Daddy's Girl

These two people that I live with are kinda weird.  In a good way.  They have this special bond and I love to see it.

Every single day when Lonnie gets home it is the same routine.  Blakely hears the garage door go up and she yells, "It's Daddy!".  She runs and opens the door to the garage and yells DADDY until she hears him say "come on out".  Then she sprints up to him.  They get the paper and check the mailbox.  Then they come inside.  

After he changes clothes they begin their little routine.  They play chase and hide and seek until he can't play anymore and he goes and sits in his spot on the couch.  She promptly sits in her spot right in his lap.  They proceed to play with and annoy each other for the next hour.  Sometimes my mom is here and we just look at each other like "they are so weird!".

They tickle and poke each other.  They play giant and monster.  They growl, roar and laugh at each other.  She tries to freeze him while he blocks the El.sa curses.  He hides stuff behind her ear.  She hides herself under his shirt.  I swear they have their own little language because sometimes I have no clue what they are saying or talking about but they totally get it.  They do spider tickles (?), play juggins/sluggins/buggins (??) and there is always some sorter of fee fie foe fum game (???).  

Sometimes they just talk too.  She will ask him questions and he answers which leads to more questions.  I have overheard him explaining evaporation, telling her how he fixes things on his patients, why he needs to go to work to make money and the phases of the moon.  She listens intently to every word.  

After about an hour of this crazy she will remember I am there and look over and say, "I'm hungry now, Mommy".  Ha!  

The other day as I was laying on the couch watching them (and being completely ignored by them) I realized I haven't really taken any pictures of this and I should.  So I grabbed my phone and snapped a few.  Most of them turned out super blurry of course.  

But at one point, while they were catching their breath from all the tickles, she did this.  

And I just thought it was perfect.  This picture sums up exactly how she feels about him.  Completely enthralled.  It might be my favorite ever.  

I love these two weirdos.  

Whew!

What a week!  

Lonnie has been off so I had our organizer girl come three full days (M, T, W) this week so we could tackle the things that we needed his help with.  He is not off again until mid March and I knew we needed to get these things done because I would like to have the garage sale as soon as possible.

I tried to prepare him for what I wanted to do but I don't think he fully understood.  9-4 each day going through things, cleaning out things and sorting things.  There was not going to be any, "oh I don't want to go through that box" or "oh, I'll go through that one later".  No.  We were doing it.  Right then.  We started in his office which was a freakin' wreck and once that was done we moved to the master closet downstairs.  There were a ton of my keepsake boxes from college and high school that I went through and consolidated.  Then we moved to the garage.  This forced Lonnie to go through a bunch of boxes that he has been putting off going through.  His Dad died almost 10 years ago and he has a lot of his stuff.  He went though all of that and I was so proud of him.  About midway through the second day he was done.  Over it.  But I made him push through just so we could finish.  And we did.  Whew.  He was mad at me but I think he's over it now ;)  And he loves the fact that it is done.  

We got a lot more done than I even imagined.  I wanted to complete his office but we were able to do that plus empty out the closet downstairs (which is where we will store the sorted boxes AND it is the nursery closet...it is really big) and then move to the garage.  I did NOT think we would get to the garage but that is why I hired this girl.  She keeps us on track!  I will post pictures when everything is final.  All areas are still a work in progress until we clean out all other areas and then have the garage sale.  

Also on Tuesday we interviewed a lady who is going to help us with housework a few days a week when the babies come.  An entire post on that later.  But that was just one more thing to add to the list of stuff to do (and prepare for).  Then Blakely had dance and that night and my MIL came over.  

This morning we took B to gymnastics and then came home so I could finish going through a few more things while Lonnie took a nap.  Then he went to an afternoon and evening full of meetings.  I am WORN OUT.  So I am propped up on the couch typing this while B watches F.rozen.  

Tomorrow we have a window guy coming to give us an estimate on new kitchen windows because one of them is broken.  Turns out they aren't tempered glass and they are supposed to be (but weren't required to be when this house was built).  They go to the floor so we are looking at replacing 2 others besides the broken one.  Fun.  Lonnie has to go through the last bit of paperwork in his office (future guest bedroom) or my head may explode.  I am ready to rearrange the furniture and hang stuff on the walls to actually complete a room.  I honestly try really hard not to nag Lonnie ever.  I never make "honey-do" lists for when he is off and I just let him get around to doing certain things in his own time.  But this week I have really been on him.  He knew it was coming but I think he will be glad when this week is over and he can go back to work!  Ha!  

