Our Mini-Vacation

Last Thursday, after loading the booster seat and all the needed things for a few days, we left for the bus stop. We transferred at the station to a DART train to Union Station, and from there, we got on the Texas Eagle to Temple, where GrandmaMom would be picking us up. 

The bus ride was a cinch, as we ride them quite frequently. The DART train was exciting. It was our second ride; it was also the first time that my ticket was checked. The officer then playfully rounded on the kids and asked where their tickets were. When they both told them they didn't have any, he laughed and said that deputies didn't need them. He took out a bundle of sticker badges which they gleefully affixed to their shirts.

The train ride soon reached downtown Dallas, where the kids were mesmerized by the fact that the taller buildings disappeared into the clouds. Ryli posed for a picture with her badge quite gleefully, while Landry decided to gnaw on Zebra D. Giraffe's head instead.

We made it to Union Station, and after a quick potty break and getting some snacks out of the vending machine, I went to get us checked in. That's where I found out that the train was 30 minutes ahead of schedule; only five minutes away. When the train was announced, Landry went crazy. We went out to the boarding area, and watched it roll in.

Landry and Ryli both lost it when the train arrived and they heard one of the conductors holler "All aboard!"

We got our seats, and made sure they were as close as possible to the stairs leading to the bathrooms. Over the next couple of hours, everyone in our party had their patience tried between the train running thirty minutes ahead of schedule and the fact that I didn't check the itinerary, so the hour plus layover in Fort Worth surprised us. Thankfully, they were persuaded to take a nap. All in all, they had a blast, I think.

My mom was waiting when we pulled into Temple. A quick run to Target, and we were off to the hotel. Dacey stayed with us, and we went out to eat and went swimming. Ryli and Landry both defected to their big sister's bed, so I actually slept alone! 

Friday was a trip to the outlet mall in Round Rock, after we partook in some Round Rock Donuts with Dacey and GrandmaMom. Landry insisted on some McDonald's for lunch. We went to HEB and got some grub for the grill and headed to GrandmaMom's.

After grilling up some brats and hot dogs, we headed down to the Wahlburg Beer-garden. When Ryli and Landry didn't have at least one of the adults hauled off to the arcade, they danced and played in front of the stage while the band played. My mind was on vacation, and I forgot my phone, or else I'd have pictures.

Saturday, we had a good breakfast and "helped" GrandmaMom and Grandpa Alan do some yard work. The kids even helped a bit stomping down the new sod. After all that fun, we headed to el Monumento, where Dacey ate dinner with us between her two shifts. 

After that, it was back to Dallas. By Sunday evening, I was very grateful that my mom had brought us home the night before. Had we left 24 hours later, we would have run into the thunderstorms that spawned tornadoes.

Life With/Life Without: Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)

Now that is a mouthful. Suffice it to say that from here on, I will take the easy route and just call it ITP. Before this past Tuesday, I'd never even heard of it. Here it is Thursday, and I've already heard far too much of it. I would like to be greedy with it, and keep it all for myself, but unfortunately, the diagnosis is not my own, but Landry's. 

I really think this started last week, or maybe even the week before. He's by far the fairer of he and Ryli, and with the weather getting progressively nicer, the kids were outside playing after the older neighborhood kids got home from school til they went in at night. Riding bikes, trikes, and scooters, roughhousing, playing on the playground; I chalked all the bruises up to him being a nearly four year old daredevil. His shenanigans also produced a few split lips and a toe that he seemed to be trying to stub to a bloody pulp. Accidents happen, right?

Then, Monday night rolled around. The kids played so hard outside chasing bubbles from Ms. Nicole's bubble machine that they curled up watching "Inspector Gadget" on Netflix before an episode had finished. I took advantage and decided to take a nice, leisurely, hot bath, all by myself. That proved short lived, as Landry was soon standing in the doorway stripping down. Honestly, I think that boy could hear a running bath from a mile away. 

As he took off his shirt, I first laid eyes on the spread of petechiae across his chest, just under his ribcage. I got out and dressed, and he jumped in without a care in the world. I asked him if something had happened, and he didn't really seemed concerned. I got him out of the tub and snapped a few pictures, which I sent to GrandmaMom, asking for her opinion. I was at that time feeling pretty lucky to have a nurse for a mom. 

She texted back that I needed to get it checked out. We went to bed, and I called the kids' pediatrician first thing Tuesday morning. We got a 2:00 appointment, and by 11:00, we were off on a series of buses. 

The regular pediatrician was out on vacation, but the fill in was nice. She gave Landry a thorough check and said that we'd need to go have labs drawn. She brought us the paperwork, and we set off on the walk to Lab Corp. As we walked, I read the work order for the labs, pausing to text my mom "What is ITP? The pedi wrote it in the diagnosis code?".She answered back the long form of the name, mentioned something about a virus and complete recovery, and from that point, I was thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal.

