GIRL TIME! :)

My sweet boy is currently in route to southern Indiana as I speak as I type! This will be his first time away from me since before Summer of 2011. It sounds silly, rather ridiculous even, but I don't like the kids being more than a 5-10 minute drive away....just in case something happens. Must be the "motherly instict" that just overflows! Our kiddos only ever stay with my mom, my hubbys mom, or my sister. It's just how we roll! Maybe I watch too much news, but you can NEVER be too safe!

This past week has been STRESSFUL! I have always been honest in my blog and will continue to do so...so here it goes...I got 2 tickets! Ugh!!! One for speeding and one for forgetting to have my car registered on time! Sucky!!! I have learned that these 2 tickets are valued at $300! What a deal... YIKES. Not to mention that this happened on our way to go to a couple of house showings because we are in the market to buy a new house. So on top of these 2 tickets that I received, I have had the stress of house hunting...

When we purchased our first house it went fast... We were newbies and saw the yard of our house and it was instantly SOLD! However, we quickly learned that 1100 sq feet is quite constrictive...and by the time we had 3 kiddos, 2 dogs, and stuff that multiplies like wild rabbits...we were busting at the seams! So we are on a hunt to find "our forever home" (or at least something that will suffice until the kids are out of high school). We have learned that we need a large kitchen because we spend a LOT of time in it, we need something with 4 bedrooms, we need a 2 car garage, we need AT LEAST 2 bathrooms, and we need a better school district for our 3 amazing kiddos! :) I have a feeling in the next 2 weeks we should know something "more." We have a few houses in mind so we shall see if offers are placed and what becomes of this part of the stress.

Speaking of stress...Logan's behavior has been quite stressful lately. The agression and moodiness have been ten fold these past few weeks. It could be that we became lax with his diet, because my husband is working 3 jobs and going back to school full-time for his Bachelors/Masters, or because we have been couped up inside due to crappy weather! ...OR it could be that he is just plain sick of his Momma and needs a break considering he is with me 24/7! He may just come home feeling all nice and refreshed! We shall see! :)

These next few days the girls and I will be able to have some GIRL TIME w/out BOY INTERUPTIONS! Ha! I see mani's and pedi's in our near future! Tonight we had a dinner date and are going to have some delish chocolate eclair cake Logan, Madden, and I whipped up today!

Hope you have a fabulous stress-free week! Hugs!

Just one of those days...

Just having one of those days...

My mom is in the hospital (and has been since Friday) and is pretty sick. They are trying to figure out what the heck is going on with her. Her stomach had completely stopped functioning; she was unable to digest her food and kept getting extremely sick. She has lost LOTS of weight...and it's quite sad. She had to be given insulin today and has never had issues with her blood sugar, so it kinda sucks!  Here I feel like a completely neglectful daughter because I did not get up there to see her today... (I did call her throughout the day to check on her though).

We did go look at the two houses that the realtor had set up for us to see. The first one I thought was going to be perfect, and the upstairs was, but unfortunately the kitchen was SMALL...and considering the kids and I basically LIVE in the kitchen that one isn't going to be "it." The second one was absolutely perfect (downstairs)...the upstairs had TINY bedrooms...so that one is out of the running as well.

Logan was feeling a bit under the weather...so he was quite grouchy, clingy, and just not himself. He was desperately ready for bed at 8 p.m. As I was following up the stairs to put him to bed he decided to leap into my arms... and I am pretty sure I have pulled a muscle in my back I didn't even know I had! Anyhow, I'm praying we both wake up feeling a little better tomorrow.

Now it is 10 minutes until midnight...and I am WIDE awake. My to-do list is haunting me... I need get thank-you cards done for the kids Christmas gifts, I need to call the dr in Indy about Gracie's ankle and set up that appointment, I need to call both of my Grandma's and let them know that I am thinking about them and check-in with them, wondering how my Momma is doing...and I am praying that I washed the right uniforms for the girls for school tomorrow... I could go on and on! Ha! Guess that means I better go and check the dryer... Night! ;)

Our Trip To Cinci w/ Hailey Grace

Im going to make *try* to make this post short(er) and get to the point. This past Tuesday we visited Cincinnati for our Gracie's ankle issues that she has been dealing with for a year and a half now. We have had 6 breaks and numerous sprains over this past year and a half and there is nothing anyone has done thus far to prevent this cycle from repeating itself.