I also have a friend coming tomorrow to look at our bedroom set that is in the babies room.  Hopefully she is going to buy it because then I will actually have a nursery.   Whoop!

It has been a long week but a crazy productive week.  I have felt pretty good and that helped a lot.  My girl is coming 2 days again next week so we can tackle my crazy areas of the house (craft closet...oy).  Things are moving faster than I thought and we already have a ton of garage sale stuff.  Man I can't wait to get that crap outta here.  It is going to feel so good!   

Crazy summer

I feel like this is the lost summer or something.  I can't believe it is already August!  Things have been so crazy and I feel like all I have blogged about is our IVF and Lonnie being sick. Those are the two biggest things going on right now but we have been doing other things too!  A quick update on both of those and the some pictures of what we have been up to.  

Lonnie is better.  After a week in the hospital and a week at home on antibiotics, today is his first full day back to work.  I talked to him earlier and he was tired and his back was hurting but he was okay.  He started complaining of a back spasm on Friday and that makes me very nervous but hopefully it is nothing.  We had a follow up with our doctor last week and as of right now we don't know what caused his meningitis.  Our (wonderful) doctor is worried that both of his weird illnesses this summer are caused by something else that is going on with him.  I am hoping that is not the case but we are to inform him of any changes in symptoms.  He is finally done with his at home antibiotics and he let me pull his PICC line out...FUN!  

Since we had to postpone our embryo transfer we are looking at about a 6-8 week wait until another transfer.  As of right now the temporary date for the transfer is September 19.  I am about to start over on all of the hormones in a few days.  That doesn't sound fun but I am more than ready to get the process started and get pregnant!  

Soooooo.....what else have we been doing?

The weather here has been unreal amazing.  We haven't even hit 100 yet and that is just unheard of.  We have been trying to take advantage of that.  

We have been to my grandfather's pool a few times.

Pool days always in up in car sleeping.  

We have been to the library story and craft time.  Mainly she loves the painting there.  

We went to the park and had a picnic.  Trying to get Daddy out of the house a little.  

We have taken walks in our neighborhood and since B can ride her tricycle now she does that about half and then walks the other half.  

I hav been playing softball.  It is really fun and this week is our last week.  It is a long commitment and I sometimes I don't want to go but I like it and hope to keep doing it in the fall!  Here I am about to go play IN THE RAIN.  They only cancel for lightening and this was just an all day rain shower.  It was...interesting.  ;)

And I got this injury.  This is about 5 days after so it looks much better than it did.  

Some d-bag slid into me at second and was basically trying to knock me over.  I guess he thought since I was a girl he could intimidate me by doing that.  Well he can't.  And he didn't.  I got him out.  Go sit down.  ;)

Blakely loves watching me play so we have been setting up the t-ball and teaching her how to play.  After my games she loves to run the bases so at home it is her favorite too.  

She did this probably 25 times!  She started sliding into third all on her own.  Ha!  

Hopefully things are settling down around here.  MDO starts back up again in a couple of weeks so I am going to enjoy these last few days home with my girl while I can!  

Where I should be

I should be in Denver right now snuggled up with two perfect embryos.  Having my aunt wait on me hand and foot so I can lay in bed and pray for those perfect embryos to stick.  

But that is not the case.  We postponed our embryo transfer so I am here, at home.  It was a tough decision and it wasn't all at the same time.  We wanted to go ahead with it so bad but Lonnie was just too sick.  I would have been worried about him constantly and that is not conducive to trying to get pregnant.  I talked to my nurse and she made me feel better about it, she said it happens sometimes.  We would have had regrets if we went through with it in haste and it didn't work.  Should we have waited?  Did the stress play a factor?  Why did we rush it?

So I am here.  At home.  And that is right where I should be.  Taking care of my husband.  Hooking him up to his IV three times a day, forcing him to drink more Gato.rade and asking him too many times how he is feeling.  Our little embryos will be there in a few months when the timing is right.  :)

Sick again.

So Lonnie is sick again.  Very very similar to what he had the last time.

When he got home from work Friday he told me he was exhausted and he went directly to bed at 5:15.  He slept until 8:30 and then came in the living room and told me he felt like he had been hit by a truck.  I started to panic a little because that is exactly what he told me last time.  I tried not to worry.  I thought he just had a rough week at work.  

In the middle of the night he woke up freezing cold with the chills and he had a fever.  He was also having severe joint pain (last time it was muscle pain and severe weakness so that is a difference in the illnesses).  Then I really started to freak out.  Holy crap this can not be happening again.  

