Glow in the Dark Bats
Do you have a lot of pony beads laying around like we do? It seems to be the first choice for necklace making along with a piece of yarn. For some reason no matter how hard they try to pick all of the beads up there are a few strays. When you step on those little beads they hurt! I discovered online that pony beads can melt. We thought it would be fun to melt them down to make glow in the dark bats!
This project seemed easy enough for even the Little Chefs. We got out our supplies; a ...
Haley’s Update
Just over one month ago we found out our 2 year old had a very substantial brain tumor. Since then we have been through a crazy journey. Surgery was just over 3 weeks ago and I feel like it has been almost constant crying, screaming, and little sleep. Between figuring out Haley's pain tolerance, post surgery issues, 3 older sisters with school and sports schedules, play dates, piano, a 4 month old and Jeremy interviewing for a new job, each day has been intense and rough. Luckily Jeremy's ...
One Eyed Mummy Cookies
Every Friday night we have family movie night. The last movie we watched was Monsters Inc. It seemed like a perfect movie to watch in preparation for Halloween! We wanted to make a mummy cookie but after watching the show we decided to make a one eyed mummy. This is one of those easy recipes made from pre-made cookies and a Wilton mummy package perfect for a school or home party. Kids are able to make their own. It takes almost the same amount of time to make it as it does to eat it.
We ...
Sponsored Post: Creepy Crawly JIGGLERS
Last week we shared some fun and easy Halloween ideas you could do for a school party or for a kids Halloween party at your home. We had the opportunity to try out a JELL-O JIGGLERS recipe perfect for Halloween, Creepy Crawly JIGGLERS. When I first saw these I was so excited because they are cute, easy enough kids can do and (besides the waiting time) they only have 20 minutes of prep time!
Little Chef D was overjoyed to make these but then her sisters quickly chimed in and wanted to help. ...
Tombstone Pudding Cups
Do you need a fun, quick party food idea? We have one to share! Tombstone pudding cups takes only minutes to make. It is great for a party at home or even a school party. Your kids or students are able to make their own with only a few steps.
Before the party crush some cream filled cookies in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. We like to hit each cookie to crush them. Then it is easy to use the rolling pin to roll across the bag crushing them into even smaller pieces. You will also need ...
Pumpkin Shaped Cinnamon Rolls
Do you do anything special for breakfast in the fall or for Halloween? We seem to do a lot of fun things for dinner and desserts but often forget about breakfast. We wanted to share a fun pumpkin shaped cinnamon roll that would be perfect for breakfast.
Purchase a refrigerated tube of cinnamon rolls. My tube came with the cinnamon rolls already in circles we just needed to separate them and put them on a cookie sheet. Instead of doing as the directions say, cut the circle in half one ...
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
We love October in our home! The anticipation of celebrating a birthday, deciding which costume to wear and decorating for Halloween makes this month exciting.
Some days are good and some are bad for Haley. We needed a Halloween activity we could do if she was having a day where she didn't want to see anyone new. We needed an activity we could do in the cold with popcorn and hot chocolate. Either one on their own is a party at our house, but both popcorn and hot chocolate is an extra special ...
One week later.
What a month we have had! In fact it hasn't even been a month since we realized something was seriously wrong with Haley. One month ago we were waiting for test results from the EEG, the beginning of this journey. At one moment it seems like these last weeks have flown by because we have been so wrapped up in it, but a moment later it seems to have gone by so slowly because of all the waiting and wondering and sitting through days and nights of listening to Haley cry.
The moment I realized ...
Day 7 post-op, Tuesday
Today was a cheese day. Before the surgery she would choose to have a cheese stick and then only take one or two bites. Today she ate 4 cheese sticks in a row before I could convince her to choose something else. She ate 3 more at other times of the day. Strange. Sometimes she looks at food in wonder. It appears that she doesn't know what it is even though she has eaten that food previously. She is afraid to taste it and then does, likes it and wants more. I wonder if this is why she has ...
Day 6 post-op, Monday
I was giving Haley a horsey ride like I remember my Grandpa doing. "This is the way the lady rides..... all through the town." She was ok with the lady but when we got to the gentlemen she said her head hurt so we stopped. She did a somersault today and decided that was a very bad idea! She would have done it even if I told her not to just to see for herself. I can only hope she learned her lesson and will not try that again for a long time.
Haley played with play dough today, went down the ...
Day 5 post-op, Sunday
She slept so much better last night! We decided to only wake her once to give her medicine. That meant she would be a little off schedule but she would be able to sleep more. She woke up with her head hurting some. We immediately gave her medicine. Surprisingly she wasn't thrashing in pain she just seemed uncomfortable. After holding her and patting her for a little while she was fine and wanted to play with her sisters. It was a full day of playing!
She walked up and down the stairs a ...
Day 4 post-op, Saturday
Last night Haley slept better then in the hospital but still not the best. We had to wake her up to take her medicine. As you can imagine she did NOT like that at all. After screaming and yelling she finally took it. She is expecting it to taste horrible like the steroid medication. Luckily we are done with that and all the others are flavored. She doesn't understand taking her medicine will help her head feel better.
