Good-bye ONE!

Introducing the FAMILY OF FOUR, May 2011

Family of four, April 2013

  

Silas has SUCH a cheery disposition.

His smile and giggles are infectious.

Silas is saying GOOD-BYE to "ONE".

HELLO, TWO!

Sigh. They grow up so fast!

SUN AT LAST! Weekend fun

On Friday afternoon, the boys and Mommy went out to visit Dad at work. While we were there, we picked up some flowers for the FLOWER TOWER that Silas and Daddy started building last week. 

On Saturday, since Daddy was at work, we went to Grandpa Lowell's house to play. We enjoyed lunch on the screenporch – FISH STICKS, one of Sydney's favorite foods! The boys were REALLY EXCITED to ride on the lawn mower with Grandpa. Grandpa took them each for a spin. (Sydney isn't fond of loud noises so, he didn't ride when the blade was down, but Silas did. In fact, Silas was falling asleep in Grandpa's lap while mowing... he was getting SO SLEEPY, needing his afternoon nap.) Both boys slept in the car on the ride home, but Sydney denies that he took a nap OR having quiet time. He was "just resting." (He protests naps.)

We also dug up some hostas before we left for home. Mike and I had hoped to line the back of the house, bonus room and workshop. (Thanks Grandpa!)

On Sunday, I had asked Grandpa to bring over the tiny bike that he has for Sydney to ride on at Grandpa's house. This morning, I had figured out how to lower the seat on the balance bike so that Silas could ride that one.

The boys LOVED riding bikes together! (And Sydney learned how to back-pedal brake today, too! EXCITING TIMES!)

 Getting the training wheel stuck in the grass was a valuable lesson. He could pedal really, really fast and then, we could practice braking. He was going nowhere.... FAST!

Sydney and Mommy worked in the yard while Silas napped. It was a BEAUTIFUL DAY to be outside, 71°F. We cleared debris and then, used rocks to 1) dig for worms, 2) losen the soil and 3) dig a trench for our hostas to go into. "Once upon a time... the Indians used rocks as tools, too."

Had Grandpa bring us more hostas, since we had almost 30 feet to fill (and Mike wanted them to look fuller SOONER, rather than later.

Using the self-timer to document our hard work. Grandpa chopped apart the plants and arranged them for me. Sydney supervised me digging the trench and stomped down all of the lose dirt for me. It will look LOVELY! 

Almost 30 feet of hostas now line the back of our house. AWESOME! Easy, low-maintenance plants work great for me!

Fighting back contagious tears and dealing with disappointment

On 4/23 – Tuesday, I woke with my right eye glued shut. At an afternoon doctor's appointment, it was confirmed that I, too, have pink-eye and an ear infection. (Silas was confirmed on Friday, 4/19. Mike had a bad cough and a sinus infection diagnosed the Tuesday prior, 4/16. The three of us haven't been feeling the greatest lately. Thankfully, Sydney has managed to miss out. *KNOCK ON WOOD*.) We've spent plenty of money at the Target pharmacy this month!

We left our house Wednesday morning with high hopes. I had taken a photo of the injection site reaction... a large red, itchy splotch on my leg... the night before and had REALLY HOPED that it would be one of my last.

Met my mom in Madison for my appointment. She entertained the kids in the waiting room while Mike and I went into the appointment. (Actually, Sydney hardly noticed anything else going on in the world since he was GLUED to the television - watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse, a show that we do NOT ordinarily watch, since it isn't on PBS.) Silas and Nana read children's books from the waiting room. 

In my appointment, the doctor teased that he needed to grab his glasses to get through the pile of papers that I brought with me. (I had lots of printouts and questions on the new FDA-approved drug.)

On the top of my pile, he saw an article from the New England Journal of Medicine (I believe) and he wondered if I had seen the latest article on the new drug. (I had NOT.) He said that it is available online already and will be in print later this week. In that article, the new *WONDERDRUG* is being questioned because after gaining FDA-approval, there are instances where patients are getting a very serious (often life-threatening) brain infection from using the new drug that was believed to be well-received with little side effects or complications. He hinted that "they were likely not young, healthy patients, such as yourself."

Hearing that, I was NOT interested in the new drug. (We didn't need to address MOST of my further questions.) Had we had our appointment a week prior, I would have likely already started on that new drug.

