Cycle Day 82....And all is well. (yeah, right)

Yup. I am on Cycle day 82 of this cycle. I am beginning to be really SICK of this. Only 4 more days until I go in for another pregnancy test to make sure it is negative before they give me progesterone to induce a period. What a complete hassle. While I like the period free days, I would much rather have them because I am pregnant, not because I can't GET pregnant.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers that the progesterone works and that I ovulate soon!

Preschool Appreciation Celebration

The kids preschool did a concert for the parents a few weeks ago. All the kids in the ECEAP program in our district learned the same songs and sang them together on stage in the High School auditorium while all the parents and teachers watched. It was very fun to see that many kids all singing together on stage and also doing little movements. I have loaded the 5 songs they sang onto my Youtube acct. Here is my favorite song: Totti Ta:



Jasmyn is the blond in the front row with the turquoise Capri pants on with the flowered shirt. Future is in a blue shirt 2 rows up and slightly to the left of Jasmyn and Kaleb is 1 row above Future in a tanish cream colored shirt.

Here is the link to my youtube account so that you can see all 5 songs and other videos of the kids: http://www.youtube.com/user/kalico24

more to come...

I have a few more posts I am working on. I have been so busy that I have not gotten very much accomplished on the blog. I have some videos to upload to you tube and post as well as Future's birthday, the last day of school, and a few other things. I promise that now that the kids are out of school and things are not as crazy, I will get things more updated.

I will be back soon with more fun stuff.

Part of our village

I think it was Hillary Clinton, during her Husband's term as president made the statement "it takes a village to raise a child". And while I highly doubt that was Hillary's independent thought,it still resonates with me. It truly does take alot of people and alot of love and support of a family to raise a child.
This past year our family has been involved in the ECEAP program in our local school district. ECEAP is a preschool program much like the long ago program called Headstart. I went to Headstart as a 3 & 4 year old girl. I remember the building I attended it in and the people that taught me and some of the fun events we did. It was a good experience and one that a lifetime later, I still remember and remember fondly. When I signed the kids up for ECEAP I was hoping very much that my kids would have a great experience as well. I am so very pleased that they got the same great experience in this preschool, that I had 30 years ago in my preschool.
From the Social worker who placed Kaleb & Future & Jasmyn in their classes and supported our family, to the teachers in those classes to the parents of the other preschoolers in the class, we had the most awesome experience this year. Becky was our social worker, Casey, Melissa, Carol were Jasmyn & Future's teachers and Teacher Rozell, Marion and Julie were Kaleb's teachers. We also had some awesome Moms that volunteered in the classroom with me. Caitlyn's Mom and also Keira and Dayja's Mom were such a great influence on the kids and the classroom in general.
I can not say enough good things or even find the words to express how much I appreciate these wonderful women. Here are just a few pictures of my favorite preschool teachers....

This is Becky & Karen. Becky is in the black & white top, Karen in the solid black top. Becky is our social worker. Karen and Becky share an office, so I have been privileged to get to know Karen while interacting with Becky.

The blond waving to us is Casey. She is the head teacher in Jasmyn & Future's class. The blond next to her is Carole who is a teacher in J & F's room as well. And the older lady on the left is the class "Grandma" Barb. And the little girl's face on the bottom right corner is Dayja, one of Jasmyn's friends from school.
This is LaVonda and Karen (again). LaVonda is Dayja & Keira's Mom. LaVonda and I have spent alot of time in the girls classroom together volunteering.
Becky, Karen and Melissa. Melissa is the one on the right. She is a teacher in F & J's class. Melissa has a close bond with Mason. They got to know each other when I would bring him into the classroom with me to volunteer. Mason just loves Melissa. The feeling is very mutual!
And here is Becky taking Mason down the big slide. Mason just loves Becky and of course the slide too!

I feel very blessed to have these lovely ladies as part of the village that loves and supports my children.

Jump & Bounce Field Trip!

