2010 Goals

The following are some of the goals I am setting for myself for the year 2010. As I said in a prior post, my goals are not set in stone, hard, fast, MUST succeed at things. I will NOT tie my self-esteem or self-worth to my goals. They really are just guidelines for things I want to do this year.

Spiritual goals: Read the entire Bible. I am joining with others on the web to read the Bible in 90 days beginning today. The Happy Housewife was where I first read about it, and after much thought and prayer decided that this was the right time and format for me to read the Bible cover to cover. That will last through the month of March.

Our church is also doing a thing called 10 Days of Prayer for the first 10 days of January, the readings for it will be online. I will ATTEMPT to do it. However, since it coincides with the start of reading the Bible in 90 days it is not going to be my focus.

After March I might look for a bible study to do, but as of right now I have no further plans in this department. I will re-assess after March.

Physical/fitness goals: I'm lumping these two together as I really feel they often go hand in hand. I will continue my healthier eating habits. I've been a bit looser about my sweet tooth with the holidays. Lots of cookies lately LOL. But now that the New Year has arrived I am going to ease back on the sweets and the lattes and go back to my healthier choices (of course I will continue to have my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on break at work!). I will also continue to exercise healthy portion control. I have actually remained pretty good on this through the holidays.

I want to make more effort to go to the gym regularly. BFF and I keep saying we are going to get up early and go to the gym before her DH leaves for work. I'd LIKE to, but we are such night owls. It just doesn't seem to ever happen. So either we have to change ourselves and go to bed earlier so we can DO IT, or accept that we aren't going to change and find other times of the day to go! I want to find at least ONE class a week at the gym to attend and be consistent with it. I tend to work better at this sort of thing when I've got a group setting so I figure if I have a class to attend, maybe I'll do better.

Educational goals: As soon as I can afford to, I want to go back to school and get my EMT training again. I'd LOVE to go in February, but I don't honestly believe I can have the money together by then, not to mention there's some personal issues in my life that I believe will not be resolved by then. So instead I am shooting for a May or June session. This will have me completing the course in late Summer or early Fall. I could have my licensing before the end of the calendar year.

Employment goals: I will continue to work at my current Job and accept a promotion if it is offered to me, provided no contractual obligation is incurred. I do not want to be locked into this Job long term. The reasoning behind that is that when I complete EMT training I want to seek employment as an EMT as soon as possible. I will not totally quit my current Job however once I get that employment. I want to pay down some excess debt and I believe that working 2 to 3 shifts a week (if possible) at this Job while working as an EMT would be a GREAT benefit toward that.

Financial goals: My 2 biggest financial goals... Pay off the car so I can finally HAVE it (long story involving ex-DH and divorce terms), and pay for EMT school. But beyond those... I want to be consistent about putting away 10% of EVERY paycheck and EVERY child support check into savings. I want to start working down some of my student loan debts as well.

Parenting goals: I want to put the girls into some classes. Peanut is showing great interest lately in dancing and I think I need to capitalize on that. Bug is a little more difficult but the answer will come. I need to keep on all their medical appointments and follow ups.

As of right now these are my goals, I'm sure we'll re-visit them later!!

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Bible in 90 Days

I'm very excited about one of the things I am embarking on with the start of the new year. It is actually one of my 2010 goals, but I'm going ahead and telling you about it now!!! LOL

I am joining with others on the web to Read the Bible in 90 Days. Cover to Cover, the WHOLE THING!! :)

I'm so excited!! I've never read the whole Bible. I always get discouraged, or fall behind. A year to finish it seems so long, I've never been one for taking the slow route! So when I saw this opportunity I thought it might be a good thing for me. I thought about it, prayed about it. Did pros and cons lists about it. I probably OVER thought it! LOL

I first found out about it through another blog I read, The Happy Housewife, and she is doing it through Mom's Toolbox.

As a newly baptized Christian I think this will really help me in growing with Christ. There is SO much about God's Word I don't know. I am constantly asking questions. Not that I expect that to change, but I am hoping this experience will help me understand better and put some of the pieces together myself. And most importantly, bring me a step closer to Christ.

I know there's still time for others to join, head on over to Mom's Toolbox and read about it and let her know if you'll join in!!! :)

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Thankful Tuesday

I am Thankful for:

My Peanut, who dances around the room pretending to be a princess.
My Bug, who is resilient and will bounce back from her sadness.
My BFF, who kept me sane.
My other friend L, who suggested to BFF that we keep up the tree and celebrate Kings Day this year.
My other friend P, who helped make our Christmas better than we could have on our own.
My friend K, who has graciously agreed to take pix of Bug, Peanut and their Daddy.
My Dad, who stayed sane and told me it was all okay.
My Father above, who sent his Son to Earth for me, and provided His Word to give me inspiration, and hope.