Two vials of blood and an angry four year old later, resigned to the fact that there would be no answer to "What is going on?" until Wednesday morning, we started the long trek home. My mom had mentioned something about a virus, so I decided to be smart and not go to parenting class so as not to spread it.

Being curious, I referred to Dr. Google. That was a mistake and a blessing, I suppose. I learned that it is rather rare in children, as in only 4-8 cases per 100,000 in the U.S., and it was usual acute, lasting anywhere from 6-12 months typically, with anything stretching beyond that point being labeled as chronic. They don't know for certain what brings it about, but the body's immune system starts wiping out the platelets. Platelets help form clots, so without enough platelets comes bruises, petechiae, and purpura (loosely translated, you look like you've taken a beating). Problems getting injuries to stop bleeding becomes an issue. Normal platelet range is 150,000 to 450,000. The only thing that was most definitely worse in what I read that has a similar set of symptoms is leukemia. So, I went to bed Tuesday night hoping that if it was either, it was ITP.

I called the pediatrician's office first thing Wednesday morning. It was ITP; his platelet count was 18,000. She said she would refer him to a hematologist that could get us in right away. I told her that he had already been to one at Children's between finding out I had passed on my Factor V Leiden to Ryli and Landry and their ENT procedures. 

I called Children's, and at first I was told that the next available appointment was in mid-June. That's when I told the scheduler what his diagnosis was and what his platelet levels were. She put me on hold, then after a few minutes asked if I could be there by 2:00. I said no problem and got us all ready for another trip, this time by taxi.

Another vial of blood, and ITP was confirmed. On the bright side, his count had gone up to 25,000. Since there had been nothing aside from the bruises and their cousins, and he was on a bit of an upswing, it was decided that instead of treating, we would take it slow and see what happens. I have a letter for if he gets worse while we are out of town, and another for if he starts school or daycare while he's still dealing with this. It's still scary as hell, but life just is sometimes.

All goes well, and we go back to Children's on Monday for another CBC (complete blood count). Hopefully, he just gets better and doesn't need any steroids or IV treatments. It's just a lousy waiting game, with me wishing that it was me that had this to contend with and not one of my children. 

Before this week, I had never heard of ITP. Now, I get to try and explain to a not quite four year old that he can't do some things because I don't want him to get hurt. A stubborn three year old does not see reason very well at all. I've truthfully had more success explaining to Ryli why I need her to not do things that her brother shouldn't do. Maybe some "monkey see, monkey do" will pay off?

I'm fairly confident that this will not be the last that I write about ITP. 

I think I need a vacation...

Let's just say that things have gotten a little bit crazy here. Some things have popped up that there was no earthly way to predict. That, in turn, totally threw everything else on its ear, and you are left burning the midnight oil to go on a mini-vacation in-state. Life With/Life Without will be late this week once again, as I have a few more touches of research to do, because one of the things that turned this week on its ear was something that I think we were better off without.

Now, please excuse me for this brief entry, but I have a load of laundry to finish, bags to pack, and a bunch of other crap that I need to get done so that I can take the kids on DART to get to Union Station. From there, we are travelling old school on Amtrak to go see GrandmaMom, Grandpa Alan and Dacey for a couple of days. Wooohooo!

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Solo Edition

So, yeah, this week has been eventful, to say the very least. Last weekend, I got an e-mail about a parenting class being offered that takes eight weeks. I took the exact same course last year when we had first moved in, but I opted to retake it, as I was very distracted last time. I also had a very booked up first of the week going into Monday.

Monday came in a little too much on the noisy side. Thunderstorms started rolling through before Monday was very old. From one-ish until the sun finally came up, I had two bed-hogs in bed with me. That, I'm used to, but the sudden downpours pelting the windows, flashes of lightening, and booming thunder made it into a long night, as each hour saw them both wake up at least once every hour, and never both at the same time. That led to an exhausted mommy, as we slept straight through all my alarms. Ryli had a 8:30 appointment, which I needed to reschedule. Apparently, it was happening a lot that morning, as the office manager told me I was not the first parent to call in that morning.

The rescheduled appointment gave me the time I needed to finish the house off for our housing inspection on Tuesday. I got downright anal-retentive on the finishing touches. I also had two kids begging to help. It was very nice.Our water was delivered early, so Ryli helped put that up, and then the inspectors showed up right on time. That was the best part, as they gave me a two hour window. We passed with flying colors. I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon dealing with an unanswered phone call I'd gotten Monday night. That was fun. (and that sentence is dripping with sarcasm)

We went up to the parenting class early enough to get the mail. There was a beaten and battered envelope from the housing authority right on top, complete with the tape to hold the envelope together. The letter was dated April 3, yet here it was April 14 and I was just getting it. The re-certification appointment was inside; April 15 at 12:30. A half hour before my appointment for my meds, and on the opposite side of the county. No brainer there, I choose instantly which appointment took priority, continuing to have a roof over our heads.

