Well Crap....

I took a nice long vacation from blog land now didn't I?  Yes, it got put on the back burner when I promised myself it wouldn't.  We had a heck of a winter with lots of sick kiddos.  Thankfully dear hubby and I got lucky and got only a few of what was passed around and only mildly.  The poor kids didn't get off so lucky.  We had rounds of strep throat, ear infections, sinus infections, stomach bugs, bronchitis, and pneumonia.  Not to mention countless colds and the real deal flu.  Needless to say I am more then happy Spring is here!  I have been open my windows and send the kids out to play!  

I haven't been totally neglectful in my crafting and creating however!  I managed to sew many Princess dresses for my 4 yr old for Christmas.  After sewing up a few of those I no longer will bat an eye paying $30.00 + dollars on a dress up dress.  All that tulle, shiny, and satin fabric is a royal pain to sew with.  I will admit that 4 months later they still are holding up fantastic after MANY days of playing in and washings!  Still.....

I took on the room of the little girls.... It isn't just a room.  It is chaos.  Olivia, 10 yrs, is a disaster.  We often joke she is a little tornado.  She comes into a room and things just seem to be blown in every direction.  The funny thing is that she doesn't even realize it.  All she really wanted for Christmas was craft *stuff* and a sewing machine.  A girl after my own heart!  So yes, that is what she got.  But to enjoy these crafts one needs a nice space to work at right?  Might as well make new beds, shelves, and storage while I am at it!  It turned out cute and I really love it.  It is done in their favorite color of Yellow.  I hate yellow but with two little girls who love it I am now starting to like it.  I find myself even being drawn to yellow fabric.  I will share pictures of this soon....

Table for 7

I have been searching high and low for a nice, big, durable, table to fit our family of 7.  The ones I found that I liked were expensive.... I just can't justify spending thousands of dollars on something I have no doubt will be scratched, stood on, banged into, and taken a daily beating from my children.  But of course Anna did it again with plans for a Modern Farmhouse Table that I fell in love with!  It was perfect and with a few modifications I knew it would work for us! 

You know a table can not be complete with out a hutch to show off my loved China that was my Grandmas!  Grandpa gave this to Grandma as a wedding gift over 60 years ago.  As I was putting my China in my hutch I cried.  It was more then a hutch to me but something that meant great meaning of Family!  My Grandpa passed away a year ago in June.  The China symbolized the great love my Grandparents had for each other and how long they lasted together side by side.  I am sure like every other relationship they had hardships and problems.  But to me they were perfect and something I am striding for with my own marriage.  I love seeing the dishes every day and displayed proudly for everyone to see. 

For plans of course I went back to Anna!  I decided to piece two of her projects together to get the look I was wanting.  First was the Hutch that was just what I wanted.  Simple and plain to match the table.  Then I searched and came across this desk.  I thought it would be perfect with my Hutch and modified it a bit to be the fit that I wanted.  The drawers serve perfectly to put the silverware that also belonged to my Grandparents in.  One for the forks / spoons / knives and the other for the serving!

The set that I built is far from perfect.  But it is perfect for us!  I really wanted that old Farmhouse look and was more then happy with how this turned out!  All 7 of us can fit around the table with still tons of room.  We found out at a birthday party for one of our children that really 10 can fit around the table with still lots of room!  It is long and has the extra width that I wanted. 

My Perfect - NonPerfect Table & Hutch!

Prayers for Shanny

On the 17th of July my little cousin was in a horrible car accident.  She was going across a gravel road, swerved to avoid some pot holes, and her car lost control and fishtailed into a light pole.  Thankfully help was fast and she was air lifted to a local hospital.  Our Shanny underwent surgery that Thursday night to remove excess blood and pressure from her brain.  On Friday the pressures in her brain were building back up and at a dangerous level.  She went to surgery again were they removed part of her skull on each side of her brain to release the pressure.  It has been a scary ride.  The doctors put her in an induced coma until the pressures stayed stable and low enough to not cause damage.  Shanny has shown how strong she is by fighting and surprising the doctors!  With her strength and the prayers from everyone she is going to surpass this!

Tomorrow she is heading 2 hours away to another hospital.  This hospital is one of the best for rehabilitation.  She will be undergoing 8 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation.  Because of the extent of her injuries she will continue rehab after the first 8 weeks but right now it is unsure of how long this will take.  But she is on the road to recovery and that is what the whole family has been praying for!

If you could please extend your prayers, positive thought, and good vibes her way we all would appreciate it so much.  Shanny has wonderful parents, little sisters, tons of extended family, along with friends and our local communities to help her through this tough battle.  She is a fighter and we have seen that time and time again the past 2 weeks!

  Stay strong Shanny!  We love you!!! 

I told you....

Yep, I know.  I really suck at keeping up on my blog.  I will make one excuse for myself right now.  

