Poor Bubs

On Wednesday, Scott noticed a very small blister on Ethan's left thumb.  We couldn't really figure out where it would have come from.  Did he burn it somehow?  Was he bitten by an insect/spider?  He didn't cry during the night, so it is still a mystery when this happened.  By yesterday morning, the blister had grown to cover most of his little thumb and the fluid inside had a yellowish tint.  I called the doctor and they agreed that he needed to be seen. 

When I got to school to pick Ethan up, his thumb was so red and swollen and the blister was even bigger and nastier looking.  We got to the doctor and he wanted to aspirate some of the fluid out and have it cultured.  MRSA was mentioned...again. {I am really tired of hearing that term!}  After the aspiration, his hand was completely bandaged to keep him from putting the hand in his mouth and to, hopefully, give him some time to heal.  He hated having the dressing put on, but otherwise didn't seem to be bothered by it.  We were given a prescription and told to come back today so they could check it.  {Apparently, if it is MRSA, it has a higher likelihood of spreading to the bone when it is on a finger so they wanted to see if the anitibiotics were working}

Last night. Oy vey.  Ugh.  NO sleep.  Ethan was miserable.  I gave him Tylenol to help, but it didn't seem to because this sweet boy of mine was up ALL NIGHT LONG!  Most of it crying, too.  Poor Bubs.  We couldn't comfort him for anything.  Usually, if we put him in our bed, he will go right to sleep.  Well, he wanted to, but just couldn't.  It was so pitiful.  Then, he started getting mean.  By 3am, Scott went and slept with him in Ethan's room.  So, we all got a couple hours of sleep...maybe.

Today at the checkup, the dressing was removed and the blister had refilled with fluid.  It also spread slightly, but the swelling and redness was slightly better so they decided to not redrain it.  We did a Hibicleanse soak and re-dressed it.  I did notice more blisters on his fingers, but as of right now the doctor thinks they are from friction of Ethan moving his fingers under the dressing.  When we re-dressed it, we put barriers in between each finger to help with that. 

The new dressing has a beige color to it and when he had his jacket on, it looked like he didn't have a hand!  :(  He is adjusting to only being able to use one hand though.  Smart kid. 

I have to change the dressing over the weekend and look for any changes.  The culture won't be back until this weekend and we have to go back again on Monday for another recheck.  Oh, and the doctor thinks that this came from a bite of some sort.  Fun times.

C25K, W1D2...on hold

I am so upset.  I caught a cold and it has gone bad FAST.  Can't breathe, coughing, sore throat, earache = no day 2 of C25K.  :(  I opted to do some Wii Fit Plus activities that worked my calf muscles, so I was still doing something besides sitting on the couch.  Haha.  I am still committed, though.  Don't count me out! 

C25K, W1D1

I did it.  I completed Day One of Week One.  I was completely anxious about running in the cold and then Mary told me that her apartment complex has a workout room with a treadmill.  SCORE!  I was lucky to be the only one in the room at the time.  It wasn't bad at all.  I made sure to walk for about five minutes, stop and stretch, and then get into the program.  After it was over, I spent a fair amount of time stretching some more.  I am so afraid of re-injuring my calves....

Operation C25K w/ Giveaway!

Let the insanity begin!!!  I posted a few days ago about doing the Couch to 5k Program here.  Bethany is also going to be doing C25K as well!  She has gone an extra step and offered up an awesome giveaway to motivate you!  How's $100 and an iPod Shuffle sound?  Pretty sweet, right?  I thought so too!  Just click the button above and head on over to enter the giveaway! 

So, I am geared up to start tomorrow.  My local run near St. Patrick's Day is on March 20th.  I am nervous about it being so cold.  I think it is going to be twice as hard to run in the frigid temps!  Steve at 4 Runners Only hooked me up with my new Asics GT-2150 man shoes and Balega socks.  So now I need to find an outfit to actually run in.  Guess that needs to happen today.  LOL.  Good gosh, am I really doing this!?!??!!?

Happy Birthday Zhora!!!

