I Want A New Drug ... One That Don't Make Me Sick ... (gotta love 80's music)

STILL not finding the happy ...

Friday afternoon, things turned worse ... full blown allergic reaction to include fever and chills on top of all the other symptoms and side effects ... and to be honest ... the weekend was a blur ... it's been a LONG time since I was actually sick enough to just lay in the bed ... not even go to the couch ... just the bed! Thanks to some heavy meds knocking me out ... I dazed all weekend ...

Then ... after an antibiotic change to something "new" due to the allergic reaction ... ends up ... not good either ... AAHHHHH ... was up just about all night last night ... didn't go to bed until 4am back up at 5:15am very sick ... yep ... I am NOT enjoying this "lounge around time and deliriously not even able to enjoy or care about it" time!

However ... the good thing is ... the Steroids are working and the swelling has gone down and it looks much better today ... I'm weak and dizzy (from the type of meds) this evening but glad I am feeling some better.

So ... to "catch up" a bit ... LeAnna lost a top front tooth last Friday ... it had been SO ready to come out for a while ... that the last few pics I had taken of her showed how red and inflamed the gum was around the tooth ... VERY happy it's out! We worked and worked with her to get it out ... she was SO scared for us to pull it ... and wouldn't you know ... it would get knocked out by two boys on the playground! Yep ... oh well! It's out!

And she has two more loose! SO ... I told her that I was painting her face orange this Friday and everyone would definitely know what she was when she smiled!

Last Tuesday, was Jr. Cheerleading picture day ... yep ... big deal, right?! So ... we "got the memo" not soon enough that the girls needed white turtle necks for the pics ... so Renee and I went "the day of" on a hunt for turtlenecks ... a quick trip to Wally World or Target, right?! WRONG! After checking a couple of stores before the trek out we ended up running through about 4-5 stores ... what in the world?! It's Fall people, it's cold outside ... go figure - they put Christmas decor out at the stores on July 5th but we can't find turtlenecks in the middle of October?! SO finally ... we found cute jumpers at Marshalls for $12.99 that had, wouldn't you know, white turtle necks inside! For the gas we would have spent driving around for a turtle neck ... $12.99 was a bargain!

Got to the school ... got them dressed ... hurried them to the field for the photographer to take ... GROUP pics and individual pics ... ahhh ... they DID NOT take GROUP pics!? WHAT in the world (again) ... yep ... ok ... after all this and Renee and I could have done the girls individual pics FREE ... ARGH! So ... had to stand on the field and wait in line for each girl to get their pics individually done ... still haven't heard why there were no group pics ... at least we "got the memo" and made it happen ... there were a few that showed up without them ... and come to think of it ... could have been the reason they didn't do group shots ...

oh well ... it's a memory - right?!

I'm ready to get back in my groove ... hoping that happens VERY soon ...

peace, tammy

(this is a drug induced post)

Yep ... I'm jinxed!

If it's going to happen ... it's going to happen to me!

AAHHHHHHH .... I am SO miserable right now ...

Last Saturday morning, I woke up with 3 places on my neck ... bites ... no, not Nathan ... an actual bug bite ... who apparently bit me and crawled, bit and crawled and then bit and who knows what happened to him then! Yes, referring to this bug as a "him" ... bite and leave! Just kidding ... anyhoo ...

So ... started applying Benedryl cream to my neck ... had to go to a funeral Saturday out of town ... so I wore a turtle neck and you couldn't see my bites ... Then Sunday ... it looked a little worse ... you could definitely tell it was "something" ... especially when people at church greeted my neck instead of my eyes or face, wondering what was wrong with me!

Anyhoo ... VERY busy week and fast forward to Wednesday ... had a long day ... and my neck ... yuck ... very red, inflamed at this point ... just looked horrible ... by Wednesday night ... my throat starting feeling tight ... I took 50mg of Benedryl and went to bed ... woke up early Thursday morning ... VERY inflamed, very swollen and so tight it hurt to swallow ... okay ... I'm thinking ... I need to get dressed and go get a shot ... I'm having a full-blown allergic reaction!

Took 50mg MORE of Benedryl before I got dressed ... I laid on the bed for just a minute (I thought) ... woke up 2 hours later ... better but still feeling bad ... called my doc ... who prescribed steroids and an antibiotic plus continue a regimen of Benedryl ...

yack ... yack ... yack ... I'm SO miserable by this point ... I'm dazed and confused from all the medicine ... apparently I got my drugs at Walgreens and made it back home ... started on my new drugs and laid down ...

