Clots Be Damned

My family beach vacation...our first ever all family vacation, mind you, like mom, brothers, all kids... was cut brutally short by a little hospital trip. This third pregnancy has graciously given me worse varicose veins than my other 2 pregnancies, and a clot was formed in one. My Dr had me head to the hospital to start treatment, to which she promised would be done in exactly 23 hours, and I could return to the beach. Fast forward 24 hours and treatment is not working so we switch meds, and I'm in the hospital for night 2!

Side note here... I was supposed to be on this medication the whole pregnancy because we had a clot scare in month 2, but it was costing me $200 a week, so I got off of it. Anyway, said my prayers last night that God would provide for these next 4 months & we would make it through financially & it all worked out. Someone from my insurance company did some research for me this morning and found out that my copay for these meds is $200 PER FILL, whether the fill is a 5 day, 30 day, or 90 day!! So the previous pharmacy was only filling for 5 days and charging the $200 each time & no one bothered to figure that out the first two times I called the insurance company. Can you imagine if I would have stayed on the medication all this time at that rate? I'd be like $5000 in! And someone would be getting hurt right now-just kidding. Cover your butts people, you have to look out for yourself and your family because no one is going to bother to do it for you anymore. It's sad.

Back to my beach vacation... we just arrived back and are going to make the most of the next couple of days, clots be damned!

Adeline's 4th Princess Birthday Party

Great day~great family~great friends!

 Princess cake

 

 Princess Adeline

Princess clothes & boots from Grandpa Lulue

Adeline is 4!!

Today is a big day. Adeline woke up 4 (in her words). She's so curious & wants to know everything there is to know about everything. Most recently, it's dinosaurs and putting Dino bones back together & which glue they use!! She has also sparked questions about Jesus and whether or not we still love her if she gets in trouble. I just adore that child! She's so loving and compassionate and breaks or knocks over anything she gets near, which is all honestly from her daddy-the bighearted, bull in a china shop. She's so appreciative. She asked for the silliest gifts. A new step stool because her's was wobbly, a princess nightgown because she wanted an actual gown instead of pjs, and ponytail holders. And when she opens these gifts, she treats every one of them like they are the greatest thing ever! Spilling out "I love you" and "thanks mom" and "thanks dad". I hope she never changes. I know she will be a typical teenager for a while, but I hope that sincere, loving, honest little one that fumbles over her own feet will forever be in there somewhere. Happy birthday little one!

Fun at Kemah Boardwalk

Baylor went to camp today with some friends & we went to eat sushi at Kemah and spend the afternoon out there. Sushi is Baylor's favorite so we have to go without him sometimes to save us some money!

Adeline's Vacation Bible School

Adeline got her first glance at VBS this summer. Luckily it was just a 3 day instead of the whole week. Baylor was too OLD to go!! Whoa!! Cutest part of the week was day 1 when I asked her if she learned about Jesus. She said " yeah mom, but he wasn't there. It was only a lady teacher"! I wish I could freeze her at this age!

Baby Girl Update

Well I'm at 21 weeks, so half way there. Finally I can feel lots of movement and even a little movement from outside my belly. I can't wait until the kids can feel her moving. I still can't believe it's a girl. I just didn't see us having another girl! I'm still going to crossfit and hope to continue as long as I can. This summer has been so relaxing. I'm trying not to count down days back to work. Do. Not. Do. It.!!! 

We had our anatomy ultrasound, chromosome testing, genetic testing, and on and on & all seems good so far for a healthy little bossy bundle ! Due date is November 24. She'll be here before we know it!

Baylor Update from Bone marrow Biopsy

Baylor's doctor called today with results of his most recent bone marrow biopsy. His bones are basically empty of bone marrow, for lack of a better medical way to say it, but they have been that way for quite some time now. Good news is there was no significant change and things are stable. 

