Piano Lessons & Murphy's Law & Me

The kids have 2 friends over, so I have 5 kids running around the house...which is fine, I didn't think I would actually have time to even write today, but here I am.

Today was my first piano lesson!  YAY!  It went well!  I can read music a bit and get the different types of notes, I even know my keys on the piano.  I have never taken a formal lesson though, and only have ever played with my right hand.

Would my now almost 40 year old brain be able to add my left hand to the mix?

Not easily...but I think I am starting to get it!  It is definitely going to be the hardest part for me.  It is also not my dominant hand to begin with, and the hand that tends to hurt the most with my RA.  Go figure. 

I can now play Old MacDonald had a Farm with two hands, though and I am proud!  I am also excited for next weeks lesson to come!

So, the kids all go down to the park that is 2 lots away for the summer camp program and it is time for me to have lunch. 

I am being good with my diet.  I ate a banana for breakfast and had my usual big iced coffee from DD.  (okay, yes there is cream in it but not sugar!  no one is going to mess with my coffee, ok? ok!)

For lunch I cut open a bag of salad (I hate preparing my own lettuce for a salad) and shake it out onto my plate.  I add some low fat shredded cheddar cheese and add my light ranch dressing which has only one sugar and 30 carbs. 

Everything was great! 

Then, it happened.  About 2/3, maybe 3/4 of the way through my nice big plate of salad...I saw it. 

I have a friend who has had this happen to her time and time again - but it never happened to me.  For over 5 years since she told me this happened to her ALL the TIME, I was truly doubting the veracity of it at all. 

BUT there it was.  A FLY.  A DEAD FLY.

A DEAD FLY IN MY SALAD.

Great.  Now what?!  I tried to just push it aside with the tainted lettuce area like my friend does and ate another mouthful of salad.

I could barely swallow it.  I dumped the remaining salad into the garbage.

I sat at the table drinking some water until my stomach stopped lurching and then I ate about 6 pieces of a fruit salad. 

My lunch - yeah, my luck, huh?

Dilemma...throw out the whole bag or be a big girl and get over it... hmmmm...

Well, back to the kids who need me every 5 minutes or so...

Be well - Dawn

ps - check your salad

I hate RA (rheumatoid arthritis)

 Just got my blood results from my rheumy.  

My rheumy who did NOT want me on prednisone at all...  

My sugar is up. 

Just like she predicted.  Just like I really did not want to have happen.  

Borderline at 110.  My white blood cell count was also "minimally" elevated.  She wrote in the margin "due to steroids".   

It wasn't a fasting test...maybe it was from the donut I had on the way into NYC???  No, probably not.  UGH.  

She wrote under the recommendations - "Begin to follow a no concentrated sugar diet."  

Lovely.  So, good thing I ate mashed potatoes last night and had a donut then too, huh?  Great.  

I have been feeling great!  Since my weird knee problem 4 weeks ago and my trigger finger thing around the same time, things have been really good! 

 I played in a kickball game!  I walked my a*@ off in Cooperstown!   These are things I would not have accomplished without the prednisone!  I mean, it still is not perfect, but even Glenn "forgot" about checking with me to be sure I was "okay".  He felt bad because he thought he pushed me too hard!

Tonite is ravioli.  I will be having 2, not that I want to only have 2, but, I do not want to stop the prednisone. Instead, I will fill up on the side dish of italian sausage.    I guess it could be worse. 

I know it could be worse.... but I just started the DAMN 5 mgs of prednisone!  It has only been 5 weeks and the test was done at week 4!!!  I mean - can't Icatch a friggin' break!  I am just feeling really good now...and now this!    

My biggest fear is the sugar will get worse even if I am good and she will take me off of it.  I feel so much better!  I am doing so much more...the kids have been so amazed!  They say I almost like "normal" again!!!  Why God?  Why?   

Please...pray for me, send positive thoughts, light candles, whatever it is you spiritually feel wont to do.  I could use the help! ;-D  

Thanks in advance, dear journalers and journal readers.  