I could tell a difference last night that the tightness was less ... thanks to the powerful boost of 6 steroid tablets! ... however ... I took my first antibiotic last night and went to bed ... this morning ... woke up and was SO inflamed (cheeks), burning and red! and VERY high sugar ... AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! Yep ... steroids elevate my sugar in a MAJOR way! SO ... contending with that as well ...

So ... I took another antibiotic pill at 9:30 this morning ... by 11:15 I was broke out in a rash all over my neck and upper torso and my face up to my eyes looks severely sun burned ...

Oh MY GOODNESS!!!! What else?!?!?!?!

So ... a quick look at the Walgreens info sheet on the pills and noted that if "what happened to me" happens ... call the doctor immediately ....

so ... I did ...

Yep ... just as suspected ... having an allergic reaction to the medicine that's supposed to be helping with the infection caused by the first allergic reaction ...

ok ... whatever ... by this point ... I'm just happy to be breathing!!!!

So ... stopping that med and another one is being called in ...

I would post a picture ... but you would be guessing what I was for halloween!

Anyhoo ... only me ... ONLY stinkin' me that this would happen to!

And my sugars on top of all that ... OUT the roof!!! SO ... taking lots of insulin, drinking lots of water ... and getting ready to go lay down again since the Benedryl is kicking in again ...

So ... whoever heard of an allergic reaction to an allergic reaction ... stupid bug! Thanks dumb stupid bug!

Yep ... miserable ...

so ... I'll post again and catch up on what's been going on this week ... later

"trying" to find "happy" in this day ... not happening so far ... tammy

Multiple Blessings ...

It's been a whirlwind of a week!

From clients, to celebrating birthday's (dinner "out" for my mother-in-law - Happy Birthday Granny! to cooking dinner for D.J - Happy Birthday Dee!) to loads of laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping, taking care of "two" dogs who are trying to get used to each other's company, to working, doing homework, lunch with friends, church, to having a new insulin pump overnighted because the old one is on the blink ... and putting discipline stratagem into action due to the unknowledgable use of the computer by a curious, eager 7 year old just wanting to play for a bit in some free time after homework - who used "X" instead of "-" to minimize my hours of work yesterday!!!!!!

Yep ... not happy ... at all ...

And in all of this ... longing for just a few minutes of solitude by myself ... just to do "whatever" I wanted for just a minute or two ... which doesn't happen very often.

In some shopping yesterday to pick up a few more items for dinner last night ... I found this book at Costco ... awaiting my purchase ...

I love watching the show "Jon & Kate plus 8" ... we all do actually ...

This morning ... I had to take LeAnna to school since Nate had to be up and out of the house by 5am to go out of town for a job today ...

So, on my way out the door ... I took a few moments to snap some pictures and grabbed my new book on the way out the door ...

My plan was to go to McDonalds (not a good plan, since I'm "still" attempting to lose those last few pounds that are the hardest to get off - just shy of 25 lbs to date) ... but I was craving a big thirsty diet coke from McDonalds like most crave a coffee from Starbucks ... still caffeine fuel - however you attain it ... anyhoo ... I "of course" ended up purchasing a #4 ... a plan, but still not the best one ... however ... I did ... and I pulled over into a nice, cozy parking spot ... and got out my new book ... eager to delve into at least the first chapter while I chomped away at my #4 ...

ok ... so ... these people reached out of the book, latched onto my heart and 4 chapters later ... I look up and think ... "what am I doing?!" ... I've got to go ... this is crazy ... I'm sitting here in this parking lot like I have not a care in the world, with nothing awaiting me when I arrive back home ... and nothing on the agenda for today ... far from the truth ... nonetheless ... I realized, I had actually taken a "moment or two" for ME! Something I don't do much of anymore ...

and ... it felt good! guilty ... but good ...

the first four chapters brought tears to my eyes ... just knowing and understanding NOT ALL by no means ... but SOME of the trials and tests that these two went through just to finally see "PINK" at the end of a stick one blessed day! Wow ... been there done that 100 times ... crazy as it may seem to some ... it's a real deal ... that some will never understand unless you've been there ...