For my past few appointments, my neurologist has RAVED about BG-12... this new drug that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.... little-to-NO-side effects... used in the psoriasis community... well-received... great results... etc. SO, naturally, I had wanted to have some of this great sliced bread when it was finally available. I detected that the doctor's tone has changed significantly since last time(s) we spoke of it and that there was disappointment in the community from these unexpected results.

We spoke for quite a while. 

He confirmed that no one has ever died from Copaxone injections, making it somewhat more appealing. Doc suggested that he would rather me take my injections every-other-day rather than not at all. (That is, IF I decided that I didn't want to do them daily anymore.)

We discussed repeating a MRI, but didn't come to any conclusions on it... because IF it will not cause me to alter my course of treatment and would likely just freak me out and upset me IF there were active or NEW lesions, it would NOT be beneficial for my well-being and mental health.

We discussed the WHAT IF.... what if we did a MRI and discovered MS-activity in my brain/spinal cord. Then, I would question the effectiveness of my daily shots (and likely hate them EVEN MORE!)

My favorite words spoken are "If you were my sister or my daughter, I would recommend...."

Doc suggests that we WAIT to see what happens with all of the other people that have jumped aboard the ship to take the new oral drug. Madison was one of the few locations nationwide that was part of the test study with this new drug.

If I change my mind, I'm to let him know; Doc will gladly do what I WANT TO DO. Otherwise, I have a follow-up appointment in November.

I left there WISHING that my doctor would have called us to cancel the appointment, saving us the time of driving and the cost of the office visit, etc.

I was SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!!

I felt as if we had all wasted each other's time.

It was just SUCH a let-down. (AND I was heart-broken that I had to admit that I will be re-ordering more shots afterall.)

On top of that, when leaving the parking garage to go eat at the Hilldale Great Dane Pub, I had noticed that mom backed up so that she could follow us. As I crept out of my parking space, knowing that she was blocking the lane, I didn't know that the car directly across from us was also backing out at that exact moment. (Mom watched it happen, unable to do anything to stop it.)

We were bigger than him; we got a minor scratch on our back bumper. He lost part of a tail-light on his VW Passat wagon. Hopping from our cars to inspect our damage, he announced "It was innocent enough. If you're OK with it, then I am OK with it, too." as he picked up pieces of tail-light from the ground. And that was that...

I skipped my shot last night, willingly. I just didn't WANT TO DO IT. I think I was still dealing with the disappointment. (Prior to last night, I have missed only ONE since going on the meds again!) I'm starting to make plans in my head... WHAT IF I just do shots on weekdays, taking the weekends off. WHAT IF I just skip my arms completely and do the other 5 sites each week instead. WHAT IF I just do it every other day. WHAT IF I just suck it up and continue doing it every stinking day. WHAT IF I just skip it once in a while when I just don't feel like doing it. WHAT IF...

At my appointment, we talked about the MRI research study at UW-Madison; it will be going on for much of this year. I would get a FREE MRI out of the deal and be compensated $100 for participating. I would get my test results AFTER the study is completed (in a year or so). I am quite interested in taking part in this study, especially IF some answers come in the lines of finding a cure or some answers on WHY it happens (They are testing a theory that MS is a vascular condition and are using MRI and ultrasound to check the bloodflow and neurological systems of both MS patients AND healthy non-MS patients.) I will likely go ahead and schedule my 3.5-4 hour time-slot for the summertime.

Wouldn't that be nice to FIND A CURE?!?!?

As I write this post, late on Friday night, I have had a few days to get over my disappointment and was finally ready to blog about it.

It IS what it is... and now, it is TIME to go do my shot and go to bed. (Oh, and I almost forgot... time for another round of eyedrops for my pink-eye. Looks like I will be buying myself some new eye makeup when this is finally done....)

(PRE)SCHOOL DAYS

Often, we ask Sydney about school. He seems to enjoy it pretty well. Some days, he has more to talk about than others. He seems to like most of his classmates. When we ask him if he has a girlfriend, he tells us "Wew, dere's dis one wit-toe girl named Kimberly. She's a cute wit-toe girl..." 

(Translation: Well, there's this one little girl named Kimberly. She's a cute little girl...)