Future and Jasmyn's preschool class took an end of the year field trip to Jump and Bounce. It is a building full of bounce houses, obstacle courses, and a giant slide. It was so much fun! I can't wait to go back and do it again. The kids had a blast!

Kaleb went with us as well since we knew he would love it and the rest of our family went as well. Here is Kaleb sliding down the big slide.

Here is Mason climbing out of the "boxing"ring.
Inside the jump castle Mason is throwing a ball.
Mason and Amelia (a special friend from Jasmyn's preschool class) in the crawl through in the obstacle course.
Future and his classmate Paul sliding down together.
Jasmyn Sliding down
Future sliding head first!
Mason and Mom and Jasmyn sliding down!
Jasmyn and her 2 best friends from school, Josie and Kailey
Tim & Mason sliding.
We had a lot of fun at this event. It was really fun and something we will make sure to do again! They do birthday parties and other events. They also have "open jumps" during the week. To check out more about this place go to: jumpandbounce.com

Past weekend

The kids had another first this week. Their very first sleep over!!! Our friends Sierra, Keagan and ROwan slept over. Well their Mom slept over as well, I mean Rowan is only 11months old. THey had a lot of fun playing together the whole weekend and then sleeping over on Sunday night. Here are a few pictures!

Kaleb hanging in the tree!

Keagan & Mason playing trucks under the tree.
Mason & Rowan playing on the bed.
The sleepover! Left to right: Keagan, Sierra, Jasmyn, Mason & Kaleb.
Side view of the kids "nest" for their sleepover. The 4 older kids did sleep in this nest all night. Rowan and Mason slept with their Moms!

Fun was had by all!

Keagan & Sierra. They are so sweet together.

First Haircuts

After Jasmyn's self haircut, I needed to find someone to cut her hair and even it up. Because she has naturally curly hair I wanted to take her to someone who knew how to care for curls. My friend Sarah has curly hair and only trusts our old high school friend Kristi to cut or color her naturally curly hair. I called Kristi as soon as I could after discovering Jasmyn's hair and made an appointment! So here are a few pictures documenting Jasmyn's 1st Haircut and style! Jasmyn did great. She just sat there on the chair with a half pouty lip and waited for Kristi to be done. She even allowed Kristie to blow her hair dry and style it!
I guess if it has to be a short hair cut at least she looks cute in it!

Here is a picture of her the next day after I styled it. She looks cute. I wish her hair was still long, but she still looks like a cute little girl and she still has her curls! For about 2 months now Tim has been bugging me to cut Mason's hair. It was getting a bit long in the back and covering his ears. I was hesitant because I did not want to just buzz cut it like I do Kaleb's. Kaleb's hair is much thicker and darker, so even with a fresh buzz cut he still looks like a healthy little boy. I was honestly afraid that if I just buzzed Mason's hair that he would look bald or like a child receiving cancer treatments. LOL!

After Kristi and Jasmyn did so well getting Jasmyn's hair cut, Tim & I figured we should at least give Mason a try. I wasn't gonna force him to do it, but I figured we could at least try. Much to our delight he sat very still in my lap and did not cry at all! Even Kristi was impressed! Here are a few pictures of Mason and I getting his 1st hair cut!

He even got brave enough to stand and let her do the back! Such a Big Boy!

Handsome boy!

Mason

If there is one thing I could say about Mason it is that he is All Boy! He likes to play in the dirt, get dirty, explore his world with hands on enthusiasm, and he's also a bit of a Momma's boy! I blame the latter on my breastfeeding him for 19 months! LOL! He loves to go for rides in Daddy's truck and go to Home Depot with Dad. He is usually the first to give Dad a hug when he walks through the door after being gone for 5 or more days at a time. Mason also has a close relationship with his Grandma Mary.

