A Mother's life...

The life of a mom is never considered a glamorous one. It is something that most girls begin fantasizing about at a very young age. They run around with their dolls in their miniature strollers with itsy-bitsyb ottles pretending their babies are crying. The part they seem to neglect to portray is the unwashed hair, the bags under the eyes, and the piles of laundry that have become a barrier between themselves and the outside world. No, these young little girls play the role of mom dressed in their princess costumes with lip gloss and heels on. They do seem to have down one realistic portion of this character, the cell phone. Only they never pretend to be getting calls from Dr.s with bad news, insurance companies denying claims, or getting calls from friends offering a shoulder to cry on. When you are this young you imagine only the fairytale. When you are my age you realize the fairytale is a farce and come to realize the reality of motherhood.

As Natalie's surgery approaches I am being consumed with emotions. Well one emotion really, stress. I could have never imagined as a 4 year-old that there would one day be things that could happen to my tiny little doll baby that I could not fix. Hell we could drop those babies on their heads, throw them from a balcony, or leave them in the car for days and mend it all with a simple kiss on the head. 21 years later you realize life is more fragile than your Cabbage Patch doll. Some ailments require trips across two states and highly specialized surgeons to mend. Realizing how delicate a mother's job truly is only makes me take it more seriously and value it that much more.

Even with all the stress, anxiety and exhaustion in my life I would not trade it for anything. My time of pretending to be a mom is buried away deep in the past and my reality has arrived. My reality is that I have a 4 year-old daughter with a spinal cord cyst that will be undergoing surgery in one week. My role is no longer a princess mother pushing a stroller around a basement playroom, but rather to be a personal bodyguard, caretaker, comforter, and a Mother. Now at the age of 25 I have learned what is really means to be a mother, sweat pants and all!

Deep in the heart or (East) Texas...

The anxiety has been building for weeks, arrangements took a week to make, and the drive itself took 11 hours. The Dallas skyline was like an oasis in a dessert of medical mystery and fear. Answers were near and and an end in sight.

Our long awaited journey to Dallas was kicked of with some pancakes from McDonald's at 07:00 am Sunday morning. Our little patient sat in the back of the car in innocent silence hour after hour. Never complaining, requesting to drive through for lunch. Approximate 6 hours into our steamy drive Natalie was beginning to sense the something was up. The questions started leaking out; "are Nathan and Noah going to meet us there?" "what are we going to do there?" "how long are we going to be there?" We had to be honest with her about our intentions, and she took it like a champ.

Sunday evening we arrived in Longview, TX at my Aunt Roxanne and Uncle Ray's house. We were welcomed with open arms and delicious fajitas. We swam at their beautiful neighborhood pool and let Natalie stretch her little lets in the water. Perhaps this is why she requested no stopping at lunch, she had a pool to swim in!

Monday morning we were once again greeted with a breakfast spread prepared by our incredibly kind hosts. We then headed to small Zoo in Tyler. Natalie enjoyed the bird sanctuary where she got to feed birds. Then back to the house for some more swimming, and off to dinner at one of the best barbecue establishments I have ever visited.

Tuesday morning Natalie was sad to leave Longview. She didn't want to see more doctors, go sit through anymore appointments, and most importantly she just wanted to go home! We said our good-byes and headed down the highway back toward the medical oasis.

1:24 The nurse calls us back. She sets us in Dr. Sklars office and we sit...waiting. My mind racing. I'm desperate to hold on to all the details of her experience to recount them accurately when asked. I rack my brain for dates of onset, tests, appointments, even birth dates are not coming easily. Finally the man we've been waiting to see. His friendly smile puts me at ease. I relive the nightmare for him as previously rehearsed. He then guides us into a dark room. As most probably do, i get uncomfortable following strangers into dark rooms. Only I fear different outcomes than the average Joe. He shows us the familiar pictures of our daughters spine. The variation in greys sets off alarms to this trainer professional. After a careful and thorough explanation of why a cyst in the spinal cord might occur he tells us "there's no explanation for this cyst". The anxious mother in my can't take it anymore and the words jumped from my mouth like grease from a hot pan, burning my own ears when the landed. "What's the treatment, what do we do?" He says it "Surgery."