Last week, during lunch, he informed me "Something SAD happened at school today, but I can't tell you..." so, I proceeded to guess all kinds of random things, making him giggle. Eventually, he told me that he was playing with Kimberly and had asked her if she wanted to come play at our house. She said NO! (He was sad.)

Tuesday, we were running a little on the late(r) side and took too long washing our hands before school (because it is SO FUN to make faces and check yourself out in the giant mirror in the bathroom instead of keeping the focus on hand-washing .) 

SO... it turns out that we MISSED Kimberly's show & tell. (Sydney had been excited that it was her turn for Show & Tell, wondering WHAT she would bring to school.) As we were hanging up his jacket and schoolbag into the cubby, I asked her "So, what did you bring for show & tell?"

"Buzz Lightyear." she replied proudly.

Sydney got a bucket lip and burried his head into my shoulder, crying.

Thankfully, his teacher - Mrs. Julie announced "Sydney, I'll bet Kimberly can show you her Buzz Lightyear toy now before she puts it away." ALL BETTER.

Then, he and Kimberly ran over to join the rest of their class for circle time.

As we were leaving, Silas asked "Peek at Sydney through window. Please?" As I glanced in, I saw Sydney and Kimberly nuzzled closely together with their shoulders touching. I was glad that I had my camera in my bag; I took a few pictures.

Kimberly noticed Silas and I peeking in the window and started poking at Sydney and pointing to the window, but he remained pretty interested in the book that the teacher was reading about CHICKENS and EGGS.

BIKE WEEK has been going on this week. I had asked the teacher what time they ride, wanting to capture this memory at least once. She told me when it will happen again in May, but I decided that I wanted to get it now, in case they end up going outside or if Sydney happens to be sick next time around, since the end of the schoolyear is fast-approaching. So, Silas and I went back this morning.

We got to watch half of the class sing a song with their teacher. 

Then, they drew pictures - relating to the activity. 

Soon, the classroom was flooded with children and they were ready to send the second half down to ride bikes.

The substitute teacher ended up asking Silas "Do YOU want to ride too?" (He had sat back, watching so patiently.) Oh, man... he thought she would NEVER ASK! 

He proudly hopped on a bike and started to make his way into the path of big kids. Sydney was proud to tell his friends "Dat is my baby brow-wer." Every few minutes, the teacher had them switch bikes so that anyone who wanted to ride the tractor would get their turn.

Back in the classroom, it was time to play again.... (while mom took a few more pics of the classroom to document the memories.)

SYDNEY'S EGG PREDICTION

I was puzzled when I saw that Sydney predicted only THREE chicks would hatch in his classroom. (There are close to 30 eggs in the incubator; I guess a few got dropped when the children transported them into the incubator.) He's not normally a pessimist so, I wondered what his almost-4 year old mind was thinking to pick such low odds. He explains: Well, the teacher brought in three baby ducks to our classroom at school so, I guessed that there would be three chicks... just like the ducks. And then, they would all be friends at my teacher's farm. (He's paying attention and put some thought into his hypothesis.) Like him, I am anxious to SEE the newly hatched chicks; due out of their shells in early May. :) What a FUN experience!

Earning double rewards at Target pharmacy in April

I was notified that we are earning DOUBLE REWARDS for all prescriptions filled at the Target pharmacy in the month of April.

LUCKY US... Mike and now, Silas got prescriptions filled this week!

Earlier in the week, we picked up an entire bag of meds for Mike. (He takes almost NOTHING, normally.) And at last, he is starting to feel better from his recent sickness. (Sinus infection and a terrible cough that was making him miserable.)

Silas, on the other hand, is a harder one to detect illness; he's normally SO STINKING HAPPY all the time. Mike declared "Even when he doesn't feel well, he's still super sweet... and polite... and just a little snuggly."

I guess we should have known... the past couple of days, he started wanting Mommy. ALL. THE. TIME! (That, and he was waking often in the night, crying... and he is normally a FANTASTIC SLEEPER!)

When he woke this morning, I noticed an eye booger stuck in his eye lashes, which we wiped away with a BOOGIE WIPE. After taking Sydney to school (for a snow make-up day) we ventured out shopping. He's normally a FANTASTIC SHOPPER, but today - it was getting more and more obvious that he didn't feel well. When given a choice of going to the library or going home, he quickly voted HOME and struggled to stay awake in the car.