He is talking up a storm although you still have to have a "Degree" in Mason-ese to fully understand him. He adds new words to his vocabulary everyday. But his favorite words are still: Momma, Dad, No, Yeah, Want that, and MINE! And as with all our kids we teach them, "please" and "thank you" long before they understand the importance of such words. He will say his version of Thank you and then beam the biggest smile at you! The smile gets his point across even if the words are not quite clear yet.

Here are a few pictures of our little man being: All Boy!

This is at Future's B-day Party and he has traces of Chocolate from the M&Ms he snatched from the pinata treat bowl!

This is one taken after he was done playing outside. Yup all that brown is DIRT! He seems quite pleased with himself!

Here is his partner in crime, Jasmyn. But notice how clean she looks compared to him?!?!? I think she helps get him dirty! The cup in his hand is also full of dirt!

I swear we bathe him every other day whether he needs it or not!

Update from Dr Appt

My Dr Appointment was today. After a yucky pelvic exam and a short (less that 5 minutes) the dr said that for the first 6 months after weaning that a women's cycle can be crazy. She said that this is "normal" to have imbalances in the estrogen & progesterone levels after weaning. All my girl parts look fine. She did not want to draw any blood work at this point, despite my suggestions to do so. All she really wanted to do is induce a period. In order to do that she needs to make sure I am not pregnant. She did a pregnant test today and it was negative. She wants me to come back in 2 weeks and take another pregnancy test. In the 2 weeks we can only have protected sex to make sure conception is not possible (oh Joy, condoms! ) then after the neg pregnancy test in 2 weeks she will give a prescription of progesterone to take for 5 days. After the 5 days my body goes through the progesterone withdrawal I should start a period. (I will probably also get a migraine from the same progesterone withdrawal). The Dr. thinks that by just having a period that my cycle should "reset" and I should probably ovulate the next cycle. Who knows if that will actually work.

That is the plan anyway. We shall see what happens. I also have an appt with my Endocrinologist the first week of June. I think he will most likely do the blood draws I need. I will keep you all posted.

Jasmyn & Scissors

Oh. My. Goodness. I just pushed "publish" on my last post about Jasmyn. I put the kids into the tub and gave them a bath. After their bath I usually comb out Jasmyn's hair. I am combing her hair and to my complete HORROR I see that some is missing. The conversation goes like this:

Me: Jasmyn did you cut your hair?
J: No.
Me: Jasmyn some of your hair is missing. Are you SURE you didn't cut your hair?
J: No. I didn't Mom.
Me: Jasmyn how did this hair come off?
J: Yes Mom I cut it.
Me: Why did you cut it?
J: I didn't know WHAT I was doing.
Me: Where is your hair?
J: Downstairs.
Me: Show me.

So we go down stairs and she has shoved the cut off locks in between the cushions of the couch downstairs. Here is what I found:

Thankfully her hair was pulled up in the front so she couldn't cut bangs for herself. But she cut the length off in the back. Here are some pictures.




The picture below shows that in one area the pieces of hair are only about 3-4 inches long. The rest of her hair is almost down to her waist when you pulled the curl out of it.

I feel absolutely sick about this. And it is partially my fault. I was napping with Mason while Tim was downstairs trying to work on his man room. She and Kaleb were in the rec room supposed to be watching a movie on Daddy's TV and she found a pair of scissors on the desk. The rec room is not a room they usually have access to without Adult supervision. But Tim was putting mud on some new drywall, and I was sleeping, so they had semi- unsupervised access. Tim was in the next room, but I guess hair cutting is quiet work! LOL!

She also cut Kaleb's sock and a pair of Kaleb's pants. Grrrrrrr.

So I guess that Jasmyn & I will have to get to the salon tomorrow to have it evened out. I am so sad.

Jasmyn

Isn't she beautiful? Isn't she lovely? Yeah, I think so too! She has the most gorgeous eyes and smile and cheeks and button nose and beautiful curly hair! Not to mention she has a sweet personality that is the perfect blend between confidence and shyness. Defiant and obedient. Silly and serious! I love her so much!!!!