Surgery! No one willingly signs their child up for surgery, let alone SPINAL CORD SURGERY! He explains that this cyst has expanded her spinal cord to almost double it's normal size. She is in harms way if no action is taken and could be in harms way with surgery. Either way Dr. Sklar emphasizes this is not something to watch. No, "Sit and wait" has been permanently canceled from the smiley fall line-up. The conversation then shifts to experience, location, technique and approach. They will remove the back piece of one of Natalie's vertebrae, use a microscope to make a 1mm incision in her spinal cord and insert a small stint, developed by this surgeon, to allow the fluid to drain freely from inside the spinal cord to the area around the spinal cord. This will essentially prevent pressure build up inside the cord and therefore prevent pressure on nerves and keep Natalie functioning normally.

As we walked out of the office our hearts are heavy with fear and stress. Natalie skips along side us singing "I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor" and completely naive to what lies in her future. For the moment we wait for a confirmation on surgery dates. It will most likely be within the first two weeks of September and require a week long stay in Dallas. Chris and I each take turns on the phone calling family, work, and friends anxiously awaiting to hear our news.

While this news is not the best, it is far from the worst. We have so much to be grateful for. God laid all the pieces out for us and when put together they leave a Natalie in a picture of health and the best medical team around her. We will forever be grateful for that.

Two down, One to go!

The results of the "High Resolution MRI" are in...drum roll please...

NORMAL BRAIN

NO Spinal tumor

This news rules out the biggest risks. She DOES still have a cyst that will need to be addressed and still require a highly anticipated journey to Dallas Children's to determine course of treatment/need for surgery.

We are now a month and a half into this terrifying journey and have successfully scanned this little girl top to bottom. We have ruled out cancer, brain tumor, spinal cord tumor. Three of the most terrifying diagnosis!

Prayer is priceless and I feel so lucky to have so many people praying for our little girl! Thanks again to all my amazing supporters.

Dallas Bound

I was recently blessed with a rare opportunity. I was able to sit down with my brother-in-law's uncle, who is a Neuro Radiologist/ Interventionalist, and review Natalie's scan. He read her scan with me and pointed out multiple items of concern, but prefaced our conversation with "I don't specialize in kids". He looked at me with sad eyes and tried to emotionally prepare me for the road ahead. This Dr. took over and hour out of his visit to Kansas City to talk to a distraught mother and get involved in this emotional situation that he was in no way obligated to. He thought the area on her spinal cord looked like a tumor and it was certainly not something to be watched. We discussed surgical approaches, road for recovery, and most importantly options in Dallas. See it just so happen that this Dr. Purdy is engaged to be married to a very prestigious Pediatric Neuroradiologist at Dallas Children's Hospital. He recommends multiple opinions, lost of research and fast action. He offers his resources of speaking with his fiancee, Dr. Rollins, and giving her the MRI to review. After an hour of hanging on his every word and his kind words of guidance I drove home with tears in my eyes and fear in my heart for my little girl. Dr. Purdy said something that sticks in my mind like gum to a shoe "If this were my child I would take her to Dr. Sklar in Dallas. She needs someone who KNOWS what they are doing. She needs the BEST."

The next morning I receive an urgent phone call from my sister. "Sister, Nancy (Dr. Rollins) wants you to call her NOW, she doesn't think it's a tumor!" Que the symphony of angels! I quickly dial the phone and hear a calm and reassuring voice on the other end. "This doesn't look like a tumor. We will still need the high resolution scan to be sure, but she may not need surgery." Regardless of tumor or cyst Nancy wants Natalie to come to Dallas for a second opinion with Dr. Sklar. She has already spoken with him regarding her case and she is willing to help in anyway possible.

