Just another doctors' appointment....

For those of you who know and those who don't, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in January. The symptoms that I am having got very intense about 6 weeks after having Jack. I went to see my primary doctor at the time and was referred to a Rheumatologist and was diagnosed by him. I have since had a hard time managing my symptoms and have tried many medications to help deal with the pain and fatigue that I feel everyday. After a year of trying to manage my symptoms with the help of a primary doctor, I decided to go back to see Dr Jensen. During my many doctors appointment before today, I was tested for lots of different things. One of those diseases that they did test me for was celiac disease. I had a biopsy of my small intestine that was normal but they did blood work just to be sure. I was positive for one of the four antibodies. My primary doctor didn't think it was too important since the biopsy was negative and that with all of my symptoms, my abdominal problems were the least of my worries. After taking with Dr Jensen, apparently people who are allergic to wheat (those who have celiac disease) can develop an inflammatory arthritis from it that manifests in joint pain, stiffness, fatigue, and generalized pain. Let me see... Yes, yes, yes, and uhhh yes. I wonder why it took this long for anyone to realize that those 2 sets of problems could be connected. Since my diagnosis of fibromyalgia in January, I have read several books and have started to accept that I will have pain and fatigue everyday for the rest of my life. Now, could it be that this isn't something that I have to suffer from? Can it be treated better than throwing pain meds at it? So, my plan is that I'm going on a strict diet and cutting out anything that contains wheat or gluten......after the holidays, that is. Cutting out wheat is harder than you think. My co-worker's husband went on the same diet and it wasn't easy. Wheat is in things that you wouldn't even think of like cream of mushroom soup. I would have to give up green bean casserole!! I'm not sure life would be worth living then. -sigh- Here's to one last holiday with my favorite side dish. I'm going to miss you.

Preparation for Christmas

Since Mike has been off work, he's been feeling pretty useless so he decided to rearrange the kitchen so when we get our christmas tree, we will have a place to put it. I think it took him most of the day, but he accomplished it. We moved our dinning room table where our computer was so we will be putting the Christmas tree in front of the big window in the kitchen. The computer now is on the wall with the window so it will be right next to the Christmas tree. We are going Christmas tree hunting next weekend with my dad and my sister's family. We are very excited. We all are going to the same Christmas tree farm that we went to when I was very little. It will be a long ride home for the tree (the place is in Port Orchard) but it will be worth it. I can't imagine not going to Snowy Owl to get a Christmas tree. The people who owned the Christmas tree farm recently sold the business and last year the new owners were running things. Most everything was the same, but it still felt different. We always saw the same lady when we went to buy our tree and now she's not there. I think that the farm might have a new name, but it will always be Snowy Owl to me. I'm really excited to be taking Jack this year and to be getting our own tree!! We had to do some Christmas decoration shopping this year. My mom recently went through all of her Christmas decorations, so we do have somethings to put up. Mike is a bit of a Grinch, but I think just like the Grinch, he'll come around to loving Christmas as much as I do. Jack is already showing a love of Christmas. I bought the claymation Rudolf DVD and he loves when Misses Clause says 'Eat, Papa! Eat!' He is even saying it now! I'll have to pull out the Grinch (the original) and Shrek the Halls, soon. I just love Christmas time, don't you?

Jacks 19 month check up

So it's official. Jack is a little giant. He's been big from the get go and has continued his trend during yet another doctor's visit. Jack weighs in at a whopping 31 pounds and is almost 30 inches tall. He is in the 98% for his weight. No doubt there, I've been buying the clothes to prove it. He's 82% for height. I thought his pants were getting shorter. His head is at the 90%, also. That's not from my gene pool, I'll have you know. Jack has Daddy to thank for that one. He's just a little giant, proportionate but giant. I have noticed that Mr. Jack has been more crabby than normal and has been crying out a lot in his sleep. Poor thing. At the rate he's growing I'd be crying, too. He's grown about 10 inches in a year and a half. No wonder he eats like he does. All in all every thing looks good. He's developmentally appropriate for his age (I think he's pretty smart, myself) and is obviously growing well. We got the thumbs up from Dr Ayer and will see him when Jack is 2 years old. Wow, where has the time gone. Jack will be turning 2. They grow up so fast, especially Jack. He hardly seems like a baby any more. He's talking so much more and now we can even understand it!! Holly and I are working with him to teach him sign language also. He's doing pretty well so far. He can sign drink, eat, more, please, and help. He's saying more and more and the words are getting clearer. With the way he babbled, I knew he was talking to me, I just couldn't understand what he was saying. Now it's nice because you catch words that you can finally understand!!

