Hopes

2008 was a bad year...a very bad year. I grew up believing you make New Year's resolutions, but who sticks to them anyway, right? Instead, I made a couple of "Hopes" for 2008 and I kept them. First, I wanted to get active and I started water aerobics in May. Second, I wanted to set up a household cleaning schedule and organize my home, which I started in March/April. Having accomplished these things, I decided I would make a few "Hopes" for 2009. But first I need to start by asking the Lord's forgiveness for going astray this year. I can't do this on my own. How ignorant of me to think He turned his back on me first and I shut Him out because of it.

1. Keep God first in my life.
2. Health for Family & Friends.
3. Read the Bible from beginning to end.
3. Lose 50+ pounds.
4. Date night with Hubby once a month.
5. Get my first tattoo, a ladybug on my foot for my niece Mandelyn.
6. Go on a B&B weekend getaway with my Hubby.
7. Transfer all tape format home movies to DVD.
8. Transfer all picture negatives to CD or DVD.
9. Learn Photoshop.
10. Read 100+ books.

Here is something I found on photobucket. Although I disagree with the title, I believe everyone should live by these 24/7! Strive for it in 2009!

Wordless Wednesday: Reindeer Kids

The reindeer antlers are courtesy of Auntie Shelly. Of course I had to take pictures to send to her. Granted, taking the pictures with all 3 kiddos was a fiasco and I sent the last 2 pictures, separating the boys from the girl! P.S. Don't you just LOVE their jammies???

Check out more Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

2008 In Review

I'm stealing this from Lissa over at The Anderson Clan.

Was 2008 good for you? I must admit 2008 was a bad year...from beginning to end. I'm looking forward to 2009...it's going to be our year!

What was your favorite moment of the year? Water aerobics.

What was your worst moment of the year? I have to pick one? It's hard to choose. How about my cousin and his girlfriend being murdered on January 5th? Or, my uncle dying suddenly a month later? How about Cameron's diagnosis with Type I Diabetes and subsequential hospitalization? They were all worst moments in their own right.

Where were you when 2008 began? Asleep in bed like every other year.

Who were you with? My Hubby & Peyton.

Where will you be when 2008 ends? I think I'm going to stay up and ring in the new year properly, 2009 is going to be our year!

Did you keep your new years resolution of 2008? Yes, I got active and started organizing our house!

Do you have a new years resolution for 2009? I have a few and I MUST keep them, my health depends on it.

Did you fall in love in 2008? Yes.

If yes, with who? I fell in love with my Hubby all over again.

Are you still in love? Yes.

Did you breakup with anyone in 2008? No.

Did you make any new friends in 2008? I made some super awesome friends in water aerobics and I miss them terribly. I also made some excellent friends in my Stampin' Up club!

What was your favorite month of 2008? July and August.

Why this month? We spent a lot of time at Disneyland and the beach.

Did you travel outside of the US in 2008? No, I have never traveled outside of the US.

How many different places did you travel to in 2008? We went to the San Diego Zoo in April, Disneyland, DCA, the Beach...we never left the state.

Did you miss anybody in the past year? My niece, my cousin, and my uncle.

What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2008? I only saw one movie in the theatres in 2008...Twilight. However, I fell in love with P.S. I Love You when I finally saw it on DVD.

What was your favorite song from 2008? I Am God by Kirk Franklin.

How many concerts or plays did you see in 2008? None. I wanted to see a few concerts, but we never made it. I still would love to see Wicked.

What was your favorite book in 2008? I love, love, love the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Of course I am bias!

How many people did you sleep with in 2008? Two...Hubby & Peyton.

Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year? Yes.

What was the biggest lie you told in 2008? I can't think of anything.

Did you treat somebody badly in 2008? Yes.

Did somebody treat you badly in 2008? Yes, as recently as November when my son was hospitalized and my wishes were blatantly disregarded.

What was your proudest moment of 2008? Cameron's award assembly where he received 3 of them (Honor Roll, Outstanding Reader, and Perfect Attendance).

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2008? Slipping and sliding on the ice in front of Target a week ago.

If you could go back to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be? Cameron's diagnosis with Type I Diabetes.

Where did you work in 2008? Home.

Favorite TV shows(s) of 2008? Dexter, Brothers & Sisters, & The Starter Wife

Favorite Band(s) of 2008? Too many to name. You are talking to the music junkie, remember?

Favorite Food in 2008? Classic Chicken Parmesan with Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce and Smoked Mozzarella

Favorite Drink in 2008? Margarita, but Lissa has me wanting to try a Pomegranate Margarita ASAP!

Favorite Place in 2008? Pool doing water aerobics.

Favorite person(s) to be with in 2008? Hubby, Kiddos, BFF

Favorite person(s) to talk to in 2008? Hubby & BFF

Favorite trip in 2008? We didn't take a trip, but enjoyed Disneyland and our Annual Passes.

Favorite stores in 2008? Target.

Hardest thing you had to go through in 2008? Until November 19th it was my cousin's murder in January, but then Cameron was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.

Most exciting moment(s) in 2008? Watching my children grow.

Funniest moment(s) in 2008? Oh my gosh...our kiddos' birthday parties, and anytime I'm with my BFF, we have too much fun together, it should be illegal.