I wish I could give his doctor the proper amount of credit she deserves, but I don't know how. Her name is Dr.Alison Bertuch and she is with the hematology team at Texas Children's Hospital. She is always one step ahead of me. If she doesn't hear from us in a while, she calls. She gives me her direct lines and gives me access to all sorts of things I didn't know existed. She got us into a program that banks cord blood for free when I was pregnant with Adeline & I had just been thinking about cord blood banking for the new baby today. When Dr. Bertuch called, she already had the information ready for me and asked if I had considered banking blood from the new baby! She was ready to send my name and information to the contact person at the blood bank. She just needed my approval. She's amazing. 

It's such a blessing in such a hard area of our life that we have someone that I trust to care for Baylor and give me the correct information and guidance I need to make decisions about his health.  

July 4th Fun with the Janese's

Adam's brother John, Laura, & the kids came to spend a few days this summer for July 4th.  It was lots of fun and the cousins had a blast.

 As sweet as they'll ever get!

Adeline, Katherine, Collin, and Baylor

WOD Wars

Adam competed again today with our Crossfit Bay Area team at the WOD Wars in Humble. Everyone did so awesome & the girls brought home first place. Grandma Liz stayed overnight and kept the kids all day so we could go out and relax at the competition ....well, I relaxed! Great friends, great fun & a great Saturday.

Janese, Party of 5

Our family is growing! It has taken way too long to announce, but we are 18 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby girl! We weren't expecting a baby girl at all, but 50/50, right? We've been very impatiently waiting on genetic testing and other things of the sort before
announcing. Baylor and Adeline were so excited when we told them the news. Adeline very much wanted a baby girl and Baylor very much wanted a baby boy-go figure! Everything is going well, cross fitting as much as possible, eating as little junk as possible (inside my head), and swimming and relaxing this summer. Baby Girl is due November 24.

Baylor's Latest Anesthesia

Baylor's tolerance of anesthesia is getting better, which makes for less humorous stories afterwards. On the bright side, he now truly acts silly, yet still very loud,  instead of cursing at us and the other people in the room! Today Adam reported that when he walked back to the recovery room with the male, Arabic (we think) nurse, Baylor immediately said to the nurse "hey Daryl, I remember you from New York!" Number one, I highly doubt this man's name was anything we could pronounce correctly, much less Daryl! Number two, Baylor has never been anywhere near New York.
Then he proceeded to wave his hands in the air singing "nah, nah, nah, nah hey hey hey, goodbye" and " shine bright like a diamond". And, he announced to the recovery room that he loves the singer Pit Bull! All of this was mixed in with various, very loud math lessons and a lesson about the Revolutionary War (in total, they were back there about 45 min). Adam said his 5th grade teachers would've been proud, and all of the nurses and other recovery room families were quite amused.

On a more serious note, some aspects of his bloodwork had gone down (platelets), but other parts had come up and were looking better. This is typical for him-his bloodwork is usually all over the place. We won't know results from the bone marrow biopsy for about a week. Continuous prayers please!

5th Grade Graduation

Baylor is moving on! Elementary school is finished.  I don't know how this is possible considering Adam and I are extremely young to have a child this old!  He is full of confidence and so ready to go to 6th grade.  I wish I had similar feelings.  I'm scared to death and want him to stay little.  So long elementary school....

 5th grade awards

 Baylor's 5th grade teachers, Ms. Young and Miss Elstad

Last day of school...wahoo!

Spring Dance Recital

Adeline's dance teacher, Miss Hip Hop!

Adeline got to do jazz and tap for the second half of this year.  Can you say cute? She loved it, but wants to try gymnastics this summer!

Baylor Approved Paleo Muffins

I must tell you, I shy away from Paleo treats unless someone else made them first & I get to taste.  Mainly because most of them taste like crap, and if I want a treat, well, it's because I want something that taste yummy!  Someone at the gym made these and they were delish!  I made them at home and Baylor loved them.  We've made with blueberries and with dark chocolate chips. And believe me when I say if they are Baylor approved, you must trust!  :) 

They are from one of my favorite blogs, PaleOMG.  

