Prayers needed for Gwen

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged but I'm taking the time to write now because I need a favor.

VERY close friends of ours just found out that their 8 month old daughter has AML (Acute Myleocytic Leukemia). She began chemotherapy last night and will be doing 4 weeks of chemo. Then they will do another bone marrow biopsy and evaluate the diagnosis then.

She is only 8 months old and already fighting such a huge battle. She needs all the prayers she can get. So do her parents. Dave and Colleen are such amazing people. They don't deserve anything but good things in this world and it breaks my heart that they have to go through this.

Please say many many prayers and ask anyone you know to say prayers. It can't hurt to have too many prayers out there. Thank you in advance.

Bridesmaid Dress and a Goal!

So I ordered my bridesmaid dress for Jim and Leslie's wedding! And I'm really excited about it!

Leslie decided to pick a "separates" dress from Davids Bridal. So we will all wear the same skirt and then each bridesmaid can pick their own top of three that Leslie pre-picked out. So I went with my mom to try them all on and see what I liked.

It was tough since I only had a baby a few weeks ago and have NO idea what shape my body will be in come September, but I think I'll be ok.

Here is the Top that I picked for myself. It will be blue and I love it. I often feel very uncomfortable in bridesmaid dresses because I happen to have a larger chest. I don't like strapless, I don't like halters. I just feel very fat and ugly in those styles and I really think I'll LOVE the look of this one. It will keep me covered up and still feel pretty. I'm excited!

And here is the Bottom that we are all wearing. It's a simple long skirt. I think everyone will look very nice and I love the idea that we get to pick out what we want, yet still match in a way.

My friend Michelle let us pick out our own dress for her wedding too and I just love it. I actually tried to do this idea with my bridesmaids. I picked out three dresses that they could pick and they all picked the same one! Haha, oh well!

So the dress is ordered...

That being done, now I have to get my butt in gear and start working out and getting closer to my goal weight!! I have a number in mind, now I just have to reach it.

I'm going to go to the Y soon and start working out and looking into a personal trainer. I would LOVE to work with a personal trainer. I think it will make me work out harder and lose weight quicker and teach me the skills I need to keep it off.

Here's to hoping that will all happen!

Wish me luck!

Celia's 3rd Birthday!

Cecilia had a fabulous birthday, if I may say so myself. :)

Nick had to work, so he couldn't come to the party, but Dominick, Annabelle and I all went and had a blast. One of Cecilia's birthday presents was a new swingset in the backyard and Dominick LOVED it. He wants one now, but there is absolutely no room in our backyard for one. So he'll have to just go to Cici's house a lot!

Cecilia picked out her birthday lunch, Hot dogs and brown cake. And it was all fabulous. My sister got the huge, jumbo, all beef franks from the Schnucks deli counter. Have you ever had those??? You need to. They are amazing. And like a quarter pound each. They are SO good. And there was other food too, don't worry. We had salad, fruit, and a TON of desserts.

Anyway, we all had a blast and Cecilia got some good gifts!

Happy 3rd birthday Cici! I can't believe you are already THREE!

Swinging on the swings!

The birthday girl

Opening some presents (which Dominick had to go outside
with Great Grandpa during this part because he got too jealous...)

Birthday candles!!

Eatin' some lunch

As you can tell, the swings were a HUGE hit. I guess we'll just have to go over there all the time and utilize those swings! :)

Easter Egg Hunt!

We went to the Easter Egg Hunt at IWA again this year. Dominick had a good time, and that's what's important. It was a little rough in the beginning. Getting four people out of the house is a lot harder than just 3 for some reason! But we made it. We even managed to pick up a 'Nani' on the way!

Dominick and Cecilia had a BLAST collecting Easter Eggs. You were supposed to only grab 10 eggs, but Dominick found 11 and would NOT put any back. Luckily Cecilia got bored after collecting only 9 eggs so it worked out!

We didn't get to see an Easter bunny and I'm a little bummed about that. Dominick LOVED the bunny last year, but that's ok. We all still had fun.