We started talking about it.  There were either 2 things going on.  He was getting the myositis or something similar again.  OR he had a virus that he could pass on to me and Blakely.  Now.  We are two weeks away from our embryo transfer and I CAN NOT get sick.  We weren't sure what to do.  Eventually we decided it would be best for me and B to go stay at my mom's house and his mom to come down and take care of him.  I did not want to do this at all.  I wanted to be the one to take care of him.  I always want to be the one.  But we had to try and look at the bigger picture.  We are so close to our goal of getting pregnant and we would hate to jeopardize that by me getting sick right here at the end.  (I am in total hibernation mode)

Anyway, he continued to get worse over the weekend.  He had one of the worst call weekends he has ever had so that was real fun for him.  Anytime he wasn't at the hospital (rare) he was sleeping.  He has actually been a little better yesterday and today so I am really thankful for that.  Last time day 3-5 were the absolute worst.  They drew a ton of labs yesterday...14 vials!  So we are waiting to hear about those.

This time around he does not have the muscle weakness so he is able to continue working through his joint pain.  His fever seems to go away during the day and then return about 2-3 in the afternoon.  Our doctor is not sure if the two similar illnesses are related but he does think the it is quite the coincidence and that is why they have ordered a boatload of testing to be done.  

Blakely and I are back home now.  If this was something contagious then that period has passed so we came home yesterday.  I really hated being away from him when he was so sick.  Ugh..so much guilt about that.  Deep down I definitely feel like these two illnesses are related.  Since the last time, he has mentioned to me that his right ankle hurts at night.  Once he gets up and walks on it in the mornings it is fine.  Then it stiffens up at night and he has to limp to the shower every morning.  Now he gets a fever with much more severe joint pain in more joints?  Something is going on.  I am really hoping we figure it out soon because something weird is going on.  My man is has been in pain and I hate to see that.  Boo.  

a couple of funnies...

A few funny things to start off your week...

The other day Blakely and I were snuggling on the couch watching Mick.ey right before bed time.  She was haplessly rubbing my arm and she had made her way up to my armpit.  All of the sudden she stopped, looked at me and Lonnie with wide eyes and said "Mommy has a beard under her arm!"  Lonnie nearly fell of the couch laughing.  So now they both always ask to see my "armpit beards".  Hilarious.  

To be fair, it had been like 24 hours since my last shave.  I wouldn't call that a freaking beard but I don't think I will ever be living this one down.  



A few days ago I sent Lonnie a text telling him I had a headache (hormones!).  I will just let the screenshot of the convo do the talking.  

Yeah.  Obviously I meant to say "drank some coke".  And even funnier is right after I realized my phone's mistake his mom called me laughing hysterically.  He had forwarded the screenshot to our moms and all my friends.  Why, Lonnie?  Why?  



And speaking of texts.  2 days ago I realized my phone started changing "we" to "fuck".  There were a few funny texts that I didn't catch before sending and I was so confused.  I just figured I typed fuck a lot and the phone hated me.  I told this to Lonnie and he said that is why he married me, because I say fuck.  FUNNY.  

Then, today, I noticed that when I type "what" it changes to "fuck you asshole".  You can imagine the accidental text that was sent with that one.  I knew immediately something was up and someone had messed with my phone.  Hmmmmm....who could that be?!?!?

That guy...

I didn't even know you could set shortcuts like that on the phone!  Ugh.  He admitted it and now I will retaliate.  I am taking all suggestions of humiliation for the husband.  Go!  

Happy Monday!

My honey.

I just typed out this post in about 15 minutes this morning.  I haven't really even re-read it.  It is quite wordy and medical.  If you are like my friend, Sarah, then you totally shut down when medical terminology is used (although she is getting better since she married a nurse!)  So, I put a small summary at the bottom if you just want to skip to that.  Hoping this makes sense!

This is so completely random.  I will start from the beginning.  

When I got home Friday night at 2 am Lonnie had accidentally locked me out.  He had to come upstairs and unlock the door for me.  When we went back down to bed he was shivering and said he had the chills.  He sleeps with no sheets or blankets so I knew this was weird.  I covered him up and turned the heat up.  I knew he had a fever because he was so hot.  The next morning he woke up to go to work, took some Tyl.enol and felt better. In fact he felt good so we went on with our plans to go have a fun family day.  

About half way through our great day I could tell he was uncomfortable.  He mentioned that his muscles were hurting, mainly his neck and his back.  Like I said before, I thought he just slept wrong.  He went on home while I took B for ice cream.  