I hate RA.  RA SUCKS  RA SUCKS  RA SUCKS!!!!                     :::: stamping feet on the floor ::::  

Be well... Dawn  

How I got my screen name

<I borrowed this pic from another journal>

This is the Disney Princess, Aurora, better known as Sleeping Beauty.  She was my favorite princess when I was a kid, and her story was also my favorite.

You can have your poisoned apples and wicked step-sisters - give me the hunky Prince Phillip hacking through briars and killing the dragon to come give the princess a kiss.

My name is Dawn.  The dawn is the morning's first light and Aurora is latin for the same.  So, as a bright little girl, I figured out that her name and mine were the same, which made me identify with her all the more. 

To this day, I love an action-packed movie with some romance thrown in at the end much more than a thoughtful, poignant romance!  Go figure!

I also loved the blue-dressed version of Sleeping Beauty, and powder blue was my favorite color as a child and the color of my room for a long time!  Actually, until I moved out to be married!

Fast forward to needing a new screen name and having my five year old daughter (at the time) help me pick it out.  And there you have it!  I couldn't get it spelled correctly, so I added the extra "s"!

I am also foolishly romantic and believe my hubby to be my knight in shining armor, my prince!  I gave him a miniature knight, made of pewter one year as an anniversary present to punctuate that point.

I also met my dear hubby on my beloved Grandma Gertrude's birthday.  She was still alive then, but I believe it did happen for a reason.  I feel she brought him to me, for he is exactly what she and I wished for with all our hearts. 

A man who would putme first, love me fiercely and with abandon, a man who would be a best friend and fabulous father and family man. A prince for a princess.  He is all those things and more. 

Yeah, yeah, I know I dissed him on here in a post a while back, but hey, I am the princess and I am not perfect either!!! 

Day to day life tends to be less than royal.

Now, I have the challenging job of raising two boys to be wonderful princes to the woman of their life!  Thankfully, they are so wonderful already it should be easy!

So, every time I log on I am reminded of my daughter, my boys, my prince of a hubby, my grandma, and my childhood dreams.

Be well,

Dawn

 

Minnesota and my grandma

Today, I started yakking in emails with a fellow blogger.  We chuckled at the many things we have in common, Asperger's Syndrome touching our lives, giftedness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, (his dad, me), funny how small the world is nowadays.  I also started to read his blog more thoroughly, and lo and behold, yet another thing in common. 

Minnesota. 

The state I grew to love with my grandma.  The state where she Crossed Over and where her earthly remains were laid to rest.  Minnesota.  I haven't been back since I said my last goodbye to her, at her casket.

I wrote her eulogy. 

I was too much of a mess to read it though, so my uncle, my mom's younger brother (but not the youngest), said he would do it.  He refused to read it prior.  He is a great public speaker.  He broke down crying when it got to the part about the malls and shopping and he ad libbed a story that my words helped him recall, then he finished reading my eulogy.  It hangs framed on beautiful flowered paper in my room right next to her picture.   

It started with her many names.  Gertrude, to her friends, mom to her kids, Grandma to the grandchildren and Gee-Gee to the great-grands...   

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and what she meant to me.   Now I share it with you all. ( this was from 1997)

                         Gertrude 

              written by me, Dawn, Granddaughter  

Gertrude, Mom, Grandma, or Gee-Gee was my biggest fan. 

I was lucky in life to have someone who always thought I was wonderful, perfect, the best. 

In her eyes, I always looked great; I'll miss that reflection of myself. 

I'll try to do her memory justice now.  

 

Gertrude, Mom, Grandma, Gee-Gee, loved to be with her family and friends. 

She loved to get dressed up and go to parties - and even recently worried if she looked "too fat" or "too old". 

She never wanted anyone to look at her and think "What an old lady!" 

She would make me laugh, as she would refer to other seniors as "old people". 

She didn't want to be one even though she was - so she tried to keep herself young at heart. 

Not many 70-ish year old women went to Rick Springfield rock concerts in the early 1980's - but she did.

 

She always watched the latest sit-com or hot new show on TV. 