Just as I got SO upset yesterday when all my hard work had been wiped away from my trusty computer screen by an unknowledgable 7 year old ... I felt differently while reading the book this morning ... I slowly began to recall all those moments long ago ... when I longed for messes to be made, messes to clean up ... school events to attend, crafts to make, a chance to sit and "color" with the excuse of a small one beside me legitimately giving me reason to, so I wouldn't look "child like" doing so as an adult ... all the little small things that we as parents take for granted on any given day ... I WANTED THESE SMALL INCONVENIENCES at times, to happen to ME!

ME ... why not me?! I questioned SO many times ... I don't think much about it anymore ... how I felt back then ... so empty ... so barren ... so ... so! It's a feeling VERY indescribable if you've never been there to experience it ... try to imagine not fulfilling and experiencing a God-given desire that every woman was created to experience! It's hard to explain ... so I won't attempt ... but reading this book this morning ... helped me to realize and sympathize all at the same time ... there are SO many who DO understand going through something like that ...

anyhoo ... here's a quick excerpt out of the book ... that I so well recognized and understood ...

"... somewhere down deep I was hoping that after seeing the neutral white indicator so many times, the odds would work in my favor, and that, one day, by some miracle, that little window would be pink. When you are trying to become pregnant, and especially if you have suffered through the wrenching trials of infertility, somehow something as simple as that tiny rectangle on the end of a piece of plastic takes on all the promises of tomorrow's hopes and dreams. On this particular morning I had woken around 4:30a.m. to use the bathroom. I did my test, and then, still groggy with sleep, laid it on the bathroom counter and plopped back into my warm bed. It was extremely unusual that I did not camp out in that small, cold bathroom, hovering and pacing, waiting as the minutes ticked by until, as so many times before, I would read the dreaded results. Instead, it was a full hour later when I got up to get ready for work that I remembered to check the test. I couldn't believe my eyes! Could it really be pink? I thought that maybe the glare of the fluorescent lighting was playing tricks on me, so I took the test over to the early morning natural light by the bathroom window. It still looked pink! Not knowing whether to scream, cry or pinch myself in case I was dreaming, I ran over and shook Jon. "Jon, Jon! Wake up. Does this look pink to you?" I'm pretty sure a normal man shaken awake by his dear sweet wife who was shoving a urine-christened plastic stick under his nose at 5:30 in the morning and demanding a color analysis would probably have a few choice words to say. Not Jon. He jumped out of bed and threw on the closet light for a closer examination of the now "holy stick." "Looks pink to me, Kate." That's all I needed to hear."

Yep ... been there done that ... got the t-shirt with the big fat NO on it so many times ... and also the PINK several times ... that lasted for a bit and then went away ... that's not a fun part either ...

Just WAITING for pink to appear is only the first part of it ... then PRAYING for it to stay pink for longer than 5-8 weeks happened alot ... 7 times to date with one live birth - LeAnna bug ...

Anyhoo ... just very thankful today ... for #1 - LeAnna Rachel ... a BIG blessing in our lives ... a fulfilled promise ... thanks God! And #2 for a few stolen moments to indulge in some "me time" by myself ... and #3 ... some perspective.

We all need a perspective check-up every now and then ...

In my "perspective check-up" this morning ... God laid someone on my heart to encourage ... not someone I know on a very close personal level ... so with that leaves me thinking ... hmmm ... how will she take this "note of encouragement" from me ... will she think "well that was weird" or will she say "thanks God - for answering my prayer today in a tangible way" ...

one will never know ... I've just learned to "do it" whatever that means when God says to do so ...

Anyhoo ... I must get busy ... with my busy day ... just sharing my journal thoughts today ...

happy day ... tammy

Crazy Pets ...

I had a client this evening ... so while waiting ... I used Princess and Daisy as test subjects! They didn't comply too much ... however ... I did get a few ...

Princess is SO territorial ... Daisy is SUCH a tease! Oh my ... NOT a good combo right now! They are getting more adjusted though ... it's been very comical to watch them together ...

Tonight ... I was trying to get Daisy in her cute little pink bed ... which she loves and has napped all day in it ... and Princess ran over, jumped in front of her and into her bed and just stood there like she dared anyone to make her move! Crazy!

oh well ...

