ANNIVERSARY AND A WINNER!!!

Well, I just got on line to write a post about my FIVE year Anniversary on Friday and I just realized that I had won the Thursday Hi/Lo contest from the Riggs Family Blog. I was so surprised and excited that I started jumping up and down and screaming while holding Brennan. Thankfully he thought it was fun and was laughing right along with me. I have been reading the Riggs Family Blog for quite some time now and have even subscribed to their on line monthly magazine, which is awesome by the way!! They have an amazing family and story to tell. One of their daughters Abby is four years old. She was adopted from Guatemala when she was six months old.
In July 2008, at three years old, she was diagnosed with a high risk, aggressive form of Leukemia. Over the months, her prognosis has worsened as other complications and conditions became known.
Please take the time to visit the Riggs Family Blog and learn more about this amazing family and most importantly say a prayer for their sweet little Abby.

THE ANNIVERSARY!!!!!

Okay, yes I tease John and tell him that it feels like we have been married for twenty years but Friday was our FIVE year Anniversary!! The last two years have been extremely difficult and stressful with Ayla's JRA diagnoses, but we have managed by the Grace of God to get through some very troublesome times and continue to move forward.

Of course it helps when your husband is the most caring and loving person you know!! Okay, I feel like I should brag on him just a little bit. John has a HUGE heart and would do anything for anybody. He would literally give you the shirt off of his back if he thought you needed it. This was what attracted me most to John when I first met him.

We worked at the same Hospital, (that is where we met) and I would see everyday the extremes he would go to help anyone he could. For example, their was a Janitor that worked in surgery ,he did not have much and was struggling financially to support his family. John always made sure that he had clothes and shoes and would frequently give him money for his family. He had also in the past given a car to an employee that would walk to work everyday. Last year one of the nurses daughters, (who has two children around the same ages of ours) lost her apartment and everything she owned in a fire. John was so upset even though he had never met her before. He immediately called and ordered two dressers for the children and then that night went to T.J. Maxx and bought clothes, toys, house supplies..etc..he was so distraught over this and I knew he would not rest until he did something to help. But that is John and that is one of the many reasons that I love him so much. There is also a boy that goes to school with my son who does not have much. I will not go into much detail just to say that he has not had the best home life financially or emotionally. Anyway, he became a friend of the family and he calls John "Dad". We do not see him often these days, but he will call and text john every once in a while. For his birthday several months ago he sent a text to John and said that he wanted to have a happy birthday. John asked him what he needed and he said Clothes. John made arrangements and we took him shopping a few days later. John was so excited to take him and he helped him pick out clothes, shoes, socks,belts, t-shirts....those are the times that make him the most happy, and those are the times that I will always hold dear to my heart..not to mention that he is a fantastic husband father and friend! He works tirelessly everyday to support our family so I can stay at home and take care of our children.
Sometimes I do not feel that I deserve him but I am so thankful that God led us to one another, I do not know what I would do without him!!

Happy Five year Anniversary John, I love you!!!!

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.



This weeks High, Brennan is finally starting to feel better after having RSV, double ear infections and bronchitis for 2 1/2 weeks. Ayla is doing great with her Arthritis, she has been in a very good mood lately and not complaining hardly at all. Every once in a while she will say that her fingers hurt but so far so good. She is only on .5ml of prednisone right now so I think she is doing extremely well.
The Lo actually just happened, Kaleb was at school and playing around with a friend who had a knife, (why would a kid bring a knife to school?) and he accidentally got a little cut on his hand. The school nurse called and said he may need a couple of stitches and that he should see a Dr. Kaleb was very upset because he was getting ready to go on his last ski trip with his school. The nurse made it seem like some big, huge cut, so I called John and told him to bring some supplies home from the Hospital that he may need a few stitches.
Kaleb gets home and he had his hand all bandaged up, I was scared to even look at the cut. He takes the bandage off and the first thing I said was, " um, where is the cut?" Turns out it is a very microscopic cut that requires a band aid at the MOST. John was like, "is she really a nurse with like nursing experience"..lol.. I just hate it that he had to miss his last ski trip since he looks forward to skiing every week!
Another Lo is that his friend who had the knife was expelled from school. Kaleb was very upset and crying because he did not want his friend to get in trouble. I told Kaleb that I was sorry about his friend but he should know better than to bring a knife to school and that was the consequences he had to pay. It could have turned out to be much worse. I hate to even think about it. I am just glad that everything turned out to be okay!

Okay head on over to the Riggs family Blog and enter your Hi/Lo's for a chance to win $100.00. I mean who couldn't use one hundred dollars!! I know I can!!