I am going to squeeze in a very real birthday wish for myself- I am passing along Renee's blog regarding Zhora today for our friend, Lisa.  I didn't know that Zhora shared a birthday with me, so now this little guy is even MORE special to me. 

You might remember this sweet little guy, Zhora, from this post. Today is his birthday and my friend Lisa is making a plea to raise some money for his adoption fund. As of right now he still doesn't have a family, but hopefully with money in his fund it will ease the burden of his forever family when he gets one!

Zhora is three years old today. He currently has $1870 in his grant fund. He lives in a pretty nice orphanage in Eastern Europe. But, even a "pretty nice" orphanage can not take the place of a family.....and soon, because of his age and the fact that he has Down syndrome, he will be moved to a mental institution. He'll spend the rest of his life there....UNLESS a family brings him home.

SO for Zhora's birthday, can you donate a little to his fund today? Even $5.00 will help... OR maybe, YOU are the family Zhora has been waiting for?! Don't miss this chance to make this the best birthday EVER for Zhora!

You can sponsor Zhora here. You can make a donation online or via check, just make sure you put on your donation that you want it to go to Zhora! Hopefully he'll be spending his 4th birthday in the arms of his mommy and daddy... where he belongs.

Bring on 2010!

Where In The World?

This is for my Mom so she knows where in North Carolina we are.  NC is a very wide state, but a short one, so it is going to take us about the same time to get to Nashville, TN as to get to Baltimore, MD.  We are an hour from the mountains and close to 4 hours from the beach.  Hope that big star I added helps you when you watch our weather.  :)  xoxo

Simple Birthday Wishes

I don't usually ask for anything for my birthday, but this year I have a few simple wishes:

1)  For my son will STOP using my kitchen as his toybox!  Seriously, he finds joy in throwing all of his toys over the gate into the kitchen. It drives me completely batty.  He finds it hilarious...me?  Not so much.

2)  For my dearest, love of my life, son to STOP putting his hands in his mouth.  After taking a bite, after taking a drink, after brushing his teeth, before, during, and after ANYTHING.  PLEASE STOP.  I know it must be your method for getting your tongue to retract and to help you swallow, but Bubs- Mama has other methods for you to use rather than your hands.  Let's give Mama's ideas a try...for my birthday.  Pretty please.

3)  World Peace.  Nah...I just want the beauty queen title.  LOL. 

That's not too much to ask for, is it?

My Grandma - Mom

My grandmother, Mom, had hip replacement surgery today and yesterday was her birthday.  My internal calendar is off and I didn't call until today to only find her about to be wheeled off to surgery!  I felt and still feel horrible!  As my sister, Kamrin, sent me text messages to update me, she also sent pictures of my Aunt Bitsy, Aunt Shell, Grandfather {Dad}, and my cousin Danny.  It is one of those things that makes it so hard to be so far away.  I would have been in that waiting room along with the rest of the family.

Anywho, can you keep Mom in your prayers as she is now recovering from her surgery.  Thanks mucho. 

{Side note:  Aren't my grandparents the cutest?  That picture was taken at their 50th Anniversary get-together.  ♥}

Couch to 5k

Call me insane, but I am feeling motivated to start this Couch to 5k program!  I have been thinking about it for a LOOOONG time, but when I hurt my legs over the summer, the idea was put on hold. 

I am still hesitant to start because my right leg, especially, still doesn't feel completely healed, but I am hoping and praying that good stretching will keep me from re-injuring myself. 

I have never really enjoyed running because I never felt like I had great endurance, despite my junior high that's middle school to all you kids of today PE teacher trying to convince me otherwise because he thought that I had a great pace to be a distance runner. 

I still have to get some good shoes.  Anyone who knows me knows that I loathe shoes.  It is one of the reasons why I love toe socks so much...I can keep my feet warm and still wear flip flops.  Tacky?  Maybe, but I hate, hate, hate shoes.  I say that I have claustrophobic feet.  True story.  Anywho, I went by the running store today and they were so busy, I had to leave.  I will try again tomorrow to get my man feet sized for a good running shoe.