Here are a few pictures from the hunt:





I love that Dom is getting older and LOVING this kind of thing now. In just a few short years, we'll have TWO kids running around and fighting over Easter eggs! I can't wait! :)

Kickball is back!!

And I'm LOVING it!

I missed kickball...but we're back in season. We've only played one week, but we're back in the groove already. I love hanging out with everyone and getting some FUN exercise in.

Hopefully our team can kick some kickball booty this year and make it to the tournament in June. Until then, I'm just having a blast!

Dommie is still struggling...and other Dom updates

It's still hard. Dominick REFUSES to listen. If we ask him to come here, he runs the other way. If we ask him to be quiet while AJ is sleeping or while we're on the phone, he starts screaming louder. He's stuck in this constant "opposite game" and it's tough. But we're managing.

He's been continuing to test us recently but I think the end is in sight. It's just to me and Nick. He LOVES his "sissy", as he calls her. He always wants to hold her and if I'm giving her a bottle (which is rarely as I'm still nursing), he insists on giving it to her. He's a great big brother. He's just a troublesome son right now. :) Which I know is completely normal. So we're just waiting it out.

On the other hand, he's doing and saying things that amaze us every day. Where does he learn some of these words?? We're never taught him them. I guess he's just picking them up.

Like for instance, last night we were driving. While we drive, Dom likes to play the "I spy" game, even though we don't call it that.

So he said, "I see a truck" and I said, "I see a tree" and he said, "I see a building" and I said, "I see a sign". Then he said, "I see a bus"...there were no buses around, so I said, "Really? I don't see a bus" and he replied, "Yeah, I don't see a bus either".

I was pretty impressed with his accurate use of the word, "either". We never taught him that. And that's a full sentence. I guess he just picks that up.

He knows WAY too many words to list, but believe me, this kid is SMART.

He can count to 15 in English.
He can count to 10 in Spanish (on his own).
He can count to 10 in Greek (with some help, Ms. Stella is from Greece, so she teaches him some things).
He knows how to say Hello, Butterfly, and Friend in Spanish.
He's starting to learn all his letters. He's got the beginning and the end figured out. It's those darn letters in the middle that he struggles with.


He's just amazing.

Now if we could get him to listen a little better, this kid would be perfect. ;-)

JUST KIDDING, he's already perfect.

Our little Dommie Salami. What a little guy.

Aj - 6 weeks

A picture of Annabelle with her cousin Addison

I can't believe my baby girl is 6 weeks old already!?!? Where does time go...

She's not doing much more than before. I guess I never updates about her one month appointment, did I?

At one month, she was 10 lbs 10.5 oz and 21.75" long. I don't know how long she is now but she's almost 11 1/2 lbs. so she is a growing girl!

She's starting to discover her voice (and not just for screaming anymore) so that's pretty fun. I love listening to her coo and "talk" to us. She's also starting to smile a bit. Nothing drastic but a little smile here and there and it makes me happy.

I don't have a really new picture of her, but I'm working on it, I swear. I'm amazed at how little I get done during the day and how hard it is to get even the simplest things done. Two is definitely harder than one. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Today is my 6 week check up with my doctor. If everything goes well, and I have no reason to believe it wouldn't, then I'm heading straight to the YMCA to talk about getting a personal trainer. I CAN'T WAIT to work out again! I've literally been counting down the days. Hopefully today is it!

I'll keep you posted, and I promise I'll work on keeping up with the blog better (with pictures too).

House Updates

So as you know, we've been working on our first floor for just over two months. Today, the painting got done. And I LOVE it. It's a little out there. Nick and I like some crazy things, but I'm really liking it.

The first thing we did was have our painter add a texture to all the walls and ceiling. We had replaced some plaster with drywall and needed texture to make it look uniform and to match the overall feeling of the house. We love what he did.

Here's a few pictures of it before any paint went on the walls:





He did that on Monday. Then today he came back to paint. We did two walls "Midas Touch" or a yellow-y gold color, then all the other walls "Dante's Ridge" or a bluish/grey color and finally we painted the ceiling "Wishbone", a brownish color. It seems like that wouldn't all go, but I think it does. In the mini-hall we have, we did the blue on the walls and the yellow on the ceiling to keep it lighter in there since there are no windows.

