8/18/2011

Maybe I shouldn't have rubbed his nose....

Okay, that sounds a little kinky, but I assure you it is not. I am after all talking about Mr. Lincoln, that is President Lincoln, you know the 16th president that got assassinated 146 years ago. You see the family, myself and the in laws went to Springfield, Il. to take in the sights and Illinois State Fair. We had a good time although there was a lot of whining from me the kids about all the walking and such. I had a pain under my right arm that I thought was just a pimple that was being irritated by my bra. More on that in a minute...

So anyway, we left on our final day to go to Lincoln's tomb to pay or respects. The day before hubby ad father in law had to replace some wires in our van thanks to a piece of metal that decided to shoot around under our hood much like a pinball game and tear up some wires. So that crisis averted, off we went to the tomb. We visited, and left. No sooner are we on the expressway that our battery light comes on. WTF! I just had to take it last week to be replaced. sigh Maybe the wires came loose again? So we get off and the town had roughly 515 people. Ever seen the movie Doc Hollywood with Michale J. Fox? I was totally thinking about his movie. So we decide to get back on the expressway and go to one of the towns coming up that is a bit bigger. By this time we unplugged everything, shut off the movie (the radio had already went off by itself) and turned off the air. On the expressway again and the car just did not want to work. Pretty soon every warning light on our panel is on and the lights on the instrument panel are fading. yikes. So we get off the expressway at the next exit, smaller town maybe 89 people or so. We then took side streets to the next town which was much bigger and had a Dodge dealership. We pulled into a gas station to transfer the kidlets to my in laws car when our van decided it had enough and died. :( Sigh. So in the end, we were stuck in this town for many, many hours, but our can was fixed and we made it home last night, just 10 hours after we had left our destination. We were so thankful that our in laws were with and were able to help us out. We took the kids to see the Smurfs in this cute movie theatre right out of the fifties to kill time. The kids loved our little side adventure.

Now, about that sore.. So it was getting worse and I noticed a new spot had turned up. By the time we got home last night, I told hubby that I needed to go to the doctor today because I was worried it was infected. We of course he Googles what it looks like and tells me he thinks I have shingles! WTH, the thought had sort of crossed my mind earlier, but I just shoved it aside, after all it is an older person's illness! Well, we discovered two more red blistery spots on my back. Off to the doctor I went today and Dr. hubby is correct, I have a classic case of shingles. Yippee. Doctor called in a prescription for an anti viral medicine and some pain relievers because as she said and I quote, "You are going to need them." I'm guessing she is right. Since this morning, the pain in that area has gotten worse, not unbearable, but enough to where I can barely lift that arm.

So maybe I should have rubbed Old Abe's nose for Good Luck, perhaps he jinxed me.

Yes folks, that cow is completely made of butter! Just one of the fun things at the State Fair.

21 gun salute at Lincoln's tomb during a flag ceremony.

That Damn nose! 

Outside the tomb.

I like to label this one, Oh Shit!

8/14/2011

So many crafts, so little time!

I have a scrapbook I want to finish and 3 or 4 quilts I need to get done. I have been going back and forth for a couple of days which one I should do. Finally last night, I made a decision. I am making a quilt for Lauren's speech therapist. She is pregnant with a boy and due in October. This for her was also a very surprising fourth pregnancy and oh how I can relate to that. In fact she had absolutely no baby stuff left, I told her that was her down fall. Most women know that you should always keep some sort of baby item or it will definitely lead to a pregnancy. So back to the quilt, I have a ton of baby boy type fabrics left over from other projects that I am using. I figured I might as well do the project that I don't have to put out anymore money out on, plus I don't know how long she will still be coming. So last night I cut out 218  4 1/2 inch squares, I was a bit sore after that since my Chiari doesn't like me bending over a lot. However I told it to shove it and continued, something I sort of regretted last night while trying to get to sleep and my shoulders and neck were on fire. LOL

I am doing a little redecorating around the blog and trying to pull in more readers. I am not looking to make money, just maybe be able to connect to others that have similar stories. So, please feel free to share my blog with other people who might enjoy it. ☺

8/13/2011

3 years ago yesterday

I started my blog and what a journey it has been! This blog have seen me through a very surprising fourth pregnancy, the loss of my mom and now the genetic disorder that I have. Wow! If you would have asked me that day so long ago if this would be my life, I would have thought you were crazy. Just goes to show you that you can't predict your life. I never would have thought that my mom would be gone. She was such a force in my life that to even imagine her out of it was unfathomable. Now though, she has been gone 2 years, 4 months, and 18 days. Then again who is counting? Some days it seems like yesterday when I told her my last goodbye and then some days it feel like years and years have passed. The fact is though that she is never more that a thought away. I think of her everyday if not numerous times a day. When I see a butterfly for example, she is first and foremost in my mind. She loved butterflies and I always think of them as her way of saying hi. I just pray that she is proud of the person I am. Even though I know I will never be as great of a person that she was, I hope that I'm a fraction of what she was. 


