The time the baby broke her leg!

So it's been awhile......LONNNNNNG TIME!

But let me tell you about the interesting time that my wild child has been having!

We got her helmet off in April! Wahoo! And then we began physical therapy which was twice a week and she hated every minute of it. We made it 2 weeks of appointments when we had to call a quits about it. "Why" you ask? Because my sweet baby girl BROKE HER LEG!

Yup! You read that right! We spent 5 weeks in a hot pink cast after a tibia fracture!

It was a Friday afternoon and I had a full day and night ahead of us. I had called Hailey's school and told them that I needed to pick her up because we needed to head to Maryland that night. I was quickly getting ready and I put Emily on the bed to drink her bottle so we could get ready to go. I had been folding clothes so I had them up on the edge so I figured she would be fine since she was eating her bottle. I wasn't in the bathroom long, before I heard her stirring and then I heard it. She fell off the bed. I will be honest, she has fallen before and usually scares her and then is good to go, but this time was different. The cry was awful and after it I had a horrible time consoling her. I couldn't get her to calm down. I just knew that something was wrong. I was finally able to get her to nap and rest for a bit in hope that she would calm herself down and be okay when she woke up. She slept for about 20 minutes before I had to wake her for therapy. Unfortunately she went back to crying. I could not find anything visibly wrong with her, but the way she was crying was killing me. I put her in her car seat while I was trying to figure out what to do. I finally called Kenny. He was upset with me like I expected, but he did tell me to just take her to therapy and have them evaluate her.

I got her all strapped in and put her in the car. I noticed she had her leg bent so I straightened it out and she screamed. I immediately lost it! I knew she was hurt. I drove down the road trying to figure out what to do. I stopped at the first place I got service and called physical therapy. The girl could barely understand me because I was so upset and crying so hard. I then tried to call her pediatrician and was put on hold for 10 minutes and finally hung up. I was at a lot of what to do. I knew if I took her to the hospital that I would not be able to get to Hailey in time. So I decided to go grab her early. I was able to compose myself to get her from school, but lost it again once I had to tell Hailey that Emily was hurt. Of course she looks in the carrier and Emily immediately smiles! She looked at me like I was crazy, but Emily had had such a sad look on her face until she saw Hailey.

 I decided to take her to the Urgent Care. I sat in the waiting room crying because I felt so upset about Emily falling and possibly being hurt. When we were taken back the nurse was trying to comfort me and told me stories of her kids falling off the bed and assured me that she would be okay. She gets the doctor to come in and talk to me and the doctor informed me that she needed to go to the ER where they could take care of her because she needed head and back CTs and they couldn't do that there and how there could be serious trauma. So I was sent on my way more upset then before.

I decided before going to the hospital to look Emily over one more time. I pulled over and got her out of her seat and tried to get her to stand. She would not stand no matter how hard I tried. I put her back in the car and went back to crying and drove to the hospital. I called Kenny and told him and asked what he thought and he answered with "Do what you think, but remember you are the one who is going to have to explain what happened!" That was not helpful.

By the time I got to the hospital I was prepared to talk to Social Services, CPS, the police, anyone who may think that I was hurting my child. Luckily I did not have to deal with any of that. I think they could tell that she was a happy healthy kid and that I was more than remorseful. We moved through the ER quickly and was taken back for a "babygram" which is a full body xray. The doctor said basically based on the fact that she would scream when he got close that he really thought she was okay because if something was wrong her cry would be much different when he touched her in a spot that hurt. I was panicked when they came back for more xrays. I thought maybe they had seen something, but after 4 hours in the ER we were discharged with a clean bill of health! I was so thankful!

That weekend Emily was still off. You could tell her leg was bothering her, but she was using it. She would whimper when you touched it, but she was overall pretty happy! She would use it to scoot around the floor, but she would not stand on it. She would not put any weight on it at all. She would stand like a little flamingo.