Merry Christmas

It was so hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year. And if you played back my home video from the kids opening their presents, you would hear this Mama screaming at Dylan, "LOOK AT ME!" I can not get that through that kid's head...you HAVE to look at me when I am taking a picture of YOU! Wearing jammies all day is a tradition we have held for the last four years. It started because we wore jammies in our Christmas picture for Dylan's 1st Christmas. The kids get brand new jammies every year and this year they got the cutest one's from Target. The brand name is Nick & Nora and they had matching robes, something I really regret not getting. Daddy wore his new Grinch jammies and I wore the one's Auntie Pam gave me last year. We feasted on turkey and ate pumpkin pie for dessert (well, Cameron didn't). We will celebrate with my best friend and her kids tomorrow (my niece is disappointed because she didn't get Breaking Dawn for Christmas...that's because Auntie got it for her and she has to wait until tomorrow to receive it). Saturday we'll celebrate with my dad, step mom and brother. On Sunday...the Christmas decorations come down!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow Fun

Ordinarily I keep my Wordless Wednesday's...well, wordless. However, we NEVER get snow. It is few and far between. After all, we live in the desert. Imagine our surprise last Wednesday when the falling snow began to stick. Hours and hours the snow fell...beautiful, big, fluffy flakes and we sat on the couch watching the magic unfold before our very eyes. It was the first snow Dylan had ever seen. He was so very anxious to get out and play in it. We took Peyton out first to take pretty pictures of her and then released the hounds! Fun was had by all!

Check out more Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Diagnosis

Cameron was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes on November 19th. I'll never forget the day. He come home and a couple days later I started itching. By Thanksgiving I had a rash on the back of my legs. That following Saturday it had spread to my upper arms and I went to urgent care. Grandma insisted it was hives, and let's face it, after the week I had I believed it. The doctor determined it hives and gave me a big shot of two steroids in the tush! I thought, "Payback for the shots I'm having to give Cameron." They had me sit there to make sure I didn't have a reaction and amazingly, by the time I left the itching sensation was gone. I stopped at a drive thru to grab some lunch and came home. While eating the itching came back. It was such an intense itching! I called the urgent care and they explained how the two different steroids worked. They recommended 50 mg of Benadryl and an oatmeal bath. Have you ever had an oatmeal bath? Very soothing.

Fast forward to Monday, it has spread again, this time around my pant line/waist. Back to urgent care where the doctor decided it was scabbies. Do you know what scabbies is? G-R-O-S-S! We are such a clean family, where on earth could I have picked up scabbies? She prescribed a cream that has to be rubbed over my ENTIRE body, neck to soles of the feet, paying careful attention in between my fingers and toes. Hubby proceeds to do this for me. I leave it on the 12 -14 hours and take a shower. The medication and doctor indicate the itching could continue for up to 2-4 more weeks. GREAT! I'm digging into myself, breaking blood vessels and bruising myself from the intense itching.

On Thursday Hubby takes the day off to clean and disinfect the entire house. I wake up and it's spread some more, it's on the front of my thighs and stomach. I called the doctor, because it wasn't after hours this time. They got me right in. I cried at the doctor, "Make it stop!" I told her what the urgent care doctor had said and she grabbed her handy dandy book of rashes and diseases. She showed me a picture of scabbies and that did NOT look like what I had. She pressed on my rash and explained the coloration and said it was viral, probably picked up from the hospital. She ordered blood work, gave me a 6 day regimen of Prednisone and an anti-itching medication (better than Benadryl).

Off to give blood I go. The tech tells me my doctor ordered quite a series and proceeded to take 7 tubes of blood. Good grief! She asks me about the arthritic panel and I'm clueless. So was the tech.

The Prednisone worked and within 3 days the itching had subsided and the rash was disappearing. About 7 days later I get a call from the doctor's office to schedule an appointment to go over my labs. This is the only way she does this, she refuses to discuss it over the phone, even when everything is normal, so I had no reason to think anything was wrong. They schedule me for December 23rd at 4 pm.

The doctor proceeds to go over my lab work. I didn't have an allergy to anything she had me tested for. My kidney function was great. My uric acid level is elevated, prescribing 2 pills a day for that. GREAT! I skim the page and see in bold letters, "POSITIVE." She tells me I'm borderline diabetic. This does not shock me at all. I'm surprised I've lasted this long without that news. She says I'm negative for Rheumatoid Arthritis. She points to the positive and say, "I had the arthritis panel done because of the rash. This number indicates you have Lupus." I beg your pardon? What is Lupus? The doctor gives me the abridged version and says she will recheck me in 3 months on all levels, and determine then whether to refer me to a Rheumatologist. Merry Christmas to me. I'm 33 years old. I have high blood pressure and take 2 pills a day for that. My uric acid levels are high and take 2 pills a day for that. I have Lupus.

What's on Your Nightstand ~ December

The last time I participated in What's on Your Nightstand was in September. I keep forgetting and boy, oh boy, my October one would have been excellent. O'well. This month I have 1 lonely book sitting on my nightstand. It's been sitting there for a couple of weeks and I hope to get it finished by December 31st! Wish me luck!