Saturday, February 28, 2009

Tucker


Thursday morning when I got back from working in Jayde's class at school I noticed Tucker sitting in the stroller in front of the house and didn't really think much of it since he likes to do that from time to time. So I went on in to the house and went about my business. A couple hours later Doug came home from lunch and Tucker was still sitting out in the stroller and again we didn't think much about it. However, when Doug left around 15-20 minutes later Tucker was at the door waiting to be let in. Only thing was, it was really taking him a while to come inside. He was having a hard time walking on his back legs, though he was still able to make it all the way down the stairs before Doug and I caught up with him. We knew something was going on...but just weren't sure as to the what. I felt him all over to see if I could feel anything out of the ordinary but couldn't. So we decided to just leave him alone a bit and see if he just bruised or pulled something. That night he was still not putting much weight on it his back legs, so we talked about taking him in Friday morning (the only question was when to do it...since if you read my previous post you will see it was jammed packed with things to do). After he had came in from outside we had put him in our room on our bed to try to help make him comfortable. That evening when we headed for bed we noticed that he had gotten down and was lying on the bath mat in our bathroom so we thought that maybe it wasn't as bad as we thought since he was moving around.

The next morning we found him all the way downstairs in Doogie's old bedroom lying on the chair in there. So once again we figured since he obviously made it all the way downstairs and onto a chair it couldn't be that bad...right? I wasn't able to really check on him until later that afternoon and he was sleeping downstairs next to the couch. And since I was busy with the kids I thought I would just leave him alone. Later that day my mother and father-in-law stopped by and she wanted to take a look at Tucker. So I went downstairs to find him and when I picked him up he cried and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. So we decided to go ahead and take him to the vet. They ended up doing x-rays and it showed that he had broken both of his back legs right where the ball goes into the socket. She said that she normally doesn't see both of the legs broken at one time like this, usually it is just one of the legs. So we were trying to figure out how this could of happened... she didn't think he had gotten hit by a car though. So our only other ideas were that a garage door got closed on him (since it had to have hit him dead on top of his back legs) or something really heavy fell down on top of him. I also noticed that his claws on his front feet were torn and ripped off, so he must of been really trying to pull himself out from under something. His broken legs weren't an easy fix...they can't just throw a cast on him and call it good. The first option was surgery which would run anywhere from $800-$1000 per leg! Yeah....unfortunately we just don't have that kind of extra money lying around. Then our vet also told us another alternative...she told us that they can heal on their own, but it would just be a longer process and he would be more apt to develop arthritis earlier on and have a more severe case of it. But, on the bright side he would more than likely be able to start walking without a limp in a few months and we wouldn't have to spend a ton of money doing it (just for his pain meds). Our biggest worry is that we didn't want him to live in pain, but she reassured us that obviously the broken bones will be painful for a while, but it won't be like he will be in pain for the rest of his life even after his bones heal. So that meant we could rule out having to put him down (which I was very thankful for!) And on another note about the surgery, she informed us that if we decided to do surgery at a later date (even years later) that would still be an option.

So the poor guy is now in seclusion (I have him locked up in my craft room downstairs) and he seems to be doing pretty good so far. I make sure he gets his pain meds so that he isn't in much pain. He's been eating and drinking for me and he even manages to pull himself over to the litter box and uses it. I think he is bored though being locked in a room all by himself because he gets really excited when one of us goes in there to check on him (and I try to check on him frequently and make sure he is eating and drinking and what not). He will even try to pull himself over to where you are if you are doing something else and not paying attention to him. It is pretty sad and pathetic to see him pull himself along on his front legs just to come over and see you. So if all goes according to plan, in two weeks or so he should hopefully be trying to put some weight on his back legs and moving around and then by 6-8 weeks he should be up and about walking with pretty much no limp. If he isn't up and about a little by two weeks she wants to see him back (she also wanted to know if he wasn't using the litter box over the weekend, but since he is that is one less thing we have to worry about).