I decided to take off that Monday and called FIRST thing in the morning to make an appointment with her pediatrician just to double check that everything was still good. I got an appointment and headed in. I got a huge lecture about not putting babies where they could fall, yes I clearly know that and have learned my lesson! And she rubbed Emily's legs and said everything looked good with how she reacted, but because she was not putting any weight on it, she said we needed another xray to just ensure that it was just sore and nothing serious. There was no bruising or swelling so we were hopeful things would be good.

Let's just say, xrays at the hospital were torture, and then having to redo them sucked even more so! But she was a champ and we were in and out at the hospital imaging center. I decided we could go to the mall and hang out for a bit. We were walking around Sephora when I looked at my phone and saw I had a missed call. I listened to my voicemail and it was her pediatrician office calling to tell me that her leg was fractured and that they needed to talk to me right away. I hurried up and called her back and while waiting on hold Kenny beeped in multiple times. He had also received a phone call and they were looking for me. I cried as they told me her little leg was broken and we had to be seen right away and that they were able to get me in with our local ortho and that we needed to get there right away because they were waiting for us.

So we got on the highway and drove to ortho where we sat for about an hour. Emily was just as happy as could be. I kept looking at her thinking "how could she be this happy if her leg is broken?!". Let's just say the orthopedic doctor wasn't overly friendly and I think I was being screened for child abuse, which whatever, I am sure they see things all the time and people tell them innocent stories like mine all the time. I had nothing to hide even though I did not like the feeling. He looked her leg over and touched one spot and she lost it! Clearly the part where it was broken was definitely sensitive. He looked the xrays over and said we had no choice, but to cast it. That was an awful process, but not as awful as when it had to come off. The doctor did finally lighten up on me when he could see how upset I was as I  was holding her down while they were casting.

We spent 48 hours trying to keep her leg elevated to avoid swelling which could of made for a medical emergency. She didn't seem in pain at all and was ready to get down when her time was up. She quickly adapted and was back to scooting and moving all over the place! We spent 5 long weeks in the cast, but when all was said and done the new xray showed that it was a complete heal and she was good to go. Her little leg was itchy when the cast came off, which let me just add again was an awful experience! I made Kenny go with me to help, which I definitely needed it! After she got ahold of her leg, she ended up scratching it until it bled on the way home from the doctors! Luckily that is healed and it's been about 2 weeks and you would have never of known she broke her leg!

I am so glad that is behind us. It was an extremely hard time. I was upset it happened and I was upset that the hospital missed the break and she spent all weekend using her broken leg. I am just thankful that I listened to my mommy instincts and followed up with her doctor. We would have just gone on thinking it was sore and never would have known it was broken. And I was comforted by about 95% of every mom that I talked to who shared their stories of kids falling off couches and beds. I have since not allowed her to be alone on anywhere, but the floor. I have definitely learned my lesson about that!

So now here are some pictures from the time the baby broke her leg!

Our ER visit from the first night! Her sister took amazing care of her!

Can you believe this baby had a broken leg?!

This was before we went to her pediatrician appointment!

Later that day! This was during our elevation process!

And her concerned sister was always there to help her!

This was the same face I made when they told us we had 3 more weeks left at our 2 week check up! We were hopeful for 3 weeks total, but ended up with 5 weeks!

Right before it came off!

We got a leg back!!!!!

This was her damage done from having an itchy leg! Luckily she is all healed now!

We have a Graduate!

I have a graduate on my hands........a Doc Band Graduate that is!

Emily graduated from her Doc Band on April 28th! I was so excited for her appointment. The night before we went to Build a Bear and made a new special friend for her to give her Doc Band to! We named him Doc, how clever are we (ha)! I also ordered her fourteen a couple bows for her full head of hair she has grown! The day of her graduation I got her all dressed up, including her new head band with bow! I was so excited that we had made it so far and that it was finally time! I also scheduled it on a day so that Kenny could go with us! So I was pretty excited about having his company for the trip!