Her hair has been a source of struggle for me. I have not had curly hair other than perms in my whole life. And those of you with curly hair know that caring for curls is very different than caring for straight hair. But through trial and error I have found that one thing is the best weapon in her arsenal..... WATER. I seriously just spray her hair with a water, maybe a splash of detangler, comb it out, throw a pony tail holder in it and scrunch the rest. Perfect curls every time. And when it rains or is humid, her hair looks it's best. *sigh* I wish mine was that easy. LOL!

The only thing that does cause problems is that her hair sometimes gets frizzy. But I am guessing some mousse or gel would cut that problem out completely. Anyone with curly hair have some tips that makes hair not frizzy but also NOT crunchy or wet looking? But her hair is gorgeous, right?!!!?!?!?!?!? I am only a bit biased.

Jasmyn also LOVES to play dress-up. She has a variety of dress up clothes from Ballet Tu Tus to Long Princess dresses. She always find interesting combinations to put together. Here are a few pictures of some of her outfits! I personally love the bunny ears, with the tutu and the animal print leggings! It kinda reminds me of something Dyani or Brook would wear at the same age.

Future also loves to play dress up. He especially likes to help Jasmyn pick out her clothes! He often helps her dress up as a "princess" so he can "marry her". Very cute! So here is Jasmyn as a Bride and her Outfit coordinator, Future.

Step 2 To a healthy family!!!!

I have done the grocery shopping! And I spent the majority of my time on the outer rows. (think about that.... most grocery stores keep the dairy, meats, and produce on the outside rows against the walls). I did have to delve into the rows for Pasta, cereal, baking goods, and some condiments (ya after last night I am surprised I needed any too, but Miss Jasmyn is the RANCH QUEEN). So my cart was mostly fruits, veggies, dairy, eggs, and meats. Meats with just "chicken" or "beef" in the ingredient list! LOL!

Menus planned for dinners this week:

BBQ Chicken legs (minus the skin), green salad, potatoes and onions grilled, watermelon

Beef & Chicken kabobs with Onion, mushroom, bell peppers, pineapple

Spaghetti sauce with whole wheat noodles, green salad and french bread

Taco salad with Gr. beef, Kidney beans, Salad, Cheese, olives, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, and salsa

Hamburgers grilled with all the fixings, fruit salad, baked beans, raw veggies.

I am sure we will have left overs on one or more of those days. So that will get us through the week.

Surprisingly I am pretty proud of myself!

What is Step 3? hummmmm......................Getting everyone on a better sleep schedule and in their own bed!

Mason recently started climbing out of his crib. So he is now in a toddler bed. The down side of course is that he can get out of the toddler bed and move around. He can even open doors now. So it has been a bit of a struggle to get him to take nap or go to bed at night. Last night he fell asleep in his bed to only wake up and then he wouldn't go back to sleep in his bed. He ended up in bed with me at 2am and slept through the night. This is NOT a habit I want to form since he was sleeping so well in his crib.

And as with any transition from baby to toddler hood comes a period of separation anxiety with Mason. As he gets more freedom he needs more stability from me.

We don't really have a good plan as far as Mason's sleeping goes. With Jasmyn & Kaleb they moved from co-sleeping with me into a full size bed co-sleeping together. It has just been in the last year that they have slept in separate twin beds. Neither of them ever slept in the crib at all. So this is all very new to have a child climb out of a crib. I am a bit unprepared. Any suggestions?

We are marching forward to a healthier Jen and a healthier family.

Step one to a healthy me....

Yes I have completed step 1. You may ask, what is step 1? Well that takes a confession and then an answer.

