Sunday, June 10, 2012

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy... poor little Madelyn has it, and not just a tiny bit either. I think the kid rolled in the stuff or something. She is seriously covered head to toe in it. The blisters appeared yesterday, which was when we first realized she even had it. I wasn't home at the time, but Addam was. He texted me telling me she had it on her legs, stomach, arms, hands, neck, ears, and face... see I told you I think she rolled in it! I was mortified by hearing this, since I am extremely allergic to it. The last time I had it, it ended up in my eyes and throat and sent me to the hospital.

Here I was, enjoying a nice day with my mom at her house watching all the pre-races for the Belmont Stakes on tv and my lovely day was ruined by a stupid plant. On the way back home, I seriously spent $125 in cleaning supplies. I couldn't believe my eyes either, when I opened the front door, there was Madelyn sprawled out on the couch with no towel or blanket under her. "GET UP GET UP GET UP!!!" Geez kid! Are you trying to give everyone in the entire house poison ivy?

Maybe I over reacted a little, but still... I just don't want it! I spent 4 hours cleaning and bleaching EVERYTHING. Addam took her to the doctor a few hours before I got home and they gave her a shot to help dry up to blisters so hopefully in the next few days it'll get a little better.

She is driving me insane though! She is limited to her bed and a spot on the couch that is covered in a blanket and I'm making her wear long socks, long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and rubber gloves until we get this thing under control. Ya I know I'm being way to overly cautious but I'd rather know we have everything cleaned of the oils from the poison ivy. She is not a happy camper though! Normally she'd kill to stay in the house all day watching tv, but now knowing that she has no choice, she is going stir crazy and driving me crazy at that.

Seriously though, my stress level is so high right now! I feel like I have to follow her EVERYWHERE because if I don't watch her constantly, she's off rubbing her body all over something in the house. I swear I keep a roll of paper towels and bleach with me at all times. lol.

So here's a question for you all: What's your experience with poison ivy been like? Did it get all in your house? How did you clean your house?

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Back after months

My last post was in February... it is now June. It is amazing at how quickly time has flown by. I apologize for having disappeared for so long but I'll take the time now to catch you all up on some things.

The BIG reason why I've been gone for so long is because shortly after my last post, my liver started failing. Scary stuff right? I was absolutely TERRIFIED! For those of you who may not know, I am a breast cancer survivor, but compared to cancer, liver failure scared me about 1,000,000X more. I knew my chances of beating the cancer was pretty great, but when I was diagnosed with liver failure I knew that the waiting list for a liver transplant was HUGE and by the time they found me a match, it could easily be to late.

There are currently around 17,000 people in the United States right now waiting for a liver transplant and only about 5,000 liver transplants happen each year. You do the math. There are basically 2 types of liver transplants: Orthotopic Liver Transplant and a Living Donor Transplant. The Orthotopic transplant is the most common of the 2 transplants because it is when the entire liver is removed from the body and a healthy liver is transplanted in. The Living Donor Transplant is when a healthy (alive) person donates part of their liver to the recipient- This type of transplant is just now becoming more and more used.

I was extremely fortunate enough that I was given the "OK" for the Living Donor Transplant. So all I needed was someone who was willing to give me part of their liver... not really an easy thing to do. It could still take even years to find a donor, which really scared me. All of this was happening way to quickly! Then a miracle happened. My Angel stepped in. He had the same blood type as me, he had an extremely healthy liver, he had no medical problems, he said he would be able to tolerate the surgery and the recovery process... he met every single criteria that was needed for the transplant. So he did it, he donated part of his liver to me and the transplant was under way. The surgery for him lasted roughly 3 hours and my surgery was around 7-8. Both surgeries had zero complications, although the recovery was extremely painful and tiring.

Today marks the 9 week period since my transplant and they doctors told me just this morning that the section of the liver that was transplanted into me has grown to it's normal size, which is great news. I'm still recovering, but for the most part I'm doing great.

I owe my donor my life and without him, who knows when and if I could've ever had the transplant. I will never be able to thank my husband enough for what he has done. He is truly my angel and saved my life. He has given me the greatest gift of all and that is to live.

Each day the waiting list of people who need the transplant continues to grow and it saddens me so much to know that thousands of those people will never get the surgery. I am extremely blessed to have found a donor in just a matter of a couple of weeks. The pain I went through is nothing compared to what others are having to go through. I will NEVER take my life for granted anymore. I will thank my husband every single day for what he has done for me. I will help in trying to find donors for those who badly need the transplant. I will live each day with faith, happiness, love, strength, courage, power, and hope.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Photo Session pic 1

On my last blog update, I mentioned a recent photo session me, Addam, and the girls did together. I figured I'd share one of the photos from the session. This is the only one I have at the moment, but when I get more, I'll share them. :)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Slacker!