The parenting class was great. Yes, it was the same thing as last year, but I was by far more "there" than I was last year. What can I say, I was unencumbered by the baggage of the last go. Ryli and Landry had a blast playing with the other kids, and afterwards, they served dinner.

We got home, and I got them settled with bedtime snacks and a movie while I got a hold of Cynthia to run by the change in plans by her. Luckily, she had no problem moving everything up and driving so much further than originally planned. Having that settled, I opted to head to bed with the kids so I could get up early to do my paperwork, wrangle documents, and reschedule appointments.

Wednesday morning, I woke up with the start of a migraine, so as I ate a breakfast of ibuprofen, I set to work printing out and wrangling up documentation while simultaneously filling out the packet of paperwork. When I got everyone up and dressed, we retrieved Ryli's purse of Littlest Pet Shops she'd accidentally left behind at parenting class, and went out to wait for Cynthia and Phoebe.

I sensed as soon as we got the car seats loaded and into the car that this was not going to be an easy trip. That migraine was intensifying, and I was starting to think that if we made it all the way to DHA without me getting sick, it would be nothing short of miraculous. Those fears were founded, but due to accidentally taking a wrong exit and a hiccup in Cynthia's Garmin getting back on the interstate, we ended up being on a street close to a gas station when I said "We NEED to pull over". After a deposit into the gas stations garbage, off we went.

The rest of Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I made it to the appointment and was re-certified, we hit Kroger up, and had a leisurely night at home. The migraine vanished after the garbage can incident, but it was threatening to return, so once again, I went to sleep with the kids.

Thursday and Friday more or less bled one into the other. Landry has had quite the growth spurt, however. The one pair of boots that he wore every time we went further than the neighbors' were taken off outside, and vanished. This morning, I went to put on his tennis shoes for the first time in a few weeks, and they didn't fit. So, when Memaw picked them up at noon, I got to explain what had happened to the boots that he loved so much, and showed that he was in fact going through a growth spurt. Ryli now has an inch, tops, on her little brother. 

I have already run to the store on my quest for new shoes. I am now going to re-watch Sunday's episode of "Game of Thrones", followed by a re-watch of the two previous episodes of "Wolf Hall" and just take it easy. The week ahead is destined to be a fun one, just hopefully not so overloaded.

Should have taken a picture of the finished product

Because had I taken a picture, you could actually see what I cooked up for lunch today. Instead, this will have to do:

As I mentioned before, I am cooking all sorts of things that I wouldn't have even a year ago. A year ago, I would have most likely opted for the quick and painless lunch out of a can. Lately, it has been leftovers from the night before, but the yield from last night's meal made that out of the question. Ryli wanted chicken noodle soup, but this is April in Texas.

So, knowing that I had all the ingredients on hand, I made a recipe that I had been ogling on the label of the diced tomatoes I use so often. Zucchini, Black Bean & Rice Skillet.It was quick to make, and Landry helped by scooping the cut zucchini and green pepper up and putting them all in the measuring cup. The only alterations I made in the recipe all hinged on the cheese. It had been in the freezer, so I put it on halfway through the rice cooking. Then, of course, I put more partially frozen cheese on Ryli and Landry's bowls, so when they stirred it up, it was at an edible temperature.

The kids insisted on dining outside, so I hauled out the nifty little Ikea table and stools, and they both dug in. Ryli, the black bean-phobic, mowed hers down, declaring the "beany things" delicious. Landry, as is his way, is still munching on his.

Dessert was made yesterday. Pineapple Dump Cake. Easier to make than damn near any dessert ever, and good, too. They claim it isn't photogenic, but I disagree.

Next time we make ham, the quiche recipe on that page is definitely on the menu.

Ryli and Landry's photographic absence from the blog

I have been in a few forums for moms that have over the years found we had a fraud in our midst that was using stolen pictures of someone else's child(ren), claiming to be the mother. I have known people who deal with family members or friends re-posting pictures without their permission. That is why my Facebook and Instagram are on a form of lock-down. Then, there's the blog and the associated Twitter account. I don't want those on some super-secret spy level of security. So I just haven't posted pictures of the youngest of my brood.

I have been meaning to alleviate that issue for an age. I intended on getting a program to add in a watermark, but have always happened to have something else on my mind. So, I kept my promise to myself and didn't post and pictures of the kids. That finally has changed.