For our exit appointment we had more scans done and met with our clinician Kelly to go over the results! The changes were amazing and I was very pleased for the most part. There is still some flatness to her head and Kelly said that if I had not of said that this was our one and only band, they would have recommended another one. Of course I was second guessing my decision, but Kenny said that we are done, so I am now at peace with that. Emily got to put her band on Doc and she also received an official diploma! We are officially done with her band! Wahoo!

 

 

 

 

10 Things I have Learned About Being a Plagiocephaly Mom

Oh my little Emily! She definitely has had an interesting first year of life. If you read my blog often, you will know that she was diagnosed with plagiocephaly and torticollis back in December. Torticollis is the stiffening of the neck, where plagiocephaly is the flat spot on the back of the head which typically goes with it. We were referred out to the awesome Cranial Technologies in Annandale, VA. And believe me it was a learning curve for both of us. Emily had to get used to a helmet and well, I had to get used to a helmet also. I have been thinking about this post for quite some time. I frequent the support boards and often see a lot of questions that I also asked. I didn't find the board until we had less then a month left, but I try to answer questions fairly often on it. So I came up with 10 things I have learned about being a plagiocephaly mom!

She didn't like it at first!

1. Don't worry if you can't say plagiocephaly.

Plagiocephaly- So plagiocephaly means "oblique head". Plagio is greek for "oblique" and "cephale" means head. You deserve an award if you can say it correctly. I have heard it used by the doctors and clinicians numerous times and have yet to be able to say it correctly! And honestly it doesn't really matter because when you tell people what your child has, they are still going to say "what's that?"

2. Get evaluated, even if you are scared.

We noticed Emily's head shape in November. She was most likely born that way, but they said that she probably had a growth spurt that made it more obvious. When the doctor looked at it, she told me that she felt it needed to evaluated and that it may be pushing down one of Emily's ears which could cause asymmetry to the face. I honestly didn't want to get evaluated because I def did not want her to have a helmet or to know that there was a problem. Just go and get it done. I asked Cranial Technologies if they ever tell people that their kid doesn't need it and was told from time to time, but typically patients are already screened by the doctors before coming in. Also there is a short window and the sooner it is caught, the faster and better the change is. Just go!

3. It's a big expense, but it is worth every penny.

The band cost $3800, but since we were in-network we were able to get it down to $2500. From there the insurance gave me $700. This left us coming out of pocket $1800. It was a big burden for us. We don't have a savings account and although we live comfortably, we didn't have the extra money to pay for it. I was able to use my Care Credit card which allows me to have interest free for the first year. I also contacted my insurance and have been in process of appealing for more money towards this. I already had a complete summary of Emily's evaluation and a letter from her pediatrician on file for them to cover anything, and I then wrote them a 2 page letter asking for further assistance. It was spendy and not something that we wanted to use money on, but it was so worth it in the end. Also make sure you contact your insurance and see what other options there are for you. Fingers crossed for June 4th!

 

4. It's scary, but you will get used to it.

I remember sitting in Cranial Technologies waiting room on the day she got her helmet completely sick to my stomach about it. I saw another Mom checking out and was able to ask her some questions. One of my biggest questions was "how do you get used to taking your child out with it". Her response was alot like my experience. Honestly it is hard to take them out and get the different looks, but you do get used to it. She told me that she had a hard time, but she figured that she couldn't hide in the house for 16 weeks. This was very true.

5. People will stare and ask lots of questions.

People can come off so rude. I had my first question probably 50 steps out of the office while waiting for the elevator. "What's that thing on IT'S head?" I have gotten a lot of interesting questions and also lots of stares. Usually when I caught someone staring they would quickly add "look at those eyes" or "wow look how alert she is". Hello big elephant in the room! Just try not to let it bother you. Many people will ask you why they have it on and then go on to tell you a story of some distant relative. Just smile and try not to let it bother you. I don't think that there was a time at gymnastics where I didn't hear a kid ask their parent. And although I still got slightly embarrassed, I just said "it's to help make her head nice and round". And typically it ended there. I heard a little girl at gymnastics say "LOOK DADDY THAT BABY HAS A HELMET ON" and his response was "And?" and that was the end of that conversation she quickly went on to something else. Just let it roll!

