Wednesday, August 15, 2012
It's upon us.....
Deployment is right around the corner and the stress of it is definitely getting the better part of us this week. We came back from gulfport with snotty noses and coughs, I swear it's because we are allergic to this place bc Derek isn't sick! And what was once a pile here and there around the house of things going to Dallas is now going to Dallas with Derek this weekend! I feel like I'm taking a lot but then again feel like I'm not taking enough! Ive packed many boxes, made two storage trips but feel like little progress is being made. At least I started out way in advance! I feel like I have been focusing so much on packing and moving, that I'm scrambling to prepare for B's 1st day on the 28th! We are having a bday party here for him next weekend, and pics the 23rd and family pics the following week! I am kind of nervous about having to make B's vegan cake but I'm gonna practice and make one for my bday next week, yes I'll be 28 on the 22nd! This is such a stressful time that I just wanna celebrate the time we have together, but so many things running thru our heads of lists.....things to do, change, etc. how the boys will do with daddy gone. I about lost it the other day when we were driving to MS I had the boys watching the sesame street deployment DVD and as I heard what they were watching about Elmos dad having to leave little tears filled my eyes, and I was just glad I was not watching it with them :/ because I would have probably broke into a hysterical misfit of crying! Which I'm sure eventually will come upon me too...
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Preparing for deployment
This post is all over the place.....These past few weeks ive been packing, selling, giving away some of our stuff! We had a garage sale made a little over $200! There is a huge baby and home consignment sale coming up that I'm putting baby stuff in. We have secured our storage, paid the 1st month and sold Derek's other motorcycle(he had 2)! I'm so glad I will barely have to take anything to Dallas, very fortunate to have a fully furnished house, kitchen items and all! I will be taking my kitchen aid mixer though!
Dreycin is in the "I can do it my own self" stage! He is loving music class and I hear him singing most of the day, which I absolutely love! He likes to sing Take me out to the ball game and The more we get together! We also started a mommy & me Zumba class, which is awesome bc not only does he get rhythm but this mama gets a workout too!! I was sweattttty after the last 2 week's 45 min class!!! Dreycin asks to go bowling every weekend, its one of his favorite activities to do! This weekend we went bowling on base and did the blacklight bowling 1 game & it was $6! Bronson bowled (rolled) his first ball and bowled a strike!! Guess its in the genes! We have a sitter coming 2-3x a week right now, mostly the days I have yoga (bc I get really frustrated when Derek forgets or has to work late) and to help out Friday mornings with the kids & B at Zumba bc he shakes his booty but isn't able to move around very much. Dreycin really took a liking to her quick & B doesn't cry when I leave! B has been sleeping in his crib in his room for a little over 2 weeks! He sleeps thru the night most nights but this week he has woken up 2x bc he has two bottom teeth coming in! Can't believe my baby B will be 1 in 1 month! He is waving hi, giving slobbery wet kisses, trying to run.....oh yes he is walking! It's been busier having two very active mobile boys! Bronson is giving high 5's, throwing rolling and kicking balls, and messing up any activity that his older brother is doing! And that boy can put down some food! He eats everything now except dairy, egg, and meats. He loves all fruits, and in the last week has tried homemade pizza and spaghetti squash which both were big hits! Tonight he even tried some yuca I made! He really likes to take the fork or spoon and fee himself now, along with making a mess at every meal time!