Friday, February 27, 2009

Green Eggs and Ham


Today was pajama day at Doogie and Jayde's school (so we just made it pajama day for everyone!) In honor of Dr. Seuss and Read Across America they had a special green eggs and ham breakfast at school and then once you were done eating you could grab a book and read or listen to one of the many teachers reading around the room. I was glad I was able to join the kids for breakfast at school. Doug took the two little guys to Grammy's after he dropped off Doogie, Jayde, Ryann and I at the school and then once breakfast was over and school was getting ready to start he came back to pick Ryann and I back up. Then we took him to get his truck so he could go to work and then I took Ryann to school (sounds like a busy morning doesn't it...just wait, it get's busier!) After I dropped Ryann off at school I headed back over to Doogie's and Jayde's and attended their assembly and then afterwards they had a book parade where they paraded around the school picking up each class as the paraded around their classroom wearing their pajamas and holding their favorite book! I got some cute shots of the kids both at the breakfast and then later at the assembly and parade, being the yearbook editor does have some perks! But I'm really glad that I was able to share this with them and it was alot of fun to see how excited all the kids were. They have a good staff at the school and they really try to make it fun to learn. Ryann also got a kick out of being able to attend the breakfast part of the festivities. After she got done eating she didn't waste anytime finding a book and snuggling down to read! So anyways after the parade ended I headed back to pick up the little guys and then we went to pick Ryann up from school. We finally headed back home for a quick lunch and then went right back out to pick Doogie and Jayde up from school! Whew! Friday's are our crazy days since Doogie and Jayde get out early. So now I'm hoping for a quiet relaxing afternoon...but somehow I doubt that is going to happen!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Reading


It used to be that Doogie hated reading time...well not reading time exactly...reading time where he had to be the one doing the reading. However, that all changed when he discovered Calvin and Hobbes. Now I will catch him lying in his bed or on the couch reading one of his Calvin and Hobbes books. Right now we only have two, but he checks them out at school since they have a couple as well. They are starting to look a little worn out already, I think it's time I found him a new one to love! In this case he wasn't reading Calvin and Hobbes but a new comic book that came with a new movie I picked up this week. Since one of his other loves is Dragons...when I saw the cartoon movie "Dragon Hunters" I decided to grab it and see if he liked it. And as luck would have it, it came with it's own comic book as well. He seems to like it okay, but it wasn't a home run like Calvin and Hobbes is for him. So tonight when I saw him lounging on my couch with the comic book after they had taken showers and gotten ready for bed (and yes, my couch is missing the cushions..they had been stolen by a few other children who were in the process of building a fort...though Doogie didn't seem to mind. And yes, he is in his underwear...he does not like pajamas! I think he finds them to constraining and he gets hot easily) I knew I wanted to capture that moment and show to everyone his new love for reading.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Nacho Night...


Another fav around here (though once again the girls just want the cheese and nothing else!)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Outdoor fun...






I love it when the weather is nice enough for them to go outside to play! Spring...where are you??

Monday, February 23, 2009

More news...

Well it seems to be all about Ryann today! Just a few minutes ago she came running over to me and said "my tooth is loose"! Wowsers, doesn't seem possible that she should be old enough to loose those baby teeth...I mean she's only 4 1/2!! Can they just stop growing up for a while?!!

Ryann



Well I thought since I was on the subject of Diabetes today, than who better to be my cover girl for the day! She was looking so cute sitting in her princess chair in her room watching Peter Pan that I couldn't resist getting the camera out.

Type 1 Diabetes

*I found this on Beat The Bridge My sister-in-law Jenni shared this with us and will be running it for Ryann. We hope to make it over there and join her for it! I think it would make a awesome birthday present for her (her birthday is on May 14th and the race is the weekend following it). I will post more info about that later (once I know more) if anyone would like to donate for the cause or even participate in it with us. So anyways, I saw a link on their page that said "Type 1 Diabetes Facts" and I thought it would be interesting to share it all with you. I don't think most people realize just what having diabetes or living with someone with diabetes can be like.*

Type 1 Diabetes Facts

Affects Young Children

Type 1 diabetes strikes children suddenly, makes them dependent on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. While diagnosis most often occurs in childhood and adolescence, it can and does strike adults as well. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. While the causes of this process are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved.

