It finally happened...

I knew that it was just a matter of time before we made our first visit to Children's Hospital. The girls are little dare devils and it doesn't matter how many times they get into trouble for climbing the stairs or standing on the end tables in the living room, they still break the law time and time again. We've gotten to the point where we are just letting them learn the hard way and pray that it doesn't result in serious injury.

Our first run to the ER though, didn't involve any cuts or scrapes or broken bones, thank goodness. The reason why we did go was scary enough though.

I noticed towards the middle of last week, after not having much of an appetite and being pretty lethargic for her usual self, that Cadence had her first molar coming in. She started running a pretty high fever Wednesday evening so we kept her doped up on Tylenol and put her to bed early thinking that it would run its course and she would be a little better by the morning. Although her fever subsided, she started to develop some weird rash around her mouth. By the next day, her upper body was covered in this rash and I noticed that it intensified the warmer she would get.

By Friday night she was very crabby. Cried herself to sleep that night, and around 11:30 as I was headed to bed, she woke up crying again. I decided to get her up and throw her in bed with us thinking that it would calm her down enough that she would fall back to sleep. Over the course of the next twenty minutes she just couldn't get comfortable. She would go back and forth between Daniel and I, and was doing this pitiful whine the entire time. Her rash at this point was all over her face, neck, belly, and back.

She finally crawled over to me in the bed and rested her head and upper body on my tummy. I began gently scratching her back and playing with her hair which usually calms her down right away. It was during the few minutes that I was playing with her hair that I discovered a marble sized bump along her hairline, right behind her right ear.

Now, being the negative nelly that I tend to be, I automatically assumed that it was a big deal. I just knew that something wasn't right with that bump, and shouldn't be associated with a teething baby. Since her rash seemed to be getting worse and she just hadn't been acting like her normal self, we both agreed that I should run her up to Children's emergency room juts to make sure it was nothing serious.

I cried the entire drive to downtown Dayton, and was still crying when I checked her in. The nurse was so sympathetic with me and after she filled out a few more things on the computer she came around to where I was standing, holding Cadence, and started feeling the bump and checking her vitals visually. She told me then that because of where the bump was located and the fact that it was squishy instead of firm, that it more than likely was just a swollen lymph node. Praise the Lord.


I calmed down immediately after she told me that, but still knew that with the rash and everything else, something could still be wrong.
After what seemed like an eternity, we had a resident come in, look her over, and check all of her vitals. These minor little tasks required me getting up on the bed with Cadence and holding her against my tummy. She did not like having her ears and throat looked at...lol. The resident confirmed that the bump was nothing more than a swollen lymph node, which meant she probably had some sort of virus. And she agreed that the rash was nothing more than just a rash caused by her fevers and when she got really warm. It was so hot in the room they had us in that her rash got worse while we sat and waited.

After the resident left, her boss, the head doctor, came in and confirmed everything the resident had said. They doped her up with some Benadryl and she fell asleep on me while we waited for the strep test to come back. After we received word that it was negative, they got our walking papers and sent us on our merry way.

We didn't get home until after 4 a.m. and after putting her to bed, and sending e-mails and facebook messages to the family and friends who wanted updates on her condition, I finally made it to bed around 5 a.m.

I'm so glad my baby is all right. This was another reminder of how blessed I am to have two healthy, vibrant little girls. I don't take their well being for granted!! I know this trip probably isn't our last, but I'm glad the initiation process was an easy one with a great outcome.

Father's Day 2012

Daniel & the girls working on the lawn mower.

First of all, happy father's day to my wonderful husband Daniel. I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. They love him so much that everyday when they see him pull into the driveway after getting off work, they both squeal and shout until he has made it through the front door. It's absolutely priceless.



Uncle Dan & my Dad at Easter.

Second of all, being the child of divorced parents, I have a lot of male influences in my life. Several grandfathers, uncles, and even great uncles. I love each and every one of them, especially my godfather and uncle, Dan. I know he loves me just like I was his own and what is even more special is that I think he loves my girls more than me and his daughter Heather...lol.

Lastly, to my dad's. My step-dad Jim has been a part of my life since I was two or three. Even though he and my mom are now divorced, he still considers me one of his and I love being a part of his family. Secretly, I think I should have been Italian since my love of pasta and sauce is so out of control. How lovely is it that my step-dads family is Italian. We're talking, had to translate their Italian first names to more Americanized first names when they came over on the boat. Then theres my dad, Gary. The relationship I have with my dad is the relationship I hope my girls have with Daniel. I can talk to my dad about everything and anything and I know that I will have his support in almost anything. I have never once doubted his love for me as he tells me all of the time. He is the reason why I always tell my girls how much I love them, kiss them, and even hug them. He is the one who taught me to be affectionate to those who are deserving of those affections from me.


