Several more serious updates....

I've been avoiding writing these, but I need to get them down before I forget to altogether. I'll include a cute story at the bottom of the post to make up for it. ;)


1) "The Pain"
I saw the doctor on Friday, the 14th. The same day that Chris' ship set out of a week long "cruise" so I was praying for good news that wouldn't take much adjusting to.

I have markers for Epstein-Barr Virus. It's related to mono somehow. When you get mono, you get EBV or something like that. In any case, in rare cases EBV can cause severe joint pain. And after the acute case is over, the pain will come and go but never completely leave. I blamed it all on my brother b/c he's the one that gave me mono when we were younger. ;D

I am taking Celebrex (and had been for 2 weeks before the appointment) to help control the swelling in my joints, and will experiment with other joint pain remedies until I find something that works.

Anyway, it's been wearing me down, and really affecting my mood as well as my energy level. I'm happy in some ways for this diagnosis as it's not something as severe as Lupus or RA as both were on the list of possibilities, but it's also frustrating because there's not much to do with it.

I've begun taking Move Free (thank you Mama!) and will be adding tart cherry extract to the list soon to supplement my medication. Hopefully one day soon I can say that that day was a truly "pain free" day!



2) Alex was diagnosed with what "might be" an ear infection Monday. It was red and obviously irritated, but there was no fluid in the ear yet. The key word being yet. Due to his history, chances were REALLY high that it'd turn into an EI. So we started treatment Monday.

Today he's still unbearably grumpy, dizzy, and pulling at his ears. We're going back to the dr tomorrow. While there we're also going to discuss the terrible rash that the antibiotics gave him. Poor baby fights me over diaper changes now where as he has NEVER done that before.


3) My landlord has raised my rent. It's not worth what she's asking. We're moving. Hey, that was an easy one! ;) Seriously, I'm happy about this for the most part. It means that we'll have a chance to save some money. I think we're looking at base housing so that'll be good too. I am sad about losing our fireplace. But at least we'll not be dying every month!




Ok, the funny story.... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Lemme think. Here's one to make you smile.

Kairi has quite an attitude at times. For being only 2 years old, she certainly talks back like a 12 year old. Today it started after lunch. I told her to throw something away. She told me no. I insisted. She SLOWLY complied. And then it came.
"Mommy, say thank you Kairi. You welcome Mommy. See? Not hard."
Yes, that came from my daughter. And, yes, I am smiling because as frustrating as that was at the time, it is now funny. She perfectly mimicked my tone of voice in saying it as well.

The "smartness" continued this evening as I was getting children ready for bed. Right before I began to pray with Alex I told Kairi to go to bed. She made it clear she didn't want to go. I laid Alex down and went in her room to get her ready for bed. There I was told:
"Not yet Mom. YOU go bed. Not me. NO."
She went to bed. "Mom" won.