We are heading to Gulfport for 7 days this coming weekend to spend some time with my dads sister & her family, we usually try to get together at least a couple times during the year and especially now that Derek is being deployed. I can't wait to relax, shop, eat, and did I mention relax ;)
Now that the deployment is less than two months away I am having alot of different mixed emotions. One for sure is that I know this is the most ideal and safest deployment we could ask for as a military family. Derek will never have to leave the base and for that reason I know in my heart I will not worry like the last deployment. I know this will be hard on my boys and I hope being around their grandparents will help ease the pain of the father being gone and not understanding. I pray for lots of patience because who knows how hard this will really be with 2 kids. I am happy that the 6mos I will be in Dallas we will be busy taking so many educational trips to the zoos, aquariums, bouncy house places, music classes, soccer classes, gymnastics classes.....you name it we will prob try it! And I'm happy that my parents, my friends and family and Derek's family will get to know the boys more, get the quality time that they dont get to have since we have always lived so far away. I am sad to leave our house on base but not sad to leave gnat & allergy filled Georgia! I'm still undecided on where we will live when Derek returns from deployment. I could care less if we are in a 1 bdrm apt as long as we are together again ;)
Dreycin is in the "I can do it my own self" stage! He is loving music class and I hear him singing most of the day, which I absolutely love! He likes to sing Take me out to the ball game and The more we get together! We also started a mommy & me Zumba class, which is awesome bc not only does he get rhythm but this mama gets a workout too!! I was sweattttty after the last 2 week's 45 min class!!! Dreycin asks to go bowling every weekend, its one of his favorite activities to do! This weekend we went bowling on base and did the blacklight bowling 1 game & it was $6! Bronson bowled (rolled) his first ball and bowled a strike!! Guess its in the genes! We have a sitter coming 2-3x a week right now, mostly the days I have yoga (bc I get really frustrated when Derek forgets or has to work late) and to help out Friday mornings with the kids & B at Zumba bc he shakes his booty but isn't able to move around very much. Dreycin really took a liking to her quick & B doesn't cry when I leave! B has been sleeping in his crib in his room for a little over 2 weeks! He sleeps thru the night most nights but this week he has woken up 2x bc he has two bottom teeth coming in! Can't believe my baby B will be 1 in 1 month! He is waving hi, giving slobbery wet kisses, trying to run.....oh yes he is walking! It's been busier having two very active mobile boys! Bronson is giving high 5's, throwing rolling and kicking balls, and messing up any activity that his older brother is doing! And that boy can put down some food! He eats everything now except dairy, egg, and meats. He loves all fruits, and in the last week has tried homemade pizza and spaghetti squash which both were big hits! Tonight he even tried some yuca I made! He really likes to take the fork or spoon and fee himself now, along with making a mess at every meal time!
We are heading to Gulfport for 7 days this coming weekend to spend some time with my dads sister & her family, we usually try to get together at least a couple times during the year and especially now that Derek is being deployed. I can't wait to relax, shop, eat, and did I mention relax ;)
Now that the deployment is less than two months away I am having alot of different mixed emotions. One for sure is that I know this is the most ideal and safest deployment we could ask for as a military family. Derek will never have to leave the base and for that reason I know in my heart I will not worry like the last deployment. I know this will be hard on my boys and I hope being around their grandparents will help ease the pain of the father being gone and not understanding. I pray for lots of patience because who knows how hard this will really be with 2 kids. I am happy that the 6mos I will be in Dallas we will be busy taking so many educational trips to the zoos, aquariums, bouncy house places, music classes, soccer classes, gymnastics classes.....you name it we will prob try it! And I'm happy that my parents, my friends and family and Derek's family will get to know the boys more, get the quality time that they dont get to have since we have always lived so far away. I am sad to leave our house on base but not sad to leave gnat & allergy filled Georgia! I'm still undecided on where we will live when Derek returns from deployment. I could care less if we are in a 1 bdrm apt as long as we are together again ;)
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Whirlwind
The last two weeks have been so busy, we had Dreycin's 2 appts in Jax, my mom came to visit, we had a yard sale, and I'm slowly starting to pack up things we don't use everyday and declutter!