Ok, so this isn't even a New Year's Resolution to be broken.  This is truly my desire to try and get in better shape.  I was pleased that my Wii Fit Age was 3 years less than my actual age and Scott's was 9 years older than his actual age...HA!  But, I know that is just a game and should not be an excuse to not try to be in better shape for myself and long term for my family. 

I am going to invite everyone to either, A) Join me, B)  Encourage me, or C) Both. 

Pressure's on...I have gone public!  LOL!

Our Christmas

Our Christmas.  Where to begin?  We had a wonderful, extra-special, incredibly blessed Christmas due to what we have been referring to as "Operation Knock Our Socks Off".  From efforts coordinated by Bethany, to support from our family back home in California, to our church family here, and to anonymous gifts and love offerings, we are are so humbled by the graciousness and giving of others to our family during this time.

Ethan was a little slow on the opening of the presents Christmas morning.  Scott and I think it is because Mary wasn't here.  She has been here to help him with the other presents he already opened, so we think that he thought that is how he is supposed to open all presents- ya know, with Ms. Mary there.  LOL.  He finally got through them all, and boy oh boy, did he get some amazing stuff!  He got some super-cool duds, Vans {which he ♥'s}, Little Tykes toy haulers, a Tonka truck, moon sand, a penguin game, a ring toss game, lots of wonderful books, Curious George movie and stuffed animal, a remote control car, a chair of his own for when we go to soccer games or parades, a tent, a handmade blanket from Tami who is adopting sweet Tanner {Russell} from Eastern Europe, a bathtime basketball set, fridge phonics, a Mustang GT road ripper, and his favorite...new chewy tubes and adaptive utensils!  We were able to take some of the money that had been given to us to get Ethan his very own chair from Pottery Barn Kids.  He loves it too!

Scott and I were not excluded from it all- Scott got a new work watch, Wake Forest Soccer t-shirt, and a personalized Holland soccer jersey {BIG props and thanks to Carmen's son, Jayvier!  Thank you so much!!!}.  Me?  I got toe socks galore {WOOHOO!!! lol- I am obsessed}, some super-soft jammies, scarf, a goodie bag of spoil-me-rotten items, aka: try to keep me looking young stuff like regeneration serum and cellulite cream, and See's candy.  Thank you to whomever was reading my blog when I mentioned my See's candy Christmas tradition from my Grandparents.  If you could have seen my face when I saw the Santa boxes...you would probably laugh at me since it is candy, but it really meant a lot, so thank you.  Together, we got a new cookie sheet and frying pans, and a new comforter set with matching sheets and another set of sheets which is awesome because we didn't have any spare sets before.  We also were just given the trio of Fireproof/Facing the Giants/Flywheel.

I have said it already, but I will say it again- I am not sure how Thank You is even adequate enough for what has been given to us over the past month, but THANK YOU!  We love you all.  If you are not a believer in Christ and His love, please take a look at the list below of all the people that stepped up because they felt led to- most by God and if you didn't know that it was God, now you do!  :)  We praise God for all of His blessings!

*Bethany Balsis, Carmen Morales, McKenna Powell, Shylo Ulcak, Linda and those in the DSANV who participated who I do not know yet, but plan to!, Mommy, Kim, River Oaks, Nathan & Jordan & Abigail Tabor, Kimberly & Steven Lofgren, Mark & Chere Choate, Sara & Moose Lester, Mike & Michelle Lyons, Michael & Carrie Hansley, Carrie & Brian Stricker, Tempa & Jose Cabrera, Greg & Carrie DeLong, Tami Montilone, Mary Heaton, Jamie & Richard Bucknall, Jim & Jenni Hobeck, Kelly & Jason Germain, Jonathan & Donna Cochrane, Brian & Melinda Vest, Connie & Gordon Miller, Donna Farrington, Amy Farrington, Cheri Thompson, Bill & Heather Bauguss, and all Anonymous givers...seriously,  

thank you so very much!* 

Stuff 'N Nonsense - The Spirit of Christmas by Kim Van Meter {My Big Sis}

My sister, in addition to her duties plugging out romance novels, has a day job.  She is a reporter for her local newspaper and also has her own column- Stuff 'N Nonsense.  Kim recently wrote her column surrounding the circumstances surrounding our family and I wanted to share with you.  I love you, Kim.