6. Don't worry about siblings, it's not as bad as we think.

I was so concerned about what Hailey was going to think and if she would be embarrassed by her baby sister. To my surprise, she wasn't at all! In fact, she was super protective of her. She did not like people starring at Emily and even more she didn't like people asking about it. We were in the grocery store and a little girl asked "what's that thing on that baby's head" and Hailey was so upset and loudly said "that is so rude". I seriously thought I was going to have to hold my 7 year old back from fighting this maybe 4 year old. I explained that it was innocent and she wasn't being mean, but curious. She still wasn't happy. She also was always sure to tell Emily how cute she looked. She told me that even though she didn't want Emily to have to wear it, she wanted Emily to know that she was still very cute with it on!

7. Pay attention! You are the parent so you know what is best.

One of the biggest challenges is making sure those little hot headed babies do not over heat! I often times got questions like "where is that baby's socks?!" or "why is she not in long sleeves?!". It was so easy for Emily to over heat and people don't typically know that babies usually let most of their heat out from their heads. With the helmet trapping it in, she would get hot fast! This makes them get sweaty and they also can develop heat rash in the band from the extra moisture. Neither of these are good! So honestly less is best. Their little feet may be cold, but as long as their stomach is warm to touch, then they are fine. And don't let anyone make you feel bad for not having proper clothes on. You know what's best and what works for your child.

8. If you see a red spot, then make sure it is completely gone before putting it back on.

I made that mistake once and it set us back an entire week. We were told in the first 72 hours while doing the skin checks throughout the day, to make sure to look for red spots. Well Emily had one and I waited the hour and it was going away, but not quite gone. I knew it was important to get the band back on and how much they stressed about the importance getting her to the 23 hour stage. So I figured it was going away and I put it back on. This started her 23 hours and the next night I was horrified when I saw what it looked like. It had created friction burns on her face. The band was off until it healed and I ended up having to take her back up the road to the office 3 times before it could go back on. So those red spots are no joke. If you see one, then it's better to leave it off, even if you have to sleep them without the band, then to put it back on.

9. Listen to the experts- other mom's who have been there and have advice.

I was lucky that I was able to message with another mom who had been through the same thing with her son. She told me to use a little powder on Emily's forehead (even though the doctors said that was not allowed because it was not approved by the FDA with the band) and it helped alot with the red spots. Also she told me to stock up on alcohol since I would need to be cleaning it so often. She told me what she would do for her son and where she would get it for the best deal. I am glad I listened to her and she was the first on I messaged when Emily had the friction burns asking if it was normal. I am glad I had her advice. I also see a lot of good advice on the boards. Seek a friend or a group with parents who have done this. They can help you out a lot more than the clinicians are willing to say.

 

10. This isn't your fault.

I spent a good amount of time feeling bad about Emily's head. Although they said it was most likely the ways she formed in the womb, I still felt bad! And sometimes little comments people would make would add a little more sting to my thoughts. "So did you leave her in the crib to long?" or "Would it have been better if you held her more". Just let those roll off your back. This isn't your fault and honestly compared to so many more scary things out there, this is just a temporary thing. It will be okay, but please don't blame yourself.

I hope that these are helpful tips for someone. It's scary when you start out, but it flies by and will be over so fast. And believe me, the changes were amazing and it will be worth it in the end!

Blogging is Good for the Soul

I need to get back into blogging. Not only are there many memories I want to document and share, but I think it would also be good to just get my thoughts and feelings out. I spend countless times a week thinking about good blog topics, or things I would say when I blog, yet it still goes unwritten. In fact, I have pictures from September that still need to be uploaded and shared. I don't share my blog on my facebook or many places where I know it will be found and analyzed by my family. I would rather this be a "safe" place for me to vent without worrying about hurting someones feelings or being told that this isn't something I should share on the internet. This is my little place and I really need to start using it more.