I was scrolling through Facebook, as I do from time to time, I had some time to kill as I waited for a cake to bake. I saw something that a friend had shared, thinking of one of her other friends. It was titled "My Son Was A Victim of Baby Role-Play: How to Keep Your Family Safe on the Internet" and suddenly, I remembered just why I hadn't posted any of their adorable antics on the blog.

I downloaded the apps that were suggested in the article on my old iPhone (it still has WiFi and gets used quite a lot). I then went through the app store for my Lumia (still not in love with Windows OS on a phone). So, now I have watermarking apps on the phones. So, if they do something photo worthy that I choose to post, I will gleefully slap a watermark on it and post it. 

Life With/ Life Without: Cell Phones

Yes, I admit, I am a bit of a dinosaur. I can actually remember a time when cell phones weren't around, and we relied on people or our answering machines (complete with cassette tapes) to get us our messages or for the caller to try back when we were home. Being able to leave the house and not really mind that no one could reach you. And, in the event that something should go wrong, there were pay phones EVERYWHERE. They actually worked, too.

In the summer leading up to junior year, one of my friends actually carried a small cooler in addition to her purse. At least, it looked like a cooler. It was a huge cell phone and it's battery. She was required to take it with her by her parents, but she was under express orders to use it ONLY in an emergency, because the minutes cost more than a gallon of gas. 

Flash forward a few years, past the heyday of the pager, and cell phones were smaller, and lacked the bag. They were still pretty big, however. Coverage was still not the best, and calls were expensive even then. Most people that gave you their cell phone number usually gave instructions to only call them after a certain hour when the minutes were slightly less pricey. Not a whole lot of people carried them then, and they were still pretty much a status thing, or an emergency use type thing. People still had landlines.

By the end of the 1990's, there were pay as you go phones. They had shrunk slightly, and there usage had become quite a bit more prevalent. Triple A even had ones that you could rent or borrow (can't remember which) for lengthy road trips. I had a few of those. The minutes were still steep, but they were definitely coming down.

The 2000's brought on the advent of text messaging, and free mobile to mobile calling. By the end of the decade, there were unlimited plans and the onset of the smart phone. And it seemed that every year, the phones got smaller, more people had one, and the deals thrown out by the carriers seemed to get better. They did manage to gouge you good on overages, whether it was text, calls, or data.

Now, cell phones seem to be in the hands of all. There are debates as to how old is old enough to let your child(ren) carry one. Movies shown in the theaters remind you to not be a jerk and shut your ringer off before the show starts. I have a smart phone with all the data I could possibly need, unlimited talk and text, and it costs about the same as my last land line that wasn't bundled with my cable and internet. Not too shabby, considering that I can do a lot more with it than a land line.

The downside to the birth and evolution of the cell phone is that it sort of becomes a crutch, especially the smart phones. They hold our contacts, calendars, and damn near everything else.People go into panic mode if they can't reach you on your cell for a certain period of time. To "get away" from everything, you have to leave all of your information with your phone, because if you take it with you, you will cave to its siren song.

It is rare to find anyone who carries a cell phone with more than a number or two memorized. They loose their phone, they loose their mind, or so it would seem. I admit to being in the same predicament, hence my keeping of an actual, handwritten phone and address book. The same can be said about my calendar of choice; it backs up online, and I always carry a day planner of the pen and paper variety. Call me old fashioned if you will. I just know what it's like to experience a catastrophe with the phone, and prefer that moniker to the frustration of being empty headed, with my "brains" being stowed away in my smart but fallible phone.

It really isn't all bad. My smart phone has enabled me to keep wayward children occupied on errands. It has saved me from dying of complete and utter boredom for those appointments that run insanely long. Even with my not so smart phone, I have been saved many a lengthy hike when the vehicle that I was in decided it couldn't bear to continue on the journey. It has alerted me to a sick little one when they were at daycare. It has shown me just how much my friends care when I get my ass chewed for not answering for a period of time, whether it be that my phone was hidden by a well meaning kid, I'd crashed out for the night with the kids, or I was too busy brawling with a migraine.

All in all, like everything, there are pitfalls and perks. I think I'll keep mine, and wait for the inevitable query "Mommmmmm... but so-and-so at school has one, why can't I?" to begin.

I have been a very VERY bad blogger

I have been bad here lately. Really, really bad. Things have been ever so slightly busy for the past week or so. I've had appointments across town with less than 24 hours warning (thank you, USPS). I have a class I am going to once a week now, and just a ton of other things that converged at once to fry my brain. 

Without further ado, I swear to you that before noon rolls around, I will get this week's installment of "Life With/Life Without" done and posted and get this show back on track. 

Until then, I am escorting my pounding head off to bed. Migraines suck.

