Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween















One of the displays at the end of the cul-de-sac















Hanging out with the neighbors






















Landon and me






















Speed Racer Trick-or-Treats (at our house) ;o)















Landon hanging out with his buddies






















And now....."Post-Candy Landon" (God help us...)






















Fake smile















Stopping for a quick sandwich...






















Checking out the loot!















The fire pit where the kids roasted marshmallows






















And more post-candy shots ;o)....















































































Click here for last year's Halloween post :o)

Nice Costume, Mom!



















I'll only tell you the story if you promise not to laugh....My mom was running to her Bible study class at her church (literally running) when something caught her attention. She turned to look at whatever it was (still running) and smacked into a concrete post. She hit it so hard that she almost knocked herself out and now she has this gorgeous black eye just in time for Halloween--Hee hee hee!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Monkeying Around With Nana


Gotta love cheap entertainment! Shortly after recording this video, Landon bit the dust...LITERALLY! He fell off of his ghetto rope swing and got a huge mouthful of dirt! (My mom would probably appreciate me also telling you that she went home before this happened--ha ha ha--it was strangely not a result of her grabbing his leg while he hung on to a stick!) :oD

PS) Words of a wise parent: "Is that a dangerous game you're playing? No? Well, show us again!"...Yeeaahhhhhh, cameras are a bad influence. *blush*

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Varicella in the House!

Well...It happened. Every non-vaccinating parent's nightmare: One of the diseases seems to have caught up with us. BUT...this cloud might just have a silver lining (fingers crossed!!!). You see, Landon's rash isn't the typical varicella rash (fluid-filled blisters that eventually scab over)--It looks more like flat little insect bites. It also doesn't seem to be itching!!! He's a little tired, but he's not suffering the typical chickenpox fever and horrible chickenpox misery.

Chickenpox did cross my mind as a possibility, but it didn't seem likely--I still remember my own case of chickenpox like it was yesterday and it was 1987!!! (Can you say "NIGHTMARE"??!!) It wasn't until after a blood test at the pediatrician's office confirmed it that I could really believe the diagnosis. Apparently, Landon (ironically) caught this from a vaccinated kid who happened to get a milder ("breakthrough") form of the disease. Here's the great part: The breakthrough form of the virus still offers the same lifetime immunity as the "real thing". This would not be the case if we had vaccinated him.

Pray that the virus really is just a mild form and that there are no complications further down the road.

As for you other non-vaxxers: Chickenpox party anyone? ;o)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Dr. Landon and His Very Loud Mother

Here's a crappy cell phone video for you...(Just trying it out to see if it would work). You can't even understand what Landon's saying, but now that I know how to do this, it might be video overload! Muhahaha!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Listen to Me on the Radio Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow night from 9-10 pm (EST), my brother, John, and I (and a couple of other people will be guests on the Catholic radio program NextWave Live. The topic of discussion will be the five non-negotiables for Catholic voters--My topic is pretty hefty: abortion. I might sound like a moron, but tune in anyway! You can listen live at the EWTN website. Let me what you think! :o)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Is It Just Me (and Andy)...

...Or is this FUNNY?! Ha ha ha ha!


Maybe you have to work in this field to see the humor? ;o)

Congratulations Nick and Jessica!!


Our friends Nick and Jessica got married this weekend, but since the few pictures I managed to sneak before my camera's battery died were awful and unflattering, I opted not to post them (Jessica would have kicked my butt). Instead, you get to view a rare phenomenon: My husband and I in a photograph together...This never happens. Enjoy!

Friday, October 17, 2008

One HAS To Ask....

Why does he look so darn proud?





















...Because he's holding the one and only "Walter the Farting Dog" (Yes, Walter really does make farting noises--Joy of Joys!) I mean, come on, what else could bring such pride to a three year old?

*Its probably good that he's practicing living in a cardboard box--That's where we're going to be living if Andy stays in the mortgage business much longer!!!*

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Say What???

So, I went to see Dr. Flechas this afternoon...and I almost don't know what to say.

I expected to go there and have one of two things happen: 1.) Walk in, tick off my ever-growing list of crazy symptoms and get the raised-eyebrow look and head scratch that I usually get from doctors or 2.) Find out that I have some simple problems that only seemed big, but in the end of the day were easy to fix. What actually happened is that he gave me a very thorough physical examination, asked me tons of questions, and while he did give me a few raised-eyebrow looks, he did not send me away without answers. He told me that he thought I had an iodine deficiency (fine), talked about treating my thyroid and all of that jazz (no big surprises there). He then went on to tell me that my problem was more serious than what he had originally anticipated when I came in and that he thinks I am having some spinal chord compression. It was all well and good as far as I was concerned until he mentioned the urologist, cardiologist and NEUROSURGEON I'd be visiting over the next few weeks. *gasp* Yes, people, that's right--If I have the kind of problem he thinks I have, then I will be having brain surgery. I have to say I didn't see that one coming (even in my over-active imagination). In fact, I was still busy worrying about the catheter ablation they wanted to do on my heart!

This is all preliminary, of course. I still have to get my brain and c-spine MRI results to him for him to analyze. I still have to wait for blood test results to get the full picture of how my body is functioning. I'm going back to Dr. Flechas in a month, so keep those prayers cranking!

