A quick Mommy update

Before I update on me, I HAVE to tell you what Caden said today b/c it was GREAT! I had on a t~shirt with Wonder Woman on it and Caden said "dat Mommy on Mommy's shirt"! Woo hoo, my child thinks I am Wonder Woman!
Okay, enough of that...on to my wonderful health update! As of last week, my liver levels are "okay". They are slightly elevated but apparently "okay" according to my nurse. My SED rate, gamma something or other and white blood count are all good. My CK is getting better. At last check it was in the 1,700's and this time it was only in the 1,200's. She said this was good being that it can sometimes take methotrexate up to 6 weeks to begin to work. This past week was week 5. My rheumy did increase my dose slightly which is no fun (it makes me feel a little icky) but if it is working then I am okay with that! SOOO, I will go back at the end of August for more blood work and another strength test. I did great with this last strength test, btw, which is definitely a good thing! He said I was NOT losing any muscle strength! Maybe my Wii fit is paying off more than I think ;)!

An "oldie but goodie"

I was cleaning up around my desk and found this poem I wrote about prematurity and wanted to share. I think I may have written it for the March of Dimes last year but I don't really remember....anyway, here it is....

A premature baby

Born too early, too small

Regardless of his size

He is the strongest of them all

Surgeries, tubes, wires

Daily heel pricks and more

Think of all the pain

His little body must endure

It will be a roller coaster ride

His doctors and nurses say

As his Mother and Father

You just bow your head and pray

And hope that the ride

Isn't very long

And that you as his parent

Can be only half as strong

With God's will

And all the research being done

That day will soon come

When the fight with prematurity

Will be WON!!!

Keep Out of Reach of Children

Ok, so how many things in your house have this "warning" written on the back. Probably more than you care to know! One thing it is printed on is Baby Powder. Now, why would you have to keep something out of the reach of children that you can safely put on your baby's butt? Let me give you a PRIME example! Last night around 9 something, we had friends over and yes the kids were still up running wild. The older 2, Jaxon and Hayden, were upstairs playing quietly in Jaxon's room (so we thought) while the toddlers, Camron, Caden and Halle, were playing in the playroom. I, being the good Mommy that I am, decided I should at least throw Camron and Caden in the tub "real quick" before bed so they wouldn't be too stinky for church today. They go on up to my bathroom and as I approach the top of the stairs, here comes this person who resembles a white ghost more than anything else running at me with a big cheesy grin on his face saying "Look what Hayden did!". Ok, let's just stop for a moment here. Why is it that kids think they can blame things on each other like that. Jaxon just assumed (yes, that white "ghost" was Jaxon) that he could say Hayden did it and he had NO control over the situation and that would make it okay.....whatever.....let me get back to the story. So, I run to the kids bathroom where Hayden stands, all white as well as the floor, the toilet, the walls, the sink, the door...everything pretty much. They had gotten a hold of the baby powder and literally dumped it all over themselves and every inch of our usually orange bathroom! Being that I was unable to speak, the 2 Daddy-O's had to come to the rescue and reprimand the boys as we all chuckled behind Jaxon and Hayden's backs trying to hide our giggles. Yes it was a huge mess and yes they got in trouble but our only regret was not taking pictures of this before Todd cleaned it up or before we threw them in the shower! Lesson learned here...when it says "Keep Out of Reach of Children"...keep it out of their reach AND when boys are that quiet, you should probably see what they are up to b/c it is NOT a good sign!
The night ended with 4 adults in 1 bathroom with 2 kids in the shower, 3 in the tub, and an infant who was probably thinking she can't wait until she is old enough to join the fun! Yes it was fun!

A few funnies....

Hey all~ I just wanted to share a few cute things my boys have said over the past few days. First, remember I told you we have started saying to them "maybe for your birthday" when they ask for new things...WELL, Camron and Caden were going to bed the other night and were saying their prayers. It was super cute but rather funny when both of them starting asking God to bring them "Busy and a Bee James" and "Toby" for their birthday while thanking him for all their blessings!
Today, Jaxon is having a play date with his buddy Jaxon B. They were in the playroom playing while I was doing the Wii fit. I heard Jaxon B. ask Jaxon D. if he wanted to play soccer. Jaxon D. says "No, I don't like soccer". Jaxon B. says, "well, you got a MEDAL for playing soccer!" Jaxon D. responds like this...."well, you see, Mom wanted me to play a sport and Dad signed up to be the coach so I HAD to play". WOW, I didn't know I forced my child to play soccer when he was barely 4 years old! (FYI, he really didn't play much...he preferred to pick the grass while the other kids played around him) Anyway, it was funny and I just wanted to share!
I am off to do some cleaning and planning and all sorts of fun "stuff". Hope you are all well!
BTW, feel free to leave a comment....I never know who actually reads these since no one comments!

