Happily Ever After...

Another Claxton surgery complete. Another Claxton recovery has begun. Such is our life. Today was stressful for obvious reasons. She did well over all, and for that we are thankful. A funny story: The mom in the next room was SOBBING and couldn't hold it together because.... her son was having tubes put in his ears. And the room was FULL: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Sister, all lamenting that poor, poor brother has to have tubes. Ummm, seriously ? Pull. it. together. woman. For the love of all things good, stop bawling in front of your 6 year old! Okay, not trying to rude but I WISH my daughter was only getting tubes. Your life is easy Lady. Buck up and deal. Just a few of the random thoughts going through my head. Spiritual, real spiritual, I know . It's amazing the things you find funny when you are in a stressful situation. She was all smiles in her "new dress" with her "new bracelet" until the mean nurse came and took her from Mommy. She thought we were on a M...

Met with the renowned Dr. Shoffner. The man is a Neurologist AND a Geneticist. Highly specialized in Mito. Brilliant guy. Looked like a mad scientist. Had his ear pierced. I thought you should know. Here's my brain dump on the meeting in random order: 1) She definitely DOES NOT HAVE Cerebral Palsy. He said it is a garbage can term to get treatment approved from an insurance company. He said it's like going to a car lot and saying, "I want to buy a car." It's so basic and generic and she doesn't fit the criteria for CP. 2) Because her MRI is normal, we know that she didn't have a stroke, and there was no trauma in birth that led to brain damage which caused her issues. Therefore, it HAS TO BE genetic mutations. 3) He mentioned mito several times in referring to her condition, however, he did offer a small, slight glimmer of hope that the tests would also reveal if she has another non-progressive genetic disorder. It's a glimmer of HOPE, and I'll t...

*Edited to add: Blogger FINALLY found this post I did weeks ago.* Yes, I know it happened weeks ago. Yes, I am a day late and a dollar short. Thanks for noticing. Due to the magic of Tivo, the girls and I didn't have to get up at 4 AM like I did when Diana married Prince What'sHisName. In fact, we took our sweet time about having a girl's night. We did chose to eat crumpets and drink tea for our little royal watching affair. We may be late, but we are refined. So refined, in fact, that we had to have our royal hair done for the occasion. This lovely little diddy is compliments of Aria's hair salon. We may be detangling for weeks. Alas, beauty has it's drawbacks. Gianna decided that since she knows ALL ABOUT the Princess scene, that she had the perfect dress for the affair. Over PJ's makes it almost as special as Princess Beatrice's lovely hat. Gianna also felt the need to ask 3, 245 questions during the 3 hour wedding saga: "Why are there so many people...

Monday: Got routine blood work back for me, and Dr was concerned that my ANA was positive. Told me I probably have lupus and made a same-day appointment with a Rheumatologist. Turns out, I DON'T have anything, except that I am special like 20% of the population that has a positive ANA without any problems. Thanks for the needless heart attack. Tuesday: Celia woke up with 100.2 fever and crying with inflamed lymph nodes in her neck. Headed to Ped and spent 2 hours with 3 kids trying to diagnose her. Good news is, the ulcer in her ear is GONE! Ped did blood work, and found nothing, so we assumed it was a virus. However....I left the office and my phone rang- The ENT called and her culture for her ear is positive for..... MRSA. Just to be safe, they added another antibiotic to our treatment. It may be overkill since there is literally no sign of the ulcer, but we are doing it. UGH! YIKES! EWWW!! Feeling extremely disgusting, I strip my store of all lysol and bleach and come hom...

She's back!!! Happy. We haven't seen happy for days. Playful. Is it me or are do they kinda look like twins? In love with her Daddy. Well, that never changes, but still....look at these two. A precious moment. Cute as a button. And feeling better without the help of narcotics. Does my heart good to see her more like her cheerful self. And last, but certainly not least, Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the universe. Unfortunately, we are missing 2 of our 8 kids today. Justin and Regina are always missed on special days like these. He loves us all so much and works hard to make a wonderful life for his family. I am blessed to have him as the father of my children. I love you babe!

I took my happy girl back to the pediatrician this morning, expecting to hear, "It looks great, see you in a week for recheck, blah, blah..." I nstead , my VERY ASTUTE Dr. Smith noticed that: A) The pustule had ruptured and was oozing lots and lots into her eardrum. OUCH! and, B) That her ear was flaring out (think dumbo) which could mean that the infection had spread to the bone behind the ear. After a call to the ENT, another antibiotic shot, and an emergency appointment made at the ENT, he said that IF she wasn't admitted today, then he would see her tomorrow for another shot. To make a long sordid story even longer, my sweet sister rushed over to the house to pick up the big girls, Greg rushed down to the hospital to meet us for the ENT appointment and then ugly things happened to my girl. Celia's ear was suctioned, a stent was put into her ear to hopefully help it not to swell shut and she was suctioned again. Oral antibiotics were prescribed as a compliment to ...