The truth is I have been struggling. I am not sure if PPD has smacked me hard in the face again, or if it's a depression episode, but I don't like it. I don't like it at all! I spend most my day trying not to cry. No real reason, but I am just sad feeling. I decided that Zoloft wasn't working well for me so I asked to change over to the old anxiety/depression medicine that I used to be on before having Emily. Well that was a nightmare! I stuck with it for a month hoping things would change, but they didn't and Kenny told me I needed help. It was uncontrollable outbursts of tears. I was exhausted and it was hard to get out of bed. I was short tempered and although I love my girls more than anything, I was ready to leave and never look back. I kept telling myself that it was just the month of March and things would be better soon, but inside I felt even worse.

I made an appointment and asked to change my medication to something I have tried in the past. It's one I researched and has the least effect on weight and other side effects. It's a twice a day medicine and I haven't been on it for a week yet, but I hope it helps.

With cymbalta, I lost all motivation to do anything. I was doing so good with T25 and I was so proud of myself. With the meds my hunger was out of control and all I thought about was food. I quickly packed on the weight I lost, that paired with kicking my exercise program really did me in. I have felt horrible about myself and my clothes are back to being tight. I have nothing summer to wear for work or at home for that matter and every time I look at clothes online in my sizes I end up crying and closing the page. I seriously am so depressed about the way I look and feel.

My best friend told me that one day I would regret not being in more pictures when we go and do things with the kids and I have taken that in consideration and have been trying to get more pictures of me with the girls. Well let's just say that may be one reason why I don't want to upload pictures. Nothing worse when you think you look nice or even a tiny bit confident and see a picture of yourself that you hate. I honestly haven't ever felt this bad about myself then how I've felt in the last month. I feel like I have been avoiding more social things because of it. Like I cringe when there is a camera at a birthday party. It's bad enough people have to see me, but then to worry that there may be a picture of me in the background! Ahhhhhh! And I truly know that everyone had insecurities, but I honestly have some really beautiful friends. They are fashionable, they are pretty, they have nice bodies, have nice hair, and they have confidence that I lack. It def makes me even sadder when it comes to myself. I know beauty is more than what is on the outside, I truly do, but I see and feel a difference when I am with friends.

And my poor girls, I truly do love them and they are the bright side of my day, but boy do I really need a break at times. Emily is such a sweet baby, but she is fussy and very hard to please sometimes. And Hailey, she is such a good girl, but boy does that sassiness really get to me. I feel like my nerves are shot and my patience is very little these days. I get very overwhelmed easily. And I find that Kenny and I are having a lot of heated arguments because of it. I feel I don't have the support and the help I need from him when it comes to the girls and to doing things around the house. I feel like I am always on the back burner when it comes to the things he does and his friends. And I am also sure that my mood instability is making it much worse in my mind because this isn't anything new, but recently it has gotten so much harder to handle.

There will always be sun after the rain eventually and I know that things will begin to look up soon. I just need to hold my head up and keep on swimming. I really hope to find that balance. I NEED to feel normal again. I want to look at things on the bright side again instead of wandering around Target trying to hold back tears. I need some sun in my life and a weekend of a good night sleep, unbroken or being waken up! (Sounds to me like I just described a vacation! Ha!) I really hope things look up soon and that I start feeling better soon. I am ready to be me again and I am ready to start enjoying the things I once have. I am ready to get back into working out and feeling better about myself!

10 Things on Tuesday!

1. So I never uploaded those pictures, so I don't have any updates to post! Darnit Nicole! Get with the program, but on the bright side my camera bag has been found and I now found my cord to upload pictures! I am going to write this down in my planner and make it a priority!