While we were watching the movie that night he was moaning and groaning pretty frequently.  His fever had returned earlier in the day and Ty.lenol was not getting it to go down.  As he progressively got worse we started to get a little bit worried.  He kept saying that his back and neck hurt so bad and this is coming from the guy who never complains about pain.  He has had a few injuries since I have known him and he just has a high tolerance for pain.  Around 8:00 pm is when he told me to call my mom to watch B so he could go get checked out in the ER.  I tried not to freak the eff out but I'm pretty sure I failed.  I knew that if he thought he should get checked out then he was really feeling worse than I even knew and he was worried.  

Saturday night in the ER....no bueno

At this point I think we were both worried about it being meningitis or something and giving it to Blakely.  That was our main concern heading in to the ER.  He had a fever, chills and severe muscle pain.  None of which was getting better with medication.  They worked him up and everything was normal.  We were there only a couple of hours but he was so uncomfortable.  I have never seen him like that.  

Keep in mind.  He was on call all weekend.  So he worked Saturday but Sunday he felt so awful he decided he wasn't going to go in unless they called with an emergency.  Thankfully they didn't.  He was worse Sunday.  Still had the fever and severe muscle pain.  

Monday morning rolls around and he heads to work.  He told me that morning that his muscles were very weak.  It was hard for him to move his hands and arms.  At about 11 he called me from his cell phone.  Something he never does from work.  He told me he had called his partner in (from his vacation!) and he left work and was headed to see our doctor.  He couldn't hold the wires and needles for his cases.  He said that his muscle weakness had gotten much worse over the last few hours.  

They ran some labs and then Lonnie came home to wait for the results.  Dr. W called and said that one of his labs (CK) that measures the breakdown of muscles was high.  (It was not high yet when we were in the ER)  He wanted him to hydrate as much as possible and come back in the morning for repeat labs.  They were thinking it was some sort of myositis (inflammation of the muscles...this can be caused by about a million different things).  But there were also a few scarier things that it could be and if the labs were abnormal the next day we would start ruling those out.  

That afternoon and evening we started to get really worried.  In 15 years Lonnie has never missed a single day of work.  He laid on the couch and shivered and groaned all evening just getting worse.  The next morning (yesterday) he could barely get out of bed.  He hurt so much and his muscles just would not work, they were so weak.  He forced himself to get in the shower thinking it would make him feel better.  He had to go to work!  I got up as he was trying to brush his teeth. Trying and failing.  He couldn't even squeeze the toothpaste out.  I told him there was no way he was going to work.  Absolutely not.  My foot was down.  He agreed and called his partner who knew he may not be able to make it.  

Once that was settled we sat down to figure out what in the hell to do.  We were getting worried about a couple of really serious illnesses.  I mean how random to have rapid onset of severe muscle pain, muscle weakness and a fever?  He called one of the neurologists and he agreed to see him immediately.  I drove him up there and the neurologist worked him over.  They ordered a few tests and ran a few tests in the office.  The one they ran in the office ruled out the most serious illness (Guillain-Barre).  It would have been really random for him to have that so I was happy to know it wasn't that.  We moved on to the MRI to rule out the next most serious illness.  Right after it was done Lonnie went and looked at it and it was normal.  Wonderful.  Then we went for more labs.  

We were at the hospital all morning.  Once we were done there we went to our regular internal medicine doctor...let's call him Dr. W, the one Lonnie saw the day before.  We talked to him about things and the labs still weren't back.  He sent us home and the plan was for him to call us with the results.  If his CK was higher then he wanted to admit him to the hospital.  The problem with high CK is that it can build up in your kidneys and cause kidney failure.  So they would want him in the hospital to pump him full of fluids to try and prevent that.  Dr. W made me feel a little better while we were there.  He told me that this is not a mystery.  He still thinks it is an infectious myositis and rhabdomyolysis.  We just don't know what caused it.  

We came home and waited.  Dr. W called a little later and said that his CK had gone up significantly.  Like more than quadrupled.  BUT!  He had talked to an infectious disease specialist and since his kidney function labs were normal she thought it would be okay to recheck the labs in the morning (Wednesday).  As long as he hydrated as much as possible and went to the ER if he got any worse.  

This made me nervous but going to the hospital didn't sound all that awesome either.  I made him lay on the couch all evening and forced him to drink a ton of water and Gat.orade.  When he woke up yesterday morning he felt a little better.  That was the first time since this started that he wasn't getting worse.  His labs came back yesterday and his CK had gone up but only slightly.  Dr. W thinks that he has plateaued and is turning the corner.  So we go back in a few minutes for another recheck and HOPEFULLY it will have started to come down.  