Softball.

That has been our summer until a few weeks ago.  Both Alexis (13 yrs) and Olivia (9 yrs) were on softball teams this year.  We were running 2-3 nights a week to different towns / cities to play games and those nights *off* we were running one girl or another to practice.  My little sisters (18 & 16 yrs) were also both playing so we would try to sneak off when possible to watch them too.  Our weekends were filled with tournaments and practices.  I loved every minute of it!  OIivia, not so much!  lol  This is her first year of being able to play softball instead of T-ball.  It was new to her and so she didn't understand why all of the sudden there was all these rules.  There wasn't rules in T-ball!!!  She said she is going to hang in it next year to see if it gets more fun but she is doubtful. Now my Alexis could play softball all year round and loves it!  Her team made it to State playoffs!  It was SO much fun watching them play and what awesome games they played!  Last year we only won 1 game at State.  This year we won 6!!!!  

Thank you Koni & Jeana for another fun and wonderful year!  You guys are the best coaches ever!!!

Mean Girls....

Girls who are bullies and use "girl agression" (nasty comments, trickery, deceit, excluding people from events, spreading rumors, stealing boyfriends,etc.) to manipulate other girls. They will use text messaging, AIM, email, three-way-calling, and any other weapon at their disposal to acheieve these goals.  These girls are often popular because everyone is either afraid of them or wants to be like them. They tend to have armies of followers ("friends"/wannabees) comprising their clique. However, few people actually like them for who they are.

 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mean%20girls

Why a blog post on Mean Girls?  It is something I never really understood.  Why girls can be so mean and vicious to each other.  But more importantly it has affected my sister profoundly this past year.  Her senior year of high school.  All because of four girls in her class decided they wanted to be mean to her for no reason.  They have admitted there was no reason and what started out as a *joke* turned into something they didn't know how to stop.  Instead of taking a step back it kept snowballing and got meaner.

Kelsey, my sister, is an amazing person.  She has always been very protective of those she loves and has an never ending love for those she loves and what she believes in.  Even when she was just 5 years old she showed her love for me.  I was pregnant and very sick.  What went in came out just as fast.  One night at the dinner table I took my famous run to the bathroom.  While I was in there she was demanding the car keys from my parents.  SHE was taking me to the hospital because obviously no one else cared how sick I was and it was going on long enough!  That little person is still the same way today 13 years later.  She will do anything and everything for anyone.  From taking extra time at work to help someone out, helping those in school that are having trouble, doing what ever she can to help our mom when she isn't feeling well, to being a great aunt & sister for me.  Even with our 11 years difference I can't even say how many times she has been a rock for me.  Letting me cry on her shoulder and with me when I was scared to learn Isabellas metabolic diseases and when our Alexis was so sick with her kidney problems.  Kelsey even missed 2 days of school to travel to Rochester, MN with me to stay with Olivia and Ethan while I was at the hospital with Alexis as she was having surgery.  I will never forget and always be grateful for everything she has done.  Always willing to get up in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning when I have taken a sick child to the hospital or having another baby while she took care of the rest of my babies.

Kelsey has worked hard through school and has managed to keep her self on the honor roll all the way through!  Even while in sports and working a part time job.  It is now paying off with the notification letters she is now receiving for scholarships!  I am excited to watch her grow even more this next fall when she starts college.  

To say this past year has been miserable for Kelsey is an understatement.  All due to four girls thinking it would be fun to be mean to her.  As adults we all know of mean girls from our youth and still those that never change and are the same as adults.  I wonder if they hate themselves or how their lives are going so much they take it out on someone that has something going for them.  I think some of what hurt Kelsey the most is those that she thought of as friends.  Those that didn't stand by her or say anything.  Some of those that joined in and laughed.  There are a few that did stand by her and didn't give into the the clique that was formed.  To those few I thank you greatly.  You have NO idea how you made going to school bearable for Kels.  As an example, the day that the seniors were to have their pictures taken as small groups for the local newspaper.  It was a day she was dreading and was honestly going to call into school sick that day.  However a test was scheduled and she couldn't miss it so had to suck it up and go to classes.  Those 4 mean girls told everyone not to let Kelsey into their groups for pictures.  They thought it would be *funny* if she had to have a picture taken by herself.  THIS breaks my heart.  Kelsey said as she walked into the gym she had a felt physically sick.  But a wonderful boy in her class yelled for her to come join his group.  Thank you Bucky!  You have no idea how much that simple gesture meant to her and those that love her.   


The past year was so bad in fact that she has chosen not to walk at graduation this Friday.  It isn't to add drama, that is not the type of person she is.  Kelsey would rather let the spot light be on someone else and will slink away from it even if it is her spot light.  It is due to the fact that she doesn't feel part of the class.  Why walk graduation with a group that has been so hurtful and mean?  Why stand up in front of the community as a group when most of that group doesn't deserve to be there.  Those are not fellow classmates nor friends.  It is such a shame because not only does she not deserve this but she is getting many honors.  From scholarships to academic awards for her hard work.  