During both conversations with these incredibly kind doctors I felt blessed. I had experts in a very specialized area at my fingertips to answer questions and listen to my story. I was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude for their time and attention for my daughter.

Sunday August 1st Chris and I will make the long trek to Dallas with our little girl to get her THE expert we were told of. Tomorrow little Natalie will have her long anticipated High Resolution MRI at Children's Mercy. She will undergo 3 hours of deep sedation and have a complete brain and spine scan. We hope for so many things. We hope this is the key to answers to her mystery diagnosis, we hope to not find any additional lesions/tumors, and I hope to hell when she is 10 she doesn't remember any of this! We hope this will one day be a story to be told to her, and not one that she recalls with vivid detail.

Twenty-three days...

As time slowly inches along my heart grows increasingly heavy. Heavy with fears for Natalie's future, her health, and all that she will endure.

Fourteen days from now we head back to Children's Mercy for more testing. In twenty-three days we meet again with Dr. Igbase to review the results and plan for treatment. In twenty-three days we will learn Natalie's fate. For twenty-three days we wait. For twenty-three days we worry. We have twenty-three days of peace for Natalie.

July 19th we leave for a long awaited vacation with my sister's family. We will journey up to Indiana where we will stay on Lake Michigan. We will relax on the beach (well the kids will, I will be on lifeguard duty) and venture into Chicago to explore Legoland, the Aquarium, and some other classic Chicago attractions. This time will allow us time to regroup as a family and offer us a much needed distraction. It will offer a much needed brief escape from reality.

Work of an angel...

07:25: My eyes pop open to the highly anticipated sound of my alarm clock. In less than three hours we are going to be at Children's Mercy and on our way to answers. Chris and I get ready for the journey into downtown KC. We wait as long as possible before we wake the sleeping princess. We quietly dress her, feed her, and prep her for even more probing eyes. When Natalie realizes that we are off for yet another Dr. appointment she tries to negotiate her way out of it. "I don't want to go to the Dr., take Noah instead."

10:30: We meet with the Pediatric Neurosurgeon. He asks a stream of simple question regarding symptoms and history. We then make our way into another room to review the images of her MRI. We sit and Dr. Igbase explains that Natalie has a syrinx in her spinal cord (a fluid filled cyst). These are not all that rare but there is something else that has also caught the specialist's attention. Natalie not only has a syrinx in her spinal cord, she has a nodule. A tiny white spot on the screen has sparked his highly trained eye into wanting additional tests. This nodule may need to come out, it will need biopsy, and may indicate an answer- Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome. This could require testing the boys for the genetic disorder. This road will be crossed once we get an official diagnosis, but for now I prep.

Dr. Igbase wants a high resolution MRI in 2 weeks to assess whether these areas are growing. The MRI will take 3 hours and require another round of deep sedation with an anesthesiologist. If this is in fact a nodule as it appears on the initial MRI it may require surgery to remove. This is very high risk. Loss of physical function and spinal cord trauma being the main concern. If this is the case we will pursue a second opinion to confirm that surgery is the only option, and that she has the latest research, techniques, and most highly trained doctors on her team. I have a good feeling with Dr. Igbase and would prefer to have the surgery in KC, but will pursue all the options before allowing anyone to operate on Natalie's spinal cord.

There was a bit of good news in all of this. Whatever this is we caught it very early. Dr. Igbase emphasized how good it is that we have caught this VERY EARLY. Natalie is not displaying any symptoms of spinal cord compression or deterioration. Unless Natalie starts to show symptoms of spinal cord compression we will continue to try to live our lives as normally as possible...if that's possible.

The initial lump noticed on her spine has turned out to be nothing. Perhaps it was a red flag God gave in order to get Natalie the medical attention she needs in order to remain safe. For that I am grateful. I can't help but feel Natalie has a guardian angel with her keeping her safe and raising concern when necessary.