He was definitely feeling better yesterday afternoon.  He still can't write his name with a pen or text (his fingers just will not work right) but he does not have as much pain and he feels somewhat stronger.  I am so so happy he is starting to feel better.  We are supposed to leave for the beach soon!  Now that he is on the mend (please let that be the case) we are still planning on going.  I have been on hold with packing and getting things ready because I wasn't sure it was going to work out.  And I've also been super busy taking care of him and driving him to all these places and just stressing out about his illness in general.  So now I have to get on it!  

I love this husband of mine so very much.  We had a few scary days there but I am glad we are past that.  I respect him so much for being such a hard worker.  He has told the partner that worked for him a hundred times how much he appreciates it.  He keeps telling me things that we need to get or do for the doctors that helped him and took care of him.  He has told them numerous times how grateful he is to have them.  He just does not like being the patient!  I am so thankful for his partner that came in to work for him this week.  If he had been out of town I don't know what we would have done!  We may never know what caused this.  More than likely it was just the way his body reacted to a virus that he had.   Who knows.  All I know is that I am happy he is getting better!  His official diagnosis is infectious myositis (inflammation of the muscles caused by an infectious process and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of the muscle tissue).  

*short version*  Lonnie started having severe muscle pain and weakness along with a fever 5 days ago. We spent a few scary days worrying that it could be something life-altering since he only continued to get worse.  We have been in and out of the doctors office for tests and planning to be admitted to the hospital but, thankfully, we have avoided that.  Yesterday was the first day he felt a little bit better.  We are going back for more labs this morning and hoping that he is on the mend!  His diagnosis is infectious myositis (inflammation of the muscles caused by an infectious process) and rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of muscle tissue).  So freaking random.

Weekend fun. And not so fun.

I intended on posting this on Monday but right after our super great weekend everything went to shit.  More on that later!  

We had a super full weekend so I'll just start with Friday.  Blakely had gymnastics and then we went to my dad's house after that.  We have started getting into that routine the past month or so.  Sometimes I stay over there with them and other times I run a few errands while they hang out for an hour or two.  This Friday I had a doctor's appointment so I left her there to run around outside, play with Shady (the only dog in the world that she is not scared of) and play on the boat.  

I picked her up and we drove the long way through the country home.  She loves this because we drive by a few farms and she can see the COWS!  SHEEP!  HORSIES!  One of these days I am just going to walk up to one of their doors and ask if she can get a close up look.  She took a late nap because we were heading to the local high school baseball game that evening.

My girlfriends and I were having a girls night starting at the game.  We have a friend whose son is the star of the team so we went to watch him.  I knew Blakely would think that was fun!  And she did.  I think she entertained everyone around us the whole game.  Lonnie came after work to watch a little of the game and to take B home.

My girl will finally smile a good smile for a selfie instead of that cheese ball grin!

After the game we headed over to Jenny's and the girls who couldn't make the game came over then.  We ordered pizza, played games and talked for hours.  It was so much fun!  I had really good intentions of getting home at a decent hour.  But at midnight my pregnant friend, Tina, was still going strong so I felt I had to at least outlast her.  I made it home at 2 in the morning.  Whoa.  We had such a great time and I truly believe a girls night is good for the soul.  Blakely didn't get the memo about sleeping in so I was running on about 4 hours of sleep Saturday.  

Lonnie was on call but it was looking like his weekend wouldn't be too busy.  We decided to head out to our local horse racing track for a fun event they were having in the infield.  They had a huge BBQ competition and you could purchase a plate for $5 and sample all the food.  Ummm, yes.  Sign me up.  A huge open area for B to run around + food + live music + some bounce houses = a super happy toddler.  She ate more BBQ than Lonnie and I did.  We got there a little early before there were too many people there.  Definitely planned it that way.  Here are a few pics because I actually took my good camera.  Go me.  

come on, Mom!  

Taking a little break from jumping.  

We finally got her to sit down under the shade of a huge tree.  

The child ate 2 plates full!

Be happy I only posted 3 of them sitting like this.  I have about 50...

Adoration...

On the way home from the racetrack I felt like it was the perfect time for an ice cream date.  We have only gone for ice cream about 5 times ever.  The first 4 she didn't even know there were toppings for the ice cream.  I planned on keeping it that way but the last time we went Lonnie picked her up and showed them to her before I could catch him.  If I could show you the look on her face.  The child was so excited.  So, of course, this time she wanted to pick her toppings.  She decided on orange ice cream with gummy bears, chocolate chips and M&M's.  Yum.  Not.  I usually share hers but that sounded gross so I got my own.  She ate every single bite.  We were there for an hour.  She is not the fastest eater.  