Upon hearing Kelsey wasn't going to walk at graduation she got a text message from one of those mean girls.  The ringleader I would say.... She told Kelsey that if the reason she wasn't walking was because of them then they would leave her alone the rest of the year.  The rest of the year?  Those whole 5 days they had left of classes.  How nice of her to be so considerate of her feelings.  I guess she would hold back her posse and let Kelsey have a normal "rest of the year".  Where was that back in August when they decided to be the mean girls they are?  


I feel very let down as a parent to my own 5 children and as Kelseys sister.  The school puts on meetings for Bulling yet nothing is done when the bulling is there.  I just don't get it.  Teachers see it and teachers hear about it.  Yet what was done?  Nothing.....  Now all of the sudden they want to jump through hoops to get Kelsey to walk.  It looks bad for the school and for our community.  Yet I am so proud of Kelsey for doing this.  She is taking a stand and now that the cat is really out of the bag, so to speak, the community has to see what is really going on.  Maybe by Kelsey doing this there won't be another Kelsey next year.  Maybe something will  be done ahead of time.  I thank God that Kelsey is as strong as a person that she is and has held her head high through the halls of the school.  I am so thankful Kelsey turned to the few friends that are truly friends and her family.  Sadly some kids aren't that strong.  Some kids don't hold their heads up high.  Some turn to drugs and drinking, flunk out of school, or worse yet.  How many times have we heard of kids killing them selves over something less minor then this?  How many kids have to be treated this way until it will stop?  


Kelsey,


There are no words to say how much I admire you and how proud of you I am.  You have been an amazing sister, friend, aunt, and daughter.  You are someone my own kids can and do look up to.  You have worked hard and it is paying off.  As hard as it has been you have handled it all with class and grace.  You are the better person.  There is not a doubt in my mind that you will only continue succeeding through life.  You truly are a beautiful person inside and out.  I know we have told you many times that they will get theirs and they will.  You might not be right there to see it but it will come.  It may not be to them but it may happen to someone they love.  Then just maybe they will realize how bad it hurts.  


With all my love,
Your FAVORITE sister,


Jen

Sick Isabella (SCAD & MITO)

Wow this month flew right on past me.  It seems I haven't done much yet I know I was busy.  How does this work?  

I do know a lot of April was spent with me taking care of sick kids.  When there is 5 of them it goes around fast and seems like just when 1 gets healthy another is going down.  Ear infections, terrible colds, and strep throat made their rounds at our house.

Our little Ella was put in the hospital for strep throat.  Yes, strep throat.  No, it wasn't even that bad and her blood count only showed a very mild infection.  Our Littlest Princess was born with SCAD.  SCAD is a metabolic disorder and stands for Short Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency.  You can read a bit more about what SCAD is here.  During her testing we also found she had an unclassified mitochondrial defect.  It is unclassified because she didn't fit any of the mitochondrial defects that were listed.  There is still so many new things that doctors don't know much about.  What we did find out was that many babies died of these MITO defects and Metabolic disorders and were classified as SIDS cases.  Scary thought.  I know with out a doubt in my heart had we not known about these defects / diseases / deficiencies shortly after Ella was born we would not have her with us today.  She slept with a monitor that alarmed when she stopped breathing at night.  It could go off many times a night, to once a night to not happening at all for weeks at a time.  Her first 6 months of life I had to nurse her every 2 hours around the clock.  We got bumped up to 3 hours from 6 to 9 months and then every 4 until she hit the one year mark.  From 1 - 2 years we had to do a night feed, which she got a cup of breast milk.  She self weaned from nursing at 15 months but we had a good freezer stash that got us to the 2 year mark.  

We have been VERY fortunate that our Ella has been pretty healthy.  She has gotten ill a few times but it was mild and we were able to keep her eating and / or drinking enough to keep her glucose levels up.  Two weeks ago her little body was just to far down and couldn't get her sugars back up even with all the apple juice I was giving her and she refused to eat, which with strep throat that is a given.

I knew it was time to go in and thankfully have had years of practice runs going through my head if / when the time came.  We spent a lot of time in the hospital with our oldest daughter with all her kidney problems so I had that as experience too sadly.  I threw some extra clothes, a favorite blanket & baby of Ella's, books, my cell & charger, and cash in a bag.  Then the small bag of Ella's letter, phone numbers, instructions to Doctors, meds, and glucose meter in with the rest of our stuff and out the door we went.

When leaving home her glucose level was at 82.  She had been drinking and it was not rising.  Her temp. was high despite me giving her Motrin.  Due to her SCAD she can't have Tylenol.  Something with the fact that her body can't fully break it down to get rid of it out of her body.  Therefore it would build up and cause problems down the road.  I couldn't even do the normal rotation of pain meds / fever reducers that you would do with normal kids.  