I gave him tylenol. Exactly 30 minutes later, he was his normal, happy self again. (YAY!)

We snuggled at home before heading back out to pick up Sydney. (Putting away our groceries was a struggle, since he wanted to be held.)

When we got home, we made lunch. He ate almost nothing.

Although, he was QUITE INTERESTED in drinking lemonade and had made a few odd food requests today... wanting popcorn OR a "football" (Reeces peanut butter egg).

After nap, he woke up with green GOOP all over his eye lashes and in the corners of his eyes. I called the doctor's office right away to set up an appointment - since it IS late Friday afternoon at this point. "See you at 3:20pm."

Deal!

Slight fever. (99°F)

Doctor confirmed conjunctivitis. (Pink eye)

Listened to his chest.
"Sounds good. Perfect!"

Checked his right ear.
"Good. Looks normal."

Checked his left ear.
"OH, MY... he's got a BAD infection in this ear!"

He was put on antibiotics for the next 10 days. IF, by chance, his eyes do NOT appear to be getting better by Monday, doctor said she would call in eye drops for him, in addition to his current round of antibiotics.

He couldn't rack in enough snuggle time this afternoon and evening. (His fever got higher.)

Tried a dose of ibuprofen at bedtime. Hoping he sleeps well. Guessing his eyes will be GLUED SHUT by morning. (Talked to him about it... that IF he can't open his eyes or see well, just call for Mommy or Daddy and we will come to help him.)

POOR SILAS... hoping our little man feels better soon!

When it rains, it POURS

Saw on the news this morning that NORMAL rainfall is a little more than 1" for April. In our zip code, we already accumulated more than 5" and have MORE RAIN on the way. Ordinarily, THAT wouldn't bother me; however, WATER has cursed us YET AGAIN at this house!

Last month, Mike noticed that the upholstery in the car was wet and squishy in one area of header between the windshield and doorframe, just above the airbags. We found it ODD and decided to keep an eye on it. A few times since, we noticed it was water-stained or wet. This morning, I noticed that the passenger side now matches the water collection spot of the driver's side.

After dropping Sydney at school, I noticed that there were some drips of water on the inside of the vehicle, near the parking brake. (And the carpet felt rather wet, too.) So, Silas and I decided to drive out to see Daddy at work and to see how his doctor's appointment went this morning. (He has had a sore throat and a terrible cough for much of the past week and has NOT been sleeping very well; keeping ME up a lot, too.)

As I was waiting for Mike to come out to the parking lot to meet us, I confirmed that the carpet IS indeed wet, quite saturated actually, under our rubber floormats. (SURPRISE! The passenger side is ALSO wet and squishy there, too!)

So, I drove to the dealership where we bought the car from and had someone take a look at it. The serviceman told me some song-and-dance about them recently repairing a few of these in other vehicles recently and that it WILL cost in excess of $750. I gave him Mike's work number and had HIM be the bearer of bad news and decide what we should DO. (I was informed that our warranty has expired and that it didn't matter because WATER is NOT covered under warranty.) They were nice enough to give us an Impala to borrow for the few days that it will take to fix our car.

The cabin's ceiling will need to be pulled back and inspected to see if the roof rack or sunroof are leaking into the cabin before they can fix the seal/leak and put it back together.

Silas hung out in the loaner car while I unbuckled the car seats from our car. He was having a good time  playing with all of the controls on the dash.

I removed all of the floor mats from the front of our car, placing them into the back cargo area. YES... VERY WET, indeed! Sadly, under the driver's floor mat, the carpet has started to turn brownish-green where the mat USED TO BE gray. (Mold, I'd guess; SO NOT WHAT I WANTED TO FIND!)

SO... WHO KNOWS how long this has been going on for, but the fact of the matter is: IT IS and it has to be fixed.

I am SO DISAPPOINTED.

And I feel TERRIBLE that I had JUST (yesterday) told Mike that I had paid a bunch of bills, leaving the checking account hit rather hard. (He reminded me "When it's gone, it's gone. I'm working and working, but I only make so much...")