The confession: For the past month we have been battling sick bugs, hives, puking an the lot. Our appetites have been a bit off. Some nights I could not bear the thought of actually cooking, so we have lived off Mac N Cheese, chicken nuggets, microwavable corn dogs, PB & J and fast food. Occasionally when Tim was home or one of us made it to the store we would stock up on Milk, eggs, Go-gurts, Bananas, strawberries, grapes, and oranges. The kids would eat those things for snacks. But this way of eating is not good. This must end! LOL!

So the first step was to rid my Fridge of left over fast food, moldy left overs, and clean up the spills the kids made in getting snacks for themselves when I was too sick to get off the couch! I did it! Tonight I emptied the entire fridge, washed each shelf drawer and the inside walls of the fridge. Threw away anything questionable and did an inventory on what we still had in there that was edible after a month. It isn't much. LOL! I was surprised to find 2 bottles of wine, and 3 (yes, three, trace, 3) bricks of motzeralla cheese and pretty much everythying else was condiments! But....

STEP ONE IS COMPLETE!!!!!!

Now on to step 2... grocery shopping for fresh fruits, veggies and meats that do not have pig or chicken lips in the ingredients!

My Cycle **Update**

Yes my cycle is still ongoing..... Cycle day 70 was today. It is strange because I feel like I did when I was Breastfeeding an not cycling. I have periods of time that my body ramps up for Ovulation by way of cramping in my ovary, increased cervical mucous, changes in my Cervix, but then no temp shift to indicate that the Egg was actually released. Then the ramp up period happens again a few weeks later. Basically that is what is happening to me now.

In an effort to be prepared and know what questions to ask at my Dr.appt next week I was doing some reading online at the PCOS websites. Once you start reading about infertility and PCOS you also come across articles explaining other hormonal reasons that a women might not be Ovulating, and therefore infertile. One of those reasons is an increase in the hormone prolactin. Prolactin's main purpose in a women's body is to help her produce Breast milk and also suppress ovulation while a women is breastfeeding. We were made that way so that during the early nursing period a women could not get pregnant and therefore help the survival of the nursling. Makes sense, No? Anyway, a women can have elevated levels of prolactin while NOT lactating and it can cause infertility due to suppression of Ovulation.

There are several reason for an unhealthy increase in prolactin levels, but the ones that "fit" with me are stress and an increase in prolactin due to a problem with Thyroid. Since we all know I have a thyroid problem it isn't that far of a stretch to think that my thyroid could be causing an increase in my prolactin levels.

This is leading me to believe that I should actually cancel my appt with my OB/Gyn (who would probably try BCP first, which I would object to) and just get in to see my endocrinologist. I would think that he would have a better grasp of the way my thyroid problem may play a part in my infertility. He may also be able to determine if my thyroid problem in and of itself is the cause for my infertility.

So I am still trying to figure it all out. But at least I have a path to follow now. It may not lead to answers, but at least we can eliminate some of the possibilities if nothing else. If anyone has any information that might be useful to me in this quest, I would appreciate you sending it along my way.

Trying to take care of me.

After the past few months (who am I kidding, more like years) I have been running on empty. Fumes if you will. sleep deprivation, not eating right, not drinking enough water, not exercising, not having enough sex ( ;o) LOL! So in return my body has been screaming for me to SLOW DOWN get some rest and rejuvenate. I have been sick with colds, flu's, stomach bugs, throat infections, and sinus infections at least once a month since October of last year. I wash my hands all the time. I refuse to share food/eating utensils or drinks with kids, Tim or anyone else. I cough into my elbow. I use hand sanitizer at the supermarket all in an effort to not get the bug that is going around. But alas I am still sick.

Right now I have a MAJOR throat infection. Not strep, but a bacteria infection none the less. I am on ABX for it, but I am still miserable. Also the DR suspects a sinus infection just to throw another log onto the fire! LOL! And my menstrual cycle is all whacked out. Day 68 of my cycle and no Ovulation, no period and no pregnancy. Something is NOT right. (I have a Dr appt scheduled for next week) My body is screaming...... SLOW DOWN! REST! REPLENISH!