She had her first doc appointment this morning ... 14 weeks old today ... and 9 lbs already! NOT good ... so much for a small lap dog! ha! oh well ... she's a cutie and I guess we'll keep her regardless! Doc said you normally double their weight at 16 weeks and that will be "about" what they'll weigh as an adult dog .... hmmmm .... if my calculations serve me correctly ... she'll be much larger than Princess! OH MY ... k ...well ... she's cute ... (convincing myself of this decision to get her)

Just praying she'll realize that LeAnna is her Mommy and not me! I tend to get very addicted to my pets ... she's just so stinkin' cute, I can't keep my hands off her! But at the same time, having to give Princess EXTRA attention! She is SO jealous ... she won't even come to me ... I have to go pick her up just to love on her ... crazy dogs!

happy day ... tammy

Happy Birthday To LeAnna ...

S E V E N ... today!!!!

LeAnna had two friends sleep over after the party last night ... Kaitlyn and Miquela ... they stayed up late playing ... falling asleep on the couch, only to leave the "new puppy" duty to Nathan and I ...oh well ... we wanted to monitor her anyway and see how she would do the first night ... she did GREAT! Slept all night long in her little pink bed on the floor beside our bed ...

the one thing I LOVE about this 3 month old puppy ... is she came potty trained already! Yep ... a major deciding factor in purchasing this pooch! And she has caught on to "our doggie door" and is doing well ... very pleased with that! She goes to the door, throws her head in the air and howls to go potty! Gotta love that! Too funny! I didn't know what she was doing at first ... ha!

So... we got the girls up ...

and went to Shoney's (eek) for breakfast ... mistake ... enough said ...

then came back home and the girls played all day long ... even made up their own mystery and had me go through the house solving all the clues ... they did really well ... it was fun!

Then this evening ... to Tequila's for birthday dinner!!!

the cake ... oh my ... I had called and placed an order ... specific cake, filling and icing, with a Princess and frog theme ... you know ... "Happy Birthday LeAnna" on it ... well ... got there to pick it up ... the pastry manager forgot to turn the order in ... so ... NO "specific" cake ... long story short ... this one was free ... and I'm all about free ... so ... this was it ... oh well ...

It was a nice evening of dinner, "free" cake and presents!

After we left ... we asked her if there was anything else she wanted to do today since it was "her day" ... she said ... hmmmm ... go to Justice Just for Girls! So since she had received two gift cards to Justice, we took her by there ... she had a blast trying to decide what all she wanted to buy ... Kaitlyn helped her choose ... and LeAnna told her to pick something out too ... so they both left there with fun goodies!!!

It was a Happy Birth"day" for LeAnna ... and she is happy that she is now 7!

happy day ... tammy

Guess Who ...

The Case Of The Missing Birthday Present ...

Today was the party ... we had a Nancy Drew Mystery party ... LeAnna was SO excited about today ...

However ... she had to go to Judy's house for the afternoon, so I could finish things up and pick up the "missing birthday present"!

That ... is our new friend "Daisy" ... We all love her ... Princess is NOT sure about her at all and is VERY jealous!!!! She has shown herself several times ... we're hoping they become good friends soon!

This is Daddy with the two babies ...

and ... the party begins ...

The Nancy Drew Mystery Party ... started out with taking funny pictures of each guest with their "disguise" on that were printed onto their ID badges that they wore during the party ...

then ... each child put their fingerprints of each finger on a slide to take home ...

we also learned the art of "observation" ... an important strategy of a good detective ...
birthday cake ...



Presents ...

and finally ... time to solve the case of the missing birthday present ... there were 10 clues in rhyme that led them all over the house and outside ... the final clue led them to "Daisy" ...

LeAnna was very overwhelmed and reacted in a way that we did NOT expect! She got so emotional and started crying, uncontrollably ... bless her heart ... I finally asked her, "are you sad?" ... she said ... "no, I'm just so hap---pppyyyy" ... we couldn't believe it!







then she began hugging her friends ... still can't believe her reactions ... I thought this picture was cute with Kaitlyn consoling her ... it got pretty quiet in the room (compared to how LOUD it had been with 14 kids running around the house, talking in their playground voices all at once!) and everyone was watching LeAnna "react" ...

and she can't believe she has her very OWN doggie!

"Daisy Nancy Batson" (gotta love the names kids come up with)

goodie bags to take home full of fun mystery/detective items ...

everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves ... it was a great party! The party would not have been successful if it had not been for my friends who stayed and helped me out! THANKS GUYS!!!!

And we can't believe LeAnna is 7 tomorrow!!!! Wow!

happy day ... tammy