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Chaos Edition

Ahhhh... I am sure that I was not the only person who began this week by that phenomenon I call Holiday Hangover. Coupled with the fact that we had Tag here to boot, it was definitely not your average week. I'm not complaining, but it just was a bit off kilter.

Since it is officially spring, the kids have once again been playing outside with the neighbor kids when they get home from school. By around noon, they start asking if their friends are home to play yet. They have gone out during the day a bit this week, as our neighbor has brought over his two year old charge. The old storage bins from our minivan have been getting a ton of use. Ryli uses one for her Littlest Pet Shop paraphernalia and dolls. Landry has his filled to the brim with dinosaurs. Having Tag around up until Thursday night definitely gave them a kick in the pants as far as picking up their toys.

I was originally going to write the "Life With/Life Without" series that I have been doing the past several weeks for a total of eight weeks. That notion has officially left the building, as I came up with three additional topics. I'm rather ashamed that I didn't think of any of the three sooner, but at least I thought of them while I'm still writing the series.

Our lease here is up in under a month. I'm starting to gear up for the inevitable packing, which I will more than likely start as soon as we get the annual inspection done next week. The part I fear the most is taking the kids away from all their friends that live a hop, skip, and a jump away, but they will make new friends. Also, I will eventually need to scrounge up movers. I'll cross that bridge when we get there, I guess.

We have to restart getting Ryli and Landry to sleep in their own beds. With Tag here, I had to have him in the room with me, which meant they were in my bed as well. That will start tonight with a vengeance. The stupid folded laundry did not put itself away, so that's what I get to do tonight as a nightcap. 

Thursday night we went grocery shopping with our neighbor Nicole. Of course the kids minded freakishly well. They had an audience to preform for, after all. The best part of that, though, is that we got a few treats to bake tomorrow, like pretzels and chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and Landry's undying love of play dough will surely require a replenishment of his stores. Hopefully, he will forgive me if I forgot to grab more food coloring. If he has a problem with it, I'll just remind him that we would have food coloring if he and Ryli did not demand to have their bath water colored.

I'm really missing Tag. More than I dare let on with Ryli and Landry. Soon enough, though, we will have a new place, ideally one level with a yard, and a puppy won't be so daunting of an undertaking. Tag would get tired and want to nap, and he would always find me and curl up at my feet.

Here is to a dozy of a week, with appointments three consecutive days. We get our monthly water delivery, I start a parenting class, and who knows what else. Thursday will mark one week from seeing my mom and Dacey. That will be quite the adventure, taking the bus and train to Union Station, and from there, on to an southbound Amtrak. My mom is going to bring us back on Saturday, That I can NOT wait for. The kids will get more excited as it draws nearer, I am certain.

And I almost forgot... Winter is coming! Season five Game of Thrones starts tomorrow night!

Tag is gone

They came and got Tag tonight. Ryli was ready for it; every day she asked if he was going to leave us today. Landry lost it for about two minutes, until I reminded him that we would get a puppy when we got moved. Tag didn't even stay with us for a full week, and as much as I was annoyed that I had to clean up after him a lot, I hated to see him go. He was too young to be house broken. No matter how long we had him outside running and playing, or just walking around, he would not potty outside. Instead, he'd wait till we'd gotten inside, and then whimper once or twice before peeing on the linoleum. He'd only poop at night, while everyone slept.

Landry handled his presence well, like I knew that he would. He is petrified of small dogs, but he is crazy about big dogs, even while they're puppies. Ryli was the enforcer. If Tag ran off, she would pick him up and bring him home, scolding him and loving on him all the while. 

I think that as soon as we find a new place and get settled in, a puppy will definitely be in order. They may still be rather young, but they knew what they needed to do to take care of him. They only needed to be told once about dogs not being able to have chocolate (Easter Bunny came on Tag's first full day here). Landry was Tag's personal meal planner, filling his dog bowl whenever it needed to be filled and making sure he always had water. Ryli was the disciplinarian, trying to get him to behave and alerting me to any puddles or piles.

So, someday soon, I hope, we will make our way to the shelter and rescue a pup of our own. There will probably be a bit of fighting over a name, but I think that will be minimal. And when we move, we will have at the very least a small yard, so I can turn them all out together. Heck, we may adopt a puppy and a kitten, since the kids both want one of each. Get them young and they'll at the very least be used to each other.

The kids have already started to save money towards their pet fund. Ryli has gone without asking for a Littlest Pet Shop since she met Tag last Saturday evening. That, in itself, is nothing short of miraculous!

I guess a lot of it stems from the fact that as long as I lived with my parents, we always had at least one dog. I was raised with German Shepherds, and we had a German Schnauzer while I was little, and then Max and Baby the Cocker Spaniels from elementary school on. I think we'll go with a larger breed. We'll do obedience school and the whole nine yards. 