1st on Dreycin's dx we were told that he has a combination of both pallid and cyanotic breath holding spells. There is a chance because of his actions during the spell he is having a seizure less than 1 minute, and for that reason his dr is ordering an MRI. Children usually outgrow these spells between age 4-8, and we believe his stems from pain or traumatic event. This is completely involuntary on his part, so for that reason we have no idea when they will happen. It may happen with a minor fall, or it may not. Our MRI and f/u have been scheduled for Sep 10 & 11th, which is really close to Derek's deployment date and if I have to I'll just have to manage the 3.5 hr trip by myself with both kids. But come deployment time the kids and I are moving back to Texas. With Derek being gone, the boys issues, & my lupus....I can without a doubt say I'll need the support of my parents, family and close friends. We had the yard sale to get rid of some stuff because we are putting everything in storage except for a small trailer of stuff I'm taking to Texas. I'm looking forward to being home, doing lots of fun activities with the boys to stay busy while Derek is gone. Right now we are not sure about post deployment if we will move back to Georgia, I'm thinking if we move back it will be to Florida probably Tallahassee. So we are moving forward and I'm starting to plan B's 1st bday :)
1st on Dreycin's dx we were told that he has a combination of both pallid and cyanotic breath holding spells. There is a chance because of his actions during the spell he is having a seizure less than 1 minute, and for that reason his dr is ordering an MRI. Children usually outgrow these spells between age 4-8, and we believe his stems from pain or traumatic event. This is completely involuntary on his part, so for that reason we have no idea when they will happen. It may happen with a minor fall, or it may not. Our MRI and f/u have been scheduled for Sep 10 & 11th, which is really close to Derek's deployment date and if I have to I'll just have to manage the 3.5 hr trip by myself with both kids. But come deployment time the kids and I are moving back to Texas. With Derek being gone, the boys issues, & my lupus....I can without a doubt say I'll need the support of my parents, family and close friends. We had the yard sale to get rid of some stuff because we are putting everything in storage except for a small trailer of stuff I'm taking to Texas. I'm looking forward to being home, doing lots of fun activities with the boys to stay busy while Derek is gone. Right now we are not sure about post deployment if we will move back to Georgia, I'm thinking if we move back it will be to Florida probably Tallahassee. So we are moving forward and I'm starting to plan B's 1st bday :)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Toddler EEG
As the week leading up to our EEG approached I was so emotional, I think this last week has made our current situation/future become a harsh reality for me being alone with the kids. Anything would get me teary eyed this last week. We left for Jacksonville on Thursday evening, and that morning afternoon I was running errands with the kids all morning! Two dr appts, library class, oil change, and lunch!
Earlier that morning my mom was suppose to be on a flight to Panama but was told she could not fly international because her passport was within 3mos of expiration! None of us knew that rule! So we talked about her flying into Jax, Fl to meet us and stay with us for a while.....and that's what happened the next day she met us and is staying a little over a week! We spent the morning at the zoo, the tech had called the day before and suggested that we bring him in ExhAUSTED! So we kept him up until midnight woke him up at 7am, and had a blast at the zoo! He fed the giraffes, saw the elephants, made bird calls like the storks, saw an anteater for the first time, and really got a kick out of rising the train!! B man loves animals and also had quite the adventure, but did fall asleep the last hour we were there! Then came time to go to Nemours Children's Clinic for our appt, the staff was great but the EEG is not meant for small children. Dreycin and I laid on a large hospital bed. I physically had to hold him down for 40min for the nodules to be placed on he screamed cried and kicked the entire time. The lady kept apologizing to me saying I was taking on a majority of the appt, but whatshe didnt know was that it was taking everything I had to not cry with my baby. I just kept saying we are almost done and you wont have to do this again, I'm so sorry.....over and over. He kept saying the tech was hurting him :( and he was sweating profusely, which made it harder for nodules to stay on so she started wrapping his head with gauze. I had brought the IPad with us to make it easier, which it did. We watched a spider bedtime story and watched the read to me version of Toy story 1. He was still crying on and off after the nodules were put on, but not as much like when they were getting put on. By this time I noticed he was getting really drowsy so she asked me to turn off iPad and see if we could get him to nap. She turned on her sound machine and he was out in less than 3min, I think the crying wore him out but he was also laying beside his mommy and I was hugging him very tight! The tech had to get 3 readings, awake, falling asleep, and waking up. When it was time to wake