2. I have a job interview tomorrow for a temporary position in my office. It also may have a temporary promotion with it too, if I qualify for that grade level of course. Weather I get the promotion or not, I still would love the job and a change in job tasks. It may be a great way to open skills so that I can venture out and eventually move up one of these days!

3. Because of the interview I had to move Emily's adjustment appointment to Friday. The bad thing about this is that the only day they are local to me is on Wednesdays, which means Friday they are in Annandale and I now have to drive 2 hours north. I also had to take an early appointment so I will be dealing with rush hour like I do every day! Not fun, not fun at all!

4. The weather is warming up and I am excited! I have taken advantage of walking a couple times in the past couple weeks during my lunch break!

5. My fitbit is making me sad! The darn thing is having so many issues with it staying charged. I guess I will just have to make a point to charge it daily now. I hate that I get all these extra steps, but have no numbers to prove I am doing it. I am a visual person so if there is no actual numbers (fitbit or polar fitness watch) then it didn't happen in my mind! Kind of like the "no pictures means it didn't happen" theory!

6. Sometimes I feel like such a shitty Mom. I can't offer much to my kids in the means of sports and having opportunities. Hailey asked me if we could go to the book fair after school today and of course they will be closed by the time I get home. I can't ever make any of the after school events. I can't volunteer in her class. I want to offer her to cheer come the fall, but I can't promise I can get her to the practices or games on time. More times then not, she is late to gymnastics by 5 minutes. She never gets in bed on time. We don't eat dinner until late. I get home at 6 and just don't have enough time in a day to get everything done. When I finally got around to looking at her homework last night she had done it wrong and was already in bed. I just put it back in her folder. No point in upsetting her first thing in the morning. Hailey was talking about girl scouts, and of course when I looked into it our local group meets at 6pm at her school, which there is no way I can get her back in time. It just makes me so sad.

7. I have been slacking on my water intake this week, but I am happy to report that I made it through week 1 of beta! Holly smokes it's a lot more exhausting then the alpha. I remember when I started that I felt like I was going to die. Now I look back and think how much easier it seemed. Maybe it's just because I am not used to it!

8. I didn't log on My Fitness Pal on Sunday and lost my awesome streak! Wahhhhh! I was so disappointed when I noticed it had reset this morning!

9. I need to get my taxes completed this week. I got a message saying turbo tax was increasing their price on March 19th, so I need to get it done by then. I am almost done, just need to add two more pieces into it.

10. Thank god we don't owe taxes this year. I told Kenny that with the little bit we are getting back, I want to get a new front door, you know one with a screen that we can open and let some air in. Ha! Everyone else gets to plan trips and do awesome thing with their lump sum, and we have enough to pay towards some medical bills and afford a couple hundred on a door. It's just the way it always works out though, but I am truly thankful we don't owe!

10 Things on Tuesday!

Look at me! I am writing a blog post! It's been some time, but I so badly want to get back into making this a regular thing! I have so much to share and no clue how it's already the middle of March!

1. I really keep thinking that tomorrow will be Thursday. That's kind of disappointing in a way! Well only because I want the work week to be over with so it can be Friday again!

2. Friday was girls night and we saw the movie the Duff. It was super cute and although it broke my heart at times and I cried like 5 times, it had a nice ending. I also felt so much better when I realized the hot guy in it was allowed to be hot because he was 26! Sheesh I would have felt bad if he was really like only 17 or 18, oh the joys of getting older!

3. I applied for a temporary 90 day job with a raise in my office. I am pretty nervous about it. I have really good chances and I feel I am deserving of this position since I have done most of these duties from time to time providing backup, but I am just not sure if I will get it.

4. I went to the doctor and had my medicines switched up. It's def been a hard adjustment and I feel she gave me the wrong dose. My anxiety has been off the hook and I feel like I can burst into tears. I am hoping this will all go away as I become used to them again. It's the same thing I was on before I was pregnant.

