YES, YUMMY, AND WOW!!!!!

What a great, wonderful, and surprising weekend! Hope everyone had a great weekend and hopefully I will have many more to follow! :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I was fortunate enough to spend it with my two Valentine's.... my boys! We woke up to a winter wonderland and had off of school. Had fun relaxing and then having a snowball fight outside. Also, had a wonderful friend stop by with gifts for me and the boys! What a wonderful day indeed! Hope everyone tells all their friends, family, and loved ones how special they are. Life is too short to let a few kind words go unspoken. Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!!!

NO SIR.... I'M NOT AN IDIOT!!!!

If you know me, then you know I hate shopping at WalMart. However, this past Saturday I had to shop there because I needed a new printer for home and just a few small items. The crowded store didn't bother me too much or even the zillion of children running everywhere. What irritated me or should I say pissed me off, was the man in line behind me. Why oh why do men think that women can't do anything??? While waiting to be checked out this man looks at the large printer box and asked if I knew much about computers. I replied with, "What do you mean?" I can get what I need to do, and certain programs that I use daily are no problem..... I tell him this. He then looks at the printer and asks if I can put this together. While I wanted to say.... "Why, because I'm a woman".... I kept my compose and told him that it is quite simple. I installed my last one which has lasted for about 3 years and it was a breeze. You don't have to be a rocket scientists to install a printer. But it was his look, his tone, his pompous sneer that tried to belittle me. And once I got home I installed the printer in a quick timely manner. So WalMart man..... bite me!

I read this line in a book I'm reading, and it hit home: The one good thing, if you can call it that, of all I have been through, is that there is little left for me to fear.

NEED MORE DAYS LIKE THIS!

FRUSTRATED and SCARED

I would think any parent out there can relate to this topic.... illness of your child. As I said in my previous blog, Austin ended up getting ill on our Disney Cruise over Christmas. What has unfolded this week is like a song you've heard 1,000 times. "It's viral, his ears, throat, chest sounds fine BUT if he's not better in the next 3 days please bring him back". So I walk out of the doctors office Monday thinking that he just needs time to recover, and praying that my mom can come down to watch him so I can go back to work on Wednesday. Mom comes down and little by little the fever starts subsiding, he's showing a little bit of interest in his Christmas presents, but isn't exactly 100 %. Still somewhat lethargic, and still has that deep cough.

Anyways, by Thursday my mom and I both think that he possibly could handle school on Friday BUT I wanted to have him checked by our regular pediatrician just to make sure. Oh, forgot to say that on Monday it wasn't our regular doctor but someone else ( I think that's an important piece here ). Well, my mom meets me at the doctors and then hits the road back home ( her and my dad are trying to get ready to go to Florida for a few months ). Meanwhile, Austin gets called back and me and Collin follow behind. Typical greetings with the friendly nurses, no temperature, so I start to think that this will be fine. Just give me the green light and I know my boy is healthy again. WRONG!!!!!! My son's doctor comes in and starts to listen to him breathe ( chest and back ) and then turns to me and states, "Things have taken a dramatic change". Austin has never had wheezing before, and then I was asked if asthma runs in either side of our family.... which it doesn't. Anyways, he decides to give him a breathing treatment and then re-evaluate him...... still no change! He gives him another breathing treatment (stronger dose ) and very little improvement. Next I hear, "To avoid the E.R. and Hospital, he's going to be on some medications". Well all I heard was E.R. and Hospital. I was doing my best to hold my composure but I was about to freak out and the doctor realized this. He told me to take a deep breath ( funny because that's what my son can't do ..ha! ) and explained everything to me. He had scripts for : 60 mg. of prednisone daily, z-pack, inhaler, and my very own nebulizer for home ( with adult strength xopenex ). He adds at the end that he wants to see Austin back either Tuesday or Wednesday to see if these measures have helped and if not we'll go from there! Go from there? That's what I said, and he told me that we would not discuss that now but on Tuesday IF things were not any better.

What amazes me is that a week prior is when I thought he was at his worst ( high fevers, puking, diarrhea, sleeping non-stop ). I'm wondering if the doctor on Monday dropped the ball and didn't pick up on something or maybe he just progressively went downhill on the inside. Believe me, on the outside you would think that he was slowly getting a little better every day. Apparently not! Now today he has had some mood swings ( prednisone ) and has experienced an accelerated heart rate ( combination of the prednisone and xopenex ). Hopefully these medications will avoid a hospital stay but all I want is for my son to get better. So if that means being admitted for IV antibiotics..... then bring it on. It has been exactly 2 weeks today that all this mess started with the coughing and then everything else. What I keep wondering is if the doctor on Monday missed some crackling in his chest, and now it has progressed so far into pneumonia. I will never know, but I will make sure from now on that my boys see their regular doctor who knows them very well.

CHRISTMAS ...... CARIBBEAN STYLE!!

Ahhhh.... what a nice way to spend Christmas. While I wouldn't do this every year, it was nice to get away and be in the hot sun for awhile. It is a holiday that both my boys will remember for many reasons. Here are some:


1. Austin getting sick (truly sick.... and still is sick). Although he enjoyed himself for the first 3 - 4 days, the last few really wore him out.



2. Collin being at that "magical" age of 5 and truly loved seeing all the characters. That age still holds the innocence of believing that the characters are real.


3. Collin jumping to me off the catamaran ( 20 ft. of water ) and him holding on for dear life as we swim ashore to the beach. I was swallowing more salt water and going under trying to get us to shore while he had a "death grip" around my neck. Felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway.


4. Watching my boys dance to island music on the catamaran and soak in the warm rays.


5. Spending an afternoon on Magen's Bay in St. Thomas. What a gorgeous place to be. Apparently, Michael Jordan owns a home over looking this beautiful spot.



With the exception of Austin getting sick, we had a really fun time. This trip was planned over 16 months ago, so it was great to finally enjoy the magical trip. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas, and I'm going to attach some pics from the trip. Oh, friends and family.... I will be sending out "New Year's" cards, for we were so rushed to get out of here for the cruise :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM US

It's almost been 5 years, that's so hard to believe. If I could send a letter to Jody, this is what it would read.

Our boys are doing great, and they are growing like weeds. I have a feeling that you are looking down and I hope you are pleased.

I've kept my promise to you, as I'm sure you can see. Not only am I involved with soccer, baseball, but now even Little League.

Austin has your charm, and your ability to talk. Collin is always asking about you, as you passed right before he began to walk. Please don't worry, Austin, Collin, and I are doing our best. However, it hasn't been the same since you left.

On Christmas Day this year, the boys and I will be on a cruise. We will be on a catamaran.... for we wanted to try something new. Please keep an eye on us and hold us close to your heart. Not a day goes by where you are not in our thoughts.

Merry Christmas Love!

p.s. I miss you