... has it really been that long since I posted? I deleted Facebook, started a blog, said I would update it, and then got caught up in Netflix and forgot. Such is life. Hopefully I'll post again before almost 2 months, but maybe not. We will see. I've had a lot to talk about and write about and document, but I guess I've been a lot more busy living and a lot less interested in documenting.
Anyway- I thought it would be humorous to share the Top 10 List of things I've googled over the past 48 hours as we approach 10 days within Baby P #2's due date. This list will not be for the faint of heart (read: men) so skip the list unless you are brave.
1) Will a glass of wine put you into labor
2) How much is a wine is a "glass" of wine considered?
3) If you are pooping more, does that mean you're close to labor?
4) Why did stretch marks JUST show up on the other half of my belly?
5) If your vagina feels like it's broken, are you ready for labor?
6) What are signs of labor?
7) What are the lyrics to the song "Strange Things" from Toy Story (seriously, I googled this because I was genuinely curious)
8) Can taking more baths send you into labor sooner?
9) What does castor oil taste like?
10) Why is my baby still not here?
Because I like to be prepared, the P Pod mini van has been carrying around our hospital bags for 3 weeks now. Also, my dishes are always done and the laundry is always up to date. Never have I had such clean dishes and laundry in my life. My bathrooms are also always wiped down and ready for visitors once we arrive home from the hospital. I live in a constant state of fear that I'll go into labor and leave towels in the washing machine that will mildew, or trash that will sit for days, or gross dishes in the dishwasher, etc. I have never been this much of a neat freak, but pregnancy hormones do weird things to you and make you extremely OCD sometimes. If cleanliness really is next to Godliness, then I'm going to Heaven if I die today. Period. Dot. End of story.
We also had a little more drama with the growing nugget in my belly than we did with his brother. I've always said Little C is Mr. P's clone, and this baby was going to be like me. And by like me, I must have meant dramatic and stubborn and a procrastinator. Why did I wish this on myself? Anyway, at my 37 week appointment, the doctor told me that the baby was breech (as was I, duh), and that I had 2 choices. 1) do an External Cephalic Version or 2) schedule a c-section. Option 2 was not an option for me. I am a control freak and if I have a c-section, I feel like I will have absolutely no control in the situation. I will only be able to wrap my mind around it if it happens in an emergency, so I wasn't willingly picking #2. I signed up to have the version the following Monday, with hopes of turning the baby beforehand.
Step 1 to turn baby: go see the best chiropractor in the world, Dr. Amanda Keates at Quintessential Wellness. She used Webster technique and helped open my body to allow him to turn.
Step 2 to turn baby: let your friend, Amanda, who is a Doula, help. Through ice torture, warm baths, and robocizing (I'm sure I misspelled that but it's a magical little exercise you do with a sheet and belly friction and it felt great as well!) your baby may turn.
Between the two Amandas, they worked their magic. When we went in for the version (which I also wasn't too keen on, but wanted rather than surgery) he had flipped. He lived up to his name: Turner. He is just like me, so he waited until the last minute to do it. Literally the night before he was still transverse, so it happened between 8 p.m. and our appointment at 2 the next day.
So anyway, here we sit, waiting on a baby. In the meantime, I've worked a lot preparing for our big event with my small business this weekend, worked my part time job, done a lot of consignment sale shopping, watched a lot of Dr. Phil and the Price is Right and I'm finishing our Halloween costumes this afternoon, so I'm not totally wasting my life away, I'm just sitting here counting minutes when I have the time :)
Until next time!
Love,
Mrs. P
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Drum Roll Please...
We have a kid who is FINALLY interested in potty training! On Sunday, I went to the bathroom and per the usual, Little C wasn't too far behind. I used to think that was weird, but I was given a book that said children model going to the potty from watching their parents, so I guess I am okay with it? It's still super weird.
Anyway, Little C sits down on the potty at the same time I do. I use the restroom, finish, flush (which he got up to watch because flushing the toilet is THE most exciting thing in the world to a two year old) and wash my hands, and Little C is still doing his pattern alternating between hiding behind the shower curtain, standing up and running around the bathroom, and then a few seconds sitting on the potty.
Thinking he was NEVER going to go, I came out to sit on the couch (with full view of the bathroom, don't worry) and I said "Buddy, I'm going to give you some privacy so you can go potty. You let me know when you finish." About 5 minutes later, he said "I pee pee'd!" He has been saying that every time when he gets up, and there hadn't ever been pee pee, so I said "Okay, let me come check" and there was ACTUALLY PEE IN THE TOILET! There was more on the floor surrounding the toilet, but THERE WAS STILL PEE IN THE TOILET! Wahoo!!!
I scooped him up in my arms, ran around the house screaming for Mr. P and cheering "Wooooooh! Cardy went to the potty!!! YAYYYYY!" I made a HUGE deal out of it, then I let him go to his prize jar. He picked a baseball whistle and while that normally may have driven me crazy, I was so excited about the pee that it didn't even bother me! (Side Note: On a whim of deciding what to do for our potty training toddler, I stumbled upon the $0.30 to $1.00 isle at party city where you can get pretty awesome little knick knacks like little slinkies, flutes, noise makers, mini coloring books, etc. I put them in a jar that I got from Michael's for $6.99 and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut "It's Potty Time!" out and added that for a nice touch. It's great because I can fill the jar for under $10.00!)
Today (Tuesday), he went pee pee at daycare! He told the teacher he needed to go, and he actually went! I just hope it didn't take him the usual 30-45 minutes to go at school... ha! He will get there. He will be faster. It's all part of the process. I'm trying to let him be a little more independent because he is in the "My do it!" phase where he insists on doing everything by himself AND because when his little brother comes, I'll be thankful that he is able to do some things by himself. His new favorite things to do (besides the potty) are taking off his own shoes, cleaning up his blocks when he is finished playing and any dirty clothes on his floor, putting his cup away when it's empty, throwing away trash if there is any (and if there isn't any, sometimes he will make trash just so he can throw it away), climbing into his carseat and snapping his buckle, putting his toothbrush away, moving his potty/stool to wash his hands in the sink, and wiping his nose. He also insists on walking instead of riding in the cart when we go shopping which is a new challenge for his very pregnant AND in the summer mommy, BUT he will hold hands in the parking lot (after many time outs and lectures, we've finally got that down).