5. I have not been getting enough sleep the past couple days. I truly don't know where time goes! It's like once I get the girls in bed it's midnight and I am rushing to get myself in bed and back up at 4:30am. I get a lot of comments about how much I sleep on days off or weekends, but with a baby who wakes up at 7am on my days off and 4 hours of sleep each night during the week, I need those naps during the weekend when I can get them! I need sleeppppppppp! Like right now!

6. I started T25 Beta week 1 AGAIN this week! This is going on my 3rd week of week 1 because I have missed days the past 2 weeks. I am hoping to make this the forreal deal and get the entire week in so I continue on like I want to! It def is a step up and is much harder!

7. I watched the Best of Me this past weekend! I have heard nothing but amazing reviews about it. I had read the book so I was excited! I liked the movie overall, but I was not in love at all. It was way different then the book and that made me sad. Why did they change so much?! It was like a completely different story!

8. One movie I watched that I didn't read the book was Gone Girl! Wow! Crazyyyyyyy movie!

9. I hope I have energy when I get home to do something around the house, and get my workout done of course! I was pretty productive this past Sunday and it is kind of starting to come together, but so much more needs to be done! There is hope that I will one day have a clean house in my near future!

10. I have tickets for Hailey and I to go Cinderella with some friends this Sunday! I am super excited and she knows I have a surprise for her and keeps asking me about it! I hope she will be excited! I know I am!

Quick Update on Life!

It's been a while.....a long while since I blogged last! I feel like I have been going going going since December! Christmas was complete bust for us. We ALL had the flu that week. There was 5 vistis to patient first that week and a mad hunt for tamaflu for the kids. Christmas Eve was spent with a sick baby at the doctors and trying to get medicines straight with the pharmacy. I didn't even get home with dinner until 11:30pm. I didn't get to read Twas the Night Before Christmas, or have our anniversary champagne (Christmas Eve was 7 years married!). Cookies were thrown together while I was gone. We didn't really celebrate Christmas Day like I had wanted to, especially for the baby's first Christmas. We missed my family's Christmas and stayed in PJs pretty much the whole time. New Years I ended up with a sinus infection and two days later I am at the peditiricans with Emily for pink eye! Then last week I was home all week with Hailey and the stomach flu! We have had a rotten time this year! I feel like all the sickness has hit our house and we haven't gotten a break. Luckily no one else got the stomach bug! I am thankful for that!

And poor Emily has had one hell of a time with this band. She began it on January 23rd and has only worn it for the 23 hours one time. She wore it a weekend then was off for over a week. Put it back on last week and ended up having it off for another 5 days. This is day 2 back in it and we are still working up to a full day. She has been getting friction burns on her face really bad. They hurt me to look at them! Once that happens the band is off until it heals. Her doctors have been amazing and have been seeing her and calling to check on her, but again this has caused me to miss a lot of work with running her back and forth. The doctors office is an hour and a half up north! I will have to share more with that when I get my thoughts all straight!

I said good bye to my Jeep and traded it in for a used GMC Acadia Denali. I am loving it, but it was a hard change to make! I def can get used to all the options it has and space for the girls! Plus it's been nice not having to climb up into the Jeep or lift the girls into it. But I still miss my Jeep!

My house is a complete disaster. I have not been able to get a handle on it yet! I seriously need to buckle down because this is not okay and it drives me nuts! Yesterday's goal was to clean, but I spent most of the day getting my coupons organized and looking for stuff that I had misplaced. One of these being my target red card! GASP! Luckily I did find it, but rumaging did not help my mess at all. I am going to try to get some stuff done this week in the evenings! It's just so hard to find the time and not easy with a baby who doesn't like to be put down.

So this has pretty much been where I have been. I feel so disorganized! I have a new calander with nothing written down in it, yet so much I need to write down and do. My anxiety has been off the wall lately and I think it's been because we have been so disorganized and crazy. I think I really need a vacation some where! Like somewhere warm! With a fruity frozen drink! Yeah, I will have to keep dreaming about that!

Happy Monday and I hope you will be hearing from me much more soon!