have to help her through it, no matter how tough or trying it is for me.

I can't wait for it all to be over!

I have to go and pick CJ up from Little Gym, but then I will add the pictures of Ella's latest wound!

This was yesterday right after we got back from the appointment.

This is today's photo. Not a good view, she does NOT want me taking pictures of her head. Do ya blame her?!

And she is really like, STOP IT MOM!




Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Sad today

I really did have a very funny, tasteless Tuesday story for you all, but it's been a sad, exhausting day for us here. I guess I'm just not in a funny mood.


We got the results from Ella's culture on her incision today. It was not the news I was hoping for, though I guess I don't really know what I was hoping for anyways. She definitely has a staph infection as my surgeon thought, but she has the worst type you can have. She has what they call MRSA Staph infection. It is very resistant to many types of antibiotics, and it's got the dr and us a bit worried as she is so young and still has an immature immune system. Right now, the best bet is to put her on a Sulfa med, which is another concern in it's own. Both my mother and I are allergic to Sulfa meds, and while Ella's pediatrician (they had to make the call as to which meds to put her on) swore an allergy to Sulfa meds isn't hereditary, I can't help but still be nervous about her being on them. So, obviously we are also keeping an eye out for any allergic reaction to the antibiotics.
Right now, the major concern is the staph infection spreading to either other parts of her body, or to me. The fact that I have 3 incisions me and catching the infection would NOT be good as I'm sure you can imagine. The one big concern for Ella is if she itches her wound and then touches her eye and it somehow infects her tear ducts. It could scar them for life and she would permanently tear, something that can't be fixed. There is also growing concern of another surgery in her future because of the severe scarring the scabs can leave. So much to worry about, and Miss Ella just keeps trucking along. She's a strong little thing I'll tell you all that!

In fact, here is a really yucky picture of her head after Dr E pulled half the scab off. Obviously all the red stuff was under the skin, like blood blisters, and it is a big bald spot now. The stuff to the left is the scab that he didn't get to.



Photobucket
And then you can see the scab before it was touched by anyone. This is probably the best picture I have to show how bad it really was. The pic just doesn't do it justice. It was huge, and gross and stuff was draining out of it.

My poor girl, I don't know how she's handled it so well. She rarely touches it, and I'm sure it must itch like crazy.

Ella goes to see Dr E this Thursday to take a look at it again. I talked to Ella's pediatrician this afternoon and he said if her infection doesn't look better or gets worse within the next 3-4 days then we have to call immediately to bring her in to get looked at again. And I don't know what they would have to do at that point. No one has really discussed it yet.

I think we're all kind of afraid to at this point.

I will keep you all posted. Thanks for listening as usual.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

It's me again

Did you miss me? It's only been a week since I've last checked in. I'm doing better. MUCH better than a week ago. All last weekend I was probably in the worst pain of my life. Or very close to it. I couldn't sit up by myself, I had to have Magellan pretty much lift me up. It hurt to talk, breathe or even cough. I was in pretty rough shape, LOL! I can't complain about it though b/c I did it to myself. I just didn't think I would be so uncomfortable. I had a hard time sleeping at night b/c I had to sleep semi upright and couldn't sleep on my sides or stomach b/c of the pain. The pain pump pretty much did numb most of the pain but not all of it. Luckily, I had some Vicodin and Percocet but I really tried to limit the amount of meds I took after Saturday. I just didn't want to depend on them. Dr E. ok'ed my using Ibuprofrin, saying I would need to take 800mg in order to get some relief. And most of the time that did the trick.

If you had asked me a week ago if I was happy with the new "girls", I would've said no. I would've told you I totally regretted my decision. But, I was basing all that on my pain, and how gigantic the "girls" were. To say there were ginormous is an understatement because of all the swelling.

I have to say that now that some of the swelling has gone down, and the pain is gone, I am quite happy with the results. It's still quite a shock to see the girls in the mirror or while getting dressed. For the last week I've been wearing just sweats and stuff to minimize having to pull anything up and over my head b/c I'm not supposed to lift my arms up. Today was the first day I had a "real" shirt on and Pee Lee came in the house and said, "Holy cow! It's a good thing you don't go jogging or you'd pop an eye out with those things!"