Lauren, my fourth baby and the best surprise of my life has been quite literally a God send. She was the reason in those dark hours after mom was gone that I continued to get up and live. After all, how could I leave a helpless infant to fend for herself? 


My brain, ugh that thing. What a complication it has become. Haha While I am happy for a diagnosis, it doesn't make it any easier. The diagnosis didn't take anyway the pain or the fatigue that I am prone to suffer. It just is what it is. While I am trying my best everyday not to let it define me, some days are a lot harder than others. 


So here I am, three years later with a couple more followers (thanks) and still babbling about my life. Sure it isn't always interesting, but it is my life and I wouldn't change it for the world. maybe just a lifetime supply of chocolate

8/05/2011

I needed to share my latest creations.

Granted, they were a super easy no brainer, but my boys love them. It started with the last quilt I had made. Nicholas was touching the fleece fabric and fell in love. He immediately asked if when I was done with that blanket if I could please make him one with the soft fabric. How could I say no? The boy has more blankets than is necessary, but really is that a horrible thing?  So the fabric went on sale and I had an additional 20% off, off to the store I went with the two younger kids. Of course once we start checking on the fabrics, Alexander perks up and asks if he could have one too. (I should have seen that coming.) I couldn't say no, so he helped picked out Nick's fabric and then his own. I just made simple tie fleece blankets, nothing special. I had both blankets done and laundered with in 10 hours or so. They both love them and even though it has been a sizzling 90* outside, Nick brings his downstairs with him every morning and lays wrapped in it as he watches the morning cartoons.

Alex's poisonous frogs. As you can see Bella wants one too. 

The back folded over the front. 

Nick's sharks, back folded over front. Yes she liked this one too. 

8/04/2011

I wish I could take away her pain.

My oldest child is sadly a lot like I was when I was a kid. She is a homebody and sensitive. Which is not a bad thing, but can make her feel left out of fun things that her friends like to do. I was a Momma's girl through and through, seriously, ask my brothers. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I called in the middle of the night at a sleepover because I wanted to go home. That being said, I am completely sympathize with what she is going through. She had a birthday party for a friend at a local water park and had been looking forward to it for weeks. This park has a tall tube slide and body slide. They also have a diving board another slide. The tube and body slide empty into a less than 4 feet deep lazy river, but the diving board and other slide empty into a 12ft pool. Allison is a decent swimmer, no formal training, but can keep a float. I discourage my kids from doing the diving board or the slide that empties into the 12ft pool because they are not accomplished swimmers. I don't want them to plunge under water and panic if they don't pop up immediately. The other tall slides I have no problem with. Nicholas will go down them all day long by himself  and even Alexander who last year screeched in terror at the thought of going in the pool now loves them. He goes down the tube slide with my husband with a huge grin on his face. Allison? Not so much, she is scared to death. However at the prospect of being with her group of friends, she really wanted to try it. She made it to the top and freaked out, she said that once she looked down into the tube and saw how dark it was, she decided she couldn't do it even though she was going to go down on a double tube with her friend. She was a bit upset with herself, but tried to brush it off. Unfortunately her friends weren't so willing to just forget the incident. They were in no way shape or form purposely being mean to her, but were trying to encourage her to try it and to face her fears. Poor Allison just kind of cracked under the peer pressure and she was able to keep it together, but she asked to leave the party early. As soon as she was in the car, the floodgates broke open. It broke my heart. She was more upset with herself than anything. She said she just wishes that she was not so afraid of everything and such a "baby". I tried to reassure her that it was okay to be afraid to do things, but I know that it didn't help much. I told her of my experiences growing up and how eventually I overcame my fears. Well, at least most of them. lol I reassured her that there is absolutely nothing wrong with who she is and to be proud of herself. She is one of the most caring kids I know and I am not just saying that. She insists on making her friends birthday cards and she includes a picture she drew and an original poem. She tends to be a mini mommy at home, trying to help the boys stop fighting and fixing Lauren's boo boos. I try to get her to see herself through my eyes, but I am just mom. However I will encourage to tell her all the great things about herself. We are going to be enrolling in swim lessons this fall/winter and I am hoping by next summer she will be ready for the slides or diving board. If not, that is fine. There is nothing wrong with keeping both feet on the ground. As much as I wish I can fix everything for her, I won't since it is a part of growing up. While I want her to face her fears, I will NOT force her to do it. I will encourage her though and pick her up when she falls.