A little family update!

I've taken a big time break from blogging lately for no rhyme or reason other than I'm just not doing it. I would like to say that I'll get better about blogging but being a stay-at-home mom right now doesn't really give me a lot of new things to talk about. Everyday in this house is the same as the day before and is the same one the next. We're boring people. I thought I would give a little update to reassure everyone that we're alive and well.

We've had a few big changes here in our house. First of all is that we're are now a one dog home. We made the heart wrenching decision last month to surrender Toby and Lennon back to the Great Dane rescue. It is a decision that should have been made long ago but we just couldn't find it within ourselves to commit to it. Having two Great Danes both of which had issues just became to much, for me especially. Physically and mentally I just couldn't deal with them anymore. We have no fenced in yard, our lack of finances meant little to no vet care for them, and after being bitten by Toby late last year I was a nervous wreck around him. I just couldn't deal with it anymore and Daniel finally made the decision for us one morning and the deed was done. We all miss them, Bandit especially as he doesn't like being around the girls, but we know we made the decision that was best for both dogs.

Secondly, Addison is about 98% potty trained. I am so proud of my big girl I can barely stand it. She would use the potty off an on for the past year but she was never 100% into it. I didn't push the subject and kept telling everyone that when she was ready, she would do it and we would be golden. At her last well check up the doctor informed me that if a child wasn't potty trained by the age of three than it would be considered a behavioral issue and would need to be punished as such. The following week or so I gently nudged Addison into biting the bullet and making diapers a thing of the past. I was amazed at how quickly she caught on and I'm proud to say that from day one of that little nudging she's only had two accidents. She even gets up during the early part of the night to go potty.

She's able to go potty at night without assistance because awhile back we moved her into a big girl bed. She was probably ready awhile ago but to be honest, I wasn't. I thought for sure bedtime would become the biggest fight and that Daniel and I would never sleep again but she proved us wrong. We have the occasional issue with her getting up several times but she's pretty good about staying put. We even moved Cadence into her room because she felt so left out not getting a big girl bed yet. They have done pretty good together with the exception of a few of Addison's light night temper tantrums that wakes the living dead up and scares the holy you know what out of Cadence.

Speaking of my little Cadence Leah, she is this close to being ready to start full time potty training. Just today she went potty on the potty chair a total of four times. Addison never really used the potty chair so it became a step stool in their playroom. Today Cadence lugged it out into the living room, pulled her diaper off, and went to town. She was so proud of herself and what was even more precious is how proud her big sister was of her.

This is a big week for the little ladies. Tomorrow is not only Valentines Day, but it's Cadence's 2nd birthday. I just can't believe that she will be two years old. Sunday is Addison's 3rd birthday and once again...where did the time go? We do small little dinners/gathering on their actual birthdays and then go all out for one party with all of our friends and family. Their big party is on the 23rd and this years theme is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Their invitation is so adorable and I wish I could share it with you but it has all of our personal information on it and since I don't know how to blur it out, I think it's best to just keep it for us.

Daniel is doing great in the new position at work that he accepted last year around this time. He still isn't traveling as much as he would like but he finally had a prayer answered. He didn't like his boss or her inability to be a manager. His company made the announcement that she was moved from her position into another one in a completely different department just last week and he couldn't be more excited.

As for me I'm still about the same. My Crohns and everything that comes with it continues to be a daily struggle. My anxiety continues to be a real pain in the butt, even with medication and a good part of it centers around the girls and my fear of something happening to one of them out of my care. I could throw up just thinking about how close Addison is to being in pre-school and how soon she will be riding a bus without me or Daniel. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with myself. My depression still rides the fine line between good and bad. I go through patches of doing really good and then BAM, something brings me down and I just can't get a handle on it. I received an official diagnosis of fibromyalgia just last week. It along with the my diagnosis of entropathic arthritis makes things frustrating at times. I lay in bed at night with my legs and feet just throbbing from the pain and inflammation. I've been prescribed a second depression medication that is supposed to help with the fibro, don't ask me how, and my Remicade treatments are now not just for my Crohns disease, but for the arthritis as well. I have another infusion tomorrow and I can't wait to be in a little less pain and to be a little more comfortable.

Next Thursday is a big day for me. I have a colonoscopy scheduled to determine whether my digestive system is healed enough to have my ostomies reversed. Between the prolapse of my ileostomy, breakdown of the skin around both stomas because I've become allergic to most of the backings to my appliances, and my inability to strain or do a lot of bending due to the prolapse...I'm just done with the whole thing. I can't even wear normal clothing because of these two stomas. I can't wear regular pants because the waistline falls right on top of my ileostomy causing pressure and then causing leakage and I have to wear long shirts to cover the bags since a lot of times I can't tuck them into my pants. I am ready for them to be gone so that I can wear jeans, take a bath, sleep on my side or belly, and most of all do something with myself other than sit on my butt. I've gained a stupid amount of weight even though I was told I would lose a bunch so I really need to be able to exercise again and get it back off.

Other than these few things we don't have much going on right now. Sometimes no excitement is better than excitement, right?