Alright Alright Alright! Go ahead and say it 'cause I know you're thinkin' it! "You suck at updating your blog!" lol What can I say? My life has times where I can update almost every other day and then times where I'm lucky if I get to once every 2 months. I'll try and do better though. (:

I guess I'll start with the biggest news first: Addam and I got a new condo!!! Ahh I love it and I couldn't be happier! It's 5 minutes away from base yet, we don't have to deal with all the traffic. It's perfect! It's a bit small, and Kalie and Madelyn still have to share a bedroom but we figured hey, they're 6 and 9... sharing a bedroom for a couple more years shouldn't be to much of an issue. It's 2 floors, 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, a good size living room, and a kitchen that's small, but do-able. We still have boxes all over the place, and the girls room looks like a tornado swept through it... but then again, when does it not? We finally got all the boxes out of the kitchen and living room yesterday so now all we have to do is finish our room and the girls room. Our room really doesn't have much left to do so really the main issue is the girls room. Here is a picture I snapped with my phone on the day we moved in. Ours in #3 with that UGLY white car in front of it (So not our car!) and sorry for my finger in the picture (;

On a more deeper, depressing note, we FINALLY gave Kalie the 'talk' the other day. We figured she was definitely old enough and because she has been getting some pimples on her face and has some body oder, that it was time for the period talk. Talk about horrible! Addam actually handled it better than I did. It's just scary! More and more young girls are having sex and getting pregnant these days and it just really worries me. Kalie is already talking about boys and a couple of months ago, we got a call from The Boys and Girls Club saying she had asked a boy if he'd have sex with her! Talk about giving a step-mother a heart attack!!!!! Addam and I have actually talked about once she started her period, to get her the implanon. I know putting such a young girl on birth control sounds crazy, but still... what else are we supposed to do? We can give her the "sex can be dangerous" talk all day long and she'll still go out and do it... but at least with the implanon we know she can't get pregnant easily. Ugh :( just thinking about this is going to put into an early grave.

So last Friday, we went and got professional pictures done. They were so much fun and our photographer was GREAT! I can't wait to see the pictures! She said it could take anywhere from 1-2 1/2 weeks for her to edit the photos and let us see them but once I do, I'll definitely have to post some and show off my family. (:

It's totally a girls night at the condo tonight. Addam is in driving school for a finder-binder he had about a month ago until 10:00 pm tonight so I figured I'd treat the girls by going to pick up a couple of Happy Meals since every time we ask them what they want for dinner they say, "McDonald's!" Ick! Not very appetizing to me, but hey if it makes them happy I'll do it. Then I was going to sick down with them and help them with the little puppy dog and Monster High Valentines cards we picked up for them to hand to their classmates.

For an early Valentines Day treat, Addam scheduled us for couple massages at 10. am tomorrow morning! Ahh I can't wait! My neck and back has been killing me so this is just the thing I need. (:

I hope all my lovely followers are doing well! <3 ya'll!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Guess I haven't been *too* naugty

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope everyone is enjoying this GLORIOUS day and remembering the true meaning behind Christmas.

Addam, the girls, and I went to my parents house this morning to have our Christmas breakfast and open presents there. My older sister was there as well. My parents surprised Addam and I by getting us a really nice 46 inch flat screen tv for our bedroom, since the tv we originally had ended up in the girls room... so if we wanted to watch a movie at night, we'd have to do it on Addam's desktop computer. This tv will be a wonderful addition to our room, that's for sure! My parents got the girls a few little gifts as well that they are enjoying.

Our breakfast at my parents was really nice, although anytime Addam and I are around them things get to a be a little awkward (long story). It would be really rude to say we were glad to leave, but we were just ready for go to Addam's moms house where we both knew the atmosphere would be a little better.

From my families house to his moms house is about a 2 hour drive and within 15 minutes in the car, the girls were asleep which gave Addam and I some nice quiet time to ourselves. When we got to his moms, we watched the girls open the rest of their presents then his mom took them outside for a little scavenger hunt. While they were out there playing, Addam and I were sitting on the floor by the fire place drinking wine and listening to Christmas music when we pulls out a jewelery box that had "Kay's" written on it. You know you're getting something really nice when you see the world "Kay" lol. He had special ordered me a GORGEOUS diamond horse shoe necklace. With money being so tight for us, it shocked me that he had spent so much but I am definitely grateful and put it on right away.

It feels so nice to finally be a family again, and that alone is the greatest Christmas present anyone could have ever given me!

We will spend the rest of today at his moms where we will have a huge dinner with the rest of his family and then spend the night. We may go back home tomorrow or stay another night. We aren't sure, but we're just enjoying family time. There is truly nothing better!