Here are the quick pictures I've taken of the colors on a few of the walls:

In the corner of the living room, showing where all three colors meet. The yellow wall will have our china cabinet against it.

The hall area, showing the yellow ceiling with the blue walls.

The area by the fireplace showing the blue walls with the brown ceiling and our white crown molding.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and have all the furniture back in place so Nick doesn't have to do anything. We'll see if I can recruit some help to get that done!

So, without furniture or any other pictures, what do you think?? Yay, or Neigh? :)

quick check in

Just a quick post to say, again, that I'm still here and everyone is doing well. I'm hoping to start blogging again soon and to post some new pictures. HOPING being the key word of that sentence.

It's been crazy. CrAzY I tell ya. But we're still here and doing fine.

School is getting tough. I'm so glad I took a class this semester but it is tough. Even though I'm "off" work, I think I'm working harder at home than I do at work! It's non stop. 24/7. I'm loving it but I'm still working out the kinks and I'm just starting to learn my way again. Moving from one kid to two is hard work. Much harder than I thought it would be, but man I love having two beautiful kids! I had a test in class last week. I had a test in class tonight. I have four classes left to cover three chapters and I have two tests left. It's going to be tough all the way to the end.

Tomorrow is Annabelle's 1 month appointment. I get to see how much she's grown and how big she is. :) I'm very excited about that. On the other hand, she has to get shots and I'm NOT excited about that.

This weekend is Cecilia's third birthday party. I'll try to get some good pictures of that. She got a new swing set in her backyard and I'm sure Dom will be in heaven.

Our first floor SHOULD be done this weekend. The painters will be done tomorrow and then all we have left to do is move the furniture back, have Nick replace a few outlets, put on new register covers, and put up the baseboards. That's not too much at all.

I'll post lots of pictures soon. I promise.

Until next time (which will hopefully be this weekend at the latest) just know we're doing well. All FOUR of us. :)

Dom's Appointment

So we went to a pediatric orthopedic doctor yesterday at St. John's. The doctor was very very nice. I made my Dad go with me. I was afraid that Dom wouldn't walk and I wouldn't be able to carry him the whole way from the parking garage to the office.

I "swapped" kids at daycare, dropping off Annabelle and picking up Dom and we headed out to my parents to ride with my Dad. We got to the doctor appointment right on time and waited to get called back.

When we did get called back, there were a few little things Dom wouldn't do. One was, we had to get him to STAND on a scale so we could get his weight and height. He didn't want to stand. So we tried having him sit and then guess his height. He wouldn't even do that. I had to bribe him with the M&M's my mom put in my purse "Just in case". :)

So we got his weight (32.8 lbs) and kind of guessed on his height (they said 36" but I know he's taller than that because he likes to carry around a yard stick and he's taller than the yard stick!).

Then we went back to a room. A different nurse came in and tried to check him out. He wouldn't cooperate. He didn't want to lay on the table so she tried doing her tests while he sat on my lap. He didn't cooperate too well there either. She did some movement and then left to get the doctor. Dom already looked like he was walking better to me. So I was kind of worried that we'd be at this doctor and still get no answers.

The nurse decided to send us back for x-rays. I was afraid we'd have to go somewhere else, then come back and it would be a really long process. But they had an x-ray machine there. A new nurse came and got us and we went back to the x-ray room. There were two nurses there. One to hit the button to take the x-ray and one to help me hold Dom down. He was terrified of the machine.

They took 5 x-rays. 2 of his hips and 3 of his left foot at different angles. He screamed the entire time and I felt awful. But once they were over, they sent us back to our room and told us the x-rays would be ready in 5 minutes. So that was awesome.

The actual doctor came in shortly and had him walk up and down the hallway a few times (which he did like a little puppy trying to get a sucker from a nurse). And luckily (or unfortunately??) she noticed the limp even though it was much less noticeable to me. She brought him back into the room and got him to lay on the table, she did movements of his hips.

She told me that she could feel that it was harder to move his left hip. His left leg was the leg he was dragging all day so at least we were on the same page there!