She loved General Hospital and taped it for years to avoid missed shows. 

She loved David Letterman and watched him often.

Here I was - in my late 20's, asleep by 10pm - and my grandmother was up watching late night TV in her 80's!

 

She loved to try things. 

Now, I know all of you who ever went out to eat with her would think differently - because boy, was she picky. 

But, when her great-grandson, my son, told her Godzilla fruit snacks were "the latest taste sensation," she just had to have some! 

I also remember that about 7 or 8 years ago, my mother got her to try Mexican Coffee, it became a new favorite - often ordered in New Jersey on visits.

 

Some of my fondest memories date back a long time ago when Grandma still lived in Maywood. 

We would go shopping  together every Saturday. 

We'd have lunch at Wolfie's, maybe Sterns.  And we would wander the Bergen Mall - from end to end - often never buying a thing. 

Our shopping tradition continued during my wonderful visits to Minnesota. 

Instead we'd shop at Butler Square, St. Anthony's Walk, Northtown or Target. 

In her trips back to NJ we always had to go to the Mall, the Plazaor Paramus Park.

 

The best part of our mall tradition was the talking and the sharing. 

Whether I was nine holding her hand; nineteen; or even 29 holding her hand with a few small ones of my own; it was always a beautiful time of sharing.  

On many of these trips I'd hear - "Oh, I only hope I live to see you graduate school."  She did. 

Then, "Oh, I only hope I liveto see you get married."  She did; to a great guy that she really loved, too. 

Then again, "Oh, I only hope I live to see you have children."  She did. 

She saw all three and she loved them a lot and shared the gift of herself with them - over and over.  

I'm so grateful that she shared the gift of herself with me for almost 33 years of my life. 

I'm sure you all feel the same way today, whether it was 13 years, 20 years, 43 years, 53 years or 60 years.  

 

She loved us all and she would be so happy right now to see us all here together, in church, sharing; sons, daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends. 

Actually, I'm sure she is happy and I'm sure she is here with us right now.  

 

Thank you Gertrude, Mom, Grandma, Gee-Gee.

 

I hope this conveyed a little piece of my grandma to you all.  She was a wonderful treasure.

Be well, Dawn

Baseball and Cooperstown

I am back and Cooperstown was fabulous!  The Baseball Hall of Fame was every baseball fan's dream!  And there was something for everyone, huge fan or not!  The kids were awed by a lot of it!   Ds12 threw himself on Babe Ruth's locker!  He kept running his hands over it and saying - I can't believe he touched this!  It was really his!  This older man that was there, said that my son was doing what he was doing in his head!  LOL  Ds12 was also very into the Ted Williams stuff - not surprising - the whole "science" of the game really appeals to him and Ted Williams was the master of it.

 
Ds10 loved it all.  He was like a big sponge!  He was in awe over all the history, the Polo Grounds, the other old ballparks, Casey Stengel, Ty Cobb, etc...  Oh, and of course, anything Yankee!  He loved seeing the new stuff too and reading all the stats and records.  They had the top 10 of every stat you can imagine and then the top 10 of players still playing as of the end of 2004 season.  Really cool.   My hubby, my other little boy, was also in awe.  He loves Lou Gehrig.  His locker was there too, and hubby ran his hands over it like it was silk...  He loves all things Johnny Bench and got his fill of that, too. 

Ds8 was a good sport.  She looked for anything A-Rod, because she loves him.  She also helped look for Catfish Hunter stuff to tell her grandma about it and Mickey Mantle for Grandpa.  She also liked the Babe and Gehrig stuff, how couldn't you?!  Mostly, she liked the shopping.  She begged for something everywhere we were!  UGH   We bought lots and lots of baseball cards, shirts, books and stuff.  Even a Cooperstown throw blanket madeof sweatshirt material.  It is soooo soft!  You just can't help yourself!  The whole town is on baseball fever and store to store you just get bowled over!

I got a shirt for next season that says Baseball Mom - I can't wait!  And a pin that says Mom of #10, which is almost always ds10's number.  Now it had better be...lol.   The guest house we stayed at was lovely and the family treated us as if we were family guests.  It made the trip really nice. 