Leave it to him to be the first one to say something perverted. I have absolutely no bruising, but still have a bit more swelling to lose. The only thing that really bothers me now are the stitches where the incision was made. Its getting a bit itchy and it's still pretty sore. Today is also the first day I can wear a normal bra. It's amazing to say that I went from a 34B, to a 36D. Which was exactly what I was hoping for!

The first few days were quite interesting every time I would bend over. When I stood back up I could feel the liquid moving in the implant. It was a very odd sensation. The other odd feeling was when I had to take the pain pump out. I did that myself on Monday. The medicine in it was just about gone, but it was driving me crazy. All I really had to do was pull the little tubes (there were 2, one for each side) out slowly and that was that. Sounds simple, but really wasn't!! I could literally feel the tube being pulled from one side of the breast until it came out the hole. It was such an odd feeling and gross to watch that I had to sit down to do the second one. Magellan couldn't even watch!! But, it's much nicer to shower now without having to have someone help me so I didn't get the pain pump wet.

CJ and Ella were angels for Magellan pretty much the entire weekend. Ella was very good about going down for her naps and bedtime. She got a bit antsy late on Saturday about wanting to see me. Of course it still hurt anytime she tried to snuggle with me and I felt bad, but I did what I could. And then it was nice when I could go to the bedroom and hide. I put earplugs in and didn't hear a thing if I needed to sleep. There is no such thing as peace and quiet in this house without them!

I had a follow up appt with Dr E Thursday and he said everything is healing nicely! He is very pleased with the results so far, and surprised I had no bruising. He's the best Dr in the world. Not only b/c of the great job he did with me, but also what he did for Ella.

So I had to take both kids to my appt with Dr E b/c I didn't have a sitter, and apparently it was meant to be that way! Dr E came into the room and was chatting with CJ, then walked over to say hi to Ella, when he noticed her big, yucky scab on her head from her cyst removal surgery. He asked me what happened. I reminded him she had had cranial facial surgery and that the yucky scab is the result. He washed it with a wet, soapy gauze pad and asked me if I could smell it. Of course, I could! It was the most foul smell I've ever smelled. He then proceeded to tell me Ella had a very bad staph infection in her incision, hence the big, yucky, yellow scab. He asked if I minded if he did a culture, I told him to feel free. Then he was kind of touching around the area again, explaining to me that we really needed to get the scab off so the skin could heal properly otherwise it could manifest into other things and do serious damage to her skin. I started to get really worried and then felt awful for not figuring it out on my own. Then, before I even knew it, Dr E had pulled off half the scab! Ella cried a little bit, but he assured me it was only b/c the scab was attached to her hair at the very base of her skull. At that point the smell of the infection nearly overpowered the entire room. It was nasty to say the least. It didn't really bleed, and since then has healed amazingly. There is a very tiny, tiny scab now and it's normal looking, LOL! Magellan and I have to figure out a way to get the rest of the scab off without traumatizing the poor girl, but it just turns my stomach to do so. I also don't want her in pain but I know it has to be done. Ella will go back for a recheck next week to see Dr E. He is now officially her plastic surgeon too!! He is such a sweet ,man to take this on, knowing full well how busy he is! From the end of my appt Friday to Monday night when he talked to Magellan he had already done 15 boob jobs! That is alot if you ask me. So he is a man that is sought out by a lot of people, to say the least! I will NOT be taking Ella back to her other surgeon. He assured me when her incision first started to look ugly that it was totally normal. Well, guess what? It wasn't!

CJ is doing well. He hasn't said anything about the boobies, but did ask me what Tata's were! Even after he had to witness Dr E checking out the girls and looking at my incision, he still didn't say anything about them. Silly boy!

I suppose that's it for now. That should be enough!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Five Question Friday

Something fun....


FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY


1. What's your guilty pleasure?
Hmmm, clothes for Ella. I'm totally addicted to Gap, Janie & Jack, and Gymboree

2. What is your favorite TV series?
I don't have just one. I like reality TV (Amazing Race, stuff on MTV, Kitchen Nightmares), and CSI:NY, House

3. Can you speak any foreign languages?
Spanish thanks to Dora! I can understand German but don't speak it as well.


4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Oh geez, too many!

5. What's your favorite kind of M&M's...peanut, almond, straight up regular, etc.?
Peanut by far!!

D Day

Literally....

Goodbye B's and hello D's. Surgery went well. Guess I was only in the OR for an hour. Less time than expected. The surgeon told Magellan he was very pleased with the results. Can't wait to be able to see the girls.

I originally had to be at the center at 1115a, but they called and moved up the surgery because they were ahead of schedule. I have to admit it made me even more nervous. Magellan and I got ready and I was just about shaking in the car on the way there. I was nervous and scared. We got to the center, and only waited about 15mins before I got called back to be prepped for surgery. I had to pee in a cup (you know, to make sure there aren't any little Magellan's swimming around!), ask a bunch of questions and get my IV started. Which might I add was a huge PITA! I apparently have the worst luck with IV's. Not only do I bleed a lot, but the nurse was having trouble getting the drip to start. So, he had to keep moving the needle around in my arm, take off tape, reapply it and then take it off again. Not comfortable at all!

My surgeon came back and talked to me for a few minutes then said they were ready to get me started!! I almost puked, LOL! I got wheeled back in my awesome looking hospital garb. You know, the sexy nightgown, underwear that they give you to wear after you deliver a baby, and some cute, brown socks. LOL, I looked awesome. No, no pictures as Magellan wasn't allowed back there. I can vaguely remember the med dr getting me all prepped and I asked her if she had already started the drip for the general anest....She laughed and said, "Why you feeling it?"

I laughed and said "Oh yeah!" Next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. Oh, funniest part is the med dr asked me if I was a lightweight when it came to drinking. I think so! She explained the meds work a lot quicker for people who don't drink on a regular basis.

At this point it was a bit painful, just felt real heavy. I got the shakes pretty bad, so I got to use a special warming blanket and FINALLY got to drink! It had been since midnight last night with no food or water. UGH, I don't like that feeling. I drank some Gatorade, went to the bathroom, then got dressed (naturally with a LOT of help), and was wheeled out to the car. The car ride was pure torture. Literally every bump and turn hurt the girls SOOO bad. It took me like an hour to get into the house and upstairs b/c I had to walk so slow. Poor CJ had a heart attack when he saw me. He felt so sad because he doesn't like to see anyone sick or in pain. My poor baby!

Since I hadn't eaten anything right away, the pain pills weren't doing crap for my pain. I couldn't move, not even my arms otherwise it hurt the boob muscles really bad. It hurt to breathe and cough, but finally after eating some toast the meds kicked in and I'm much better. Not perfect of course but the pain is bearable.

Magellan is doing fantastic with the kids. I had full faith in him for today b/c we were gone for most of the afternoon and he only had to worry about dinner time and bed time for my El Belle. Both her and CJ took 2 hour naps, lucky bastard! Who knows what tomorrow will bring though? I pray it's not too hard for him.

I am totally going to miss sleeping on my belly and putting Ella to bed. I love that time b/c she snuggles a bit more than usual.

I will try and post tomorrow about how I'm doing.

Have a good night everyone!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tasteless Tuesdays

Yep, it IS Tuesday. I don't know that I have anything tasteless today, but here is a sort of tasteless yet funny thing for the day.

So, most of you know us New Yorker's got hit with a ton of snow over the weekend. I mean, really HIT with snow. I haven't seen this much in quite awhile. Anyway, Star had to go out Saturday morning when we all woke up and I usually let her out the front door to do her business b/c then I don't have to struggle with taking down our 800 gates to keep Ella from getting into things. Well, we had so much snow, Star refused to walk down the front porch steps and she proceeded to pee on the front porch. Yes, my dog is THE biggest baby there is! I thought it was hysterical, so I almost peed my pants laughing. Then a bit later she had to go again, and I let her out the back door b/c Ella was in bed napping. Well, again, we had so much snow that when Star tried to go poo, the poo couldn't drop to the ground. The snow was already up to her fanny, and her feet kind of sunk down a bit in the snow so just her butt was showing, as she dropped her poo onto the snow. Now that was funny. I called Magellan over just to watch her go poo. I know, I'm gross, but being a person who didn't grow up with dogs, I had never seen such a sight.