He is a pretty fun kid, and I'm very lucky he is mine. And I'll be even luckier if he masters this potty training thing before October when we move to double the diapers!
Love,
Mrs. P
Anyway, Little C sits down on the potty at the same time I do. I use the restroom, finish, flush (which he got up to watch because flushing the toilet is THE most exciting thing in the world to a two year old) and wash my hands, and Little C is still doing his pattern alternating between hiding behind the shower curtain, standing up and running around the bathroom, and then a few seconds sitting on the potty.
Thinking he was NEVER going to go, I came out to sit on the couch (with full view of the bathroom, don't worry) and I said "Buddy, I'm going to give you some privacy so you can go potty. You let me know when you finish." About 5 minutes later, he said "I pee pee'd!" He has been saying that every time when he gets up, and there hadn't ever been pee pee, so I said "Okay, let me come check" and there was ACTUALLY PEE IN THE TOILET! There was more on the floor surrounding the toilet, but THERE WAS STILL PEE IN THE TOILET! Wahoo!!!
I scooped him up in my arms, ran around the house screaming for Mr. P and cheering "Wooooooh! Cardy went to the potty!!! YAYYYYY!" I made a HUGE deal out of it, then I let him go to his prize jar. He picked a baseball whistle and while that normally may have driven me crazy, I was so excited about the pee that it didn't even bother me! (Side Note: On a whim of deciding what to do for our potty training toddler, I stumbled upon the $0.30 to $1.00 isle at party city where you can get pretty awesome little knick knacks like little slinkies, flutes, noise makers, mini coloring books, etc. I put them in a jar that I got from Michael's for $6.99 and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut "It's Potty Time!" out and added that for a nice touch. It's great because I can fill the jar for under $10.00!)
Today (Tuesday), he went pee pee at daycare! He told the teacher he needed to go, and he actually went! I just hope it didn't take him the usual 30-45 minutes to go at school... ha! He will get there. He will be faster. It's all part of the process. I'm trying to let him be a little more independent because he is in the "My do it!" phase where he insists on doing everything by himself AND because when his little brother comes, I'll be thankful that he is able to do some things by himself. His new favorite things to do (besides the potty) are taking off his own shoes, cleaning up his blocks when he is finished playing and any dirty clothes on his floor, putting his cup away when it's empty, throwing away trash if there is any (and if there isn't any, sometimes he will make trash just so he can throw it away), climbing into his carseat and snapping his buckle, putting his toothbrush away, moving his potty/stool to wash his hands in the sink, and wiping his nose. He also insists on walking instead of riding in the cart when we go shopping which is a new challenge for his very pregnant AND in the summer mommy, BUT he will hold hands in the parking lot (after many time outs and lectures, we've finally got that down).
He is a pretty fun kid, and I'm very lucky he is mine. And I'll be even luckier if he masters this potty training thing before October when we move to double the diapers!
Love,
Mrs. P
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A Mama's Rant: Part 1 (of what I'm sure will be many)
Over the past few days, several things have happened that have made me question humanity. Here is a short list:
- Let's start with this doozy- Josh Duggar had 2 Ashley Madison accounts. Are you for real?! Not only did this guy have a molestation scandal under his belt, but he, THE "spokesperson" on the sanctity of marriage was looking for some very strange things on a known website for adulterers. I am actually very interested to see what the Duggar family's stance will be on this one. I'm sure the hackers of the Ashley Madison website were thrilled when they came upon his name. This guy literally said gay marriage would "ruin the sanctity of marriage" while he was ruining his OWN marriage. The shameful thing is that his platform and stance paired with his actions put a target on Christianity. This is my number one problem with people who become famous being Christians. I am a Christian. I fall short every day, and I'm going to be THE LAST PERSON to go on a national platform and damn another group of people to hell. Shame shame, Josh Duggar. Shame Shame. By the way, I also learned tonight that the famous Duggars, who improperly handled their own sexual abuse problem in their home are trying to create a new TLC show where they help others who have faced sexual abuse. How exactly would that help anyone?! TLC: No. Just no.
- Tuesday morning, while driving down Main Street in my hometown, I encountered (what I believe was) a drunk driver. Swerving from one lane to the other on our small, two lane street... at 9:30 in the morning. Luckily she managed to miss what few cars passed her (and miraculously missed the parked ones as well). Don't worry, *HP was my friend and I was happy to report her for her shenanigans, license plate AND vehicle type and color. I decided not to continue to follow her to the country road she turned on, but the fact I didn't see her on the side of the road when I went home that afternoon, I'm assuming she was either pulled over or, by the grace of God, made it home safely.
- Another annoying thing I've encountered is traffic surrounding one of the busiest highways in our area. They decided to do a re-paving project on this MAJOR road the week before school AND during the daytime, when traffic is the heaviest. The other day, it took our little family 15 minutes to travel 1/2 a mile. Yesterday, I got stopped about 1/4 mile from the action (i.e. the people working on the road). They had barrels set up, and some 18 year old kid was leaning on said barrels, probably playing Candy Crush, and completely ignoring the looming line of cars slowly building up on one of my town's busiest streets. You'd think he'd radio Mission Control and say "Hey guys, can I let some of these people through? The line is backed up as far as it can go and is threatening interrupting traffic on sidestreets as well now" but no. He just kept playing his game. After waiting 3 songs on the radio, I was over it. I went around his little barrels to the closest side street and turned around. I WAS A REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE! 5 cars followed me. Then he actually woke up and tried to stop people from doing that, making them stay in line like he had so much authority in his little orange vest. It takes a real genius to decide to do a re-paving project on a heavy traffic HIGHWAY during the day when there are only about 10 hours at night that they could do the same damn thing and also save their workers from heat exhaustion. But what do I know?