She told me that she thinks he has transient synovitis of the hip which is basically inflammation around his hip caused from a virus. So the plan is to watch him. Give him ibuprofen. And hope it goes away, like it did last time.

But we have to keep a close eye on it. Because if it keeps coming and going like this, it could be something called Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. You can read about this on that same website I posted above, but basically it's when there isn't enough blood supply to the leg and can cause limping. The doctor told me that if he does have that, it's basically the same treatment (rest and ibuprofen) but they add physical therapy to try and increase the blood flow to that leg.

So we'll watch. I gave him ibuprofen last night. Hopefully today there will be improvement. He was getting so frustrated last night. He kept trying to run and would fall. Or try to do the stairs and trip (which terrified me!). So we have to keep a CLOSE eye on him for now.

I feel so bad for him every time I see him trip. I hope this is the last we see of this and it's just the first problem and not the perthes disease! Keep your fingers crossed.

Back to Limping

I feel like a horrible mother. HORRIBLE.

This morning when I got Dominick up, he was walking funny. Like his leg was asleep or something. We struggled up the stairs. But he came up to my room and sat on my bed. I turned on a Dora for him (on our new fancy computer :) ) and then I went to feed Annabelle. He stayed in my room watching and was having fun. Then I came in after feeding Anna and got him dressed. He was being perfect.

After he was dressed, I took Anna downstairs and asked him to follow me. He wouldn't. I brought her downstairs and got her in the pumpkin seat and ready to go. I called up to him to come down. No answer.

Now Dominick is one who LOVES attention. He would refuse to come up JUST to have me come up and get him. So I called to him again. No answer.

I called up to him and said, "If I have to come up there you are in trouble mister!". That is a completely empty threat coming from me, but he usually listens. Nothing.

So I went upstairs, kind of miffed because I was sure he was just wanting attention. When I got up there he was sitting on the bed smiling. I took his binky, another way to usually get him to listen and he just started crying. I went into the bathroom and when I came back he was standing next to the bed. I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. He fell to his knees.

He does this sometimes too, just to be dramatic. So I picked him up and carried him downstairs. When we got to the bottom of the stairs he was crying for his binky. We've been having a hard time letting go of the binky so I told him that he doesn't get it when he doesn't listen. I got up and starting walking to the door.

He took a step and fell again.

Now I was worried. I sat down and asked him what was wrong and he pointed to his leg and said "It hurts!" and he cried. Well that's not good!

So we checked his feet and pulled his shoes off and re put them on. Everything seemed fine but he won't walk. We go outside and there are three city forestry trucks out front cutting down a tree directly across the street. I said, "Dommie! Look at the trucks!" and then he started walking fine.

However, once we got to daycare, he started limping again and it's only gotten worse. I'm waiting for a call back from the doc to try and get him in to see what's wrong but I can't help but feel horrible! He does a lot of faking around here, especially since Annabelle came into our lives, but he could really be hurt now!

I'm still waiting for a call back to get him in but in the meantime, say some prayers that he's ok...poor guy!

Back to weight watchers

I've decided to rejoin weight watchers. It's going to be tough but I'm planning on sticking with it. I did pretty good last time and would have succeeded in reaching my goal weight I think but I let us trying to get pregnant stop me from being good. I had the whole mentality that "soon I'll be getting fat anyway"...not a good idea!

But here we are on day one of the new weight watchers program and I stayed under my points. Hopefully I can keep that up. I'll do my first weigh in on Saturday morning. I'll keep you posted! :)

Doing better!

Today I feel like I got some things accomplished!

I dropped Dom off at daycare. Then I went to Costco and got a few things that I needed to get. Then I came home and did LAUNDRY. A LOT OF LAUNDRY. :)

I've been working on cleaning the first floor. Which is hard because there is still drywall dust everywhere, but we're getting there.

I think things are slowly coming together. Nick's been working a TON and I'll be very thankful for him to be home and helping out. Even if it's just to hold the baby so I can shower for Pete's sake!

But like I said, we're getting there.

Oh and FYI, I'm composing this blog post on my new Mac computer. A beautiful 27" apple that I LOVE. :)

Happy Friday all!