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Some updates

I have spent a good portion of this morning going through old blogs and putting labels on all the old posts. As BFF lost a piece of information yesterday and had to search through her blog the HARD way because she had done SOME labeling but as many of us do, had not totally labeled her blogs. So she had to go through and find the blog in question. She mentioned that she needs to go through and label her blogs so this doesn't happen again. It made me think, most of my blogs are unlabeled as well. So that is what I have spent probably 2 hours doing this morning. (In between breaking up little fights with the kids, taking care of them, getting coffee, etc. LOL)

I also wrote one update during this, it is the post immediately prior (I suppose following this LOL) to this one about Bug's speech/hearing. I felt it was very pertinent as I read that prior post. I did also post one embedded edit into a prior post, it's one that I felt was better to put as a retrospective edit that looking back that was a powerful day.

But most importantly there were some little things that I jotted down to write about in a new post.

One post I wrote some months back What do you want to do with your life? needs a bit of an update. In it I was excited to move on to learning to do cakes and possibly turn this into something more. I did begin the Wilton courses as you can see from several of my subsequent posts over the following months. I completed courses 1 and 2. I did quite well. I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I discovered that although I enjoy doing it as a hobby and enjoy having the more advanced skills of having taken the classes, I do NOT want it as a career.

I ended up spending SIGNIFICANTLY more money for the classes than anticipated. And although it WAS fun, it was also frustrating. My work schedule made it quite difficult at times to concentrate because I'd end up going straight from work to class. I'd be tired, sometimes aching from scanning groceries all day. I just realized toward the end of the second class it was NOT for me. I did not sign up for class three, and I've had no regrets about it.

I enjoy baking cakes for church, our family, and when asked, for friends. BFF and I still do mostly vegan cakes, it has become our specialty sort of. People at church who are having parties for their children who are NOT vegan and are ordering a big non-vegan cake and are inviting us and any vegan guests will ask us to do a smaller cake for BFF's children (due to the allergies, not because we are vegan. Most store cakes involve a LOT of soy) and any vegan's in attendance.

Another factor in that post was why I did NOT want to go back into the medical field. The fact is, the more I think about the more I realized how much I miss it. I really enjoyed being an EMT, and I really wanted to go on and be a Paramedic. So I am now planning to go back. I really WANT to go back this spring, but for personal and financial reasons I don't think it's going to happen. But hopefully by summer the financial side will be worked out, as well as the personal.

Another thing I wanted to update on... In this post: So much to update on I had said I wanted to be more minimalist. NOT that I wanted to get rid of everything, or be one of those people with only 100 personal possessions. Just that I wanted to purchase less, be more cautious about WHAT I purchased so that I could purchase NICER things, etc. Well, I have been trying to do that to an extent. Although I am still sticking for the most part to my rules about shopping (most items on sale, etc.). But due to my weight loss, I've had to buy a LOT of clothes lately, especially pants. I've actually been able to get BACK into some pants I haven't been able to wear in YEARS, so that is great. But the fact is, the time has come for a purge. I have GOT to go through the closet, the drawers, etc. Sort out what fits, what doesn't, and what has no hope of ever fitting. Some of my things that don't fit, BFF will fit now or soon. (I'm only a size or 2 smaller than her and we've both been losing weight). But there are distinct body differences between us, so some things will NEVER fit her. Those things need to go.

I need to do this same purge with the girls toys. I have multiple boxes of toys and animals in the garage that they haven't played with in MONTHS. MOST of them can be sold. They have plenty of toys inside. Most of the toys in the boxes in the garage they have "aged" out of anyway, since they are primarily rated for 18-24 months!! So, I think that in the near future I will be doing a MASSIVE toy purge. Fortunately I do have a great twin club that I can sell many of the toys to.

I am in the process of setting some goals for 2010. I will make a separate post for them, one that will post on January 1st. So yes, you will have to wait!! LOL I don't believe in setting resolutions for the year. I don't like them, I think that it sets me up for disappointment. I prefer to have goals. Because I do not feel as much sense of failure or disappointment in myself if I do not succeed. I know to most people it is a matter of semantics. But it matters to me.

So what sort of goals can you expect to see on my list?? No, I won't be totally mean and make you wait. What you will NOT see is "I will lose 20 pounds" or "I will work out 2 hours every day" or anything like that. I have in mind some spiritual goals, some physical/fitness goals, educational goals, employment goals, financial goals, and parenting goals. None are set in stone, none are make it or break it, none will make me feel like a failure if by December 31, 2010 I have NOT completed them. A goal is just a guideline, something to aim for. I will NOT tie my self esteem or self worth to it!

I will try to blog a bit in the next few days if time permits, otherwise, look for my 2010 Goals on January 1, 2010!!! :)

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Score one for the team-Update

This is an update to this post: Score one for the team.

In this post I had expressed concern over Bug's speech and potential hearing loss. The audiologist that tested Bug really did feel her speech was fine and she just tired out toward the end. Although I felt she was right, and that the repeat test this coming April would show that, I was still VERY concerned by her seemingly garbled speech. I was hesitant to follow the suggestion of obtaining speech therapy through the school district. I want to homeschool my children and I don't want them to ever be involved in the public school systems.