- I was in the drive through at McDonald's to get Mr. P a coffee. I pulled up behind a vehicle who seemed confused by the fact there were 2 lines at the drive through. After a ridiculously unnecessary hesitation, that car decided to pull in the line with two people in front of him. After he moved safely out of my way, I chose the other lane with no line, pulled up, and ordered my food. McDonald's spent thousands of dollars in signage AND numbering the lanes so that all patrons would be aware that there are 2 lanes to help with line efficiency. I felt kind of sorry for the car in front of me because I feel like he waits in super long lines for absolutely no reason all of the time.
- Today I went to Walmart twice. My first trip, I went to get some paint. I waited by the paint counter for a full 8 minutes before I had to go find an employee to help me mix my paint. During that 8 minutes, a manager walked past me 4 TIMES and never once stopped to ask if I needed any help. During my second trip, I needed another gallon of paint (because I may or may not have spilled over 1/2 a gallon of mint green paint on my brown carpet today and tried for 2 hours to get it out and then just settled on the fact my carpet is now a flavor and that flavor is mint chocolate chip). We were coming home from dinner, so we chose to go to a different Walmart closer to home. I made my way to the paint area, found the color I needed (again) and proceeded to find an employee to help me mix my paint. Side Note to Walmart: you should really put an automatic paging button on all of your paint counters and your fabric centers. It's SUPER HARD to find an employee in the area when you need to mix paint or buy a damn yard of fabric, so you have to go look for 15 minutes just to find someone who has to page people at least twice before anyone comes to help. After I found an employee at the second Walmart, he told me "The guy who mixes the paint isn't here. He left for the day." I think I threw him off guard when I replied, "You mean to tell me that IN AMERICA where there are thousands and thousands of people who need jobs that my local 24 HOUR WALMART has ZERO employees who can go to a computer, punch in this little code, open a can of paint, put color in, and stick it in a mixing bin? You mean to tell me you have ONE PERSON TRAINED ON YOUR STAFF that can mix paint? You have GOT to be kidding me!" I didn't necessarily mean to go off on the kid, but I feel like a 24 hour store should staff people that can help you for all of the 24 hours in a day, if that's what they advertise. From a store who has 25 check out lanes and only 2 open on a regular basis, I'm not really sure why I have such high hopes. You know who I'm going to vote for in our next Presidential election? The person who staffs at least 1 paint person at every Walmart in America for every hour that they are open. Yeah. That's the person who will get MY vote.
- Tonight while driving home at almost 9 p.m., I received a phone call a Texas number. I was feeling frisky from my Walmart encounter, so I answered it. It was "Student Loan Debt Relief." I answered the phone. This is how the conversation went:
Me: "Hello?"
Student Loan Lady: "Is this Mrs. P"
Me: "Yes. Who is this?"
Student Loan Lady: "This is Student Loan Debt Relief Services"
Me: "And you are calling me at almost 9 p.m. because why...?"
Student Loan Lady: "I THOUGHT you would like to save money on your student loans"
Me: "No. I'm not interested. Also, I've asked to be removed from your lists. You guys call me all day, every day. Stop calling me." (Literally I get at least 5 calls a day from them)
AND I hang up the phone.
SHE HAD THE AUDACITY TO CALL ME BACK.
I answered: "I SWEAR ON EVERYTHING IF YOU CALL ME AGAIN, I WILL DRIVE TO TEXAS AND I WILL FIND YOU!"
AND I hung up again.
Guess who didn't call back a second time?
I think that's all that's bothering me today. I used to be able to tell all of my problems to Facebook, but since I don't have a Facebook anymore, I will be ranting here :) Thanks for listening!
Love,
Mrs. P
- Let's start with this doozy- Josh Duggar had 2 Ashley Madison accounts. Are you for real?! Not only did this guy have a molestation scandal under his belt, but he, THE "spokesperson" on the sanctity of marriage was looking for some very strange things on a known website for adulterers. I am actually very interested to see what the Duggar family's stance will be on this one. I'm sure the hackers of the Ashley Madison website were thrilled when they came upon his name. This guy literally said gay marriage would "ruin the sanctity of marriage" while he was ruining his OWN marriage. The shameful thing is that his platform and stance paired with his actions put a target on Christianity. This is my number one problem with people who become famous being Christians. I am a Christian. I fall short every day, and I'm going to be THE LAST PERSON to go on a national platform and damn another group of people to hell. Shame shame, Josh Duggar. Shame Shame. By the way, I also learned tonight that the famous Duggars, who improperly handled their own sexual abuse problem in their home are trying to create a new TLC show where they help others who have faced sexual abuse. How exactly would that help anyone?! TLC: No. Just no.
- Tuesday morning, while driving down Main Street in my hometown, I encountered (what I believe was) a drunk driver. Swerving from one lane to the other on our small, two lane street... at 9:30 in the morning. Luckily she managed to miss what few cars passed her (and miraculously missed the parked ones as well). Don't worry, *HP was my friend and I was happy to report her for her shenanigans, license plate AND vehicle type and color. I decided not to continue to follow her to the country road she turned on, but the fact I didn't see her on the side of the road when I went home that afternoon, I'm assuming she was either pulled over or, by the grace of God, made it home safely.
- Another annoying thing I've encountered is traffic surrounding one of the busiest highways in our area. They decided to do a re-paving project on this MAJOR road the week before school AND during the daytime, when traffic is the heaviest. The other day, it took our little family 15 minutes to travel 1/2 a mile. Yesterday, I got stopped about 1/4 mile from the action (i.e. the people working on the road). They had barrels set up, and some 18 year old kid was leaning on said barrels, probably playing Candy Crush, and completely ignoring the looming line of cars slowly building up on one of my town's busiest streets. You'd think he'd radio Mission Control and say "Hey guys, can I let some of these people through? The line is backed up as far as it can go and is threatening interrupting traffic on sidestreets as well now" but no. He just kept playing his game. After waiting 3 songs on the radio, I was over it. I went around his little barrels to the closest side street and turned around. I WAS A REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE! 5 cars followed me. Then he actually woke up and tried to stop people from doing that, making them stay in line like he had so much authority in his little orange vest. It takes a real genius to decide to do a re-paving project on a heavy traffic HIGHWAY during the day when there are only about 10 hours at night that they could do the same damn thing and also save their workers from heat exhaustion. But what do I know?