up Dreycin he was not happy once again, he did not want us to take off nodules or even touch his head :( and he had a Vaseline gunk all over his head that I pretty much left on. Wasn't worth making him cry more. We left, and we're getting off the elevator and there was my mom, Derek, and B waiting for us. While we were in test Derek & B went to pick up my mom from airport, a very impromptu visit but I'm glad she is here. It took Dreycin just a few minutes to warm up to my mom, and he has been attached every moment since! The next day we spent at St Augustine Beach, and made some great memories! We went and visited my Aunt & cousins who live in Jax and then on Sunday I made one last stop to Whole Foods for a massive grocery trip! Then we headed back home. As I'm finally finishing up writing this we are driving back to Florida for his second appt tomorrow. But first we are making it a beach day at Fernandina Beach about 45 min from Jax! We have to take advantage of getting out of Albany and enjoying new places! As we drove down here I researched more about Dreycin's condition and now have quite a few questions for the doc, and actually found a center dedicated to research on breath holding spells in Houston. The more I research the more I am convinced D has a vagal nerve dysfunction due to his symptoms. We will see what the doctor says, but i just hope they have the time & patience for all my questions.
Earlier that morning my mom was suppose to be on a flight to Panama but was told she could not fly international because her passport was within 3mos of expiration! None of us knew that rule! So we talked about her flying into Jax, Fl to meet us and stay with us for a while.....and that's what happened the next day she met us and is staying a little over a week! We spent the morning at the zoo, the tech had called the day before and suggested that we bring him in ExhAUSTED! So we kept him up until midnight woke him up at 7am, and had a blast at the zoo! He fed the giraffes, saw the elephants, made bird calls like the storks, saw an anteater for the first time, and really got a kick out of rising the train!! B man loves animals and also had quite the adventure, but did fall asleep the last hour we were there! Then came time to go to Nemours Children's Clinic for our appt, the staff was great but the EEG is not meant for small children. Dreycin and I laid on a large hospital bed. I physically had to hold him down for 40min for the nodules to be placed on he screamed cried and kicked the entire time. The lady kept apologizing to me saying I was taking on a majority of the appt, but whatshe didnt know was that it was taking everything I had to not cry with my baby. I just kept saying we are almost done and you wont have to do this again, I'm so sorry.....over and over. He kept saying the tech was hurting him :( and he was sweating profusely, which made it harder for nodules to stay on so she started wrapping his head with gauze. I had brought the IPad with us to make it easier, which it did. We watched a spider bedtime story and watched the read to me version of Toy story 1. He was still crying on and off after the nodules were put on, but not as much like when they were getting put on. By this time I noticed he was getting really drowsy so she asked me to turn off iPad and see if we could get him to nap. She turned on her sound machine and he was out in less than 3min, I think the crying wore him out but he was also laying beside his mommy and I was hugging him very tight! The tech had to get 3 readings, awake, falling asleep, and waking up. When it was time to wake up Dreycin he was not happy once again, he did not want us to take off nodules or even touch his head :( and he had a Vaseline gunk all over his head that I pretty much left on. Wasn't worth making him cry more. We left, and we're getting off the elevator and there was my mom, Derek, and B waiting for us. While we were in test Derek & B went to pick up my mom from airport, a very impromptu visit but I'm glad she is here. It took Dreycin just a few minutes to warm up to my mom, and he has been attached every moment since! The next day we spent at St Augustine Beach, and made some great memories! We went and visited my Aunt & cousins who live in Jax and then on Sunday I made one last stop to Whole Foods for a massive grocery trip! Then we headed back home. As I'm finally finishing up writing this we are driving back to Florida for his second appt tomorrow. But first we are making it a beach day at Fernandina Beach about 45 min from Jax! We have to take advantage of getting out of Albany and enjoying new places! As we drove down here I researched more about Dreycin's condition and now have quite a few questions for the doc, and actually found a center dedicated to research on breath holding spells in Houston. The more I research the more I am convinced D has a vagal nerve dysfunction due to his symptoms. We will see what the doctor says, but i just hope they have the time & patience for all my questions.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Updates
The other night Dreycin and I were walking home from getting the mail and we were playing red light stop green light go while running in the grass, and when I would say green light go he would yell really loud "I love picking strawberries" over and over each time we would green light go! Makes me want to take him to the berry farm every weekend!!