By the time she was done she was in serious need of a bath.  Sweat mixed with sunscreen mixed with BBQ sauce mixed with orange ice cream made for a dirty little two year old.  

I soaked her and scrubbed her and then we settled in for a movie night.  Her favorite.  Toy S.tory.  About half way through I could tell Lonnie wasn't feeling well.  He mentioned earlier in the day that his muscles were hurting but I didn't really know what to make of that.  I thought he just slept weird or something.  Anyway, when it was time to put Blakely to bed he calmly told me to call my mom and and have her come over while Blakely was sleeping so I could take him to get checked out by the ER doctor.  Ummmm...excuse me?!?!?  My husband who refused to even get a physical for like 6 years wanted to voluntarily go to the ER on a Saturday night?  Yeah, so our weekend went to shit right there.  I'll post all about it tomorrow or Friday.  He is okay but still pretty ill.  Blah.  

8 years ago...

I wrote this post on January 3rd (Lonnie's birthday) but somehow it got lost in my drafts and I forgot to publish it.  Basically, on his birthday, we were sitting around talking about all of the birthdays we have spent together.  I was telling him that I remember very well the first time we celebrated his birthday together.  He didn't remember it at all so I went looking for this picture to jog his memory.  It worked.  

January 3rd 2006

We had known each other like 6 months.  His mom took this picture.  The three of us had dinner at Lonnie's favorite restaurant (The Terrace...I'll never forget!).  It was the second time I met her.  I super love looking back on this picture because it makes me feel all of the feelings I was feeling then.  I remember all of it.  We were crazy in love, I was oh so nervous because I wanted his mom to like me (love me).  We were "talking" about moving here but mostly just crazy in love.  This picture makes me think about the beginning of us.  I love remembering that time.  I was a few months away from finishing school and he had recently completed his fellowship.  The world was at our fingertips.  He was turning 33 and I was 23.  BABIES.  Great memories.  

PS.  Have y'all ever even seen a picture of Lonnie with ZERO facial hair?

PPS.  My husband and my baby look very similar, no?  

A long time coming.

Lonnie has worked, oh I don't know, 45 days in a row?  Not really, but it does feel like it.  A few times a year he has a super long stretch with a couple of call weekends thrown in.  It is certainly not fun and this year it just happened to fall during a time when I was super busy as well (wedding prep/wedding, etc).  So it has been stressful for all involved.  

But, dear readers, we have reached the light at the end of the tunnel.  My boo is off this entire week.  

THE WHOLE WEEK.  

This mama is fired up like whoa.  I have been looking forward to this week for what seems like a year.  Maybe I exaggerate a little...  I have finished most of my Christmas shopping and I have even wrapped!  Our Christmas cards have been sent and all the decor has been finished for weeks.  I wanted to get things done so we could just enjoy this week together as a family.  

We have a few things planned and they are all Christmas related.  Go see Santa, go see the Christmas lights, stay in our Christmas pajamas and watch Christmas movies all day.  Sounds amazing, right?  It's going to be.  We need some family time...just the three of us. 

Blakely did go to school today because it is pajama week and they are having a Christmas party today.  She was sothrilled to wear her slippers.  She wants to wear them to school every day but obviously I don't let her.  They are about 3 sizes too small.  Today though, she got her wish and she was one happy little girl!  

Hope everyone has a great week!  I am off to buy new slippers for my girl!

Random things...

It has been one thing after another here lately and I can't seem to find the time to sit down and blog.  Here are a list of random things for your midweek!

• Blakely is in the "obsessed with bandaids" stage.  You can usually find her with one on each cheek and she will be carrying a princess that is covered in them as well.

• We had our wine dinner last night and it was super fun.  I love getting dressed up and going out with my husband!  No pictures because it was a mad dash to get ready and get out of the door.  I will say that I was about 6'2" with my shoes on...but still shorter than my Lonnie.  :)

obsessed with these.  may wear them to every holiday party...

• Lonnie was off last week so we had a lot of family cuddle time.  It was cool and rainy most days so we got to build a fire and watch movies each night.  Blakely watched The Li.ttle Merma.id which she LOVED (we've watched it 3 times now) and Cin.dere.lla which she liked but not as much as Ariel (Ay-dull).  I have waited my whole life to watch movies with my baby girl.  It makes my heart smile.  Lonnie even looked over at me and said "you are so happy right now"...he was right!