 

The only thing that was a negative was the heat!  It was awful!  Mid 90's and so humid you could chew the air!!!   We walked everywhere so I am paying for it a bit.  Very tired and legs are sore.  My knee was acting up, but it seems to have stopped now.  Took my methotrexate today...so, that makes me tired a bit too.   I will put in a pic or two soon...too tired to deal with that today!  

Be well, Dawn

Going to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY

Is their anything more American than a road trip?  More than baseball?  Well, put the two together and you get - my family heading out in the car tomorrow am for a 4-5 hour road trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY!  Wooohooo

This is my ds10 and hubby's dream mini-vacation.  I know I will like it too, but I am also looking forward to the antiquing in the town center just as much!  Dd8 is completely annoyed that this trip has popped up on the family calendar at all!  She is convinced that she will bored to tears the entire time.  Of course, she also felt that way last year when we went to Gettysburg - and she LOVED it!  Ds12 is somewhere in between the his brother's enthusiasm and sister's indifference.  He is not personally into playing baseball, but will watch the Yankees.  He also is interested in baseball cards, but on a purely economic level.  LOL 

After calling the only 3 nationally known hotel chains in the area and being told there were no available rooms, this trip almost didn't happen!  But, my dearest hubby got on the phone and called about 80 Bed & Breakfasts until he found one with a room big enough for a family of 5, was okay with kids, and was only 1/2 a block from the museum and town center!  He truly is a gem!

Coincidentally, locating this particular room had its own kismet.  The owner lived in my home town, on my STREET, until I was 8 years old.  She is a grandma now and I don't remember her, but she remembers our little town here very well.  My family still lives in the same town, 2 blocks from where I lived as a kid.  I am excited to meet this former neighbor of mine from years past.

I will not have computer access, so this will be my last entry until we return!  Pray for me that my RA will behave!

Be well, dear readers!

Dawn

 

One word

This is for Luanne! 

Please leave a one word comment that you think best describes me.  It can only be one word.  No more.

Then copy and paste this into your journal so that I may leave a word about you...    (Stolen from  Christina's journal my journey with Multiple Sclerosis and Luanne's Living with Lupus)

Summer Song Dedication

I dedicate the B-52's singing "Love Shack" to my former twenty-something self! 

Just thinking of its bang, bang, bang-ing beat brings me back!  Whether I was heading out for a night at the local clubs in Northern NJ with friends, or heading "down the shore" (which is how you say it in NJ), I was going to be having a rocking good time!  You cannot listen to that song without tapping your foot or bobbing your head to the beat.

It just puts me back in the club, hanging out with my friends and checking out the guys!  It wasn't all about the guys though, that was just for eye-candy - the best part was the laughing and giggling and dancing with my friends! 

Those were the days (long before RA) when I could be on my feet for hours, in high heels, no less!  This was the 80's and in the summer the "shoe of choice" was usually white patent leather pumps!  You rarely got a table in a club, so you stood at one of those shelf things or a room partition, drink in hand.  Of course, you didn't just stand, you danced the night away, too!  It seems like a different lifetime when I think back on it!  Now, my feet don't give me hours, and if I push them, I pay for it - big time!

Aaaah, youth is wasted on the young!  If I knew then what I know now!  I think I would have appreciated that time more when it was happening!  In your early 20's it seems like you are always looking ahead, down the line, and with a yearning heart.  You want the ideal hubby, the 2.5 kids, and the mini-van with the house in the sub-division.  I didn't spend a lot of time then savoring what I had - the freedom, the lack of responsibilities, health, youth and stamina!!!

Yes, "Love Shack" is the song that instantly brings me back there, to that time and place, that mind-set.  I do NOT want to go back to that time in my life though, either. 

I did find my Prince Charming, and I fall in love with him over and over again through the years.  I had the kids, three of them, and did three mini-vans; now I do the SUV thing, with a Trailblazer that seats seven.  My schedule isn't my own, but I still find my freedom in other ways; in my writing, reading books or with friends.  I have grown into a better person, and I owe that to having a family.  Being a parent opens you up in ways you never knew existed.