We also really like the song from Madagascar I like to move it move it, it even gets B dancing! The other song that is popular with the kids is the song at the end from despicable me!
Bronson is standing for longer periods by himself, he even has said a few more words! He says and signs more, and even said Elmo the other day! He loves the Elmo spoon while e eats! He chews on everything, and has been drooling alot! He loves to turn pages in books, and now will sit thru readings of a few books! He is growing so fast! I'm starting to plan his 1st birthday!!! Ohhhh where did the time go! I'm thinking for his 1st bday he will get a pottery barn chair (bc he loves Dreycin's) and a few other things? They are constantly both trying to fit in the chair and usually Dreycin will give up and get out of the chair! We went browsing at toys r us last night for ideas :)
Bronson had his f/u in Macon this week with his GI doc and it was our first great visit. He was really happy that he has gone since April 1st with no blood, and we will have him retested a little after he turns 1 for allergies again. Dd I mention that Bronson has had reaction to eggplant and we believe cinnamon? The doc us completely set that our B is very sensitive to foods and we need to be extremely careful not to reintroduce those foods that he is allergic to or has had a reaction to for fear the 2nd time it will be very dangerous for B. but all in all we continue to F/u with him.
This week we have Dreycin's EEG procedure 3HRS away....and until last night I was avoiding looking up information on it. A few things the clinic told us was that the procedure is sleep deprived so he has to be up for 7hrs prior, no problem there bc it's at 230pm and he has skipped naps plenty of time before. No caffeine or high sugar content food items, no problem there either. Only 1 parent can go into procedure with child. Until last night Derek said he would do it, and now I've decided it will be me. I carried Dreycin in my womb, he is apart of me and I want to be there for him. He is my baby and I can't help but feel miserable that all this is going on to him. So in addition to reading all the paperwork I decided to look up videos on YouTube about children and EEG's. What I learned was that the procedure is 2hrs, and the 1st hour is just putting the nodules on the child's head, after that the head is wrapped in gauze and a series of tests are done. This is my child who at the age of 2 has had an EKG and 2 surgeries that included anesthesia, I can't help but ask why. And most of all why now when we are facing so many changes in the next few months.
We also really like the song from Madagascar I like to move it move it, it even gets B dancing! The other song that is popular with the kids is the song at the end from despicable me!
Bronson is standing for longer periods by himself, he even has said a few more words! He says and signs more, and even said Elmo the other day! He loves the Elmo spoon while e eats! He chews on everything, and has been drooling alot! He loves to turn pages in books, and now will sit thru readings of a few books! He is growing so fast! I'm starting to plan his 1st birthday!!! Ohhhh where did the time go! I'm thinking for his 1st bday he will get a pottery barn chair (bc he loves Dreycin's) and a few other things? They are constantly both trying to fit in the chair and usually Dreycin will give up and get out of the chair! We went browsing at toys r us last night for ideas :)
Bronson had his f/u in Macon this week with his GI doc and it was our first great visit. He was really happy that he has gone since April 1st with no blood, and we will have him retested a little after he turns 1 for allergies again. Dd I mention that Bronson has had reaction to eggplant and we believe cinnamon? The doc us completely set that our B is very sensitive to foods and we need to be extremely careful not to reintroduce those foods that he is allergic to or has had a reaction to for fear the 2nd time it will be very dangerous for B. but all in all we continue to F/u with him.