Life With/Life Without: Bipolar

I would like to begin this week's edition with a sincere apology that this is a day late. Holidays have always thrown me for a loop, and with the little four legged house guest, things have been a bit hectic.

Bipolar... when they first started knocking that around as a possible diagnosis, I was scared. I didn't really know what was worse, that, or the diagnosis of Borderline Personality which was also being batted about. I don't know how many different therapists and psychiatrists I saw in total while I was avoiding my label. I was a doctor hopper in that regard. The only thing anyone nailed down was a long ignored case of ADD, which looking back explained a LOT.

When I moved to Texas, I eventually got sick and tired of all it. The being able to stay awake for days at a time, the obsessive thoughts, feelings of grandeur and simultaneous inadequacy and on the other hand, the paralyzing depression, borderline agoraphobia, and everything else that accompanied my lows. The worst was the mixes. Feeling hyper and cocky while being depressed at the same time is hell on earth.

In Killeen, I finally got my official diagnosis. I actually answered every question on the questionnaires and tests honestly. I hid nothing. The diagnosis came down, and I started going to a support group and taking my medication. I found out I was pregnant with Ryli before my third appointment, and went off everything. I returned to Kerrville and X was not a fan of medication.

The next few years, I somehow remained blind to the fact that I was still going through the hell of a gigantic mixed episode. I occasionally went back on medication, but X was always there to complain about how different the prescriptions made me. He would take them away or not let me go back for my refill.

The break up happened, and I soon realized that I was so depressed that I had no backbone. When I started to "come out of it" and the backbone would start to return, X would pitch a fit. If I am without my backbone, I am far easier to manipulate and flat out lie to. 

I am still medicated, and things keep getting better. I was off for a time when I had to cancel an appointment and then wait to be rescheduled. Things started to go sideways. I finally got rescheduled, and things started getting right on track again. The fact that I got back on my meds and stuck with them through everything is what I credit with a lot of the new start that Ryli, Landry, and I have been on since I finally made the break for good from X. 

Happy Easter!

The eggs have all been accounted for. Ryli has rifled all the way through her Easter basket, while Landry pretty much lost all interest in his once he saw his T-Rex.. He wasn't "in" the basket, being that he was too stinking big. Landry has been no more than a few inches from T-Rex. Ryli has been playing LPS at my other desk. It's been a pretty chill morning. The kids have been up since around 6:30. The Easter Bunny almost got busted. Figures the one time my alarm goes off that it wakes up a kid is when I'm playing Easter Bunny.

They went off happily to Memaw and Pepaw's, with minimal whining about missing the egg hunt that the complex was throwing on "our" playground. The rain helped on that one; I just told them it had been cancelled. Turns out, they still had it, but they had at least ten huge storage tubs of filled eggs, and not nearly enough of a turn out. So I asked if I could get a bag for Ryli and Landry since they were with their father. The kids now each have a bag full of plastic eggs when they get home.

Tag has been sleeping off and on all day. He did wake up while I was vacuuming. He bit my sweats and tried to pull me as I vacuumed. I got some dog food from my neighbor. Still no hits on the Craigslist ad. I must admit, I hope no one misses him. I suspect that no one will. The kids slept in my bed last night, along with Tag, who alternately cuddled with both of them all through the night. Ryli named him Tag, but Landry has given him another name that I can't quite pronounce. 

I am going to spend the last of my reprieve from the kids cleaning my desk (yawn), assembling my control journals, and making chore charts for the week. I'm pretty certain that the kids will be ready for bed within an hour of getting back home. They are rarely up before 8:00 when they're healthy. After they go down, I'll curl up in my bed and watch "Wolf Hall" on PBS, then read some Bring Up the Bodies to try and get it done prior to that half of the miniseries! 

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Solo Edition

This has been an interesting week, to say the very least. Ryli and Landry have stayed out until almost 8:00 all week playing with the neighbor girls. I've hung around with their mom as well, and it has been a nice change. I never knew that a 5 year old girl and a 6 year old girl could butt heads so hard. And Landry proved that when it comes to rough housing with one of the neighbor boys, he can definitely hold his own. All that did get a little maddening, however, as Ryli and Landry peppered entire days with "Are they home yet?"

The chores went surprisingly well. Ryli makes her bed now after only having had to be asked one time, on Monday morning. They know that Eroy is coming to check up on them full time starting tomorrow night. I think Ryli will get it a little bit sooner. Then again, with the rate that her LPS pets loose their heads and deco-bits, maybe not. Landry always carries his larger dinosaurs off to bed with him. We shall see.