- I was in the drive through at McDonald's to get Mr. P a coffee. I pulled up behind a vehicle who seemed confused by the fact there were 2 lines at the drive through. After a ridiculously unnecessary hesitation, that car decided to pull in the line with two people in front of him. After he moved safely out of my way, I chose the other lane with no line, pulled up, and ordered my food. McDonald's spent thousands of dollars in signage AND numbering the lanes so that all patrons would be aware that there are 2 lanes to help with line efficiency. I felt kind of sorry for the car in front of me because I feel like he waits in super long lines for absolutely no reason all of the time.
- Today I went to Walmart twice. My first trip, I went to get some paint. I waited by the paint counter for a full 8 minutes before I had to go find an employee to help me mix my paint. During that 8 minutes, a manager walked past me 4 TIMES and never once stopped to ask if I needed any help. During my second trip, I needed another gallon of paint (because I may or may not have spilled over 1/2 a gallon of mint green paint on my brown carpet today and tried for 2 hours to get it out and then just settled on the fact my carpet is now a flavor and that flavor is mint chocolate chip). We were coming home from dinner, so we chose to go to a different Walmart closer to home. I made my way to the paint area, found the color I needed (again) and proceeded to find an employee to help me mix my paint. Side Note to Walmart: you should really put an automatic paging button on all of your paint counters and your fabric centers. It's SUPER HARD to find an employee in the area when you need to mix paint or buy a damn yard of fabric, so you have to go look for 15 minutes just to find someone who has to page people at least twice before anyone comes to help. After I found an employee at the second Walmart, he told me "The guy who mixes the paint isn't here. He left for the day." I think I threw him off guard when I replied, "You mean to tell me that IN AMERICA where there are thousands and thousands of people who need jobs that my local 24 HOUR WALMART has ZERO employees who can go to a computer, punch in this little code, open a can of paint, put color in, and stick it in a mixing bin? You mean to tell me you have ONE PERSON TRAINED ON YOUR STAFF that can mix paint? You have GOT to be kidding me!" I didn't necessarily mean to go off on the kid, but I feel like a 24 hour store should staff people that can help you for all of the 24 hours in a day, if that's what they advertise. From a store who has 25 check out lanes and only 2 open on a regular basis, I'm not really sure why I have such high hopes. You know who I'm going to vote for in our next Presidential election? The person who staffs at least 1 paint person at every Walmart in America for every hour that they are open. Yeah. That's the person who will get MY vote.
- Tonight while driving home at almost 9 p.m., I received a phone call a Texas number. I was feeling frisky from my Walmart encounter, so I answered it. It was "Student Loan Debt Relief." I answered the phone. This is how the conversation went:
Me: "Hello?"
Student Loan Lady: "Is this Mrs. P"
Me: "Yes. Who is this?"
Student Loan Lady: "This is Student Loan Debt Relief Services"
Me: "And you are calling me at almost 9 p.m. because why...?"
Student Loan Lady: "I THOUGHT you would like to save money on your student loans"
Me: "No. I'm not interested. Also, I've asked to be removed from your lists. You guys call me all day, every day. Stop calling me." (Literally I get at least 5 calls a day from them)
AND I hang up the phone.
SHE HAD THE AUDACITY TO CALL ME BACK.
I answered: "I SWEAR ON EVERYTHING IF YOU CALL ME AGAIN, I WILL DRIVE TO TEXAS AND I WILL FIND YOU!"
AND I hung up again.
Guess who didn't call back a second time?
I think that's all that's bothering me today. I used to be able to tell all of my problems to Facebook, but since I don't have a Facebook anymore, I will be ranting here :) Thanks for listening!
Love,
Mrs. P
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Earlier this summer, Mr. P and I decided we would try to do something
fun as a family a few times a week. Tonight, our "family fun time"
consisted of putting together a Duplo bat cave complete with Batman
and Catwoman block figures and a flying bat mobile that shoots off a
"weapon" ball. We don't go "all out" every single night, but we do make
it a point to spend those precious few hours between school and bedtime
as a family, no matter what.
Little C loves baseball. He's currently working on mastering hitting from a slow pitch machine that he got for his 2nd birthday and he can hit the ball pretty far off of a tee with little effort. I feel like he is going to be bored when he is able to play organized tee ball because he is going to be pretty advanced. If a ball and a bat are around, that's his first choice to play with. Second would be his set of drums. Thank God for baseball.
Last night, "family fun time" took us to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. We wanted to take him to his first baseball game but with a two year old, you never know if going out in public is a good choice. Two year old children, or two-orrists as I've affectionately come to call them, aren't known for being predictable, regular, run of the mill humans. They are the closest things to ticking time bombs that I've ever seen up close and personally. One second he's happy and eating his fruit snacks, and the next, his juice cup is all the way across the room and he's having a meltdown because we won't let him wash his hands (even though there is absolutely no reason he needs to wash his hands).
Last night's game turned out to be a great decision. We got awesome seats that were close to home plate for $12.00 a piece. Little C was free and shared our laps, so it was a pretty good night out for $24.00 (plus tax). We asked Little C if he wanted to go play (as in go to the kid's zone), and he said yes. When we started walking to the kid's zone, he said "NOOOOO! I go play out there!" and pointed to the field. I don't believe in reincarnation but if it is true, we may be raising the second generation of Babe Ruth.
It was a magical night. Little C particularly enjoyed dancing to the music they played during short game breaks, saying "CHARGE!" at the end of the jingle and laughing at the hilarious guy who was selling peanuts in the stands. It was a wonderful night, and I'm really glad he enjoyed his first game since I'm sure there will be many, many more in his future!
Autoimmunity
I've had terrible tooth problems for as long as I can remember. I got my first cavity pretty young, and I've had several since which usually results in being scolded by dentists for having poor hygiene and lectured every dentist visit which, honestly, makes me hate even the nicest dentist.
After I graduated college, right about the same time I started dating Mr. P, I noticed my lips would peel all the time. I would wear lipstick, but after about 30 minutes, it would look terrible, and my lips always looked chapped, which has lead to the reason I always- ALWAYS- have a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick on my person. If I don't have it, it can make me have a panic attack.