Mercy bound...hopefully in more than one way!

After what felt like the longest morning of my life we got a phone call from the Pediatrician. She was still waiting to consult with the Pediatric Oncology Dr we saw the week prior. Rather than waiting around to hear from the Cancer doctor I tell Dr. Rozina after the limited research I was able to do it seems as though Natalie needs a neurosurgeon, preferably and Children's Mercy. She agrees and begins the process of referring us to our next destination on our medical journey.

In the mean time my sister's uncle-in-law (if that's the correct term) who is a Neurosurgeon was kind enough to read the report to help interpret if possible. He agrees she needs and MRI of her brain and to see a Neurosurgeon. Fortunately his fiancee is a Pediatric Neuroradiologist in Dallas and he is willing to arrange a second opinion if we wish to go that route.

2:30pm we get the call- Dr. Rozina has gotten us an appointment with the Pediatric Neurosurgeon at Children's Mercy @ 10:15 am Friday morning. In the mean time I am given the task of gathering her MRI disc from KU to take to the Neurosurgeon.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me notes and positive messages. While I am not able to respond to all of them, please know they mean the world to me and help me get through the long wait. I am so grateful to have so many people praying for our little girl and so many hands eager to help when called upon. Tomorrow we prepare for our journey to Children's Mercy hoping to find the end of this medical scavenger hunt. We pray for answers, plan for treatment, and positive prognosis. We hope to be Mercy bound!

We push for Natalie

We celebrated Natalie's 4th Birthday a day early! We went to Chuck E Cheese and played, ate mediocre pizza, and spent a ridiculous number of tokens. All the while the anticipation of the MRI ahead looming.

With an 11 am arrival time was a challenge due to the fact that Natalie would have to be NPO 6 hours prior. Since I didn't think she would take kindly to a 5 am breakfast I opted for plan B...keep her up ridiculously late with the hope she would sleep late. Plan B worked like a charm. We woke her up at 0930 and left the house at 10 with no request for food or drink. With her brand new Nintendo DS in hand and a ball of nerves in my stomach we headed down I29 toward the test we have long awaited.

Natalie was not keen on any part of the trip to the hospital. After 10mg oral Versed she loosened up and the Anesthesia crew was able to wheel her back into the MRI room to sedate her further. Approximately (and probably much later) one hour later they reemerge with our very groggy little girl rolling down the halls like a tiny china doll in over-side bed. All the while my heart has been aching for the results.

Shortly after they drop us off in the Post Anesthesia waiting room a nurse reemerges requesting Natalie's parents. We barely made it though the large double doors and can hear the whimpering of a scared and delirious Natalie. They call this "Cevo Delirium". Cevo is the gas they use to help get children sleepy prior to deep sedation and this can cause a type of hysteria when they re-awake...good to know. I scoop her up and rock her on the side of the bed, the crying slowly subsides. Within a few minutes we are cleared to go and are back in our car anticipating a long wait before we hear results.

Around 6:30 pm while sitting down to dinner with the family I get a phone call. It's the Dr. The results from the MRI I back, and aren't as promising as we had all been praying for. Natalie has a cyst/lesion on her spinal cord from level T5-T9 (approximately the level of her shoulder blades), she has a mass on the outside of her spine (the mass I had originally found), a cyst in her kidney, and a cyst/lymph node in her pelvis. In case that was all overwhelming to you don't feel bad it was to the pediatrician also. The spinal lesion was well above the original area of interest, the image of the lump on her spine was inconclusive, and then there were additional incidental findings elsewhere.

While I had been praying/hoping/and begging for benign results, my heart sank with the findings. The pediatrician recommends and MRI of the brain and CT of the abdomen and pelvis. The finding were reported after 6pm and therefore tonight the plan of action is limited to waiting. So we wait.

In the mean time I take the report to a family friend who is an MD that can help interpret the results. After breaking down the report and grasping the gravity of what is happening inside Natalie's tiny spine it appears as though she will be needing a Neurosurgeon.