Needless to say, Magellan didn't find it funny that Star peed on the front porch....

Friday, February 26, 2010

After the Drought!

It usually pours, right?! Well that's how it is lately in my life. I have had ZERO time to do anything besides taking care of a sick house, including myself.

So, the last time I posted was 2/17 I think, and now it's almost ten days later. I'm horrible, what is wrong with me, lol? You would almost think I have a life. But I don't! So in that time span, a ton has gone on. CJ and Ella had a ton of playdates during President's week since CJ and his friends didn't have school. It was fun, that was until CJ got very sick. And then me, then Magellan and lastly Ella.

I blogged about poor CJ being sick, and his sickness lasted almost 2 weeks. Totally normal for him b/c all the viruses go right to his lungs and he coughs FOREVER! I don't remember if I told you all I got sick too, but it was rough. Especially with Magellan being sick, neither one of us wanted to do much, couldn't do much, but when you're parents it doesn't matter. It was a very rough week. Everyone in this house was miserable, and Ella's bottom molars have finally cut through so needless to say, it was a rough week on top of her being sick too! I couldn't seem to shake the darn cold either, and it made ever bone in my body ache. I had my MRI on Thursday the 18th I believe, and that was pretty weird. It was quite uncomfortable for my hand to say the least b/c it has to be put in this weird contraption and held very still for 45 mins. Not to mention the machine was very loud, beeping every few mintues as it took pictures. The techs give you headphones that play music, but it really negates itself as you can't hear any music over the sound of the damn machine. Even with all that being said, I'm pretty sure I was so tired I drifted off from lack of sleep at night. My sinuses get so clogged at night it is impossible to sleep. Magellan also had coughing fits every night right around 1am so that woke me up and made it hard to sleep. Plus he's so damn stubborn and won't take any nighttime meds. It's like he'd rather make everyone else, plus himself, suffer thru a sickness. Not fun usually.

But, back to my wrist...I won't know any results until my follow up appointment at the hand dr next Wednesday. My wrist is much better this week, but the last two weeks it was pretty sore. I'm hoping and praying that I get the good news all is healed and it was just bruised real bad. I'll keep ya posted, or try to anyways!

I'm finally on the road to feeling better. Actually I have to start feeling better or I don't get my surgery next Friday.

Yes, that is my big news I hard warned you all about last week!! I am getting a boob job! Yes, indeed I am, no joke. I've wanted it for a very long time, I'm not as big as I would like, and this will make me feel better about myself, especially as I get older. Surgery should be about 2 hours, I will be at the surgery center for about 3-4 hours according to my plastic surgeon. He's also going to remove some moles I have which I am very psyched about! I have a few on my chest that tend to itch and then I forget they are moles and I itch the heck out of them. I'm a bit nervous about the pain and recovery, but my gf just had one done and said it was better than she expected. So crossing my fingers I can handle it all! I am beyond excited!! Can't wait to have new girls! Bigger girls actually! Not that I will look anything like Pam Anderson or Dolly Parton, but it will be bigger than what I am. Probably a D, and I'm a bit smaller than that.

Ella has added 3 new words to her vocabulary this week! Cracker, stop, and clap. She has also learned a new sign, the sign for jump! She is doing fantastic, and growing like a weed. She has officially transitioned to 18-24 month clothing and even some 2T's. WOW, where did the time go? She still insists on doing everything herself, and has the worst temper I have ever witnessed in my life. She goes from 0 to 60 in literally and honestly 2 seconds!! She has no patience, and wants everything done her way, and right now it's quite comical to watch her throw a very dramatic temper tantrum. I just laugh and walk away. When I do that she usually starts stomping her feet which is even cuter coming from a pint sized ball of fire. She is a big ham, and so friendly, but still every bit the brute she always was. She is the most fearless in her gym class, and I caught her charging this little girl in class the other day. Just like a linebacker, LOL! Not to be mean, she was just trying to play with the girl, but she scared the daylights out of the other child! The other girl ran screaming to her mom, and my Miss Thang just threw her head back and laughed. How embarrassing for me! She's been very clingy lately, not sure if that's just b/c of her being sick and now she realizes she may just like being snuggly. She is still in love with Elmo, and her infatuation gets bigger every day!

