Monday, August 31, 2009

Kayli goes to Kindergarten

Today was Kayli's first day of Kindergarten. She did awesome! No tears or apprehension. She was excited and happy to start her first day at a 'big kid school.' Laney apparently thought she was staying at school too. She was very, very upset when we left. I had to carry her through the school kicking and screaming. I cant even tell you how loud it was! A few times I almost dropped her b/c she was flailing around in my arms. I have a huge bruise on my hip from her kicking me. And the 2 times I did try to put her down to walk she threw herself on the floor (in the school) and screamed. Then she'd try to get up and run back to Kayli's class room. I was so embarrassed I almost started to cry. She was screaming, "I wanna go to Kayli's kindiepreegool too." And this continued for about 15 mins after we got home. Oh I was so mad! Hopefully tomorrow will go smoother w/ Laney. I know Kayli will love school! I cant wait to hear about her day!


waiting at the car...


my big girl!


walking up to school...


"No Kayli, mine lunchbock" NOT!


pretty lady in her classroom


stop w/ the pictures, mom!



at her seat

the calm before her HUGE meltdown!






Sunday, August 30, 2009

Iron

Laney has been prescribed an iron supplement. Her Dr. said she is slightly anemic. 'Slightly' being the key word here. Maybe not, but I would think a lot of kids are anemic or slightly anemic. Laney just so happened to get her blood drawn to be tested for all her fevers. Anyhow, her iron supplement is called ferrous sulfate. Her dosage is 1.5 Ml 2x/day. [elemental iron 15 mg/0.6 mL] 0.6 ml is 150% RDA for someone under 4 years of age. This means she is getting 750% of her RDA of iron. And her Dr. also told me to keep giving her, her usual multivitamin, which contains 100% of her RDA of iron. Maybe I am clueless as to how this all works...but doesn't that seem like a lot of iron for such a little person?! If she was showing signs of being anemic, then maybe I could understand better. Not to mention, again, her Dr. said, "slightly anemic." At least cut the dosage in half or something?!! I am going to have to call the Dr. tomorrow to see if this is correct. On the positive side, she likes it. I mix it w/ applesauce and she takes it w/ no problem. Oh, I am just a mamma that worries too much about her wee ones! In saying that, on a scary note, iron poisoning is the most common kind of pediatric poisoning...or something like that.

Also, Kayli starts preschool tomorrow! So far she is excited and so am I. :)

Friday, August 28, 2009

anniversary

Five years ago today, Matt and I were married. At my Aunt and Uncles house in their lovely back yard. An extremely small wedding but that's how we wanted it. I will never forget the day that my baby's daddy became my husband! hehe

I love you Matthew. Thank you for being the best husband in the Tri-State area! I dont know what I would do w/out you. You really do keep me sane. You make me smile. And laugh. You are my best friend. You are a wonderful daddy to your 2 little princess's. You work hard to put a roof over our heads, clothing on our back and food in our bellies! You always support me, except when I want to buy goat milk soap (at 5$/bar).

Thank you for the best 5 years of my life. I love you so much!! You are my true love, my soul mate! I would be lost w/out you :) And thank you for my new cell phone, I love it!! I cant wait to spend the rest of our life together and make more memories.

blood work, works?