http://www.oakdaleleader.com/news/article/1248/

Stuff 'N Nonsense - The Spirit of Christmas

By:  Kim Van Meter

Miles away in a different time zone, where snow buries the yards and Old Man Winter takes up residence for a wintry season, the true spirit of Christmas blossomed in the bosoms of total strangers to the benefit of those close to me — my sister, nephew and brother-in-law.

First, I have to give a little back story. I’m the oldest of four siblings. One of my sisters — the second oldest — moved her family to North Carolina in order to send my nephew, Ethan, to a special school for children with Down Syndrome. This was a huge shock to the family as we are all California-born and bred and the thought of uprooting was something we couldn’t understand. But my sister Kristen had become a voracious advocate, not only for Ethan but for every child with special needs and she wanted to do the best by her son, even if it meant selling their home and starting a whole new life away from everyone and everything they’d ever known.

Two weeks after they’d arrived in North Carolina, Ethan was diagnosed with leukemia. Separated from family, alone and scared, my sister did what she always does when faced with adversity — she persevered.

Again and again.

My nephew went through three years of chemotherapy where his hair fell out and caused awful sores to erupt in his mouth that bled constantly, severe reflux, and aspiration. Most recently he was diagnosed with autism, a sensory processing disorder, and Tethered Cord Syndrome.

At 8 years old, Ethan is nonverbal and only recently started to walk, thanks to the discovery of the tethered cord (another instance where “Mama Bear” Kristen went after and found the cause of her son’s issue) so up until now, she has had to carry him on her hip even though he weighs as much as the average second grader. Oh, and did I mention that my sister has rheumatoid arthritis? Yeah. And there’s more.

At one time my sister was in banking. She loved her job and she was good at it. But Ethan’s medical needs swamped her available vacation time, sick and personal days. She could no longer hold a job. Her husband, Scott, became their sole support.

A month ago he lost his job.

Chalk another one up to the tanking economy.

They were barely making it before and now…the outlook is grim.

Kristen broke down in tears. They were going to lose their house.

It’s been years since my sister could afford Christmas. Frankly, with the daily struggle to care for Ethan and juggle his mounting medical bills, it was the least of their worries.

But this Christmas my sister and her family were blessed.

First, their church delivered a fully decorated Christmas tree right to their door.

Second, a friend wrote a compelling blog post about my sister and their plight. Presents started to arrive for the whole family, which were delivered last week to tears of gratitude.

And I realized, this was the true spirit of Christmas. Not the presents specifically, but the outpouring of support and love from strangers who opened their hearts and their wallets to help a family who is being beaten down by life through no fault of their own.

I wish I had the resources to smooth the road my sister is traveling but I don’t. I can only send what I can and offer my shoulder to cry upon. I can listen and share her tears but I can’t take away the pain, frustration and despair.

If only I could. 

My sister personifies grace under pressure. She’s kind, generous, and stubbornly loyal. She’s the kind of person who takes what life has given her without complaint and then goes after the positive like the Mama Bear she is. She doesn’t accept defeat. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t allow anyone else to, either. Yet, when she said in a tear-choked voice, “I can’t take any more…” I nearly lost it for her. There’s only so much one can take. And my sister had reached her limit.

I’m so humbled and grateful a group of strangers did what I could not — and not only gave her a Christmas to remember but buoyed her belief that life is good and there are unseen blessings out there, waiting to add joy to our lives, if even only briefly.