This week we have Dreycin's EEG procedure 3HRS away....and until last night I was avoiding looking up information on it. A few things the clinic told us was that the procedure is sleep deprived so he has to be up for 7hrs prior, no problem there bc it's at 230pm and he has skipped naps plenty of time before. No caffeine or high sugar content food items, no problem there either. Only 1 parent can go into procedure with child. Until last night Derek said he would do it, and now I've decided it will be me. I carried Dreycin in my womb, he is apart of me and I want to be there for him. He is my baby and I can't help but feel miserable that all this is going on to him. So in addition to reading all the paperwork I decided to look up videos on YouTube about children and EEG's. What I learned was that the procedure is 2hrs, and the 1st hour is just putting the nodules on the child's head, after that the head is wrapped in gauze and a series of tests are done. This is my child who at the age of 2 has had an EKG and 2 surgeries that included anesthesia, I can't help but ask why. And most of all why now when we are facing so many changes in the next few months.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Father's Day
We had a wonderful weekend, we went to Tallahasse yesterday did some grocery shopping at Earth FAre and Costco, ate some good food. Today we went to Berry Good Farms in Tifton, a u-pick berry farm that does not spray their berries just 40min from where we live.! We all had blue hands, and I dont know if Dreycin ate more blackberries than we actually picked! It was a breezy day, not very many gnats. Dreycin got to see the guineas, chickens, and goats. Then we went and ate decent Mexican food, and stopped at a donut store for dessert. Dreycin and Derek went to the movies this afternoon to see Madagascar 3! Im sure ill have two worn out boys by dinner time! Our new pic is from the berry picking today! If you have never gone to berry pick, go to pickyourown.org and find a local farm! Its lots of fun, and tasty!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Switching hats....
Being a social worker has many benefits but when you are dealing with your own family it's hard to switch hats. Ive been really thinking about how and what materials to use for Dreycin to help ease the deployment. I want to be counselor yet I know I need to be mommy. My fear is that he won't understand, and writing that brings tears to my eyes. I have read fantastic ideas about calendars, videos, flatdaddies, daddy dolls, build a bear, and tons of books ive seen on amazon!
And my first instinct is that I want to do them all(social worker) but then I cry when I really start to think about having to explain Daddy being gone(mommy)! I will eventually find my happy medium. I'm also staying busy googling things to buy for Derek to take....digital camera bc he obviously isn't gonna want to take my pink canon, sheets, towels, webcam, grooming stuff, pics of us, plus I'll have the help of his brother Elliot who is actually returning to Germany from a 1yr long deployment in Afghanistan this week! Oh and I already have given the cleaning lady a heads up for while he is gone, lord knows I am not gonna spend time cleaning! She is a military spouse who lives just down the street! This month we are also going to try and go to a deployment brief/class. We have to do power of attorney, family care plans, and find time to get me a new ID.
Aaaaaand my awesome Aunt(dads sister) found out Derek was deploying and jumped on booking a beach house vacation for all of us aug 4-11th to spend time together before he leaves! We are going to the gulf shores! Can't wait!
And my first instinct is that I want to do them all(social worker) but then I cry when I really start to think about having to explain Daddy being gone(mommy)! I will eventually find my happy medium. I'm also staying busy googling things to buy for Derek to take....digital camera bc he obviously isn't gonna want to take my pink canon, sheets, towels, webcam, grooming stuff, pics of us, plus I'll have the help of his brother Elliot who is actually returning to Germany from a 1yr long deployment in Afghanistan this week! Oh and I already have given the cleaning lady a heads up for while he is gone, lord knows I am not gonna spend time cleaning! She is a military spouse who lives just down the street! This month we are also going to try and go to a deployment brief/class. We have to do power of attorney, family care plans, and find time to get me a new ID.
Aaaaaand my awesome Aunt(dads sister) found out Derek was deploying and jumped on booking a beach house vacation for all of us aug 4-11th to spend time together before he leaves! We are going to the gulf shores! Can't wait!
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