Tomorrow we push. We push to get her in with the best Pediatric Neurosurgeon we can, we push for additional tests, we push for answers. We push for Natalie.

Excuse me while I take a more serious tone for a moment:

For those of you who do not know already we are in the middle of quite a health scare with Natalie. It all started about 3 weeks ago when I found a quarter sized lump on Natalie's spine when she was getting dressed. I immediately called the Dr. and took her to her pediatrician. This pediatrician ran simple blood work and said he didn't want to see her back for three weeks in order to rule out any possibility of trauma causing swelling. Going with my motherly instinct I called and got her in with a KU pediatrician for a second opinion.

While at the KU pediatrician I reviewed the series of events that have transpired over the last year: March '09 lumps were found on Natalie's head, Natalie's abdomen has been unusually distended for at least the last year, recent developement of the lump on the spine. Dr. Rozina, the newly hired, KU pediatrician immediately ordered an abdominal ultrasound, and MRI of the spine.

0800: Friday June 25th Natalie had her abdominal ultrasound in an attempt to get to the bottom of her chronic abdominal distention.

0530: Friday evening Dr. Rozina calls with results. "Liver enlargement, bilateral kidney enlargement, and spleen is the upper side of norma. Could indicated lymphoma or leukemia." They have made us an appointment with Pediatric Hematology Oncology Monday. In addition to the our appointment at the Cancer Center we had a 0800 appointment for an MRI and additional blood work and urine testing.

My greatest fear was just confirmed. All of these unrelated symptoms could be a sign of every parents worst nightmare. After 5 minutes of shock I gathered myself enough to call my husband and give him the bad news. (Chris was still in Wisconsin with his Reserve unit completing 3 weeks of annual training.)

Fast forward through the most grueling weekend any parent can imagine.

Monday morning: After 2 mg Valium and waking up at 0600 Natalie is wide awake and not having any part of the MRI. MRI mission aborted and we head upstairs to the lab for blood work and leaving a urine sample.

Monday noon: Lunch with my newly married brother and his wife to re-center before our long anticipated appointment at the cancer center.

Monday 0100: Cancer center appoinment with Dr. Kumar. We are reassured that Natalie's blood work is negative for signs of lymphoma or leukemia, she does not have palpable lymph nodes besides the one on her head, she is not displaying classic signs or symptoms of lymphoma or leukemia and the initial plan for a Tuesday morning bone marrow biopsy will be canceled. Dr. Kumar wants a MRI with deep sedation in order to diagnose the lump on Natalie's spine and check for enlarged lymph nodes in her mediastinum, the area behind her breast bone.

Unfortunately the first available appoitment for an MRI with deep sedation is July 7th, our little girls 4th birthday...I guess we will take it. In the mean time we try to live our life as normal and be thankful for all the signs of health that she displays everyday. We are hoping to hear results about this MRI by evening of the 7th. In attempt to streamline the information update I will be posting an update. Look for the update here!

Perv Alert!

The movie Toy Story is an all time favorite at Casa de Smiley. Our boys are particularly enthusiastic about the film and it's characters. It wasn't until recently when Noah and Nathan were fighting over a Toy Story toy that I realized, "Disney has turned my boys into pervs!"
Noah was running through the house yelling at his brother:

"Don't touch my Woody."
"That's my Woody."
"Nathan won't give me Woody"
"You broke my Woody."
"Give me my Woody."
"No I want big Woody" (we have multiple sizes of the toy)

Chris and I just looked at each other and said "Never noticed how weird that name was before." I knew that I couldn't stop the boys because 1. they wouldn't get it the risk of them asking questions was too high, and 2. that would have killed my entertainment for the evening. So Chris and I just sat back as our immature minds soaked up all the subliminal humor the creators of Toy Story must have intended when naming characters. Thank you Disney for an evening of free immature entertainment and making my children sound like complete perverts. Walt would be proud!