I am going to try very hard to keep my life as simple as possible over the summer. I will eat right. I will drink enough water. I will get enough rest. I will exercise more often. I will try to use yoga or meditation to reduce my stress load and feel more centered and grounded in my body mind and soul. Also I would like to HAVE FUN! Fun with my kids, friends, family. So if you are around and want to do something fun, invite me! I need some fun!

Does anyone have a good recommendation on a once a day multi vitamin that they take? Maybe something geared towards women of child bearing age?

Wish me luck!!!!!

The Moon is Sad...

Tonight Mom called and was bored. So we decided since I was bored to that we should do something together. I drove to her house and picked her up. We went to Chili's and had dinner. It was good. Steak, Chicken and Shrimp fajitas, lots of iced tea and some WONDERFUL enchiladas soup. If you ever get to Chili's, buy the enchiladas soup. You will be glad you did. The kids ate their dinner and wanted dessert. Now I personally HATE paying the prices for some fancy dessert that the kids probably won't finish when they would enjoy something like a dilly bar from DQ for 1/2 the price. So I said NO to dessert at the restaurant and we left with Mom and I knowing that we would stop at DQ on the way home.

Jasmyn gets in the car and the conversation goes something like this:

J: Hey is that the moon? is it full?
Gma: yes Jasmyn it is full.
J: Momma the Moon is sad.
Me: Why is the Moon sad?
J: because we didn't get any dessert.
Gma: Why would the moon be sad over you not having dessert?
J: Because the Moon wants us to eat ice cream.

Now who can refuse the moon? LOL! So we drove to DQ. I ask the kids what they want. Kaleb says a Cherry Dilly Bar. Mason says yes when I ask him if he wants a chocolate one.

Me: Jasmyn what do you want?
J: a chocolate one with that white stuff in the middle.
Kaleb: Jasmyn, ahhh it's Ice Cream, Heeeeellllllloooooooo.
Me(trying not to laugh): Kaleb don't be rude to your sister.
J: Yes I would like a Chocolate one.

We order, pay and get our dessert.

Gma: Jasmyn is the Moon happy now?
J: Yes Grandma. We have our ice cream, the moon is very happy.
Kaleb: The moon is following us. See him walking right above us.
J: The Moon doesn't have toes, Kaleb!!!(laughing)
Gma: It is shaped like a ball, do you think it rolls to follow us?
J & K: (laughing) Noooooo.
J: it just goes like this...(hold hand up and acts like Moon is an airplane flying next to us.)

Their little imaginations work overtime. And I feel so blessed when they share their perspective of the world with me. It is a much pretty picture through a child's eyes.

Unable to stop myself!

In the past few weeks I have had 2 situations presented to me within some families of teen agers. In both situations the teen wanted my help to get them out of a bad situation at home. I guess they think that because I am a licensed foster parent that I have some "clout" with the powers that be. I wish I did. But alas, even really crappy/borderline abusive parents have more rights and more laws on their sides then the children they discipline/abuse. It is really sad, actually.

I have tried to help these 2 teens in the best way I could. Get CPS or Police involved, offer them a place to stay until a suitable home is found, etc. Unfortunately on both occasions the allegations were hard to prove and ultimately the children have remained or have been returned to their parents. Basically until the parents hurt them enough that Police feel there is eminent threat to their lives, they just have to stay and wait for the next beating.

In these 2 situations I have tried to grasp what I was supposed to learn from my involvement in the cases. Up until today, all I had gleaned was a healthy disdain for "the system" and these "parents" and the lack of laws to protect kids in crappy homes. But then a quote came across my email inbox:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This quote helped me realize that the reason these kids come to me is because they know I will put my neck out for them. They know I love children and want to foster resilience and help them succeed. They know I will NOT be silent about things that matter. I will stand up and speak for those that are unable to due to fear, abuse and neglect. They know from the first time they met me that I will connect with them and give them respect and support that they may not be getting from anywhere else.