• Since Lonnie was off Blakely just got a whole bunch of Daddy time.  She loves it but probably not as much as he does!  Here are a couple more from the week...

he wore those stickers on his face the whole time we were at breakfast.  and he let her crawl all over him so I could eat.  he is the best.  

• I am getting so pumped up for Christmas.  I have already started working on some Christmas presents for family.  And I am in the process of making the Christmas Countdown list too.  MERRY MERRY!  
• Lonnie and I are having a party this weekend for Sarah and CJ who are getting married in a few weeks.  Once that party is over the Christmas tree is going up!  
• Do your children love to be naked?  I can't even tell you the struggle it is to get B dressed in the mornings.  And the second we get home each day she screams "ME NAKEY" and starts stripping down.  Fun.  
• Aaaaaaaand Lonnie has taught her how to pee outside.  Which she thinks is the coolest thing ever.  I have to say, it is pretty funny and she is darn good at it!  Ha!

this was right before she showed me how she "pee pee out-shide grash!" 

• We had to cancel our family pictures because of the rain last week.  Totally sad about it.  We haven't had family pictures since B was born and I was really looking forward to it because the leaves have been so so pretty this year.  Lonnie isn't off again until mid December so we rescheduled for then.  So, winter family pictures?  I guess so.  Weird.  I need to think of what we are going to wear because our "fall" outfits just aren't going to cut it.
• In one of my fantasy leagues I am 10-0.  Did you hear that Kalyn?  Undefeated...can't even believe it!  
• I'm off to go pick up my baby girl and take her for ice cream!  

An injury

***just one thing before starting this post.  I just got my refund check in the mail from our screwed up IVF.  Some of you had asked so I wanted to update on that!  It was about damn time***

So last Thursday Lonnie called me from work and said that he got a cramp in his hip during a biopsy and it just would not let up.  When he got home that night it was still bothering him so I helped him stretch it out for an hour.  This was actually pretty comical because neither one of us are flexible at all. 

Friday.  He goes to work and has a horrible day.  He was in pain all day and could barely stand up.  He had to take some breaks during cases {unheard of} and even tried bringing in stools and chairs to help take some of the weight off of his leg while working.  {Obviously he stands up all day doing cases}  

Friday evening he comes home and he looks rough.  He has been dealing with severe pain all day and he said the day was a blur.  He went directly to the couch and fell asleep until the next morning.  

Then our whirlwind weekend happened.  What I didn't mention in that post is that Lonnie was in bed or on the couch from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.  The pain got a lot better but he noticed that his leg was weak.  For example, he could not lift it as high as he wanted.  {Think if you were trying to march...he couldn't bring his knee up very high}  He also noticed that the medial part of his calf was numb.  We both started thinking maybe this was an issue with his back and not his hip.  

We both went to softball practice Sunday afternoon.  He was feeling better and said he was in no pain.  He is not the type to complain about every little ache {like I do!} so I know he was in some pain but he didn't say that.  He didn't do much at practice but it was obvious that his leg wasn't working right.  He was favoring it more than he had been.  

He went to work on Monday and had an "okay" day.  He said he wasn't in pain {lies} and that the weakness wasn't getting worse.  The problem is that it wasn't getting better.  I told him to get an MRI.  He said that wasn't necessary.  When he came home Monday he went straight to the couch again and didn't get up. 

Finally, on Tuesday morning he decided that he should go ahead and get that MRI.  {may have been my nagging} So yesterday after work, he did.  

Here is a normal MRI of the lumbar spine.  I added some text just to show you the discs and the spinal canal....basic stuff...I am no radiologist!  

image via

And here is a snapshot of Lonnie's MRI.  Sorry for the terrible quality...it is a picture of the computer screen.  

So here is what that picture means.  He has a severely herniated disc with a fragment of the disc causing severe spinal stenosis.  Lonnie looked at the MRI himself and also had the neuroradiologist in his group look at it.  Both agreed that it may require surgery.  Not good.  Need to talk to a neurosurgeon.  

Yesterday.  Wednesday.  He talked talked to the neurosurgeon.  He suggested getting an epidur.al stero.id injection pronto and then resting until Monday.  He said that if his leg weakness wasn't better by Monday then he will need surgery next week to fix it.  If you don't fix it soon enough then the damage could be permanent.  {As of right now he can't walk without a limp and feels like his leg may buckle every time he takes a step}

So that is where we are now.  Of course he couldn't get the epi.dural stero.id injection yesterday because he was too busy.  He went in early this morning and his partner did it.  {Irony...Lonnie does those but obvi can't do it on himself...ha!}  Now we just wait and see.  He is at work today but says he is feeling a little better.  We were supposed to leave for a trip, just the two of us, on Saturday and be gone until Wednesday but that has now been cancelled.  I am sad about that because we were really looking forward to having some hubby/wife time but I am way more concerned about his back.  We are REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping to avoid surgery.  Back surgery would be major.  Like avoid back surgery if at all possible.  He was scheduled to be off next week anyway {the trip} so hopefully he can get through work today and tomorrow and I can just take care of him after that.