I feel as if we are CURSED by water problems. (The cracked bathtub hidden by previous home owner, bad toilet seal that rotted out the bathroom floor before our remodel that replaced cracked bathtub, water leak under kitchen sink that needed new flooring replaced, ice maker that took a long time to stop from leaking slowly, wet basement and garage - that previous homeowners never disclosed, a leak in the ceiling of the boy's bedroom, plumbing pipes that broke in the basement, backed up sewer pipes, a chimney column that refused to hold paint, a washing machine that collects water and grows mold, water from somewhere that caused a cardboard box to FREEZE to the floor in the workshop... you get the picture! CURSED, I tell you!)

I can assure you that, given our track record with water problems, I do NOT EVER want to own waterfront property. I am SO READY for the April showers to bring May flowers AND a fresh perspective.

For the record, we really DO love our (new) car (as well as our old home with all of the character); it is misfortunate that this has happened. We'll do the best we can...

Counting down shots

I recently took inventory of my remaining shots. (My oldest cousin has also offered me a few weeks of hers since she gave up on Copaxone and didn't want them to go to waste.)

I'm really HOPING that I will NOT need to order more before my upcoming neurology appointment.

Of course, Mike encourages me to order my next month's supply because I just never know IF and/or how soon I would be able to go on the new FDA-approved drug.

Sigh.

I really DON'T WANT TO order more. I kind of just want to give my body a break from the everyday poking, the welts, the itching.

I am SO intrigued by the new medicine... anxious to hear more.

(Granted, I know that I really CAN re-order more shots with very little notice.... and deep down, I admit that Mike is probably right – it probably would take a little time to get everything to fall into place.)

BOYS, remember these two phrases...

We've got some pretty AMAZING children!

Reflecting upon childless years, it is hard to imagine HOW MUCH JOY they can bring and how EMPTY that child-less life really was. (I am BEYOND happy in this new-and-improved life where socks and shoes are optional; pajamas are good until at least two in the afternoon and yoga pants qualify as "getting dressed".)

It's hard to believe that our BABY is 23 months old already. (Where did THAT time go?) And our PRESCHOOLER is nearing the four-year-mark with LOTS of BIG IDEAS and hypotheses on things.

"You'll ALWAYS be my baby." and "I'll love you FOREVER!" are two of my phrases that I want my kids to remember.

I love you.

Buy one, get two free

This morning, we had been awake for just a few minutes. I sat on the toilet and stretched when suddenly, SOMETHING HAPPENED.

Immediately, I was in pain.

I couldn't figure out if I should stand tall or slouch over. It hurt to breathe. I couldn't raise my arms or turn my head to the left at all.

I tried to lay on the floor.
THAT was REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE!

I couldn't tip my head up, struggled to drink my cup of chai tea.

I found my phone and left a message for the chiropractor to call me.

I was SO RELIEVED to hear my cell chime that I had a text.
He could see me at 10:30am.

Luckily, the old Boppy pillow was behind the couch in an area that I could reach. Thankfully, I had just seen Mike's neck pillow laying on our bedroom floor. I used BOTH of those in an attempt to sit on the couch with a little bit of much-needed support.

I called Frank, across the street; asked him if he would be around this morning to help me lift Silas into his carseat. Thankfully, he was available.

Found it near-impossible to turn my head to the left.

Went to the chiropractor. Hoped for immediate relief. Unfortunately, he informed me "I'll likely be seeing you again this week. See how it goes..."

I asked "How soon?"

"Tomorrow would NOT be too soon if you are still in a ridiculous amount of pain or discomfort. Wait and see..." (He also informed me NOT to attempt doing any rotation of my neck anytime soon, but to apply ICE at home.)

Sat with a giant ice pack in the hood of my sweatshirt for the middle of the day, before attempting to relieve pain with ibuprofen.

Chiro said I had three ribs out.

While we were there, the boys got adjusted, too. (Sydney was excited and willing. Silas - not so much.) Our chiro doesn't charge for kids... not until they are old enough to drive themselves to their appointments.

Buy one, get two free; good deal. IF ONLY I had gained 100% relief from today's visit.

At bedtime, I can turn my head to the left - almost 90° and 60° to the right. I can look UP at the ceiling, but still struggle to look down at my lap. Hoping for a decent night of sleep...