Needs Constant Attention

To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple insulin injections daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump, and test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times per day. While trying to balance insulin doses with their food intake and daily activities, people with this form of diabetes must always be prepared for serious hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, both of which can be life-limiting and life threatening.

Insulin Does Not Cure It

While insulin allows a person to stay alive, it does not cure diabetes nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack and stroke.

Difficult to Manage

Despite rigorous attention to maintaining a meal plan and exercise regimen, and always injecting the proper amount of insulin, many other factors can adversely affect efforts to tightly control blood-sugar levels including: stress, hormonal changes, periods of growth, physical activity, medications, illness/infection, and fatigue.

Statistics and Warning Signs

· More than 1.3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes.
· Each year over 13,000 children are diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. That’s 35 children each and every day.
· Warning signs of type 1 diabetes include: extreme thirst, frequent urination, drowsiness or lethargy, increased appetite, sudden weight loss for no reason, sudden vision changes, sugar in urine, fruity odor on breath, heavy or labored breathing, stupor or unconsciousness. These may occur suddenly.

What is it like to have type 1 diabetes?

Ask people who have type 1 diabetes. It’s difficult. It’s upsetting. It’s life threatening. It doesn’t go away.

“Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers and dieticians all rolled into one. We need to be constantly factoring and adjusting, making frequent finger sticks to check blood sugars, and giving ourselves multiple daily insulin injections just to stay alive.”
— Actress Mary Tyler Moore, JDRF’s International Chairman

“Diabetes is always there. There’s never a vacation. It’s like a bad dream that lasts all day, all year, for my entire life.”
— Patrick Finan, 16, New York

“Every day, I have to endure up to six injections of insulin and more than ten finger pricks to keep me alive. When my blood sugar is high, my head hurts, I feel angry and sad, and it is hard to concentrate. When my blood sugar is low, I am dizzy, shaky, and in danger of becoming unconscious.”
— Emma Melton, 16, Massachusetts

“I already have problems with my kidneys, and I take medicine every day so my kidneys won’t fail. I worry about what will happen if a cure isn’t found soon.
I don’t have time to wait.
— LaNiece Evans-Scott, 11, Ohio

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, but lasts a lifetime. People with type 1 diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continuous infusion of insulin through a pump just to survive. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent “epidemic” in cases of type 2 diabetes in young adults. Taking insulin does not cure any type of diabetes nor prevent the possibility of its eventual and devastating effects: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputation, heart attack, and stroke.

The Scope of Diabetes

More than 18 million Americans have diabetes (6.3 percent of population):
Diagnosed: 13 million
Undiagnosed: 5.2 million
As many as 3 million Americans may have type 1 diabetes.†194 million people have diabetes worldwide. According to World Health Organization Estimates, this number will more than double by 2030. In the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds; more than 1.3 million people are diagnosed each year.

The Cost of Diabetes

Diabetes is the single most costly chronic disease.
In 2002, diabetes accounted for $132 billion in health-care costs in the U.S.
Diabetes accounts for 32 percent of all Medicare expenditures. People with diabetes in the U.S. incur medical expenses that are approximately 2.4 times higher than people without diabetes.

The Damage Caused by Diabetes

Attacks Many Organ Systems: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, adult blindness, and non-traumatic amputations and a leading cause of nerve damage, stroke, and heart attacks.

Increased Risk: People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than someone without the disease.

Shortens Life: Diabetes kills one American every three minutes and is the sixth leading cause of death reported in the U.S. Life expectancy for people with diabetes is shortened by an average of 7-10 years, and the risk of death for people with diabetes is about two times that of people without diabetes.