My poor Celia. My poor,poor, sweet Celia. This sweet, cheery little thing started to get crabby. Thinking she was TWO and two year olds like to be crabby for no reason, I didn't worry. Then she upped her game to crying. NON-STOP CRYING.  As in, nothing consoled her, and she was a mess. "Hello??? Mom, do you get the message already?!?" I rushed her to the Dr. but our Ped was not in, so we saw a "new guy" He looked at me like I was crazy. Fever? Nope Eating, peeing, pooping? Yep. SO why are you here? Well, I have a little sweet cherub who is crying and my mommy gut says there is something really wrong. SO FIND IT. God bless him, he did humor me and do blood work. (which came back slightly elevated for white blood cells, but otherwise normal.) And sent me packing with the instruction to give her motrin. Thanks Buddy. Thanks a lot. Daddy came home from a trip determined to perk up his princess. When it wasn't gonna happen, he realiz...

 My beautiful little sister came for a super-quick visit. She adores her girls. Celia grabbed onto her finger and Aunt Candee (Katy to you and me) let the blood drain out of her hand because she wouldn't pull her hand away.  Look at all those girls and their Auntie. I'd say everyone was in heaven.  I think she let Celia hold her hand for a half hour or longer. Devotion I tell ya!  Here is our crew headed out for a bike ride. We are quite a sight!  Each kid has her adult helper. Sofia got to ride her "new to you" trike as our friend Anna gave Gianna a new PURPLE bike.  Celia gets her own personal shade from the sun.  Aria loves her new bike too. She is riding it like a pro!  Thank you Anna and Mrs. Henderson for my new bike! I love it so much!!  The almost-newlyweds. They are too sweet to brave the heat to help the sisters bike ride.  Back home for more snuggles. Can't get enough of Aunt Candee when she's here.  An...

Celia went with Daddy today to have an EEG. There is a chance that she is having seizures because of some tremors we have seen, so we should get the results in 7 days. On the way home, I asked Daddy to stop at the store for something. Now here in the South, people KNOW us at our store. I had no idea what Celia's hair would look like post-EEG or I would have NEVER, EVER let Daddy stop at the store. Being the good Daddy he is, he slicked it down the best he could. However, despite his best efforts, she had some pretty WILD hair. Haha! I can only imagine what everyone thought of my wild child: "Did Mommy go on strike?" "Is she out of town this week?" "Is that girl getting electric therapy?" "Are they homeless?" "Does that baby have dreadlocks?" Jaws will be jabbering about this one for sure!! In good news, Babies Can't Wait (our local GA home therapy option) is loaning us this uber-comfy chair for Celia until she turns 3. Seatin...

Yesterday, in the midst of wonderful birthday festivities we received some sad news. My beloved Great Aunt Gwen, who was 103.5 years old passed away. Thankfully, my mom was with her and awake at 1:30 AM. As she was sweetly brushing her beautiful white hair, and reciting Psalm 23 to her, Aunt Gwen waited until the last word in the verse was spoken and breathed her last breath. Just 3 weeks ago, I went to VA and was determined to make time to see her. I held her hand, and she told me vivid stories of when she was 4 years old (100 years ago!!) She asked me many questions about my sweet Celia and teared up when I described her joyful attitude. It was a precious, precious visit. I am SO THANKFUL I was able to go see her. Sadly, we forgot to take a picture together on our visit. Many, many years ago, she had a daughter that was 1/2 Chinese. She only lived a short time, but even 85 years later, she still spoke of her daughter and how Aria reminded her of what her daughter would have looked li...

 Today our sweet girl woke up and became a full-fledged seven year old. In the spirit of "Tangled" she wore stockings  long hair. Still a little girl after all.. Curlers, donuts and an early morning birthday song. Getting off to a stellar start.  Lunch with their dolls at our favorite place. Chinese girls with Shirley Temple curls. Can it get any cuter??  Oh, yes it can! Six friends and two cousins to join us for lunch. Unfortunately we had to limit her to just 8. If you had told me that I would have had to limit her guest list to 8 friends a few years ago, I would have never believed it. My shy, reserved girl had many more friends she wanted to invite but due to space issues we weren't able to. It's amazing the transformation in this girl year to year!!  Sugar rush and birthday song #2.  Close your eyes and guess what Daddy bought you.  I think she likes it.  New helmet from her safety conscious younger sister.  The ...

 Hours of fun.  Bubble Beards. Smiles galore.   Girly giggles. Childhood memories. AND.... In other news....  Guess what they are doing??? Maybe, just maybe, it is related to August 27th?  Have you ever seen a more radiant bride-to-be? I think not. Wedding is T-83 days and counting. Invites are addressed. This girl has it T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R. I love it :)