I have recently added a new store to my preference for where I shop for Ella. My newest obsession is Janie and Jack. They have some of the cutest outfits, yet some of the most horrific. It's weird. One line I will absolutely be in love with (like the Ladybug one of course) and other's I just cringe and can't believe people buy that stuff. And it's super expensive. Nothing gets bought unless it is at least on it's 2nd or 3rd markdown and I have a coupon. Which is hard to come by these days. Mostly, Ella gets her Janie and Jack outfits from my best friend. Her daughter is exactly a year older than Ella and also born in the cold season so it works out perfect. She is my stylish baby girl, what can I say! Oh, and Ella is totally into beautifying herself lately too. If she sees me put makeup on, she needs some. If she sees me doing my hair, she needs to have her done too! If I put on my deodarent or chapstick, she does the same. It is quite comical seeing a 16 month old try to put deodarent on too! I also love it when she puts chapstick on Elmo, as long as it isn't mine!

So, I guess that's about enough excitement for one week!

Next week is a big week, it's my follow up appt for my hand and my boob job surgery. I can't wait for that b/c Magellan is on his own the entire weekend with the kids. Obviously no help from me, but no help from anyone else. He's really gonna get a dose of reality!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wordless Wednesdays















Friday, February 12, 2010

Happy Birthday CJ!

It's hard to believe five years ago to this day I became a mom. And it's hard to believe how fast five years have gone by. CJ is such a sweet, caring boy. He melts my heart every day. He is so sensitive and in tune to everything around him. He loves all animals and bugs, and sports. Most importantly though, he loves me!

February 11Th I started to go into labor. My contractions started about 230am, they weren't painful or really consistent but they were there! About 8am I went to the hospital to get checked out, and although I didn't stay the nurses were certain I would be back in full blown labor.

I got home from the hospital with Magellan around noon, had some lunch and decided to take a nap. I sent Magellan to work since he didn't need to sit around and watch me sleep. I kept a log of my contractions and how long they lasted. They were still pretty inconsistent but getting stronger. I had called into my work to let them know how I was doing and everyone was very excited! They wanted me to stop into work b/c they had prepared a baby shower for me, but obviously that wasn't going to happen, LOL. I didn't even want to leave my bed.

About 4pm that day, my contractions were finally consistent and quite strong, so I went back to the hospital and was finally admitted. I was in quite a bit of pain but was managing it well. I was pretty determined not to have any pain meds (WHAT was I thinking?!), so I made it thru the pain by using different breathing techniques and walking around. They didn't have any rooms available when I first got there so I had to hang out in the triage area. Boy, that was fun as it was full by about 630p! Finally a room opened up, don't ask me what time it was, and I was able to get settled. I used the jacuzzi and that helped with a lot of the pain, but it really was pretty painful. CJ decided at the last minute he was going to change positions on me and turn sunny side up and I had some horrible back labor. I got bored in the tub and I needed to be checked anyways so I had to get back in bed. I was stuck at 3cm forever, so about midnight my Dr said I really needed to be on pitocin to jump start my body to get things moving faster. Obviously at that point it was highly recommended I get an epidural and get some sleep.

I was all for it by then! Sixteen hours of intense back labor and painful contractions was enough for me. I even remember I was in so much pain from the contractions that the epidural never even phased me. The relief was awesome too!

A couple hours later I finally got to about 6cm, but my epidural had worn off and I was in some serious pain. The anesthesiologist came back and told me the tube that the medicine goes into in my back must've fallen out of my spine b/c she was pumping the meds in and I was getting zero relief. So we made the decision to have that epidural taken out, and a new one put in. Didn't bother me in the least bit again. Relief was wonderful.