I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis in November of 2011. I had endless doctor appointments for months and months which lead me to be sent to my local Center for Disease Control to confirm that I have "chronic Mono." With those blood results, I also got an extremely high, off the charts RA factor result. I was referred to a rheumatologist by my general practitioner. I went to the rheumatologist, she said I didn't have any symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and she sent me home.
Two years later, I had more blood work. My RA factor came back high again, and again, I was told to go back to the same rheumatologist. Same result: I don't have RA symptoms. I don't have RA. Some people just have high RA factors. I'm fine. Go home.
Last November, I got more blood work, and my very persistent, amazing general practitioner sent me BACK to the SAME rheumatologist and told me not to leave until I got answers.
I went in with an "I'm not leaving this office until you tell me what's wrong with me" attitude, and I didn't. Finally, she started asking me questions- some of which revolved around my dental history and dry mouth (which I've had for as long as I can remember. I don't really think of it as a symptom as much as just a part of my life). After her questions, she gave me a blood test to check a few new things and about a week later, I came back with a positive diagnosis: Sjögren's Syndrome. I'd never heard of it, which makes sense. Usually people go years without being diagnosed. As it is with many rheumatology related illnesses, you have to have both a positive blood test AND symptoms. I'd had the tests and I'd had the symptoms, but no doctor had been able to put the two together. This is what happens with most cases of Sjögren's.
What is Sjögren's Syndrome? To be honest, I only know the bare minimum. I'm a hypochondriac at heart, so I've made it a point NOT to research it. I let Mr. P do my dirty work and tell me only the things that I NEED to know. It causes dry mouth and dry eyes. It can cause your organs to be inflamed and enlarged and it can cause chronic joint pain and mystery pains throughout the body randomly. It can make you really tired. It can cause anxiety. People with Sjögren's have a much higher chance of possibly developing lymphoma. Having a positive diagnosis explains why my liver functions are usually a little high, why I've had dental problems and why panic attacks come and go, just like all of my other symptoms.
Since I've been diagnosed, I've mentioned my autoimmune disease to a few people. Their first reaction has been to tell me that they know so and so and they are dying from Sjögren's or they've had this and this and this complication, which doesn't really help me out much. The thing is it's pretty common among autoimmune illnesses that if you have one thing, you will probably have (or have a potential to develop) another autoimmune illness (i.e. a lot of people with Sjögren's have Lupus, or RA, etc. etc. etc.). I tell myself in my mind the reason that these people have these complications isn't from Sjögren's, but from something else, but I have no clue what the future holds for me. I know because Sjögren's isn't very well researched, there isn't a whole lot I can do. There are treatments that people can be on, but I don't even like to take Tylenol. I would have to take a pretty serious turn for the worst to get on medicine and so far, I've been very fortunate not to have too many issues.
So far, I've only been diagnosed with Sjögren's. When I'm pregnant, I feel best. It's almost like the disease goes into remission when I'm pregnant (also common with AI illnesses). The scary thing about being pregnant is that I have antibodies that could cause a potential heart block in my babies in the womb (another thing I didn't know about until after we were pregnant with Baby P #2). I had to go to a specialist and have blood work to find out that yes, because of my autoimmune disease, my baby could need a pacemaker. Luckily thus far, we made it through one pregnancy (though undiagnosed, still symptomatic) and we've made it through this one with a healthy baby with a healthy heart. I pray every day that it stays the same and that this baby will be okay. I can't imagine the guilt I would feel if the baby DID have a heart block even though there is absolutely nothing I could've done about it.
Autoimmune diseases suck. They make you a victim when you haven't done anything wrong. If I was an alcoholic and I developed liver disease, it would make sense. If I smoked all my life and had lung cancer, I would have had to take some responsibility for that. With autoimmune diseases, nothing you do causes them. NOTHING. I was born and I grew up. That's why I have an autoimmune disease. I did nothing to encourage or prevent my illness, and there is no cure for it. When I die, I will die with Sjögren's Syndrome. I'm going to make it my goal not to die OF Sjögren's Syndrome, but I will have it for the rest of my life. And because I have it, and it can be hereditary, my kids could have it too. This is something that I've genetically passed on to them and I didn't even know I had it.
I am very fortunate to have the MOST AMAZING support system in my angel of a husband. When I'm feeling exhausted because it's a symptom of Sjögren's and there isn't much I can do about it, I am able to take a nap during the day. When I'm having joint pain, he listens to me whine and complain about it. When I'm convinced I'm having a heart attack because the chest pain is so bad (and I've gone so far as to have a cardiac catheter run to check my heart health), he reminds me that I have a terrible autoimmune disease and that it's likely those symptoms that are causing my pain, easing my feelings of impending doom. He loves me through my anxiety. He loves me through it all. I thank God every day for giving me him to help me bear this cross that I will live with forever.
So here's to you, all of you silent fighters. All of you who are fighting similar battles. Chronic pain that pops up with absolutely no rhyme or reason, rendering you helpless for a while. Those of you who look completely normal on the inside, but are fighting a battle that people outside of your body know nothing about. Here's to you. I'm here with you, fighting with you. We're going to be alright and we're going to make it. We weren't given a choice in our health, but we are strong and we will overcome it.
We're gonna make it after all.
Love,
Mrs. P
After I graduated college, right about the same time I started dating Mr. P, I noticed my lips would peel all the time. I would wear lipstick, but after about 30 minutes, it would look terrible, and my lips always looked chapped, which has lead to the reason I always- ALWAYS- have a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick on my person. If I don't have it, it can make me have a panic attack.
I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis in November of 2011. I had endless doctor appointments for months and months which lead me to be sent to my local Center for Disease Control to confirm that I have "chronic Mono." With those blood results, I also got an extremely high, off the charts RA factor result. I was referred to a rheumatologist by my general practitioner. I went to the rheumatologist, she said I didn't have any symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and she sent me home.
Two years later, I had more blood work. My RA factor came back high again, and again, I was told to go back to the same rheumatologist. Same result: I don't have RA symptoms. I don't have RA. Some people just have high RA factors. I'm fine. Go home.