I made the decision to wait at least until the first of the new year to consider obtaining services. I felt we were too busy, with the holidays, numerous appointments for both Bug and Peanut, and visitors coming in, to try and start ANOTHER thing, plus I wanted to try to work on her speech myself and avoid the school district if I could. YES, I am stubborn. I was giving myself THREE MONTHS. But, Bug's pediatrician actually was backing me on all of this, she said to me, "Mom, YOU need a break, it's okay, there will be time for her speech to improve, three months isn't going to make or break it. But YOU look like YOU are about to break." Have I mentioned how much I love her?

Well, in those three months we have started her on medication for her epilepsy and seen DRAMATIC improvement. In her seizures, and her SPEECH. She is having very few seizures now (in fact I don't think I've seen her have one except when she was sick and running a high fever). And she is now speaking as well as ANY of the other three three year olds in the house. Her neurologist called back when she got really sick with the hand foot and mouth, (before she really got sick) and when I told him how improved her speech was, he told me he wasn't overly surprised, but VERY pleased to hear it. He felt her epilepsy was giving her some developmental delays that the medication improved and allowed her to overcome. Given that most of the time we can now understand her, I agree! :)

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Christmas

We had a beautiful Christmas. It was a pleasure to see the joy on my children's faces as their piles of gifts grew larger. They are BLESSED. (My own biological children and the other 5 I have claimed with my heart :) ).

Bug was priceless, she was less about opening the presents and more excited as she started receiving her packages. The look of SHOCK and joy at getting a PACKAGE was so amazing.

The girls got lots of clothes (always needed and appreciated!! And they are fashionistas anyway so they LOVE it!!) FurReal puppies, Barbie quads, pink Legos, bean bag chairs, Tinkerbell dolls, Girly Little People, personalized coloring books and crayons, TONS of Littlest Pet Shop animals and accessories, several books, and much more. This was the stuff I can REMEMBER!! LOL

BFF and I are already discussing the four girls joint birthday party (since their birthdays are 5 days apart) and that since they LOVE their Littlest Pet Shop stuff SO much that we think their theme will be LPS. :)

Bug and Peanut's Daddy brought them an additional "gift" not really a Christmas gift but sort of, he has given us the Wii. EVERYONE in the house benefits from it though. BFF's DS's have been wanting a Wii so they are super excited about it.

I was very blessed this year as well. I was very disappointed that I was unable to find a gift for BFF, until at the last minute BFF tells me there is something she wants at one store. (she KNEW all the problems behind my "gift failure" this year). So she knew exactly what she was getting from me, but at least I KNEW she wanted it!!! :) In many ways this made me most happy of all. Because I'd had such bad luck trying to get her a gift. Went to order her gift and it was no longer available, went to buy the other part and it wasn't available in the color for HER, etc...

I myself did receive very thoughtful gifts. BFF got me some small notebook/journal type books. I had been wanting them for my purse and bible bag. She helps my girls pick out a great knitting book, some candy and AWESOME pajamas for me. BFF's mom and dad got me a nice work out/yoga set, my sister and her husband got me a dragonfly necklace with earrings and a monetary donation to my school fund :), BFF's DH got me a Saints Jersey personalized with my name! YAY!!! :) and my mom... well, I'm not at liberty to say just yet... I'll be able to spill the beans in a few more days. LOL And post pictures. :P

We enjoyed watching the kids play with all their new toys and games and watch a video, and we enjoyed a DELICIOUS prime rib dinner. We went to bed fairly early after a LONG day.

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and enjoyed celebrating the birth of Christ with their family and friends. :)

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

The last of KG's Holiday recipes! Another delicious concoction!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 8oz cream cheese packages
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 15oz can Pumpkin puree
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanila extract
1 tbsp all purpose flour
2 graham cracker crusts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add the pumpkin and spices. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add salt and flour. Beat until creamy. Pour batter evenly into 2 graham cracker crusts.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until knife slide into center comes out clean. Let cool and top with cool whip or whipped cream.

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Ahhhhh.... a day off...

I am BEYOND excited because from 3 PM this afternoon when I clocked out until 9 AM Friday morning when I clock back in, I am OFF!!! WOOHOO!!!

I have no real plans as of yet, but I am EXCITED. A day off... yay!!! :)

I do plan to make ricotta cheese cookies, I NEED to wrap presents. I'm sure there's other things that need to get done, cleaning, laundry, etc...

But I get a day off!!!

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Pumpkin Roll

Another one of KG's favorite recipes!!

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces cream cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a jellyroll pan (large cookie sheet with sides).
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs on high for five minutes. Gradually add white sugar,and pumpkin. Add flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and ginger. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly on top, and press lightly into batter.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until it springs back when touched. Loosen edges with a knife. Turn out on two dishtowels that have been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll up cake, and let cool for about 20 minutes.

To Make Filling: Mix confectioners' sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth.

Un-roll pumpkin cake when cool, and spread with filling. Re-roll, and push aside the dishtowel. Unroll long sheet of waxed paper. Put pumpkin roll on waxed paper. Dust pumpkin roll with powdered sugar. Twist ends of waxed paper like a piece of candy. Put pumpkin roll in refrigerator and chill overnight. Before slicing, dust with powdered sugar. Serve chilled.