And maybe the reason I connect with these kids is because I remember my own teen years. With all of my brother's antics and my Mom trying to go to school full time, work full time and keep track of us, well I looked for mentors outside my family. I was fortunate enough to find some great women to look to and to model my behavior after in addition to the groundwork my Mom already laid down, to become a successful member of society and someone I can be proud of. It truly does take a village to raise a child.

So even though in helping a teen last night I kinda got burned, I still feel a calling to help those children who can't speak for themselves. I can not be silent about things that matter because our children matter the most!

And I also want to thank my Mom, Grandma Jean, Aunt Terrie, Aunt Jeana, Aunt Kathy, Clare, Margi, Nola, Sara, Stephanie, Sarah, Megan, Jana and Vanessa for all the love and support you gave me and the helping me along. Even though some of us girls were walking the same line on the same journey we held each other up.

I will continue to mentor kids, speak the truth, and try to help, (albeit a bit more cautiously after last night), if nothing else but to pay forward all the help I received growing up!

Never ending cycle......

So I still do not have any signs of Ovulation or my period starting. Cycle day 64 or maybe 65 today. What a MESS. I am getting very discouraged. I am fearful that my body is "broken" and that I won't be able to conceive again. *sigh* I bit the financial bullet and made an appointment with my OB/Gyn for 9:30am on the 21st. Hopefully they will be able to assist me in some way. I am really hoping that they don't suggest BCP. I guess I should start doing some research on what is up with my longish cycles and see what I can find out. Anyone have any good websites to point me to?
I will Keep you posted!

Kaleb & the Poppers!

There are lots of things that Kaleb has done in his childhood that I have documented in film, video, and his baby book. Some of it is expected like his first steps, first solids, first tooth. And some of it is unexpected. The following pictures are definitely UNEXPECTED. These pictures are the ones that you bust out and show to his finance' or to his friends when he is 15 and acting like like he is the boss. You know... the ones that your kids will kill you for taking!!!!!! Or at least resent you alot. But I figure after a horrible induction and 16 hours of labor.... he has it coming! hahahaha

So last week I was on the phone ALOT. I was trying to get things ready for Future's B-day party, moving in with his new foster family, court and the like. When I am on the phone the kids know they have to do something quiet like read a book, play their Leapsters, play quietly in their rooms or in the playroom. Generally they do this with only a few reminder yells that "I am on the phone go play quietly". LOL! After I got off the phone I checked on Mason. Check Check he was playing in the sandbox outside. Jasmyn, check she is on the swing, Check Check Check, Future is pushing Jasmyn in the swing. OK so WHERE IS KALEB?!?!?! I yell, "Kaleb where are you?" I hear nothing. So I go back inside. "Kaleb where are you?". I hear "I am playing with poppers in here". I walk down the hall towards his voice. What I see is unexpected.....

Yup. That's right....Poppers. hahaha. Probably not what you thought, right? He unloaded the tote of "poppers" and unwrapped them and then pulled the strings to make them "pop". I think he thought they looked like those poppers at New years eve with the confetti inside. Yeah.... not quite confetti inside these "poppers". LOL!
He looked so pleased with himself.
I have to say that THIS is my favorite picture. What an AWESOME blackmail picture. "Oh Kaleb you don't want to make curfew? OK, invite your girlfriend over, I have some GREAT pictures to show her" Bwah HA HA HA HA!

And now I need more Poppers... er I mean Tampons! I will never be able to write Tampons on a grocery list ever again without thinking of "poppers!"

Just an update....

We chased the flu outta our house to only be revisited this morning. Ugh. Both Kaleb & Mason are sick with the Diarrhea. Poor kids. I guess Diarrhea is better than puking, but only slightly. LOL! I am hoping that good hand washing practices, no food sharing and changing the hand towels frequently will help. I also think I may need to buy some stock in Clorox Wipes, since we use them all the time in the bathroom, door handles, and to clean the changing table!