Keep your eye on this one!

We have been attempting to potty train Noah this last week. We have ditched all diapers and have vowed to not purchase another bag of diapers ever again! Until today, when Noah decided Toy Story 2 was far more important than making the ten step journey to the toilet to deposit his gifts from down under. Noah was proud of his rather large achievement he left on my bedroom floor while left to run the house naked from the waist down. He marched down the stairs to say "Mommy I POOPED!" When we walked into my room my eyes bugged and I yelled "ON THE FLOOR?" And Noah responded "YEAH, SEE!" You have to keep your eye, and Pull-Ups, on this one.

This only further supports my theory that children are born heathens that have to be tamed by their parents in order to become civilized...Chris and I have dropped the ball on this one!

Casa de Smiley

We sit down every night to enjoy a moderately delicious meal. some stories of the day, and the beautiful sound of at least one bodily function...here's how tonight's events played out:

• Nathan was sharing (a presumed to be made-up) story about how the "Boogie Man" trying to catch him while coming to our room in the middle of the night...cue Chris (aka Dad) calling Nathan out on his story and proceeding to "call the Boogie Man" on his cell phone. Chris had (a very convincing) conversation with the Boogie man about his whereabouts the night before and the time given in Nathan's story. Nathan's face went from a curious grin to a lifeless pale color with now emotion while watching his father question the Boogie Man as if they had been best friends forever. While Chris asked the Boogie Man when he ate at the restaurant he was at the previous night and would he recommend Chris try it next time he eats at this establishment Nathan's eyes began to wander in a panic. The wheels were spinning. Was his dad serious? Did the Boogie Man really exist? This was supposed to just be a story to justify his late night excursion to his parents bed...his plan had backfired and all we had to do was sit back and wait for the confession! I know what you are probably thinking, teach a child not to lie by lying?!? And my only response...I'll be doing the judging here people!
  


• While Nathan sat pondering how he was going to find out the truth behind the Boogie Natalie ripped a fart so loud I'm pretty sure Jesus heard it. While farts are always funny, no matter how mature you think you are, it was not the fart that had me on the verge of wetting myself like an elderly woman with a sneezing fit. Natalie in response to her own fart says "Oh I need to poop like the fart said!" and ran to the bathroom! (I couldn't make this stuff up)



• Natalie sat on the stool with here feet dangling in the air hollering "MOMMY" and Noah responding "YES" Natalie repeats "Mommy" and Noah responds "YES". Natalie cranked up the volume, thinking I couldn't hear when in reality I was not able to respond due to the relentless giggling. On the last go round Natalie screeched "Mommy will you wipe my butt?" and Noah responded "OK!" At this point I stepped in seeing as I am the official butt wiper of the house. Noah had also proclaimed earlier in the night that "My BOO BOO EXPLODED!" He was in no shape to be doing any wiping post explosion...haha (that will be explained in the upcoming post)



• That ladies and gentleman is how an average evening at the Smiley Dinner Table unravels.

That's not normal?

As we drove down the road Nathan began a conversation that I was not prepared for:

Nathan: "Mommy, how do they make electricity? And what is electricity anyway?"

Emily: "I don't really know how to explain that Nathan. You should call Grandpa Peg and ask him." (My kids call my dad grandpa peg)

Nathan: "I thought you said you were smart. I guess you were wrong and your dad is the smart one."

Emily: I just hung my head and said "I guess you're right Nathan." ...internal dialogue (Oh lord! Why does he ask me such hard questions that I can't answer? Where are the questions like "where do babies come from?" I could totally handle that one!)

(Nathan stacking blocks 14 high at 2.)