*If you made it through all of that, I salute you! I will add the picture(s) of the day later on! But I hope this answered some of your questions about Diabetes and how hard it is to live with it day in and day out.*

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Spaghetti Night...



These guys all love their spaghetti (though the girls like theirs with no sauce!)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

A few fun pictures from Friday







We all had such a great time playing outside Friday afternoon. Jaxon rode around in his tractor forever and even let everyone else have a turn driving (I wish I had had my camera out when it was Doogie's turn! LOL!) It was just so nice to be able to get outside in the fresh air and play and not be too cold. I'm looking forward to Spring...I am done with Winter! I'll upload some more pictures later...for some reason my computer is going really slow and taking forever to get them up!

The Big Boy Bed...


Jaxon has graduated from his toddler bed to a big boy bed! We now have 4 kids in one room and Mr. CJ get's a room by himself now. Originally they all had their own room except for Jaxon and CJ who shared, but after a while Jayde decided she didn't like sleeping alone and moved into Ryann's room (you have to realize that these guys have all pretty much slept in the same room together for years...ever since we moved to TN). Then about a week ago Doogie got freaked out over a show he watched (think it was Star Wars the Clone Wars...the cartoon) and he didn't want to sleep by himself so he started sleeping upstairs with the girls on the floor. So today we moved up his bunk bed to the girls room and since Jaxon loves to sleep in Ryann's bed when the kids decide to camp out downstairs we decided that he could move in there as well. So we've been moving and cleaning things all day trying to get their rooms back in order. We moved out Jaxon's toddler bed so that CJ would have more room in his room (we also moved some of the toys into his room so that the other room wouldn't be as crowded since it now has four beds in it). And now the downstairs rooms are all torn apart since they aren't using those rooms any more we are going to do something else with them. So it's been a crazy day!

I also wanted to mention what an awesome day we had yesterday (Friday). After the kids all got home from school we spent most of the afternoon outside playing. I took a ton of pictures that I will share later. Then we decided to take all the kids out to a nice restaraunt for dinner. We talked to them about how they all need to be on their best behavior and what not, but we were still preparing ourselves to deal with some sort of crisis. Boy we were surprised...all 5 of them were perfect angels the entire time! Doug and I joked with them and asked them where our children were. They were awesome though, they didn't fight or argue with eachother, they shared, they waited their turn, they used their polite words and indoor voices. It was the best dinner we have ever had out with all of them! We went on and on to them about how proud we were of them and how much fun we had and they were feeling pretty darn good themselves. So hopefully they will remember this and more of our outings will go smoothly and we will all have alot more fun!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Sharing




I recently discovered (on a breakfast run to McDonalds, we don't do that too often!) that my little boys really love hashbrowns! So this morning after we dropped the big kids off at school, we swung by Burger King and picked up some tater tots. I gave Jaxon the box to hold and he did such a good job sharing with his little brother (and don't you just love CJ's little belly hanging out!? Ha!) I also have included the picture of Jayde kissing CJ again...this time with a little color added to it!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Babe Magnent


I think this is my new favorite picture! The girls were having fun putting lipsick on and kissing CJ (he was the only one who would tolerate it!)

Writing Journals...




Earlier this week I altered a couple hard back notebooks for Doogie and Jayde to use as their writing journals. The kids went through some of my scrapbooking paper and picked out the paper that they wanted me to use. I think they turned out pretty cool and the kids love them.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

When Jaxon goes to preschool...



He needs to take a nap! It's hard being a good boy all morning and following instuctions...it really wears a kid out! Poor guy crashed before he could eat his waffle (that's what he wanted for lunch!) But don't worry...CJ ate it for him!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Where I caught Ryann today...


Sitting on my kitchen counter reading one of my cookbooks! Wonder if this means she's going to be a cook/chef when she grows up?!

Monday, February 16, 2009

You had me at hello...