For about an hour this morning she was fine. She stood in the shower ...
Day 3 Post-op, Friday
I got to the hospital early this morning to swap with Jeremy. The nurse was wanting to stay on top of her pain which I loved to hear even though Haley doesn't want to take it but finally does. I was told we are going home today but there are certain things we need to do. The Neurosurgeon came in and again gave me the impression he was excited about how well the surgery went. We will see him in a few months when her brain has had a chance to recover. We will do another MRI and discuss then what, ...
Day 2 post-op, Thursday
A great Nurse Practitioner came on duty last night and solved some problems. Haley had one IV in each foot. Each time medication was pushed through the IV she screamed in pain! The day shift nurse observed this, checked the IV and said it was good each time. The NP decided if it hurt her that much lets take it out. She still has one in the other foot and all they only needed one. She also told the nurse if she screams and cries for 10 minutes immediately inject the stronger medication. Jeremy, ...
Day 1 Post-op evening
What began as a calm morning did not continue throughout the day. Haley was off doing the MRI when I showed up at the hospital this morning. She came back and was sleeping for a while. That was great because she had a bad night.
She woke up happy, smiling, laughing, drinking and drinking some more which is very normal for her. She is my thirsty child! She ate a few bites of food. She tried watching a movie but the tv was on the left side. She would need to lay her head on the left side (the ...
Day 1 post-op morning
Haley had a rough night. They had to wake her up every hour to get her to do things like talk and move. Jeremy stayed here with her. I was with the baby who didn't sleep much better. Jeremy went to my parents home to hopefully try to get some rest. Thankfully Haley has been sleeping very well since coming back from another MRI she had this morning. I would love to see the before MRI and this MRI side by side. In fact we want to get a copy just to show her when she is older. She might be ...
Surgery Day!
Today was the big surgery day. We started the day out with Little Chef C waking me up just after 4am to tell me it was after 4. I told her I was waking up at 4:30 and would get her up at 5:00 so she could go lay back down in her bed.
When I finally woke the girls, one said she was tired but the others woke quickly super excited about their day. We dropped off kids to fly on an airplane and have a great few days at Disneyland. They saw their cousins and didn't even turn around to say ...
The day before surgery.
I've been packing and packing. The older girls are going with my SIL and BIL to Disneyland! There is no better place for them to go to keep their minds off their little sister. Yes, we are trying to shelter them from most of the events this week. We do not find it necessary for them to see her at her most awful state in the hospital. They might see pictures later (if we take them), but it won't be terrible because they will know she is fine. We are thankful plans worked out that our girls are ...
It’s all in the details.
In the process of finding out what was wrong with Haley I was frustrated with the communication channel to obtain test results. Looking back that poor communication was a blessing. Supposing results were reported to me immediately and the next test performed we would have found out about Haley's brain tumor a week earlier (or so). I would have taken her by myself to the MRI with the baby because I would have been on my own. That would have been horrible only because I now know she does not ...
How are the other girls?
I have been asked how the older girls are doing and how much do they know and understand. On Saturday, the day after we found out, we explained in very simple terms to all three what was going to happen in the near future. Later that day I was with just the 2 older girls and told them more, still leaving out the really scary details. My oldest was making frightening faces as I was explaining. I didn't think she was going to be ok. She is my super sensitive, emotionally tender child. But, she ...
Our first Neurosurgeon appointment.
Haley was released from the Outpatient Clinic. We were on our way home to pick up everyone and go to the other hospital when my mom called. She started out with, "What do you know and what do you want to know?" I said I didn't know a lot. She kept saying it is benign, it is benign. That was the best news of the day. She reminded me she used to work with some Doctors, nurses and staff members in Neurosurgery. That was comforting.
After dropping off kids and making sure the other girls were ...
The first of many MRI’s.
Plans worked out that I was able to take Haley to her MRI alone. If the baby became hungry before we returned Jeremy would give him a bottle. If that didn't go well they would meet me at the hospital to feed him. At this point we were happy the hospital was only 10 minutes away.
We checked in, went to a small room where the nurses did their regular check up and took some history. Then they had Haley sit facing me on my lap and holding her arm a particular way so they could put an IV in her ...
Doctors visits began.
We had the appointments scheduled for the two specialists so we were just waiting but not necessarily worried. One night we were watching the news when they talked about someone going in for brain surgery to remove a tumor. I remember thinking she is going to have a brain tumor, but then thought I was just being crazy.
I took her in for her Neurology appointment. We first saw the PA who was doing some motor tests with Haley. He said, "touch my finger, touch your nose, touch my finger, touch ...
How the brain tumor discovery began.
We went on vacation in March when the kids were off track. The first morning on the road Haley had cereal for breakfast, nothing out of the ordinary. Immediately after finishing she threw up. I really do mean immediately. She swallowed that last bite and up it came. She asked to be held, which was uncommon because she is a mover and a shaker. She fell asleep immediately in my arms. Again, it was within 30 seconds! It was not even 8 am and she was already taking a nap! How strange is that?!�...