Happy Valentines Day

I hope everyone had a happy Valentines Day!! Brennan was/is still sick so we did not do much. I bought the kids a new Blue's Clue's movie, some washable water paints, a sticker book and a bucket full of animals. Brennan loved the animals and he carries them around most of the time. Ayla enjoyed her paints and she made her Daddy a Valentines card with them! I hope she takes after her Daddy in that department, as for me, I can not even draw a stick person..and I am serious!!!

Here is Ayla and Brennan playing with some of their Valentines gifts

As for John and I , we ordered in Chinese food. There is not much you can do with two sick kids...speaking of sick kids, yes they have been sick for TWO WEEKS now.. enough already!!!

Ayla is better, just a lingering cold, Brennan is just NOW starting to show signs of improvement. To make a long story short, I took him to the Dr. last Monday and she said he had a ear infection and the croup. He was put on an antibiotic for the ear infection. Five days later he was continually getting worse, coughing constantly, congested, up all night... so on Friday when John came home from work he looked at Brennan and said "he looks terrible"..he called the Dr. to see if we could bring him in, the office closed at 6 and it was 4 when he called. He explained to the nurse that Brennan was not getting any better and we were on day 10. The Dr refused to see him saying that she could not fit him in, mind you we only live five minutes from the office. No chest x-ray, no lab work, nothing. John actually called back to see if they would at least call in some cough medicine so maybe Brennan could sleep a little.

To say the least, John was very upset. He ended up getting in touch with another pediatrician whom he knew and explained everything to him. This pediatrician was concerned and he ordered a chest x-ray, viral swab, and lab work. Come to find out, Brennan has RSV,bronchiolitis, and two ear infections. Needless to say, we changed pediatricians that day. I took Brennan in to see him and I really like the new Dr.

I had no idea, but I was telling a friend the whole story and she said that she tried to get her daughter in with this Dr but he has a two year waiting list. TWO years, I had no idea. So I am very thankful that things worked out the way they did. Brennan is thankfully starting to feel better although it could take up to four weeks to fully recover.

So far, the whole month of February has been filled with sickness...oh I can't wait until everyone is better!!!

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.


I know this is a little late, but I really wanted to participate so here it is!! If you get a chance please check out

My Lo of this week is very easy. Most of you know that my two babies have been sick since last Tuesday. Ayla is doing better but Brennan is worse so I am getting ready to take him to the hospital for a chest x-ray, nasal swab and lab work. We are all exhausted here especially poor little Brennan!! Hopefully we can figure out what is going on with him so that he can start feeling better!

The Hi would have to be Ayla feeling better, I was so afraid that with her already weakened immune system that she would do a lot worse than she has with this cold/ear infection. I am just hoping for no setbacks since she missed her methotrexate dose last weekend.

On a lighter note, I guess another high was that John and I got to go to the grocery store last night...yippee!!! The first time out for over one week. Thanks Mama, we couldn't have done it without you. I never thought I would be so excited to go to Walmart..lol....

Please go visit the Riggs family blog and read about other Hi/Lo's!!!!!!

STILL SICK??

Okay it has been 9 days and there is still sickness in my house. Last night I was up with Brennan from 12 until 4am. Talk about being exhausted! I haven't got much sleep for the past week and I am starting to feel it. Ayla is doing much better, she is only coughing a little with a runny nose but Brennan is still not feeling well at all. He is coughing his head off and is still so congested. If he does not feel better tomorrow, I think I will take him in for a chest x-ray. He has been on a antibiotic and a oral steroid for four days. His barking croup cough is gone, but he is still coughing pretty bad.
If things do not getter soon, I think I just might lose my mind. I have got nothing done around the house, unless wiping snotty noses counts! I really need to go to the grocery store, we have no food and this morning I used the rest of the milk. I also wanted to get the kids a little something for valentines day but it doesn't look like that will happen either.

This has to get better sometime...right?? Okay well someone is crying so I better go and wipe some more noses!!

See Kai Run

How cute are these shoes?? These are Brennan's, and they are my favorite!!! I was just telling John the other day that I need to sell these and get Brennan a larger size. I hate to get rid of these shoes but as you can see


they barely fit these precious BIG, CHUBBY,but ridiculously cute feet. And since he has no other shoes that fit him right now, I would love to get him a couple more pairs. These are by See Kai Run and they are made so well and are so soft and I like that they are also wide for those chubby feet. I have had a hard time finding shoes wide enough to fit his chubby foot, most baby shoes are so narrow. Anyway, I came across a fabulous blog today "Simple Finds", and they are giving away a pair of these adorable See Kai Run shoes and of course I had to enter. If you are interested, hope on over here and check it out. They make girls shoes also!! So cute!! I just found out that if you go to the See Kai Run website, they are giving away a pair of shoes every day in February!!