But, it sure is fun to pop the CD in the stereo and crank it up to sing along with my daughter and laugh some more!

Be well,

Dawn

To medicate or not

It's a good question, isn't it?

I believe that if a medicine can help you improve your quality of life and the side-effects are manageable once you begin it, then you should go for it!

There are many people with RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and Lupus who try to go natural, only to have disasterous results in the end.  Then there are some who claim success, rather, I claim they were lucky and had the spontaneous remitting kind that we all (who don't) dream about.

Meds are also a big issue with kids and I hold to the same theory. 

Personally, here is my experience without and then with meds for my disease.  Then I will share my experience with my sons as well.

I was a mess.  In terrible pain, plaqued with horrific fatigue.  I was essentially bed-ridden and ABSOLUTELY house bound.  I was missing out on everything with my kids, with my family, with life.  Finally, the correct diagnosis and correct docs brought me to the correct medicines.  It has not been a straight line.  I have taken some that I had to quit either for no effect or side effects that were not good. (ie; liver enzymes up)  However, from the day of starting the meds I have always been BETTER than the place I was before. 

And BETTER is good.  No, I won't be cured, I won't ever be perfectly pain free, but that is okay.  I have my life back.  I function and have fun and LIVE again!

Now, for the kids.  Ds12 with Asperger's takes an SSRI.  Without it, he can't stand clothes, socks or shoes.  He can't tolerate hardly any noise, light or touch not initiated by him.  Is this the way you would want your child to live?  The ssri does not completely eliminate his sensitivities but it does stop the assualt on his senses enough for him to cope and enjoy life without having to fight them all the time.  Heaven for all of us.

Ds10, has asthma, funny how no one questions his meds for his quality of life, yet will question them for ds12.  Ds10 needs his to function well too.  And he does.  It isn't perfect all the time, but better.

None of us will be cured, but our meds help us to live and to cope and manage our lives in much better ways than we could without.  Thank God for the discoveries of science and the medical communities.  For who else, put the brilliant minds here to figure this all out???

Thank GOD.

Be well!

 

Invisible disability

A friend of mine was recently acosted by a nasty man at a golf course who wanted to know what was so special about her that she needed a golf cart.  She has RA, and was in pain from walking the first nine to watch her son in a tournament and knew that to continue she needed the cart.

No one should be treated like this, it makes me wanna scream!

We were discussing in my email loop what a good comeback would be. 

My suggestion is this, "Just because my disability is invisible to you doesn't make it, or my pain, any less real."

With RA, Lupus, MS, Fibro, or any of the other chronic pain and inflammation type diseases, often the problem is somewhat invisible!  It is horrible to be subjected to the attitudes of people who think you are just trying to "put one over" on the healthy people of the world.  They should have to walk in our painful shoes for a while and see what it is like.

If you have a "visible" source of disability no one would ever dare question you.  But often heart conditions and cancer can be invisible too.  Turning to someone and saying you have those shuts people up quick. 

However, 9 out of 10 people hear RA and say - "Oh, I have arthritis too."  People don't get it...they don't get that it is different.  I almost always state my Lupus first and then the RA just so people have a better idea.  Most don't get lupus either but they have heard "it's bad."  Cracks me up.

Ahhh well, just needed to ramble a bit.  Last nite I went to bed at 8pm and slept today until 10:30am.  Of course, I was up and down an little with kid stuff, but it was much better and kind of made up for the nights of missed sleep with dd8.

Be well!

 

The Latest

So, my dd8 is on antibiotics now.  Hopefully, that will bounce this strep right out of her system and fast.  Poor thing.  She missed her end-of-year party today at school and she missed her friend's pool party this afternoon!  Life is just not fair. 

Don't I know it....lol.  ;-D

The dog is doing much better, and will be rechecked next week.

I am going to start piano lessons next week!  I hope my RA fog-ridden brain will still be able to learn something new!  Pray for me!  I am excited about it...I have always wanted to learn it.  I will never be as fast a learner as my dd8, I am sure, but if I can make my way through a song or two of easy sheet music, I will be happy! 