Last November, I got more blood work, and my very persistent, amazing general practitioner sent me BACK to the SAME rheumatologist and told me not to leave until I got answers.
I went in with an "I'm not leaving this office until you tell me what's wrong with me" attitude, and I didn't. Finally, she started asking me questions- some of which revolved around my dental history and dry mouth (which I've had for as long as I can remember. I don't really think of it as a symptom as much as just a part of my life). After her questions, she gave me a blood test to check a few new things and about a week later, I came back with a positive diagnosis: Sjögren's Syndrome. I'd never heard of it, which makes sense. Usually people go years without being diagnosed. As it is with many rheumatology related illnesses, you have to have both a positive blood test AND symptoms. I'd had the tests and I'd had the symptoms, but no doctor had been able to put the two together. This is what happens with most cases of Sjögren's.
What is Sjögren's Syndrome? To be honest, I only know the bare minimum. I'm a hypochondriac at heart, so I've made it a point NOT to research it. I let Mr. P do my dirty work and tell me only the things that I NEED to know. It causes dry mouth and dry eyes. It can cause your organs to be inflamed and enlarged and it can cause chronic joint pain and mystery pains throughout the body randomly. It can make you really tired. It can cause anxiety. People with Sjögren's have a much higher chance of possibly developing lymphoma. Having a positive diagnosis explains why my liver functions are usually a little high, why I've had dental problems and why panic attacks come and go, just like all of my other symptoms.
Since I've been diagnosed, I've mentioned my autoimmune disease to a few people. Their first reaction has been to tell me that they know so and so and they are dying from Sjögren's or they've had this and this and this complication, which doesn't really help me out much. The thing is it's pretty common among autoimmune illnesses that if you have one thing, you will probably have (or have a potential to develop) another autoimmune illness (i.e. a lot of people with Sjögren's have Lupus, or RA, etc. etc. etc.). I tell myself in my mind the reason that these people have these complications isn't from Sjögren's, but from something else, but I have no clue what the future holds for me. I know because Sjögren's isn't very well researched, there isn't a whole lot I can do. There are treatments that people can be on, but I don't even like to take Tylenol. I would have to take a pretty serious turn for the worst to get on medicine and so far, I've been very fortunate not to have too many issues.
So far, I've only been diagnosed with Sjögren's. When I'm pregnant, I feel best. It's almost like the disease goes into remission when I'm pregnant (also common with AI illnesses). The scary thing about being pregnant is that I have antibodies that could cause a potential heart block in my babies in the womb (another thing I didn't know about until after we were pregnant with Baby P #2). I had to go to a specialist and have blood work to find out that yes, because of my autoimmune disease, my baby could need a pacemaker. Luckily thus far, we made it through one pregnancy (though undiagnosed, still symptomatic) and we've made it through this one with a healthy baby with a healthy heart. I pray every day that it stays the same and that this baby will be okay. I can't imagine the guilt I would feel if the baby DID have a heart block even though there is absolutely nothing I could've done about it.
Autoimmune diseases suck. They make you a victim when you haven't done anything wrong. If I was an alcoholic and I developed liver disease, it would make sense. If I smoked all my life and had lung cancer, I would have had to take some responsibility for that. With autoimmune diseases, nothing you do causes them. NOTHING. I was born and I grew up. That's why I have an autoimmune disease. I did nothing to encourage or prevent my illness, and there is no cure for it. When I die, I will die with Sjögren's Syndrome. I'm going to make it my goal not to die OF Sjögren's Syndrome, but I will have it for the rest of my life. And because I have it, and it can be hereditary, my kids could have it too. This is something that I've genetically passed on to them and I didn't even know I had it.
I am very fortunate to have the MOST AMAZING support system in my angel of a husband. When I'm feeling exhausted because it's a symptom of Sjögren's and there isn't much I can do about it, I am able to take a nap during the day. When I'm having joint pain, he listens to me whine and complain about it. When I'm convinced I'm having a heart attack because the chest pain is so bad (and I've gone so far as to have a cardiac catheter run to check my heart health), he reminds me that I have a terrible autoimmune disease and that it's likely those symptoms that are causing my pain, easing my feelings of impending doom. He loves me through my anxiety. He loves me through it all. I thank God every day for giving me him to help me bear this cross that I will live with forever.
So here's to you, all of you silent fighters. All of you who are fighting similar battles. Chronic pain that pops up with absolutely no rhyme or reason, rendering you helpless for a while. Those of you who look completely normal on the inside, but are fighting a battle that people outside of your body know nothing about. Here's to you. I'm here with you, fighting with you. We're going to be alright and we're going to make it. We weren't given a choice in our health, but we are strong and we will overcome it.
We're gonna make it after all.
Love,
Mrs. P
Monday, August 10, 2015
Hidden Treasure: RDU Airport Observation Park
Yesterday we discovered a hidden treasure in the Raleigh/Durham area.
Since I've lived here my entire life and Matt has been here over 10
years and neither of us knew about it, I'm assuming there are a lot of
"locals" that had no idea it was there- BUT we had a wonderful afternoon
at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport's Observation Park. Not
only is it awesome, because you get to see airplanes take off and land
from a pretty close proximity, but it's also 100% FREE. Free parking and
all. It's kind of tricky to get to, but the observation park is open
from 7 a.m. until sunset every day.
The "park" area is very nice. There is a little landing strip course that kids can run around on, and there is also a sand pit with a small climbing gym. Next time, we will definitely bring some buckets and shovels. We also talked about bringing some paper to make paper airplanes to fly on the landing strip. There is a nice grassy area for picnics, and in case you don't like eating on the ground, there are also three covered picnic-style tables. There are bathrooms and little displays with information about the airplanes on them, and then, there is the actual observation deck. It's covered, so even on bright, sunny days, you can stay in the shade. This is where you get the best view of the planes taking off and landing. You can download flight tracker apps and see where the planes are coming from and heading to. Planes were landing or taking off every 5 minutes, so there was a lot of action while we were there.
