Such a Busy Week

We of course had a couple of days last week when Gabbi was running a fever. Then she got better and we did the party last night. Gabriella has been itching her eyes a lot and blinking them and getting some drainage over the past two days. Just lots of water and now her eyes are red too with crusty spots on the corners. I suspect she might have caught the pink eye. I can't imagine having to put drops in her eyes. I don't know how she'll handle it but if I have to I will. Monday is the two oldest girls birthdays. It's just been crazy around here and it's not letting up. I myself am tired and ready to just take a nap until spring!

Happy Birthday to My Husband!

Yes my hubby's birthday is today. I like to tease him because it is Friday the 13th and his name happens to be Jason. I told him if walks around the house whispering "kill kill kill" I may just have to throw him outside. haha! He turns 35 years of age today. It's a nice round number to me. I have a lot to do to plan his birthday party tonight so I am not going to be around too much. I have to go pick up a cake. I wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday from me, and if you all would like to, send him a birthday comment. I'll show him all the comments tonight!




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Oh How Time Does Fly

We all heard it a million times in our lives. Time flies. I remember as a kid getting my cheeks pinched frequently by older aunts, uncles, grandparents telling me how big I was getting and oh how time flies. Well I hear myself uttering the exact same words these days. It's true. I remember the day my first daughter was born like it was yesterday. March 16, 1997. My husband got into a car accident only 3 weeks before her birth. He crushed his knees and was in a wheelchair and occasionally on crutches. When I was taken to the hospital in labor they had to get us both a wheelchair. Ha! You cannot make this stuff up. It's totally true. He leaned on his crutches while I gave birth so he could be up there with me, but later he got some terrible pain in his underarm area from leaning on those crutches for so hard and long.

Then there was my second daughter, born on March 16th 2000. She was healthy and well at 8 lbs 12 oz. She was my biggest girl. Lexi had only been 6 lbs. 15 oz. So this was a big difference for me. Mikayla was only 7 months old when I got pregnant again. It was not planned. I was panicked yet still a bit excited. I started to really like the idea of having two children so close together, then I miscarried that baby at around 3 months along. We had tests done that confirmed it was a boy with chromosomal abnormalities. That was a hard time but within a few months we were pregnant again. I was a nervous wreck during that pregnancy but Angelina was born healthy and well on January 19th 2002.

Then of course we come to Gabriella. What you all might not realize is she was not planned. I was in my mind done having children. I had planned on having hubby get fixed or myself. We had debated on and off but never really gotten anything done. I was taking birth control. I was back in college for almost 2 years and in the best shape of my life. I was in a Yoga class and a Fitness class at my college. Nothing like having a good grade as your encouragement to stick with it. Anyway we moved and I switched schools. I was due for my annual womanly exam but since we had moved I needed a new doctor. My birth control pills were gone so I called my old doctor and asked for a refill. They said they couldn't do that because I needed to get my checkup first. I explained I didn't live there anymore but hadn't found a new doctor yet. They then said well you'll need to see your new doctor for birth control. So I called a new doc and they couldn't see me for 3 weeks. What could happen in 3 weeks I figure? Right?

HA! Yes. I got pregnant. 3 weeks off the pill and I was pregnant. I was in shock and I had been feeling sick at this point. I had difficulty breathing, lifting my arms. I had pressure in my neck, I felt weak and tired. I saw flashing lights all the time. I had numbness and tingling in my arms and weak feelings in my arms. I had so many signs that I tried to blame on my thyroid or other things but the fact was I didn't know how I would do it! Then of course came the cancer diagnosis. Then the one specialist said I should abort and of course we did not. Now Gabriella is a healthy one year old girl. I think about all she had to overcome to get here! If I had refilled my pills she wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have had her and if I had followed that doctor's advice she wouldn't be here. I sit back and think of how she must have some great purpose in life to overcome all these obstacles. Now I'll take you back in time for one moment with a picture of Gabriella after she was born.










And here are all my girls and myself now!





As I said time really does fly!

Two Awards to Start The Day

I received a couple of awards recently. I want to thank those who consider my blog for awards. It is a compliment and I appreciate them so much. I got a beautiful award from From Huskies To Husbands. This is the Let's Be Friends Award. I regularly read her blog. You should stop by for a look!