Today I took Laney for another set of blood work. She did wonderful, didnt wince or make a peep. Yes, I was supposed to do it about 6 weeks ago and her Dr. did not hesitate to remind me of that. But she had insurance issues that were just fixed this week. Anyway, I posted earlier in the week about Laney having another fever. She was over this fever late Wed. So I thought it would be safe to get her blood work done since she wasn't sick anymore. I wasn't too worried about it but then the Dr. called with her results. She is still slightly anemic. Her ESR was elevated. White blood cells were a hair low and the red blood cells were fine. I asked the Dr. what it could be and she said, "an elevated ESR is very nonspecific finding. There are many things that cause that." Of course I asked about cancer and she said that her blood work doesn't show that, but she wants to rule everything out. So what are we doing? Repeating blood tests in 6wks. And I bet it will be the same ones CBC, anemia and Elevated ESR. I will admit, I dont think it can be something 'major', (like cancer). Since she has been getting this since 8 months old. And it is clockworked, every 4-6 wks. And she has never had any other symptoms. Ok, well sometimes her throat was a little irritated so they did a strep test and that always came back neg. I am at my wits end w/ this. I looked online many times and the Periodic Fever Syndrome fits Laney to a T. The Dr. said that could very well be what she has. But I also found that being anemic causes elevated ESR. Fevers cause elevated ESR (she just got over hers on Wed. maybe that is why it was elevated, still) and viruses cause low wbc. Everything fits together but I know there is more to the story. I want to know why she gets the fevers. Even if there is nothing to do for her, I need to know WHY?!

I am so stressed about everything lately. I hate seeing my baby sick. I hate knowing there is something going on in her little body that is causing these fevers. I just hope and pray that it is something more on the simple side. Sometimes it amazes me how Dr. just watch and wait for everything. Then again, what else can they do?Maybe I should be more 'proactive' about it.
see, she's not a sickly girl! :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

My portrait

The picture below is a picture of me, according to Laney! I have a head growing on my face. I think it is cute how she even drew the arms and legs. And she told me she gave me a toe too! :)



Miracle

My mom and I were at the hospital visiting w/ my dad this eve. When we arrived he was sitting in bed, watching TV. His nose tube that went into his belly was gone. His hair and face were washed. He looked great and I was very happy w/ what I saw. I felt relieved! His nurse came in and emptied his catheter drain...kidneys are fully functioning, still. He was drinking water. And was told tomorrow he can start on jello and more clear liquids. This also made me very happy to hear all this!! I felt, that after I left the hospital I could maybe get a good night sleep and not worry so much about my dad. Not worry about how much pain he is in. How he is holding up being in the hospital, again. How he is progressing. How lonely he must feel just sitting there all day mostly by himself. I was pleased and knew his road to recovery was really beginning.

After being there about 30 mins. Dr Tiru (I love this man) came in the room and shut the door. He looked right at my dad and said, "I have GOOD news for you. You have no cancer." Astonished and shocked we listened to him explain that he had diverticulitis. He said he has never seen anything like it before. He is amazed that the mass in his colon was that large and it was all scar tissue that formed. His sigmoid colon was blocked completely (they couldn't even get the colonoscope passed it). Not to mention it was pressing on his small intestine and caused a fistula. In return, that is what caused the abscess in the first place! Dr. Tiru said that they double checked everything to make sure they didn't miss something. And not a sign of cancer was found. His lymph nodes were swollen because of infection. I felt like I was in a movie. One that you watch and at the end you say to yourself, "that was good, but stuff like that just doesn't happen. It's too good to be true." Dr. Tiru said all the Dr.'s that were in on his case were amazed. It looked like cancer and felt like cancer. They all saw the Cat Scan and MRI. They saw how sick my dad looked. And they all said it was cancer. When Dr.'s are amazed...you know it is amazing!

At that moment my dad had tears in his eyes. As did my mom and I. Dr. Tiru hugged my mom and dad. He said they just have to get my dad better/healed now. His nutrition level needs to be higher so he will stay on TPN for a little longer.

I am overjoyed at all of this. I am so grateful for what I have witnessed...a true miracle. But I am more grateful that my dad will not have to go through any more. The tough stuff is done with. I hope he heals quickly.