Simple Blueberry Muffins

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Serves: 8-10

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup almond meal/almond flour
• 3 eggs, whisked
• ½ cup raw honey
• ⅓ cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut ( I did not use the coconut)
• ⅓ cup  Coconut Oil, melted
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• ½ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If you’re good at baking, you’ll know to mix the dry then the wet ingredients then mix together, but I do all the ingredients together and it works out just fine.
3. Place ingredients into 8-10 silicone muffin cups in a muffin tin. Or you can use muffin tin paper liners.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, they will puff up and look adorable.
5. Eat them and be happy. And be merry.

Here's the direct link if you'd like. http://paleomg.com/simple-blueberry-muffins/

I'm Not Your Best Friend Anymore

This has been a familiar Adeline quote in our house the past couple of months.  If you do anything not to her liking, she's not your best friend anymore!  Well the other day at the dinner table, someone told her no (actually, I don't remember EXACTLY what was said, but I would presume it had something to do with being told no). She proceeded to get up from the dinner table, arms crossed, sat herself against the wall and said with the greatest of conviction, "I'm not your family anymore!"  Which caused everyone to roar with laughter.  I love to have a place to document these little moments :)

Easter at Meme & Pawpaw's 2013

We had a great family Easter at Meme's, complete with baseball, sack races, and an egg race.  I believe Theresa and Diana were to thank for the kid games?? !  It's a miracle almost every single person was there, and do you think we thought to take a photo?  Nope, of course we didn't .  Here are a few, though. Thanks Theresa!

Strawberry Picking and Spring Break

Well, my spring break was spent painting....a good, full 3 days.  Our entire house, downstairs and up, is going from blue to brown, latte to be exact.  Updates to come.
We went strawberry picking one day out at Froberg's Farm with the Graves family. It was our first time and lots of fun.  Then we were eating strawberry for a week after until we were sick!  And sharing them, of course!

Crossfit Update March

The 2013 Crossfit Open is upon us!  Which basically means that anyone can sign up, track your progress online, and see how you are ranked world wide in specific workouts.  I'm too chicken, still, to sign up for things like this (maybe next year), but Adam was all for it.  The best of the best end up in the Reebok Crossfit Games.  Of course, that's not us, but it is neat to see where you fall and prove to yourself that you can do it. 
So, on Thursday nights & Saturday mornings for 5 weeks, we've been going up to the gym to watch Adam & cheer all of the people on that are signed up.  It's been really neat.  I love to see our crossfit friends come together as a family and encourage each other! I'm so thankful for this life we have now, and for our crossfit friends at Crossfit Bay Area, and for the decisions we've made as a family to be healthy!

Watching daddy crossfit!

First Staples

Well, Adeline got her first staples in her head! She fell at school and hit a door.  We were honestly surprised it took this long.  She was a real trooper. She didn't even cry at the staples, but did take a look at the little staple gun after staple number 2 and said, "Do not put that thing on my head again!" To which, of course, the doctor didn't listen so she got mad and started to cry a little bit.  I wish I had a picture to share, but we forgot to snag one.  You'll have to use your imagination.

The Janese's Have Moved

We have officially moved into our new home in Seabrook.  Adeline took visitors on tours of our new house all weekend, showing all rooms, closets, cabinets, the pool, the fish,etc! She's becoming a pro. Baylor has been riding his bike down the street to his friend Trenten's house. We live right around the corner from the Graves family! Everyone in the cul-de-sac is so nice & all of the pets (dogs) run around loose on the street and visit everyone.  We sat out in the front yard and gave the community dogs some doggy treats!  We are in heaven.  It's perfect, but I will still be changing things to make it our's. 
I think Adam said it best when he said after the first week here when our kids played in the neighborhood every evening, "Nicole, we didn't know what they were missing at our other house."

The light blue will be changed over spring break!

 Feeding the fish in the pond!

This wooden railing will soon be black!