Some of you might be wondering how I'm dealing with all of this new information (especially the people who know how much I worry about even the small things). You know what? I'm actually okay. Not great, mind you, but "okay". I had three or four crying jags as it all sank in (oh, and two more while I was still at the doctor's office--hee hee!), but I have been praying a lot (it sucks that stuff like this is what draws us closer to God--Blah!!)and I can't help but notice that even the way I found Dr. Flechas is too strange to be a coincidence. I really feel deep down that I went to him for a reason. I think the timing had a reason, too--God is doing something here--I am just not sure what right now. Part of me (the part that had just settled itself on the fact that I must have a progressive, degenerative nerve disease) is almost relieved by this news. Its kind of like how happy I got when I found out I had Hashimoto's Disease--Not exactly super news, but better than some other options we were considering at the time! If the problem this doctor thinks I have actually exists, then I can go to a neurosurgeon (yee haw.) and have two little tonsils removed from my cerebellum and possibly be cured. I can't even imagine life without fainting spells and muscle spasms, weakness and fatigue (or at least the constant fear of when a new flare-up could occur). It could be fixable. Not pleasant per se, but FIXABLE--Some things aren't. Andy told me that maybe this is God saying, "Here is an answer, but you're going to have to trust me"...

TRUST.

He had to teach a lesson in my hardest subject, didn't He?

*sigh*

Well, it is what it is. We'll see what happens! :o) That's all I've got for tonight!

Monday, October 13, 2008

I'm a Postin' Fool Tonight!

Alright, you guys, I need you to send up some prayers for me tomorrow. I screwed up my calendar for the month and realized tonight that I have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 an hour away. I thought I had a few more days to think about it and get ready for it...but no such luck!

I don't know why I'm so freaked out about going--I have been waiting anxiously for this appointment for over two miserable months! I can't believe I almost missed it! Pray that everything goes well and that this guy will be the person to figure out what the heck is wrong with me! (Oh--AND that it is something curable!)

Merci beaucoup!

:o)

Why I'm Frantic, In a Nutshell

No, THIS is me, frantic in a nutshell: "Help! I'm frantic. And I'm in a nutshell!!"....This Austin Powers moment was brought to you by Jennifer Pfaffl. (Applause, Applause)

Now that I'm through acting like a complete dork, I shall get on with my list:

(drumroll please...)

I am frantic because:

A. After Landon was playing with three of his neighborhood friends for about an hour, their mom announced that their daughter had been sick with diarrhea, a bad cough and a 104 degree fever for three days. Could be rotovirus, but they're not sure, she said. Hmmm. (When she made this announcement, Landon was riding around in a truck with this little girl)

B. Fast forward one day. Two other kids dropped by to see Landon when THEIR mom announced to me that their little boy also had a high fever (he'd been playing with the sick kid, too) and that they'd spent the previous night in the emergency room. Great.

C. Today, the mom of the first sick kid yelled from across the street that she hoped they didn't pass any of their germs to us because all THREE of their kids actually have strep throat and one might have scarlet fever (!!!!!!)

D. Now Landon is cranky, having diarrhea (not bad though, thank the Lord) and he's been telling me his teeth hurt, which always, always means he has a sore throat. Dang it!

Moral of this story: People of the cul-de-sac, I love you all dearly. I might even make soup for you tomorrow....but for the love of Pete, please, please, PLEASE keep the kids inside when they're that sick....Or at least warn a poor mom before she tosses her three year old in the mix. Hmph!

Helllllo, Fall!

There Goes Speed Racer

My sister (who TOTALLY spoils my son!) bought Landon his first "real" bike! He zooms around the cul-de-sac, demanding that everyone call him "Speed". He, of course had to get a Speed Racer costume for Halloween, but he's worn it so many times (to show off on his bike) that now he said he needs a different costume for Halloween. His Speed Racer get-up is not a costume, you see. Its just that when you're speed Racer, you have to wear a Speed Racer outfit...and what "Speed" is going to be for Halloween is actually Spiderman. Hmmmmmmmmmm. We'll see who wins this one!

Getting Ready For Halloween






A Day With Pop-Pop


I remember how much I LOVED to go to my grandmother's house when I was little and I have always wished that Landon would grow up to feel the same way about his grandparents. Yesterday, Andy went to Columbia, so Landon and I went to my dad's house for the day. It reminded me so much of those great days I used to spend at my grandma's house as a kid. My dad flew kites with Landon and Ben. Then the three of them watered the garden, checked the grapevine for grapes, picked apples from their apple tree...They did science experiments on the back driveway with vinegar and baking soda and bubble solution. We had a big dinner of Diana's delicious chicken and rice soup and homemade bread and went home stuffed and exhausted and happy. Is there anything better than seeing your kid smile that special smile that says they know they're loved and they're having the time of their life? Its funny how little it really takes to put that smile on their faces...Its food for thought. :o)


Sunday, October 5, 2008

TEN YEARS???!!!





















Last night I went to my ten year high school reunion..WEIRD! Usually, I'll see one or two people I went to school with, but (WHEW!) its overwhelming when there are a hundred or more people in one room at one time...A hundred people to catch up with, spouses to meet, kid pictures to swap...Having Facebook and MySpace helps--I got some work done ahead of time, but I was still EXHAUSTED by the end of the night! (Not that it takes much to exhaust me these days!! :o) It was so weird to hug someone I used to be friends with, ask them if they were still living here in town, and hear something like, "No. I lived in Dallas for five years and then moved to New York where I've been for the last five years." It feels like we were all hanging out yesterday...like everything should still be the same and nothing is! :o) I guess we're getting old now! ;o)

Anyways, it was fun seeing everyone!