Tuesday night, I realized that my refrigerator was not working. In fact, judging by the fact that my tube of breakfast sausage resembled an over-inflated football, it had expired at least 24 hours before. Maintenance couldn't do anything about it that night, so it was 3:30 Wednesday afternoon before we got a replacement. Thankfully, all the meat and vegetables in the freezer didn't thaw out much, if at all, so Tuesday night, they went to one neighbor's, and the leftovers from the crock pot went to another.

Thursday, I got all ready to go to court. Then, once I was all ready to go and my friend was minutes away to pick us all up, I got the call that the hearing was going to be continued, since the morning docket had gone over. Now, I have to wait until June to get everything settled. 

After the kids got picked up today, I made a trip to Walmart for a few Easter things and groceries. I never expected to be followed home by a puppy from the bus stop, but I was. I put an ad on Craigslist to try and find his owner. He's been "fixed", but he didn't seem very well fed, and he was on me like white on rice until I locked him in the house and went out to meet the kids. He also drank water like he'd been in a desert.

I had them hurry to the door and knock on the window until he came up. Before I opened the door, I explained to them that someone may be looking for him, so he may not stay forever. They agreed, and I let them in. Puppy love, multiplied by three. As I write this, the three of them are all curled up in my bed, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" still playing.

We dyed Easter eggs tonight. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so it will limit the hiding places. Originally, I planned on six eggs a piece. Unfortunately, Landry bobbled and ultimately cracked an egg while removing it from the dye, so I had Ryli pick one of hers to eat. We then decided that next year, we would hide six eggs each, then seven, and so-on. Ryli's age will determine the number of eggs that we will dye and the bunny will hide. 

Tomorrow, while they are gone again, I will perfect my cleaning of the house and put my Fly Lady control journal together. I'm not going to lie, I'm excited. I also have to run over to a neighbor's house and see if I can't procure a bit of dog food for Tag. I've also got to see if there's a place to get him checked for a chip within walking distance.

Time for me to go to bed... some bunny has to get up really early to hide eggs. I have it on good authority that she is going to break out the Easter baskets before bed to limit the amount of things she has to do when she gets up at six.

A presence from my childhood is back & getting a 21st century makeover

Way back when, my dad and my uncle devised a little monster named Eroy. His function was an attempt to keep us kids in line. He lived in the cemetery, not far from our house in a crypt. Eroy was used as a deterrent, and worked far better on my brothers than he did on me. I was constantly told not to play with Uncle Jim's drum kit, but I did, and nothing ever happened.

I have experimented with Eroy with the littles. I just made him into a little elf who rides a raccoon, and when they don't pick up their toys, has been known to take them.for a day or two. It works. I told Ryli she needs to start making her bed, or else Eroy would start pulling pranks on her. She has made her bed all week, with no reminder except for Monday. Next week, I'm going to have her teach Landry.

So, Easter Sunday, they will come home from visitation, and as I get them wound down, I will tell them that Eroy and I had a conversation, and things with their toys and general picking up and habits will change, lest Eroy take toys and their room under the stairs away. Simple little chores, and simple repercussions when they don't get done.

I want to make sure that Ryli and Landry start to learn now how to take care of their things. To make sure that the learn how to be responsible. I am going to have my work cut out for me, as I will be Eroy's assistant, if you will. I figure this will make things way easier for me come November, when Eroy's cousin Tyrion comes back from toy making duty at the North Pole.

Life With/Life Without Factor 5 Leiden

This title for this topic is a misnomer of sorts. It could easily be titled  "Blissful Ignorance/Life With FVL" as it is something I was born with, yet had no clue until I was 28 and in the hospital after a pulmonary embolism, less than a decade after having had a stroke. Out of convenience, I will just refer to it by it's little nickname of FVL.

When I was in the ER, the doctor that was called in knew right away that something wasn't right. A stroke and a pulmonary embolism before 30 didn't happen to "normal" people. So, by the time I was rolled up to the ICU, there was a lab tech waiting on me. I may have been on all the morphine I could take, but I still counted the vials as the tech filled them. 

"Are you going to leave any for me? You just took 14 VIALS" I said to him. He laughingly called to the nurses station that I needed more morphine, because I could still count. I tried to laugh, but I couldn't. I didn't want to breathe anymore, the pain was so bad. I by no means wanted to die, but I just didn't want to feel, and it hurt like hell to breathe or hold my breath. It was worse than child birth. Unmediated child birth at that.

One of the doctors told me eventually that the results of the blood tests would take about two weeks. I made it out of the hospital with an inhaler and a prescription for Coumadin, along with instructions to return to the hospital the following day to get a shot in my abdomen of Heparin. 