I slept a little bit off and on, and about 6am I was in transition and ready to throw up. I can remember telling Magellan to get me the bed pan and he had no idea what one was. I was so ticked, and trying to keep from barfing all over the bed, so I couldn't yell at him. Thankfully, the nurse knew exactly what I needed and ran for it. Lucky for me, I did not end up getting sick but I still remember how nauseated I was. Not a good feeling. Around 730a my OB came to check on me and said I was ready to start pushing. Thank goodness, get this kid out, was all I could think of. I had had enough!

My this time my epidural had completely worn off and I was in the worst pain I have ever been in in my entire life. No joke. But I wasn't one of those pregnant ladies who screams and grunts with every contractions. Nope, I was not going to do that. I had heard a woman earlier scream her brains out as she pushed her baby out and I was embarrassed for her!

I remember there were some issues with CJ's heart rate going down with each contraction, so after each push I had to turn onto my side. That in itself is hard to do as you are in labor. You really don't want to move. I also had to have oxygen b/c I was having a hard time getting enough breath and energy to push. I can remember saying to my mom, "Good lord, will he just come out already? What is the problem here?" It just seemed to take forever!! Yes, my mom was there in the room, helping me. And naturally Magellan was there as was his mom. Finally, after pushing for an hour and a half, Carl Jaxon Salatino was born at 909am on February 12th. He shares a birthday with my Grandfather and Abe Lincoln. He weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 21" long. He had the umbilical corn wrapped twice around his neck, which was why his heart rate would drop with each contraction.

From the moment CJ was born, he only wanted mommy. All he wanted to do was snuggle and be cuddled, and to this day, he is still this way. CJ was a very hard newborn. He had reflux and was very colicky. He hated to go to sleep at night b/c he wanted someone with him at all times. He rarely napped, and if he did it was never more than 30 minutes at a time. He was exhausting, but I loved him with all my heart. CJ was/is my world. I took him everywhere with me, and loved every minute we had together, as I worked full time when I first had him. Taking him to daycare every day was tough for me, b/c I just wanted to be the one to watch him grow. But, at the time it wasn't in the finances for us.

CJ hit all of his milestones right on time. He was way ahead of schedule when it came to talking and understanding English. He was speaking sentences by about 13 months and a huge vocabulary. His first word was "tickle"! Funny, huh? He had 16 teeth by the time he was 15 months, and was loving life!

So, that's CJ's birth story in a nutshell! Ella's was by far much easier! But that is for another day!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

What a drastic change

I really thought this week would go pretty smooth, but boy was I very wrong.

Starting with Sunday, it was a pretty good day. We had my niece's bday party to go to, and naturally I forgot my camera, so there are zero photos from the craziness! It was so fun to see Ella interact with all the little kids. There was this adorable, little two year old there and how funny it was that Ella was towering over her. It gives new meaning to my "little Giant". And although Ella did NOT nap, she was very good. So well behaved I could not believe it. Naturally she had a field day with all the food and snacks too! She gobbled up the pizza and cake, she had to have eaten more than me! We left around 4p and she left with a very full tummy. We had to stop at Walmart and get a few things and Ella sure got spoiled by Daddy! He carried her around the entire time, and loved every minute of it. I NEVER do that, I don't have the time, energy and she never stays still. But Daddy didn't do much but walk around and Ella loved it!

Monday was back to school for CJ. He had a good day and a good night, but around 4am he came into my bedroom crying b/c his throat hurt so bad. CJ is usually pretty good when he's sick, pretty mellow and doesn't complain much, but when he cries I know it's bad. I took his temperature and it was 103, so I gave him some meds for his cough and fever. I snuggled with him for a bit in his bed, but Mommy still had to get some sleep.