The other award is from Soulful Scribbles. She has given me the Heart and Soul Award.

This is a beautiful award that is given to those blogs that have touched or inspired me in some way. I am to pass it on to three blogs that have touched or inspired me.



First off is a blog I found when I first started hunting for blogs on Hodgkin's. I see her now, feeling sad and tortured by the cancer so maybe some support sent her way, words of encouragement would be nice. The blog is My Lymphoma Story. I know I have a lot of readers who could give her some words of encouragement. After all, we have all hit that breaking point right?

The next blog up would be I Kicked Cancer's Ass. Her story is a hard one. She went through a lot but just finished taking the bar exam after everything she been through. She has done so much for the cause and getting awareness out there. Have a read. I promise you'll not be disappointed.

Lastly I choose Health Nut Wannabee Mom. I think her blog is encouraging and gives hope and help to those who want to be healthy but don't know where to start or just need helpful advice. I think staying healthy, especially after we have children can sometimes be hard work. Giving up certain foods and incorporating healthier foods into our diets can be very hard work. Check out her blog!


If you receive this award, please spread the love!

- Create a post about it, and make sure to include the logo.
- Nominate three blogs that have touched or inspired you, and made an impact in your life.
- Add a link to your nominees’ blogs in your post and inform them about the award.
- Go to http://heartandsoulaward.wordpress.com and leave the URLs of the 3 blogs you have nominated.

Thanks again for these beautiful awards.

Do You Have a Needle Phobia?

I have never been afraid of needles. I remember as a young child liking that anxiety that built up before a shot. Call me strange but after I got the shot, which I did not enjoy, I got to show off my war wound to my friends. All little kids feel getting a shot is a big deal and somehow you've earned bragging rights. The band aid covering the wound proves it.

What do you do if you have a needle phobia and are diagnosed with cancer? I often wondered about this after being stuck with a needle for the 3rd or 4th time in a day. You see I had trouble with my port. That is where they inject the chemo. The nurses could never get blood from it like they are supposed to so I always had to have them take blood from my arm and get stuck in my port for chemotherapy on top of that. Take into consideration days when I had to go to my OB/GYN for blood work and tests I got stuck with needles a whole lot.

I would think to myself during those times it was sure good I didn't have a fear of needles. I do not know how you could do it if you did. I don't mind the needles. Most often it was just a little pinch and once it's in it's not too bad. There were a couple of times it felt my arm was on fire. I have to admit it totally depends on the nurse. I have had bruised arms after needles and then barely any proof I had a needle on other days. It all just depends on the skill of the nurse. I hated IVs. Those are much more painful but really it only hurts getting it in. After it's in, it's not too big of a deal. Still, how could you do it? If you are afraid of needles I don't know how you could make it through something like cancer which involves a whole lot of needles! My port needle was bigger and fatter than a normal needle. It went through the skin each time too. My port was under my skin. This is what the needle that goes into the port looks like:


This is where they stuck it:




So I again ask, if you do have a needle phobia, do you think you could manage getting all those needle sticks?

Well I Knew It Couldn't Last

I was not feeling well last week with the horrible cold and then a couple of days I felt kind of flu-ish. I had posted that here. My 3 oldest all went through pinkeye and Gabriella had a cold. Mikayla came home from school throwing up so I figured maybe it will stop. Maybe everything had made it's way through. Ha! Yes it's that time of year and poor Gabriella woke up around midnight with 103 fever. She had been in warm and toasty feety PJ's so I got those off quick and gave her some baby motrin. The temp went down pretty quickly but she was not wanting to sleep. I got to bed around 4 a.m. so needless to say I am tired this morning. I am hoping whatever she has passes through quickly! I also hope it gets NO worse. Honestly a trip to the doctor right now would only bring more sickness home. =/

For Those Who Never Saw My Story on the News

I have posted it before, but I like to share it again with new viewers and followers. I was on two local news stations and also came close to being on a larger network but that fell through. Here's the video..but please forgive the poor quality. I pointed my digital camera at the TV. lol Gabriella is not very old here!



I should add that many of the pictures you see on here are taken from right off this blog. The man who interviewed me literally pointed his camera at the computer right on my blog to get those pics so if you look back, you'd find them.