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Ricotta Cheese Cookies

This recipe comes courtesy of one of my old neighbors who is an awesome friend. KG will be her name (unless she outs herself, cuz if you've been reading my blog for any time you know I don't use real names!!!!) I LOVED LOVED LOVED these cookies when she made them for me several Christmases ago. This year she has shared several of her recipes with me and granted me permission to share them with my blogging world! :) ENJOY!!!

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 pound butter
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
15 ounces ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
5 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup colored candy sprinkles

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, and vanilla extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; blend into the creamed mixture, mixing in additional flour as necessary to form a workable dough. Drop dough into teaspoon-sized balls, on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

In a medium bowl, beat milk, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract until smooth. Spoon over warm cookies, and sprinkle with colored candy sprinkles.

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Thankful Tuesday

Thankful Tuesday isn't something I've done before. It's something BFF does that I believe she picked up from some other blogs. But I wanted to post it and so here goes:

Today I am thankful for:
-My Best Friend, who makes sure I always am taken care
-My Daughters
-My Family
-Coffee and Hot Chocolate
-A warm house to live in during the cold winter
-An abundance of friends
-An AWESOME God watching over me.

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Long Day

You know those days... that ones that just never seem to end. Today is that day. I am dragging some SERIOUS monkey butt for some reason. It's been a bit rough for me today. Interesting mail, still recovering kiddos, extra people in the house, work, and oh boy do the people at the store want their stamps. You would think postage stamps were going out of style!!!!

So yeah... Lots of craziness and a long day for me.

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Busy week ahead...

Hot coffee and homemade peppermint biscotti is being quickly put down my throat, and the car is already warming up/defrosting outside. I need to be on my way to work in about 5 minutes really, 10 at the most (but I could still clock in on time if I left in 15, how sad is that??). OH how I dislike the 7 am shift... there is NOTHING to do a 7 am at that store!!! It will pick up a little at about ten.

My parents arrived yesterday, and my ex-husband arrives Friday. Let the mayhem begin! LOL Tomorrow BFF and I are taking advantage of the baby sitters to go do Pilates. Since Peanut is contagious and we can't risk the others being possibly contagious we can't put ANY of them in daycare at the Y. But Grandma and Grandpa don't mind :). And I need to call the doctor's and let them know Savannah is now sick. And I have to call the insurance and verify info about Bug's upcoming MRI. And I have work tomorrow.

And I work Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm off Thursday. I don't like mid-week days off. :( They are not nice. I work Friday right up to my special requested time off to allow just a sufficient time to go get the ex from the airport.

Saturday is Sabbath and we will be HOPEFULLY taking 13 people. That is if Peanut is healthy and no other kids come down with it by then. *sigh*

Well, Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work I go...

Have a FABULOUS day!!!!! :)

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The parents are here

The parent's are here
Bug is feeling MUCH better, her sores are nearly gone!! Praise God!
Peanut now has the sores, :( but we know what to do this time!
I have to work WAY too early in the morning. BOO
The Saints game will not be broadcast here tomorrow, but hopefully we'll be able to watch it on NFL replay.

Overall, Life is pretty darn good and I can't complain too much. Peanut will survive just as Bug did, but she'll be pretty miserable for a few days. :(

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TONS of snow

We knew we were getting snow last night, but I did NOT expect to wake up to somewhere around 6-8 inches of it with it STILL falling!!! But that is exactly what happened!!! WOW. The really bad thing is we have a LONG driveway that had to be shoveled out. They didn't come plow our roads until we were already leaving to get me to work, so that was great fun, NOT. Yeah... well... We lived. More snow next week!!! YAY!

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Eyes and sick baby update 4

Peanuts Eye appoint did not go as expected. We had been seeing improvement initially, but literally in the last couple days, we've seen turn out in her left eye again. And according to the doctor, it's more severe than before. :( She felt that Peanuts prescription on her glasses was fine. Since it was an early morning appointment she shouldn't have been drifting from being too tired. SOOO... She does not want to jump the gun on anything, so we are going to try patching her right eye an hour a day, doesn't seem like much, but she thinks the benefits will be worth it. And we will see her again in one month.

If we don't start seeing improvement, we are going to have to consider surgery. I do not want to have to do surgery. :(

We called Bug's pediatrician's office while we were on the way to the eye appointment because poor Bug's mouth is just so full of sores that it is a challenge to get her to drink at all now. We tried to brush her teeth this morning and she screamed with pain and started to bleed. So that ended rather abruptly. Poor baby girl. So when they called back we had to wait until the afternoon. But I was just glad to get her in at all. We got in and I was a little concerned about possible thrush. That was cleared up, she does not have thrush. As for the sores, they are EVERYWHERE in her mouth. I'd cry and refuse to eat or drink too if my mouth looked like that!!! My poor Bug!! So the Nurse Practitioner gave me a recipe to mix up to swab her mouth with to help so she can comfortably eat and drink. She also told me that basically ANY food or drink she will take is considered good right now. Ice Cream, applesauce, yogurt, popsicles, gatorade, juice, mashed potatoes, rice, bananas... soft, smooth, low salt foods. Cold food were also recommended.