Tuesday morning was not much better for CJ. He was coughing up half a lung, and he sounded pretty awful. For those that don't know, CJ's sicknesses are always much worse than what the average person experiences because of his allergies and asthma. Some of you may remember this is why it was a PRIORITY to get the H1N1 vaccine for CJ, and the flu shot too. I can't take chances with him as any cold he gets immediately goes to his lungs and can do damage. I get pretty ticked off when people (ADULTS) go out with nasty colds or the flu and don't care that they spread their germs. I understand that a cold is a cold and it's just something to deal with in the colder weather, but I try to keep CJ as clean and healthy as possible, but something as simple as a cold kicks his butt pretty good. He did go to dance class, and did well and had fun but he passed out when he got home.

Wednesday morning he stayed home from school. He still had a very high fever, so I had to take him to my dad's with Ella as I had my doctor's appt at 11am. What a headache that was...the dr's appt I mean.

Parking is always a distaster at the freaking hospital. I never seem to find a spot and end up walking a mile to where I need to be. I got right in and had my cast cut off, and boy was it weird actually having my arm hit the air. But, my arm was gross! It was all dry and peeling. Thank God for the lotion in the office! I had a bunch more xrays done, and to be completely honest, my wrist felt pretty good. Of course, it was sore b/c I hadn't been able to move it in 7 weeks, but I was really feeling good about the xray results.

WRONG!!

My hand dr said he still saw the line on the bone, which could mean two things:
A) The fracture is taking it's sweet ass time to heal (totally common for the scaphoid bone)
B) It is just a very bad bruise at this point.

Either way, I have to have an MRI done next week. This gets a much more in depth view of the break and my dr will be able to determine if it is indeed just a bruise at this point or a fracture. If it is a fracture, I get another cast for probably 3-4 weeks. He did assure me that the bones are not displaced (meaning they are still within 1 mm of each other), so no surgery would be needed to place a screw in the bone. Thank goodness for that! I did have to have a splint made for my arm, and I was instructed to wear that just as if it were a cast. My dr doesn't even want me to take it off to shower, how annoying is that. Soooooo.....I am not wearing my splint. I did have it on for awhile, but it gave me a yucky rash and rubbed up against my wrist bone really bad it cut the skin. I think the therapist who made the splint made it way too tight and it hurts. Yes, I am bad and stubborn but I have strong faith that my fracture is healed by now.

CJ skipped Gym class last night b/c was doing pretty bad. Well, later that night he wasn't doing too good. I had gone shopping when CJ decided he was too sick to go class, so I left Magellan with baby sitting duties and I got out of the house for a few hours. About 815p, Magellan called to say CJ had woken up from his nap and wasn't doing too good. Like his fever was back up to 103 and he wasn't really acting right. Now, let's remember this is coming from Magellan who way over exaggerates everything! So, I rush home all worried, only to find CJ just as crazy as ever! Magellan swears CJ was really groggy and glassy eyed, but I think he just wanted me home to take care of the sick kid. Oh well!

Today is a quiet day around the house. No one slept well, even Magellan! CJ was having a hard time sleeping with his coughing, and Ella decided at 4am she was going to serenade us all. I'm not quite sure what she was singing, maybe just working on her words, but for an entire HOUR AND A HALF she sang at the top of her lungs. Then got pissed when no one came to her room so she started screaming bloody murder and yelling "MOM!" I gave her some milk and rocked her, but I was exhausted. I told her night night and she did lay down with a little bit of fuss, but not much. Sadly, the next round of sleep I got was very short lived as CJ came and woke me up at 7am to show me how he made his bed all by himself. Of course I had to go look, he was just so darn excited! But I did attempt to crawl back into bed. CJ goes downstairs by himself most mornings now, which he did today. At about 830a Ella woke up, so it was time for me to get up.

Needless to say, I am very tired and worn out, hopefully I get a nap in today. I even forgot to get something out for dinner. I have NO clue what to make, maybe we will just get pizza! I really don't feel like cooking.