Jasmyn's hives are all gone now. She isn't itchy anymore either. We still don't know if it was from the laundry soap or the virus itself. But I guess it really doesn't matter. I know to NOT change her laundry soap now. And if it is the virus, well there is nothing anyone can do about that, since it is within her body chemistry. Thank God for Benedryl or I doubt we would have gotten any sleep!

~Some content deleted~

I have some more stuff I want to blog about. I need to upload some new videos to Youtube. But once I get that done I will get busy getting things blogged.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We feel them!

Ticker

A countdown Ticker for a friend:






It is gonna happen so soon! Hang in there Girl! I am here for you! What does not kill us makes us stronger!!!!!!

Day 56 and counting...

Yup. Day 56 of my cycle and still no period. No pregnancy either. I *thought* I might have ovulated about 6 days ago, but I think it was just a temp increase due to the virus we had in our house. Probably a low grade fever I mistakened for a thermal shift. *sigh* This is getting O-L-D! I just want my period to start already! I even, on a glimmer of a hope, took a pregnancy test today. Stark white. No line. Negative. Bummer. But at least it has been 10 days since I last took a test, so I am not quite obsessed with it!

Yeah. I am gonna give it one more week. If No obvious thermal shift or no bleeding I will call and make an appointment with the Dr. Grrrrr. What a total pain in the butt.

I will keep you posted.

Puking, Diarreah and now HIVES, Oh my!

Well I *thought* we were on the mend. Future hasn't been sick at all since Monday night. Kaleb has not been sick since Thursday night. Mason hasn't been sick since Thursday around 6pm. Jasmyn has not vomit ted since Friday morning. I have been OK since Yesterday. Ahhh relief right?!?!? Well,yes and NO. Yes in that no more diarrhea or puking. But suddenly Jasmyn has HIVES.
We initially thought that it may have been some laundry soap/fabric softener I was forced to use. See due to all the messes of being sick we had LOTS of loads of laundry, and I ran out of laundry soap. My Mom had left some of her laundry soap here after doing laundry st time and so I borrowed enough to do a load of Jasmyn's bedding. Her sheets, blanket, and pillowcase. So after she threw up the last time Tim put the clean sheets that were washed in the new soap on her bed along with her blanket and put her to bed that night. In the morning she woke up all itchy. Her arms, legs, feet and face were covered in hives. I put some anti itch cream on it and took her to the pharmacy. I asked the pharmacist about what to give her and he said Benadryl. I asked about dosage and he asked how much she weighed and said about 1/2 a tsp. So I bought the Benadryl and gave her 1/2 a tsp. She was still itchy and miserable. I used the anti itch cream again. It provides some relief. I give her doses of Benadryl as prescribed by the pharmacist. We rewashed her sheets in the normal laundry soap. I remade her bed in sheets that were just in the linen closet and had NOT been washed recently. Last night she slept fine (meaning she did not stir enough to wake me up). This morning her hives are WORSE. She is WAY MORE itchy and cranky. Here are some pictures:

After seeing that the hives were WORSE this morning I called the Pediatrician Triage office. From my description of the hives and Jasmyn's recent illness, the nurse said it could be 2 things: Hives from an allergic reaction to the Laundry Soap. Or Hives from an allergic reaction to the toxins released in her body from the virus she had. Either way she is miserable. Treatment is just Benadryl and Hydro cortisone cream. The nurse did give me the correct dosage on the Benadryl though. She actually can have 1 1/2 tsp of Benadryl instead of the 1/2 tsp the Pharmacist said. I was way under dosing her yesterday which maybe why the hives are worse today. I also gave her an oatmeal bath to help the stinging and burning. It seemed to help take her mind off the itching.

If anyone has suggestions on how to make her more comfortable, I would love your suggestions! Also send a prayer or positive thought up for us that she gets to feeling better soon.