BFF asked a dear friend of ours for some Pediasure. Just because it would give Bug some extra nutrition. She gave us some and Bug drank 2 bottles of it tonight!!! YAY for Bug!!!! :) And she ate some corn at dinner and a little bit of shredded to itty bitty teeny tiny bits chicken. BFF kept on her about water, and she had her couple of spoonfuls of applesauce with her medicines this evening.

The NP told me we really really SHOULD be at the peak of this DAM* thing, and she should start to feel better soon and if I don't see serious improvement by Friday to please bring her back, or if she stops urinating or having bowel movements as these are signs she's not hydrated.

Her other concern was how very very sleepy she seemed. I think Bug is just trying to sleep her way thru the pain, but also, if you had been this ill, wouldn't you be tired. If your body has been fighting this hard, you'd be sleepy too. But it is a little concerning I suppose. So she said if the sleepiness doesn't improve or gets worse to bring her back.

I really love this peds practice. They have been pretty good to us overall. :)

Please continue to pray for Miss Bug to feel better soon :) Thank you :)

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sick baby update 3

Sunday Morning: Bug woke with another HIGH fever (104.5) and I was at my wits end. I was thinking shouldn't the antibiotics at least be helping to bring the temp down by now?? So down the hatch with MORE motrin, her antibiotics, and her regular daily meds. And into the tub to try to cool her off. And when she finally got some attitude back she and I were sticking tongues out at each other. It was then that I noticed a small sore on the tip of her tongue. I called BFF and showed her. She reminded me that Bug had said the other day that her tongue got "stuck" in her sippy cup.

Shortly after Bug got outta the tub I got a call, from her pediatrician!!! She wanted me to bring Bug in, on a SUNDAY MORNING. We made the arrangements to be there in a little over an hour. We live about 45 minutes from the office, I wasn't dressed yet, and the roads were questionable from the overnight snow. But we got there and saw her. She tells me it is NOT a UTI as diagnosed at Children's. I kinda suspected it wasn't. Nothing grew in the culture. So we could throw out the antibiotics more than likely. She asks all the questions about cough etc. while she's looking her over and I tell her the ONLY thing is I noticed that sore.

She looks in her mouth and nods and says "along with the several small sores on the back of her throat, it makes sense, she has hand foot and mouth" SIGH OF RELIEF. My poor baby is miserable, but I have an answer that makes sense FINALLY. We talked over the 2 biggest issues for Bug with this illness:

-Fever control: She is running HIGH fevers. Fevers are not uncommon with HFM, but high fevers are not so common. Bug has epilepsy which makes the high fevers more dangerous. Her doctor advised us to do piggy backed tylenol/motrin every 3 hours for at least 24 hours straight ROUND THE CLOCK to keep her fever free and give her body a break. Then to let her body have a chance. Last night was the night I got to sleep and I'm about to go wake her and see how she is. Please let's hope she's fever free!!! Or at least low grade. I NEED to get her off the meds because they can hurt her liver as can one of her regular meds and the combo of the two worries me.

-Hydration: The sores in her mouth and throat make her not want to eat and drink. Obviously that is not good. We saw this yesterday. I had to break down and FORCE gatorade down her with a medicine syringe. She was actually pretty good about letting me do it that way!! This tells me the sores IN her mouth are hurting more than the sores in her throat. BFF and her DH said she did better in the evening, and I am grateful for that.

Today is a new day, and I am hoping she is feeling better today. We have appointments for Duck and Peanut to have their eyes looked at again and see if their glasses are helping with the lazy eyes. I'm praying for Peanut especially that it is because if not we are looking at surgery. :(

Stay safe all my friends in the coming weather and I hope you have fun in the snow!!!

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Snow and Tupperware Party Updates

So BFF and I went to our friends Tupperware party, I will get back to the great fun we had at the party later, I want to talk about snow first!!

When we walked out the front door the snow was finally starting to stick on grassy surfaces. But because it had been raining earlier, the sidewalks and roads were still clear but wet in most places. As we got closer you could see more and more accumulation. Upwards of an inch or more in some places. We turned into our friends neighborhood and it was even worse there.

When we went to leave the party a couple hours later the accumulation was over 2 inches. and now the roads had snow too. Oh dear. Worse yet, now I had to drive. I had to get the van turned around and out the driveway and all the way home with the ever worsening roads. Ice in some places. When we got home we decided to scrape BFF's DH's car since he has to go to work early in the morning. We figured if we do it now it's that much less he has to do in the morning. There was over 2 inches of snow on his car!!!