Just UGH....  I want him to be better.  Blakely is totally freaked out that Daddy is "hurt".  I should have never even said those words.  I wasn't thinking.  I was trying to explain to her why he couldn't throw her up in the air 15 times and chase her around the dining room table when he got home from work....like he does every single day.  I said Daddy's hip hurts and now she cries every time she sees him.  I feel terrible about it.  

Here's hoping he has an easy day at work today and tomorrow and then the doctor becomes my patient.  Which requires doing everything I say.  You reading this, Lonnie?  

Flashing it back....vacation style.

Grand Cayman.  Our first vacation together in 2006.  We hadn't even known each other a year.  BABIES.  

St. John, US. Virgin Islands.  Honeymoon 2007

NYC for our 1 year anniversary.  2008

Domincan Republic 2009

 San Francisco 2010

AAAAAAAAND then we had a baby.  HA!  

I am ready for a mommy and daddy only trip!  Lonnie and I have been so many places and we love to travel together.  We knew once we had a baby that we wouldn't do it as much so I guess we tried to do as much as we could back then.  I am glad we did but I am ready to get back into it!

Lonnie?!  Are you reading this?!  Lets plan something!  

So let's do a little bit of catch-up.

I love a good catch up post, don't you?  No?  Oh....  Well, sorry, but catch up it is today!

My bestest friend, Sarah, is getting married and they finally set a date.  She is also my only friend that knows about my blog. (Hi!)  Anyway, she asked me to be her matron of honor.  I am pretty sure I shed a few tears.  Still get a little teary when I think about it.  I can't wait to stand up there when she marries CJ.  She deserves the absolute best and I am so lucky to have her as my friend...for over 15 years.  Geeez...here I am a "matron" of honor and talking about knowing someone for over 15 years.  OLD.

But what is even more is that she asked if B could be a flower girl!  Hello!  How exciting is that news?  I can't even imagine the cuteness.  What I can imagine is B screaming UH OH! every time the other flower girl throws her flowers.  Yep.  It could happen.  

Who me?  

Speaking of Sarah, her bunco group (I was in it before I had B) went to a local painting place this month instead of playing bunco and invited me to go.  I had never been to something like that and it was a lot of fun.  They had the cross and the line down the left side already traced on the canvas but other than that you could do what you want.  I definitely want to do it again but maybe a flower or a razorback next time?!

I promise we have shorts on...

My sweet darling husband sent Blakely and I flowers a few days after the IVF fiasco.  They came to the door and I literally could not think of a single person that would send me flowers.  (This was only the second time in our 8 years together that he has sent flowers...just not a flower guy!)  I opened the card and it said "I love my girls".  I started crying and Blakely looked at me with a very concerned face, said "uh-vuu" (love you), and then hugged me.  Let's move on before I cry about that one again.  

Lonnie was off for a few days last week and he decided that I needed a break.  Well, maybe I told him that I did.  He asked me what I wanted to do and I said "SLEEP IN!"  I haven't slept in in a really long time.  Sometimes he will get up with her on the weekend but I can hear her and I can't get back to sleep.  Mommy problems.  Anyway, he told me to go to a hotel and spend the night.  By myself.  At first I was like, NO.  But then he kept playing it up.  "You could go shopping all day, by yourself!"  "You could get hotel breakfast in bed, and not have to share!" (He knows me so well.)  So, I finally decided to take him up on his offer.  

I went about an hour away (where the shopping is) and shopped all day.  It was glorious.  I spent way too much money (shhhh) and just enjoyed the heck out of myself.  At around 3 that afternoon it was either go get the hotel room or drive home.  I was really on the fence but I bit the bullet and got a room.  No looking back after paying for it.  I called Lonnie from the parking lot before I did it and he was like "omg...just do it already!"  Let me tell you.  I had the most relaxing time.  I ordered room service, I watched crap on tv, and I slept in.  Until 1030.  I felt like I was back in college and sleeping the day away.  Oh I missed my B for sure.  But I knew she was having a great time with her daddy when I got this picture.  

HE PAINTED HER TOENAILS.  I DIE.  (and stamps for pooping..)