I love you dad! I am so proud of you for going through this! I hope you realize you are a product of a miracle!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Fever schmever

Laney has a fever, again. Five weeks ago today she also started getting one. It lasted about 4 days. I hope this one doesn't last as long. I hate when she is sick. Even the Tylenol/Motrin doesn't take the fever away. Just makes it go down. Which is good...but I'd rather she just didn't get these fevers so often. It scares me! Even though, I have taken her to the Dr. several times for it. And they always say the same things. It's a virus or Periodic Fever Syndrome. Her fever gets so high sometimes she vomits. It's just crazy and I wish she'd out grow this. Too much stress for me!! :) And I am sure she isn't too happy about feeling this way either! Poor girlie. Get better soon. If ANYONE has ever heard of a child or has a child that has had the same experience w/ fevers. Only fevers w/ no other symptoms at all. Please let me know. How was it treated? Did the child out grow it? Any info. would be a huge help

Friday, August 21, 2009

More DAD news

Today my dad was admitted to the hospital. He is going to be having surgery on Monday. Finally, things are going forward w/ this! Such a relief for him...he is more than ready to have this behind him. As are we too :) I do not know exactly why he was admitted today (2 days before his surgery). Possibly for the Dr.'s to try and get his nutrient levels up w/ 24 hr. TPN (as opposed to 8 hr. TPN at home). Maybe to run some last minute tests. Who knows! Dr. T said he is going to go in and repair the fistula in my dad's small intestine. Cut out the mass in his colon and do a colonoscopy during the surgery to see if there is any good tissue left in his colon. If there is enough, he will re-sect it. If not, he will remove all of his colon and my dad will have a colostomy for the rest of his life. Hopefully this is the worse case scenario!!! Dr. T will also remove as many lymph nodes as possible. As of last Cat Scan, done back in July, the cancer did not spread to his liver or lungs. Hopefully(again) this is still the case. The Dr.s do not really know what they are going to find in there. Because of the abscess he had initially and since they couldn't do a colonoscopy because the mass was too big. They have nothing to go by. Maybe they will do an MRI or something to give them a better idea of what they are going to find?! Either way, I am just so happy this is going to be out of the way. What a long awaited surgery.

My dad has been quite a trooper through all of this. I am more than proud of him. For hating anything medical related he has been super brave!! He is still really skinny and several nurses/Dr.s have said his nutritional levels are not very good. They even said he could not handle chemo. right now. If he was healthy enough I am pretty sure he would be getting chemo. before surgery. But that just isn't the way this is working. I am glad they are doing surgery first. I think everyone else is too. He needs this cancer out of him!!

Please say a prayer or 2 for him. He needs strength to pull through this. I have no doubt he will make it through surgery. I just hope he heals smoothly and quickly. He does not need another set back.

Love you dad! Hang in there. We are all pulling for you :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Kayli

I can't believe that on Aug. 31 my baby will be starting kindergarten and turning 6 in Oct. How time flies! This is such a bitter sweet moment for me. I miss her as a baby. But I love watching her grow. I have so many memories of her and I will cherish them always. I wish you nothing but health, happiness, joy and love on your journey through life, my sweet little Kayli Rhyse! I am so proud to be your mamma!!



my sweet baby girl


always smiley



always content too


smile that melts my heart


loves with all she is


caring and kind


not a perfect set of eyes...but they soothe my soul


kitty


I love her heart!




















More pics.

As you know we bought a trampolene. As you can tell, they are the only pics. I get lately. This is all they want to do. Laney gets 'berry, berry mad' as she would say, when Kayli jumps and Laney cant get back up! I have not been able to get many good pics of Kayli. They turn out so blurry b/c she really jumps high and runs around fast. However, I have gotten many pics of Laney crying. ...why not celebrate the good and bad?


Laney screams a lot


she can be happy too



they <3 each other


carefree


joy


lovely lady


sweetest big sister ever!


did I mention, Laney likes to scream, a lot!?






I have proof...

Granny's like to bounce too!!



if this doesnt say "happy" I dont know what does!


Laney and nanny



Kayli and nanny

Sunday, August 16, 2009

My dad

Again, who ever has time please pray for my dad! He gets his colonoscopy tomorrow and things have not been going too smoothly for him. Thank you my few readers :) I appreciate it!!

Friday, August 14, 2009

We got a...

