Life as a Leach

That word describes me right now!  I'm having a lot of back trouble--a suspected herniated disc that is just getting worse, to the point I really can't stand upright--which is also causing numbness, tingling, and spasm in my leg.   Insert Restless Leg Syndrome.   It sounds so stupid...my leg jerks throughout the night.  No big deal! Oh, let me tell you.  I don't sleep.  My average last week was 4 1/2 hours.  I haven't slept at all tonight, and it's past 4 am!  This is the worst night I have had, with lots of pain in addition to the other stuff.   I decided to take a second dose of "Restful Legs," a homeopathic medicine that is supposed to all them.   Bad idea.  Even though it had been more than 4 hours between doses, my body had some sort of a reaction and I couldn't breathe.  I was so scared and eventually woke Matt up.  After a Benadryl, several inhalers, and a nebulizer treatment, I finally felt better.  Thank...

Rocky was kicked out of his home inside my body yesterday afternoon.  Turns out, he had made himself quite comfy and had imbedded himself in the wall of the ureter.  He had no plans to go anywhere, so surgery was the only option.  Hearing this afterwards actually made me feel a little better, because I was dreading waking up and hearing that they didn't find anything!  I'm glad this was all necessary and successful. The stone was sent off for analysis so that they can try to figure out what is causing them.  I'll pretty much do anything to avoid repeating this experience!!   A stent was placed to help the ureter heal.  I was told I may have some mild discomfort, but it wasn't too bad.  When i asked if he had ever had one, he smiled sheepishly and said no.  Mm-hmm.   They gave me a dose of Dilaudid after I woke up, on top of all of the anesthesia meds, so I was feeling delightfully loopy.  Then they proceeded to go over a ton of impo...

Rocky's  eviction day is scheduled for next Thursday, the 11th!  Sadly, I can't take any more Motrin because it's an aspirin product.  It's the only think I can take during the daytime that seems to help, so this will be a fun week.  Maybe I'll pass Rocky before next Thursday!  

I've named my kidney stone Rocky.  He's quite comfy in my body and doesn't appear to have any intentions of coming out.  I went to the urologist today (where I was the youngest person in the waiting room by at least 40 years!) and he said I will have to have it removed under general anesthesia and have a stent put in.  Sounds like fun, huh?!  The scheduler is going to call me tomorrow.  In the meanwhile, I'm just trying to drink tons of water and learn how to coexist with my little friend.  

5 mm...tiny, right?  Welp, it's not so tiny when it's traveling through your body.   5 mm is how big the kidney stone is that I have right now.  I've had many in my adult life, but none this big.  It sent me to the ER last night because Dr. Google had convinced me I had a terrible disease! The ER doctor thought it was appendicitis.  With that prediction, I sent Matt home to pack me a bag.  After drinking 32 oz of contrast and getting injected with it as well, the ct scan showed my little 5 mm friend taking his sweet time rolling around inside.  He gave me lots of meds (including an antibiotic, since the size of the stone could cause an infection) and we came home around 2 am.  I'm going to follow up with a urologist because it's uncertain as to whether I will pass this one on my own.  Yay! And yes, stones can be worse than childbirth!  I've had 2 babies without drugs, so I can say that at least you get a break between contractions during...

Oh my.  I've been neglecting my blog recently.  Between illnesses (and therefore going to bed very early), attempting to work out on a regular basis, and working on a project for work after the kids go to bed, there hasn't been much time.  I don't blog while the kids are awake, and those precious few hours have been spent doing other things! So what's new?!  *  Caleb turned 8!  We had a fun laser tag party the day after his birthday.  He loved having some of his close friends and cousins with him.  I only questioned my sanity a few times!  :)  No, it really was fun.  Pictures are coming--promise!  Favorite gifts include some new Lego sets, lots and lots of books, several Amazon gift cards for his Kindle, and an awesome microscope and slide set.  He is a happy kid! *  Abby's pancreas and liver issues appear to have subsided. Her blood work is back to normal and the new reflux medicine has finally allowed her to k...

I have rekindled my love of books in the last 9 months or so.  I have always, always loved to read.  As a kid, I constantly had my nose in a book and would often fall asleep reading.  I would read while walking in the mall, so my parents had to guide me by holding my arms so I wouldn't run into people.  (That sounds pretty nerdy, now that I type it...)  But then, life got in the way.  First, I was a college student with too many mandatory reading assignments to have any pleasure reading.  Then, I was a new teacher up to my ears in lesson plans, grading, and paper work.  Shortly after, I was a new mom learning how to juggle a career and a child.  And then...I had Abby!  :) But now, I feel like I have some time to read again.  And that feels SO good!  I usually read in the mornings as I get ready (while drying my hair!), and then I might read a bit after the kids go to bed.  But considering that I haven't felt like I had t...

The little ole blog is going to be a bit quiet over the next week or so.  Why, you ask?  Well, my coworker and I have a tremendous opportunity to do a SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) presentation for a whole bunch of teachers in our county...and it's next week...and we just found out yesterday.  Because it's a big deal for us to get to do this and has the potential to get the word out about the program we are presenting (and love, and believe in!), we need to do it right.  Which means that I will eat, sleep, and breathe SIOP for the next week.  But it will all be worth it if we can spread the word about the awesomeness of the program. So here's an update to catch you up and tide you over: Abby loves school.  She isn't telling us too much about it, but I consistently get that she plays with Anna and gets a stamp from Ms. Susan.  Her Friday Mom's Morning Out program is awesome too, and I love that she has the same teachers and can...