I was VERY impressed with our ER department at the hospital and how quickly they took action.  I didn't even get her form filled all out after giving them her letter & instructions from the Metabolic Specialist we see, DR. Rizzo as we were being called back to a room.  Glucose levels were down to 41 in just a mere 30 minutes so it was a good thing we came in.  Her heart rate was very high and O2 levels very low.  Just two hours after having motrin she had a fever of 106.2.  An IV was put in right away, blood taken, & x-rays by the on call doctor at the ER.  Soon after the on call doctor for our doctors office arrived.  He is new and looked a tad nervous when he was reading her letter.  He even called our doctor that we usually see to make sure he was doing everything right.  He just told him to do what the letter says and to listen to me - I knew what I was talking about!  LOL  He did a quick strep swab and checked for the flu.  Flu came back - but strep +.  Ella just needed her mixture of fluids, higher doses of motrin, some L-carnitine, and antibiotics did the trick!  After 12 hours of all this she was dancing for the nurses and saying she wanted to go home!  Huge compared to just 12 hours before when she could hardly move. 

Here is a picture of my Littest Princess feeling better at the hospital.  Sorry for the bad quality but it is a cell picture.  Isabella managed to get ever Dora sticker she could from nurses & doctors and was happy to stick them all over her!

13 Years Ago....

 It is hard to believe that 13 years ago today I became a Mommy!  Where did that time go?  How did my baby girl grow up so fast?  No longer a baby nor a child.  

March 30th 1997 happened to be Easter.  I felt amazingly good that day for being a day short of 38 weeks pregnant.  It was beautiful outside!  I remember playing outside with my little sisters, then only 3 & 5 years old, and cleaning while my mom was cooking for Easter.  Then shortly before 2:00 pm the contractions started.  Nothing terrible but they were there and coming faster and sooner then the one before.  To keep it going we walked, and walked, and walked some more. By 9:00 pm, with contractions lasting a over a minute and every 3 minutes apart, we loaded up and headed to the hospital.  After I got hooked up to everything guess what happened?  After 5 wonderful contractions & finding out I was dilated to a 3 it all stopped.  Nothing, nada, zip.....  The good news was that my OB really didn't want me to go much longer anyways due to the estimated large size of the baby and the small size of the mommy.  He gave me something to sleep the night away and said we would start induction bright and early the next morning.


I slept wonderful!  Brett & my mom, not so much... They were nervous and didn't have sleeping pills in them!  lol  I was awoken at 7:00 to get the ball rolling.  At 8:00 the pitocin was started.  At noon my ob came in to break my water.  He told me I had till 5:00 to labor and if there was little to no progress he was doing a c-section.  If there was ANY signs of distress from me or the baby before then we were off to a c-section.   My plan was to do this all natural.  I was more scared of the needle going in my back for an epidural then I was of the pain.  I was told they could give me other pain meds that would help and that is what I was going for if I needed it.  At 3:00 I told my nurse I couldn't take anymore and I wanted something / anything for pain relief.  Little did I know I was at the worst part of the end of transitioning and I had almost made it.  With in seconds of her leaving the room I told mom I could push.  Her and Brett ran back out to the hall to flag down my nurse.  She came running back in to check me and yelled for help and started moving things around.  At first it scared me greatly thinking something was wrong but we were told it was just time to have the baby and off to the OR we were going.  This was before l&d rooms.....  


My OB came running in and asked the nurses if he had time to change, to which they yelled no and threw a gown over him.  He asked if I had been pushing long and  they said they told him I had went to do 1 and the baby was right there.  I didn't even get one full push in before they made me stop.  With one big push Alexis Rose was born at 3:15 pm on March 31st!  All 7 pounds 14 ounces and 21 inches long of her were perfect!  


Looking back I remember her terrible colic at night.  NEVER sleeping.  We would take her for car rides to finally knock her out only for her open her eyes the minute the car stopped.  The fits she would throw during her toddler years.  Oh she was a stubborn one!  How sick she became with her kidney issues.  The surgeries, the specialists, the hospital stays, and how scared we were.  I am so thankful she made it through that and is healthy now.  She was such a silly kid!  Sleeping with her socks on her hands every night.  From a very early age she learned how to take them off her feet and put them on her hands!  WHY?  How she loved to play with little things and was always so soft with them.  All of my mother in laws holiday decorations trinkets were her favorite!  She never broke one.  All of her silly quirks from freaking out of a wash cloth to having to bathe only at Aunt Lynn's.  Thankfully they have always lived next door to us!  The past 13 years have been amazing and I feel blessed to be her mom!  

Happy 13th Birthday Lexie!

Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were an hour old, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life.