Now about the party. It was a lot of fun. All the tupperware I've ever had has been hand me downs but I have loved them anyway. I wasn't too sure I was going to get much of anything tonight since BFF has SO MUCH tupperware and isn't in NEED of much right now. But I did like one item so much I decided to buy it anyway. I got the Fashion Lunch Set. It is a Purple Lunch Sack, with a Vent and Serve Dish, a Tumbler, and a Spoon. I am planning to take my lunches to work with it. Maybe I'll be SUPER ambitious and go buy organic salad makings... Nah... I'll just make sure I can make salads that actually have the food I WANT on them! LOL

BFF just wanted 2 lids to replace missing lids for her modular mates. Those were easy enough to take care of! I talked to BFF and she and I decided to host a party in January. Technically, on paper anyway, it's me hosting the party. But the reality is that it's both of us doing it! We will both invite people, we will both be hosting it, we will both do it. And we will both get the benefits. :)

So if you live near me and want to come to a Tupperware party in early January let me know and I'll give you the info o come. If you just want to order irregardless of where you live, let me know too.

Well, I have to go wake Bug for her meds and I'm off to bed!! Night all!!!

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Snow

50 days ago I reported our first snow flakes of the season, but it didn't stick. It was pretty to watch it coming down while watching our awesome New Orleans Saints win a game though! :)

2 days ago the weather was 70 degrees and we made all the kids go outside to play because we weren't sure how much longer Indian Summer would last (yes, technically it wasn't Indian Summer because snow had already fallen, but the snow the freak thing!).

I just got home from the store, it is snowing, and this is no joke snow. It is COLD, and it is expected to stick and accumulate. It is expected to be the "first plowable" snow of the season with an accumulation of 2-5 inches overnight.

I'm excited about our first real snow, and that this means we just might have a white Christmas. But it's going to make getting to work tomorrow a bit interesting. People always drive a little crazy that first day after. Hopefully all the roads will have been plowed by the time I need to go to work too.

In just a little while BFF and I are heading out for a Tupperware party at a friend's house. Snow is NOT stopping us! LOL

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sick baby update 2

The last 24 hours have been rough for poor little Bug. She had started to feel better after being at the pediatrician's office. But when we started to get the kids ready for bed last night things went down hill FAST. I'll try to describe it as best I can for you.

She was standing there eating her gingerbread cooking and suddenly started to shake. Initially I thought it was shivering, but it progressed to be stronger than shivers, but less violent than a full fledged grand mal seizure. I truly believe she had a seizure. I laid her down on the ground out of concern that she was heading for a grand mal. I called her name and she eye tracked to me (she moved her eyes to look at me) but that was the most reaction I could actually get from her for several minutes. Even when she started to react more she was still twitchy in her hands and feet. And that lasted for another hour and a half. I tried to get her to stand and she fell at first. This just confirms for me that she had a seizure.

BFF picked her up and was holding her and we grabbed the thermometer, it wasn't reading too high (101's) but this is the same thermometer that the Nurse Practitioner told me only hours earlier to replace due to it's age. While BFF is holding her she could FEEL Bug's temp climbing. So we rushed off to Wal-Mart with Bug and BFF's DS1, he was SO concerned about his "Love-Bug." We bought a new temporal thermometer, an oral/rectal/underarm thermometer (as much as any person hates rectal temps, I was to a point of being willing to do it to her last night. So I wanted one that COULD go rectal!), dye-free tylenol and motrin (we MUST have dye free because BFF's DS-3 is allergic red #40 which is in most regular liquid meds), and a couple other things.

We managed to get the oral thermometer opened on our own and BFF was getting the temporal opened while I took Bug's temp with the other thermometer. Mind you, this is still IN Wal-Mart. Her underarm temp (adjusted) was 105.5, I immediately took it orally (wasn't sure my 3 1/2 year old would cooperate with me but I did it and she did), it was 105.9. I didn't even wait for the temporal to be ready, I headed for the car. We got her strapped in and told DS1 he was going to be dropped off at home. By then the temporal thermometer was ready for use. I used it 4 times and ALL FOUR readings were 105.9, 106 or 106.1. No matter which way we tried, no matter what I tried, this child was ON FIRE.

The only decision to be made was go to the closest ER or go to Children's, which is AT LEAST a 45 minute drive away. The problem is, the closet ER is a hospital her pediatrician's practice does NOT have privileges at, and therefore there is little communication with. Also, a serious factor for me, ALL of Bug's specialists, and therefore her big fat electronic medical record, are at Children's. PLUS, she had just had a TON of blood work done THAT AFTERNOON at a Children's facility. IF (and I knew it was a BIG if) the bloodwork was done already, it'd be in the computer and it wouldn't have to be re-drawn (It turned out it WAS done, so it was a good call). SO... I decided to risk it and drive to Children's.

We already had Bug's Diastat with us. Diastat is her emergency seizure medication. If she has a seizure lasting more than three minutes (and in this instance it would be a grand mal seizure that interferes with breathing), I can give her the Diastat rectally to stop the seizure. With a fever of 106, this is a very real concern. So I was prepared for this.

I called the pediatrician's office and left a message with the answering service. I received a call back within 10 minutes, before we'd even made it home to drop off DS1. I explained everything and why I felt Children's was worth the drive and the doctor agreed with me. She asked if I had given her anything for the fever yet. I don't REMEMBER telling her that I was afraid they wouldn't believe her temperature was that high if it came down, but BFF said I did. But the doctor reassured me that they WOULD believe me. She told me to give her motrin and start bringing the fever down. By the time we got to Children's an hour later (darn road work) her fever was down to 104.3. So she was STILL hot.