Here is the story behind these shoes

In 2002 I gave birth to a little boy named Kai. Two years later, I gave birth to a company called See Kai Run. See Kai Run was inspired by the need for comfortable shoes with flexible soles for my little Kai to wear outdoors. I wanted to create a line of shoes that was as happening as Kai - bold, hip, fun, with an urban sensibility. Something entirely different than what was offered.
In November 2004 the first shoes hit children’s boutiques and the response has been overwhelming ever since! Modern day parents have echoed what I had suspected - we crave something unique and special to reflect our children's personality as well as our own.
Twice a year, I design a new collection of 15-20 designs. Our designs are sophisticated and classic with modern twists sprinkled throughout. And most importantly, our shoes are healthy for developing feet. The soles are made of extremely flexible rubber which is great for outdoor use while allowing the foot to flex in all the right places. They're also made of butter soft leather with a breathable leather lining and padded collars for comfort. Finally, See Kai Run shoes are easy to get on and off with Velcro closures that ensure a great fit.
Like they say, "Every journey begins with the first step." Join us in celebrating those first steps!

NO, YOU STOP IT!!

"NO, YOU STOP IT!"

This seems to be Ayla's favorite four words recently. I guess I didn't realize how much I tell Ayla to stop it..only when she is pulling the curtains down, pushing her brother, pouring her water out onto the floor, pushing all of the buttons on the DVD player, you know things like that. So this weekend she has continually told John and I,"No you stop it!". Like last night as she was flooding our bathroom floors with bath water, I said "Ayla stop splashing water" and of course she said, "No you stop it Mommy", as she also pointed her finger at me. I told John I think she is a little too young to be telling her parents to stop it. Of course, I cant get
too angry with her because it is just too darn cute when she says it, I actually have to refrain myself from laughing. Oh well, we did need a laugh this weekend because this is ALL I have done this weekend......

Yes this is our basket of medicines. And with two sick kiddos, I feel like all I have done is pass out medicine! Ayla and Brennan started getting sick last Tuesday, Ayla is starting to feel better but I took Brennan to the Dr. this morning and he has croup and an ear infection as well. Poor little baby, he was up all night last night coughing, he sounds terrible. We have done lots of steam baths, and I started him on a steroid today to see if it will help. I feel so bad for him, you can tell he is miserable and all he does is cry.

You would think with me staying at home with them, that they wouldn't get this sick. We are so careful about taking them out, especially during the flu season and keeping them away from sick people etc.. its just really frustrating to say the least (not to mention expensive)

2 doctors visits = $50

medicine=$40

2 cool mist vaporizers=$50

But hopefully VERY SOON

we will have two happy, healthy babies which = PRICELESS!!!

Sick Snowdays.....

Unfortunately, the kiddos have came down with a terrible cold, fever and ear infections. After the third sleepless night last night and being up with Ayla until 4am, I took Ayla to her pediatrician this morning. Ayla could not sleep last night because every time she would lay down she would start coughing and then crying. So John and I got our pillows and blankets and camped out on the couch and living room floor with Ayla. I must have watched Ayla's favorite Chris Botti dvd one hundred times. I'm almost sure I know every song now..lol... They are both on a antibiotic and I hope that they will start feeling better soon. John and I are exhausted to say the least!!

We were supposed to go to Cincinnati today for Ayla's Rheumatology appointment but of course we could not make the 3 1/2 hour trip with two sick babies. I will have to reschedule and I will keep everyone updated on how that goes. Since I decreased her prednisone, Ayla has been complaining just about everyday that her fingers are hurting. I spoke with the PR last week and she said that we may have to start the methotrexate injections so that is something we will talk about at her next appointment. We also have to skip her methotrexate dose this week because of her illness. Since her immune system is already compromised and since she now has an infection in her body (ear infection) it would be harder for her little body to fight off the infection with the methotrexate dose this week. The prednisone is a double whammy because it also weakens your immune system.


Last week however was a good week and the kids were able to go outside and experience the snow for the first time. They both loved it and Ayla wants to go outside everyday when John gets home. I took tons of pictures and video so everyone can see our little snow bunnies!!! John was so excited that he went out and bought a sled, of course there hasn't been any snow since then. Imagine that!!








Until the next time...................