I think this will be a new stopping spot if we are nearby. Little C was very impressed with the planes that went "up into the clouds" and I could've stayed there all day. There is something therapeutic about watching routine things (especially when I'm watching the plane and not INSIDE it. That is NOT therapeutic to me!)
Here are some shots of our fun!
Here is a pretty good shot of the landing strip and the grassy picnic area
Daddy and Little C pretending like they are airplanes and "flying"
My favorite little airplane
Having a blast!
Ready for take off
"The airplane goes into the clouds!"
Landing was a lot louder than taking off. Little C thought we were saying the planes were "landon." He has a cousin named "Landon." Now he thinks his cousin has the coolest name ever!
These two really could not be any more alike. They are twins.
Little C and I goofing off
Our sweet (and growing) family
Love,
Mrs. P
Monday, August 3, 2015
Nesting, Attention Please
Over the past few days, I've gotten sudden bursts of energy, so I've
been trying to take advantage of it as it comes. It's not easy keeping a
house clean when you have a 2 year old boy running around (and lets
face it, I don't keep it clean about 85% of the time), BUT I am trying
to make more of an effort to at least keep it organized. Organization
amongst the chaos of plastic fireman hats, 8 million sports balls in
every form you can think of (golf ball all the way up to basketball), a
set of cherished bongo drums and random pieces of puzzles that I find
from time to time is the only way we will have a chance to survive after
the baby comes without becoming our very own TV show titled "My Child
Has Too Many Toys and I Can't Walk in our House." You'd be surprised how
many neat little organizational bins you can find at the Dollar Tree,
and what you can organize for under $20! I'll be posting more about the
organizational projects I've been doing over the next few weeks.
FOR NOW, let me show off Little T's room, which I finally finished this past weekend! Before Little C was born, I created an awesome ABC nursery. Poor Mr. P and my mom painstakingly accepted my challenge to paint one foot of orange at the top, with a 1.5 inch white border, followed by the rest of the turquoise/teal wall. My husband quickly found out how uneven our ceilings are and it lead to a lot of "I'm never painting this room again!" talk. After that, I vowed that when the next baby came, regardless of whether it was a girl or boy, I was leaving it the same and I would never ever change it... only we all know I can't do that. By trade, I am a business owner and part time marketing agent for a realty company, but in my free time, I am a party planner and an interior designer. I wish I could figure out a way to make money doing interior design, but for now, I just enjoy doing it in my own home.
Growing up, Mr. P was somewhat of a baseball phenom. Because of that, there is a deep love of baseball in this house, matched by Little C and his crazy ability to hit a ball, even by a pitching machine, at only 2 years old. When we found out we were having another boy, I immediately knew we needed to have a baseball nursery... so we did! And here it is (and for the record I painted all of the room for the most part with the exception of trim work which is why you'll notice there aren't any ridiculous lines in this room, and instead, there is only a fun baseball mimic wall instead). I am trying to put prices of what things cost me here too to prove that you CAN decorate on a budget! The most expensive thing in this room was the paint.
This mobile was given to us for Little C, but it didn't match our theme, so I dismantled it, and with a little help from a few sheets of felt from Michaels, a little acrylic paint, a circle and monogram cut from my Cameo, and stuffing from an old fair toy, voila! A brand new mobile! If you ask Little C, he will say it's his favorite part of his brother's room.
Originally I was going to make my own curtains, but when I walked through the isles of Target, I found these beauties. They are actually shower curtains, but that didn't bother me because they go perfectly with the room. They were $14.99 a piece. I wanted to pin them back, but I wanted it to still look cool, so I picked up a couple of baseballs for around $5.00 a piece and went to town with a drill! The flags at the top of the curtain were made from scrapbook paper and ribbon and cost under $10.00 total (they are all around the room), and the Baeball Boys of Summer picture was a clearance find at Hobby Lobby for $12.00 this past summer! The only thing we have left to finish here is to box our router and cordless phones behind the rocking chair (that's a work in progress).
This is the reading wall! The picture above the books is of 4 little boys outside of Yankee Stadium. My cousin found it on an online yardsale sight for $10.00 and got it for Little T. The lamp was $12 (with the shade) and I replicated a baseball in acrylic paint on the shade for accent (you can't see it in the picture though). The frame was from Hobby Lobby and was 25% off, so it was $10.00 and it's baseball themed, and Mr. P and I won the other baseball light from Frankie's Fun Park on one of our date nights! The only other thing I had to buy here were the cloth bins and they were $6.99 a piece.
I'm pretty proud of what I was able to do with Little T's room! We are
hoping by the time Little C is tired of Mickey Mouse, Little T will love
Mickey Mouse and we can just switch out their rooms.
We've also been getting ready for the baby by making some much needed purchases for our growing family including these:
The City Select stroller with extra seat and car seat adapter. We went to Buy Buy Baby and we pretty much fell in love when we saw all of the amazing things this stroller could do. Plus, it has room for a third child to stand at the back of the stroller (if needed) so it can continue to grow with our family. It was a must have after we saw it in person. It will be here Wednesday and I CANNOT WAIT!
We had to invest in new bottles since the ones we used with Little C have since been re-made and we weren't able to find new nipples for the new baby. When we had Little C, we went through bottle nipples like crazy. After we washed them a few times, they would flow too fast and we knew that would be a problem if we couldn't find new nipples, so we ended up going with the Munchkin Latch model. I boiled all 9 of the bottles I bought (using my birthday money) today and only burnt myself 5 times. I've heard great things about these bottles and I'm excited to try them out!
So with that said, we are definitely in nesting mode. I may or may not have a load of laundry going that contains all of Little T's clothes for our hospital bag. Better safe than sorry! I wanted to be prepared for him when he got here, and I wanted to use my energy while I have it... you never know what tomorrow will bring when you're pregnant, hot and tired! Thanks for reading!