Isn't is amazing how kids can be SO happy one minute and SO angry the next?? We have been working HARD on getting Camron and Caden to be more verbal when they are angry with each other b/c recently they have begun hitting when they are mad! Boys will be boys but man, they knock the mess out of each other!
Anyway...enough of that! We have had a busy and exciting past few weeks. We spent a few days in Durham. We got to swim in Grandma and Papa's pool which was LOTS of fun! Jaxon has another swim lesson tomorrow and we are very excited about that! A few of his friends are going to be there with him so that will add to the excitement! He has spent most of the week with his "bff" whose Mommy just had baby by #3. (Congrats Barber's on cutie-pa-tootie, Matheson!) Jaxon's friend is also named Jaxon (how weird is that?). He came over today with a muscle shirt on and neither of them were happy until I cut the sleeves off my Jaxon's shirt so they could match ALL b/c Jaxon B. said he heard that it was going to be SO hot outside today...."like 70 degrees!" They are 2 peas in a pod, that is for sure!
Camron and Caden have definitely become "re-obsessed" with Thomas the Train! Good thing you can get them for 40-50% off at AC Moore (right Nana!) They really amaze me in how they know the names of trains I have never heard of before! We have now begun the "maybe you can get that for you birthday" for all three of them!
Anyway, enough of my rambling! I am going to get ready to take the 4 of them to the grocery store! The Jaxon's want to ride in Daddy-O's jeep so I will get him to pick them up from the Teeter so they will be happy!
Happy Hump Day to all!

March for Babies

I am very proud to say that we raised just over $2,000 for the March for Babies this year! Thank you SOOO much to everyone who supported us! You are awesome and we couldn't have done it without you! Just think, for the time and/or money you donated, another precious life is saved! I know I have said it time and time again (and I will continue to say it I am sure) but I feel so blessed to have Camron and Caden here and it such wonderful condition. They were given surfactant at birth and a few times after that to help their lungs work correctly and that was created by research funded by the March for Babies! Praise God for those people and Praise God for my healthy preemies!

a few new updates

We found the blankie...safe and sound....in between the mattress and the sheet. I haven't a clue how it got there but we found it and that's what's important!
I talked with my nurse today about my levels and what they all mean. Not the greatest news I could have received but not the worst either so for that I am thankful. My CK levels are still on the rise. Probably because I have only been on 10mg of prednisone for a month and that just isn't enough right now to keep my levels down. My AST level is still slightly elevated and the Dr. thinks that is currently due to muscle breakdown. I feel okay but I can tell that I am starting to get weaker. I am still able to exercise daily, though, so that is a plus for me! So, what does all this mean? It means that I am going to have to go back up to 15mg of prednisone a day as well as start taking a new medicine called Methotrexate. This is something they give cancer patients so it's no joke but hopefully it will do it's job of getting my levels down and getting me off prednisone. That would be LOVELY. Prednisone is no fun short term so this long term stuff is starting to work my nerves! I will take methtrotrexate once a week and they say it will make you feel "unwell". I guess I will have to wait and see what end of the spectrum I fall in the "unwell" category. I am pretty tough so I should be okay!
Jaxon had his first swim lesson today with the best swim teacher EVER! Thanks Anne! He got a kick board tonight and was asking when he could take it back to Mrs. Anne's pool to show her! Our time and Grandma and Papa's pool next week should prove to be lots of fun! Camron and Caden got bikes from Nana. Of course we buy them Lightening McQueen helmets and they 3T is too SMALL! Oh boy those big old brains need more protection! Off to return them for bigger ones tomorrow I guess! I also bought some old fashioned "rubber pants" for them so we can REALLY start potty training....bye bye diapers. I am putting them in underwear tomorrow with the rubber pants on top! I know some of you are thinking WHY? Well, I really don't feel like hunting for 2 little boys pee-pee puddles all over my house so I am hoping the rubber pants will differ that a little. We'll see how long it lasts! We may be spending A LOT of time outside! HA!
Ok, so much for a quick little update, huh? SORRY! I will get more pics on here asap!
Later Taters!