Kandy Kisses Boutique Giveaway!

Visit Kandy Kisses Boutique to see this amazing collection of custom clothing!! After you do this then go to the Kandy Kisses blog and enter for a chance to win one piece of clothing from the Maggie collection. What a great Mother's Day Giveaway!! I am keeping my fingers crossed that maybe just maybe I may win a piece of this gorgeous clothing!!!

Show Us Where You Live Friday

SHOW US WHERE YOU LIVE FRIDAY- LIVING ROOMS

I have found a sweet blog that I just adore. If you have time please stop by and visit Kelly and her adorable little baby Harper. Kelly is hosting a Show Us Where You Live on Fridays where everyone who participates gives a tour of one of their rooms. This Friday it is living rooms so here we go!!!


This is our living room looking in from our kitchen/dining room area. It is one big open space and you take one step down here into the living area. This is a new addition that was added almost two years ago. Our whoe entire house has been in a constant remodel since we moved in a little over five years ago. It is a never ending process!! The swing was just added over the winter so the kiddo's would have something to do. I have a one and a two year old so they enjoy this for right now!


This is looking in to the right of the room


A children's kitchen makes a great addition, don't you think? That is one thing that I like about this room, it is big enough to have the kids toys in but still not look like there are toys everywhere.


This is our couch and chair, it is microfiber which I love because you can wipe it with a little water and soap when it is dirty (and believe me it gets dirty quite often!!) and it is as good as new. So far we have never had a problem with getting stains out. Very nice with two toddlers in the house! We also just purchased this ottoman a couple of days ago from T.J. Maxx (love that store) and we really like it. It opens up and has a ton of storage. I am sure it will not take to long to pile a bunch of toys in there!!

This is one of our favorite piece's of furniture. My mother in father in law gave this to John and I a few years ago so it is very special! The bottom part which you can not see has two doors that open as well for storage. We used to have books and little decorative pieces in this but now we have children's books and puzzles. I am sure those of you with little ones understand what I mean. As soon as they start walking everything nice and breakable goes away!!


This is the corner where we keep some toys. My daughter has a full nursery set up!


We have these storage chests on both side of the walls and I bet you can not guess what is inside!!


That's right, MORE TOYS!!!

Our fireplace that we love and use often in the winter. It is electric but is works very well. It heats the room up in no time!! I tried to get a picture with the fire on because it is so pretty, but it didn't turn out.


This is the left corner of the room. You can see anothe storage chest and the bamboo pull out drawers are full of diapers, wipes, lotions..etc.


This is looking into the room on the left, we have the train table and the french doors behind open out to our patio.


Behind our very decorative train table is a corner shelf that actually connects to the book shelf that my inlaws gave to us. It use to have some really nice breakable pieces but they are LONG gone.


Well that's it, I hope everyone enjoyed the tour of our kid friendly living room. I can't wait to look at all of the other rooms. This is a great way to get ideas for your home!!

This is Ayla singing Amazing Grace. Please cover your ears when you hear me singing towards the end. Well unless you want a good laugh!!

HI/Lo Thursday

It has been a while since I have done a High/Lo Thursday post on the Riggs Family Blog, both of the kids are still in bed and I have a little extra time, so I thought I would participate today.

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 get your link on their site.



Hi's for this week

Ayla has been weaned off her steroids and seems to be doing okay with it.
The kids have avoided getting my cold/sinus infection I have been fighting for the past two weeks...thank goodness!! I have been so worried about that!

Lo's

I noticed that Ayla had some mouth sores yesterday from the chemotherapy drug (methotrexate) that she takes for her arthritis. She has been whiny the last couple of days, now I know why.

Our friend and neighbor is in Hospice fighting Ovarian Cancer. She is unresponsive and is not expected to come home.

The kids and I have been stuck in the house for over one week now because of the rain. It has rained every day and the weekend is not looking good either.

MORE JRA RESEARCH NEEDED WORDS FROM A TEN YEAR OLD

I received this from the Arthritis Foundation yesterday and thought I would share it with all of you. Mikayla is 10 and what a great advocate for herself and others! Enjoy.


JA Highlighted at Congressional Hearing

On behalf of the nearly 300,000 children with juvenile arthritis, Mikayla Minnig testified on March 18 before the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education about JA. Mikayla's spoken testimony focused on her story and the need for more JA research at NIH. Her expanded written remarks will include support for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding.