From a very early age people have been telling me Nathan is "very bright". Being a first time mom I assumed that was just the polite thing people say...but looking back I realize maybe I should have listened. The signs were a little more subtle earlier...like developmental achievements at an early age like walking up stairs alternating feet and vertical jumps. Then there was the stacking blocks 15 high at 2. It was around 3 that THE IMAGINATION took over. It was on a recent car ride to the pharmacy it finally struck me that Nathan is different. (a lot of important stuff happens in our car apparently)

"HLS BLS"

"HLS BLS"...that was what I found on the last page of Nathan's most recent book he made at school. In case you aren't able to decipher his spelling it says "hells bells". (Not bad words in my book) I'm not proud of the fact that my child went to school and regurgitated one of my frequently used frustration phrases, but I sure as hell am proud that he used it correctly. Lets be serious people it could have been worse. He could be throwing these words around irresponsibly and at every opportunity. Perhaps this is the reason his school is testing him for the gifted program. Could it be that his vocabulary is not limited to "poopy" and "oops" but rather he will can accurately explain to you the difference between "as" and "ass" as he did one evening on a quiet ride to get a haircut;
Nathan: "Mommy, did you know 'as' is a good word and a bad word?"
Emily: "Oh really? Can you tell me how?"
Nathan: "Yeah, because 'as' is a good word but 'ass' is a bad word...and 'freakin ass' is a really bad word."
Emily: "Indeed. I'm glad we are clear on that." (Giggling to myself in the dark in the front seat)
Now before everyone starts looking up the number for DFS let me explain my opinion on language with children. Children need to understand that some words carry more heat than others and that there are lots of words to choose from to express yourself. I encourage Nathan to use words to describe his feelings and save the heavier words for really special feelings. I have effectively and successfully taken the thrill out of cussing in a child's eyes. Therefore fulfilling my job as a mother in claiming yet another victim in my quest to kill all fun.

Mommy: 1 Noah: 0

As eluded to in my previous post, Monday I attempted to take the two little ones to get their haircut. Natalie hopped up in the chair sat quietly for her turn in the hot seat. Meanwhile Noah was attempting to rummage through magazines and combat crawl under chairs in the waiting area. It wasn't long before Natalie hopped off her throne and Noah caught on. The trauma started with the dreaded words "Noah it's your turn" which was followed with a defiant "NO" and a mad dash to the exit. In true mommy form I bolted after him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Once placed in the chair the thrashing began. First with his head and then his whole body. I assured the hair dresser this was not a seizure, only a mere two-year-old tantrum. I quickly jumped in the chair with the little man and put him in a headlock that even Hulk Hogan would be proud of. Unfortunately I was unable to restrain his mouth and had to endure what sounded like his imitation of a screech owl for the entirety of the hair cut. I immediately told the lady "Cut it short, we won't be coming back any time soon". The minute we walked in the door Noah plopped on the floor and passed out. Sleep tight Screech...

One sick...puppy

Monday morning I packed up a 3 year-old, a 2 year-old and one very itchy dog into the car and headed to the vet. $169.00 later we still don't know why the dog itches. BUT we do know she does not have heart worm.....shocker. One the way home from the vet we stopped to get the little people's hair cut. (Tune in tomorrow for that drama) Upon opening the door to the car we were met with the stench only a dog's butt can produce. Natalie-3 promptly said "Mommy, did Dotty poop?" Sure as shit the dog dropped a deuce in the back seat. Had I not just dropped $169.00 on that dog I would have had to have the "things just aren't working out" talk with her and leave her on a dirt road somewhere. Lucky for her I had just invested a moth's worth of cable money in her that I wanted a return on. Now I feed the dog a daily feast of pills on a slice of whole grain bread.

This one calls me Miss Mommy...

Noah must have finally gotten the memo that I was not digging being called "poopy-head" and has now chosen a new term- "Miss Mommy"

I LOVE it! It's formal yet endearing. It's respect! This is by far the most sophisticated thing that comes out of Noah's mouth. Now he can be heard running around the house saying "Stop-it-say-no Miss Mommy".

(If you look close enough there was a little bit of respect in that semi-sentence.)

Sometimes I eat fish...raw...just to freak the kids out.