Be well!

Summary of the last few hectic days

Here is my last few days in a nutshell!!!!  :-D   Friday am started with my infusion, which went well and was uneventful.  We had a bit of traffic on the way home as it is Friday in the summer and lots of people leave work in NYC early to hit the shores. I was napping by 1:45pm to get ready for the Parents vs. Scouts Kickball Game.   So, at 5:45 pm, off we went...I got to first on my first at bat.  A dad went next and I was off like a shot with him on my heels!  As I rounded 2nd and headed for third I found a divet in the clay and my left (weak) ankle started to turn, I kept it from turning over but lost my balance and took a very comical header into the dirt.  Flat out...like I meant to try to slide into third base...but not so graceful.  I began to laugh, and rolled onto my back...  ds10, the 3rd baseman, had the most panicked and horrified look on his face that I began to laugh harder.  Then hubby and 3 other dad's faces were looking at me also quite horrified and I was laughing so hard I couldn't get myself up.  LOL   I stayed in the game, took my base at 3rd.  Was brought in by the next batter and I am happy to say - the rest of my game was injury free.  The result?  A patch of skinned shin starting just below my knee, about 7 inches by 5!  And I got to RE-learn how much a skinned knee hurts!!  Yooooucccch!  

Saturday am I slept late...needed to after the infusion and the kickball game!  Hubby had an MRI of his shoulder, my dad took him.  Then some shopping in the afternoon.   At 5:15 we were off to the minor league ballpark to the NJ Jackals for Scout Night!  Hubby and ds10 were sleeping overnight, on the ball field in tents, and the other 2 and I were just going for the game.  It was very inexpensive, something you cannot say about going to a Met or Yankee game.  It was just $15 for us not sleeping over, and $20 for them.  It included a hotdog, soda and chips.  We got a free frisbee giveaway and a Jackals patch.  We got 10% off at the shops.  The other food was reasonable also.  The game was long and s-l-o-w.  Then it was tied, 2-2.  Then 3-3. And overtime for 2 innings.  But the kids had a blast with their friends.  We didn't leave until 11:30pm though...a very long night.   And then, dd8 who got "stuffy" as the evening progressed, had a tough night, and ended up in bed with me and I could not sleep very well listening to her "snarfling" as I like to call it.   

Hubby and ds10 walked in at 8am.  They hadn't gotten to sleep until 2am, and were up at 6am, so they laid down and slept and we post-poned our Father's Day celebration a bit.  Then we all (including my dad and mom) went to eat a late breakfast at noon and then went to see The Batman.  The movie was great!  After a brief stop back home we went out to dinner at Applebee's.  I don't know if you have these where you are, but they are a chain and are pretty darn good.  It was my dad's pick.   

DD8 is not good.  I kept her home from school today hoping to see her cold improve.  She fell asleep at 7:30 but awoke at 10pm crying that her throat hurts now too.  Tomorrow, we go to the pediatrician (I called at 10pm) at 10:30.    It is her last day of school and she was quite peeved that she now is going to miss it.  We will go and give good wishes to the teachers and give gifts and stuff, but she will miss her party and the pool party of her best friend, too.  Yup, very ticked off she is, but she fell back to sleep at 10:45pm anyhow.  That is where it stands now, I am fighting off the cold (of course) and I will call my rheumy tomorrow for a z-pak.  UGH.   It never ends...thank goodness!  Just hope the Lord gives me some strength!!!

My sweet Libby

This is a picture of our dog, Liberty, Libby for short!  She is just getting better after a bad ear infection...the poor baby!

I added a picture to "About Me"!

I am so proud of myself that I added that picture over there in the "About Me" section!  Yay!

It is a picture of the NYC skyline, taken from Weehawken, NJ, by me, on Memorial Day 2005!

I hope everyone enjoys it!

Be well!

Upcoming Busy Agenda

Boy oh boy, do I have a busy day starting tomorrow!  And yes, I do realize that I am up at 2:15 am...can't sleep, back hurts...yada yada.