Mike's injury and Thanksgiving

The start to the Thanksgiving holiday was a bumpy one for our family. Mike had an inhalation injury at work, on his birthday no less. Happy frickin' birthday.... While Mike was a work, the neighbor company released a nasty chemical into the air. The chemical is used to pressure treat telephone poles so the bugs don't eat them. It's called pentachloriophneol (I think I spelled it right). It's a long name for a very nasty chemical that actually is known to be a carcinogen. It caused damage to his lungs and we are waiting to see if the damage is permanent. A few days after he was exposed, he spent any evening in the ER to get IV steroids and an evaluation for admission. Thankfully they sent him home and I have been watching him like a hawk ever since. So far, he's on the maximum dose of inhaled steroids and just finished his course of oral steroids. At the current moment even with albuterol several times a day, he's still short of breath while eating. I'm starting to worry that the majority of the damage is permanent. We are still hopeful that things will improve and that Mike will be able to go back to work. He's been out since the day after his birthday. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, the insurance company that is handling Mike's L&I claim (it's not the State) decided that he couldn't prove where he was exposed, so they are denying the claim. NICE. Cheap bastards. Mike didn't ask to get get sick at work. He didn't ask to not be able to do anything without having bad shortness of breath. Mike didn't ask for any of this and they have the nerve to say 'you can't prove where you got exposed'. My arse. And to top it all off, this isn't the first time it's happened either. There is a co-worker of Mike's that is off on permanent disability because he's short of breath all the time. Huh. Sound familiar? So now we are jumping through their hoops trying to get them to approve the claim so we don't end up losing the house. Merry Christmas. Needless to say that we are grateful that Mike is feeling better these days, but still short of breath. Who knows, maybe he WILL get better and the part of my nursing judgement that is pessimistic (actually realistic) will be proven wrong. Anything can happen, right? Mike goes back to the doctor on Dec 7th for a recheck and I think that we will know more by then.

Our Thanksgiving holiday was a great one even though we weren't able to go to Oregon to visit the Taylor family like we usually do. With me working the night before Thanksgiving and Mike being sick, he decided that it would be better if we didn't venture too far from home. (Sorry we missed you guys!) We went to my family's house for dinner and had a great time. Dinner was fabulous thanks to my mom and all her little helpers. Having Aunt Linda and Uncle Tom there was extra fun, and all though I did have to share my green bean casserole with more people than normal, it was worth it. :) Jack had a great time playing with Aunt Linda and Quinlan. He loves to go to Grammy and Papa's house to play and visit. I would have had pictures of the event but alas, I forgot to pack new batteries for the camera. I think that Linda did take a few pics which I will up load later. All in all it was a very good day and when Jack came home, he crashed VERY hard. He probably even fell asleep in the car. A nice ending for a very good day.

Overview of Halloween

The start of the holiday season this year was a busy one for us. We attended 2 different Halloween celebrations, and both with the Perez family. The first event was Zoo Boo at Point Defience Zoo and Aquarium. It was during the day and was for kids to go trick-or-treating during day light hours at the Zoo. There were lots of cute little tykes running around in very nice costumes. It was so cute to watch the kids running around, then stop and look at each other so curiously. Jack himself found a little boy in a bear suit and a little girl in a flower suit that he had a lot of fun playing with. Jack was a dragon this year, which was a good follow up to the monkey last year. We got A LOT of compliments on his costume this year. I bought it early off the internet so I wouldn't have to worry about if the company had it in stock, but I didn't realize that Jack was going to grow SO much. By the time we went to our Halloween events, I had to shake him into his costume. The legs were tight, and I had a hard time closing the back of the costume. Next year, I'm ordering the next size up. Hopefully by next year, Jack's size will be a little more stable. He's growing so much. His 2T shirts are getting too short anymore. Pretty soon, we are going to have to put them away. That means more shopping for shirts for him, again. Reaghan and Ryan, along with their parents were there are looked TOO cute in their costumes. Ryan was a dalmation, and Reaghan was a white and pink kitty. I got pics of Jack and Ryan, but not too many of Reghan. Ryan is a little slow on the move so it's a little easier to take pics of him. After working an 8 hour shift at work, I wasn't at the top of my picture taking skills.

The second event that we attended was Hoot-n-Howl at Northwest Trek which was a trick-or-treating event held at night so you could see the nocturnal animals doing what they do best. Come to think about it, most of the animals there are nocturnal so it was nice to go and be able to see most of the animals awake. Jack wore the same costume, but we didn't get any pictures because it was so dark by the time we got to Northwest Trek. We also went to Hoot-n-Howl with the Perez family and had a blast. (Thanks Crystal for telling me about it!) All in all with Halloween, Jack learned a great love for lollipops and wasn't too interested in the animals which is fine. I'm sure as he grows, he'll get more interested in the animals themselves, but when there is candy to be had, I'm not too sure what he would find more interesting.....

Starting a blog.....

Well, I'm sitting at work on my 15 min break thinking of the fact that I need to start some kind of site that will keep our family and friends up to date with the happenings of our precious little family. With Jack growing so much over the past 19 months, we want to share our bundle of joy (and some times a terror) with all of you. Please be patient with me as I will try to keep the site as up to date a possible but with working, running around after Jack, AND a husband it can be hard (not too bad in recent days). I'm sure that you all know what I'm talking about. :) Watch for several blogs and pictures to come soon. I'm planning to get the site up to date with the recent activities that we've done over the past holidays and will hopefully be able to find the time to keep it up to date with Christmas. Jack and I are very excited for Christmas this year as this year will be the first with Jack that we WILL have a Christmas tree!! Jack has also learned the love of the claymation Rudolf story. That makes my heart so happy. Hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Happy Holidays to all !!!

Love,
Jack's Momma