Happy Holiday's everyone!!!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Life... Life is GREAT

As you all know, I've been going down a pretty rocky path with Addam for about the past 6 or 7 months. We basically 'split up,' I moved out, and yatayatayata. Any who, things for the past 2 months have gotten pretty great. So now for my BIG announcement...... Despite the fact that we are already married..............







ADDAM PROPOSED (again)! I'm such a happy lady right now, and I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present! We were laying in bed the other evening after I had just gotten back from a rough day at work. He kept staring at me ALL EVENING (creeeeeeeeepy!). Finally, after dinner he went to his room. I followed him so I could relax for the first time all day. He started talking to me and asking me a couple of little questions, and then sat up above me and said, "Will you marry me?" I just sort of looked at him before asking about 30 different times, "are you sure?" Of course I said yes. So we are going to plan a second wedding. Our first wedding was just at the court house, so this time we're going to do the whole "wedding dress at the chapel" thing.

So what do you ladies think of these 2 fancy numbers? I am in LOVE!
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?pageSize=100&page=1&style=JD1381
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?pageSize=100&page=1&style=JD1430


It'll probably be more than 1/2 a year before we actually have the wedding, but it's gonna happen (even if I have to drag him by his kahunas). Oh! And we're back to living together too. :) Ahhh yes, I am one happy gal!

On another note, I really hate ignorant, no good, dirty rotten people. So for the last 2 years I have been trying to find those reindeer antlers for your car that come with the little red nose for the grill of the car, but I never could find them. So this year I ordered them for $25 off of amazon. Any who, the other night I was at Addam's and when I went to go to my car one of the antlers had been snapped in half and the nose was completely gone. I'm FURIOUS! I told Kalie and Madelyn to find out which one of their little friends did this act of crime but I doubt I'll ever know. So thanks little rats, for ruining my lovely and very cute Rudolph car decorations! I hope Santa brings you nothing but a little lump of coal... frankly you don't even deserve that.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Back off! He's Mine!

Why some women (and men) find the need to go after someone who they know is taken is beyond me. It is honestly one of my biggest pet peeves (and I have A LOT!). So stop trying to be a home wrecker, find yourself a man or woman who is SINGLE, and leave the taken ones alone.... alright I'll back track and start from the beginning:

Adam, Kalie, Madelyn, and I decided to go have a nice family dinner last night at Cracker Barrel (I'll have the Chicken Fried Chicken please!). The first 15 minutes of us sitting down was pretty much a disaster with Madelyn spilling her tea, Kalie knocking the plate of biscuits and corn bread on the ground breaking the plate, and Adam looking as frazzled as ever... but eventually we all started to settle down. Our meals came and we were all enjoying each others company. Finally, after we had all finished eating dinner, the waitress came to our table and asked Adam how long he had been in the Navy (I reckon she saw his Navy jacket sitting on the back of his chair). They started talking, which was completely fine with me, but then she started getting into her personal life. She started telling him how she and her husband are getting a divorce and how he is in the Air Force and blahblahblah. THEN she asked if she could have his number! Oh. My. God! Lady! Do you not see me sitting here with my WEDDING RING on my hand positioned where you can clearly see it?! I don't think Adam was really thinking anything into it. He has always had a tendency to be oblivious to woman who are flirting with him. I guess he just doesn't know what flirting is (poor guy). Luckily Adam said that he only kept numbers in his phone of family, super close friends, and people he worked with. After a bit,

I took Kalie and Madelyn over to the big checker board since they had been dying to play all evening. When I turned my head over to look at Adam to smile at some wacko thing Madelyn had said, the waitress was back again but leaning on the table EXTREMELY close to Adam clearly trying to turn on the "charm." This just got to be to much. I told the girls to continue playing, to be quiet and be good, and that I'd be right back.

I walked back to the table and tapped the waitress on the shoulder. She turned to look at me as I held up my finger with my wedding ring on it, "Do you see this ring? This is my WEDDING RING. Do you see the ring on his hand? That's his wedding band. Can you put 2 and 2 together and understand that we are married? So I would appreciate if you would stop hitting on MY husband and get back to work." On the 15 minute ride home, I was quiet the entire time. When we got back to the house, the girls went inside and Adam and I sat out in the car. He looked over at me with a questioning look. I told him that nothing bothered me more than someone hitting on someone else who they know is either married or in a relationship. I've never been the jealous type, hell Adam can have all the female friends he wants I truly could careless, but when a person finds the need to flirt with my HUSBAND that just draws the line.

Maybe I over reacted, I don't know. It just bugs the hell out of me ya know? When our relationship is better then ever and then to have some moron try and hit on my husband? It just really hits a nerve.

OK, I've vented enough. So what do y'all think? Did I over react? And this ever happened to you?