My name is Mikayla Minnig, and I live in Downey, California. I am here today on behalf of the nearly 300,000 kids like myself who have juvenile arthritis. I am 10 years old and in the 5th grade. I was diagnosed with pauciarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when I was just 3 years old. Pauciarticular means it affects four or fewer joints and usually large joints. For me, it affects my left knee and ankle. I also am at high risk for eye inflammation and must have them checked often so I don't become blind, which could happen. It all began when I felt a lot of pain and swelling in my neck. I couldn't walk or run like the other kids, and I couldn't turn my head. For ten months I went to lots of different doctors to figure out what was wrong with me. Some of these doctors told my parents I must have bad growing pains or must be faking the pain and tears. Finally, we were sent to a pediatric rheumatologist-a doctor who treats kids like me with juvenile arthritis. Dr. Starr said I had arthritis. My parents were surprised. They didn't know, like most people, that kids got arthritis. In fact, most people don't know that juvenile arthritis is one of the most common childhood diseases in the United States. People are surprised when I tell them that I have arthritis because I don't look very different than other kids. But unlike other kids, I take a cancer drug every week plus daily medication to control my arthritis and it helps me try and lead a normal kid-life. I have met other kids through the Arthritis Foundation who are not as lucky as me.The drugs don't work for them, and they end up in a wheelchair or have to have joints replaced. In fact, juvenile arthritis is the leading cause of disability in kids. I am also lucky to be able to see a doctor who understands and can treat my disease. Kids in 9 states don't even have a single specialist to see them. I am here today to ask Congress to focus more attention on kids like me with arthritis. Research is the key to a cure. Research has led to newer drugs that help kids stay out of wheelchairs, but these drugs can have really bad side effects. We need a cure! Right now, the government spends $9.8 million at N.I.H. for juvenile arthritis research. That sounds like a lot of money to me but when you think of the nearly 300,000 kids that works out to be just about $32 per child. There is a group of pediatric rheumatologists that are working together to study and treat children with arthritis, but they need your help.With more funding and attention from Congress, more research studies can move forward to help find a cure. The Arthritis Foundation supports, at least, a doubling of juvenile arthritis research over the next few years. Also, the N.I.H. should spend more money training future doctors. Kids around the country are diagnosed too late to prevent damage - please help change this. I hope one day when I tell people I got arthritis at age 3, and they say "but kids don't get arthritis' I can tell them "you are right - not any more - because research has found a cure". Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

Brennan's First Haircut

Okay well, if you remember this post, then I guess I can't say that this is his FIRST haircut but it IS his first professional haircut!! John only trimmed his hair but it went really well! Here is a picture of Brennan before his haircut!



So how did Brennan's first professional hair cut go? oh, I am so glad you asked, I would LOVE to show you!!!



Yeah, he pretty much cried I mean screamed the whole entire time!



we gave him suckers and my phone to play with but



nothing seemed to work. He was just not happy about having his hair cut and he was sure to let everyone know!!



So, how did Big Sister do while Brennan was getting his hair cut? Well, I am so glad you asked, I would love to show you...



Yeah, she pretty much cried the whole entire time as well!!



She is not fond of watching anyone get their hair cut which is why she still has not had her hair cut. At one point I think she thought that David (the owner) was a Dr. because he had a white coat on. So that definitely did not help matters! I honestly thought that Brennan would do fine with it since he is my calm and laid back baby but as it turned out, he was not a fan of the whole hair cutting thing!!!



But it was so worth it, look how cute his hair cut turned out!!! I mean he has to be the cutest thing EVER!!! Thank you so much Kathy, I am sure that everyone was glad to see us go!!! Maybe next time we should come AFTER HOURS!!!!!

Please say a prayer

If you are reading this and you have the time, please say a prayer for our neighbor and friend who is losing her battle with ovarian cancer. I just found out that things are really bad so John and I are going to visit her this evening at Hospice. We were expecting her to come home from Hospice this week but things took a turn for the worse and it looks like she will not be coming home after all. My heart is breaking and my eyes are filled with tears as I write this post. I just feel so bad for her family. She is married with two children. One is getting ready to graduate from college and one lives at home and has special needs. I am particular concerned about him and how he will handle this. One day she is a college professor teaching English at a local college and the next she is diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. It just doesn't seem fair. For the last five years she has battled this disease and has put up a good fight. I hate cancer and what it does to the people that we care for and love. Please if you don't mind, say a prayer for her and for her family. Thank you!

Jesus please be with her and her family, wrap your arms around them and carry them through this difficult time in their life.