Trampoline! If you have ever seen our yard, it is sort of too 'skinny' for it. But ohwell, ya only live once and the kids LoVe it!!!! I took a few pictures today since it was the first day we had it set up. I couldnt get many of Laney because she kept screaming and throwing a fit when she'd fall down. Kayli would keep bouncing and Laney cant get up when someone is bouncing w/ her. We did try to explain it to her to ask Kayli nicely to stop and help her up. Which is something Kayli is always willing to do...help her 'baby sister'. But Laney thought screaming very loudly and crying would help more. We made her get out of the trampoline for her 'punishment.' However, 20 seconds later Kayli got out so it ended up not really being a punishment at all. Where ever Kayli goes, Laney isnt too far behind. Pete and Re-Pete!!



boing!



wooosh


when Kayli smiles (laughs) like this, it melts my heart!


they see me jumpin' they scared!


high jumper

bounce with me





Thursday, August 13, 2009

Girlies

On Monday, Kayli lost her 2nd tooth. The tooth fairy brought her another golden coin (a gold dollar). It is really cute because she thinks only fairys have the gold coins because they sprinkle them with their fairy dust. I hate to break it to her but Matt and I use the same gold dollar each time she loses a tooth. We take it back out of her piggy bank, since she only has one. And put it under her pillow. How ghetto is that?! She has another tooth pretty much just hanging there ready to come out any second. So this will be her 3rd tooth lost! I hope she put that gold dollar in her piggy bank or she may have to settle for a dollar bill! haha!

Losing teeth and starting kindergarten in a few weeks...this is hard on a mamma's soul!!!



2 on the bottom gone...the 3rd one hanging there
a bit crooked too!


look into my eyes!


close up


another close up

coloring!




The Deck is...

Our deck is finished. All of it except the staining/waterproofing part. That is so time consuming...but it will be done soon. We went to Kmart last night to get this table and chairs. It was super cheap and I liked this stuff more than the table and chairs Ollies had. Matt, being the super wonderful husband he is bought twinkle lights to put on the umbrella (the underside of it on the arms) and he also got tiki torches for around the deck. I didnt even ask him to get these things, he just did. It is a very nice touch and I love it!! I am so proud of him for doing this deck. His dad helped measure it out and helped lay the foundation too. Matt did the rest by himself. Pretty good for never doing a deck before. Hopefully we will spend a lot of time outside now. I know the kids are excited to eat dinner out there and I cant wait to try out the twinkle lights!








Monday, August 10, 2009

Oh what a deal

Yesterday we all went to Ollies Outlet to see if they had a small table and chairs for our deck. And they did. They also had a lot of other things at a great price. I found an (new) large area rug for my living room and it was only 100$. I didnt get it yet, but they seem to always have the rugs...we will wait a bit for that since we are focused on the deck right now. Someday this week I think Matt will bring his work truck home and go pick up the table and chairs. I am excited...did I mention the deck is completely done being built. We are in the process of staining it. And oh what a process that is! Hopefully tomorrow Matt can get the sprayer from his dad and it will take less time. We shall see! But anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yes, I walked into the store, Ollies, remember? I saw a huge table w/ CROCS. I bought Laney a pair of Disney Princess Ariel Croclings. And Kayli got a pair of Dora Crocs. They were not her first choice. Of course she wanted a pair of the princess ones also. But Dora was all they had in her size. She was very happy with her Dora Crocs and Laney was happy w/ her Ariel Crocs. I think I forgot to say they were only 10$. All sizes and colors...only 10$!!! I love Ollies. They really do have 'good stuff, cheap.'

Trip to the park, again

Last Thursday we went to the park. It was a perfect summer day to play outside! We packed a picnic and headed on over to the Mountville park. The girls love it there and there are usually so many kids there for them to play with. Hands down, it was a fun time for all!


being a monster


yeehaww tires!



she actually said, "look, it's Phineas"


sweet terds!!


across the bridge


taking a break to smile for the camera


head in hole


awww so cute!