Two weeks passed, and I thought that all the tests came back normal and I was just a freak of nature or something. I went with my grandma to help her get groceries at Hy-Vee. We made it to check out, and a call came in from my doctor's office. I quickly went outside before my phone broke up.

Holly, my favorite nurse, was calling with my  test results. At first, I was confused, as I wasn't getting my INR (clotting levels) checked for another hour. Then she clarified and said that she was calling about the tests from the hospital. She told me that it was called  Factor V Leiden, and could I please come to my appointment early because my doctor was currently researching FVL. That was a scary thing to hear.

I ran Grandma and her groceries are home and went to the appointment. All I really learned about FVL was that I only had one set of the gene, it was a clotting disorder, and I was being referred to an oncologist. That was not a pleasant thought.

I went to the oncology appointment. One of the first things the doctor told me was that hematology and oncology are in a way the same thing. That helped... a lot. He then explained that my blood was more prone to clots that just don't break up like "normal" clots. The way he put it was that if there were enough outside factors (smoking, hormonal birth control, long periods of sitting or laying down, pregnancy, long flights, and/or injury), I was heterozygous, meaning I inherited FVL from only one parent, and that increased my risk of a clot by eight times than someone who did not inherit the condition.

My knee jerk reaction was the desire to know what that meant. He said that I could not be on hormonal birth control (which was convenient as I had just switched from the pill to the shot), and that I was going to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life.I was also told that any additional pregnancies weren't the best ideas. He went so far to say that the FVL more than likely contributed to my two previous losses. And that I'd have to cut out the green leafy vegetables and anything else that had high vitamin K content. 

I stayed on Coumadin until the perfect storm occurred. I got sick of blowing veins at my weekly check ups, which I had to have because my levels were hard to control with my love of the vitamin K green leafy vegetables. I became borderline anemic once a month, which was pretty gross and expensive. And I lost my insurance. I went off and just crossed my fingers that nothing would go wrong.

Then, in June 2009, I had my positive pregnancy that would eventually carry the name Ryli. It had been five years since the diagnosis, and thankfully, albeit painfully, FVL did not mean that I couldn't have a healthy pregnancy. It just meant that I had to start injecting blood thinners as soon as possible and continue to the six week post-partum check up. It wasn't so bad, and the result was Little Miss Sass, 2010.

I stayed on thinners after being bridged back to Coumadin until X got tired of watching Ryli while I went in for blood draws. I didn't last too long off the thinners before I found out that I was pregnant again. More shots, and another little cutie in the form of Landry.

I had difficulty staying on Coumadin after I was bridged with Landry, because I couldn't take the kids with me, and X refused to watch them. I went back on briefly when we moved to Dallas, then stopped again, because of X.

I'm gearing up to once again go back on. I'm probably going to go ahead and get a uterine ablation or a hysterectomy to deal with once a month nastiness, and vitamin K is no longer discouraged, so long as you are consistent. 

My five kids have all come into this world with a 50-50 chance of being at least heterozygous (one copy) for FVL, same as me. Ryli and Landry both had to have surgery last year, so they were both tested prior to surgery, and they both carry a copy. Dace was tested after her senior year, and so does she. Connor and Tucker to date have not been tested, so I'm hoping that they didn't get it, which is statistically possible. The girls worry me slightly more than the boys, just because of the implications of hormones on FVL. May the ones who have it follow in the footsteps of whoever I got it from and never have issue.

For almost 29 years, I had no idea I had this. For 19 years, it wasn't even discovered yet. They say that knowing is half the battle. I have five incredible reasons to stick around for as long as is humanly possible.

Mama's Mission of the Month April 2015

Welcome to April and another Mama's Mission of the Month. Here's to doing even more in the accomplished list than I did in March.

PERSONAL

• Read at least 3 books this month
• Watch Game of Thrones & Wolf Hall when they premiere 
• Prep for final hearing and the results of X's plea

PARENTING

• Work on "school work" with the kids
• Continue with the chore charts
• Talk/text with The Bigs more

ROUTINE

• Keep going with the Fly Lady bit (and do it right)
• Stay current on chore charts.
• Budget time more effectively

HOMEMAKING

• Follow budget
• Follow weekly meal plans
• Try making at least one new recipe a week

FINANCIAL

• Start playing catch-up on Christmas savings & start emergency fund
• Stick to April budget like glue
• Deal with old debt

BLOG/ONLINE

• Read more blogs more often
• Start researching getting sponsors
• Try and get some followers for this blog that actually subscribe.

FRIENDS/FAMILY

• Set a date for Ser Steak with Cynthia
• Amtrak south to see Grandma-mom and Dacey
• Write letters to The Bigs and call Grandpa Ron frequently (he just retired)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Start thinking about moving
• Get library cards and a zoo membership
• Monthly bus pass