Tomorrow, after getting the kids to school, hubby and I head straight to NYC for my Remicade infusion.  Then, skipping our regular lunch routine, I will probably nap and then after eating a quick dinner at 6pm begins the Parents vs Scouts Annual Kickball Game!  I have promised ds10 that I WILL play and I will!  I will pay for it...but that is another story - lol.

Then Saturday am hubby will have an MRI on his injured shoulder.  I will sleep in and my dad will go with him.  6pm we leave as a family to go to a minor leaque baseball game which afterward there is a special scout sleep-over for hubby and ds10 only.

Sunday am after said hubby and ds10 come back home we will go out for a family Father's Day Breakfast with grandma and grandpa as well.  Then possibly off to see The Batman.  The boys have decided that this is appropriate movie fare for dad's and they are right, hubby loooooves Batman and can't wait to see it!  lol

Then, my dad wants to go out to dinner too. 

That will end the busy weekend.  Monday is the kids last full day at school - I think I will be sleeping all day!  HA ha ha.

Hope this finds everyone who reads it appreciating life!

Be well!

 

 

To Dawn in PA

Dear Dawn,

I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with RA.  It is a tough disease.  However, the drugs that are out and coming out now, are offering a lot more hope than ever!  You really have your hands full with little ones, 6, 2 and 6 mos!  The funny thing is that I first began to truly suffer with symptoms when my daughter was about 4 months old and I had a 2 year old and just turned 5 year old!  So, I relate!

I would question your doc as to why he/she is only starting you with plaquenil.  It takes a long time to get started with giving you relief, and my docs in NYC don't even bother with it anymore.  Unless, of course, you are planning on having more children so you are trying to avoid some of the faster acting more intense drugs.  The ACR (American College of Rheumatology) basically reccommends methotrexate given at the start of treatment now, since it is proven that being more aggressive right from the beginning is the way to go.  But there are limits with that with conceiving etc.

I wish you luck.  I hope you will email me once in a while.  I was shocked and amazed that anyone other than my message board buddies were reading my journal at all!  I am glad that I give you hope. 

Hope is the most important thing you can have, sweetie.  You will have bad days, and good ones.  You can't always predict when and where either will strike - and that sucks.  Your life will change.  However, I must say - it isn't all bad.  I have a new appreciation for everything in my life now.  I take no day for granted.  I have learned how to manage time and simplify my life probably far quicker than I would have otherwise!  lol

Write me anytime...

I have not been writing because my dog became real sick with an ear infection and I had to take her to the pet ER at 3am the other nite.  We are both still recovering, me from the no sleep for 2 nites, and she from the infection.  She is doing much better, thankfully. 

Be well...and if anyone else is out there reading this and has any questions...leave a comment and I will answer you...sometimes it just takes me a bit!

Oh yeah!  2 other things...it is so cool we have the same name!!  And, yes the heat sucks.  It really does a number on me too, especially with the humidity!

 

Busy, busy, busy

Hello!

Things are so crazy around here!  The kids are finishing up school which is nuts!  Concerts, end of year reports, end of sports, recitals, yikes!  Not a moment to catch your breath! 

I am feeling ok, though.  We are having a bit of a heat wave in NJ, which is a pain in the rear, and it has given me some swelling in my hands that I could do without, but otherwise, I am good!

Next week is the last full week for the two in public school...amen!!! 

Just wanted to check in for a quick hello!

 

 

Finally, I am back...

My cruise was heavenly and here I am finally back.  I had a tough time afterward, and I don't even want to go there.

So, things are quite hectic!  Kids have very busy schedules and it is hard to keep up sometimes!  Ha - most of the time.  But I am managing.  My online life has suffered because I have just been too tired.

This week is filled with baseball, end of the year concerts, group meetings, scouts, parties.  Yeah, it is a crazy month - from Mother's Day until school lets out - it is always one thing or another!  Imagine if I didn't homeschool one of my kids!!!  Yikes!

Thank you all for being patient with me...