Shuffle Day has quickly become one of my favorite days of the year!  Where else can you get free hugs, do The Cupid Shuffle with a few thousand of your closest friends, and sing along to "Home" by Philip Philips?!  Perhaps the same place where cheers erupt for the little girl who pushed herself the entire 3.1 miles in her wheelchair, then courageously walked across the finish line.   This is what The Red Shoe Shuffle is all about!  It's about celebrating the seemingly impossible and remembering those who lost their battle.  It's about loving kids who choose joy in the face of struggle.  It's about laughter, hugs, tears, and love.  It's about The House That Love Built! How did our kids love the Shuffle this year?  Um, they loved it!! We all had "We Are Family" hats to show that we are part of the RMH family.   RMH exceeded its fundraising goal, so the new shuttle was there for everyone to see! Abby loved m...

I am exercising...like, on a regular basis.  Like, getting up early, sweating, and willingly causing myself to ache all day.  Yeah, I know!  Crazy! Matt and I both have started going down to the basement in the morning before the kids wake up.  We do different things and share the bike, but we figure that at least we are doing something  on a regular basis to lose weight and get in shape.  (Side note:  Matt went on the "stomach bug" diet last weekend and lost 10 pounds!!  I'm not sure he would recommend that one though...) I bought this video over the weekend because I liked the idea that it's just a 20 minute workout.  Even though I knew it would be intense (That's Jillian Michaels' middle name!), I figured that I could do it for 20 minutes.  Huh!  It is rough!!!  I'm doing it though! There are 3 different workouts that all are good cardio workouts, but each have a different focus (upper body, lower body, and abs). ...

Matt and I love scenic drives, so we didn't mind paying the car fee for Skyline Drive.  We soon knew we would get our money's worth when we realized just how much Caleb (and Abby, somewhat) loved climbing the rocks!! Our first day on Skyline drive, we just drove and stopped at a bunch of scenic overlooks.  We had planned to take a little hike, but rainy, cold weather prevented that.  I checked the weather the night before and it said 60s and sunny...but that was in Harrisonburg. It's amazing how different the weather can be high in the mountains, even though it really isn't very far away!  It didn't seem to matter that we didn't hike--the kids had a blast on the rocks anyway! Caleb even took a few pictures of us!  Of course, Abby had to photo bomb one... The second time we went on Skyline Drive, the weather was much nicer.  We asked a ranger about a good family hike (read:  one which won't involve carrying whi...

Matt and I have been married for 9 years today.  9 years.  Wow! If you knew me in college, you understand why it was nothing short of a miracle that Matt was able to even get a date out of me.  Two bad break-ups are enough to make a girl throw a huge Anti-Valentine's Day party for her residents (I was a Resident Assistant), complete with a man-hater dart board and a man pinata.  (This may or may not have intrigued my male friends who worked at the University Police, and they may or may not have come up to our floor in uniform  just in time for the pinata's legs to come flying off and landing at their feet.) So yes, it was pretty remarkable that Matt was able to convince me to go out with him.  But I did!  I figured I didn't have anything to lose, and I'd known him for 10 years...so it was less going out on a date and more going out with a good friend.  Little did I know... On the way home from our date, Matt was in a very serious car accide...

Our house is a germ pit, and it's not because of a lack of disinfecting on my end!  Lord knows I've done more laundry this winter than I have ever done in my life, and the bleach/water solution has been my best friend.  However... *  I was miserably sick a week and a half ago.  I had a fever, chills, body aches, head ache, and nausea.    There isn't much that keeps me in bed (or from going to work, for that matter), but I could barely lift my head off of my pillow without getting dizzy and nauseous.  I was so appreciative to my sister who came over in time to get Caleb off the bus and watch both kids for the evening while Matt was at youth group.  Looking back, it was probably Flu B.  (See below vvv) *  Caleb tested positive for Flu B on Friday.  He'd had a fever off and on since Tuesday, and it spiked to 104 on Thursday.  He was given Tamiflu and seems to be on the mend.  He's excited to finally go back to school tomo...

 

I saw this on another blog and thought it might be kind of fun.  I'm going to try to focus on things you might not already know about me...unless you are part of my family! 1.  I love pulpy orange juice.  My husband does not, so I rarely get it.  But when I do, it is pure deliciousness! 2.  I decided back in high school that if I had a little girl, her name would be Abigail. 3.  My name was going to be Ginny, but the girl down the street was born first and her parents named her Jenny. 4.  I have been a vegetarian for 19 years.  When I was 12, I read some research on animal testing that my sister was doing for a college paper, decided I wasn't going to eat meat, and have never looked back. 5.  My favorite chores are cleaning bathrooms and folding laundry.  My least favorite chore is vacuuming. 6.  I resisted wearing capris for a very long time when they first became popular.  I have no idea why. 7.  I absolute...

The gala was...amazing!  I have so much to share that I am going to break it up into a couple of different posts!  It was such a celebration of 30 years of supporting and loving families through some of the toughest times in their lives, and we were thrilled to be a part of it. It was such an honor to share a little of our story, along side of our beautiful friend Tammy.  You may know her better as Brooke's mom, and she did a wonderful job of sharing about Brooke's battle. Our role during the gala was for our two families to share our stories, ping-pong style.  We then transitioned into telling a little about the amazing support of the two families who were to receive the Spirit of Children Award.  Our two families had the honor of presenting these two families with the awards. We are so thankful to the Paterakis family and to the Maryland McDonalds Owners' Associations for all of the support they give to RMH.  THANK YOU for ...