We met with a Dr. at Children's Hospital (I will not disclose his name...) and we were ANYTHING BUT IMPRESSED. First of all before I get into our experience I want you to know that I do not enjoy talking bad about doctors...I respect ALL doctors and how they came to become who they are today. However, I do not respect the fact that #1) He didn't even LOOK at Hailey's chart before coming in the room 2.) His lack of organization 3.) His awful t.v. evangalist/used car salesman personality...pure awful!

He started off by immediately coming in the room (not even introducing himself) by exclaiming "This is GREAT NEWS for you guys! Great news! She can be HEALED! This is a CURABLE disease!!!" Immediately I went into defensive mode. We have NEVER been told Hailey has a disease, we have been told by 4 doctors she needs a surgery to stabilize her ligaments and tendons, and I obviously expect that if I am driving 4 hours to come and see you that you must have a course of action for my baby girl who has been through pure hell with this craziness. Sorry if it sounds bitchy, but it has been a LONG & EXHAUSTING process. So I counter back with "What is "THIS"...we have NEVER been told Hailey has any disease. Are you telling me Hailey has a disease we don't know about?" He then proceeds to tell me that our doctor in Indy wasn't sure about everything and that he wanted him to look at Hailey's case and see what he thought. He said he did and it is called "Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy" or "Complex Regional Pain Syndrome." He asked the nurse to go and get Neil and I an article on this disease and he also handed us one. When the nurse came back with the article he took it from her, looked over it, and asked if this one was about children. She said it had a children's article in it, and he looked over it some more and told her to take it out. It was really odd...like he was being sneaky. Another *red flag*. I then ask how this can be treated and he says with PT. I explain to him that we have tried this route and would LOVE if it had worked, but less than a month into PT she re-injured her ankle, was casted, and couldn't do it. He went on to explain that this disease is one that sends false signals to the brain and the ankle will snap, sprain, and turn black and blue. He said that what needs to happen is when she injures it we keep her out of a splint, air cast, boot, or cast. She needs to walk on it anyways. He said that he has "The BEST PT IN THE WORLD" (another red flag) who can CURE her. (Sidenote: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...but I am willing to listen further...) He then hands us his business card and tells us to have our PT email him and then says "I get 150+ emails per day, my spam filter is set on the highest to filter out junk mail, so have her email me every day until I respond because I am sure I won't get the first 6 or 7 she sends." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! This just did it for me...that is THE most uneffective, unprofessional method I have EVER heard a doctor say. He left the room for a second and I started bawling...

So once again I feel that we may be back at square one. I am exhausted. I am praying that our Dr. in Indy reads his notes and realizes that where he sent us probably wasn't the right place. I am praying that he will send us to Baltimore where the doctor is that we originally were set up to see. The doctor that returned our phone call himself the same day we called...the doctor that took 45 minutes of his own time to explain what he got out of the CT's, x-rays, and MRI's, the course of action he would take, and the times and days he would do it so that we wouldn't be away from home for more than a week. He was so personable, so knowledgeable, so thorough.

So on our 4 hour drive home I was doing A LOT of complaining...and my sweet husband just sat there and listened and kept saying "I know babe..." I decided to give him a break from all of my worries, complaints, etc. As I was staring out of the window we kept passing all of these churches in the middle of the country... Then pretty soon we passed 3 HUGE lit crosses, then a little bit down the road...a few more HUGE lit crosses. As I sat there thinking to myself how unfair, complicated, and difficult this situation is... I am NOT in control of our fate. I cannot control what the ultimate plan for our family is... That even when I feel like I am stuck in the middle of no where...that God is still with us and He has a plan. I will trust in Him and lean not on my own understanding...because apparently my own understanding is CONFUSED right about now.

So...again I ask a favor of you: Please pray for the doctor's taking care of our sweet girl, please pray for our family that we make the best decisions regarding our daughter, and pray for all of our families and friends who have been AWESOME at listening to me complain!

Thank you!