Love,
Mrs. P
FOR NOW, let me show off Little T's room, which I finally finished this past weekend! Before Little C was born, I created an awesome ABC nursery. Poor Mr. P and my mom painstakingly accepted my challenge to paint one foot of orange at the top, with a 1.5 inch white border, followed by the rest of the turquoise/teal wall. My husband quickly found out how uneven our ceilings are and it lead to a lot of "I'm never painting this room again!" talk. After that, I vowed that when the next baby came, regardless of whether it was a girl or boy, I was leaving it the same and I would never ever change it... only we all know I can't do that. By trade, I am a business owner and part time marketing agent for a realty company, but in my free time, I am a party planner and an interior designer. I wish I could figure out a way to make money doing interior design, but for now, I just enjoy doing it in my own home.
Growing up, Mr. P was somewhat of a baseball phenom. Because of that, there is a deep love of baseball in this house, matched by Little C and his crazy ability to hit a ball, even by a pitching machine, at only 2 years old. When we found out we were having another boy, I immediately knew we needed to have a baseball nursery... so we did! And here it is (and for the record I painted all of the room for the most part with the exception of trim work which is why you'll notice there aren't any ridiculous lines in this room, and instead, there is only a fun baseball mimic wall instead). I am trying to put prices of what things cost me here too to prove that you CAN decorate on a budget! The most expensive thing in this room was the paint.
First, the crib wall. I painted the baseball wall using help from a broom (for measurement) and vinyl to make the threading, which is why the lines are virtually perfect. I am very thankful for my Silhouette Cameo machine. The baseball iron wall art came from Hobby Lobby, as did the letters. They came plain, and I hand painted them, then hung them on a stud in the corner of the room so they are the first thing you see when you walk in. I also made the mobile (for $4.00, better picture below) and the teething bar on the top of the crib (for under $15). (We need to raise the mattress, it's still lowered from when Little C used the crib)
This mobile was given to us for Little C, but it didn't match our theme, so I dismantled it, and with a little help from a few sheets of felt from Michaels, a little acrylic paint, a circle and monogram cut from my Cameo, and stuffing from an old fair toy, voila! A brand new mobile! If you ask Little C, he will say it's his favorite part of his brother's room.
I saw something similar to these on Etsy for sale for $70... but I'm way too cheap for that. I have enough basic stills in Microsoft Word that I was able to replicate these for free and print them on my own printer. I backed them with scrapbook paper (that we already had) and put them in $4.00 Walmart frames. I literally saved $54.00 by doing these myself!
Originally I was going to make my own curtains, but when I walked through the isles of Target, I found these beauties. They are actually shower curtains, but that didn't bother me because they go perfectly with the room. They were $14.99 a piece. I wanted to pin them back, but I wanted it to still look cool, so I picked up a couple of baseballs for around $5.00 a piece and went to town with a drill! The flags at the top of the curtain were made from scrapbook paper and ribbon and cost under $10.00 total (they are all around the room), and the Baeball Boys of Summer picture was a clearance find at Hobby Lobby for $12.00 this past summer! The only thing we have left to finish here is to box our router and cordless phones behind the rocking chair (that's a work in progress).
This is an accent piece we have on the dresser. Matt had several homerun baseballs from his youth, and his parents wrote on all of them. They were too cool to sit in a box in our closet, so we put them on display. I just wish I had bought a bigger Ball mason jar, but this one was pretty good for $3.99 at Michael's.
This was another Pintrest inspired project. I wanted to do something fun and abstract above the diaper changing area, so again, I went to Michael's and got a bunch of wood pieces that I could create on my own. The most expensive piece was the Pellas Stadium piece (I believe it was $10.00), the arrow was around $8.00 and the mirror and home run piece were under $5.00. I had coupons, so I never paid full price, and I bought paint that would match our colors (which I also used for his lettering). The initials frames were in the Michael's dollar bins, and I used my Silhouette Cameo to make the pieces pop after they were painted. On the clipboard, I have a blank baseball run sheet and when Little T is born, we will put his height, weight, time of birth, etc. on the board. The Babe Ruth tin sign was around $11.00 and it was a find we bought on our family vacation trip to Gatlinburg this summer. The silver bins in the diaper changing station were also on clearance at Michael's for $9.99 a piece, but I had a 15% off coupon for them too. They just looked like a locker room to me, and I'm using them to store lotions, ointment, diapers and wipes for easy access.
This is the reading wall! The picture above the books is of 4 little boys outside of Yankee Stadium. My cousin found it on an online yardsale sight for $10.00 and got it for Little T. The lamp was $12 (with the shade) and I replicated a baseball in acrylic paint on the shade for accent (you can't see it in the picture though). The frame was from Hobby Lobby and was 25% off, so it was $10.00 and it's baseball themed, and Mr. P and I won the other baseball light from Frankie's Fun Park on one of our date nights! The only other thing I had to buy here were the cloth bins and they were $6.99 a piece.
As I mentioned before, I like the look of the flags around the room. It adds color and dimension, but it's really cheap too! I put more flags on the formal dresser to dress it down some. Mr. P and I have had this set (it was purchased prior to Mr. P, but it's held up well), but I wanted it to still fit in the room. The only other thing new here is the 12 month picture frame which was on sale at Kohls for around $12.00. Well worth it for those precious memories!
We've also been getting ready for the baby by making some much needed purchases for our growing family including these:
We needed a new car seat because ours expired, so we went with the Graco Snugride Click Connect 30. It was rated one of the top 5 safest in my research and we have had good luck with Graco products. Plus, it's neutral and isn't a crazy color that will bother me if we have a girl in the future. It will look good in our City Select stroller when we are rolling down the street.
We had to invest in new bottles since the ones we used with Little C have since been re-made and we weren't able to find new nipples for the new baby. When we had Little C, we went through bottle nipples like crazy. After we washed them a few times, they would flow too fast and we knew that would be a problem if we couldn't find new nipples, so we ended up going with the Munchkin Latch model. I boiled all 9 of the bottles I bought (using my birthday money) today and only burnt myself 5 times. I've heard great things about these bottles and I'm excited to try them out!
So with that said, we are definitely in nesting mode. I may or may not have a load of laundry going that contains all of Little T's clothes for our hospital bag. Better safe than sorry! I wanted to be prepared for him when he got here, and I wanted to use my energy while I have it... you never know what tomorrow will bring when you're pregnant, hot and tired! Thanks for reading!
Love,
Mrs. P
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