My step-dad grating parmesan cheese & watching the Jungle Book at the girls birthday party.

Happy fathers day to all of them, including my grandpa Powers and my papaw Ison.

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that!

We haven't been overly busy these past few weeks, but we have been spending lots of quality time together as a family. Our weeknights consist of family dinner time around our table, followed by lots of gardening and playing outside until the bugs start biting. I actually helped Daniel mow our grass the other night. Now to most that may not seem like a big deal, but I have been so sick these past few years, that pushing a lawn mower around the yard would have worn me out. This past year, it probably would have killed me...lol. It killed my knees afterwards, but I was so excited that I was able to do it that it was totally worth it.

I was recently diagnosed with entropathic arthritis which is yet another auto-immune disorder. It's pretty much an inflammation of the joints, which in my case, is caused by my Crohns disease. The unfortunate thing about having one auto-immune disorder is that it pretty much leaves you wide open to develop more. My GI is pretty sure that I have had it for awhile but since my Crohns flare was so severe, that it masked the arthritis. It wasn't until my surgery and my subsequent remission from the Crohns, that the arthritis came into play full force. These last few weeks I have had a lot of trouble walking. I named my walk, the grandma shuffle. My knees and feet were in such bad shape that I honest to goodness was having to shuffle just to get around. It didn't matter how much I rested my body, or how much activity I participated in, my joints hurt. Right now my course of treatment for the arthritis is to continue with my Remicade infusions. Not only does Remicade help those with irritable bowel disease,but it helps those with arthritis as well. Thankfully I get one treatment for two diseases. I had my first infusion since my surgery this past Saturday, and while my knees and feet are still sore, I can tell a big difference. I don't want to cry when walking down the stairs now...lol.

That is why mowing the grass the other night is blog worthy for me...lol. If I was able to mow the grass just before my infusion, now that I have had the infusion, I just might be able to mow the entire yard by myself...yay!

Planting her "pretties" in the garden.

Like I said we've been doing a lot of gardening. Our veggies and fruit are finally starting to go to town. I can't wait until we start getting actual produce from the plants. The garden is in need of a good weeding, however we are waiting to purchase a big container of Preen. Both girls love being out in the garden in bare feet. It doesn't matter how many times I sit down and put their shoes on after they have taken them off, they still repeat the process. I finally gave up with enforcing shoe wear, so I just keep my fingers crossed that neither girl step on anything.

Relaxing after her dinner.

Speaking of the girls, they both continue to thrive. Not a day goes by that they don't crack us up, Cadence especially. The other night at dinner she decided to kick back and relax until we were all finished. We don't typically encourage feet up on the table, but sometimes you just have to sit back and chuckle.You have to live a little and appreciate the small things.

Both ladies drinking the pool water like puppy dogs.

A couple of weeks ago we broke out the swimming suits and the girls took their first swim of the season at Mamaw's. Uncle Dusty was kind enough to fill up their pool early in the afternoon for a evening visit on Mamaw's last day of work. While she isn't officially retired until the end of the summer, since she was a school cook, her last official day of work was the schools last day in session. It was during this swimming session we discovered just how impressionable our daughters are at this age. Addison gets a kick out of mimicking the dogs. She will put a piece of food on the ground and eat it off of the ground like the dogs, she drinks the pool and bath water just like a dog, she'll even fetch a toy on all fours just like the dogs. I'm not really sure how we'll break her of this habit...lol. For now we just sit back and laugh at her and her sister.

Helping mommy make some homemade banana bread.

What do you think the problem is daddy?

Both girls are at a stage where they both really enjoy helping us out around the house. They always have to be involved with anything we are doing. I have been allowing Addie to help me cook. She'll pull up one of their kiddie chairs and just stand and watch until I allow her a task. She even helps do the dishes. Yesterday she helped us finally put boxes away that were still sitting in our dining room from when we moved in, and just this morning she got out their toy vacuum and followed me around while I swept the living room. Saturday night she and her sister even helped their daddy put a new blade on the lawn mower. I think that picture is going to be my favorite summer picture. I'm going to print it out for Daniel for fathers day so that he can put it on his desk at work. Who needs a son when you have two little girls that are happy to follow your every move!

I hope everyone has a great week!!