Oh, and next week I have a little secret to share with you all!! Stay tuned!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

I feel busy, oh so busy

I often wonder if I keep the kids busy doing activities just to save my own sanity. Sometimes it does work though! This is a busy week for us coming up. Here's a quick peek into our week this week:



Monday - School for CJ and some grocery shopping for the necessities

Tuesday - Maybe a trip to the mall to return some things I bought, dance class at 5p for CJ

Wednesday - School for CJ, drop Ella off at my Dad's and a dr's appt with my hand Dr, and then Gymastics class at 630p for CJ

Thursday - A day off maybe? But I do have to bake a treat for CJ's VDay Party at school

Friday - School again for CJ, then a special dinner b/c its CJ's 5th Birthday

Saturday - Baby Gym class for Ella at 830a, CJ's birthday party at 1p



So this week brings many interesting activites. The most important one being CJ's birthday party. I can hardly believe my baby boy is going to be five! It doesn't seem possible. Five years ago I was big as a house and praying CJ would come at any time! He was a very active baby, even in the womb and literally tried to rearrange every part of my insides. I will blog more about CJ's birth story on CJ's actual birth day! It's an interesting one, stay tuned!



Ella's top molars are offically all the way in, thank God! Now she's just working on those bottom ones. I think one broke thru, but not the other. Her gums are very swollen, and she does have some really good days even despite the pain she may have. Her incision is healing nicely, not half as bad as I thought it would be. It actually looks good, all things considering! She looks beautiful as always. Ella has also officially dropped her morning nap and so far so good. She only had one really bad nap day, but I attribute that to her teething. She typically goes down around 1p, talks to herself for maybe a half hour while she winds down, and then she usually gets up around 330p. Its a nice break as long as she is down for that long, and wakes up in such a pleasant mood too. Of course that means she goes down to bed a bit later, like 7p but thats ok because then she sleeps till about 8am, which is WAY better than waking at 630a. As if you didn't already know, I am NOT a morning person. So the earlier I train Ella, the better we all are! She's still eating like a mad woman and learning so much every day. She has such a fun, sweet spirit, but boy she is a lot of work!

And my most favorite event of the week will be my doctor's appointment. I am very much looking forward to getting this darn cast off. Though I am a bit nervous of the outcome of my xrays I just can't wait to be able to bend my wrist AND most importantly, put some lotion on. It's been 7 long weeks since my arm has seen soap, water, or lotion. And believe you me, my hand has gotten pretty gross since the cast has been on. Relief is such a sweet thing.

Today we have my niece's 3rd birthday party and I bet Ella will have such a good time with all the other kids there. I will be sure to take lots of pics.

More later!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wordless Wednesdays

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tasteless Tuesdays

Better late than never right??

Today's Tasteless Tuesday is going to be a string of "naughty stories" by my really dumb dog. Although Star is a great watchdog, she lacks some things in other departments. But God bless her, I love her to death and she certainly loves the kids!

Magellan recently had this brilliant idea to take off Star's electric fence collar. Don't ask why, I had no clue he even did it. Well, Star stayed in the yard for a bit. One day I figured out why she wouldn't come right away when I called her....

I had just turned down our street after picking CJ up at school and saw Star rolling around in the ditch near the end of our street. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. All I could see was some black and white patches, looked almost like a blanket, a cow blanket to be exact. Well, I pulled over to where she was and called to her and realized her "cow blanket" was really dead cow skin. She was rolling around in dead cow skin and carcass. Yup, so grossed out! She did follow me down the road and up the driveway tho. I immediately called Magellan to tell him my gruesome discovery. Wanna know what the ding dong's response was?

"Oh that thing is still there? It's been there for months!"

Apparently our neighbor had seen Magellan a few months back and told him there was a dead cow in the ditch down the road from our house. Now, no one on our street or near us has cows anymore, which leads me to believe that someone had a dead cow and ever so graciously used our ditch as a dumping ground.

That's good old Wayne County folk for ya! Good old country bumpkins'.

No wonder Star had been smelling like death the few times she came home before we discovered our lovely present.

More to come from Star the Gravedigger!

Monday, February 1, 2010

A day in the life of CJ and Ella:

For those of us who just hate to read sme days, here is a play by play of a typical day for CJ and Ella. Of course, I don't have such great pics of the kids running around like chickens with their heads cut off, but you get the point.