We were expedited due to how hot she was. I actually was quite impressed with the front end staff. The check in desk gal was so friendly and when she put the bracelet on Bug she said "She is burning up" and had her pushed ahead of other patients! We got a urine sample for them and next thing I know we are in a room. They had given her tylenol and within another 30 minutes she was down to 103.4.

When we got settled and she started waking up a little more as her fever was coming down, the nurse offered her a popsicle. She happily accepted. It was bright green and I have some great pictures of her bright green tongue. She didn't eat all of it but she still enjoyed it and it was nice to see her FINALLY perking up a bit.

The resident came in and well... let's just leave it at he and I didn't get along real well. He pretty much tried to say that she did NOT have a seizure, she just has a virus, blah, blah, blah. He also told me that what my daughter's doctor told me earlier that day was FALSE, to NOT bring her to the ER with a 103 fever... I was ready to rip his head off.

Then the attending doctor comes in. HE was different. He was reasonable. He said listen to your pediatrician, we like seeing kids, but if you feel okay keeping her home go ahead. He still felt it was viral, but he listened to me when I said it was a seizure. He did NOT feel it warranted calling neurology as it didn't last for more than 2 minutes at the most and even I say it was NOT a grand mal seizure.

So a little later the resident comes back in basically saying his same little line. And then says as nearly an afterthought, oh, since you did get a urine sample we'll dip it JUST in case. But I doubt it's a UTI.

About 20 min later he walks in again. And asks the most LAUGHABLE question... "are you sure her urine sample was a clean catch??" Oh how I wanted to be sarcastic and tell him no, I'm not sure, because I handed my three year old a cup and said go pee in this. Instead I told him, yes I am sure because I am the one who collected it. I wiped her first, I wore GLOVES and I ticked her off royal making her pee in a cup, oh, and did I mention she peed all over the floor of the bathroom in the process leaving me to clean it all up for you guys?? YES it was a clean catch. (yes, I can be a bit witchy at 1:30 am when my baby is sick and a "doctor" is questioning if I made sure I got a clean urine catch. The former EMT in me would NEVER have done less!) At that point he took off his mask (no one but him had ever worn one) and says "then she has a UTI because she has broken down nitrites in her urine."

FINALLY an answer. So they prescribe some antibiotics, give her a dose in the ER, give me the script and FINALLY at 2 am send us on our way. Unfortunately, BFF and I realize that we will be in NO condition to try and go to the pharmacy in the morning to get this script filled for her next dose. So we act like responsible adults and after a 45-60 min drive we get to the 24 hour pharmacy and get it filled (well, after a stop at the 24 hour dunkin donuts, come on now, the adults needed a little "prescription" too!!). And then we headed home. We finally arrived home at 3:15 am. I should have given her some motrin or tylenol then, but she was fever free and sound asleep.

She woke up this morning though with 105.5 again. *sigh* I quickly dosed her with her motrin, antibiotics, and her regular morning meds. That was all at around 10 am. It is now about 12:30 and she has a pretty much normal temp (just over 99 when I last checked :) ). But I will be giving her some tylenol momentarily just to keep it at bay for the day. I'll be going out shortly to get her some popsicles and maybe some gatorade. (she did NOT like Pedialyte!!!)

If she is not improving by Monday morning we will be back to the pediatrician for follow up. Actually, I suspect we are going anyway, but I have to make several phone calls first. I want to talk to her pedi, talk to her neurologist and find out if some of the side effects of her medications can make her more susceptible to UTI's because of the meds effects on her kidney's.

It can be so tough being a mom some days!! Bug is acting SO much better right now. She is trying to fold laundry. It is very cute. You can tell she is feeling better. I love seeing her happy and playful again (even if she's making a mess of the laundry!!!)

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Sick baby update

So after nearly 48 hours of a lethargic and feverish Bug, BFF made the decision that she needed to go to the doctor. Since she was home with her while I was at work, and she could see how she was feeling at that time, I support her decision to call for an appointment. She called me shortly after making the appointment to tell me when it was. I had to leave work early for it, but my daughter will always come first.

We saw one of the nurse practitioners today. I liked her very much. She understood and agreed with why BFF and I chose to NOT give tylenol today. We wanted to try and let her body fight it off. But with the weekend coming and her being my epileptic child, I knew I just couldn't risk it any longer.

The final call was a virus. NOT flu as she has NO symptoms of flu beyond the fever. A strep culture was done as a precaution though her throat looked fine. The NP gave us the go ahead to go to the Children's Hospital laboratory for her regular blood draw. She has to have blood draws on a regular basis for liver function, CBC's, and other things to make sure her medicine for her seizure's isn't harming her. I'd put it off because of the fever. And while we were headed over anyway, the NP added a urinalysis to rule out a UTI. That was the easy part.