Come now, be honest...doesn't Jaxon kind of look like the little boy in "Jerry Maguire"? And I just had to throw in a picture of CJ with his hair all spiked up too, because he is pretty darn cute as well!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The things you find when you clean out the garage...



Jaxon was pretty excited when I brought this in from the garage (you should all be very proud of me, I went through a bunch of boxes and got rid of alot of stuff...Doug hauled it all over to Goodwill). Jaxon is always wanting to make a tent (as well as the other kids) that I knew this would be a keeper! I have a feeling he'll be "camping out" tonight!

Tantrums


Oh yes, this sweet little 19 month old has learned the art of throwing a grade A tantrum. He will throw his little body down on the ground and scream, roll around on the floor kicking his feet, he has got it down. In this case he was mad at me because I wasn't going to let him come in the kitchen with me. We have a gate across the door so that he can't come in (we don't have the childproof locks on the cabinets and he has broken a few of my dishes, not to mention he loves to table dance!) So all of that caused this "little" tantrum (well it also probably doesn't help that he has a bit of cold right now!) You will notice that his old pal "Sulley" is right there with him! Now before you go thinking that I am a horrible Mom, I did try to get him to come and sit down with me on the couch...but since I was no longer in the kitchen (which was where he wanted to be to begin with) he just wasn't having any of it and it made him madder! So I did the only other thing I could do...take pictures!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Bubbles!!


I have no idea why he was trying to catch the bubbles with his mouth...think he was bored with popping them with his hands and wanted to try something new!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The moment you've all been waiting for...


Jaxon's glasses have arrived! He looks pretty darn cute in them too! So far he goes back in forth in wearing them. Think we are going to have to get one of those straps to keep them on his head! I'm hoping though that once he realizes how much better he can see in them that he will want to wear them more. The doctor said to just get him to wear them as much as possible for now.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ryann


Just look at that concentration (she's not even letting the fact that I'm in her face taking pictures bug her). She's all ready for bed and snuggled up with her huge dog watching Sleeping Beauty before it's time to hit the sack!

Etsy Giveaway...

Don't worry I haven't forgotten about my photo a day, but I just have to blog about this very cool giveaway. I wish I could be this creative!! :)

http://twinsrock-jolie.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-about-timeanother-etsy-giveaway.html

Monday, February 9, 2009

Who is this little boy??


He looks so darn cute in his new haircut, but I catch myself doing a double take everytime I look at him! He just looks so grown up now, especially when I see him using a spoon or fork when he eats instead of digging in with his hands!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

This is what happens when you stay at Aunt Elayne's House



My baby doesn't look like a baby anymore! He looks like a little boy!! How did this happen???

Saturday, February 7th, 2009


How many kids can you fit on a Komodo Dragon Statue? Well the answer to that would be 9! On Saturday (which was also my birthday) we went to the Woodland Park Zoo with all the kids and cousins. They all had alot of fun and I'm glad we were able to come over this weekend and see everyone.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Jaxon


Just a quick update on Mr. Jaxon...we were supposed to get his glasses this week, but there was a mess up with the prescription and so he won't recieve them until Monday or Tuesday. Also I won't be around to post my daily pictures this weekend...but I will be taking pictures and I will post them when I get back to the computer! :) Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

100th Day


Today was the 100th day of school for Doogie and Jayde. Each of the kids got to have a special treat in their classes. Jayde's class got these nifty little headbands! Just 80 more days of school left until summer vacation!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Ryann and her Diabetes...

I think these pictures speak for themselves...what an amazing kid she is!


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Doogie and Shadow



I couldn't resist snapping this picture of Doogie. He loves to play chess (and beats me quite badly...quite often!) He sometimes has a hard time trying to find someone to play a match against since I can't always sit and play a round. So this morning before we left for school he decided to play a match against his dragon "Shadow". Doogie did end up winning the match, though it was pretty close! I also included a picture of the sunset from last night, the girls had noticed how pretty the sky looked so I thought I would see if I could capture it!