So here’s a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has given selflessly this season. Let us all pay it forward with acts of kindness. It matters and it counts. Sometimes more than we know…

Sidenote: I encourage everyone to read the blog post on my sister and see the pictures. They’ll bring tears to your eyes. Here is the link:

http://thebalsisfamily.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-giving-day-10.html

A Blog Award

My friend, Brigitte, nominated me for this "One Lovely Blog" a LOOOONG time ago...Thanks for thinking of me, Brigitte!  I never get these things!  LOL.  Now, the rules say something like having to nominate 10 other blogs, but I am going to nominate all of you!  How's that for lazy?  No, seriously- when I am up on my google reader, I love reading about all of your families!  Thank you for sharing them with me! 

Ethan stands unassisted

Ethan's walking continues to improve daily, but one thing that he was not grasping was that he could get places quicker on his feet rather than crawling.  He also wasn't getting exactly how to get up from the middle of the floor unassisted.  Well, over the past few days he has started to become a master!  We have caught him once or twice before, but he has been pretty consistent the past few days!  This is so exciting for us!  Oh goodness, let the running begin!!!  :)

Wordless Wednesday - Lovin' on Baby

 

Sweet Christmas Puppy

Is he not the prettiest?  I love it when he has his paws together like that...such a good puppy!!!

SNOW Day!

Yes, that is our laundry basket for a sled.  Don't judge- it worked GREAT!  It keeps Ethan safe and secure going down the homemade ramp off of the back deck AND we didn't have to pay any additional money for it, which is good since we rarely get snow that actually sticks!  Ethan had such a great time!  We would love to take Ethan up to a ski resort so we can take him tubing or something.  We would want to go with another family too, though.  Any takers?  :)

It's NOT Christmas yet, Ethan!

Ethan has a very lovely habit lately of proving his Mama wrong...My only concern about having presents under the tree was that Ethan would be wanting to throw the boxes everywhere.  He had yet to have any desire whatsoever to open a present or even to see what was inside.  He would get more excited about the tissue paper or the box versus the actual gift {reminds me of Daryl Hannah in Splash when Tom Hanks gives her a gift and she thinks the box is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen! haha.}.  Not this year, my friends.

 

Last week, Ethan decided to rip part of a present.  Mary was here visiting and being as that she has OCD, she insisted that he couldn't leave a package partially wrapped.  We ok'd for him to open that ONE gift.  You would have been beaming with happiness if you saw the joy that was coming from this child after opening that gift, so we allowed another...and another...and another!  I think we let him open five gifts, and he was ready to keep going, but we had to put a stop to it.  

Now, Ethan thinks that he can open gifts everyday.  I was out of the room the other day to find that he had opened another couple presents!  So, now a phrase that is heard multiple times per day is:  It's NOT Christmas yet, Ethan!  You have to wait!

{Doesn't he just look precious looking at his new Curious George books??? ♥}

Stupid New Law

IMHO, of course!

North Carolina had a few laws go into affect a few weeks ago, like no texting while driving.  Ok, I can understand that one, but not allowing license plate covers???  Well, you can have one, but it cannot cover any part of "North Carolina" or your tags.

My beloved "KRIS10Z" plate cover that I have had since I had my "98 Plymouth Breeze has been forced into retirement.  Granted, she should have retired a LONG time ago, but to be forced is just wrong!  LOL!

And, for the people that always ask me why I use KRIS10Z on everything???  It came about when I was in high school and my friend, Lynda, and I were discussing personalized license plates.  My Mom's plates say LESUZ73 (Her name is Les and she has a '73 Cuda that if I ever win the lottery, I will have fixed up to her prime!!!) and so I started playing off her idea, but my name is too long for a plate.  I do have TEN in my name though, so I just changed the TEN to 10 and the 's' from Kristen's to a 'z', just like my Mom's. So the evolution went like this:

KrisTEN's ------> KrisTEN'z------>Kris10z...get it?

:)

The big storm predicted rolled in just before noon and I still hear the freezing rain fall as I type.  It is a peaceful sound, but I do not like dealing with ice later...snow, no problem.  Ice, no thanks.  It is very pretty outside, but I want more.  I want to have at least a foot, or two, outside.  That would make me very happy.  So now, I am happy with at least having some of the white stuff that actually stuck!