Bug had a 102.9 Fever in the doctor's office. But she is fine now. She is playing with the girls and enjoying herself after some pizza. I am sure she will be back to lethargic and feverish in a few more hours, but I am enjoying this while I can. :)

Thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray for her. If it gets too high again we will be heading for the Children's Hospital ER.

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Sick baby

My poor Buggy is sick. She woke up yesterday lethargic and obviously not herself. I worked yesterday morning and BFF said Bug had taken a nap, but that other than being lethargic, she had been okay. Bug started looking more and more tired and wanted to be picked up, so I gave in and picked her up. Within seconds she was asleep on my shoulder. So I laid down on the couch with her. By the time BFF's DH got home and gave her a kiss on the forehead she was BROILING. I hadn't really noticed cuz it'd happened ON me.

He picked her up and I got the thermometer. 102-102.4 were the various measurements I got. Just depended on the side I measured. I was stunned. And a little worried I admit. Bug has epilepsy as you may recall, high fevers are a serious concern because even with the meds this can cause breakthrough seizures. And with a fever she is more likely to have a Grand Mal. I quickly texted BFF who wasn't at home, she had the van with the car seats in it. She needed to know what was going on, in case I needed her to come home. And then I got her some medicine. Her temp came down and we even managed to get her to eat some dinner.

We put her to bed. When it came time for BFF and I to go to sleep we did our nightly rounds, when we checked her and she was BOILING again. BFF got her out of bed and to my room (affectionatly known as the COLDEST room in the house) and I grabbed the tylenol. She was back to 101.4. We dosed her and stripped her to panties for about 15 min and got her down to under 101 pretty quick. So we let her go back to bed.

This morning, she was back to 101.0. *sigh* It's like we cannot win. More tylenol, and a careful watch. But she ate breakfast and her temp has come down and stayed down. So for now she seems okay. She is outside playing right now. We have an absolutely BEAUTIFUL December day. It's about 70 degrees, a bit of wind, but we are taking advantage of this weather!!!! LOL

I will keep you all posted on my baby Bug. :)

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School, Saints, and parents on the road...

I am trying to figure out what my best course of action is for school... I had found a GREAT program that would allow me to complete my EMT program in just 3 weeks. Now, as a former EMT I NORMALLY would NOT recommend this to ANYONE. However, I don't consider myself normal. I worked as an EMT in a civilian setting for 5 years, and then another year in the Army. I have taken this EXACT course (EMT-B) THREE TIMES already, and never scored less than an A in the class. So, I spoke to my EMT and paramedic friends and asked for their opinions and all of them told me the same thing, go for it, it'll be nothing but review for you. Only one minor problem. I need pretty much $1000 before Christmas to attend that program. As of right now, I have a grand total of $125. I could sacrifice my entire January child support, but I won't receive it until December 31st. It may be too late. And it will still leave me a little short.

Then there is a bigger concern. Sometimes I forget that I am NOT a 20 something, single woman anymore. I am a 31 year old single MOTHER. I HAVE to factor my children into this. Much as I want to do the extremely short class, it may not be the best option for my daughters. I would be in school a little over 40 hours a week for three weeks straight, and on top of that there would be at home studying, and at least one shift a week at work. When would I see my babies??? A part of me REALLY thinks the short class would be best for me, BUT, I don't know that it would be best for THEM.

The same school that has that class has some 12 week options as well, they actually cost a little less, just under $900. And are partial day classes just three days a week as opposed to all day five days a week. The downside to those classes is they are at facilities farther away, but not too much farther. There are also some tuition payment plan options with those, so if I REALLY wanted to, I could spread the payments out, basically to $100 a week.

Overall, I really like this program because their cost IS pretty much as all inclusive as it can be for the area. It covers the text, and this one even covers PART of the state testing expenses. I'll need to come up with another $225 for testing expenses by the end of the course, but that would be March. But it's okay.

The other good thing about this class is that it will be a schedule that should allow me to continue to work a schedule of 25-30 hours a week. I NEED to continue to work that kind of schedule honestly. I NEED that income for now.

Now, on to my INCREDIBLE Saints. Oh did you SEE their awesome win last night??? And they are now 11-0!!!! :) :) :) How I love my Saints.

My parents hit the road yesterday. They are driving cross country to visit my sister and I for Christmas. They stopped last night in Kingman, AZ. For their own safety I will not post their next stop. They are expected to arrive at my sister's sometime this weekend. They will be there a week or so and then they will head up here to see us for a couple weeks. The original plan was actually 2 weeks at my sisters then 2 weeks here. But they realized the entire 2 weeks they'd be at my sister's house she and her husband would be in school still, including finals week!!! SO... instead they are leaving before finals to come here and going back after Christmas for another week with her when she is out of school and they can enjoy the time a little more. I think it's a good deal for them. And it works out well for us as my ex-husband is coming to visit our daughters. So now we'll have a week with just my parents, a week with my parents and my ex (please pray for me during that week!!!!!!!!!), and then a week with just my ex (continue to pray, though for different reasons!).

It should be a BUSY BUSY month, but a good month :) I'll do my best to keep everyone posted!!

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